The Gains Do Not Make Up for the Losses, and That Is Not What I Want

"Heh, little girl, don't panic.

It's not that he can't be killed, just that he's very hard to kill.

We Devil Cultivators have the Blood Healing Method. We can heal ourselves and regrow severed arms.

As long as you abandon your humanity, disown your own kin, and are willing to blood-refine mortals, fellow disciples, and relatives, your cultivation will definitely rise fast.

Though they have a bad reputation, disciples of the devil sects do indeed advance quickly.

But whether you believe me or not, I, Tang, really have never blood-refined mortals...

Uh... I'm getting off track...

My skinny senior brother was struck by the Blood Skeleton Technique Lightning just now. He was reduced to bone fragments, his soul scattered, and he kicked the bucket, didn't he?

I chopped Luo Biao into several pieces and waited for him to try to repair his body, all to drain his spiritual power.

Once his spiritual power was low, I could finish him off for good." Tang Yuan smiled and muttered an incantation.

In an instant, Luo Biao's gray, translucent soul was drawn into Tang Yuan's soul-summoning banner.

Luo Biao's corpse on the ground also turned into a puddle of bloody water in an instant.

[Remember to let me eat Luo Biao's soul later. I'm hungry,] the Earth Flood Dragon in the black spoon beneath his shirt transmitted.

The corner of Tang Yuan's mouth twitched. He sighed softly. "If I take Luo Biao's soul back to the Holy Cardamom Sect, I can still sell it for a hundred Spirit Stones."

"Big Brother Tang Yuan, your devil sects' Cultivation Methods really are vicious." Little Li Si gave him a thumbs-up, still shaken...

After cleaning up the battlefield and chatting, Tang Yuan learned the full names of the four Li siblings: Li Jianghu, Li Jiangya, Li Jiangping, and Li Jiangjing.

"Brother Tang Yuan, words cannot express our gratitude for such a great favor.

Since Brother Tang has taken a fancy to this bottle of Spiritual Qi, we'll give it to you for free." Li Jianghu cupped his hands and held out the jade bottle.

"Big Brother, you're being far too generous...

Our Household doesn't have a single Spirit Jiao Coin, let alone a Spirit Stone...

Just yesterday, a goateed cultivator offered a hundred Spirit Stones for it.

But he promised to come today and never showed up..." Li Jiangping muttered, his face full of reluctance.

The corner of Tang Yuan's mouth curled up slightly. *One Spirit Stone is worth ten Spirit Jiao Coins.

The Li Household doesn't even have a single Spirit Jiao Coin. They're far too poor.

Spirit Stones are a basic resource for cultivation.

No matter how powerful your backing or how great your fortune, without Spirit Stones, you surely can't take a single step on the path of cultivation.

Looking at the four siblings from head to toe, they don't even have a single Spiritual Qi item, let alone a Storage Bag.

Even the jade bottle holding the Great Kun Moonlight is made of ordinary jade.

If it stays in this ordinary jade bottle, the Great Kun Moonlight will evaporate and vanish within three months.

Since the four of them have great fortune, not only must I avoid offending them, but the best course is to befriend them.

Not only must I not seize their purple mirror, but it would be best to help them as well.

The key is that their purple mirror may have already recognized an owner, just like my Mystic Spoon.

If I act rashly, I might end up biting off more than I can chew.

I'll just treat it as an investment. They might come in handy someday...*

"Brother Hu, you used your only Purple Light Talisman just now to fire that purple mystic light and help me kill Luo Biao, so we can consider ourselves even.

I must pay for the Spiritual Qi in this bottle." Tang Yuan smiled, without revealing the purple mystic light's true source...

Though Tang Yuan had saved up quite a few Spirit Stones by selling red spirit eels, Spiritual Qi, and pills, he held to the principle that "wealth should not be flaunted" and did his best to play the pauper.

In the end, Tang Yuan brought out forty Spirit Stones, two Storage Bags, and an IOU, buying the Great Kun Moonlight for two hundred Spirit Stones...

"Congratulations, fellow Daoists, on concluding your deal." The market master, who had an immortal bearing, walked over.

"Market Master Zhong, this junior pays his respects.

Thank you for providing such a place, Market Master Zhong. Without it, I couldn't have bought the cultivation item I wanted." Tang Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

The Purple Moon Lake Cultivator Market had been open for more than sixty years.

Its master was named Zhong Lisheng. He was over a hundred and seventy years old and at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.

Tang Yuan had indeed visited the Purple Moon Lake Market several times before. He could also tell that Zhong Lisheng had provided a free market where low-level cultivators could trade supplies because he genuinely intended to support the weak.

Running a cultivator market meant paying for lamp oil, food for people and horses, house repairs, and food transport. These were expenses, after all.

Whether cultivators came to sell ordinary herbs or heavenly treasures, Zhong Lisheng never interfered, nor did he buy anything himself.

