Qiankun Society

A few days later, Su Fan returned to the market town and set up a stall in the open-air market to sell talismans.

The Rogue Cultivators setting up stalls nearby were all discussing the Misty Rain Pavilion.

Especially whenever they mentioned those Female Bodhisattvas from the Misty Rain Pavilion, every one of them sighed deeply in remembrance.

Only Su Fan did not join in. He sat leisurely on a small stool before his stall, reading a book.

He had reaped the rewards while keeping his name hidden.

Ever since the Qingxuan Sect took over Shaoyang Market, the arrival of flying vessels had made transportation more convenient, and many famous shops from across the Western Wilderness had moved into Shaoyang Market.

Now, more and more people were coming to the market town.

The sects and cultivating Lineages from all over the Chu Kingdom, as well as major sects making purchases and trades, all chose Shaoyang Market Town first.

Rogue Cultivators needed no further mention. They came here from every direction to settle down.

The Rogue Cultivators now gathered around Shaoyang Market Town probably already numbered over twenty thousand.

The surrounding shantytowns had expanded again and again, stretching several miles outward.

The prosperity of the market town also gave rise to the development of the marketplace.

The Qingxuan Sect expanded the market town once more. The original cross-shaped main street had now become a well-shaped grid, and even the open-air market had doubled in size.

Even so, the marketplace was still packed with people every day, bustling and shoulder to shoulder.

Naturally, business was getting better by the day as well.

Although Su Fan had adopted hunger marketing and raised the prices of his talismans, business remained extremely hot.

He had originally thought the talismans in his hands would last him two or three years no matter what. At this rate, they would not even last a year.

Actually, Su Fan preferred the old Shaoyang Market. It had been so much more peaceful.

Looking at the noisy crowds surging through the marketplace every day now, he found it damn chaotic.

In truth, the prosperity of the market town had little to do with him. His talismans were not in danger of going unsold anyway.

The market town's prosperity had not only driven the marketplace's development; prices had risen along with it.

The stall fees in the open-air market had now doubled. Even the rent for the house he lived in had increased by half.

Everything was rising in price. Even spirit rice had gone up by fifty percent.

What was even more disgusting was that some Rogue Cultivators near the market town who loved fighting and bullying others had banded together.

The largest gangs already had the rudiments of criminal syndicates.

As the market town grew more prosperous, public order became worse and worse.

The Qingxuan Sect's disciples had no interest in dealing with these troublesome matters, so they simply handed the task of maintaining order to those Rogue Cultivator groups.

The Qingxuan Sect's Law Enforcement Team only handled serious cases.

As a result, many Rogue Cultivator gangs and groups sprang up overnight.

There were the Crimson Dragon Society, Qiankun Society, North Saber Hall, Taihe Hall, Sky Saber Alliance, Dark Cloud Gang, Swift Wind Hall, and more than a dozen others.

These Rogue Cultivator gangs were even more detestable than bandit cultivators.

Some of them had originally been bandit cultivators themselves. After laundering their reputations, they became members of Rogue Cultivator groups.

They bribed the Qingxuan Sect's disciples, then began stirring up trouble in the market town. They did not dare offend the large shops, so they only knew how to prey on the Rogue Cultivators in the marketplace.

Fortunately, they were still somewhat restrained for now, merely collecting protection fees from small shops and the open-air market.

Su Fan did not want trouble. Paying a few dozen Magic Coins every day had little effect on him.

By noon, most of the talismans on his stall had been sold, so he began packing up.

Every time he came to the open-air market, he brought only a dozen or so mid-grade talismans. Once they were sold, he left.

Before he could even start packing, dozens of vicious-looking Rogue Cultivators entered the open-air market.

These people radiated Baleful Qi. They clearly looked difficult to provoke, and they went from stall to stall collecting protection fees.

The stall owners immediately refused. They had just paid that morning, and now these people were collecting again at noon. What kind of logic was that?

