A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 196 People from Central Plains
"Brother Wang, this commotion is getting bigger and bigger! Good heavens, even the Che family from the Northern Spirit Region has sent people!"

At the arena registration desk, Luo San said to Wang Kui with a beaming smile.

The two rogue cultivators possessed profound strength and have now become outer sect deacons of the Five Elements Sect, serving as the sect's public face.

When I joined the Five Elements Sect, there were a lot of rumors circulating outside, people thinking that they were blind to have chosen such a poor family to settle down in, and that I had only become an outer sect steward.

It would be a lie to say they weren't affected at all.

But now, seeing the sect so prosperous, I feel a sense of pride and satisfaction.

In the past, the Che family, a prominent cultivation family in the Northern Spiritual Domain, might have been somewhat polite to them, but certainly not as courteous as they are now.

Wang Kui scoffed, "Although the Che family isn't lacking in cultivation techniques, where else can you find such a prestigious opportunity? Besides, the 'Azure Wood Longevity Technique' is irresistible to us rogue cultivators. Otherwise, a top expert like Lou Chen wouldn't have been in such a hurry to show himself; he's a ruthless man. But his Earth Thunder Technique is designed to injure himself before killing the enemy, and after the last one or two hundred years, he's probably almost exhausted. There are quite a few rogue cultivators like Lou Chen. So this will only get more and more exciting, and the commotion will only grow bigger."

Luo Sanle said, "Since the ladies aren't taking any prizes, everyone can see hope. If one attempt doesn't work, they can try a few more. That rascal Hou Haikun has been quite the character these past few days. He's opened three more restaurants, and his tenants are living in caves and villas. Business is booming again. He's selling the juice from those spirit fruits like crazy. I don't know what those female cultivators were thinking, but they actually bought it."

As they were talking, Aunt Lan was holding a bottle of Blue Fruit Spirit Juice. She was drinking it through a straw while giving the two of them a sidelong glance.

He left behind the words "You guys don't know anything" and swayed away.

Luo San said angrily, "We're so busy, but she's so free!"

Wang Kui chuckled and said, "She's not idle at all. The sect is full of female cultivators, and she's the busiest of them all. Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Cheer up. Tomorrow will definitely be the most exciting, so let's not let anything go wrong. Brother Liu and Shen Quan are both keeping an eye on things, and they won't allow any rogue cultivators to cause trouble."

Luo San didn't believe it: "They dare to cause trouble here?"

Before he finished speaking, two rogue cultivators were already fighting not far away.

Every move was aimed at killing; it was clearly an encounter between enemies.

However, before the enraged Wang Kui and Luo San could make a move, a bolt of lightning descended from the void, instantly silencing the two hot-tempered rogue cultivators...

"Didn't they say the mountain gate was opened? Why is the formation still there?"

One of the onlookers, watching the two rogue cultivators who were barely breathing, said dryly.

A man next to him looked up with lingering fear and said, "Are you stupid? This is their territory. The formation can be activated at any time. Behave yourselves. This Five Elements Formation can even cleave through a Sin Clan member at the Spirit God Realm. Don't go looking for death."

Shen Quan, the Broken Blade Swordsman, still wearing his iron mask, looked at the two idiots on the ground and said coldly, "Drag them out."

The two disciples behind them quickly dragged the two out of the mountain gate.

Shen Quan glanced at the other rogue cultivators and said, "Besides the first and fifteenth of the month, these four arenas can also be used to settle grudges with you."

Liu Ziyi asked in bewilderment, "Old Shen, arena battles are great, but when it comes to settling scores... can't we settle scores anywhere else? Why do we have to come here?"

Shen Quan snorted coldly and said, "If you settle your grudges elsewhere, can you be sure that others won't set traps or ambush you? Here, you can fight to the death, or you can fight to the death. You sign the contract, and we'll ensure fairness. That way, even if you die, you'll die willingly, not because you were tricked by a villain and died a wrongful death."