Only when goods truly could not be sold and a cultivator asked Zhong Lisheng for help would he buy them at a slightly reduced price.

Zhong Lisheng took the goods he bought to the Wu Household's professional cultivator market in Huai'an City, Heavenly River Commandery, and sold them for a small profit to cover the market's operating expenses.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you, young friend Tang.

You protected the Li siblings and helped them sell their goods.

They weren't robbed or killed, so the reputation of my Purple Moon Lake Market wasn't ruined, and its good name as an absolutely safe place was preserved.

If weak cultivators who came here to sell their goods were robbed or killed, who would dare come to my market to do business in the future?" Zhong Lisheng cupped his hands in return.

"I had no choice but to hold back just now.

I'm old, and my cultivation is shallow. I was afraid that if something happened to me, this market of mine would be gone.

I'm not boasting, but though most of the cultivators who come to my market have only just begun cultivating,

in the course of a year, if ten thousand cultivators don't visit my market, then eight thousand do."

"Every beginning is difficult.

Market Master Zhong, you possess great virtue.

You teach all without distinction and make no issue of their sect or background, providing this trading market for low-cultivation cultivators like us," Tang Yuan said in heartfelt praise.

"But I think you should charge an entrance fee. With a little more money on hand, you could buy some pills to improve your cultivation."

"Thank you for the kind thought, young friend Tang.

But Qi Refinement cultivators have a lifespan of two hundred years. I'm already over a hundred and seventy, and I truly have no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. I don't want to put myself through any more trouble." Zhong Lisheng waved a hand.

"If you charged an entrance fee, Senior, you could use the Spirit Stones to hire others to manage the market.

Perhaps this market could be passed down for a hundred, even a thousand years." Tang Yuan's face suddenly turned a little pale.

"That makes sense. Give me some more time to consider it." Zhong Lisheng frowned slightly and nodded.

"Pfft!"

Tang Yuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

Zhong Lisheng was shocked and immediately circulated his power to treat Tang Yuan.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Tang Yuan finally woke up.

"Brother Tang Yuan, are you all right?" Li Jianghu's face was full of concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'll be all right after a little rest.

My Senior Brother Luo was a formidable opponent, after all. He struck me with a few palm blows while we were fighting."

"Tang Yuan, your meridians are in disorder. Why not rest here at my market for a few days?

Also, in two or three days, a cultivator will come to my market specifically to sell divine dragon eggs.

Of course, these divine dragon eggs are all fossilized eggs of divine dragons from High Antiquity. They can't hatch into divine dragons, but the fossils can be used as ingredients in pill refinement and medicine."

Some of the Holy Cardamom Sect's Pill Formulas did mention dragon egg fossils as an ingredient, and Tang Yuan wanted to buy some himself.

But he had more pressing matters to attend to, so it would have to wait until next time.

"Thank you for your kindness, Market Master, but this junior has two important things to do today and must leave as soon as possible." Tang Yuan shook his head weakly.

"Market Master, someone's fighting again!" a cultivator shouted from not far away.

"Then don't fight for the next seven days.

I've thought about it, and the market really is short of money.

Remember to pay me a fine of ten Spirit Stones later..." After a few words of advice, Zhong Lisheng went to settle the dispute at the market.

Hearing that he had to pay a fine of ten Spirit Stones, Tang Yuan's mouth twitched. He wished he could slap himself a few times. Why did I bring up the idea that Zhong Lisheng should earn more Spirit Stones?...

After giving the four Li siblings a few words of advice and guidance, Tang Yuan left the cultivator market as they wept with gratitude, looking ready to see him off for ten li.

Sitting on his flying shuttle, Tang Yuan flew unsteadily east...

After flying for a little under an hour, Tang Yuan landed and rested where he was.

He had feigned sleep for fewer than ten breaths when he suddenly frowned and snorted. "Fellow Daoist, you've followed me all this way.

We're outside the protected area Market Master Zhong promised us. You can show yourself now, can't you?"

"Heh, fellow Daoist of the devil sect, defeating a fellow disciple at the third layer of Qi Refinement when you're only at the first is truly impressive.

But I wonder if you can defeat me, a cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refinement?

If you know your limits, leave that bottle of third-grade Spiritual Qi, and I'll give you a quick death.

I reckon you won't be able to finish those two important things of yours today." A goateed cultivator emerged from the sandy soil.

"You're being modest, fellow Daoist. Your cultivation should be at least at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, shouldn't it?" Tang Yuan yawned with a look of disdain.

"You... how did you know?

Even an ordinary High Person at Foundation Establishment can't see through my actual cultivation..." The goateed cultivator looked stunned.

"Heh, not only do I know your actual cultivation, I also know that today is the day you die.

Because of the two important things I have to do today,

one is to kill you and take your treasures.

I just don't know whether the precious Cultivation Method you have on you can make up for my losses.

I don't want the gains to fall short of the losses." Tang Yuan smacked his lips and touched the small black spoon beneath his shirt...