Too Many Big Shots, I'll Lurk For A Bit

"Why is this rogue cultivator market being held at Bai Shui River this time?"

"Don't mention it. The previous location was at the border of our Jade Dragon County and the neighboring Baoshan County. The location was good, but now it's been occupied by devilish cultivators. One wrong step and you're dead. Who would dare go there now?"

"It's only natural to change the location. I just don't know if all the fellow Daoists in the martial world have received the news. What if someone still goes as they did in previous years?"

"Destiny dictates life and death. Isn't this also a tribulation on the path of cultivation?"

"The devilish cultivators are entrenched and harming the world. Why hasn't our Da Nai Dynasty's immortal sect, Xuan Shi Sect, taken action?"

"Rumor has it that the leaders of those devilish cultivators are Foundation Establishment mighty figures. Even Xuan Shi Sect has to deal with them cautiously. Let's just watch and see."

"We rogue cultivators arrived early. There's still a month before the market begins. We can rest and enjoy the prosperity of the human world. Hahaha~ Waiter, bring tea, good tea!"

"Right away~ Gentlemen, please come inside."

The waiters at Yang's Board Game Tea House were also sharp. Seeing the conversation and attire of these four people, they knew they were no ordinary individuals. They were directly led to the second floor and served with good food and drinks.

Yang Shi, listening to their unreserved conversation, naturally understood that these four were cultivators.

Rogue cultivators without a sect or school.

"It seems the recent rumors are true. Cultivators have been arriving one after another. I wonder what their strength is. I hope they don't cause trouble in my tea house; I wouldn't be able to handle it."

He, a Body Tempering Sixth Level martial artist, was very panicked right now.

At this moment, a line of golden text appeared on the roof.

"The four people just now were Fetal Breath stage cultivators. Their strength is."

The golden text dispersed, splitting into four lines of small text, which landed above the heads of the four rogue cultivators.

Fetal Breath Stage 10, Fetal Breath Stage 9, Fetal Breath Stage 8, Fetal Breath Stage 8.

Each person had a strength description hovering above their head, clear and concise.

"Hiss~ They are all experts, but thankfully they haven't reached the Qi Refinement stage. They're no match for my master."

Liu Wuhen had boasted when he was drinking last time: "Below Qi Refinement, I am invincible."

"Huzi, go invite my master. Tell him the tea house needs his help to hold the fort."

Now that the situation was mixed and chaotic, it was better to be careful.

Yang Shi's caution, in Yang Genshuo's eyes, had some effect, but not much.

Because besides the rogue cultivators, there were also three Innate Grandmasters and about ten Half-step Innate Masters sitting in the tea house at the moment, as well as... an old beggar squatting by the entrance, begging for alms, at Qi Refinement Seventh Level.

"Good heavens, if this continues, it'll be like immortals walking everywhere and Grandmasters being as common as dogs. This is too dangerous."

As the boss of a teahouse, he felt very powerless at the moment. Half of the people present were not people he could afford to offend. If he accidentally provoked some big shot with peculiar habits, he might be instantly killed.

Yang Genshuo even wanted to tell Yang Shi to go home and avoid this place, letting a few people manage the teahouse instead.

But Yang Shi clearly didn't think so.

He excitedly said to Jiang Xiaobai, "Xiaobai, if they really open a rogue cultivator market at Bai Shui River, then we can sell some of this year's spirit rice and spirit wheat harvest to get spirit stones and buy you a suitable Qi Cultivation Technique."

Jiang Xiaobai quickly waved his hands, "No, no, Mysterious Stone Qi Guiding Technique is enough. As for the extra spirit stones, Older Brother can save them as a nest egg."

"That's not right!" Yang Shi said with a serious expression, "Extra spirit stones should be exchanged for useful things in a timely manner."

"Otherwise, if you save up for decades and have a house full of spirit stones, what good will it do? You'll just be easily robbed by stronger individuals and become their provisions."

Jiang Xiaobai quickly said, "Then Older Brother can exchange them for some elixirs, magic artifacts, and other supplies for himself."

"Hmm, we don't know the market prices of this market yet. We should listen and observe more these days to understand before making a decision."

Yang Shi intended to seize this opportunity to expand his strength.

Yang Genshuo briefly calculated the resources the Yang family could currently mobilize: four mu of spirit fields harvested this year and three Lava Fruits picked last year.