The rogue cultivators found this to be reasonable, and one of them, who had been dragged to the door, roared, "Old Shen, sign me up! Tomorrow I'm going to have a life-or-death battle with this beast!"

Shen Quan responded calmly, "Okay."

The scarred-faced Kunxiu asked, "Broken Blade Master, the Five Elements Sect expends a lot of spiritual energy to maintain the formation. What are the benefits of doing this?"

Shen Quan said calmly, "The magnanimity of a great sect is beyond the comprehension of rogue cultivators. Also, those who sign the life-or-death agreement must leave their bodies behind if they lose."

Someone asked in bewilderment, "Broken Blade Master, your Five Elements Sect isn't some kind of sinful cultivator, what do you need our... ptooey ptooey ptooey, what do you need the corpse of a dead man for?"

Shen Quan said, "Someone gave our sect leader a Dragon Marrow Blood Fir, which needs to be fed with the flesh and blood of cultivators, demons, or sinners. If you obtain demon corpses, you can exchange them for spirit stones."

……

When Li Weizhou saw Qi Erniang use a clay cone technique to knock a disheveled, hairy female practitioner off the stage, he laughed uproariously from the city tower.

Xuan Meng, standing to the side, also looked smug and said to Li Weizhou, "I told you, Second Aunt wouldn't recognize me, would she?"

Tian Ru said irritably, "You two, huh!"

Xuan Meng was not afraid of Tian Ru, but she wouldn't argue with her either. She said to Li Weizhou, "I used an illusion spell. Unless you're at the Spirit God Realm, you can't see through it."

Li Weizhou nodded and smiled at Tian Ru, "Master's wife, now Senior Sister should give up, right?"

Tian Ru was even more worried, saying, "You lost so badly, and the opponent wasn't even Situ. Don't come back even more heartbroken..."

Li Weizhou shook his head and said, "No, she'll understand when she gets back. She'll only be upset if I deliberately let her win."

Tian Ru didn't care anymore; her daughter wasn't a child anymore. She asked Li Weizhou, "There are more people today than yesterday. Will there be even more tomorrow?"

Li Weizhou laughed and said, "It's alright, most of them are rogue cultivators from the Northern Spiritual Domain. The 'Azure Wood Longevity Technique' can make up for the losses and heal old injuries, which is very attractive to them. But in the end, even if all the rogue cultivators from the four major spiritual domains of the East, West, South, and North come, they are still at the bottom level. In the eyes of those big shots above, they are not worthy of being mentioned."

Tian Ru said, "Didn't some scions of prominent families come?"

Li Weizhou laughed and said, "They won't fight with rogue cultivators. I've observed them for two days, and these people will never even sit next to a rogue cultivator. I guess they're here to make some good connections and have some fun along the way. Let's see what happens tomorrow."

……

As dusk fell, the family reunited for dinner.

Looking at the four energetic women, Tao Ling'er, who had agreed to have dinner with them today, was utterly impressed with Li Weizhou: "You've got your Yue Niang and the others running around like crazy, and they're still so happy."

Aside from his initial remarkable achievement, Li Weizhou spent the last two days lying on the city wall with the lord, watching the excitement.

Zhou Yueniang, Situ Qingyue, and the others fought battle after battle, tirelessly.

Li Weizhou asked with a smile, "Senior sister, why don't you go up and fight a few rounds too? You've been arguing with me a few times before, insisting on defending a spot. Since you care so much about Yue Niang and the others, why don't you take their place tomorrow?"

"..."

Tao Ling'er blinked her big eyes, looking rather anxious, when suddenly an idea struck her and she said, "Let Xuan Meng go!"

Xuanmeng meowed, eating fried fish, and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "No, it's too ugly."

Tao Ling'er: "..."

Zhou Yueniang patted Li Weizhou and smiled at Tao Ling'er, "He's just teasing you, Senior Sister, don't listen to him."

