Chapter 39

The sky was brilliant with a river of stars, and on a flying chariot artifact halfway up, the master and his disciples were conversing.

“Master, you said a ninth-rank spiritual item might one day be born on Twin Dragon Mountain—whose would such a newly born item be?”

Yulou was curious about how the cultivation world distributed its means of production.

“Groups like the Red Lanterns or the Immortal Alliance—huge organizations with vast resources—wouldn’t stoop to fighting over a ninth-rank item. That’d be too disgraceful.”

“Places like Dropwater Cave or the Gu Clan—they have Purple Palaces guarding them, so they won’t act either. Too lacking in vision.”

“Under the Immortal Alliance’s rule, Foundation Establishment cultivators are tightly restricted; even a single misstep could mean the annihilation of their entire family.”

“Usually, it’s Qi Refining cultivators who fight it out—whoever wins, claims it.”

“The former head of the Wu family seized the Broken Rock Well this way.”

Hongmei said with a flicker of heat in his heart.

He too wanted to compete, but such opportunities were far too rare and unpredictable for a lone cultivator.

“Do the great clans and immortal sects also send their own disciples, hiding their identities, to join the scramble?” Yulou asked, slightly melancholy.

Yulou had long seen through it: this wretched cultivation world was a grand prison, its rules and dogmas locking down every cultivator who hadn’t become a Purple Palace.

If you can’t become a Purple Palace, you must obey the rules.

But if you obey the rules, you can’t gain excess returns.

Without returns, you have no resources; without resources, you can’t become a Purple Palace.

In this endless chain, the Wang Clan had produced not a single Purple Palace in twelve hundred years.

“Hahaha, good, you’re not stupid—Foundation Establishment cultivators can estimate the approximate time a spiritual item will be born; any faction with one will send skilled hands to wait nearby in advance.”

“Lone cultivators can’t wait, and they can’t fight. The Wu family came from Miaofeng Mountain; your Wang Clan is a vassal of the Red Lanterns. Lone cultivators suffer—our only hope is to reach Foundation Establishment and live two hundred more years.”

Hongmei grumbled.

He wanted freedom too—he longed for it desperately—but he couldn’t achieve it!

“Master will surely succeed in Foundation Establishment!” said Yulou.

“Sure to succeed, sure to succeed!” said Yuan.

“Hahaha, it’s fate—I’m nearly bankrupting myself this time.”

Yulou said nothing.

To prepare for Foundation Establishment, Hongmei had indeed nearly drained his wealth—otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed the two of them to use Hua Feng Ju to sell artifacts to outsiders.

Previously, the Wang Clan and Hongmei had a gentleman’s agreement: Yulou and his brother could not craft and sell artifacts to outsiders while Hongmei was still alive.

Now Hongmei no longer cared—he needed the two of them to keep Hua Feng Ju’s business running, to ease his pressure and buy him more time to prepare for Foundation Establishment.

Even returning yesterday to their former cave on Twin Dragon Mountain was the first time in years Hongmei had sought out old acquaintances among lone cultivators to sell artifacts.

Time was tight; no matter how much he prepared, he feared it still wouldn’t be enough. This plump Hongmei seemed calm, but in action, he was desperate.

At dawn, white mountain mist gently draped over the emerald peaks beside the river.

A vast green river wound across the land—if the dragons of Twin Dragon Mountain were an exaggeration, then the dragon of Wolong River was perfectly fitting.

The flying chariot descended steadily onto Jinbi Cliff beside Wolong River, where lay a marketplace not recorded on any map—Wolong Market.

After disembarking, Yulou noticed many cultivators hovering in midair or pressed tightly against the cliff edge, filling the perimeter of Jinbi Cliff—as if something extraordinary was about to happen.

“They’re waiting for Wolong Golden Light. Though Wolong River isn’t a spiritual river nor a spiritual item, Jinbi Cliff is an eighth-rank spiritual item.”

“Each morning, when the mountain mist near Jinbi Cliff is scattered by sunlight and the cliff’s golden radiance, a special spiritual tide forms—called Wolong Golden Light.”

“This spiritual tide is extraordinary—it serves as a superior spiritual trigger for many talismans, far better than drawing from the Great Sun’s Purple Qi.”

