Yue Kingdom, Yellow Maple Valley Market.
Inside the tallest building, Lin He took out a Yellow Maple Valley mission token and completed the handover with the cultivator surnamed Wu before him.
The cultivator surnamed Wu seemed somewhat reluctant to leave, but Yellow Maple Valley had strict rules for the Foundation Establishment cultivators assigned to guard the market. They had to rotate out at regular intervals; no one could remain there indefinitely and build a faction of his own. Though unwilling, the cultivator surnamed Wu had no choice but to return to the valley.
After the cultivator surnamed Wu left, two of the other Foundation Establishment cultivators present merely nodded in greeting to the newly arrived Lin He before leaving as well. Only an old man surnamed Cai seemed particularly talkative, drawing Lin He into a lengthy chat.
Seeing Lin He's puzzled expression, Old Cai seemed to guess what he was wondering and took the initiative to extend a friendly gesture.
"Junior Brother Lin, are you wondering why Senior Brother Wu was so reluctant to leave?"
Lin He made no attempt to hide his confusion. Old Cai stroked his beard and explained, "The spiritual energy in the market isn't particularly dense. It falls far short of what we have in Yellow Maple Valley, so cultivation is naturally much slower here. But we have more freedom here and can attend to some personal matters as well."
Low-ranking disciples of Yellow Maple Valley could only leave once a year. If special circumstances required them to go out again, they had to submit an application to the External Affairs Hall and wait for approval.
After all, the sect was not their own home. They could not simply come and go as they pleased. The rule was reasonable enough, but for certain cultivators, it was rather harsh.
At this point, Old Cai sighed. "Though Senior Brother Wu reached Foundation Establishment many years ago, he's remained stuck in the early stage without making any progress. I'm afraid he gave up hope of forming a core long ago. What he wants most now isn't to advance his cultivation, but to be reunited with his wife and son."
Although Senior Brother Wu had entered Yellow Maple Valley, his wife and son lacked the aptitude and cultivation required to join. Naturally, he wanted to see them every day, so he arranged for them to live in the market while he periodically applied for guard duty there. That way, he could reunite with them every so often.
Only after Senior Brother Cai finished explaining did Lin He understand. He had heard something about this before, but Old Cai's explanation made it much clearer.
In fact, he had also come to guard the market with the intention of attending to personal affairs, so he took the opportunity to ask.
"Senior Brother Cai, to tell you the truth, I came to guard the market partly to contribute to the sect and earn some spirit stones, but also to take care of a few personal matters. I wonder..."
Old Cai was not surprised at all. He smiled and said, "You really are candid, Junior Brother Lin. Everyone who comes here to guard the market has plans of his own, and I'm no exception. Given the market's layout, only three Foundation Establishment cultivators need to be on duty to bring out the full power of the Market Grand Formation. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"
Lin He was no fool and quickly caught on. "I see. There are currently four Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market, which means we can take turns attending to personal matters, as long as three remain on duty. But if three are enough, why do our superiors assign four?"
Old Cai sighed. "Everyone says the cultivation world is cruel and heartless, but when it comes to their own lives, how can people truly sever all affection and loyalty? Our superiors understand that too, so they deliberately made this arrangement to ease everyone's resentment."
Only then did Lin He fully understand. Since this was an unspoken rule even their superiors knew about, he no longer had anything to worry about. He promptly offered his thanks.
"Thank you for clearing things up for me, Senior Brother Cai. I'll remember your kindness."
Old Cai chuckled. Hadn't he said all this precisely to do the young man a favor? Anyone who reached Foundation Establishment at such a young age was bound to possess outstanding aptitude. Building a friendship with him certainly could not hurt.
Afterward, Old Cai warmly invited Lin He to taste some tea. Lin He knew absolutely nothing about spirit tea, but he copied Old Cai's manner of drinking it and listened as he explained the various intricacies of tea tasting. It had a charm all its own.
Quite some time passed before Lin He rose to take his leave. Before he departed, Old Cai even gave him several packets of spirit tea.
Sure enough, only when you have strength will others respect you, or even try to curry favor with you.
Lin He could not help feeling a surge of emotion. He still had some Ink Flood Dragon materials to deal with and urgently needed someone to refine artifacts from them, but despite searching the entire market, he had found no suitable candidate.
Looks like I'll still have to go find Old Xu.
Lin He stayed for a month. His duties were simple enough. Aside from being forbidden to leave the market, he faced no other restrictions.
During that month, he wandered around the market and bought quite a few books about spirit beasts and spirit tea. However, he did not find a single high-quality cultivation art.
Back in his quarters, Lin He began considering the matter of cultivation arts.
I did find an art in Yellow Maple Valley called the Golden Light Art. It's not difficult to cultivate, but it isn't good for combat, and it can only take me as far as the Core Formation Stage.
Lin He had already cultivated the Golden Light Art to the fourth level, gaining a divine ability called the Golden Light Shield. It allowed him to conjure a golden shield for defense, but its actual power was merely average.
Looks like I'll have to find a suitable cultivation art once I reach the Chaotic Star Sea.
As Lin He pondered this, undisguised footsteps approached. A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed the visitor's identity, and he promptly opened the door.
"Ah, Senior Brother Cai."
Old Cai glanced around Lin He's room and could not help praising him. "You have no taste for luxury, Junior Brother Lin. Your bedroom is so plain. That's truly rare."
"I don't care much about such external things. By the way, what brings you here, Senior Brother Cai?"
"Well, I've come with good news. It'll be your turn to attend to your personal affairs for the next stretch of time."
"Oh, that's wonderful."
Lin He brightened at the news. He could finally make a trip to Heavenly Star Sect Market.
Yet Old Cai suddenly asked, "Junior Brother Lin, you asked me before about finding someone to refine magic artifacts, but you couldn't find a suitable person. Is that right?"
"That's right, so I still need to visit Heavenly Star Sect Market. I hear there's a fairly skilled artifact refiner there."
"Heavenly Star Sect Market?" Old Cai hesitated before finally saying, "Junior Brother Lin, I have a somewhat presumptuous favor to ask. I hear a Tea Tasting Room recently opened in that market, selling all kinds of fine spirit tea. Could you buy some on my behalf?"
Lin He smiled at that. "It's no more than lifting a hand. Why not? Whatever kinds of spirit tea you need, Senior Brother Cai, just
tell me."
Old Cai was delighted. He gave Lin He some instructions, then took out a number of spirit stones and handed them over before leaving, thoroughly satisfied.
Watching him leave, Lin He felt his spirits lift. After walking out of the market, he immediately set off aboard the Flying Spirit Boat toward Heavenly Star Sect Market.