Chapter 162: Fellow Daoist, Please Stay! (Two-in-One, Seeking Subscriptions)

Zhenshou Xiancheng, Inner City Inspection Office.

A female Cultivator draped in a Seven-Colored Dharma Robe closed her eyes, listening to the whispers of spirit ghosts—invisible to other Cultivators—as they relayed intelligence gathered from within the city over this period.

These reports were relayed by the spirit ghosts in exhaustive detail, regardless of size or significance.

Soon, the female Cultivator's brows twitched slightly; she singled out the information related to the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion and the Great Golden Light Temple and sent a copy to the steward below.

Before long, a steward had looked up the information on Baihe Zhenren and submitted it upward.

"This Baihe Zhenren is actually a Loose Cultivator at Foundation Establishment!"

"Being able to enter Zhenshou Xiancheng, we can at least rule out him being an evil Cultivator or one from the Demonic Path."

"The Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion didn't give us further notification, but what does match is that the old ox suddenly went into seclusion for those few days."

"For him to be moved to act, it is highly probable that he was crafting some rare, high-grade Dharma Artifact or even a Spirit Tool."

"Looking at it this way, this is a lucky little Cultivator indeed, to be able to obtain something that interests that Shopkeeper Niu of the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion."

"Additionally, he went to the Merit Stele of the Great Golden Light Temple; according to the report from the adult's spirit servant, he did not exchange for physical items... it is suspected to be some cultivation techniques or skills."

Upon receiving the information submitted by the steward, several inspectors of the Inspection Committee became somewhat interested in this Cultivator's background as a Loose Cultivator.

However, it was merely interest.

If not for the fact that it simultaneously involved the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion and the Great Golden Light Temple.

This matter would never have appeared in their sight.

But according to the regulations, they still discussed it, provided their opinion, and submitted it to those higher up.

To the hands of a certain maidservant of the Zhenshou Xiancheng guardian.

The maidservant took a look, stamped it with an 'acknowledged' seal, and dismissed it.

Recently, Zhenshou Xiancheng has been in a troubled autumn.

These high-level figures are already stretched too thin.

Many things that they would consider merely interesting, even if they felt a spark of curiosity, now have to be helplessly abandoned.

It is just that, while the big figures look down on it and have no time.

That does not mean those below will not harbor other thoughts.

In this regard, it is mainly because Su Ping used the legitimate, Yunshan Market-certified identity of Baihe Zhenren to enter Zhenshou Xiancheng.

This caused his identity as a Loose Cultivator, once exposed, to immediately become a rare, soft persimmon in the eyes of many!

In their view, a Loose Cultivator at Foundation Establishment, and one who had only just succeeded in Foundation Establishment not long ago, meant that any background he had would be very limited!

And his future achievements would likely be just that; without resources or the foundation of a sect, it is very likely he consumed many Medium Pills before Foundation Establishment, polluting his physique and Spirit Root.

The ceiling for such a Cultivator is just that, yet he suddenly obtained an opportunity that could make a shopkeeper-level figure of the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion take action.

This... is simply a waste of heavenly treasures!

The Cultivation World is already so difficult; good things should be concentrated in the hands of those who can better utilize them—that is the way to save the world!

A relative of a relative of a certain steward.

Upon learning of this news, he immediately invited his fellow daoist friends, and after a small drink, expressed such righteous indignation.

And after receiving a chorus of agreement, he discussed with these friends a plan on how to use their local advantage to seize it by force.

It is not difficult for these people to deal with that Baihe Zhenren.

Do not look at how their status and position within Zhenshou Xiancheng are actually quite average.

But as old residents of the Immortal City, from the guardian down to the old servants guarding the gates, they are all related to them by blood or marriage, barely counting as relatives.

They are also well-versed in which loopholes in the various regulations can be exploited.

They had originally assumed that upon seeing the prosperity of Zhenshou Xiancheng, with his Loose Cultivator nature, that Baihe Zhenren would find a Cave Abode to cultivate for a month or two after obtaining the technique from the Merit Stele before leaving.

Which would have allowed them to lay their plans at leisure.

Unexpectedly, this Baihe Zhenren does not play by the rules!

Just as they had started discussing one after another, pondering how to let the other party experience the methods of the Immortal City masters in twisting black and white.

They learned from a servant that that Baihe Zhenren had just left the city directly!

Upon receiving this news, the few leaders immediately flushed red, deciding that if soft tactics wouldn't work, they would have to use force.

To be safer.

These Cultivators, who were at most at the Qi Refining Late Stage, gritted their teeth to pool together a sum of Spirit Stones and offered promises for the future.

They roped in the Foundation Establishment Guest Ministers from their respective families, and after gathering three at Foundation Establishment Early Stage and one at Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage.

They felt that four against one, with their dozens of Qi Refining Late Stage men to sweep the formation, should be foolproof!

