Is This Track So Cutthroat Too?

"Selling Basic Visualization Diagrams/Meditation Fluid/courses?" ×2

The two stared at each other wide-eyed, both speechless. "No wonder he/they were sneaking around/and shouting so loudly just now..." ×2

"Then I won't delay Senior Brother any longer."

Zhu Yu forced a smile, cupped his hands, and turned back toward the Stone Pagoda.

Watching his retreating back, Liang Kuan's little eyes rolled as he stepped forward to follow.

It was class time again, and fewer and fewer people entered or exited the Stone Pagoda.

Seeing the broad, fat youth approach with a huge grin, Zhu Yu was briefly puzzled and asked, "Senior Brother, do you need something?"

"You really don't want Meditation Fluid?" Liang Kuan still refused to give up. He carefully took a transparent jade bottle from his robes, shook it before Zhu Yu, and said in a low voice, "This is Spirit Liquid secretly concocted by a veteran Alchemist. Its effects are no weaker than Soul Dispersing Pills."

He gritted his teeth, looking as though it pained him terribly, and said:

"Since you and I are fellow disciples brought together by fate, how about two bottles for one Contribution Point/Spirit Stone?"

The moment he heard the words "secretly concocted," and noticed Liang Kuan did not even mention the Alchemist's name, Zhu Yu understood what this so-called "Meditation Fluid" really was.

A three-no pill that had never made it onto Treasures of the World!

It might have the effects Liang Kuan claimed, but its side effects were bound to be severe.

Zhu Yu shook his head. "Senior Brother, do I look like someone with Contribution Points/Spirit Stones?"

"You do!"

"I really don't."

"Ah..."

Seeing how sincere he looked, Liang Kuan could only put away the pill bottle. He glanced toward the Stone Pagoda and, with nothing else to do while waiting, curiously asked, "Junior Brother, what level has your visualization method reached?"

Anyone daring to teach outside the Sutra Lecture Hall had to have some real skill. Unlike him, who could only come by from time to time to try his luck and see whether some fool newly arrived at the Sect would take over his "Meditation Fluid."

Zhu Yu nodded slightly. "I've barely reached minor accomplishment."

"Hm? Minor accomplishment?"

Liang Kuan froze. When he came back to his senses, his eyes were filled with doubt and disbelief.

It was not that he looked down on Zhu Yu, but what kind of people could cultivate the Basic Visualization Method to minor accomplishment? Either they had practiced for many years, or they had been born with exceptional comprehension.

The frail youth before him did not look like either.

Seeing his suspicious gaze, Zhu Yu's thoughts stirred. Smiling warmly, he said, "Senior Brother, would you like to listen? It isn't expensive—one Contribution Point or one Spirit Stone per lesson."

After a pause, he added, "If Senior Brother feels it isn't useful, I won't take a single coin."

Liang Kuan's eyes rolled. Whether it was useful or not would be for him to decide, wouldn't it? Thinking that listening would cost him nothing, he patted his belly and said cheerfully, "Then let's hear what you have to say, Junior Brother."

"What realm has Senior Brother's visualization diagram reached? Is there anything you don't understand..."

After questioning him, Zhu Yu learned that Liang Kuan's visualization diagram truly was at the beginner stage and not far from proficiency. Now that he had a clear grasp of the situation, he pondered briefly before beginning his explanation.

"The most important thing about the Basic Visualization Diagram is the word 'visualize.' Only by casting aside chaotic stray thoughts can one's mind connect to the unseen and profound..."

Zhu Yu began with the most basic meditation.

How to reduce distracting thoughts, how to enter meditation more quickly, several key points for constructing the Three-Ring Pattern, what made for the most convenient and simplest starting point, what made for the most convenient and simplest endpoint...

At first, Liang Kuan had not paid much attention. But when he heard several unique little meditation tricks Zhu Yu described, his eyes immediately lit up, and he silently committed them to memory. When Zhu Yu began explaining how to construct the Three-Ring Pattern, his expression became incomparably serious.

"When constructing the Three-Ring Pattern, the first difficulty is an unstable mind, with distracting thoughts springing up from nowhere. The second is the inexplicable resistance that appears while drawing the pattern."

