Jiaolu Market

"Who?"

Zhou Er jumped, but no one answered.

Just then, he suddenly spotted the glow of fire from a village not far away.

"Help!"

The cries for help came from the village.

Zhou Er looked closely and spotted a mid-tier, first-rank demonic beast prowling through the village.

It was a giant python, so enormous that from a distance, it looked bigger than a person.

"So that's what you're afraid of."

Zhou Er understood what Xiao Cang was scared of. He soothed the little creature inside his sleeve, then pinched eight Fireball Talismans between his fingers and set off with the Godly Travel Technique to see what was happening.

By the time Zhou Er arrived, the giant python had already coiled around a white-haired old man.

Beside the python, a middle-aged man in a gray Daoist robe knelt and said:

"Dragon King, please calm your anger. The villagers of Yuxi Village meant no disrespect. Please show mercy."

"Daoist Qingshui, hurry and make the Dragon King let go! Old Liu is about to die!"

The other villagers immediately knelt and begged.

The python demonic beast paid them no mind. It tightened its coils around Old Liu while slowly flicking out its forked tongue.

"Dragon King, what is it you wish to say?"

The middle-aged man known as Daoist Qingshui stepped forward and tilted his ear toward the python's hissing, as though he truly understood what it was saying.

Then he turned to the villagers and shouted angrily:

"The Dragon King says you ungrateful wretches had an agreement! On the first day of every ten-day period, at midnight, you were to offer a chicken; on the first day of every month, at the second watch of the night, a sheep; and every year on the fifteenth day of the first month, Old Dragon Temple was to receive a fourteen-year-old maiden. Why haven't you sent one this year? You were the ones who broke the rules first."

"Dragon King, our village doesn't have that many fourteen-year-old girls. Last year, I sent my granddaughter to Old Dragon Temple to give herself to the Dragon King. This year, there truly aren't any fourteen-year-old girls in the village. Otherwise, how would we dare defy the Dragon King?"

An old man hurriedly explained.

"Who cares what your excuse is? You made an agreement, and you were the ones who broke it first. Now that the Dragon King is angry, no one in Yuxi Village will get away."

As Daoist Qingshui finished speaking, the python swallowed the old man trapped in its coils whole, putting on a live performance of a snake swallowing an elephant.

"You're just an old snake. How dare you call yourself the Dragon King?"

Zhou Er looked at Daoist Qingshui and spoke up.

In the next instant, all eight Fireball Talismans flared to life. Eight fireballs surged toward the python like a curtain of flame. With nowhere to dodge, it took three hits. Several scales flew off, exposing white flesh that was nearly cooked through.

But the python was thick-skinned and tough. Even three fireballs couldn't kill it. Knowing it was outmatched, it desperately dragged its injured, swollen body away, trying to flee,

but Zhou Er wasn't about to give it the chance. He quickly pulled out another eight Fireball Talismans. This time, all eight hit, finally leaving the python unable to move.

As for the old man it had taken hostage, there was truly nothing Zhou Er could do to save him.

By the time Zhou Er arrived, the old man was already dead.

"Who are you? How dare you kill the Dragon King!"

Daoist Qingshui cried out in panic. He hadn't expected anyone to show up and ruin his plans.

But his only support, the python demonic beast, had already been defeated. He was no match for Zhou Er.

After dealing with the python, Zhou Er turned to Daoist Qingshui and said:

"You raised that python, didn't you?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? That was the Dragon King! You killed the Dragon King, and he'll come back to take revenge on you!"

Daoist Qingshui hadn't expected someone to show up and spoil things. He glanced at the nearby river and immediately prepared to jump in and escape.

Zhou Er was faster. Just as Daoist Qingshui was about to get away, Zhou Er slapped him down.

Zhou Er hadn't truly cultivated his body, but he had several attributes that strengthened his physique, and he was a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator.

Daoist Qingshui was only at the Qi Refining Early-stage, and his body was not strong either. One slap from Zhou Er pinned him to the ground.

"Fellow Daoist, spare me! I didn't raise that python demonic beast. It was our Temple Master's Spirit Pet. Our Temple Master is a Foundation Establishment High Person. You killed his Spirit Pet—be careful, he'll come after you!"

Daoist Qingshui dropped to his knees and hurriedly pleaded.

"Daoist Qingshui, isn't the Temple Master of Old Dragon Temple you?"

The village elder who had spoken earlier asked in confusion.

Seeing his lie exposed, Daoist Qingshui glared viciously at the elder, then put on a conciliatory smile.

"Fellow Daoist, we're both cultivators. Surely you wouldn't kill me over a few mortals?"

Daoist Qingshui turned to Zhou Er, looking utterly pitiful.

"They're only a few mortals."