Tao Ling'er looked at Zhou Yueniang with envy and said, "You're really amazing. Situ was injured, but you're not hurt at all. Yueniang, I never knew you were so strong!" The aroma of spirit fish soup wafted through the hall at dusk. Tao Ling'er held a piece of unfinished earth spirit rice cake in her hand, and looked at Zhou Yueniang and the others who were sitting down one after another. She suddenly sighed, her tone tinged with envy and self-deprecation, "Talent is such a headache... Although I am the senior sister and have cultivated for many more years than you, I am still not as good as you now."

She counted on her fingers, "Moon Lady, when you fought that old man from Green Wood Valley, I was watching from the sidelines. His vines were like poisonous pythons, with barbs that shimmered with green light, clearly poisonous. It gave me goosebumps just looking at them. But you didn't dodge or evade at all, you went head-to-head with him. In the end, the entire arena was filled with your golden light, and the old man's vines were all withered. You defeated him with your hard skills, and so many people cheered for you."

Zhou Yueniang laughed and said, "That's just clumsy work. I don't have Sister Situ's high level of combat skills, so I can only fight head-on."

Tao Ling'er's disappointment had vanished. She stuffed a mouthful of rice cake into her mouth and mumbled, "If it were me, my earth elemental energy would probably clump together in panic before the vine even got close. In the end, you're the best."

Zhou Yueniang smiled and served her a bowl of fish soup, saying, "Senior Sister is too modest. Your Earth Shield Technique is actually very reliable."

"What's the use of being stable..."

Tao Ling'er waved her hand and turned to Feng Biwu, saying, "Biwu, you're amazing too! The fireball that old man from Lihuo Valley threw was notoriously poisonous. I thought you were going to use the Azure Water Technique to deal with it, but you drew a water mirror, and the fireball actually flew back by itself!"

She scratched her head and said, "I know this spell, the Spirit Reflection Technique. Last time I tried to draw it, and the result was a toad, which startled me."

Feng Biwu was amused: "Senior Sister just hasn't put in the effort in this area."

"Putting in the effort doesn't work..."

Tao Ling'er sighed again and looked at Qi Erniang, saying, "Erniang, your earth giant looks exactly like you, except it's half a head taller than you. It slapped the bald man's stone hammer into the ground! The bald man held the hammer like it was a small mountain. I didn't dare to look with my eyes closed, but your giant didn't budge. I'm also an earth cultivator, but I can't be as solid as you."

Qi Erniang laughed and said, "Senior Sister, you'll get better with more practice."

"Forget it!"

Tao Ling'er stuffed the last bite of rice cake into her mouth, clapped her hands, and said, "Seeing how successful you all are, I, as the senior sister, am also proud. Although I haven't made much progress myself, your strength is the same as the strength of the Five Elements Sect, isn't it?" She picked up her bowl, took a hearty sip of spirit fish soup, and said, "From now on, when we go out and say that I, Tao Ling'er, am your senior sister, no one will dare to look down on me!"

This forthright and uninhibited personality makes him popular with everyone.

Xuan Meng, who had been mostly silent, suddenly said, "I won't watch it tomorrow; I'm going back to the Demon Realm."

Everyone was shocked. Xi Mei said urgently, "Mengmeng, are you bored? Once we're done with these next few days, we can go out and play together!"

Xuan Meng shook her head and looked at Li Weizhou, saying, "I sense that the Transformation Tribulation is approaching, and it can't be delayed any longer. Now, I'm quite confident. Thank you."

Li Weizhou exclaimed happily, "That's double happiness! Come on, everyone, raise your glasses and cheer for Mengmeng!"

Everyone was laughing and toasting Xuanmeng with joyful faces. At this moment, Xuanmeng really didn't want to go back to the Demon Realm at all...

……

Day three.

"Brother, Mengmeng is gone!"

Early in the morning, Ximei rushed to Qingmu Peak to find Li Weizhou.

Li Weizhou smiled and said, "I understand."

