An Old Acquaintance Didn't Recognize Me, and That Made Things Safe

In the end, Lu Ping decided to act as though nothing was there.

He turned and went around that stretch of cliff.

Over the next half month, Lu Ping searched through nearly every corner of the mountains.

With a bamboo basket on his back, he became an utterly unremarkable herb gatherer.

Although the Spiritual Qi in the mountains was thin, it was still denser than at the Black Tiger Gang.

Some ordinary herbs absorbed Spiritual Qi here year after year, developing a faint trace of spirituality.

Lu Ping even gathered several sets of medicinal ingredients for Qi-Replenishing Pills, along with some ingredients for refining Spirit-Eroding Powder.

Of course, the so-called ingredients for "Qi-Replenishing Pills" and "Spirit-Eroding Powder" were the substitute ingredients Lu Ping had optimized with Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement.

Using a stone pot, Lu Ping managed to refine an inferior "Spirit-Eroding Powder" with two-tenths of the original's potency.

Lu Ping sprinkled some of the powder on himself.

His cultivation level soon dropped to the first level of Qi Refining.

Poison really was easier to refine.

Refine it right, and it was poison.

Refine it wrong, and it was still poison.

A sure profit either way!

On the evening of the thirtieth day, Lu Ping emerged from the last patch of dense forest.

The terrain ahead suddenly opened up into a plain beyond the mountains.

At the far end of the plain lay the Greenwood Mountain Range.

A faint spiritual light enveloped the mountains.

It was the Greenwood Sect's mountain-protecting grand formation, separating the inside of the Greenwood Sect from the outside.

Outside the Greenwood Sect, the density of Spiritual Qi was ordinary for the Eight Hundred Border Regions.

Inside the Greenwood Sect was where cultivators at Qi Refining and above practiced.

It was not yet time to recruit disciples, but plenty of them still passed in and out of the Greenwood Sect's mountain gate.

Each wore a Greenwood Sect identity token at their waist and looked to be in a hurry.

Some carried herb baskets, while others pushed mine carts.

Some were deathly pale, as though they had just crawled out of a night shift.

At the foot of the Greenwood Sect's mountain was a market.

The market was built against the mountainside, with Rogue Cultivators' stalls in the outer ring and shops under the Greenwood Sect's jurisdiction in the inner ring.

People came and went amid a constant chorus of hawking, making for a lively scene.

"Just in, a new batch of Void Spirit Blanks! Five Spirit Blanks for just one Low-Grade Spirit Stone! Greenwood Sect-certified supply channel, fair prices for young and old alike!"

"Grain Avoidance Pills! Grain Avoidance Pills! Go three days without hunger, seven days at half price!"

"Body Tempering Powder, specially made to treat insufficient Qi and Blood! Even Outer Sect Disciples say it's good!"

"Shared cave abode for rent! A corner cave abode in the C district, just half a Spirit Stone a month! Only for those below the second level of Qi Refining; snorers need not apply!"

"Entrance recommendation letters written to order, personally polished by a senior brother from the Greenwood Sect's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall! Correct format guaranteed, acceptance not included!"

Lu Ping stood outside the crowd, listening to the calls in silence for a long time.

The scene was all too familiar.

Lu Ping even suspected he had transmigrated in the wrong posture.

Lu Ping had just entered the market when a skinny, monkey-like young man came up to him.

"Fellow Daoist, is this your first time at Greenwood Market?"

Lu Ping glanced at him.

A mere Body Tempering Realm cultivator.

He wore a plain but neat short work outfit, and his smile was well practiced.

He was a typical market broker.

The young man lowered his voice.

"Fellow Daoist, are you looking to buy pills, sell goods, rent a cave abode, or ask about the Greenwood Sect's disciple recruitment?"

Lu Ping did not answer immediately.

The young man glanced at the herbs and animal pelts on his back, and his smile grew even warmer.

"Fellow Daoist, you look travel-worn. I expect you've come from the mountains to the south?"

"You can sell your mountain goods to an acquaintance of mine for a fair price."

"Of course, the waters run deep in the market. Without an acquaintance, you could easily be forced to sell cheap."

"My name is Ma San. People in Greenwood Market call me Little Know-It-All."

"Whatever you want to do, Fellow Daoist, I can put you in touch with the right people. I only charge a small errand fee."

Lu Ping glanced at him.

"I want to join the Greenwood Sect."

Ma San was taken aback. It was not recruitment season, yet the man before him had openly declared his intention to join the sect. He was probably no ordinary person.

Ma San bent half an inch lower on the spot.

"Forgive me for failing to recognize you, Fellow Daoist. Do you have some way in?"

Lu Ping took out the Ascension Token.

