Chapter 127: The Method of Force Path

The vastness of Liangjiang Sea Market far exceeds that of ordinary prefectural cities; not to mention the wharves, trading firms, and workshops, even the residential wards for cultivators and commoners are sometimes miles or even tens of miles apart, so how to travel is a problem.

The Qingyun Workshop where Chen Ci resides is roughly located in the fifth ring of the Sea Market; in truth, this distance is nothing for him to run, but how should one put it—having arrived in a big place, a cultivator must also have the bearing of a cultivator.

Traveling on two legs is not dignified for him.

And dignity requires spending money.

Chen Ci sat upright in a carriage, eyes closed for a brief rest; placed before him was a platter of seasonal fruits, though not very valuable, they were fresh and succulent, clearly showing some effort had been put into them.

On this point, Chen Ci was quite satisfied with the service of this Wanshi Building; although this carriage was not luxurious, it was clean and neat, and the horses had been carefully groomed, making them quite pleasing to the eye; including the coachman, renting it for a day cost one tael of silver.

At this moment, He Cheng was squatting beside the carriage compartment; this position allowed him to hear the instructions of the master inside without being an eyesore to the cultivator master.

"You say that in the Sea Market here, the best-selling talisman is the Jiamashinxing Talisman?"

Chen Ci spoke up suddenly, asking with curiosity.

"Yes, Master Chen."

Hearing his guest's question, He Cheng hurriedly replied: "Some cultivator masters find the carriage a bit slow and choose to ride in a spirit-travel sedan; the sedan bearers stick a Jiamashinxing Talisman on their legs, and they can run faster than a galloping horse without being bumpy, but the price is quite expensive—five taels of gold for one trip."

"Five taels of gold?"

Chen Ci was somewhat surprised by this price; it was too cheap—could this talisman money even be earned back? "How much does a single Jiamashinxing Talisman cost?"

"Reporting to Master, one tael of gold per sheet; if you buy many, ten taels of gold can buy a dozen."

Hearing this, Chen Ci lost interest and shook his head, asking no more.

His own talisman skills still had some attainment; although he only specialized in the Soul Fixing Talisman, the saying goes that mastering one method leads to mastering all; if he were to take up some simple talisman methods, he would naturally be more familiar with the process; if it could make money, he wouldn't mind learning a few more talisman techniques.

This Jiamashinxing Talisman could be considered a type of minor pugilistic art, allowing mortals to run at speeds comparable to cultivators for a short time, but for cultivators, the improvement is not very great, at most saving some effort and lasting a bit longer.

Moreover, this method has quite a few restrictions; not to mention it cannot encounter water, one cannot eat meat on the day of casting the spell; it can only be considered a miscellaneous lineage, so it is reasonable that it cannot fetch a high price.

"Hey, wait."

Chen Ci spoke up suddenly; He Cheng hurriedly had the coachman stop the carriage; after the carriage pulled over and stopped, Chen Ci got out and waved his hand to stop He Cheng, who wanted to follow: "Just wait for me here for a moment."

Squinting his eyes to stare at the notice on the wall for a while, Chen Ci then stepped into a trading firm.

In a bright hall, there were no goods or merchandise; although many cultivators were coming and going inside, many shook their heads and left after asking something, while others received a Dharma Tablet and followed people to the backyard—it varied.

Chen Ci looked at the artificial landscape, corridors, and pavilions in the hall for a while, and after waiting for some time, it was his turn; he walked forward a few steps, and it was a tall, old Daoist with a broad face and long beard sitting behind a long desk, leisurely drinking tea while recording something.

On the desk were brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, while on the other side stood a small colorful flag, embroidered with the four characters "Yongxing Chamber of Commerce" in gold-threaded cloud seal script.

"This Daoist, I saw outside that your firm seems to be recruiting Ding-controlling strongmen, and the benefits are quite generous, so I wanted to come in and ask what conditions are required."