Hongmei had many acquaintances here; as he greeted them, he pointed to a general goods shop.

“Your family’s shop—the shopkeeper’s name is Wang Rongsheng. Do you know him?”

Yulou was startled.

Good, good, good—the Wang Clan truly was extraordinary; even illegal business had to get its hands in.

The Immortal Alliance was too far; the Wang Clan was too close. He now understood why Wang Xianmao had been so confident in luring Hongmei into the Wang Clan after his Foundation Establishment.

At this moment, the meaning of lineage was once again made tangible before Yulou’s eyes.

“I’ve heard of him, never met him—Rongsheng, my clan uncle, left home to make his fortune long ago,” Yulou replied.

“Hahaha, go inside and wait for me. I’ll go negotiate business—then I’ll take you back to Qingxi Market this afternoon.”

Huh?

Watching Hongmei walk off without looking back, Yulou sucked in a sharp breath.

Wolong Market was an illegal marketplace!

Master, isn’t your heart too big?

Still, Wolong Market had backing from the Immortal Alliance and the Purple Palace power of Miaofeng Mountain.

Its reputation was formidable; the crowds flowing in and out rivaled even Qingxi Market.

“Let’s go in and pay our respects to this clan uncle—also ask him if he knows what business Master is conducting here.”

Taking Yuan with him, Yulou entered the general goods shop.

Inside, the entrance opened into a large counter, behind which stood shelves—though some were empty.

“What are you two cultivators looking for?” asked the clerk.

“We’re here to see the shopkeeper—is that convenient?”

Yulou observed the shop’s interior, asking casually.

“Wait a moment,” said the clerk. Seeing Yulou’s distinguished appearance, he didn’t delay and quickly summoned Wang Rongsheng.

Wang Rongsheng was a thin, elderly man, at early-stage Qi Refining, dressed in a loose cultivation robe, with a fine beard—looking every bit the immortal sage.

“Hahaha, young cultivators, what brings you to this old man?”

Wang Rongsheng hadn’t returned to his clan in years and didn’t recognize Yulou or Yuan.

Yuan was already embarrassed, but Yulou found it amusing.

Meeting a relative in a foreign land—what was there to be formal about?

They were all Wang Clan disciples—all family.

“Uncle Rongsheng, I’m Yulou, this is Yuan. Today we came to Wolong Market with our master, Hongmei the Recluse, to conduct business. Learning you were here, we came to pay our respects.”

Wang Rongsheng froze, then suddenly understood. He stepped out from behind the counter, annoyed.

“That bastard Hongmei—why did he bring you here!”

Seeing Yulou’s awkward expression, he explained:

“It’s not that we don’t welcome you—alas, Hongmei is just being reckless!”

“Times are different now. Across the river, the Gu Shen Sect and Miaofeng Mountain here are clashing—Wolong Market is on edge.”

“Master came to conduct business and brought us along to Qingxi Market to teach us auxiliary arts.”

Yulou felt a bit frantic—after sixteen years of quiet cultivation since his transmigration, was he finally triggering the transmigrant’s inevitable “wherever I go, trouble follows” mechanism?

“Uncle Rongsheng, but outside looks perfectly normal?” Yuan also looked puzzled.

Wolong Market had fewer people than Qingxi Market, but its layout along the cliff was compact, and its prosperity was no less than Qingxi Market’s—there was no sign of tension at all.

“The Gu Shen Sect wants Jinbi Cliff. They’ve already declared they’ll attack Wolong Market soon.”

Wang Rongsheng was deeply troubled—Yulou and Yuan were direct-line Wang Clan disciples, even prodigies.

He’d never met them, but he knew of them.

Now, crisis could strike at any moment—and their reckless master had brought them to Wolong Market.

Hongmei, you truly are irresponsible!

“The Gu Shen Sect is attacking Wolong Market? But why are there still so many cultivators inside?”

Yulou asked in shock.

In three sentences, Wang Rongsheng shattered the understanding Yulou had just formed about the cultivation world under the Immortal Alliance and the Ten Sects.

The Gu Shen Sect was a vassal of the Tian She Sect, founded by a Purple Palace elder.

Wolong Market was backed by Miaofeng Mountain, a vassal of the Red Lanterns, also guarded by a Purple Palace elder.

If they fought, wouldn’t everything collapse into chaos?