A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

Right now, he is undoubtedly more suited to the second option.

……

As is well known, the cultivation communities of Yue and Yuanwu are not hostile to each other.

Therefore, in Huangfeng Valley, a border town between the southwestern part of Yuanwu Kingdom and the northwestern part of Yue Kingdom, one can often see cultivators from Yuanwu Kingdom; similarly, in Tianxing Sect town, not far from the border of Yuanwu Kingdom, one can also often see cultivators from Yue Kingdom.

The comings and goings of cultivators, besides buying things and leaving, naturally bring various special items for sale or trade, which gives Huangfeng Valley Market a unique geographical advantage.

Over hundreds or thousands of years, this advantage has naturally translated into the prosperity of the market.

Such prosperity is bound to be replicated by others.

So, Tianque Fort followed suit and set up a market town in the southeast of Yuanwu Kingdom and the northeast of Yue Kingdom, which has been doing quite well in recent years.

Several days later, at the northeastern border of Vietnam.

In a small town divided into three sections by streets running east, southwest, and northwest, Wang Li made a large detour and entered from the northwest entrance, indicating that he came from the Yuanwu Kingdom. He was dressed in gray cloth, wearing a mask and a cloak, completely concealing himself despite the sweltering heat.

This kind of attire is not unusual, as most independent cultivators do the same, even those in the Foundation Establishment stage.

First, I visited all the shops on the street one by one and found that most of them only sold low-level equipment and were small businesses run by some cultivation families. Only three of them seemed reliable.

One of them was Tianque Tower, which was run by Tianque Fort itself. It had a lot of things inside, including a wide variety of raw materials, talismans, and magical artifacts, but there were not many high-quality items.

The other one is a branch of Miaoxianlou, opened by the abbot of Wanmiao Temple, a cultivation sect in Yuanwu Kingdom. The situation is the same, but in general, there are good things, but they are few and expensive.

The third family came from the Jiang Guozong clan in the east.

Although Jiang and Cheqi were small countries, they also had their own cultivation worlds, boasting several sects that rivaled the seven major sects of Yue, and numerous Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Unfortunately, they were later either destroyed by the six demonic sects or abandoned their lineages and surrendered en masse.

Wang Li planned to visit all three shops.

After walking through three streets and checking out many stalls, and confirming that there were no items worth selling, he slowly walked into Tianque Tower at the crossroads.

"Manager, another customer has arrived."

The servant at the door raised his voice.

"Here I am, here I am! Please welcome our distinguished guest. I am the manager of Tianque Tower, my surname is Bao. You may call me Old Bao, or Manager Bao, or you may call me Manager Bao."

Chapter 17 A Trip to Tianque Fortress Market

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Bao."

Clenching your fists and nodding shows the necessary respect.

"Very well, fellow Daoist, you are too kind. May I ask your name and which sect you belong to? If you are a disciple of a major sect, we can offer you an extra 5% discount!"

Approaching them was an elderly man at the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

Looking across the entire cultivation world, it's not that there aren't high-level cultivators doing this kind of odd job; in many prosperous places, the managers are all at the Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation stage.

However, in the Yue Kingdom, and even in the vast Tiannan region, the cultivation atmosphere of smaller sects is quite different on this barren land. Here, even the sect leader is only a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator with no hope of forming a Core, and the market managers are also at most at the Foundation Establishment stage; high-level cultivators are basically focused on secluded cultivation, where every second counts.

This shows everyone's enthusiasm for cultivating immortality.

It is likely that this atmosphere indirectly inspired many cultivators in this land to strengthen their initial resolve to cultivate the Dao.

Looking back at those major sects and powerful forces, the selection of their leaders presents a completely different picture. In the southern region, sects such as the Six Demonic Sects, the Five Righteous Sects, the Star Palace, Holy Demon Island, and Myriad Laws Sect in the Chaotic Star Sea, and the Yin Luo Sect and Little Extreme Palace in the Great Jin Dynasty, without the support of Nascent Soul stage cultivation, or even late Nascent Soul stage cultivation, simply cannot secure their positions.

