"Why was this Rogue Cultivator Market being held at Whitewater River?"
"Don't mention it. The previous location was at the border between our Jade Dragon Commandery and neighboring Baoshan Commandery. The location was great, but it has now been occupied by demonic cultivators. One careless step and you'll die with your Dao extinguished. Who would still dare go there?"
"Changing locations is only natural, but I wonder whether all the fellow cultivators out in the martial world have received the news. What if someone still goes by the old routine?"
"Life and death have their destined course. Was this not also a trial upon the road of cultivation?"
"Demonic cultivators are entrenched there, bringing harm upon the world. Why has Blackstone Sect, the immortal sect of our Great Nai Dynasty, not taken action?"
"Rumor has it that the leaders of those demonic cultivators are Foundation Establishment experts. Even Blackstone Sect must deal with them cautiously. Let us wait and see."
"We rogue cultivators arrived early. There is still a month before the market begins, so we can rest up first and enjoy the prosperity of the mortal world, hahaha~ Waiter, bring tea! The finest tea!"
"Right away~ Gentlemen, this way please."
The attendants at Yang's Board Game Teahouse were all sharp-witted. From the speech and attire of these four, they could tell that they were no ordinary people, so they led them directly to the second floor and served them fine food and drink.
Listening to their unconcealed conversation, Yang Shi naturally realized that the four were cultivators.
Rogue cultivators with neither sect nor school.
"So the recent rumors were true. Cultivators have already begun arriving one after another. I wonder what realms they are at. Please don't let them cause trouble in my teahouse—I would have no way to deal with it."
As a martial artist at the Body Tempering Sixth Layer, he was panicking now.
At that moment, a line of large golden characters appeared in the air above the roof.
"The four people just now are all Fetal Breath Realm cultivators. Their realms are—"
The golden lettering scattered apart, splitting into four lines of smaller words that descended above the four rogue cultivators' heads.
Embryonic Breath Tenth Layer, Embryonic Breath Ninth Layer, Embryonic Breath Eighth Layer, Embryonic Breath Eighth Layer.
Each of them had a clear description of their strength floating above their head.
"Hiss~ They're all experts. But luckily, none have reached the Qi Refining Realm. They're no match for my master."
When Liu Wuhen had been drinking last time, he had boldly declared that he was invincible below Qi Refining.
"Huzi, go invite my master. Tell him the teahouse needs his help to steady the situation."
With fish and dragons mixed together now, caution was still best.
Yang Shi's caution seemed to Yang Genshuo to be somewhat useful, but not by much.
Because aside from the rogue cultivators, there were also three Innate Grandmaster Realm experts and more than ten Half-Step Innate Realm experts seated in the teahouse at this moment, as well as... an old beggar squatting by the entrance, at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.
"Good heavens. If this keeps up, immortals will soon be everywhere, and grandmasters will be worth less than dogs. This is far too dangerous."
As the owner of a teahouse, he felt utterly powerless. Half the people present were beyond his ability to offend. If he happened to provoke some big shot with strange habits, he might be killed in an instant.
Yang Genshuo even wanted Yang Shi to go home and lie low instead of staying here, and simply hire a few people to manage the teahouse.
But Yang Shi clearly did not think so.
He said excitedly to Jiang Xiaobai, "Xiao Bai, if the Rogue Cultivator Market is truly going to be held at Whitewater River, then we can sell part of this year's harvest of Spirit Rice and Spirit Wheat, exchange it for Spirit Stones, and buy you a suitable Qi Refining technique."
Jiang Xiaobai hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no. The Mystic Stone Qi-Guiding Art is enough. Brother should save the extra Spirit Stones as the family's foundation."
"That is not right!" Yang Shi said with a solemn expression. "If we have extra Spirit Stones, we must promptly exchange them for things useful to us."
"Otherwise, what use is there in saving up decades of wealth, leaving us with nothing but a house full of Spirit Stones? They would only be taken by stronger people as easily as stealing a sheep, becoming someone else's provisions."
Jiang Xiaobai quickly said, "Then Brother can exchange some for pills, Dharma artifacts, and other supplies for yourself."
"Mm, we still do not know the prices at this market. Over the next few days, we should listen and observe more, learn about it first, and then make a decision."
Yang Shi intended to seize this opportunity to expand their strength.
Yang Genshuo briefly calculated the Yang Family's currently available resources: the harvest from four mu of Spirit Fields this year, along with the three Magma Fruits picked last year.
