Cloudford Market

Cloudford Market sat atop a verdant peak, shrouded in thick mist year-round. One of the forty-five cultivation markets under the Qiwu Sword Sect, it bustled with traffic on ordinary days. It was the most famous cultivation market in eastern Xu Kingdom; even Jade Radiance Market could not catch up if it whipped its horse bloody.

From afar, Chen Zhuo could see quite a few shacks built from local materials at the foot of the mountain. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

"We're cultivating immortality, and people still have it this bad?"

Chen Zhuo was utterly speechless. Still, the place was nothing like the scene he had imagined, with sewage running everywhere and fairies emptying chamber pots.

The wooden houses simply began at the foot of the mountain. The place looked cramped and enclosed, but overall, it seemed fairly normal, with some semblance of order.

Looking up from the foothills, he saw a magnificent, towering city built into the mountainside, its walls merging with the peak.

Judging by its size, it could hold at least several hundred thousand people!

The entire city lay beneath a defensive formation. Cultivators patrolled the mountains on either side, and streaks of light from people flying on artifacts came and went. It looked every inch an immortal city!

Chen Zhuo was a little surprised.

He had only seen sights like this on television!

But it did not leave him all that awestruck. After all, Taiqing City had several million cultivators and was the central city of the Taiqing Domain among the five domains. It was far grander than Cloudford Market.

And while Cloudford Market could accommodate hundreds of thousands, the number of people actually coming and going inside was probably only a few thousand. Even ten thousand might be an overestimate.

The people living in this Shantytown probably aren't very strong...

Chen Zhuo considered this silently. He wore a pale blue robe, his hair bound in a topknot beneath a crown. Coupled with his aloof bearing, he looked very much like a scion of a great aristocratic clan.

There were no restrictions on entering the Shantytown. The moment Chen Zhuo set foot inside, he felt gaze after gaze settle on him.

Most glanced at him only briefly before looking away. Just a few kept watching him.

Several of those gazes carried deep malice.

Chen Zhuo felt no discomfort, though, and walked straight in.

"Immortal master! Immortal master!"

Chen Zhuo had barely taken two steps when several mortal martial artists in coarse hemp clothes crowded toward him. One was plainly sturdier than the rest and used his bulk to push ahead.

The others were unwilling, but they could only fall back.

The mortal martial artist looked to be in his thirties, with bulging temples and calloused hands. Wearing a fawning smile, he bowed and scraped before Chen Zhuo. "Immortal master, this is your first time here, isn't it? This humble one is Liu Cong. I grew up here and know every shop and street stall in the Shantytown like the back of my hand. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Chen Zhuo looked at the mortal martial artist, startled.

Cloudford Market... has mortal martial artists too?

Chen Zhuo was not foolish enough to say that aloud. He merely nodded and asked quietly, "How much?"

"Just three Spirit Sand, if you please."

The mortal martial artist named Liu Cong spoke with great care.

Spirit Sand...

Chen Zhuo did not know what Spirit Sand was, but from the name, it sounded like a lesser substitute for Spirit Stones. He refused at once. "No need."

Short and to the point.

He did not have any Spirit Sand. How could he pay?

Liu Cong looked disappointed, but he still bowed and scraped. "Take care, immortal master. If you need anything, you can find me here anytime."

Chen Zhuo nodded slightly, then turned and headed deeper into the Shantytown.

The Shantytown was not exactly crude, but it was still a letdown. Chen Zhuo felt as though he had walked into a slum.

On either side of the road, cultivators often lurked in the shadows, watching passersby coldly as though picking out prey.

Chen Zhuo even noticed a few fierce-looking cultivators whispering together in secluded corners.

They fell silent the moment he passed, only resuming their hushed conversation after he had gone.

There's probably plenty of murder and robbery going on in this Shantytown...

Chen Zhuo grew wary.

As a market under the Qiwu Sword Sect, Cloudford Market naturally maintained a certain level of order.

But in the Shantytown, that order was only skin-deep.

Quite a few merchants sat along the roadside, their wares spread over scraps of worn cloth. They hawked goods such as Talisman Paper, spiritual herbs, and ore.

Meanwhile, Chen Zhuo quietly observed the cultivation levels of the people here.

He found that most were only at the first or second layer of Qi Refining.

Few had reached the Qi Refining Third Layer, though the occasional cultivator at the fourth or fifth layer passed by.

In fact, mortal martial artists could be said to make up the majority here.

Compared to the magnificent city at the summit, this place was clearly a "slum" for rogue cultivators.

As Chen Zhuo walked and looked around, he suddenly caught a faint medicinal fragrance.

Following the scent, he spotted a sign hanging outside a Wooden House not far away, one that looked out of place among the dilapidated houses around it.

Jishi Hall.

Selling medicine here? Aren't they afraid of being robbed?

A thought struck Chen Zhuo. He was about to see whether he could sell that ruined Qi Condensation Pill here.

Ancient Cultivators did not care about Pill Toxins anyway. He could sell it to them.

But just as Chen Zhuo reached the entrance, he heard someone barking, "Go on, get out of here! If you don't have money, stop blocking other people from looking at the medicine!"

"Even low-grade Qi Gathering Powder costs at least fifteen Spirit Stones. Everything you own is worth eight or nine at most. What gives you the nerve to ask us to let you owe the other six?"

A boy who looked like a Medicine Attendant shouted, apparently furious.

The target of the Medicine Attendant's scolding was a rather down-and-out young man.

The young man's clothes were worn, and his face was pale. Looking embarrassed, he managed only, "I..."

Before he could finish, a white-haired, white-bearded elder behind the counter gave a cold snort. The Medicine Attendant redoubled his efforts, snapping, "Go, go! Stop holding up our business!"

The young man's face went white, and he turned to leave.

Chen Zhuo, however, had something else on his mind.

The old shopkeeper at Jishi Hall gave off powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy. He was at least a late-stage cultivator, above the seventh layer of Qi Refining.

Chen Zhuo could not tell his exact level by sight. He would have to find time to ask Little Jade to take a look.

As for that young man...

He had Spirit Stones!

Nine of them!

For a moment, Chen Zhuo wanted to sell that Waste Pill to him instead.

The reason was simple.

The down-and-out young man was only at the First Layer of Qi Refining. He was nowhere near as dangerous as the shopkeeper of Jishi Hall.

And there was another reason...

Chen Zhuo needed the young man to take it, then describe how his condition changed, so Chen Zhuo could complete his schoolwork record!