The Seasoned Ling Pengqiu
Three days later.
At the Cloud Peak, where the market was located, a large hall for the Guest Hall was filled with more than twenty rogue cultivators, each with a hint of panic on their faces, dressed in different clothes, and exuding the pressure of the Foundation Establishment Realm Rogue Cultivator.
These Foundation Establishment Realm Rogue Cultivator were the same group who had made an agreement with the Ling Clan years ago to manage the peace and tranquility of the Lingxiao Ridge area.
After arriving at the market from their various posts, they heard that three days ago, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator had chased and killed a Qi Refining cultivator in broad daylight outside the market.
After some thought, they roughly guessed the reason why Ling Pengqiu, the Marketplace Lord of Lingxiao Marketplace, had suddenly summoned them here.
"Daoist Li, do you think that Marketplace Lord Ling will cancel our share of the profits from the market later?"
A Middle-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator dressed like a Daoist priest, wearing a black Daoist robe, walked up to an elderly cultivator with white hair and a face full of wrinkles who exuded the strongest aura and had reached the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, and asked him in a low voice.
The remaining twenty or so Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the swamp all heard this and turned their gazes toward the elderly Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer cultivator with the surname "Li" at the eighth level. They all asked the same question, as if the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer cultivator with the surname "Li" was the leader.
"The Ling Clan currently has very few Foundation Establishment Cultivator, only a handful, less than half the number of us."
"If the Ling Clan cancels our share of the profits and we are no longer needed to patrol the Lingxiao Ridge territory, then we'll see whether the Ling Clan should be in a headache or we should regret losing a portion of the Spirit Stone."
"Don't worry, everyone. The Ling Clan would never cancel our market share. You know, Non-Self hadn't followed the Ling Clan to conquer the world, and if the Ling Clan hadn't trusted us to some extent, Ling Clan wouldn't have entrusted us with the task of inspecting Lingxiao Ridge."
"Besides us, there are no other Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator in the Lingxiao Ridge area. As for Foundation Establishment Cultivator from other forces, even if they were offered to us, the Ling Clan would not dare to use them."
Upon hearing this, the white-haired cultivator surnamed Li felt a little uneasy, but when he saw that there were more than twenty Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator here, he felt relieved and said smugly.
This white-haired, Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer cultivator was named Li Danian. He used to be a rogue cultivator who made Rogue Cultivator by slaying Demon Beast in White Cloud Market Town, outside the White Cloud Mountain Range.
In his early years Li Danian was too poor to afford the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object. However, he wanted to break through to a higher realm, so he had no choice but to try to break through to Foundation Establishment on fortuitous opportunity own. By chance, he succeeded in breaking through.
It was precisely because of this that he was able to break through to the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment, thanks to the sharp spiritual power and the resilient meridians that came from Rogue Cultivator through to the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer on his own.
Such cultivation level would be considered top-tier even among cultivators in the entire Yan Kingdom.
This made him incredibly famous, and all the major Qi Refining forces wanted to establish a relationship with him so that they could have a powerful backer.
Since these Lineage couldn't afford the wealth, they had no choice but to send beautiful female cultivators from various families to become Li Danian's concubines.
Li Danian had always enjoyed romantic relationships, and he accepted all advances.
Although it is difficult for a cultivator to conceive, it could not stop Li Danian from indulging in nightly revelry, and he thus had many offspring.
Those offspring, whose parents were both cultivators, had a higher probability of being born with Spirit Root.
Over the years, Li Danian has accumulated eight offspring with Spirit Root.
Among them was even a child with excellent aptitude who had achieved the Three Spirit Roots.
Li Danian also took a liking to the child. Since he was Rogue Cultivator himself, he knew the difficulties of venturing out on the Dao Path cultivation alone. In order to pave the way for the child, he joined the Ling Clan's team that attacked the Demon Beast in the Muddy Swamp Territory back then.
With his considerable strength, he also gained a great deal of merit by helping the Ling Clan kill Demon Beast, and subsequently rented a Second Rank Spirit Vein in the Lingxiao Ridge area as his residence for a long time.
The panic on the faces of the other Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator around them subsided considerably after hearing what "Li Danian" said.
After a short while, Ling Pengqiu, the Marketplace Lord of Lingxiao Marketplace, slowly walked into the Guest Hall from the outside.
Li Danian and other Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator also greeted Ling Pengqiu warmly.
Seeing this, Ling Pengqiu, who had been suppressing his anger, felt even more contempt for these people who took the Spirit Stone but did nothing.
He snorted coldly, sat down in the main seat of the hall, and stared at the group of Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator, questioning them.
"You all take a cut of the profits from the markets run by my Ling Clan, yet you do nothing. To this day, you haven't captured a single Intercepting Cultivator, causing them to rise up everywhere in the Lingxiao Ridge region... You really have a lot of nerve!"
"Are you all planning to break the agreement you made with our clan's Golden Core Old Ancestor and play tricks on the Ling Clan?"
Upon hearing this, the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator present all trembled, and panic reappeared on their faces. Their gazes then turned to Li Danian, who had the highest cultivation level.
Seeing this, Ling Pengqiu, who was sitting in the main seat, turned his gaze and fixed it on Li Danian.
As the head of the market, Ling Pengqiu also knew a little about Li Danian.
"Daoist Li, I remember that when the monthly market profits were distributed, you received the most benefits because of your higher cultivation level. What, are you planning to be an ingrate?"
Ling Pengqiu stared at Li Danian, his voice now tinged with murderous intent.
"Marketplace Lord Ling, this is a tremendous injustice!"
"Ever since I agreed to manage the Lingxiao Ridge territory, I have been patrolling the Lingxiao Ridge territory with my few offspring every day. It's just that those Intermediate Cultivators are elusive and the Lingxiao Ridge territory is so large that I don't have enough manpower. That's why I haven't caught a single Intermediate Cultivator yet."
