[Over sixty years ago, when Ruan Hu was still a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, he had bought a Black Wind Eagle egg containing the dark demon eagle bloodline at a bargain price.]
[The Ouyang Family had likely made contact with Ruan Hu back then, establishing a connection between the two sides.]
[For this auction, the Ouyang Family had invited Ruan Hu to oversee the Market District to deal with the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators who had realized what was happening.]
[You gazed at the black shadow that occasionally appeared high above the clouds.]
[It was an eagle of the deepest, darkest black. Its outspread wings spanned six or seven zhang, and wherever it passed, darkness spread and light retreated.]
[A middle-aged man stood atop the enormous eagle's head with his hands behind his back. He was none other than Ruan Hu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the direct lineage of Beast Taming Mountain.]
[Whoosh!]
[The Dark Demon Eagle spread its wings and flew into the Market District in an instant, its speed reaching an astonishing extreme.]
[My Dark Demon Eagle!]
[Your heart stirred with excitement.]
[As an eagle-type spirit beast, the Dark Demon Eagle excelled above all at speed, making it a top-grade mount.]
[Although Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could use their magical power to fly bodily through the air, they were not particularly fast, and the expenditure of magical power was considerable.]
[The Dark Demon Eagle, on the other hand, was a flying spirit pet by nature. Whether fleeing for your life or hunting someone down, it would be a tremendous help.]
[You were so interested in the Dark Demon Eagle because you already regarded it as something you were certain to obtain in your next simulation.]
[You had already learned the precise circumstances and timing of Ruan Hu's purchase of the Black Wind Eagle egg containing the dark demon eagle bloodline.]
[In the next simulation, barring any surprises, this Dark Demon Eagle would be yours.]
[The auction at Black Mountain Market lasted several days. Its final offering, the Foundation Establishment Pill, was purchased by a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.]
[This outcome was just as you had expected. Even with access to a seller, Qi Refining Stage cultivators still struggled to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills.]
[The first obstacle was wealth. Naturally, Qi Refining Stage cultivators could not compare with Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.]
[Second, even if a Qi Refining Stage cultivator had sufficient wealth, how they could safely use the Foundation Establishment Pill after buying it remained a problem.]
[Murder and robbery were hardly rare in the cultivation world. Faced with enormous profits, even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would not mind concealing their identities and playing rogue cultivator for a time.]
[Several months passed, and you gradually learned what had happened after the auction.]
[Market Master Ouyang Shen, accompanied by his heir Ouyang Qian and Ruan Hu of Beast Taming Mountain, had invited certain Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators for a discussion.]
[The invited Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators had all previously owned properties and shops in the Market District, such as the Pill Alliance's Foundation Establishment alliance leader.]
[The discussion concerned Shopkeeper Ouyang's willingness to return some other shops as compensation.]
[Although the compensation fell short of their losses, it was compensation nonetheless. Under pressure from Ruan Hu of Beast Taming Mountain, these Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators had no choice but to bow their heads.]
[Not only could Ruan Hu rival a late-stage Foundation Establishment senior cultivator, but he also had Beast Taming Mountain behind him.]
[Naturally, most Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators did not dare offend him.]
[The Ouyang Family... was safe now...]
["The Ouyang Family.....It's all right now......"]
[From holding an auction to restore the crowds, to publicly offering a Foundation Establishment Pill to draw even more people, to inviting Ruan Hu of Beast Taming Mountain as a deterrent, and finally compensating the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators who had suffered losses... the Ouyang Family had essentially wiped away the hidden dangers accumulated over the past several decades in one fell swoop.]
[As for the cultivators who had lost everything? Without Foundation Establishment-level combat strength, they naturally posed no threat to the Ouyang Family.]
[Those cultivators did not even know that the Ouyang Family was the culprit behind everything. They would only blame themselves for failing to hold on and selling their properties and shops in the Market District too early.]
[The Market District's crowds had mostly returned, even surpassing their former numbers somewhat.]
[You reached this conclusion after observing the flow of cultivators through Black Mountain Market during this period.]
[In the sixty-third year, you were seventy-eight years old and still hiding outside Black Mountain Market.]
[At present, you devoted most of your energy to cultivating the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art, so the spiritual energy of your surroundings mattered little to you.]
