Cultivators thronged the air around an enormous mountain that looked like a pillar holding up the heavens. This was the site of the second massacre, the Zhang Household Market District. The mountain had a rather unusual shape. Only two or three hundred zhang tall, it formed a cylinder, with storefronts lining its waist and the shops themselves carved into the rock. Cultivators looking for a particular shop needed only to ride their flying swords around the mountain. It could be counted among the more distinctive market districts in the Liang Kingdom. Its business model also differed from that of ordinary lineage-run markets. The Zhang Household rented out premises; anyone who could afford the rent could open a shop on this round mountain, regardless of who they were. This attracted quite a few small lineages and sects to do business here, creating this bustling scene.
At the summit lay a vast stretch of flat ground, several hundred zhang across. The Zhang Household, owners of the market district, lived in the residential compound they had built across this expanse.
Beneath the entire mountain was a circular lake, with no dry ground in sight. Small boats and painted pleasure barges drifted across it. Cliffs encircled the whole area, and the valley was extraordinarily lively and prosperous.
It was said that the Zhang Household had once produced a Great Cultivator at the spirit communion stage, who had forcibly carved out this foundation with a great divine ability. The tale stirred people's imaginations, but the Zhang Household no longer existed. They had been the victims of the Liang Kingdom's second massacre, their entire household slaughtered to the last person. It was truly cause for lament. Although the Zhang Household had been in decline and was not even the equal of the Lu Household, its sudden