Zhou Er hadn't expected Daoist Qingshui to say it so brazenly, but he could follow the man's logic right back at him:

"Well said. You're only a Qi Refining Early-stage ant! Why would I need to explain myself before killing you?"

Zhou Er took out a Fireball Talisman and aimed it at Daoist Qingshui.

"Fellow Daoist, I—"

Before Daoist Qingshui could finish speaking, the fireball melted his head.

His headless body finally crumpled to the ground.

"You, come here and tell me what's going on with Old Dragon Temple."

Zhou Er looked at the elder who had spoken earlier.

The elder saw Zhou Er casually conjure a fireball and knew he was an immortal cultivator from the tales. He immediately knelt.

"Immortal Elder, Daoist Qingshui was once a boy from a nearby village. Twenty years ago, an immortal elder from the Beast Taming Sect chose him, and he went to cultivate there."

"Ten years ago, he returned to the village and founded Old Dragon Temple. At first, he and the python helped bring rain to several nearby villages."

"Later, he started demanding three hundred jin of grain every time he brought rain. Then he stopped helping summon clouds altogether, but still demanded a fixed amount of grain every year. In the end, he kept demanding more and more, pushing things further by the day. If any village refused, he'd send the python to wreak havoc and eat people."

After hearing the elder's story, Zhou Er roughly understood.

Daoist Qingshui was a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect. For some reason, he had left the sect and started throwing his weight around in the nearby villages.

Zhou Er searched Daoist Qingshui's corpse. He found no cultivation resources, only a jade ornament, which had no special use and showed no attribute.

"Go cook that python. You, take me to Old Dragon Temple."

Zhou Er gave the people of Yuxi Village his orders.

The villagers of Yuxi Village had just suffered a calamity and hadn't yet come to their senses.

"Didn't you hear the Immortal Elder? Hurry and light a fire. Cook the meat."

The elder was clearly well-respected in the village. At his words, the other villagers immediately got moving.

The elder himself took Zhou Er to Old Dragon Temple, more than ten li away.

The people inside Old Dragon Temple were all women. Seeing Zhou Er and the Yuxi Village elder, they hurriedly said:

"You may not enter without the Dragon King's permission."

Zhou Er took out Daoist Qingshui's snake-shaped ornament and tossed it to the woman who had come to open the door.

"Your Temple Master is dead. Go back wherever you came from."

The woman stared at the snake-shaped ornament, at a loss for what to do.

Their villages had abandoned them long ago and sent them to Old Dragon Temple, where Daoist Qingshui had defiled them. Even if they returned to their villages, the villagers would not accept them.

"Immortal Elder! We don't want to leave. You killed Daoist Qingshui, so you're the new Temple Master of Old Dragon Temple. We can serve you."

The woman hurriedly said.

Zhou Er was taken aback. He had thought he could free these unfortunate women who had been sent to Old Dragon Temple, but he hadn't expected them to be unwilling to leave.

"What's your name?"

Zhou Er asked.

"My name is Wang Chunhua. I can't leave Old Dragon Temple. If I leave, I don't know where I'd go."

Wang Chunhua explained.

Once they entered Old Dragon Temple, they had no family left.

Zhou Er had only wanted to search Daoist Qingshui's belongings. He truly hadn't thought about what to do with the others in Old Dragon Temple.

Now, looking at these young women, he couldn't make up his mind.

"First, find Daoist Qingshui's things for me. As for what to do with Old Dragon Temple from now on, let me think it over."

Zhou Er said.

Daoist Qingshui didn't have many valuable possessions. He didn't even have any Spirit Stones. The only thing that caught Zhou Er's eye was a copy of the Beast Taming Sutra.

[Beast Taming Sutra: Basic beast-taming cultivation method.]

[Equipped Attributes: Beast Language Mastery]

[Beast Language Mastery: Lets you understand most Spirit Beasts.]

[Solidification Condition: Communicate with Spirit Beasts one thousand times.]

[Equip?]

Zhou Er took the Beast Taming Sutra and glanced at the people inside Old Dragon Temple.

There were fourteen women in all, ranging in age from fourteen to twenty. There were also two little children, both very young. They looked like Daoist Qingshui's offspring.

The children's mother looked at Zhou Er with undisguised hatred in her eyes.

Zhou Er knew he couldn't save them. Instead, he turned to the village elder who had brought him here.

The elder's granddaughter was also in Old Dragon Temple, and he was deeply worried about her. Meeting Zhou Er's gaze, he said:

"Immortal Elder, I'll persuade the other villages to take these people back."

"Good. I'll leave this matter to you."

Zhou Er didn't want to get too involved. Seeing that the elder was willing to take on this mess, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Otherwise, he had no better solution.

After taking Daoist Qingshui's belongings, Zhou Er returned to Yuxi Village.

By then, they had cut the man out of the python's belly, and the python meat was boiling in a pot, steam rising from it.