[In the sixty-fourth year, you were seventy-nine years old. You vaguely sensed that your cultivation of the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art had reached the peak of the second level.]
[You began preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment.]
[Before preparing for your breakthrough, however, your first task was to sell your properties and shops in Black Mountain Market.]
[Only money safely in your pocket was truly yours.]
[You had bought these properties and shops at rock-bottom prices over the past several years. Now, after two years of development, Black Mountain Market had regained its prosperity, and their prices had naturally recovered as well.]
[You already had a buyer in mind for these properties and shops.]
[Half a month later, at Listening Rain Market.]
[In a private room at an inn, you sat opposite a female cultivator who still retained her mature charm.]
["Pill Master Wang, what impressive methods. Did you know some inside information beforehand?"]
[The charming female cultivator was none other than You Rou, deputy leader of the Pill Alliance in Black Mountain Market Ward. You had previously bought the Spirit Medicine Pavilion from her for three thousand spirit stones.]
[At the time, both You Rou and the Foundation Establishment alliance leader had thought you a fool with more money than sense. After everything that had happened over the past few years, however, they had naturally realized the truth.]
["I wouldn't call it inside information. I merely knew a little more, that's all."]
[You spoke calmly.]
["Oh?"]
[You Rou gazed at you. Even the Pill Alliance leader backing her had been played by the Ouyang Family, yet you had actually known beforehand?]
[You Rou became certain that a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator must be backing you as well.]
[You offered no explanation. This was precisely your intention.]
[Cultivators with backing and cultivators without it were two entirely different kinds of people.]
["Fellow Daoist Wang, why are you selling so many shops all at once?"]
[You Rou asked in a gentle voice.]
["In a little while, I plan to head to Jade Moon Immortal City to visit Pill Master Zhao Kan. Keeping these shops would only be a nuisance, so I might as well sell them all."]
[You spoke.]
[You Rou could not help being moved by your words.]
[As a pill master herself, she naturally knew who Pill Master Zhao Kan was.]
[He was a second-tier, mid-grade pill master in Jade Moon Immortal City who could independently refine Foundation Establishment Pills.]
[Whether in background, status, or anything else, he stood above the Pill Alliance leader.]
[You had not lied. You did indeed plan to head to Jade Moon Immortal City next, and you would indeed visit Pill Master Zhao Kan.]
[You Rou began discussing the prices of the various shops with you.]
[Over the past several years, you had purchased twelve shops and properties at rock-bottom prices. Naturally, the most valuable among them was the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.]
[In the end, you sold them to You Rou as a package at ninety percent of their market value.]
[To be precise, you sold them to the Foundation Establishment alliance leader behind You Rou.]
[You Rou alone did not have that many spirit stones.]
["Pill Master Wang..."]
[After you finished discussing business, You Rou gently moved closer.]
["Alliance Leader You, I still have important matters to attend to."]
[You rejected You Rou's advances, though not because you could remain unmoved with a beauty in your lap.]
[Rather, You Rou was no younger than you.]
[She was nearly eighty years old.]
[Although she had preserved her looks and still appeared charming.]
[You simply could not muster any interest.]
[By selling all your shops and properties as a package this time, you earned a total profit of sixty-eight thousand spirit stones after deducting your costs.]
"Such a pity..."
Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing felt considerable regret.
Because he was only at the Qi Refining Stage, Zhou Qing had played it safe and dared to acquire only ten percent of Black Mountain Market's shops and properties.
Had he been at the Foundation Establishment Realm, with no need to fear the Ouyang Family turning hostile, he could easily have acquired thirty or forty percent.
He could even have divided the spoils evenly with the Ouyang Family.
That would have meant a profit of several hundred thousand spirit stones.
However, Zhou Qing's regret lasted only a moment.
After all, he had only been at the Qi Refining Stage in this simulation. Things would be different in the next one.
Judging by his cultivation speed in the simulation, by the time he reached seventy or eighty in the next simulation, he should at least be at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
When that time came, Zhou Qing could give the Ouyang Family a proper taste of the cultivation world's treachery.
[In the sixty-fifth year, you were eighty years old.]
[In an inn in Listening Rain Market Ward, you sat cross-legged as roars like raging mountains and seas thundered within your body.]
[You had cultivated the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art to the third level. With your physical body alone, you could rival a late-stage Qi Refining senior cultivator.]