So they hurriedly chased after him together!

Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion.

Shopkeeper Niu was in the middle of tasting the Spirit Wine he had brewed himself.

He frowned slightly after taking a sip, and just as he was feeling displeased, a steward walked in, bowing and whispering a few words.

"Heh, these fellows are getting bolder and bolder, taking advantage of the fact that the adults above have no time to be distracted!"

"Go pass on a message, tell him to return immediately; wait a few days for the pavilion's Immortal Boat to arrive and send him off on the way."

Upon hearing this, the steward nodded immediately and withdrew.

Su Ping exited Zhenshou Xiancheng, and having left the terrifying pressure of the Array above his head, he breathed a sigh of relief and began to digest the array knowledge in his mind.

Suddenly, a fist-sized red bird flew over, and after finding Su Ping, it actually spat out the voice of that steward.

After listening, Su Ping thanked the other party, but shook his head to decline the good intentions.

Then he accelerated and moved far away from Zhenshou Xiancheng.

At the same time, he sighed in his heart:

"Have I finally reached the point where I have treasures that can be coveted by petty people?"

"To be warned by the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion, could the one coming to cause me trouble be at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?"

"There shouldn't be a Golden Core, right? If there were a Golden Core, that manager probably wouldn't have come to warn me. After all, my little business isn't worth them offending a Golden Core Great Ability, is it?"

Su Ping felt slightly more at ease. Of course, the teleportation talisman had to be prepared, and at the same time, he would not truly use his real body.

More than an hour later.

On the main road, a red-skinned Gourd the size of a small fishing boat suddenly appeared on the horizon with a red glow, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared behind Baihe Zhenren.

"Daoist, please stay your step!"

Dozens of Cultivators were sitting or standing on the red-skinned Gourd.

An old man with red hair and red eyes discovered the back of that Baihe Zhenren and immediately spoke to transmit his voice, while simultaneously accelerating the flight speed of the red-skinned Gourd beneath him.

Even though the moment he saw the other party's back.

This Foundation Establishment Guest Minister of the Xiancheng Mo Family felt some doubt as to why the other party didn't even look like a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Yet he only assumed the other party was wearing some high-grade Dharma Artifact that concealed their aura.

Although he called out "Daoist" with his mouth.

In fact, the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the red-skinned Gourd had already developed the intent to kill.

Zhenshou Xiancheng was, after all, a territory under the jurisdiction of the Immortal Sect, and because of the Demon Beast invasion, many Old Ancestors had gone to the Immortal Sect Main Peak.

Many of the big figures above were no longer the Old Ancestors who guarded Zhenshou Xiancheng.

Some matters, naturally, were better handled as cleanly as possible.

"Daoist!"

In the blink of an eye, the red-skinned Gourd had already appeared above the head of Baihe Zhenren.

The red-haired Foundation Establishment cultivator spat flames from his mouth.

At the same time, the others on the Gourd also each unleashed their methods, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of spells and Dharma Artifacts flashed with light and slammed into that white figure.

Deep underground in the distance.

Su Ping, who was closing his eyes and remotely controlling the Memory Illusion of White Crane Boy, revealed a strange expression.

He discovered that the ones coming to cause trouble seemed to be one Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage, three Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and a bunch of Qi Refining cannon fodder.

Not only did no Foundation Establishment Late Stage appear.

Just looking at the methods and the power of the spells.

Su Ping felt they were not even as good as the Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts he had encountered!

White Crane Boy was only at the Qi Refining Late Stage, and with Su Ping intentionally going easy and not wearing any protective treasures, he naturally vanished into thin air under such a combined attack.

However, the upgraded Memory Scepter could summon two Memory Illusions simultaneously.

The moment White Crane Boy was hit, Fire Knight Alwin had already been summoned to follow closely behind.

"This is an illusion?"

"Not good! It's a trap!"

Baihe Zhenren disappeared under the light of the spells, but a fiery red shadow rushed out from within and slashed a sword at the red-skinned Gourd.

Crimson flames suddenly exploded in the air!

With a single sword strike.

The protective lights shattered one after another.

The entire red-skinned Gourd rolled onto the ground.

The red-haired Foundation Establishment cultivator leaped into the air from the red-skinned Gourd a step ahead and spat flames at that red-haired sword cultivator.

Yet he discovered that the red-haired sword cultivator's physical body was incomparably tough, actually ignoring the flames to approach him.

And then, accompanied by a sword light that dazzled him, it tore through the sky.

This red-haired Foundation Establishment cultivator was stunned to find his head had left his body?

And... before it even hit the ground, it seemed to have been burned to ashes in a ball of warm flames?

"Daoist, wait, perhaps there is some misunderstanding between us?"

Seeing the red-haired Foundation Establishment cultivator be killed with one sword strike.