Ma San's eyes nearly pressed up against it before he forcibly stopped himself.

Anyone who could produce an Ascension Token either had someone backing him or had blood on his hands.

"So you're an Immortal Master with a token."

Ma San changed the way he addressed him, and his smile improved along with it.

"That's easy enough. Someone's on duty at the mountain gate's External Affairs Hall today. I'll take you there; it'll take half an hour at most."

Lu Ping knew the area outside the Greenwood Sect very well.

But Lu Ping's current persona was that of a newcomer seeking immortality and the Dao.

So finding a market know-it-all could save him a good deal of trouble.

Lu Ping spoke mildly,

"Fair enough. How much would you charge for your trouble?"

Ma San held up three fingers.

"Three taels of silver."

Lu Ping gave him four.

Ma San tucked the silver into his sleeve, and his gaze immediately became very straightforward.

"Rest assured, Immortal Master. Around Greenwood Market, you can't go wrong with me, Ma San, as your guide."

"If I take a wrong turn, I'll hang myself at the mountain gate as a signpost."

Lu Ping followed Ma San through the market.

Ma San talked nonstop along the way.

"The Greenwood Sect isn't in a major recruitment period right now, but having an Ascension Token makes all the difference."

At that point, he looked back at Lu Ping and lowered his voice.

"Don't mind my chatter, Immortal Master. The Greenwood Sect doesn't ask much about where its recruits come from."

"Rogue Cultivators, Gang members, people fleeing disasters—as long as they can work, they can get in."

Ma San even paused when he said "can work."

I know that part well, Lu Ping thought.

The Greenwood Sect's definition of "talent" was simple.

Anyone who could produce Spirit Stones and shoulder a loan was talent.

The External Affairs Hall stood to the left of the mountain gate.

It was a two-story wooden building with a green wooden signboard hanging over the entrance.

Ma San stopped outside.

"Immortal Master, I can't go into the External Affairs Hall. Find the senior brother on duty inside and tell him you've come to join with an Ascension Token."

Lu Ping handed him another tael of silver.

Ma San was startled, then immediately accepted it respectfully with both hands.

Then Ma San added in a low voice,

"If you want to sell your mountain goods after joining, Immortal Master, you can go to the Green Grain Shop on the east side of the market."

"The shopkeeper's surname is Zhou, and he's fairly honest in his dealings."

Lu Ping entered the wooden building.

The main hall was rather quiet.

A man sat behind a wooden desk, with a disciple behind him.

Liu Cheng, the External Affairs Hall deacon.

An old acquaintance doesn't recognize me. I feel safe already.

Lu Ping stepped forward, bowed without servility or arrogance, and only then presented the Ascension Token.

"Rogue Cultivator Lu Ping greets Deacon Liu."

Liu Cheng seemed accustomed to this. He took the Ascension Token and passed spiritual power through it with his fingertips.

Its green wood grain lit up. There was nothing wrong with the Ascension Token.

Liu Cheng's attitude improved somewhat, and even his tone grew a touch gentler.

"What is your current cultivation level?"

"I am at the first level of Qi Refining."

"Where did you get this Ascension Token?"

"I obtained it as an Attendant of the Black Tiger Gang."

When Lu Ping mentioned the Black Tiger Gang, Liu Cheng paused and turned to glance at the disciple beside him.

The disciple hurriedly handed him a ledger.

Liu Cheng scanned a few lines.

"As of last year, the Black Tiger Gang had finally met its cumulative quota of ore and silver deliveries and obtained an Ascension Token in exchange."

Liu Cheng closed the ledger and asked no further questions.

The Greenwood Sect did not care who ran the Black Tiger Gang, nor how many hands the Ascension Token had passed through.

As long as the token was genuine and the holder had Qi Refining cultivation, he could start producing Spirit Stones and was a qualified asset.

Liu Cheng put away the Ascension Token, turned and entered the inner room, then took out an Outer Sect identity plaque.

The characters for Lu Ping were engraved on the front, and "Greenwood Outer Sect" on the back.

He took out a small seal and stamped it onto the entry register with a smack.

"From today onward, you are an Outer Sect Disciple of the Greenwood Sect."

The identity plaque landed in Lu Ping's hand.

At the same time, a blue panel appeared before his eyes.

[KPI mission completed—]

[Job-switching mission: Successfully join the Greenwood Sect, become a formal disciple of the sect, and leave the secular workplace.]

[Distributing mission rewards.]

[1. Third simulation attempt unlocked.]

[2. Trait draw of grade D or above ×1.

[3. Traits can now be changed at any time in the real world.]

[Begin life simulation immediately?]

[Yes]/[No]