At high noon, the blazing sun showered the world, and on the vast grassland, a figure rode an Azure Wolf, traveling alone from far to near.
Ahead, a Market was bustling with noise, alive with activity, some hawking their wares, some delivering goods, and others purchasing what they needed before heading to other places to sell.
This was the fourth Market Zhou Ming had visited in the past ten-odd days.
This Market was further than the other three. Zhou Ming set off early in the morning and even rented an Azure Wolf from his clan for travel, yet it still took him most of the morning to arrive.
This also meant that after buying and selling Gu, Zhou Ming would not have time to rush back to his clan, and could only find another place en route to complete his second mission.
Zhou Ming didn't care much about this; according to his estimations, no matter how much time passed in the mission world, only an instant would pass in reality, so it didn't matter whether he spent this mission in his room or in the wilderness.
Upon entering the Market, Zhou Ming began to frequent various shops, selling Gu while also buying Gu.
Selling Gu was simple; he only sold one Scarlet Iron Relic Gu at each shop.
Although a Scarlet Iron Relic Gu sold for 8,000 primeval stones in shops, selling it to a shop would reduce the price by 500 primeval stones, making it 7,500 primeval stones.
However, due to the scarcity of the Scarlet Iron Relic Gu, if one was willing to put in the effort to haggle, the price could be raised further.
But Zhou Ming currently didn't have the time or energy to waste on a mere hundred primeval stones. He promptly sold the Relic Gu and then purchased Gu.
In the first shop, he bought the six Gu he needed: Grass Willow Gu, Grass Movement Gu, Bewitching Soul Gu, Ghost Garment Gu, Tiger Specter Gu, and Ghost Eye Gu.
Furthermore, he unexpectedly discovered that this shop had Grassland Gu for sale, and overjoyed, he immediately bought it.
Grass Willow Gu is a healing Gu, used for detoxification.
Grass Movement Gu and Ghost Eye Gu are 偵查 Gu. The saying 'a rustle of grass and leaves' refers to detecting the enemy's movements in advance. Grass Movement Gu doesn't enhance any of the Gu Master's five senses, but rather acts as a sixth sense for crisis detection, similar to a danger premonition. When combined with Zhou Ming's crisis awareness, which far surpassed that of ordinary people, it complemented him perfectly.
Bewitching Soul Gu and Tiger Specter Gu are both Enslavement Path Gu. Bewitching Soul Gu can bewitch others' minds, making them obey him like hypnotized puppets; Tiger Specter Gu can summon a Chang Gui (Tiger Specter) for him to command.
Ghost Garment Gu is a defensive Gu, offering good defensive effects against the Soul, and also providing a certain degree of defense against damage to the Physical Body.
Finally, Grassland Gu is a rare Gu of the Wood Path that can increase strength.
Gu that can increase a Gu Master's strength are not uncommon; for example, the Jin Strength Gu and Jun Strength Gu prevalent in Northern Plains. Zhou Ming had once used a One-turn Jin Strength Gu to increase his strength; a single One-turn Jin Strength Gu could increase a Gu Master's strength by one jin.
There were also ancient strength path beast strength Gu, which could add the strength of beasts to a Gu Master.
However, most of these Gu are strength path Gu. If Zhou Ming used too many, they would conflict with his own Wood Path dao marks, preventing the Gu's effects from being fully utilized.
Therefore, Zhou Ming hadn't used Jin Strength Gu to continue increasing his strength during these days.
However, Grassland Gu is different; it is a Wood Path Gu. The dao marks it adds to the Gu Master's body after use are also Wood Path dao marks, which will not cause dao marks conflict.
Although a Two-turn Ten Jin Strength Gu can only add ten jin of strength to a Gu Master, far less than Grassland Gu, Ten Jin Strength Gu can be stacked. Accumulated, they would add more strength than Grassland Gu, which can only be used once, with subsequent ones having no effect.
This is also one of the reasons for the rarity of Grassland Gu; fewer people use it, so fewer people are willing to refine it. Coupled with the high cost of its refinement Materials, its price is destined to be expensive, reaching 1100 primeval stones per Gu. In contrast, a Two-turn Ten Jin Strength Gu only costs 690 primeval stones.
Despite this, Zhou Ming still bought this Gu. He hadn't originally planned to use Gu to increase his strength this time, so this Grassland Gu was a pleasant surprise.