Chen Ci raised his hand in a salute and asked.

The old Daoist looked Chen Ci over twice and asked indifferently: "Your True Qi cultivation is a bit low, but looking at your build, it's not bad; do you have Force Path cultivation?"

Force Path cultivation?

Chen Ci thought for a moment and shook his head: "I entered the path by practicing the mundane Stone Lock Hunyuan Technique; as for the Force Path cultivation you mentioned, I am unaware of it."

"Oh? Then it probably won't work; although you have reached the threshold of refining apertures and changing blood, without a proper Force Path technique, your strength cannot be sustained, and you won't be able to wield the Banana Dharma-Pattern Copper Fan; by the way, do you have any attainment in the Fire Control Method?"

The old Daoist thought for a moment and asked another question: "To be a Ding-controlling strongman, besides having strength, one must also be proficient in a Fire Control Method spell; otherwise, you won't be able to suppress the furnace fire, which also won't do."

So this Ding-controlling strongman is not only manual labor but also half a technical job; no wonder Lin Laohu could earn quite a bit by running boats.

"I have some attainment and can barely refine the Yellow Sprout Pill; I don't know if that is sufficient."

"That is sufficient."

The old Daoist stroked his long beard: "This Daoist, you can go find any Force Path manual, and once you cultivate to the stage of changing blood and ten apertures, you can be this Ding-controlling strongman; as for the benefits, the benefits of my Yongxing Chamber of Commerce are famously good—six jin of divine sand per month; if you are willing to go on long voyages at sea, this salary can be even higher."

Pausing, the old Daoist added: "However, seeing that you haven't stayed in the cabin of a Dharma ship, you don't know the situation inside; if you can't endure hardship, don't think about earning this money; however, the Chamber of Commerce also recruits alchemy boys; if you really have some attainment in the Fire Control Method, you could try that."

Chen Ci came into this Yongxing Chamber of Commerce, but he didn't really want to be this Ding-controlling strongman; such a dead-end job could never catch the eye of Master Chen; he just saw the recruitment information posted outside the firm and had a strange sense of déjà vu from his past life's job hunting, so he simply came in to take a look.

Most importantly, Chen Ci wanted to ask about something else.

"May I ask, Daoist, is this Force Path manual easy to find?"

A look of unease appeared on Chen Ci's face, his brows slightly furrowed: "I also heard that the method of refining apertures and changing blood seems to be a great hindrance to True Qi cultivation; I don't know if that is true or false."

"Heh, hehe."

The old Daoist couldn't help but roll his eyes and waved his hand: "Go, go; I've never seen someone looking for a job worrying about this and that; it is true that it affects True Qi cultivation, but does it have anything to do with your level of cultivation? As for the Force Path manual, if you are willing to sign a thirty-year long-term contract with this firm, we can provide you with a complete manual."

Chen Ci left the hall and subconsciously rubbed his chin.

This Liangjiang Sea Market is indeed different from a remote place like Xishan Prefecture; in Xishan Prefecture, low-level Qi Refining cultivators could at least manage to be a guest retainer; although they earned less, it was easy and dignified, unlike here, where even if you are a cultivator master, if you want to earn more, you still have to work like an ox or a horse and do some manual labor.

But the opportunities are also truly numerous; at least it's not completely impossible to find a path; although the manuals provided by such chambers of commerce are certainly not profound and marvelous techniques, they must at least be better than the inheritance of miscellaneous rogue cultivators, otherwise, only a fool would come.

"If refining apertures and changing blood is called Force Path cultivation, then practicing True Qi must be Qi Path cultivation; that is quite fitting. But does this Force Path cultivation really affect True Qi cultivation? I can't understand what Lin Laohu's suggestion really meant."

Chen Ci walked back to the carriage and waved his hand, letting the carriage continue forward; after walking only a few steps, he suddenly asked: "He Cheng, do you know what the situation is with this Yongxing Chamber of Commerce?"

(End of chapter)