In the Southern Wasteland, every cultivation market forbade magical combat and killing, with severe punishment for violators.
Yet behind the scenes, most cultivators who broke this rule often belonged to the faction that controlled the market.
Some cultivation factions simply concealed it better, maintaining a respectable facade, while others covered their tracks so poorly that they ruined the entire market's reputation, turning it into a black market known throughout the surrounding region.
Li Quan, a mere late Qi Refining cultivator, knew these ins and outs only because he came from the notorious, danger-ridden Dark Dice Market in the Western Evolution Realm.
For the powerful figures of the Western Evolution Realm, Dark Dice Market was a fine place of intoxicating luxury and nightly revelry. But to ordinary Qi Refining cultivators like Li Quan, it was nothing short of a demonic den where surviving until evening was never assured.
That was precisely why others embarked on cultivation to seize resources, using the bones of others as nourishment to become immortals and patriarchs.
Li Quan's only goal in cultivation was to stay alive and protect himself. His greatest dream was merely to find a powerful faction where he could enjoy his twilight years in peace. If the Mirror Moon Dao Child's words were true, and even Nascent Soul True Lords could not fight within Protectorate City, then he would rent or buy a cave abode there even if he had to work himself to death and spend every last coin. His future descendants would enjoy its protection, without constantly enduring the terror and panic of having no control over their own lives.
"Gulp!"
At this thought, Li Quan swallowed, suddenly feeling as though none of this was real. Emotion and reason collided furiously in his mind. The Mirror Moon Dao Child was a