The remaining few Foundation Establishment cultivators, who only knew they were dealing with a Loose Cultivator, all gasped.

You call such a god of slaughter a Loose Cultivator?

The young master in the lead even retreated repeatedly and shouted out from the bottom of his heart.

He truly did not recognize this red-haired sword cultivator.

But Fire Knight Alwin did not care about these things.

Since it was the other party who struck first, then he naturally possessed the right to unlimited self-defense.

The Greedy Wolf Divine Sense combined with the combat instincts and tough physique of Fire Knight Alwin.

These Foundation Establishment cultivators saw for the first time how a true Foundation Establishment Body Cultivator slaughtered them.

Talismans and Dharma Artifacts shattered at a single touch in front of the other party.

They were further affected by the other party's Greedy Wolf Divine Sense, and their actions, which were already unable to keep up, became even slower by a beat.

Most of the methods they desperately unleashed simply could not hit the other party!

Bang!

In just a few breaths.

The last Foundation Establishment Guest Minister had his head blown off by a punch, his body spinning as it flew hundreds of meters away.

The remaining Qi Refining cultivators had also long since lost their will to fight.

And under the shroud of the Divine Sense, they collapsed to the ground, unable to even run away.

"You, you cannot kill me, I am a descendant of the Xiancheng Mo Family!"

"My Old Ancestor is a true disciple of an Immortal Sect!"

The leading young master shouted his final plea for help.

Only then did Su Ping let Fire Knight Alwin approach the other party, and after a grunt, he swung his greatsword to chop off the fellow's dog head.

Afterwards, he raised the greatsword and plunged it into the ground.

A ring of flames erupted from the sword body, directly igniting all the surrounding Qi Refining cultivators and those Foundation Establishment corpses.

Under the purification of the Fire Knight's flames, it could be guaranteed that these remains would have absolutely no possibility of being utilized again.

This could be considered, as a fellow traveler, giving these guys a final bit of mercy.

With a wave of his large hand, he collected the Storage Bags and various Dharma Artifact fragments from the battlefield.

After scanning to ensure nothing was left behind, Fire Knight Alwin quickly left the battlefield, and after handing over the spoils, turned and galloped in another direction until the duration expired and he vanished.

However, this time Su Ping had worried for nothing.

Just as someone in the Immortal City sensed something was wrong, the Demon Beasts of the Ten Thousand Mountains launched another fierce attack.

Apart from the family members and relatives of the dead, no one else had the spare energy to pay attention to this matter.

And by the time the siege battle ended, no one knew what the truth was anymore.

When those people left the city, they certainly didn't have big mouths to tell others they were going to trouble a Loose Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

And forces and managers like the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion who guessed some of the truth would naturally not go out of their way to do something so unnecessary.

To stick their necks out for these relatives of relatives who walked in the gray areas.

And truth be told, who knew if they just had bad luck and ran into Demon Beasts?

More trouble is naturally not as good as less trouble.

Pot Heaven.

Su Ping looked at this harvest.

He discovered that these Immortal City people were also a bunch of penniless wretches with no oil to squeeze!

Added together, those Storage Bags didn't even total ten thousand Spirit Stones.

The Pills and Talismans were also pitifully few!

Naturally, there were no Spirit Tools, and the only High-Grade Spirit Artifact was that red-skinned Gourd he had broken himself.

Just for this, they still came to target him!

Su Ping shook his head slightly.

Yet he did not know that living in an Immortal City is not easy.

Especially when Demon Beasts start attacking the city, Immortal Boats must also huddle together to arrive.

The result is that prices skyrocket, and what is needed for cultivation becomes increasingly expensive.

Plus, with too many big shots, many Immortal City cultivators actually only have a veneer of splendor.

What family heritage, what Spirit Tools and Spirit Treasures left by Old Ancestors—those belong to the main family, to the direct descendants of the Patriarch; what does that have to do with them?

"Although it was a great victory, it also served as a reminder to me that I must increase my foundation."

"If a Foundation Establishment Late Stage had come this time, the Fire Knight might not have been able to suppress them."

"If it were a Golden Core... I would only be able to retreat three stages."

"Sure enough, without the means to contend with a Golden Core, it is never safe enough!"

Su Ping took out the greatest harvest from this trip to the Zhenshou Xiancheng.

That Array Tool Huijuan crafted by the Qianqi Wanfa Pavilion.

Having the Three-Tier Array Knowledge, although he could not yet fully master it because his comprehension had not increased,

he still combined it with his previous knowledge to have more ideas for this Huijuan.

Unfolding the Huijuan, Su Ping took out the vat filled with Cold Ice Heavy Water.

Then he completely submerged the Huijuan into it to soak.

In an instant.

The Big Dipper in the Huijuan and the stars representing cold crystals all emitted a pure white faint light.