The high-ranking cultivators of the major sects were busy dividing up the spoils, while the cultivators of the minor sects were busy burying themselves in their cultivation.

The atmosphere is completely different.

Those who struggle are always the so-called "poor families".

Let's get back to the point:

"I am but a rogue cultivator, and I have come here hoping to find some magical artifacts for my own use, and also to buy a pill furnace to practice my skills. I am not concerned about the price. Shopkeeper, do you have anything here that I like?"

The purpose of purchasing the alchemy furnace is to complete the final quenching step of the semi-finished "Face-Fixing Pill." A stable furnace fire is essential for refining the pill's medicinal power, ensuring that the finished product is of medium to high quality.

"Magic artifacts, alchemy furnaces? Heh, fellow Daoist, you've come to the right place. Our shop has everything you could want. Please wait a moment."

Simply stating one's lineage, or even fabricating one, could earn a 5% discount. In other words, one spirit stone could be saved for every twenty. Many cultivators, especially poor rogue cultivators, would go to great lengths to boast about a sect they were familiar with in order to obtain this preferential treatment.

But the person in front of him remained completely unmoved.

Is this kid some kind of "big customer who doesn't care about a few spirit stones"?

"Serve tea."

"Here we go."

He had a servant bring him a cup of tea, and then quickly ran to the backstage room.

Before long, a tray came out with several low-level storage bags on it.

"Fellow Daoist, I apologize for keeping you waiting. What you requested has arrived. Now, I solemnly present to you a precious item, called the Mysterious Bronze Furnace, a mid-grade alchemy furnace, the most loyal and reliable partner of an alchemist..."

Intermediate-level alchemy furnace?

Oh.

No matter how much the old shopkeeper raved about it, Wang Li remained unmoved.

Due to differences in craftsmanship, efficacy, characteristics, and materials, alchemy furnaces are generally priced slightly higher than other magical artifacts of the same level. A mid-level alchemy furnace suitable for a typical Qi Refining cultivator can already command a price comparable to many high-level magical artifacts.

However, he wasn't unfamiliar with mid-level alchemy furnaces; Little Chen had one in his possession. He knew without asking that it was a gift from Uncle Chen for his precious young son. Elder Xu of Yuelu Palace had dozens of furnaces of this caliber piled up, unwanted by anyone. Moreover, no matter how much they were touted as rare, they were only suitable for the Qi Refining stage; they wouldn't be up to par once one reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Using this useless, broken stove to fool him is probably a way of testing him again, isn't it?

waste time.

"Manager, your attitude makes me very doubtful of our... cough cough, the strength of your Heavenly Pavilion!"

Us? You?

Oh my god, could it be one of our own? You should have said so earlier.

No wonder they covered themselves up so tightly, as if they were afraid someone would see them.

If it's because they don't want to be recognized by their fellow disciples and don't want to flaunt their wealth, then that's understandable.

Tianque Fortress takes good care of its own disciples. It provides even more special care for the nephews and younger generations who manage affairs within the sect.

"The Crimson Sun Furnace is a top-tier alchemy furnace, crafted by a senior cultivator in the Core Formation stage from Tianque Fortress. Legend has it that it was his personal alchemy furnace in his early years, and it worked perfectly even into the late Foundation Establishment stage. It was just deposited with this building a month ago, making it an extremely rare and valuable item. However, that senior cultivator hopes to exchange it for something he needs."

Another test?

Wang Li raised an eyebrow: Then, shall we also give it a try?

"Why is this stove here?"

After letting out a low growl, which he forced to suppress his emotions, he abruptly stood up:

"No wonder...no wonder..."