He knew that the Five Elements Sect's inner sect was so well-known that even a small cat would know about it, let alone a demon about to transform into a Spirit God.

Thinking of Xuan Meng's constant turning back to look at him, he felt a little uneasy.

I can't say that in front of my sister.

He laughed and said, "She's going back to undergo her transformation tribulation. From then on, she'll be free and unrestrained, which is a good thing. Didn't I already congratulate her yesterday?"

Xi Mei said with a disappointed expression, "But her family doesn't treat her well..."

Li Weizhou laughed and said, "Don't worry, it's a promise. Once she passes the tribulation of transformation, she will send us a message. If there's still no news, I'll go to the Demon Realm myself. Mengmeng has done our family a great favor and is also a good friend. I won't stand idly by."

Xi Mei hurriedly said, "Then we must first ensure my brother's safety!"

Li Weizhou patted her head and laughed, "Don't worry, your brother isn't stupid. Let's go, let's see what kind of show we have today!"

Before dawn, the area outside the gate of Wuxing Peak was already crowded with people, forming a long queue.

Unlike the local cultivators from the Northern Spiritual Domain of the previous two days, today's morning light carried a more exotic atmosphere. Disciples from the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley of the Southern Domain carried bamboo baskets on their backs, the poisonous herbs inside glowing with an eerie purple light, and the snake-shaped tokens hanging at their waists hissing.

The camel bells of the Western Regions caravan jingled, and the leading merchant, dressed in a red robe, carried a glass jar half a person's height on his camel's back, which contained an unknown demon pill.

The cultivators of the Northern Ice Plains wore polar bear skins, their boots stained with unmelted ice, while snow wolves followed behind them, occasionally howling at the sky...

"My God, the people from Ten Thousand Poisons Valley are all here?!"

"And there's the camel caravan! They should have been in Xuantian City! They bypassed the three major merchant alliances and came here to trade on their own."

"Look at that snow wolf of the Icefield cultivator! Its eyes are golden! It's an 'Ice-Eyed Wolf'! It can crush magical artifacts in one bite!"

Luo San at the registration desk was almost numb from writing. He had changed the spiritual ink in his inkstone three times. The names on the register gradually changed from "Che Family of the Northern Spiritual Domain" and "Disciple of the Xuanjin Sect" to "Qinghe of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons", "Red-Robed Guest of the Western Regions" and "Lingfeng of the Ice Plains".

Wang Kui was counting the gifts when the spiritual materials piled up on the table became increasingly varied: "antidote grass" from Wan Du Valley, "mysterious iron ingots" from the Sand Camel Caravan, "millennial ice soul" from the Ice Plains cultivators, and even an old woman from the Southern Frontier who gave him a "blood gu" in a pottery jar.

This is the difference between sects and independent cultivators. People from sects always have to maintain a certain level of decorum; when they visit a sect, they won't come empty-handed...

"Brother Wang, should we accept this blood curse?"

Luo San felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at the wriggling red line inside the pottery jar.

Wang Kui weighed the ingot of black iron in his hand. The Western Region runes on the iron glowed faintly. He chuckled and said, "Take it! The sect leader said, 'All who come are guests.' As long as they don't cause trouble, it doesn't matter whether they bring herbs or Gu."

Just then, a group of cultivators dressed in purple robes walked slowly over. The middle-aged man at the head of the group had a fair complexion and no beard. He had a jade plaque with the three characters "Liuyun Sect" engraved on it hanging from his waist. The disciples following behind him all had refined auras, and their spiritual energy fluctuations were no less than those of Wang Kui and Luo San.

As they passed the disciples of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons, the poisonous herbs in their bamboo baskets suddenly wilted by half. When they passed the snow wolf, it tucked its tail between its legs and shrank back, whimpering softly.

"From Zhongzhou!"

Someone exclaimed, "The cloud patterns on that purple robe look like those of the 'Flowing Cloud Sect' from Central Plains!"

……

(End of this chapter)