As Su Ping's Divine Sense entered it to begin fine-tuning the content of this Huijuan.

The great mountains blowing with wind and snow turned into rolling mountain ranges.

Below the mountain ranges, an ocean even appeared.

Look closely, and you would find that the seawater swimming here was all Cold Ice Heavy Water!

As over a thousand drops of Cold Ice Heavy Water were completely submerged into the Huijuan.

This Array Tool of Su Ping's changed directly from a quantitative change to a qualitative one.

It not only transformed into a Spirit Tool.

It was also a High-Grade Spirit Artifact that did not lose to the Spirit Bead he had obtained before!

However, if that Shopkeeper Niu saw it and discovered that Su Ping had used over a thousand drops of Cold Ice Heavy Water just to create one High-Grade Spirit Artifact,

he would definitely roar loudly that such a heaven-and-earth wonder as Cold Ice Heavy Water is not used this way!

It is a pity that Su Ping knew very well what could be exposed and what really could not be exposed.

And besides, so what if he used a thousand drops? Wasn't there still nearly ten thousand drops left?

When he fully masters the Three-Tier Array Knowledge.

Su Ping felt that this Cold Ice Heavy Water should be enough to push this Array Tool up to a Spirit Treasure.

And with an Array Tool at the Spirit Treasure level in hand!

Even if a Golden Core were the enemy, he would have the means to contend a little, right!

He carefully sealed away the Cold Ice Heavy Water.

Su Ping raised the Huijuan and gave it a light shake.

In an instant, the area within a hundred meters transformed into a stretch of snowy mountains where wind and snow obscured the heavens and earth.

In the high, darkness-shrouded sky, only the Big Dipper stars were flickering with light.

With a movement of his mind.

The Greedy Wolf star in the night sky erupted with brilliant radiance.

Three illusory, hundred-meter-long Greedy Wolf phantoms emerged above the snowy mountains, their aura directly surpassing Foundation Establishment Late Stage by borrowing the momentum of the wind and snow.

At the same time, the seawater surrounding the snowy mountains whipped up tornadoes, and the chill of these tornadoes stirred up the seawater.

Even though Su Ping was the controller of this Array, he felt a bone-piercing cold that made his Divine Soul tremble!

"As expected of Cold Ice Heavy Water; after being integrated into the Array, I don't know if this power can harm a Golden Core, but those spells of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage definitely cannot block it!"

Su Ping put away the Array Tool Huijuan with satisfaction.

He temporarily named it the Greedy Wolf Cold Prison Array Diagram!

And treated it as one of his most powerful trump cards!

Having finished refining the Spirit Tool.

Su Ping accelerated his speed on the way back.

Looking at the empty official road along the way.

Su Ping suddenly realized another benefit of this heavy snow.

That was that it had also wiped out the horse bandits and robbers that were once everywhere.

Coupled with the population being forced to concentrate in various Markets and family strongholds.

The living space for Evil Cultivators and those of the Side-Door Path was likewise forced to suffer a blow.

While it could not be said to be impossible to hide again, the difficulty had increased exponentially.

Perhaps, the reason there were so many Evil Cultivator incidents a while ago was because they were forced into a corner and chose to perish together?

On the way back, he did not encounter any more situations.

It was just that even animals were rarely seen along the way.

In many places, the earth was so quiet it almost had a taste of deathly stillness.

The noises that could be heard with great difficulty were almost all related to Evil Spirits.

Using his Divine Sense to look, even without using the Spirit Rat Vision, he could vaguely feel that the soil on the ground, the stones, and even those stubborn grass sprouts that had poked their heads out were all lingering with wisps of unshakeable Evil Qi...

Returning to the Jiuye Mountain Market.

Only then did Su Ping feel like he had returned to the human world.

He also vaguely realized that even if spring came, perhaps those mortals would not be able to return to their hometowns to farm and live.

After this heavy snow accompanied by the Evil Qi Tide fell.

He did not know about other places, but these few regions had already been heavily polluted and were no longer suitable for mortals to live in.

"When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up; the High Monks of the Great Golden Light Temple must have already had a plan in mind!"

"As for me, I had better honestly be a good Market Master and continue Fishing!"

"Just in time, it is also time to go Fishing!"

Returning from the Immortal City, it was naturally time to go Fishing again.

This time, the Linyue Lake fishing spot once again brought Su Ping a surprise.

Not only did he fish out two more Green Spirit Fish.

He also obtained another Red Blood Rainbow Carp!

He naturally swallowed the Red Blood Rainbow Carp in one gulp, causing the progress of his Beidou Qixing Xiantiz to reach five percent!

He put the Green Spirit Fish into the Large Spirit Light Fish Pond.

Suddenly!

The Spirit Qi concentration in the Pot Heaven reached: Level 2 (210/200)

It finally met the upgrade conditions!