In the second shop, after selling the Relic Gu, Zhou Ming bought a House Gu.
House Gu, when activated, can transform into a house. Common House Gu in Northern Plains include House Lizard Gu and Mushroom House Gu.
Zhou Ming bought a Mushroom House Gu. When planted in the ground and catalyzed with primeval essence, it can quickly grow into a giant mushroom, very sturdy. Its interior is a living space, suitable for a Gu Master living alone.
Of course, several Mushroom House Gu can also be combined to form a unique small courtyard according to the Gu Master's wishes, making for a very comfortable living space.
Mushroom House Gu comes in all ranks from One-turn to Rank Five. A Two-turn Mushroom House Gu's outer wall hardness is roughly equivalent to a Mortal's fired clay bricks, and its price is not expensive, generally around 700 primeval stones.
Then, he began to buy large quantities of Gu food.
The time for the next mission was not explicitly told to Zhou Ming in the character information, so he could only prepare as much as possible, buying a month's worth.
If the mission duration exceeded a month, Zhou Ming would just have to admit he was unlucky.
Fortunately, among the Gu on him, several Gu were relatively simple to feed, so even if it exceeded a month, he wouldn't be in the awkward situation of having no Gu available.
After purchasing all the Gu food, Zhou Ming began to scour for Two-turn Gu he hadn't bought before.
After visiting four shops, Zhou Ming had collected a total of 21 different types of Gu, including both consumable Gu and ordinary Gu.
With over 6,000 primeval stones remaining, he did not continue to buy other Gu, planning to save these primeval stones to cover expenses during the next mission.
Having achieved all his objectives for this trip to the Market, Zhou Ming left the Market in the afterglow of the setting sun, found a spot, and planted the Mushroom House Gu.
A mushroom sprouted from the earth, growing larger and larger, and in a blink of an eye, it was over three meters tall, topped with a giant, smooth, and sturdy gray mushroom cap.
The mushroom's stalk was thick and tall, with windows for ventilation. The interior was hollow, creating a unique living space.
Zhou Ming walked into the Mushroom House Gu and saw a soft, fleshy bed rise according to his will, along with tables, chairs, and benches, proving that though the sparrow may be small, it has all the vital organs.
Zhou Ming nodded in satisfaction and entered the Main God Space.
Subsequently, he submitted all the Gu he could, a total of 28 Two-turn Gu, which contributed 12,320 reward points to him. Adding the previously remaining 10,699 points, Zhou Ming's total reward points were 23,019.
However, he immediately exchanged back the seven Gu he needed, spending 2,800 reward points, which meant he earned 280 reward points from the seven Gu.
Even a mosquito's leg is meat!
"Main God, exchange for 30 pure Soul crystals!"
Zhou Ming did not stop spending, first exchanging for a month's worth of Soul crystals, immediately spending 15,000 reward points.
Afterward, he went to the public space, frantically shopping at various Reincarnator stalls: firearms, medicine, electronic equipment, tools, equipment, daily necessities... These more common Materials were much cheaper to buy from Reincarnators than to directly exchange from the Main God, and sometimes they even offered pleasant surprises.
For example, the goose-feather saber made of adamantium alloy that Zhou Ming bought from a Reincarnator's stall. Although it was an item the Reincarnator had used and discarded, the blade was undamaged, and it only sold for 700 reward points. At that price, why would he need a bicycle?
Until the last bit of reward points was squeezed out, Zhou Ming's harvest was a full load of Materials, almost completely filling the storage space of two Flower Bud Gu.
Even if he were thrown into a post-apocalyptic zombie world, he was confident that with these Materials, he could survive the most difficult times and gradually establish and expand a survival base.
Ending this crazy shopping spree, Zhou Ming returned to his personal space, sat cross-legged on the cloud bed, and waited for the final arrival of the mission time while cultivating.
Finally, at a certain moment, the large light sphere of the Main God above projected a pillar of light, enveloping Zhou Ming.
The second mission began.
The next chapter will be a new plot.
It's almost 100,000 words, and I haven't received any information from the website. I feel like I've been forgotten %>_<% However, new recommendation tickets and comments every day give me the motivation to keep writing. Thank you all for your support. I have no way to repay you, except to write more.