Realizing his actions had been excessive, he quickly straightened his clothes and pretended to be nonchalant, saying:

"Ahem, shopkeeper, don't you have any other powerful magical artifacts? Offensive, defensive, flying magical artifacts, and other types of auxiliary equipment and items—bring up all the rare ones. By the way, I only want the real treasures; don't waste each other's time with these fakes."

The shopkeeper's eyes darted left and right, and he understood instantly.

There's no escaping it; it's a member of the family.

Moreover, most of them are descendants of families whose ancestors were at the Core Formation stage, undoubtedly major clients.

"Hehehe, of course my Heavenly Pavilion has good things. If you want to take them all, young master, I just don't know if you brought enough spirit stones! If you don't have enough spirit stones, it would be better to barter with items of equal value!"

As they spoke, the old shopkeeper took a wooden box, four feet long and one foot wide, from a shelf reinforced with an array. Upon opening it, a simple and elegant purple magic sword came into view.

"The sword is named Purple Lightning, a top-grade, exquisite magic weapon. It was forged by a Core Formation cultivator using hundreds of years old lightning-struck wood and refined gold as raw materials, and it took more than a month to refine it with alchemical fire. It comes with its own lightning magic. When used by a cultivator with a lightning spirit root, its power is increased by one point. If it can be combined with lightning magic, its power can be increased by another three points."

With this treasure, we can easily deal with level two monsters.

"The price is four hundred and eighty spirit stones. Is that what you're looking for, young master?"

Again?

Do I look like I have a lightning spiritual root?

"Hmph, let's try another one."

He snorted coldly to express his dissatisfaction, and even more so to express his dissatisfaction with a certain guy with the lightning spirit root.

'Huh? Isn't he the most favored one in the Meng family? A rival within the clan?'

The shopkeeper immediately made a judgment.

To reach his current position with a cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining, he not only needed to be good with words, but also had a keen eye for people. Most importantly, he had a basic understanding of the senior experts in the sect who were at the Foundation Establishment stage or above, especially the Core Formation elders and Nascent Soul ancestors, as well as the family bloodlines and important members of the families behind these important figures.

This understanding is the key to making a business bigger and better.

"The Five-Fold Blood Droplet is a top-tier, exquisite magical artifact. It can change size at will, is incredibly hard and sharp, and when imbued with magical power, it possesses the ability to automatically lock onto enemies. When all five are unleashed simultaneously, they attack from five separate directions, leaving opponents overwhelmed and disorganized. When combined for a powerful attack, its strength is even greater. For example, the energy shields created by mid-tier defensive talismans such as the Mid-tier Golden Light Shield Talisman and the Mid-tier Earth Flow Wall Talisman can shatter upon a single touch."

Even shields formed by low-level and high-level talismans cannot withstand more than a few breaths.

It took a master craftsman three years to complete.

"If you fancy it, young master, four hundred...four or five hundred spirit stones certainly won't get you here; I'll give you a friendly price, six hundred spirit stones! For just six hundred spirit stones, you can have this treasure! And from now on, you'll enjoy VIP treatment at this shop, with a 10% discount on all items."

Upon hearing this, Wang Li blinked.

Is it acceptable to temporarily increase the price?

Could it be that they considered that the previous lightning-attribute magic weapon required 480 spirit stones, while the later magic weapon only required 400 spirit stones, which would lower his status and make him unhappy? So, they simply raised the price above that lightning-attribute magic weapon, making the buyer feel more prestigious and taking advantage of the vanity of the family's scions?

Unfortunately, Wang Li, who was not a member of a cultivation family, was not buying it and looked down on this top-tier magic weapon: "Let's get another one."

He said expressionlessly.

"Young master has excellent taste. In that case, I, Bao, can only bring out the most prized possession of this establishment!"

The shopkeeper struggled to carry out a large box covered with talismans.

Wang Li's eyes lit up when he saw this.

After carefully tearing off the talisman on it, he opened the large wooden box.

"Ah, this..."

After waiting for a long time, I found a smaller iron box inside.

"Young master, please don't be in a hurry."