"Let's speak of the unstable mind first. I have a few little tricks for that..."

Liang Kuan was listening intently when Zhu Yu's voice suddenly cut off. Along with it vanished the flashes of inspiration that had occasionally burst forth in his mind. At once, he felt a pent-up breath of frustration lodged in his chest, impossible to swallow or spit out, and hurriedly asked:

"What comes next? What comes next? What tricks?"

What greeted him, however, was a brilliant smile and an outstretched hand.

"Senior Brother, one Spirit Stone, please."

Liang Kuan froze at those words. When he recovered, the fat on his face trembled. He reached into his robes, took out an item, and slapped it into Zhu Yu's hand. Before Zhu Yu could speak, he waved his hand. "Not bad. Senior Brother will come patronize you again next time."

With that, he strode away in a hurry.

"This..."

Watching his back disappear, Zhu Yu looked at the jade bottle in his hand and shook his head speechlessly. He had wanted to throw away this three-no Spirit Liquid directly, but after hesitating, he still tucked it into his sleeve.

No matter what, he had made his first sale.

Zhu Yu rallied his spirits and looked expectantly toward the Stone Pagoda's doors.

The instant he saw someone emerge, he pricked up his ears and specifically searched for those discussing the Basic Visualization Method. Once they had left the Sutra Lecture Hall by over a hundred meters, he quietly followed after them.

"Senior Brother, please wait!"

"No Contribution Points/Spirit Stones? Get lost!"

Instead of an enthusiastic greeting, he received a contemptuous curse.

"I..."

Zhu Yu was stunned. Was there really such baseless hostility?

When he came back to his senses, several people holding cracked bowls sprang from the grass ahead. Their rapid-fire pitch came one after another, and they chased after the customer Zhu Yu had chosen, soon vanishing into the distance.

"Fuck..."

Zhu Yu could not help cursing.

The Heavenly Dao Sect truly had every kind of talent. Restricted by Sect Rules, they could not kill one another, but such disgusting methods might really earn them Spirit Stones. Still, they would probably be in for a vicious beating sooner or later.

Shaking his head, he turned and returned to the Stone Pagoda.

One full moon after another rose, and more and more people entered and exited the Stone Pagoda. Among them were quite a few disciples who had achieved success in Qi Refining. At the same time, the Stone Pagoda plaza gradually grew lively.

Some sold ancestral treasures.

Some sold young beasts said to possess spirit beast bloodlines.

Some peddled Purification Talismans, Spirit-Concentrating Talismans, Soul Dispersing Pills, Spirit-Concentrating Pills, and other items said to aid cultivation...

Before long, a small Market had appeared outside the Stone Pagoda.

Zhu Yu stared dumbfounded at the ever-growing crowd, especially the stalls that did not sell goods but instead held up cloth signs.

"Thirty years of intensive study in the Basic Visualization Method—guaranteed to teach you until you understand..."

"Want to know how to become a Spirit Planter? Only ten Spirit Stones."

"A Body Refining technique secretly passed down in my family—the more you train, the stronger you grow. Uprooting mountains and lifting peaks will no longer be a dream!"

"..."

Cultivators dressed like immortal sages, or solemn and steady, or ravishingly beautiful, sat upright one after another, their expert bearing on full display as the children beside them shouted at the tops of their lungs.

"Hiss..."

Zhu Yu sucked in a cold breath. Looking down at himself, he muttered, "Is this track this cutthroat too? I just want to earn a few Spirit Stones..."

Only when the full moons faded and crescent moons rose did he finally leave.

"Inferior goods are driving out good goods..."

Zhu Yu looked painfully at the Market, then turned away resolutely. He secretly decided that tomorrow he would rise even earlier. No matter what, he had to secure one or two customers.

When he returned to the stone house, a servant happened to deliver his meal.

After dinner, Zhu Yu took out his sole gain for the day—the "Meditation Fluid" Liang Kuan had paid as tuition. He examined the jade bottle, then reached out and opened it.

A faint fragrance curled around his nose, and merely smelling it gave his spirit a slight lift.

"Hm..."