Rogue Cultivators Gather, Cultivation is Also Mundane

Hidden in a concealed spot, he observed the two cultivators' duel for a while.

Chen Dengming's expression gradually turned odd.

From the perspective of a Martial World grandmaster who had fought and killed for decades in the martial underworld, the fight between those two cultivators in the distance looked more like standing still and trading talismans and artifacts, playing a turn-based game.

Though they occasionally moved quickly to dodge, there was no trace of refined combat technique—it was purely mindless mid-to-long-range bombardment, just seeing whose shield broke first, or who got hit first.

"Maybe they're holding back. And with that kind of range and power from their techniques and artifacts, even my Indestructible Vajra Zen Skill couldn't take two hits. Too far for ordinary poisons to work; the Blood Centipede Gu would be risky."

Chen Dengming calculated inwardly. If he unleashed the Green Hill Mad Dragon to send out a thirteen-zhang blade aura, he might be able to 'reach' these two at mid-to-long range, rather than being short-handed and beaten.

But a martial arts ultimate move like the Green Hill Mad Dragon could only be used three or four times. Whether it could break that Spirit Shield, which looked quite strong, was still unknown.

If it couldn't break the shield after three or four tries, he'd be the one in danger.

Of course, that was without factoring in the Blood Centipede Gu.

With that calculation, this Cultivation World was indeed too dangerous. Running into even one or two seemingly low-level cultivators posed a lethal threat to him. Back in the Nanxun Kingdom, those who could threaten his life were few and far between.

"Time to bolt!"

Seeing the fight nearing its end, Chen Dengming quickly used his lightness skill to retreat.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, and Chen Dengming soon approached the noisy, chaotic Rogue Cultivator Zone.

But he didn't enter immediately.

Instead, he prowled cautiously through the uninhabited woods nearby, observing the situation in the Rogue Cultivator Zone and the people coming and going from a distance.

As a seasoned veteran of the Martial World, Chen Dengming naturally wouldn't act like a greenhorn, recklessly charging into an unfamiliar area with his face as a map. At the very least, maintaining a 'safe distance' to observe was essential.

Unfortunately, now that he was in the Cultivation World, it wasn't like the mortal Martial World where he had many subordinates to command. Everything had to be built from scratch, so he needed to be even more cautious and step by step.

Soon, a day passed.

Chen Dengming had deliberately taken off his luxurious outer robe, wrapped it up, and mussed his neatly tied hair a bit, making himself look less polished and more travel-worn.

By now, he had a basic grasp of the general situation in the Rogue Cultivator Zone.

This so-called rogue cultivator territory didn't even have a signboard or a fence. It was like a thousand different houses haphazardly thrown together into a Gathering Place.

Some houses were wooden shacks, others stone or mud huts, but there were also a few imposing-looking pavilions or bright halls. The roads crisscrossed in all directions, with streets both wide and narrow, showing no planning whatsoever.

To be honest, this cultivation environment left him utterly stunned.

He even saw vegetable gardens outside some houses from a distance.

But the vegetables seemed unusual—lush and vibrant, looking nutritious, like Spirit Herbs.

Some experts with powerful auras, clearly cultivators, wore clothes less fancy than his own, holding hoes as they tilled the land, directing mortal Xiantian cultivators to spread manure—a sight that made one's jaw drop.

It was seeing this that made him immediately strip off his fancy robe, to avoid trouble over such a trivial detail as clothing.

Of course, there were a few houses in the Rogue Cultivator Zone that were very clean, standing out from the surroundings. The aura emanating faintly from inside gave Chen Dengming a feeling similar to the Yellow-robed Cultivator he'd encountered on the road earlier.

In short, this place was completely different from the cultivation paradise he'd imagined.

If you set aside the powerful cultivators and the several battles that had erupted in the past day, this place was more like a mundane market town.

"What kind of cultivation is this? The lofty Immortal Qi of Fairy Lüo and the others is completely absent here."

Chen Dengming sat on a wooded hillside, frowning as he rubbed his chin, then suddenly snapped back to reality.

Fairy Lüo's tone had been dismissive of the Rogue Cultivator Zone, calling rogue cultivators low-class.

From what he was seeing now, rogue cultivators seemed closer to mortals, with less Immortal Qi and more down-to-earth humanity.

But since it was almost dark, Chen Dengming couldn't afford to keep observing from outside the Gathering Place. He entered the area, planning to settle down first.

Anyone with common sense knew the wilderness was unsafe, and Fairy Lüo had mentioned that demon beasts existed in this world.

Half a day later, night fell.

In the blue-silk-like night sky, stars dotted the darkness.

The chaotic Rogue Cultivator Zone was now quite lively. The night market was a mix of all sorts, with people jostling shoulder to shoulder.

From some dim, shadowy low houses, rhythmic sounds even emerged.

