Bashui Immortal City

After thinking through what he would do next, Zhou Er decided to look for useful items in Jiaolu Market and see whether any of them had attributes he could use.

Jiaolu Market held a market fair every other day. Tomorrow happened to be a market day.

The next day, Zhou Er went to the market.

The market was located where the inner city met the outer district. Most vendors sold Demonic Beast meat, and there were a few scattered shops, all belonging to the Lu Family.

One sold pills, another sold talismans, and a third sold artifacts.

Zhou Er entered the artifact shop. It only sold Artifact Fragments and Low-grade Artifacts; anything mid-grade or higher had been put away.

"Fellow Daoist, what are you looking to buy?"

A man at the Qi Refining Mid-stage came over to greet him. He was a member of the Lu Family.

"I'm just browsing."

Zhou Er replied, then spotted an Antler Bow.

[Antler Bow: A bow made from the antlers of a Great Horned Deer. It can withstand a force of up to two thousand jin.]

[Equipped Attributes: Arm Strength Doubling.]

[Arm Strength Doubling: Doubles the strength of both arms.]

[Solidification Condition: Achieve mastery in archery.]

[Equip?]

"This is a specialty of Jiaolu Market: the Antler Bow, made from the antlers of a Great Horned Deer. This one isn't ranked as an artifact, but it's far more powerful than an ordinary bow used by mortals."

The man from the artifact shop explained.

"Then it shouldn't be expensive, right?"

Zhou Er said.

After all, it wasn't an artifact. Surely it wouldn't cost a hundred Spirit Stones or more.

"Not expensive. Only thirty Spirit Stones."

The man replied with a smile.

"I'll have another look."

Zhou Er nodded and spotted another item.

A suit of deerhide armor.

[Deerhide Armor: Armor made from the hide of a Great Horned Deer.]

[Equipped Attributes: Tough Skin.]

[Tough Skin: While defending, your skin becomes as tough as deerhide.]

[Solidification Condition: Withstand three thousand attacks of moderate strength.]

[Equip?]

The armor was pretty good too. It could improve his defenses.

"How many Spirit Stones for this Deerhide Armor?"

Zhou Er asked.

"This Deerhide Armor is cheap. Only twenty Spirit Stones."

The man held up two fingers.

Together, the items came to fifty Spirit Stones—the equivalent of a hundred and fifty First-grade Talismans.

"Do you accept talismans?"

Zhou Er asked.

"Of course we do."

The man nodded.

Zhou Er took five stacks of talismans from his Storage Bag. They were all Fireball Talismans, thirty to a stack, for a total of a hundred and fifty.

As soon as he saw the talismans, the man immediately recognized Zhou Er.

"You must be Talisman Master Cang, Cang Er!"

"That's right!"

Zhou Er nodded.

"Since Talisman Master Cang has honored us with a visit, I have to give you something. Otherwise, the Patriarch will surely blame me."

The man hurried into the back room and returned with some Tung Oil and a bag of arrows.

"Talisman Master Cang, this Tung Oil is for maintaining the Antler Bow and Deerhide Armor. These are Wolf-Tooth Arrows, made from the fangs of Bright Moon Wolves. They can easily pierce the hides of most First-grade Demonic Beasts."

There were five Wolf-Tooth Arrows in all, and they certainly looked impressive.

"Thank you, Shopkeeper!"

Zhou Er said gratefully.

Then he remembered that to solidify the Antler Bow's attribute, he would have to master archery. So he asked:

"Do you know anyone in Jiaolu Market who's skilled at archery, Shopkeeper?"

"There are plenty of people in Jiaolu Market who are good shots. Our Lu Family's Third Elder, Lu Changgeng, is excellent, and so is Wang Tao in the outer district."

The man recommended the two of them.

Jiaolu Market was nestled in the mountains and forests, where skilled archers were a common sight.

"Do you know where Wang Tao lives, Shopkeeper?"

Zhou Er asked.

The Lu Family's Third Elder wouldn't be easy to ask.

"Well, I happen to know."

The Shopkeeper gave Zhou Er directions.

With the armor and Antler Bow in hand, Zhou Er went home and equipped them. He then followed the directions the artifact shop's Shopkeeper had given him and found Wang Tao's house.

But Wang Tao wasn't home. According to the neighbors, he had gone hunting and probably wouldn't be back for three to five days.

Seeing that, Zhou Er had no choice but to go home and return in a few days.

For now, there was no way to make progress on the Antler Bow, but he could start working on the Deerhide Armor's attribute.

[Deerhide Armor: Armor made from the hide of a Great Horned Deer.]

[Equipped Attributes: Tough Skin.]

[Tough Skin: While defending, your skin becomes as tough as deerhide.]

[Solidification Condition: Withstand three thousand attacks of moderate strength.]

At first glance, withstanding attacks seemed to require someone else's help. But Zhou Er could do it on his own.

Force acted both ways. When he punched a sandbag or a tree trunk, he also felt the force rebound against him.

