Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

"The rules of the market dictate fair trade and prohibit bullying the weak. Yun Qilang, you're trying to expel a customer based solely on your own account. Isn't that against the rules? Could it be... that you're a dog kept by the Cheng family, so unable to distinguish right from wrong?"

"You!" Yun Qilang's face flushed red as he was publicly ridiculed.

Seeing the opportunity, Li Changsheng immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands to Yun Jiuniang, and said loudly:

"Senior Yun, please be wise! I am Li Changsheng, the patriarch of the Li clan of Qinglan Mountain. I inquired about the price of the Fire Cloud Chicken at this stall and was about to make a transaction when this Fellow Daoist Cheng suddenly blocked my way, claiming he wanted to buy them all and making threats. I argued my case, and Fellow Daoist Cheng then summoned… this Senior Yun Qilang, who is distorting the truth and trying to intimidate me with his power. Everything I have said is true. There is a Zhenshi Division in the market; if necessary, I am willing to go there and have the truth revealed before the 'Mirror of Divine Inquiry'!"

Upon hearing the words "Mirror of Inquiry," Cheng Lao Er's face turned deathly pale.

That thing is specifically designed to detect lies; low-level cultivators are almost impossible to hide in front of it.

Yun Qilang's face turned even uglier. If they were to confront him, his bias towards the Cheng family and his failure to investigate the facts would be confirmed. Losing face would be a minor matter; being punished for violating the rules of the market would be a major one.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Yun Jiuniang's eyes as she looked at Yun Qilang with a half-smile:

"How about it, Yun Qilang? Shall we go together to the Zhenshi Division's office and ask for the Divine Mirror to examine ourselves?"

Yun Qilang's chest heaved violently as he glared fiercely at Cheng Lao Er. It was all this idiot's fault that he had made a fool of himself in public!

He turned abruptly and roared at Cheng Lao Er, whose face was deathly pale:

"Useless! Always causing trouble!"

Before he finished speaking, he raised his leg and kicked Cheng Lao Er hard in the chest with his leg infused with spiritual power.

"puff!"

Caught off guard, Cheng Lao Er was kicked and sent flying several feet away, crashing into two stalls before finally stopping. He spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with terror.

"Hmph! Let's go!"

Yun Qilang didn't even glance at Cheng Lao Er, gave Yun Jiu Niang a cold snort, and led his group away in a huff.

The onlookers pointed and whispered, their gazes towards Cheng Lao Er filled with mockery.

Yun Jiuniang then turned around and smiled slightly at Li Changsheng:

"Clan Chief Li, is that right? No need to be so polite. The market has its own rules, and the imperial court has its own laws. Ninth-rank aristocratic families cannot attack Qi-refining families under their jurisdiction without cause. You don't need to worry too much about the backers of certain people. Of course, you still need to be careful yourself."

"Thank you so much, Senior Yun, for speaking up for me and helping me out of this predicament. I will remember your kindness forever," Li Changsheng said solemnly once again.

This Yun Jiuniang is clearly from the lineage of the First Elder of the Yun family, and she is at odds with Yun Qilang from the lineage of the Second Elder. I just happened to be there and took advantage of the situation.

"It was no trouble at all." Yun Jiuniang waved her hand and left with her people.

The beautiful female stall owner was already terrified, her face pale. Seeing that the two groups of "gods" had finished fighting, she was afraid of causing more trouble, so she hurriedly started to pack up her things.

"Wait a minute, stall owner." Li Changsheng called out to her, pointing to the Fire Cloud Chicken with the broken leg, "This one, five spirit stones, I'll take it."

The beautiful woman dared not haggle at this point, only wanting to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible, and nodded repeatedly:

"Alright, alright, five yuan it is! Fellow Daoist, take it!"

She practically shoved the small cage containing the broken-legged chicken into Li Changsheng's hand, took the spirit stones, and then quickly grabbed the other goods and disappeared into the crowd.

Li Changsheng picked up the small cage and looked inside at the listless, yet possibly possessing a trace of the Golden-Winged Roc's bloodline, one-legged Fire Cloud Chicken, and felt certain.

The primary objective has been achieved.

at the same time.

The family's luck value has been changed to [715/1000].

One hundred more at once!

This is clearly because the Fire Cloud Chicken has a special bloodline!

Li Changsheng was in a great mood.

The three walked through the bustling area where independent cultivators set up stalls.

According to the divination of the Heavenly Book, the nameless animal skin book containing the recipe for the "Wind Control Pill" is in the hands of a prodigal son of a rogue cultivator surnamed Hu, whose father brought it back from the Crimson Forbidden Zone.

"The one surnamed Hu..." Li Changsheng murmured to himself, his gaze sweeping around.

Just then.

A commotion and crying came from ahead, attracting the attention of many people nearby.

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large crowd gathered in front of a stall, pointing and gesturing.

I squeezed in and took a look.

Behind the stall sat a middle-aged man with a stubble beard and puffy eyes. His cultivation level was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, and his aura was weak. He looked like someone who had indulged in excessive drinking and womanizing.

A little girl, about six or seven years old, was kneeling on the ground in front of him, tugging at his trouser leg and crying her heart out.

"Father! Father! Please don't sell me... I won't go to a brothel... I won't be a furnace for you... Waaah..."

The man looked impatient and tried to forcefully shake off his daughter's hand.

A buzz of discussion arose from the surroundings:

"Isn't that Hu San, that spendthrift son of the Hu family? His father, Old Master Hu, was a notorious ruthless character in our area back in the day, a peak Qi Refining cultivator. Just to build up his fortune, he risked his life at the age of one hundred to enter the Blood Forbidden Land, and I heard he really brought back a lot of good stuff. And what happened? In less than ten years, this spendthrift squandered it all!"

"That's right! His wife ran off with someone else, the house was mortgaged, and now even his daughter, who has spiritual roots, has to be sold to 'Drunken Spring Pavilion' to pay off gambling debts! What a tragedy!"

"If Old Master Hu knew this in the afterlife, he'd be turning in his grave!"

"I heard this girl has already achieved Qi cultivation. Regardless of her spiritual root, she's still a potential cultivator. Selling her to a place like Drunken Spring Pavilion as a cultivation vessel will ruin her life!"

As Li Changsheng listened, his gaze fell on the simple stall in front of Hu San. It was haphazardly piled with some broken fragments of magical artifacts, a few pieces of low-quality ore, a few wilted spiritual herbs, and a small stack of dusty old books.

His gaze instantly locked onto the top of the stack of books—an inconspicuous book bound in animal hide. The cover was badly worn, making the name illegible, but the divination indicated it was the one!

Li Changsheng's heart stirred.

Since this pill formula originated from an artifact brought back by Old Master Hu from the Crimson Forbidden Zone, it seems that if I were to take this opportunity, I would indeed be entangled with the Hu family father and daughter.

Another point.

The little girl's background reminded him of a similar scene from his past life!

He stepped forward, ignoring Hu San's daughter's pitiful cries and the surrounding chatter, pointed at the girl, and asked Hu San directly:

"Fellow Daoist, how many spirit stones does your daughter cost?"

Upon hearing this, Hu San's cloudy eyes brightened. He sized Li Changsheng up and down, noticing that although he was young, he possessed a composed demeanor, unlike an ordinary rogue cultivator. He immediately held up two fingers, making an outrageous demand:

"Two hundred low-grade spirit stones! This girl has spiritual roots! After a few years, she'll be a top-quality cultivation vessel!"

A chorus of boos erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Two hundred spirit stones to buy a little girl who has just entered the Qi cultivation stage?

That's outrageous!

Li Changsheng shook his head: "Too expensive."