Outside Rogue Cultivators Broke the Rules

On either side of the gray, murky street, groups of outsider Rogue Cultivators discreetly watched the figures emerging from the Black Market.

Lin Chang'an, still immersed in the joy of his future prospects, had barely stepped out of the Market when he sensed that someone had set their sights on him.

Just then, a cultivator hurrying along with his head lowered brushed past him. In that instant, a hand skillfully reached into his robes.

Smack!

His wrist was suddenly seized. Seeing the vicious look on Lin Chang'an's face, the figure panicked and hurriedly forced out a smile.

"Fellow Daoist, forgive my poor eyesight. Please accept my apology..."

Yet as he spoke, his other hand skillfully reached for the sword at Lin Chang'an's waist. At the same time, the two figures nearby cast savage looks their way.

A habitual offender!

And part of a gang!

Their roles were clearly divided: one controlled the weapon while the other two seized the chance to attack!

However!

Splat!

A streak of azure light flashed. Amid spraying blood, that young face still wore its uncomprehending apologetic smile. His hand remained stupidly clutching at the sword, but the Green Bamboo Sword had already pierced through his mouth.

A single strike killed him!

Even in death, he had not understood how this man could strike so ruthlessly!

"Green Bamboo Sword! Externalized spiritual power! Damn it, it's an old ghost at Qi Refining Mid-Stage! Run!"

The other two figures saw the externalized spiritual-power shield and cried out in terror, but Lin Chang'an gave them no time to react.

The Green Bamboo Sword swept through cleanly and decisively. Blood splashed everywhere, and the disbelief in the other two pairs of eyes faded into lifelessness.

Before dying, they were still thinking that the three brothers had been cautious enough. They only targeted poor bastards, yet one who walked by the river often would eventually get his shoes wet.

That damn old ghost at Qi Refining Mid-Stage had pretended to be a Qi Refining Second Layer novice. These local cultivators were truly underhanded!

Was there any fun in fishing for poor bastards like them?!

Everything had happened in a flash. Even as Lin Chang'an counter-killed them in response to their practiced surprise attack, he had not forgotten to cast a spiritual-power shield.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye.

Too fast!

"Qi Refining Mid-Stage!"

This instant counter-kill made the pupils of the shadowy figures lurking around the alley—whether hoping to pick up a bargain or watch the show—shrink sharply. They hurriedly scattered and fled.

Externalizing spiritual power to form a spiritual-power shield was the hallmark of a Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivator.

"Pah! Outsider Rogue Cultivators who don't follow the rules."

After seeing the hidden shadows around him flee in fright, Lin Chang'an, his face full of fierce flesh and malice, gave a crude snort. He had thoroughly put on the bearing of a grand Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivator.

Yet when a gust of wind swept past, Lin Chang'an's departing figure was no slower than theirs.

Under the gray, murky sky, only three gradually cooling corpses remained on the street.

Such things were far too commonplace in the Cultivation World. Before the sun even rose, someone had already taken the bodies away.

After all, even a cultivator's corpse had value.

After winding through the Market this way and that, Lin Chang'an returned home before dawn.

The first thing he did was paste Fine Golden Light Talismans over the door and windows.

"Pah, three outsider Rogue Cultivators dared to run wild? Poor bastards."

Seeing that he had only looted a little over twenty Spirit Crystals in total, Lin Chang'an could not help looking down on them.

One was at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and the other two were at the Qi Refining Second Layer. He did not know whether to call them newborn calves unafraid of tigers or simply idiots.

With their kind of ability, even if they had not encountered him, trouble would have caught up with them sooner or later.

It was not that he was xenophobic. He simply hated cultivators like this the most—those who did not follow the rules and disrupted stability.

The Black Market had its own rules, and the first ones to suffer when those rules were broken were these lowest-cultivation cultivators.

After twenty years in the Cultivation World, he had long since become a veteran who had weathered countless things. He was used to it.

The moment he got home, he took off the clothes whose scent had already been concealed and restored his original appearance.

Looking at the Spirit Crystals in his Storage Bag tonight, Lin Chang'an could not help smiling.

