The Jade Market had no fixed entrance or exit. Leaf Gray descended from Jade Mountain, merged into the flow of people entering and leaving the market, and naturally blended in.

A noisy atmosphere rushed towards him. On the intricate streets, coming and going cultivators jostled shoulder to shoulder.

Leaf Gray hadn't expected a small market to gather so many cultivators. He hadn't seen a single person on Jade Mountain before – wait, that's not right, he had seen half of one.

Thinking about it, it wasn't strange. No matter which sect, the number of low-level cultivators is always the largest, and the outermost part of the Spirit Creek Battlefield is precisely the gathering place for the lowest-level cultivators.

Just from the appearance of these passing cultivators, it was impossible to tell which faction they belonged to, after all, no one carves their origin on their forehead to parade around.

He couldn't even distinguish the cultivation levels of these cultivators.

Leaf Gray had originally found it strange. The Firmament Palace and The Ophidian Covenant were two opposing factions. After repeated wars and conflicts, where people's brains were beaten into dog's brains, both sides held irreconcilable hatred. How could the cultivators of these two factions coexist peacefully?

Only upon arriving here did he understand that everyone simply didn't know which faction the others belonged to. Even if mixed together, they could at most maintain corresponding vigilance towards strangers, and couldn't rashly start a fight.

The coming and going cultivators wore all kinds of clothing, dazzling Leaf Gray. Some female cultivators wore extremely revealing clothes, showing large areas of snow-white skin, truly a beautiful sight.

He then realized the customs of The Novem Lands were so open.

Actually, he was mistaken. The Novem Lands is a very large world; the local customs and practices differ across the nine great provinces. Some places simply have such customs; wearing less doesn't necessarily mean having an open personality.

"Hey kid, move aside."

A deep voice suddenly sounded behind Leaf Gray. Leaf Gray turned to look, and what met his eyes was a solid chest with a large mass of black hair. Under Leaf Gray's gaze, the two pectoral muscles deliberately twitched, showcasing explosive power.

Leaf Gray's gaze lifted, seeing a ridiculously burly figure standing right behind him. His own height only reached the other's chest.

The person had two curved ox horns on his forehead, making Leaf Gray stare dumbfounded.

"Huuu..." The burly figure blew two streams of rolling hot air from his nostrils, looking down at Leaf Gray: "You're blocking the way!"

Leaf Gray quickly jumped to the side, his hand pressing down on his sword hilt.

But his vigilance was soon dispersed because standing next to the ox-horned man was a petite woman. Crucially, the woman had two furry ears erect on her head, looking like cat ears. She was probably the ox-horned man's companion.

"Meow~" The woman looked at Leaf Gray with amusement, softly called out, and winked at him, exuding infinite charm.

Wow...

Leaf Gray felt his heart blooming with joy.

Under his reluctant gaze, the ox-horned man and the cat-eared girl soon disappeared into the crowd.

"That's a demonic cultivator who hasn't fully transformed." A voice suddenly sounded beside Leaf Gray.

Leaf Gray turned his head to look and saw a chubby figure standing right beside him, smiling broadly at him, eyes slightly narrowed.

This person wore clothes adorned with gold and jade, and had several jade rings on his fingers. He didn't look like a cultivator, but more like a local tycoon.

"Demonic cultivator?" Leaf Gray raised an eyebrow.

He had heard of demonic cultivators; the Sect Master had mentioned them before. Many demonic cultivators have natural advantages in physique, so they are suited for the path of body cultivation. Many sects also accept demonic cultivators as disciples.

It's just that he had never seen a demonic cultivator before. Seeing them for the first time, he couldn't help but feel novel.

"Yes, but if their cultivation reaches a higher level, those demonic beast characteristics will slowly disappear. Fellow Daoist seems interested in that kind of... cute demonic cultivator?" While speaking, the local tycoon used two fingers to mimic the ears on his own head.

Leaf Gray hesitated for a moment and said: "First time seeing one."

"So that's it. Fellow Daoist is a rogue cultivator, right?" The local tycoon asked with a laugh. The reason for this inference was mainly that Leaf Gray was alone.

Generally speaking, if a disciple from a sect entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, they would absolutely not be alone. At the very least, they would act together with some fellow sect brothers, so they could look out for each other. Just like those two demonic cultivators, they actually came from the same sect.

Leaf Gray casually acknowledged: "You could say that."

The Sect Master had warned him never to mention his identity as a disciple of The Vermilion Guild to anyone, so of course he wouldn't casually spill the beans.

The local tycoon sighed: "It's not easy being a rogue cultivator. This old brother also started as a rogue cultivator, so I understand your situation well." Changing the subject, he chuckled: "If Fellow Daoist is interested in those cute things, you can visit my Providentia Merchant Alliance. As long as Fellow Daoist can afford the price, hehe, anything can be discussed."

Leaf Gray said seriously: "You misunderstand. I'm not that kind of person!"

"Understood, understood." The local tycoon nodded repeatedly, "Of course, if Fellow Daoist has any pills, spirit tools, talismans, information, maps you wish to buy, or if you have any good items to sell, you can all go to my Providentia Merchant Alliance. I guarantee we can meet Fellow Daoist's needs."

Leaf Gray was puzzled: "What does your Merchant Alliance do?"

This merchant alliance's business scope seemed very broad. What caught his attention was that this merchant alliance was actually named Providentia, which seemed somewhat unusual.

The local tycoon said: "A merchant alliance, naturally, is commerce-based. We do any business that makes money, widely welcoming guests from The Novem Lands, happily accepting wealth from all directions. But Fellow Daoist, please rest assured, although my Providentia Merchant Alliance is large and established, we always uphold the principle of being fair to all, young and old. So no matter what kind of customer comes to do business, we treat them equally, and will never discriminate based on cultivation level."

By now, Leaf Gray understood.

This local tycoon was from the Providentia Merchant Alliance. He probably saw his country-bumpkin-coming-to-the-city behavior, so he came to get friendly and see if there was any business to be done.

"I'm very poor." Leaf Gray shook his head.

The local tycoon chuckled: "A dragon stranded in shallow water cannot fulfill its ambitions. But I observe that Fellow Daoist has an extraordinary quality; you are destined for great things in the future. Being poor and struggling now doesn't matter; there will always be a time when Fellow Daoist rises to success."

"I accept your auspicious words!" Leaf Gray nodded. Of course, he didn't believe this guy had actually discerned anything. If he wasn't mistaken, he probably said this to every stranger he met, just to form a bit of goodwill.

"If Fellow Daoist wishes to go to the Merchant Alliance, just head this way. The most conspicuous building is it." The local tycoon pointed in a direction for Leaf Gray, then clasped his fists in salute: "Then I won't disturb Fellow Daoist further!"

With that, he left casually.

After this conversation, Leaf Gray was somewhat interested in that Providentia Merchant Alliance. And it must be said, although the local tycoon came to strike up a conversation, from start to finish he didn't give Leaf Gray any bad feelings. Even when he assumed Leaf Gray was a rogue cultivator, his words were appropriate and easily left a good impression.

It might be worth taking a look.

Leaf Gray naturally didn't have the funds to buy anything, but he still had items he could sell. Perhaps he could go to that Providentia Merchant Alliance to exchange for some spirit pills or something.

But there was no hurry for now. He had just arrived at this market; familiarizing himself with the environment and the atmosphere of the cultivation world was more important.