Buying Books at the Demon Market

The night grew deeper, but the moon shone brighter.

Its silver light illuminated every corner of Eight Trigrams Mountain, as well as Wentesi and Crow Lord as they darted through the mountains.

Crow Lord beat his wings in the lead, with Wentesi close behind. One black, one red, they sent currents of air sweeping over the treetops with a soft rustling sound.

After flying several miles, Wentesi sped up with his dragon wings until he was alongside Crow Lord and asked:

"So why can a fire-virtue spiritual object help someone enter the Dao of [Hairy Head Sun]? And what's a Dao lineage?"

Eager to learn, Wentesi was desperate to understand the cultivation system and rules of this world.

Crow Lord did not look back. Only his voice came:

"Crow Lord will teach you some basics first, so you can understand what I mean when I explain how to use fire virtue to enter [Hairy Head Sun].

"According to the cultivation realms defined by the human race, from lowest to highest they are Embryonic Breathing, Qi Ingestion, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, and Dao Embryo. Each major realm is distinctly ranked and cannot be overstepped."

Crow Lord paused, tilting his left wing to one side, then continued:

"Embryonic Breathing is only the beginning. Only after ingesting Spiritual Qi does cultivation truly begin.

"As for Foundation Establishment, that's even more impressive. You can pick any mountain in the Xiang Region, establish a demon stronghold, and declare yourself king, living free and unfettered."

"As for Purple Mansion, that's a true immortal. I don't know much about it myself... Don't set your sights too far ahead, either. Your cultivation is only at Embryonic Breathing right now."

"It'll probably take you a decade or so to reach Qi Ingestion."

"If you reach Qi Ingestion, you'd count as an expert in the demon market we're headed to."

Wentesi listened carefully, committing the cultivation realms, the Xiang Region, and the rest of the information firmly to memory.

"Cultivation Dao lineages are divided into yin and yang, the five virtues, the nine Qis, and the three voids. Of these, the Supreme Yang lineage is the most overbearing, while the Supreme Yin Dao is the most secretive.

"[Hairy Head Sun], which you cultivate, belongs to the Supreme Yang Dao!

"Using a fire-virtue object to help enter the Dao is a shortcut. This method has existed for hundreds of years. It borrows the imagery of fire virtue to build a bridge to [Hairy Head Sun], using a false Dao to enter [Hairy Head Sun]!

"But a false Dao is a false Dao; in the end, it's a fake. Anyone who enters [Hairy Head Sun] this way can never break through to Qi Refining in their lifetime, let alone the fact that the Spiritual Qi of the [Hairy Head Sun] Dao disappeared long ago.

"So you'd better hurry and switch to another Dao. There's still time."

Wentesi gave a thoughtful "Oh" when he heard this. So that was how it was. Those who broke through using fire-virtue objects were only false cultivators.

But he had not cultivated [Hairy Head Sun] by using a fire-virtue object as a bridge. He was a genuine [Hairy Head Sun] cultivator!

He had cultivated the [Hairy Head Sun] Dao by relying on his red dragon's pure yang body and bathing in the morning sun. He was surely the one and only such case in this world.

"So I'm a genius?"

Wentesi felt a flicker of delight, but he absolutely could not let word of this get out. Otherwise, if the people of this world found out, they would probably capture him and slice him up.

Like his ability to travel between two worlds, this was to be classified as his greatest secret, one he could tell no one.

On the surface, however, Wentesi put on a look of sudden realization:

"So that's how it is. What am I supposed to do, then? And why did you trade me that Cultivation Method? Were you trying to harm me?!"

Wentesi put extra weight on the final sentence.

Pressing Crow Lord, Wentesi slowly edged closer as he spoke, as though about to attack. Crow Lord's body lurched in fright:

"N-no... that's not it! It's like this!"

Only when he saw no sign of Wentesi attacking did he steady himself, swaying in the air as he spoke in a somewhat aggrieved tone:

"I've been wronged! I only wanted a few spiritual objects. How could I have meant to harm a fellow demon?

"Generally speaking, little demons like you who have just entered the Dao don't have a Cultivation Method, and they often enter the Dao thanks to a fortuitous opportunity or a spiritual object.

"So when a little demon sees the Cultivation Method I give them, naturally they won't refuse it, especially when it's the fundamental method of the great Dao of [Hairy Head Sun]. But after the little demon cultivates it for a while and discovers they can't even get started, naturally they grow anxious.

"Then I offer them another Cultivation Method, and in exchange, they just have to give me a few more spiritual materials..."

Wentesi understood. After all that, it was the beginnings of a pig-butchering scam!

Wentesi gave a derisive snort and said no more, following Crow Lord through the air.

Seeing that this harbinger of calamity had fallen silent, Crow Lord naturally couldn't have asked for more. He thought that he should hurry and send this harbinger of calamity on his way, and not get tangled up with him.

