With mutual interests serving as the bond between them, Liu Yu's dealings with the Yan Household cultivators went fairly smoothly.
The status of a second-tier alchemist carried considerable weight. Even within the vast Primordial Yang Sect, such a person could not be ignored, so no scene of someone looking down on him through a dog's eyes ever occurred.
They did not slight him for abandoning the Outer Courtyard faction and joining the Family Line. Instead, they treated him with courtesy.
Under these circumstances, their exchanges over the past few years had gone smoothly. As the number of pill transactions increased, they gradually became familiar with one another.
A gentle breeze stirred the fallen leaves. The broad street lay silent and empty.
At a glance, Liu Yu saw hardly any cultivators coming and going apart from the patrols. More than half the shops on either side had their doors shut.
Even the shops still open for business were so deserted that sparrows could have gathered at their doors. Looking in from outside, he could not see a single person.
The Five Sects of Chu were still hunting down the remnants of the White Cloud Temple. Whenever a cultivator had even the slightest connection to them, the entire network was usually uprooted, and everyone involved was slaughtered.
Better to kill the wrong person than let one escape!
Given the current situation, everyone in Ancient Gate City feared for their own safety, terrified of being linked to the White Cloud Temple.
Most cultivators chose to remain in their lodgings and rarely ventured outside.
Under the strict controls now in place, anyone who still went out either had something genuinely urgent to handle or harbored "ulterior motives."
Every cultivator who ventured outside faced rigorous scrutiny. No one outside the five sects was exempt.