After leaving Four Seasons Restaurant, Fang Ming did not return to Zhang Zhu.
Zhang Xin Ci had been taken away by Shang Yan Fei. Zhang Zhu could wait outside Shang clan's door and worry by himself. Fang Ming had no interest in standing beside him and pretending to be anxious. He had his own matters to handle.
Fang Yuan had pointed him towards the inner trade district.
Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
A place with rare Gu, high prices, and enough variety to make the trip worthwhile.
Fang Ming walked through the streets of Shang clan city. The outer city was already prosperous, but the deeper he went, the more obvious the difference became. There were fewer mortals and more Gu Masters. Rank one Gu Masters walked like common people. Rank two Gu Masters were everywhere. Rank three Gu Masters were not rare either. Even Rank four Gu Masters could be seen occasionally, though most of them moved with followers or kept to themselves.
Shang clan city was not like Gu Yue village.
This was a true trade center of Southern Border. Here, righteous Gu Masters and demonic Gu Masters could stand on the same street, bargaining over the same goods. As long as they followed Shang clan's rules and paid what needed to be paid, no one cared too much about their past.
Fang Ming paid the inner city fee and continued forward. The deeper areas were not open to anyone just because they had money. Some places needed tokens, some needed status, and some needed both. This made Fang Ming more certain of one thing.
Zhang Xin Ci's future position would be useful.
Money could open many doors, but not all doors.
Bloodline and authority could open the rest.
After some time, Fang Ming arrived before a large building. The plaque above the entrance was simple and heavy.
Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
The building was wide, with several floors rising upward. Gu Masters entered and left constantly. Some came alone, some with attendants, and some with guards. The air inside carried the smell of tea, incense, jade boxes, and Gu food.
An attendant came forward.
"Esteemed lord, are you buying or selling?"
"Both." Fang Ming said.
The attendant felt his Rank four aura and immediately became more respectful.
"Please come this way."
Fang Ming was led into a quiet room. Soon, a Bookworm was brought over.
"This contains our current catalogue. Some goods can be bought directly. Some require tokens or special qualifications. If lord sees anything suitable, this humble one can explain further."
Fang Ming nodded and placed a trace of primeval essence into the Bookworm.
Information flowed into his mind.
The stock was large. Rank one and Rank two Gu were countless. Rank three Gu had many varieties. Rank four Gu were fewer, but still more than Fang Ming had ever seen in one place. Attack Gu, defense Gu, movement Gu, detection Gu, healing Gu, support Gu; there were also Gu food recipes, refinement materials, inheritance fragments, maps, and rare beast parts.
Fang Ming searched for Rank five Gu first.
There were records, but nothing for direct purchase. Some were marked as auction-only, some required Shang clan tokens, and some were only listed as previous sales to show the pavilion's background.
Fang Ming was not disappointed.
Rank five Gu were not cabbages sold on the street. If Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion casually sold them to any Rank four Gu Master with enough stones, Shang clan city would not be so orderly.
His real search today was Rank four.
After browsing for a while, Fang Ming found something useful.
Yellow Gold Relic Gu.
Rank four cultivation Gu.
A one-time consumable Gu.
It could raise a Rank four Gu Master's cultivation by one small realm.
The price was over thirty thousand primeval stones.
That alone was enough to make most Rank four Gu Masters hesitate. But the price was not the real barrier. The Yellow Gold Relic Gu also required a Shang clan token with enough purchasing authority. Even with money, Fang Ming could not buy it right now.
This was normal.
Relic Gu were always in demand. They directly raised cultivation and saved years of slow accumulation. Even super clans would not sell them freely.
Fang Ming asked the attendant to bring him to the display.
The Yellow Gold Relic Gu was sealed inside a transparent jade container. Its body shone with a deep golden color, like condensed metal and sunlight. A faint aura leaked from it, calm but tempting. Several Gu Masters nearby looked at it from time to time. Some looked greedy, some shook their heads, some could afford the stones but lacked the token, and some had the token but did not want to pay such a price.
Fang Ming stood before it quietly.
The attendant waited at the side.
"Esteemed lord, this Yellow Gold Relic Gu is one of our pavilion's rare goods. Unfortunately, even if lord has enough primeval stones, a suitable token is still required."
Fang Ming looked at the Gu for a while. His expression did not change.
The Yellow Gold Relic Gu was valuable.
Very valuable.
With it, he could move from Rank four initial stage to Rank four middle stage. If he copied it several times, he could quickly push his cultivation towards Rank four peak stage.
But Fang Ming did not act.
Not yet.
The Yellow Gold Relic Gu was inside Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion. The pavilion would still be here tomorrow, next month, and likely even next year. As long as it was not sold, he could come back.
Shang Yan Fei was different.