"They need 1.5 mu of the yield, leaving only 2.5 mu to sell. Based on last year's yield of 430 jin per mu, that's a little over 1000 jin. According to Pinnacle Pavilion's prices, it can be exchanged for over 50 low-grade spirit stones."

"Perhaps we can buy some good things."

"But an innocent man is guilty when he possesses wealth. If you buy it, can you walk out of the market and bring it back to the Yang family?"

Yang Genshuo shook his head and directly stopped Yang Shi's idea.

[Divine Manifestation].

"The market is dangerous. Your and Xiaobai's cultivation is too low, so it's not suitable for you to participate. Stay in Qingshi County and observe the situation. Listen to more cultivation world rumors to broaden your horizons."

Let me hear them too.

Yang Genshuo was completely clueless about this cultivation world. He also needed to gather more information and see if it differed from the cultivation worlds depicted in novels.

Yang Shi was stunned when he saw the Old Ancestor's words, then suddenly woke up.

"Stone, I understand."

He had a head full of ideas but forgot the most basic problem: safety.

Half-step Innate Zhao Kuangfeng could push him into a desperate situation. What about these cultivators with higher strength and Innate Grandmasters?

If any one of the four people sitting on the second floor had designs on him, he and Xiaobai would be powerless to resist and would perish.

According to Liu Wuhen's statement, even cultivators in the Fetal Breath stage do not all possess their own spirit fields.

This kind of good thing that produces food and resources every year, everyone wants it.

Cultivation is inherently a game of snatching resources.

Yang Shi could greatly speed up his body-tempering progress by eating Spirit Rice and Tonics, and cultivation was even more so.

After thinking everything through, Yang Shi and Yang Genshuo's brainwaves returned to a single frequency:

Lie low and wait.

The Golden Characters in the sky reappeared.

"Recently, you must buy food and give it to the Qingshi County Beggar every day, especially the Old Beggar leaning by the door. You must satisfy any requests he has."

Yang Genshuo didn't mention the Old Beggar's cultivation level, but Yang Shi could infer a thing or two.

"He must be a Hermit."

He personally brewed a cup of Nestlé Instant Coffee and brought it to the Old Beggar.

"Old man, have a cup of hot coffee to warm yourself up."

The Old Beggar's hair was disheveled, he wore tattered clothes, and carried a Green Bamboo Dog-Beating Staff. Yang Shi felt a sense of familiarity, just like the Old Beggar who taught him to read back then.

Even without Yang Genshuo's reminder, he would never let this old man starve at his doorstep.

The Old Beggar looked up, parting the long hair on his face to reveal a weathered countenance. He grinned, revealing two rows of large, yellow teeth.

"Heh~ You child have some kindness in you."

"But this old beggar doesn't like tea; it's mild and weak. Find me some wine."

"Old man, I'll go buy you wine right away, but this is coffee. It has a strong flavor and leaves a lingering aroma on your lips and teeth. You can try it first."

"It has the aroma of wine? Hurry, hurry."

Yang Shi had no choice but to go to the restaurant and buy a jar of Daughter's Red Wine. When he returned, he saw the Old Beggar sitting at the door, his face flushed with joy. The coffee in his hand was already drunk to the last drop.

"Good, good, good! I've never had such a bitter tea before. It's so flavorful, give me another cup!"

"What are you standing around for? Get me a cup. Coffee!"

The Old Beggar was addicted to drinking coffee. He drank cup after cup at the door, and when he felt refreshed, he would laugh heartily, completely disregarding the reactions of others.

Yang Shi arranged for a Waiter to specifically make coffee for the Old Beggar. He planned to go to the second floor to listen to the conversations of those four Rogue Cultivators.

However, the noisy first-floor hall suddenly fell silent.

Outside the door, five Cultivators dressed in Daoist Robes arrived. Their aura was extraordinary, and their bearing was ethereal, instantly distinguishing them from those Rogue Cultivators.

The person at the forefront was even more stunningly beautiful, rendering any word describing beauty colorless when applied to her.

One could only feel as if a fairy had descended upon the mortal realm.

As her aloof eyes swept over them, a powerful pressure made everyone present feel a sense of inadequacy.

"Xuan Shi Sect Disciple."

Liu Wuhen arrived, frowning as he spoke to Yang Shi, a flicker of resentment in his eyes.