The marketplace instantly became extremely noisy. Several bold stall owners even began grappling and shoving with them.

They were beaten terribly, and the goods of several stall owners were also looted clean.

At that moment, several Qingxuan Sect disciples entered the open-air market.

Many stall owners began bitterly complaining to them about these people's violence, but the disciples simply ignored them and even exchanged a few words with the gang members.

After the Qingxuan Sect disciples left, the gang members became even more brazen.

"From today onward, this place belongs to our Qiankun Society. If anyone dares cause trouble here and delay everyone's business, our Qiankun Society will uphold justice for you."

Hearing this, the Rogue Cultivator stall owners cursed the shamelessness of the Qiankun Society in their hearts.

But cursing was one thing. No one dared defy these people anymore, and they all began paying up.

Two Qiankun Society members came to the stall beside Su Fan's and demanded payment from its owner in a domineering tone.

"Wasn't it thirty Magic Coins? How did it go up so much?"

"Cut the crap. If you don't pay, we'll break your dog legs. Don't even think about setting up a stall here again."

The stall owner had no choice. His face full of grief and indignation, he took out fifty Magic Coins and handed them over.

Su Fan sighed inwardly. This place was getting harder and harder to survive in.

He did not intend to make a fuss. It was not worth arguing with them over a few dozen Magic Coins, so he chose to pay directly.

"Damn it, these dog bastards. Sooner or later, I'll wipe you all out..."

"These guys are even more ruthless than the Crimson Dragon Society. They actually raised it by this much. Life's going to be hard from now on..."

"Isn't the head of the Crimson Dragon Society in the Late Qi Refining Stage? How did he let this place fall to the Qiankun Society..."

"Alas... The head of the Crimson Dragon Society was killed a few days ago..."

As Su Fan packed up his stall, he listened to the surrounding stall owners' discussions and shook his head with a bitter smile.

He slung his bundle over his back and left the market town.

It was better to come here as little as possible. From now on, he would come for only three days each month, so as not to invite unnecessary trouble.

When Su Fan returned home, Ye Tianhe had come again and was sitting in the main room.

That fellow came whenever he pleased. Sometimes, when Su Fan went out to set up his stall, he had even learned to cook for himself.

He especially loved the meat in soy sauce that Su Fan made. Combined with Su Fan's appetite as a human rice barrel, the stock of Demonic Beast Meat had already dwindled.

Prices were exorbitant now, and fresh Demonic Beast Meat had increased several times over.

If this continued, he would almost be tempted to enter the mountains and hunt Demonic Beasts himself.

Seeing Su Fan enter the room, Ye Tianhe put down his book.

"The spirit rice has just been put on to cook. I didn't bring any portion for you. Who told you to come back so early?"

That fellow had practically begun treating this place as his own home. What could Su Fan say?

After a while, Ye Tianhe suddenly spoke.

"Don't you want to ask about the Misty Rain Pavilion..."

Su Fan shook his head and deliberately asked in puzzlement, "The Misty Rain Pavilion? What do they sell?"

Ye Tianhe froze for a moment, pointed at him, then got up and went to the kitchen.

Su Fan curled his lips. What Misty Rain Pavilion? What does it have to do with me?

Not only that, he did not want to mention what had happened in the open-air market today either.

Was he supposed to bring out a sword cultivator and have him kill those people over such a trivial matter? That would be ridiculous.

Of course, Ye Tianhe would definitely be willing to kill people.

But he would only be staying here for a few months. Once he left, what would Su Fan do? Was he supposed to fight those people to the death?

He might as well muddle through for now. If things truly became impossible, he could leave.

He could find any small market town. With several hundred mid-grade talismans in his pocket, he would not go hungry anywhere.

Over the next dozen or so days, everything remained calm and peaceful.

He went to the market town for three days each month, put out twenty or thirty talismans, and left once they were sold.

The rest of the time, he stayed home cultivating.

After entering the Mid Qi Refining Stage, the effects of the Yellow Spirit Pill had clearly weakened.