"The two of them need the yield from one and a half mu for food, leaving only two and a half mu to sell. Based on last year's yield of 430 jin per mu, that should be just over 1,000 jin. At Treasured Goods Pavilion prices, it could be exchanged for more than fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones."
"Perhaps they could buy some good things."
"But a man's wealth is his ruin if he lacks the strength to protect it. Even if you buy them, can you leave the market and bring them back to the Yang Family?"
Yang Genshuo shook his head and directly stopped Yang Shi's idea.
Manifestation.
"The market is dangerous. You and Xiao Bai are too weak in cultivation and should not participate. Stay in Bluestone County and watch how things develop. Listen to more rumors from the Cultivation World and broaden your knowledge."
And let me listen as well.
Yang Genshuo was completely in the dark about this cultivation world. He also needed to gather more information and see whether it differed from the cultivation worlds in novels.
When Yang Shi saw his ancestor's words, he froze for a moment before suddenly coming to his senses.
"Shi understands."
His head had been filled with ideas, yet he had forgotten the most fundamental issue: safety.
Even Zhao Kuangfeng, a Half-Step Innate Realm expert, had pushed him into a desperate situation. What about these more powerful cultivators and Innate Grandmaster Realm experts?
If even one of the four seated upstairs set their sights on him, he and Xiao Bai would have no power to resist. They would die with their Dao extinguished on the spot.
According to Liu Wuhen, not even every Fetal Breath Realm cultivator possessed Spirit Fields of their own.
Everyone wanted such a good thing—one that produced provisions year after year.
Cultivation was, at its core, a game of fighting for resources.
Yang Shi could drastically accelerate his Body Tempering speed by eating Spirit Rice and medicinal supplements. Cultivation was even more so.
After thinking everything through, Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo's brainwaves once again aligned:
Lie low for now.
The golden words in the sky appeared again.
"Recently, buy food every day and give it to the beggars of Bluestone County. Especially the old beggar leaning by the entrance—do your utmost to satisfy any request he makes."
Yang Genshuo did not say what realm the old beggar was at, but Yang Shi could infer a thing or two.
"He must be a reclusive expert."
He personally made a cup of Nestlé Instant Coffee and carried it over to the old beggar.
"Elder, have a cup of hot coffee to warm yourself."
The old beggar's hair hung loose around him. He wore ragged hemp clothes and held a green bamboo dog-beating staff, giving Yang Shi a strange sense of familiarity. He resembled the old beggar who had taught him to read in those days.
Even without Yang Genshuo's reminder, he would never have allowed this elderly man to go hungry outside his door.
The old beggar raised his head and swept aside the long hair covering his face, revealing a weathered countenance. He grinned, exposing two rows of large yellow teeth.
"Heh~ You little lad have a bit of kindness in you."
"But this old beggar does not like tea. It is warm and mild, without any strength. Go find me some wine."
"Elder, I will go buy you wine at once, but this is coffee. Its flavor is rather strong, and its fragrance lingers on the lips and teeth after drinking it. You may try it first."
"It can have the fragrance of wine? Go on, go on."
Yang Shi had no choice but to head to the tavern and buy a jar of Daughter Red. When he returned, he found the old beggar sitting at the entrance with a rosy complexion, the coffee in his hand drained to the last drop.
"Good, good, good! I have never drunk such bitter tea before. It has a marvelous taste! Bring me another cup!"
"What are you standing there for? Bring me a cup of... co-fee!"
The old beggar had become addicted to coffee. He drank cup after cup at the entrance, and whenever he felt particularly refreshed, he would burst into hearty laughter without caring in the slightest about anyone else's reactions.
Yang Shi arranged for a waiter to make coffee specifically for the old beggar, while he himself planned to sit upstairs for a while and listen to the four rogue cultivators' conversation.
Yet the previously noisy first-floor hall suddenly fell silent as one.
Five cultivators in Daoist robes arrived outside. Their bearing was extraordinary, their immortal poise drifting like clouds; at a glance, they were utterly different from those rogue cultivators.
The person at their head was even more stunningly beautiful. Every word used to describe beauty lost its color upon her.
It felt only as though an immortal maiden had descended into the world.
Her cool, detached eyes swept across the room, and the powerful pressure she exuded made everyone present feel ashamed of their own inferiority.
"Blackstone Sect disciples."
Liu Wuhen arrived, frowning as he spoke to Yang Shi. A trace of resentment flashed through his eyes.
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