Zengtou City

Biodata

Geography and Layout

Zengtou City stands along the vast Cloud-Rain Marsh, where the Water Dragon Sect established shoreline markets to gather low-level rogue cultivators for spirit-fish harvesting and treasure collection 1.

The settlement includes lakeside Immortal Residences, fishing households, commercial streets, and a large Fish Pen on the shore. The Fish Pen is used for spirit-fish trade and later serves as the site of the Water Dragon Sect’s public selection event 6 43.

• Cloud-Rain Marsh — The surrounding fishing ground, travel route, and source of spirit fish and other cultivation resources 1 6.
• Clear Ripple Pool — A cold-water area northwest of the market where cold iron sand may be found 20.
• Crouching Tortoise Island — An island northeast of Zengtou City 16.
• Maple Leaf Island — Site of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Abode that drew cultivators from Zengtou and neighboring markets 8 12.

Governance and Security

Zengtou City falls under the Water Dragon Sect’s authority. The sect collects Immortal Residence fees, protects residences whose fees have been paid, and can expel cultivators who fail to pay 1 10.

• Residence protection is conditional: forcing entry into a paid residence is treated as a challenge to the Water Dragon Sect’s authority 10.
• Sect officials enforce payment rules. Pang Zhiyuan collects local residence fees and later stops allowing overdue payments, placing indebted residents at immediate risk of expulsion 26.
• Despite sect jurisdiction, bandit cultivators may still enter the city to loot and pillage; leaving its protection is even more dangerous for weak rogue cultivators 1.
• The Water Dragon Sect dominates access to important resources, including cold iron sand, and cultivators seeking to compete for it risk lethal retaliation 20 31.
• The sect holds a major recruitment selection in the city once every three years, testing children for spirit roots and allowing cultivators to enter through combat or cultivation arts such as talisman crafting 43 44.
• During a later selection, the sect reduced its intake and prohibited Late Qi Refining combat candidates from using talismans, pills, Water Thunder Pellets, and similar external consumables in their examinations 107.

Qin Household

The Qin Household is Zengtou City’s foremost local cultivation lineage. It protects and profits from Lousy Liu’s lending operation, making his death a potential cause for retaliation 17.

The household has three known Late Qi Refining cultivators: Old Master Qin, Second Master Qin Long, and the adopted Third Master He 43.

Following a later Water Dragon Sect selection, Qin Long and He Laosan entered the sect, while Old Master Qin’s continued absence reinforced rumors that he had died in meditation. Their departure substantially weakened the household’s local position 96.

Society and Cultivation

Zengtou City’s low-level rogue cultivators are commonly called fishers. They catch spirit fish in Cloud-Rain Marsh, maintain fish ponds, and sell their harvest for cultivation resources 1.

Most local cultivators are concentrated around the Third Layer of Qi Refining; reaching the Fourth Layer marks entry into the Middle Qi Refining Stage and requires significantly greater resources 3. The city’s fishers generally possess False Spiritual Roots, while the widely practiced Azure Sea Tide Art is a water-element technique valued mainly for its enduring spiritual energy 3.

Late Qi Refining cultivators may attempt to join the Water Dragon Sect, but those who fail or cannot qualify often remain in the city and establish local cultivation families 17.

Rare spiritual-root talents are closely controlled by the Water Dragon Sect. Wen Ling’er, the daughter of local residents Wen Lin and Zhao Yuechan, was apparently identified as possessing a Wind Variant Spiritual Root during a test and was secretly taken away by the sect amid an unusual mist 168.

Economy

Fishing, livestock, talisman production, and artifact trading underpin Zengtou City’s economy. Spirit Stones serve as the main currency, while access to sect-controlled materials strongly affects prices and opportunities 6 20.

Resource Trade

• Spirit fish are a principal source of income for local fishers; intact or rare specimens can sell for dozens of Spirit Stones 6 12.
• Water-Repelling Talismans are highly marketable because fishermen rely on them when entering the marsh; each can sell for two Spirit Stones 24.
• Cold iron sand became scarce after the Water Dragon Sect began purchasing it aggressively, raising its price from five to fifteen Spirit Stones per jin 20.
• Merchant caravans support winter trade, when Cloud-Rain Marsh freezes and most fishermen stop working 28.
• The prestige of successful former residents can itself become a local asset: after Ji Yuan’s return as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Lin Hu considered selling his former residence at an inflated price by advertising its association with Ji Yuan’s breakthrough 168.