Zhou Er knew that wild demonic beasts ate people, and besides, they had already pulled the dead man out. So he wasn't too bothered by it.

Moreover, his Taotie Attribute still had a long way to go, and he couldn't waste all this demonic beast meat.

The other villagers didn't seem bothered either. Instead, they waited eagerly for Zhou Er to hand out the meat.

Zhou Er ate his fill first, then let the respected elders of the village divide up the rest.

The python meat was tender and tasted good.

Unfortunately, Zhou Er's Taotie Attribute was only white, and the space in his belly could hold only a little over twenty jin.

Otherwise, he would have eaten all the python meat himself.

After eating the python meat, Zhou Er continued on his way.

Along the road, he occasionally equipped the Beast Taming Sutra and chatted with Xiao Cang.

Xiao Cang wasn't very intelligent, but it could respond to Zhou Er, which helped ease his loneliness.

More than ten days later, Zhou Er returned to Yunyang City in the Qi Kingdom, his hometown.

The journey had gone smoothly. Aside from the trouble at Old Dragon Temple, he hadn't encountered any other problems.

Seeing that the family's medicinal herb business was still doing well, Zhou Er thought it over and decided not to disturb them. He watched his father and younger siblings from afar, then disappeared into the crowd.

Seeing that his father was safe and well, Zhou Er felt relieved. Now, he needed to think about his own affairs.

After all, wandering around outside wasn't a solution. He needed to find somewhere to settle down.

While at Xiayun Sect, Zhou Er had learned a little about the surrounding territories.

The Sunset Mountain Range was home to three Righteous Path sects: Xiayun Sect, Beast Taming Sect, and Bixi Sect.

Given Zhou Er's current circumstances, he clearly couldn't join any major sect worth its salt. But he could check out a small market where cultivators gathered.

There was a Jiaolu Market in Qi Kingdom, in the southwestern mountains.

Though he didn't know its exact location, once he had figured out the general direction, Zhou Er headed for the southwestern mountains.

After traveling a thousand li a day for several days in a row, Zhou Er reached the uninhabited mountains in the southwest.

Unable to find Jiaolu Market, Zhou Er hunted and ate demonic beasts on his own in the mountains.

He didn't know any hunting techniques, but he had plenty of talismans saved up.

After living in the mountains for dozens of days, he finally encountered a group of cultivators who had come out to hunt demonic beasts.

It was a standard five-person team. One member had been injured and was being carried by two others. When they spotted Zhou Er in his animal-skin clothes, they grew wary.

"Fellow Daoist."

Zhou Er recognized that they were cultivators and greeted them first in a friendly manner.

"Fellow Daoist, you don't sound like you're from around here."

The leader of the group spoke warily.

"I'm from Yunyang City. By chance, I embarked on the Immortal Path, and I'm looking for the way to Jiaolu Market."

Zhou Er said.

Then Zhou Er noticed that one man had injured a leg and asked:

"What happened to him?"

"We were surrounded by a pack of Bright Moon Wolves. He got hurt, and we lost our prey."

The leader explained.

"I see."

Zhou Er nodded, then took out a Water Healing Talisman and tossed it to them.

"This is a Water Healing Talisman. It might help with his wound."

Hearing that, the man activated the talisman. A stream of clear water flowed out of it, washing the injured man's wound. The man immediately looked much better.

It couldn't heal him completely just yet, but it cleaned the dirt from the wound, which was enough to stop the bleeding.

Seeing that Zhou Er's talisman really worked, the five let down their guard.

"We're hunters from Jiaolu Market. If you're looking for the market, come with us!"

The members of the Hunting Team figured Zhou Er was a Rogue Cultivator too, so they invited him along.

Markets like theirs were very welcoming to Rogue Cultivators.

Rogue Cultivators could breathe new life into the market.

When he reached the area around Jiaolu Market, Zhou Er saw its guards patrolling on Great Horned Deer.

"Newcomer, Jiaolu Market doesn't ask about your background or where you came from. Register and pay one Spirit Stone for rent, and you can get a little wooden hut in the market's outer area. If you pay five Spirit Stones, you can stay in the inner area."

The guard explained.

The market was also situated atop a Spirit Vein, and there was a vast difference between its inner and outer districts.

Zhou Er had no Spirit Stones, only talismans.

Fortunately, Jiaolu Market accepted talismans too, and offered a pretty high price: three First-grade Talismans were worth one Spirit Stone.

Zhou Er took out fifteen talismans and secured a place in the inner district.

When it came time to register his name, Zhou Er thought it over. Naturally, he couldn't use his real name, so he wrote down Cang Er.

He had taken one character each from Zhou Er and Xiao Cang.

The guard looked a little puzzled, but accepted the talismans without asking anything. Then he found someone to show Zhou Er to his lodgings.