The Troubling Situation at Cloudwater Market
He pondered for a moment the purpose of the Spirit Stone in his hand.
Considering that when he first entered the path of cultivation at a young age, he had studied the art of Spirit Talisman Cave for some time with his "master," who had died young and was also Rogue Cultivator but could draw several Spirit Talisman Cave, and that he still had the remaining talisman classics left by his master, he planned to implement his plan of killing, robbing, and retiring ahead of time, investing his resources in the art of Spirit Talisman Cave, and striving to become Talisman Crafter could earn a fortune every day.
This way, one can live out one's old age in peace and have a means to survive in this Cultivation World.
Going out to hunt Demon Beast in the wild and exchanging the materials from Demon Beast for Cultivation Resources is no different from murder and robbery; both involve risking one's life to earn Spirit Stone.
Having just experienced a near-death experience, Zhu Wen naturally had no desire to do it again.
Investing his resources in the art of Spirit Talisman Cave was a plan Zhu Wen had long ago made. Murder and robbery were not sustainable; only by mastering a skill could one truly survive in the Cultivation World.
Zhu Wen naturally possessed some talent for Spirit Talisman Cave; otherwise, he wouldn't have been taken in as a disciple by his master, who died young.
The reason why Zhu Wen has not invested resources in the cultivation of Spirit Talisman Cave talismans all these years is quite simple. Zhu Wen is engaged in the business of murder and robbery. The first thing he does when he obtains a spirit item is to buy Cultivation Resources to enhance his own strength.
Otherwise, if one fails to intercept others due to one's own lack of strength and is instead killed, then all the talk will be in vain.
He didn't even dare to think about avenging his sworn brothers.
He was just an ordinary Qi Training Middle Stage Rogue Cultivator, while his enemy was an elite member of a powerful clan. The two were not on the same level at all, so how could he seek revenge? As long as Zhu Wen was not pursued by that elite member of the powerful clan, everything would be fine.
"That desolate mountain wilderness just now is not the only way to the Serpent Dragon Lake area. Most likely, that young Qi Training Late Stage cultivator is from a powerful family in Huai River County. We can't stay in Huai River County any longer."
After some speculation, Zhu Wen had an idea: he planned to return to his hometown of Cloudwater County, thousands of miles away.
After thinking it over, he swallowed a pill, closed his eyes, and tried to recover his spiritual power as soon as possible so that he could leave this ominous place.
Cloudwater Market Town is located in Cloudwater Valley in the central part of Cloudwater County, where a Second Rank High Grade Spirit Vein lies beneath the valley.
Like the Huai River Market Town, this market was established by the Hundred Spirits Sect.
Five hundred years ago, Cloudwater Valley, including the entire Cloudwater County, belonged to the territory of Serpent Dragon Lake, a place where Demon Beast roamed freely.
All the changes were due to the previous generation's leader of the Hundred Spirits Sect, the Golden Core expert "Hundred Spirits True Person," breaking through to the Golden Core Middle Stage.
The previous generation of Hundred Spirits True Person, once he entered the Golden Core Middle Stage realm, single-handedly stormed into the present-day Cloudwater County and wiped out the Yunshui Crane clan, which occupied Cloudwater Valley and had more than ten Foundation Establishment Cloudwater Crane Clan guarding it. From then on, he guarded Yunshui Valley.
No matter how many Demon Beast the two Golden Core Flood Dragons sent from the Serpent Dragon Lake region, or even if the two Golden Core Flood Dragons themselves took action, they still could not defeat the previous generation of Hundred Spirits True Person.
As time went by, the stalemate continued, and the Hundred Spirits Sect gradually took root in the Cloud Water Valley.
After decades of struggle against the Demon Beast, all the Demon Beast within a ten-thousand-mile radius of Cloudwater County were wiped out by the Hundred Spirits Sect. This defeat deterred the Demon Beast in the Serpent Dragon Lake area from sending out any more demonic Demon Beast to resist the Hundred Spirits Sect's proactive invasion.