History

The Water Dragon Sect established Zengtou Market as one of several shoreline settlements intended to gather rogue cultivators, who would fish and collect resources for the sect around Cloud-Rain Marsh 1. By the time Ji Yuan arrived, the city’s residents lived under a strict system of rent, sect protection, and cultivation-based social hierarchy 1 10.

During the conflict over the Foundation Establishment Immortal Abode on Maple Leaf Island, cultivators from Zengtou City joined those from Tai’an and Jingde markets in a violent struggle. Many local fishers died, including Lin Youwei and Zhou Ling, while a Water Dragon Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator ultimately claimed the entire estate 8 10 12.

The death of Lousy Liu later heightened tensions with the Qin Household, whose influence protected his predatory lending activities 17 18. The city also became a site of growing competition among talisman masters and cultivators seeking sect recognition during the Water Dragon Sect selection 43 45 46.

As conflict between the Water Dragon Sect and Joy Palace intensified, a subsequent recruitment drive drew further local cultivators into the sect, including Qin Long and He Laosan. Local residents expected many recruits to be sent directly to the front lines, further destabilizing the city’s established cultivation families 95 96.

Years later, Ji Yuan and Han Feiyu returned to Zengtou City together after both achieved Foundation Establishment. Their return caused a stir among former acquaintances and demonstrated the dramatic social gulf between successful sect cultivators and the city’s ordinary fishers 167 168.

Water Dragon Sect Selection

The Water Dragon Sect’s selection transforms Zengtou City into a major gathering point for cultivators and families across Cloud-Rain Marsh 43.

• Children receive free spirit-root tests, with stronger roots offering vastly better prospects for sect recruitment 43 44.
• Late Qi Refining cultivators undergo a combat examination in Cloud-Rain Marsh under sect supervision 43.
• Candidates may also qualify through specialized arts, including alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman crafting 43 44.
• During one selection, the discovery of a Heavenly Spirit Root prompted the sect to immediately escort the child and his parents away from the city 44.
• Han Feiyu and Dong Qian successfully joined the Water Dragon Sect through the combat examination, while Qin Long returned severely injured 46.
• In a later selection, Late Qi Refining combat candidates were required to rely on their own magical artifacts and spells, as external consumables such as talismans, pills, and Water Thunder Pellets were forbidden 107.
• Qin Long and He Laosan later successfully entered the sect through the selection process 96.

Notable Residents and Affiliates

• Ji Yuan — Independent fisher and cultivator whose lakeside residence develops into a self-sufficient spiritual farm; he later returned to the city as a Foundation Establishment cultivator 1 29 168.
• Han Feiyu — Former Zengtou fisher who entered the Water Dragon Sect and later achieved Foundation Establishment alongside Ji Yuan 43 46 167 168.
• Pang Zhiyuan — Water Dragon Sect official responsible for collecting Immortal Residence fees in Ji Yuan’s area 26.
• Luo Tong — Spirit-pig merchant and friend of Ji Yuan’s late father, Ji Qingyun 10 11.
• Lu Wan — Gifted talisman practitioner and Ji Yuan’s childhood acquaintance 18 22.
• Wu Wenbin — Influential local talisman master with numerous disciples 22 45.
• Qin Household — Powerful cultivation family with major influence over local affairs 17 43.
• Lin Hu and Wu Qin — Fisher couple and Ji Yuan’s longtime neighbors. Lin Hu later abandoned fishing, reached the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, and became a beginner Talisman Master 10 26 168.
• Lin Qiaoruo — Lin Hu and Wu Qin’s daughter, who received a protective Low-Grade Magical Artifact from Ji Yuan during his return visit 168.
• Wen Lin and Zhao Yuechan — Neighbors from Blackwater City who settled near Ji Yuan’s residence with their daughter, Wen Ling’er 29 30.
• Wen Ling’er — Wen Lin and Zhao Yuechan’s daughter, who disappeared during a spirit-root test and was likely taken away by the Water Dragon Sect because of a Wind Variant Spiritual Root 168.
• Qiu Qianhai — Ji Yuan’s former friend from Zengtou City, who helped expose and eliminate Lousy Liu before later leaving the city 14 17 93.