It had been a little risky, but it was still worth it.

After all, the first-tier low-grade Godly Travel Talismans he sold were beneath the notice of Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivators. Only these low-level outsider Rogue Cultivators would snatch at anything when starving.

What damn Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivator would fixate on such a small amount of goods?

"Still, they had some discernment. They actually recognized the Green Bamboo Sword."

Twenty years ago, during the first Land Reclamation of this newly established Market, the Li Fire Sect had produced several hundred low-grade Magical Tools known as Green Bamboo Swords.

That was why, upon seeing the azure light, they had fled at once, believing they had encountered an old ghost.

After all, anyone who had acquired this Magical Tool twenty years ago—

combined with Lin Chang'an's appearance, ruthlessness, and Qi Refining Mid-Stage cultivation—would be taken for an experienced old ghost bold enough to walk at night.

Yet when he saw the doors and windows inside the house protected by Fine Golden Light Talismans, Lin Chang'an could not help sighing.

"I never thought there would come a day when I'd worry about having drawn too many Talismans."

Extravagant! Too extravagant!

These could originally have been exchanged for Spirit Stones, yet now they could only lie coldly in his Storage Bag, with some even pasted onto his door.

At that moment, he finally understood the pain of being alive yet not daring to openly exchange Talismans for Spirit Stones.

It was too hard.

"Until I find a safe channel for going to the Black Market, I'll have to focus on first-tier low-grade Godly Travel Talismans for now."

For the sake of stability, Lin Chang'an let out a pained sigh. He could clearly have sold Fine Golden Light Talismans for Spirit Stones, yet he could only lower himself by one grade and earn Spirit Crystals instead.

After advancing to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, Lin Chang'an became even more motivated.

Cultivating, drawing Talismans, eating Monster Beast Meat, and sleeping—he once again repeated the homebound life others found dull, but which he enjoyed without tiring of it.

Outside on the street.

"Who is this, stewing Monster Beast Meat so early in the morning? Aren't they afraid of getting overheated?"

A cultivator who had just come outside smelled the fragrance of meat and immediately turned sour with envy.

It was not that cultivators could not afford meat, but Monster Beast Meat cost rather a lot of Spirit Crystals.

If one truly wanted meat, they only needed to take a walk outside. Ordinary wild animals were everywhere.

"Shh, keep your voice down. That smell is coming from Master Lin's house."

"It's actually Master Lin!"

The Middle-aged Cultivator was startled at first upon hearing this, then his face filled with envy, and his words became even more sour.

"They say an unranked Talisman Master is worth less than a dog, but a Talisman Master who has found the path truly earns Spirit Crystals faster than desperadoes like us."

"Spirit Crystals? You must be joking. Fine Talismans are worth a Spirit Stone each. Once Master Lin gains more practice, and later learns first-tier mid-grade Talismans, they'll start at three Spirit Stones apiece."

The two cultivators on the street spoke enviously. Nearly every cultivator could draw Talismans, but those capable of drawing Fine Talismans were rarer than one in a thousand.

On this day.

Li Erniu arrived in a hurry, sorrow showing faintly on his face as he knocked on the door.

"Big Brother Lin, Elder Lu has passed away."

"What?!"

Upon hearing the news, Lin Chang'an's face also filled with grief, and he could not help feeling deeply moved.

Elder Lu was precisely the immortal master who had led them into the Cultivation World twenty years ago. Even though neither of them had passed the assessment, Elder Lu had still pointed out the road ahead for them.

"Er Niu, we must go see Master Lu off on his final journey."

Though they were not master and disciples, he had shown them the kindness of remaking their lives. Er Niu and he should both call him Master Lu.

As for why Er Niu had been the first to receive the letter, that could only be called one of the benefits of becoming a live-in son-in-law: the stability of the Beast-Taming Zhou Family.

Unlike him, a first-tier Rogue Cultivator who might have to change residences any day, letters were more conveniently delivered to the Zhou Family. Even if something happened to either of them, the Zhou Family would reply at once.