A few lavishly decorated entertainment houses and brothels stood in stark contrast to the surrounding low, dark wooden huts. They were all lit up with lanterns and had sent out elegantly dressed, charismatic women to lure customers at the doors, striking seductive poses with captivating glances.

A cold gaze fell from a pavilion across the way, looking down with disdain at the women being manipulated as playthings and money-makers below. Then it swept over the low-level cultivators queuing for temporary shack rights, a flicker of contempt in the eyes.

Chen Dengming, now in ragged clothes with disheveled hair and a broken sword on his back, mingled in the queue, planning to find some work first—at least to solve his shelter and food problems.

In the Cultivation World, everything started from scratch. In this chaotic, dilapidated Rogue Cultivator Gathering Place, all resources for food, clothing, shelter, and travel had clear prices.

If he wanted a place to stay and a bite to eat, he had to work for it himself.

"Those women are probably doing this just to survive, for food and shelter."

He glanced discreetly at the women bustling below the Zanhua Tower in the distance, shaking his head inwardly.

From their auras, they were all at the Xiantian level—big shots in the mortal Martial World—but here...

Still, he'd figured out by now that in this world, Xiantian cultivators had strength but no real martial skill.

Most Xiantian were born with all eight meridians open, naturally reaching the eighth level of Xiantian in this Qi-rich environment.

Because they were true Xiantian, not Xiantian cultivated through hard work, they were born with spiritual nature as long as they possessed spiritual roots, allowing them to directly cultivate certain Daoist techniques. Once they accumulated enough spiritual energy, they could break through to become cultivators.

This starting point was undoubtedly far superior to that of a mud-footed nobody like Chen Dengming from Nanxun Kingdom.

Chen Dengming still had to first cultivate to the eighth level of Xiantian, then slowly refine and purify his Xiantian inner force, transforming it into spiritual energy before he could break through to become a cultivator.

The only obstacle for native Xiantian to become cultivators was spiritual roots.

This also meant that cultivators from this native world rarely studied martial arts.

Even though they had learned Immortal Methods, their turret-style output and snake-like movement in battle were quite an eyesore, further highlighting their poor combat skills.

But what he saw now made it hard to imagine that such businesses could exist in the Cultivation World, set up like Platinum Han or Heaven on Earth.

This reminded him of some web novels he'd read in his past life, where the environment after ascension was terrible, even the entire world was a twisted, evil realm, and ascension was a conspiracy.

Now that he had come to the Cultivation World, what he had seen and heard, though not as absurd as those fictional stories, was still quite different from what he had imagined.

But he was gradually getting used to it now, even quickly adapting.

It felt like when he had first transmigrated into the Martial World of Nanxun Kingdom.

Back then, he had also crawled up from the lowest rungs of the martial underworld, street by street.

Now that he had come to the Cultivation World, it was just another round of crawling and struggling.

Who said cultivators had to be lofty and noble, always kind, with Immortal Qi wafting around them, and even their farts smelling sweet?

The truth proved that cultivators were still human, at least not yet true immortals.

Just like the great heroes of the Martial World, they had their seven emotions and six desires. Those at the Qi Refining Stage couldn't even achieve inedia; they still had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, and their piss stank just the same.

"You look unfamiliar. New here? What did you do before?"

Soon, the line moved, and it was Chen Dengming's turn.

A cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining Stage held a brush, sizing up Chen Dengming as he spoke flatly.

Chen Dengming cupped his hands politely and smiled. "Immortal Master, I'm new here. I used to run the streets selling fish. I'd like to pick up a job to earn a meal."

The cultivator frowned at Chen Dengming's grating dialect, clearly from some obscure backwater, and casually scratched a line on the ledger with a snort.

"Since you used to sell fish, go catch fish. There are Spirit Fish in Lingyue Lake, ten li outside the Gathering Place. It's Golden Character Workshop's territory. Catch one, hand over most of it; catch two, hand over one and a half. Go!"

The cultivator tossed out a token with a faint trace of spiritual energy.

Chen Dengming caught it immediately, slightly stunned. They really were sending him to catch fish, and the cut was one fish for most of it, leaving him the head? The rake was brutal. Still, he kept a smile on his face and thanked him.

As he turned to leave, he glanced at some mortals in the street corners rummaging through trash heaps for leftover scraps from cultivators' meals, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Others ride great horses, I straddle a donkey alone. Look back at the firewood carrier—my heart feels a bit better."

Compared to the many mortals who weren't even Xiantian, he at least had a way to survive.

And he still carried pills, cultivation techniques, and the exquisite art of the Gu Dao. He had spiritual roots and could cultivate. His Golden Finger panel was a heaven-defying treasure. Training extended his lifespan, each life longer than the last. In the future, he could achieve boundless longevity, immortality, and the Great Dao was within reach.