So he went outside Jiaolu Market and found a tree with a crooked trunk. Clenching his fists, he struck it over and over, each blow growing harder until the tree shuddered violently.

[Tough Skin: While defending, your skin becomes as tough as deerhide.]

[Solidification Condition: Withstand three thousand attacks of moderate strength. (1/3000)]

Once he saw the progress begin to increase, Zhou Er stopped hitting harder and kept pounding the tree at the same strength.

After several hundred heavy blows, blood began to seep from his knuckles.

At that point, Zhou Er used the Water Healing Technique, spending Spirit Energy to heal the small wounds. Once they were healed, he resumed pounding the tree.

Three days later, Zhou Er landed his final blow, and the crooked tree crashed to the ground.

With his blood and energy bolstering them, Zhou Er's skin had become incredibly tough.

On his way back to the market, Zhou Er found Wang Tao.

Wang Tao was a quiet man who never spoke unless spoken to, and then only answered what he was asked.

Zhou Er had to broach the subject himself:

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I'd like you to teach me archery. I'll pay you ten Fireball Talismans to teach me for a day. How does that sound?"

"Sure!"

Wang Tao nodded. The Hunting Team needed time to rest after hunting Demonic Beasts, so teaching Zhou Er for a day or two wouldn't cost him much time.

The next day, the two went outside the market and found an open space. They chose a large tree as their target and began practicing archery.

Wang Tao was a little surprised to see Zhou Er practicing with expensive Wolf-Tooth Arrows, but he said nothing. He simply taught Zhou Er everything he could about archery.

He showed him how to grip the bow and gauge the wind, how to make adjustments, and so on.

After a day of study, Zhou Er had picked up the techniques. He didn't ask Wang Tao to teach him anymore and went out to practice on his own.

Though he knew the techniques, any skill required a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements. Only by mastering every subtle detail could he achieve true mastery.

That took time, and repetition after repetition to hone his skills.

So Zhou Er spent his days cultivating, making talismans, and practicing with the bow, moving between those three activities.

Sometimes, when he carried the large Antler Bow back, he stopped by the market to take a look around.

Unfortunately, the cultivators in Jiaolu Market were too poor. They had nothing particularly good, let alone any useful attributes.

A month later, Zhou Er mastered archery and successfully solidified the Arm Strength Doubling attribute.

His arms had already possessed roughly a thousand jin of strength. With the Arm Strength Doubling attribute now active, that figure shot up to two thousand jin.

He could now take on a Fierce Tiger in hand-to-hand combat without a problem.

By now, he had mastered numerous spells, and his body was incredibly powerful as well.

He hadn't tested his strength, but Zhou Er could roughly estimate that ordinary Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators could no longer pose a threat to him.

Still, it wasn't time for Zhou Er to get cocky.

Those Foundation Establishment Experts who could project their Spiritual Sense, and Golden Core True Persons who had condensed a Golden Core, could crush him with a casual squeeze.

That was precisely why he had fled Xiayun Sect in such a hurry.

For now, he still needed to focus on building up his strength.

After cultivating in Jiaolu Market for another half a year, Zhou Er broke through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and reached Late-stage Qi Refining.

At Late-stage Qi Refining, his energy could circulate through the full circuit of his body, which was far more efficient than the Minor Circulation he had used before.

Moreover, this circulation continued slowly even when he wasn't meditating, restoring his Spirit Energy.

At Late-stage Qi Refining, his stamina had improved by a huge margin.

He could now fly on a sword.

Zhou Er didn't have a usable flying sword. He only had a Copper Ring, and while he could use it to fly with the Ruyi Ring, it was still too slow to satisfy him.

Still, it wasn't too bad. Once his cultivation grew deeper, he wouldn't even need a flying sword. He could ride a cloud of energy through the skies and cover ten thousand li in a day.

For now, Zhou Er was obviously nowhere near capable of that.

Having reached Late-stage Qi Refining, Zhou Er didn't want to stay in Jiaolu Market any longer. Its prospects were too limited; he might as well leave sooner rather than later.

Over the past year, he had left Jiaolu Market plenty of talismans. He hadn't let the market down after all it had done for him.

As for where to go, Zhou Er had already decided: three thousand li west of Jiaolu Market, within Chu State, lay an immortal city called Bashui Immortal City.

If he stayed in Jiaolu Market, he wouldn't even get his hands on a Foundation Establishment Pill.

This time, Zhou Er didn't sneak away. He parted on good terms, finding Lu Tong and telling him he was leaving.

"Brother Lu, thank you for looking after me this past year. I've now reached Late-stage Qi Refining, and I want to seek an opportunity for Foundation Establishment. I can't stay in Jiaolu Market."

Zhou Er said, feeling a little regretful.

"Fellow Daoist Cang, Xiao Nan and Xiao Yunji still haven't learned the art of talisman-making. Why not stay a few more years and teach them before you leave? You can't just give up halfway. My Lu Family is willing to provide you with an additional annual stipend."