Although he was already at the third level of Wind Qi Embryonic Breathing, he certainly couldn't beat this strange lizard, who was only at the first level of Embryonic Breathing.

If he reached Qi Practice, he might be able to suppress him through his realm, but suppression by level within the Embryonic Breathing realm was not nearly so frightening.

An elephant at the first level of Embryonic Breathing could still crush a little ant at the perfected stage of Embryonic Breathing.

And this strange lizard just had to be exceptionally clever.

Apart from some naturally intelligent or unusual Demon Beasts, ordinary Demon Beasts only gained intelligence upon reaching Qi Practice. Otherwise, they were fools who understood nothing.

That was why Crow Lord had succeeded time and again, fooling idiots for so many years without ever failing.

The two demons flew for nearly another quarter of an hour, until patches of faint light appeared on the mountainside ahead.

"We're here. Right here."

Crow Lord landed first, and Wentesi hurriedly came to a stop close behind him.

Before them was a scattered market built along the mountainside. It seemed to have originally been a human market. There were no orderly streets; earthen platforms, stone caves, and abandoned houses were jumbled together in utter disarray.

The Spiritual Qi was muddled, and there was a bit of a stench. The surroundings were a far cry from the mist-shrouded spiritual realm full of immortal charm that Wentesi had imagined.

They went in along the road without any guards stopping them. Clearly, people were free to come and go.

The wild demons here were not picky, either. Most sat directly on the ground, while the more particular ones laid down a straw mat. Only some of the shops were a little more refined.

There was a general store run by a gray rat demon. To Wentesi's surprise, it contained rice, flour, grain, and oil, as well as plenty of clothing and jewelry, all goods for humans. The rat-headed shopkeeper huddled in the shadows, constantly sizing up potential customers passing by with his green eyes.

A red demon fox ran a powder shop. The fragrance of the spiritual powders inside wafted in all directions, and business was quite good. Most of its customers were fox women.

A giant turtle had stationed itself beside the stream, with its wares displayed on its shell: glowing snails and shellfish, a pile of unremarkable dark sand, and a bundle of dried-up water plants.

All transactions were conducted by barter. There was no particular currency-or rather, anything could serve as currency: a broken glowing crystal, a scale of unknown origin, or some ordinary grain.

Crow Lord was clearly a regular. He greeted several acquaintances and exchanged a few pleasantries.

But none of these were what Crow Lord and Wentesi were after. Their destination was the bookshop at the far end of the demon market.

After a long while, they finally arrived.

At the end stood a cave hewn into the rock, with a sign hanging above its entrance. Wentesi could not read the characters, but he assumed it said something like "bookshop" or "bookstore."

The cave was piled full of books, animal-skin scrolls, bamboo slips, feather books, and all sorts of other things. At first glance it looked rather chaotic, but a closer look revealed an orderly arrangement amid the variety.

A large dark-green ox with a broken horn lay on a straw mat outside the cave. When he saw Crow Lord and Wentesi approach, he knew customers had arrived.

He immediately rose and transformed into a half-human, half-beast form, then put on the piece of animal hide from the straw mat. He also had a string of Buddhist prayer beads made of bodhi wood in his hand.

Wentesi sensed him and felt that his presence was much stronger than Crow Lord's, carrying a faint sense of danger. He was not someone Wentesi could afford to provoke as he was now.

"Niu Er, let's do business."

Crow Lord seemed quite familiar with the green ox demon. Flapping his wings, he landed on a tall stack of books.

"Oh? Crow Lord, are you looking to buy a book?

"I have everything here: Cultivation Methods, spells, formation diagrams, travelogues, and storybooks. Buy enough, and I can even give you a discount."

The green ox demon smiled and greeted them warmly.

"Let the credit I left with you before cover a second-grade fire-virtue Cultivation Method."

Crow Lord cawed at the green ox demon, waving a wing as he spoke.

At that, the green ox demon's face immediately fell, and he said irritably:

"Then pick one yourselves! The third row in the far left corner inside is all fire-virtue Cultivation Methods. Don't damage my other books."

With that, he returned to the straw mat and sat down, unwilling to pay Crow Lord and Wentesi any more attention.

Crow Lord paid him no mind. With a cawing laugh, he beckoned Wentesi inside to choose a Cultivation Method.

Wentesi had a question, however:

"Why a fire-virtue Cultivation Method? Can't I choose a different one?"

"Of course not. You entered the Dao by eating a fire-virtue spiritual object, so you can only cultivate fire-virtue Cultivation Methods. Cultivating a different great Dao would do you harm rather than good."

"All right, there's a feathered senior of mine in this demon market. I'm going to catch up with him, so go on by yourself."

With that, Crow Lord flapped his wings and flew away.

Wentesi went inside alone and began choosing a Cultivation Method he could get for free.