Su Fan tried taking Foundation Cultivation Pills, and the results were quite good.

Taking one every three days increased the proficiency of his Qi Cultivation Stage on the panel by about five points each month.

Reaching the perfection of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer would take roughly a year and a half.

With such a fast cultivation speed, what more could Su Fan be dissatisfied with? The disciples of sects were only this good.

The only thing he worried about was that taking pills year after year would certainly cause some pill toxins to accumulate in his body.

The cultivators of this world all took pills to speed up their cultivation.

But no one took over a hundred pills a year like Su Fan did. He was practically eating pills like candy beans.

When pill toxins accumulated in the body, they not only affected one's cultivation foundation, but also created a certain bottleneck when a cultivator broke through a realm.

Yet Su Fan had no choice. His aptitude was simply too poor.

Even with the heaven-defying Game Panel, his lower limit was still too low.

Without relying on pills, he could forget about achieving Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. Even breaking through to the Late Qi Refining Stage would be difficult.

It was not that there was no solution. He could take Marrow Cleansing Pills.

Many sect disciples relied on this kind of pill to clear the pill toxins from their bodies.

These pills were not only extremely expensive, but the spirit herbs needed to refine them were also quite rare.

Even sect disciples had to accumulate Merit Points for many years before they could exchange for one.

And even if one could afford it, they could not buy it in the market town.

Just as he was at his wits' end, a turning point appeared.

Every time he practiced swordsmanship with Ye Tianhe, the Lightning Dao Seed consumed some of its electricity.

To ensure that the Dao Seed had enough electricity, Su Fan could only charge his power bank once more.

How did he charge it? By getting struck by lightning, of course.

Although he had already undergone Heavenly Thunder Empowerment more than once, the entire process was still like purgatory.

He had never dreamed that this bout of being struck by lightning would bring him such a surprise.

Heavenly Thunder Empowerment could not only temper his physical body, but also cleanse his meridians and marrow, removing the filthy impurities from his body.

Compared with Marrow Cleansing Pills, its effect at removing pill toxins was more than a little stronger.

Even as Su Fan rejoiced, he could not help sighing mournfully. I really was born to be struck by lightning.

Now that the problem of pill toxins in his body had been completely resolved, he naturally would not cling to old habits. He decided to increase his dosage of pills.

From now on, he would take one Foundation Cultivation Pill every two days.

That way, he could reach the perfection of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer in just over a year.

Actually, Su Fan was quite satisfied with his current life.

The only unpleasant thing was that every time he went to the open-air market, the Qiankun Society extorted fifty Magic Coins from him.

But it was not a big deal. He could afford to pay a little over a hundred Magic Coins each month.

Unfortunately, someone simply did not want to let him live in peace.

One day, he went to the market town again.

Business was especially good that day. Before noon, almost all his talismans had been sold.

He was about to pack up when several Qiankun Society members came to his stall. The man in the lead stated their purpose bluntly.

"Starting tomorrow, the price of talismans will double."

Su Fan was somewhat dumbfounded. He asked, "Why..."

"Why do you have so many questions? If we tell you to raise the price, then raise it..."

After saying this, the man did not bother wasting words with him. He turned and left.

Several stall owners nearby glanced at the departing men and gathered around.

"Old Fan, you talisman masters are going to make a fortune."

"Exactly. Isn't a price increase a good thing?"

"If I'd held on a little longer back then, I would be a talisman master too. Alas..."

Looking at the envious gazes of the surrounding stall owners, Su Fan sneered inwardly.

The Qiankun Society was getting more and more audacious. This was clearly an attempt to dominate the market through coercion.

Their behavior was no different from the fish tyrants and vegetable tyrants of his previous life, manipulating market prices to reap enormous profits.

He was not worried about the talismans becoming more expensive. He had no shortage of stock anyway, and selling fewer would be even better.

But once this precedent was set, who knew what outrageous things the Qiankun Society would do in the future?

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