From then on, the area within ten thousand miles reflected by Yunshui Valley was also named Cloudwater County by the Hundred Spirits Sect.
Yunshui Valley, a place of great significance with its underground Spirit Vein of the Second Rank High Grade, was transformed into a market town by the Hundred Spirits Sect after the establishment of the county city, and named "Cloudwater Market Town".
Before Huai River County occupied this market town, its strategic location and population flow were comparable to the current Huai River Market Town. However, after the establishment of Huai River Market Town, the population flow of Cloudwater Market Town gradually decreased.
This also led to the closure of nearly 200 shops in Cloudwater Market Town, which originally had more than 300 shops, within just a few years. Now, only more than 100 shops are still operating in the market.
As for those shops that were closed, they were converted into guest rooms by the Hundred Spirits Sect, allowing Rogue Cultivator to buy or rent them, so that Rogue Cultivator could have a safe place to live.
Therefore, Cloudwater Market Town is also hailed by the Rogue Cultivator of Cloudwater County as a sacred place for retirement.
It is not allowed to sleep on the roadside within the market area.
This market was established by the Hundred Spirits Sect Hundred Spirits Sect, which releases some good items every ten years. As a result, although the flow of people in Cloudwater Market Town is not large, it is not too bad. At least if cultivators who live nearby want to buy things, they will give priority to Cloudwater Market Town.
Having just experienced a great battle that night, Ling Pengyun recovered his spiritual power and once again used the Green Travel Leaf to fly for five days before finally arriving outside the Cloudwater Market Town, which was shrouded in a huge cloud of mist.
The cloud that enveloped the market was just like the cloud outside the "Cloud Mist Market" that the Cloud Mist Wen Clan had run alone. It only served to obscure the eyesight of ordinary people. For cultivators like Ling Pengyun, it did not pose much of an obstacle. He only needed to use the Aura Observation Technique to make the cloud disappear as if it were nothing.
Within the clouds and mist lies a vast valley.
The entrance to Cloudwater Market Town, like the entrance to Huai River Market Town, is guarded by members of the Hundred Spirits Sect. However, Cloudwater Market Town is guarded by only one Qi Training Late Stage cultivator.
The Hundred Spirits Sect disciples who guarded the market had two roles: they needed to use the "Demon-Illuminating Mirror" to check whether the cultivators entering the market carried demonic energy, and they also needed to collect a Spirit Stone for "passage" from the visitors.
Following the rules, Ling Pengyun was Demon Mirror and handed over a Spirit Stone before successfully entering the Cloudwater Market Town. As for the Little Wind Shadow Peng, Ling Pengyun had already put it into his Beast Taming Pouch. Ordinary cultivators are not allowed to bring Spirit Beast into the market at will; only those at the Foundation Establishment or above have this right.
Although Cloudwater Market Town is large, there are not many people on the main street.
Even with Ling Pengyun's enhanced vision through the use of the Aura Observation Technique, he could only see a little over a hundred people moving around in the vast market.
Seeing this, Ling Pengyun frowned slightly and muttered to himself.
"There are fewer customers in Cloudwater Market Town than eight years ago. In recent years, the business of Lingxiao Sundries Shop, which my parents run, has been bad most of the time."
Eight years ago, before the Ling Clan moved to Lingxiao Mountain in Huai River County, when the Qi Refining Lineage was still dependent on the Peace Cloud Yang Clan family, an old Foundation Establishment Family in Cloudwater County, Ling Pengyun often followed his elders from the original Clan Mountain "Lingyun Mountain" to this Cloudwater Market Town to look for his parents who worked at the Lingxiao Sundries Shop.
He frequently visited Cloudwater Market Town at that time, so he was naturally familiar with the flow of people in Cloudwater Market Town.
With a helpless sigh, Ling Pengyun quickly followed his memory, walking along the main road of Cloudwater Market Town, and arrived at Lingxiao Grocery Store.
Thanks to: Xiaoyao Kai, Calm Snail, Eternal Emperor Demon God, Great Yu Dynasty for their monthly tickets.