Upon hearing this, Li Danian's expression changed drastically, and he immediately cried out that he was innocent.
"Lack of manpower? You actually have the nerve to use such an excuse?"
"Since you, Li Danian, are short of manpower, how come I have recently heard that you, Li Danian, relying on your own cultivation level of the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, have threatened the Rogue Cultivator who have rented First Rank Spirit Vein Qi Refining my Ling Clan around your territory, allowing them to use the Spiritual Qi above the Spirit Vein for cultivation, thus occupying the Spirit Field above the Spirit Vein where those Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator reside?"
"And they dispatched their offspring to those Spirit Vein to manage those Spirit Field?"
Ling Pengqiu looked at Li Danian and said coldly.
When Li Danian saw that Ling Pengqiu knew about this matter, he felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He did indeed do what Ling Pengqiu just mentioned.
He had many offspring with Spirit Root under his command, and he was getting old, so he naturally wanted to accumulate some wealth for his offspring who had Three Spirit Roots.
Before Ling Pengqiu learned of this matter, Li Danian was not really afraid of Ling Pengqiu.
After all, he could be considered the leader of the thousands of Rogue Cultivator in the Lingxiao Ridge region.
If Ling Pengqiu were to openly and indiscriminately take action against him, the impact would be enormous, leading to negative rumors circulating that Ling Pengqiu was killing his allies, thus damaging the Ling Clan's reputation.
As for Ling Pengqiu seeking him out from the shadows without any apparent reason, the probability of him actually fighting him is even smaller.
He was, after all, a Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer cultivator, just like Ling Pengqiu. He hadn't really provoked Ling Pengqiu, so naturally he wasn't afraid.
But now that Ling Pengqiu has caught him red-handed, things are not so simple.
He was now in Lingxiao Marketplace, which was equipped with Second Rank High Grade formation.
Ling Pengqiu, the Marketplace Lord, was no less powerful than him, having reached the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, just like him. Moreover, he had witnessed Ling Pengqiu's strength and found him to be three points stronger than him.
Although he couldn't defeat Ling Pengqiu in a one-on-one fight, he was still confident he could escape.
However, if Ling Pengqiu were to use the formation here, he wouldn't be able to escape even if he wanted to.
Under such circumstances, Li Danian surprisingly panicked and quickly offered an explanation.
"Marketplace Lord Ling, this is a lie. I spent Spirit Stone to rent the spirit Spirit Field on the Spirit Vein where those Qi Training Stage friends lived."
"Those young friends are all ascetic cultivators who are unwilling to manage the Spirit Field, so they rented them to me."
"If you don't believe me, we can find those Qi Refining fellows and confront them."
Ling Pengqiu naturally didn't believe it, and his expression grew even colder.
However, this matter is indeed not easy to investigate, and it is not a major offense.
Therefore, wanting to openly and legitimately eliminate Li Danian, this troublemaker, is not a good reason.
He then snorted coldly and changed the subject, no longer discussing the matter.
"Since Daoist Li is so confident, it seems the rumors are false. However, if the Ling Clan discovers this matter, the Ling Clan will not let it go easily."
"Let's leave that matter aside for now. From the future profits of the market, the 30% of Spirit Stone allocated to you will be distributed according to the principle of 'the more capable, the more you contribute.'"
"Whoever kills the most Intercepting Cultivators will reap the greatest benefits."
"However, there needs to be video evidence to prove that the person killed was a Jie Xiu for it to count."
"If any of you are unwilling, just say so. That way, we can send more Spirit Stone to the other Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator."
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator present reacted with varying expressions upon hearing this.
The worries of those rogue cultivators who were only at the early Rogue Cultivator of Early-Stage Foundation Establishment immediately dissipated, replaced by joy, because they feared that the Ling Clan would cancel the Spirit Stone they had received.
In the past, the monthly Spirit Stone from Lingxiao Marketplace to these Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator were distributed according to their cultivation level.
Because of their lower cultivation levels, they obtained fewer Spirit Stone, with the majority going to cultivators like Li Danian, who were in the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment.
Now, with the reform of profit-sharing, they have the opportunity to receive more Spirit Stone from the market's revenue.
After all, a cultivator can appear anywhere; the key is to find and kill them.
Intercepting cultivators are generally at the Qi Refining stage, and there are relatively few Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators who act as interceptors, as their cultivation level is sufficient to handle the situation.
In the past, the reason for not arresting cultivators who had been cut off from cultivation was simply because they were too lazy to look for them and it was a thankless task. In any case, the 30% of the market tax revenue that the Ling Clan paid was distributed according to cultivation level, and they would not receive any more Spirit Stone just because they had killed more cultivators who had been cut off from cultivation.
However, one side is happy while the other is sad.
After the system was changed, cultivators like Li Danian, who used to receive a 30% Foundation Establishment of the profits from the market, found it much harder to survive.
However, cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment, such as Li Danian, dared not directly voice their opposition to this matter.
Once revealed, it would offend not only Ling Pengqiu, the initiator of the reform, but also those Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who were also Rogue Cultivator.
Among the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator here, as many as eighteen are Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, making up the majority of the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
If their interests are infringed, these Rogue Cultivator Foundation Establishment Cultivator came from independent cultivation backgrounds may not dare to do anything openly, but they will definitely take action in secret.
Li Danian and other Rogue Cultivator in the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment all had some offspring.
This forces them to take precautions.
Left with no other choice, Li Danian and other mid-to-late Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator had to accept the profit-sharing system modified by Ling Pengqiu.
Ling Pengqiu didn't even glance at this group of scoundrels before simply dismissing them.
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