The meeting with Shang Yan Fei was precious. A Rank five Gu Master would not stand in front of Fang Ming whenever Fang Ming wished. More importantly, Shang Yan Fei had a complete Rank five blood-path set. Attack, defense, movement, detection, healing, and control; any one of them was more valuable than a Yellow Gold Relic Gu.
If Fang Ming used his copy chance now, he might regret it later.
He would scout first.
Copy later.
"The price is too high." Fang Ming said after a while. "The token requirement is also troublesome."
The attendant smiled politely. "Relic Gu are always like this, esteemed lord."
Fang Ming nodded. "I have Gu to sell."
The attendant's eyes brightened slightly.
"Please return to the private room."
Back in the room, Fang Ming took out the Gu he no longer needed. Some came from the Gu Master he killed during the Zombie Mountain chaos. Some were old low-rank Gu. Some were Rank two and below, useful to weaker Gu Masters but useless to him now. He also sold several redundant Rank three Gu. He already had Rank four attack, defense, and movement methods. Keeping too many lower-rank counterparts only created feeding burdens.
But he was careful.
He did not sell Bone Flesh Unity Gu.
He did not sell anything too strange.
He did not sell anything that could not be explained.
Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion appraised each Gu carefully. The price they offered was not generous, but it was fair enough. Fang Ming did not haggle too long. Primeval stones entered his pouch. His losses from the caravan could not be fully recovered, but at least he was no longer empty-handed.
After selling, Fang Ming bought what he needed.
First was a Rank three storage Gu.
His old Rank one Pouch Gu had served him for a long time, but it was too small and too low-grade. In Shang clan city, continuing to rely on it was inconvenient. The new storage Gu had far more space and could preserve materials better.
Next came refinement knowledge.
Books.
Bookworm records.
Basic refinement manuals.
Common material catalogues.
Failure records.
Notes on flame control, primeval essence control, material processing, and Gu feeding compatibility.
Fang Ming also bought simple refinement tools and several batches of low-cost materials for practice.
Gu refinement had been his weakness for too long. In the past, he could rely on copying, buying, and luck. But this was not enough. In this world, Gu Masters cultivated, raised, used, and refined Gu. If one part was too weak, sooner or later it would become a chain around the neck.
Copying Gu gave him advantages.
But if he wanted to go further, he needed to understand refinement.
Even if he did not become a refinement path expert, he at least needed a foundation.
After finishing his purchases, Fang Ming left Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
The sky outside had already darkened.
Shang clan city was still bright. Lamps, Gu lights, and glowing plants lit the streets. People continued buying, selling, arguing, laughing, and bargaining.
This city did not sleep early.
Fang Ming found a small courtyard in the inner city and rented it for seven hundred primeval stones. The price was painful, but the courtyard was clean and quiet. It had a small room for rest, a stone chamber suitable for Gu refinement practice, and a simple storage room. More importantly, it gave him privacy.
Fang Ming closed the gate.
The noise outside became faint.
He entered the stone chamber and placed the refinement materials on the table.
The Yellow Gold Relic Gu remained in his mind.
Rank four cultivation Gu.
Over thirty thousand primeval stones.
Token-restricted.
A good copy target.
But not the best one.
Fang Ming was Rank four initial stage. Advancing to Rank four middle stage would be useful, but he was no longer in the wilderness. This was Shang clan city. Strength still ruled here, but there were rules, order, and layers of protection.
He was not in immediate danger.
There was no need to rush.
If his meeting with Shang Yan Fei gave him a chance, he would choose a Rank five Gu instead. If there was no chance, then the Yellow Gold Relic Gu could wait as the backup option.
The pavilion was not going anywhere.
His gaze moved to the refinement manuals on the table.
He had many weaknesses.
Unlike Fang Yuan, he did not have five hundred years of experience. Most of Fang Ming's knowledge came from reading the original story. It was useful, but shallow. He knew many results, but not enough details. He knew many names, but not enough methods.
Zombie Mountain had already proved this. He knew Ding Hao existed. He knew there was a zombie controller. But he did not know how to find him through enslavement path methods. In the end, he had to follow Fang Yuan.
That was dangerous.
This could not continue.
Gu refinement was one of his weak points. It was important in the mortal realm and even more important in the immortal realm. Every Gu Master had to refine Gu sooner or later. Those skilled in refinement could make money, build strength, and control more of their own path.
Fang Ming did not plan to specialize in refinement path.
But he needed a solid foundation.
Refinement was not the only gap.
Enslavement path, wisdom path, information path, formation path, food path — there were too many areas where his understanding was poor.
In the future, if he went to Northern Plains and entered the war before Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, he would face Gu Masters from many paths. He could not rely only on plot knowledge.
He had to understand his enemies.
He had to understand himself.
Only then could he win and survive.
Fang Ming opened the first refinement manual.