Lu Tong tried to persuade him to stay.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, I've made up my mind. I did break my promise to teach Lu Nan and Lu Yunji talisman-making. Xiao Nan does have some talent, so I'll leave behind some Talisman Making Insights. If he wants to study, he can use them as a guide. If he has questions, he can ask Elder Chen. Also, these three hundred talismans are compensation from me."

Zhou Er took out a thick book of Talisman Making Insights, along with several stacks of talismans.

Lu Tong looked at the talismans and understood. He nodded and said:

"Then I won't try to stop you, Fellow Daoist Cang."

Lu Tong had no doubt that Zhou Er had enough talismans in his hands to blow up all of Jiaolu Market.

The Old Ancestor was often in seclusion. If things turned ugly, they had no guarantee they could take Zhou Er down.

Besides, Zhou Er was leaving with dignity. Before he left, he had even given them his Talisman Making Insights and a large number of talismans.

Aside from leaving behind talismans, Zhou Er also exchanged some of them for a hundred Spirit Stones.

He was worried that people in Bashui Immortal City might not accept talismans, which would make things inconvenient for him.

After settling things with Jiaolu Market, Zhou Er packed his belongings and set off for Bashui Immortal City.

Standing on the Ruyi Ring, Zhou Er took a little over a day to reach the area around the immortal city.

Before him lay Wangyue Lake, the largest lake in Chu State.

Bashui Immortal City stood on a small island in the lake, surrounded by water on all sides. Its walls soared high, and mist swirled across the surface, making the place seem mysterious and unfathomable.

Zhou Er lingered on the shore. Just as he was about to fly across the lake on the Ruyi Ring, a cultivator nearby stopped him:

"Fellow Daoist, don't try to fly across. Bashui Immortal City has a rule: cultivators below Foundation Establishment are not allowed to fly near the city."

Zhou Er looked toward the young cultivator sitting nearby.

The man was at the Qi Refining Mid-stage and had a piece of Foxtail Grass between his lips.

"Thank you for the warning. I'm Cang Er, and I'm hoping to get to Bashui Immortal City. If I can't fly across, how am I supposed to cross the lake? I can't exactly swim, can I?"

Zhou Er said.

"Fellow Daoist Cang, my name is Ye Yichen. I can tell you're not from Bashui Immortal City. Wait here with me. Someone will come to ferry us across in less than half an hour."

Ye Yichen spat out the Foxtail Grass and said with a smile.

Zhou Er waited on the shore. While they chatted, he learned about Ye Yichen's circumstances.

Ye Yichen was the son of Rogue Cultivators in Bashui Immortal City. His parents made a living by raising Spirit Fish for the Xie Family, one of the Four Great Families of Bashui Immortal City.

He had gone to the Ascension Conference hosted by the Three Great Immortal Sects of Chu State, but had returned defeated.

The so-called Ascension Conference was a recruitment examination for disciples, only dressed up with a fancier name.

Ye Yichen had entered the Ascension Conference to try his luck.

If he stayed in Bashui Immortal City, all he could do was inherit his parents' trade and raise fish for the Xie Family.

Young people all had dreams. He had wanted to go out and make a name for himself, but after failing, he could only return in a sorry state.

As they chatted, a black dot appeared on the lake and swam toward them, growing larger and larger.

"Fellow Daoist Cang, the boat's here."

Ye Yichen said.

"It only costs one Spirit Stone to get to Bashui Immortal City. Don't give him any extra."

Before the boat arrived, Ye Yichen reminded him.

Bashui Immortal City wasn't the only power on the lake. More than a dozen lineages, large and small, were scattered across the islands, living off the resources of Wangyue Lake.

Zhou Er nodded and took out a Spirit Stone in advance.

Before long, an old man wearing a rain cape and bamboo hat stopped in front of them.

"Where are you two headed?"

the old man asked.

"Xie Family Fishery."

Ye Yichen said. The fishery wasn't inside the Immortal City, but on a Small Island under the Xie Family's jurisdiction. It was a little farther away and cost two Spirit Stones.

"Bashui Immortal City."

Following Ye Yichen's instructions, Zhou Er took out one Spirit Stone.

"You're closer, so I'll take you to Bashui Immortal City first."

the old man said.

The old man's ferry was made of a special material and had a spiritual quality to it. It seemed to be a magical artifact.

Earlier, when they were farther away, Zhou Er hadn't noticed. Now that he was aboard, he could clearly feel how fast the boat was.

Sitting on it, Zhou Er felt as if he were racing along in a cruise ship.

Before long, Zhou Er arrived at the small landmass where Bashui Immortal City stood.

"Fellow Daoist Cang, perhaps we'll meet again when I visit the city another day!"

Ye Yichen stayed on the boat and waved goodbye to Zhou Er.

"There's plenty of time ahead!"

Zhou Er replied with a smile.

Then Zhou Er headed toward Bashui Immortal City.

The city walls towered dozens of meters high, imposing and magnificent.

As soon as he reached the gates, two cultivators in blue-and-white uniforms flew down from the wall on their swords and said:

"Who goes there? You must submit to an inspection to enter the city."