Translator: AnubisTL
In the Longevity Valley, at the center of a large lake, lay an island perpetually shrouded in mist. From the outside, it appeared utterly mysterious.
This island was the heart of the Liu Clan's second-tier Spiritual Vein, where spiritual energy was exceptionally dense—far more concentrated than in the three districts inhabited by rogue cultivators.
The Liu Clan's highest-ranking elders resided here year-round, constantly absorbing this potent spiritual energy, which greatly benefited their cultivation.
At this moment, a subtle aura emanated from the island, causing the surrounding mist to ripple slightly.
"Liu Yun, you've done well this time. If Yue'er can complete the sect's mission and accumulate enough merit, achieving Foundation Establishment is highly likely!"
Liu Yun, who had caused a sensation at the trade fair by producing the Spirit Condensation Pills, had successfully sold all three.
With a smile, Liu Yun clasped his hands towards a cave dwelling ahead. "Rest assured, Clan Head. With Miss Hanyue's talent, as long as she obtains a Foundation Establishment Pill, reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm is a certainty!"
"When that happens, the Liu Clan will gain another Foundation Establishment cultivator, further solidifying our position!"
Inside a cave dwelling on the island ahead, a voice drifted out once more:
"Hmm, I hope so. But I've heard the Flying Eagle Bandits are rather troublesome. I wonder if those rogue cultivators you've chosen are up to the task."
"If I weren't in a critical phase of cultivating this secret technique, I'd have gone myself to meet these so-called Flying Eagle Bandits."
Liu Yun replied respectfully, "Clan Head, rest assured. Those bandits only have one rogue cultivator in the Late Qi Refining Realm. Their combat strength isn't necessarily high, as they always target lone rogue cultivators."
"The real challenge is finding them. They're said to be as skittish as rabbits, disappearing at the slightest disturbance!"
"The three rogue cultivators I've chosen this time are all experienced elders. Coupled with the Magic Artifacts the clan bestowed upon them before their departure, they should be able to capture them with ease."
The Liu Clan Head nodded, reassured. "Good."
After much preparation, the trade fair finally arrived on its second day.
Li Qing didn't bother with any special disguises this time. He left his courtyard in his true appearance.
Before departing, he glanced at the direction of Old Zhou's courtyard with a complex expression, sighed deeply, and then hurried toward the trade fair.
Yes, Old Zhou, who had been stuck at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer for many years, had successfully purchased a Spirit Condensation Pill yesterday.
Over the past few days, Old Zhou had undoubtedly been adjusting himself, striving to reach his peak condition before consuming the pill and making his final push.
To be honest, Li Qing didn't know whether he should pray for the old Senior's success in advancing to the Late Qi Refining Realm.
Because if he truly succeeded, it would mean leaving the Liu Clan to join the hunt for the notorious Flying Eagle Bandits.
After spending time with the rogue cultivators working as laborers for the Liu Clan, Li Qing had learned a great deal. Most of them had little combat experience, rarely engaging in actual cultivation battles.
In fact, when it came to fighting, their experience might not even surpass Li Qing's, a Grandmaster of the mortal Martial Dao.
While the Flying Eagle Bandits only had one cultivator in the Late Qi Refining Realm, considering the situation from another angle, someone who dared to become a bandit with just one Late Qi Refining cultivator must have some hidden strength.
"Ah, may the heavens bless Old Zhou," Li Qing sighed again before heading to the Rogue Cultivator Trade Fair.
Today was the second day of the fair, and while the crowds had thinned slightly, the area was still bustling with activity.
Li Qing thought he had arrived early, but he was surprised to find that most of the stalls were already occupied.
After half a morning's work, Li Qing finally found an empty stall.
Seeing this, he immediately squeezed over and quickly spread a large bear hide across the stall.
He was selling the hide of an early-stage Tier 1 Earth Rock Bear. Once it sold, he could pack up and use the spirit stones he earned to buy other things he needed.
"Hey, young brother, did you hunt this bear demon all by yourself?"
A nearby stall owner, glancing at the bear hide on Li Qing's stall, showed surprise in his eyes.
Li Qing sat down cross-legged without ceremony, laughing as he replied, "Haha, just lucky. I stumbled upon this bear demon in the mountains a year ago."
"Not bad at all. Judging by the texture of this hide, it looks like an Earth Rock Bear. These demon beasts have the toughest hides, making them notoriously difficult to kill," the stall owner next to Li Qing commented with professional insight.
This surprised Li Qing, who raised an eyebrow, thinking, "He's right."
When Fan Tong hunted this bear, he had put in a tremendous effort. If I hadn't been there to lend a hand, they might not have succeeded.
"Just luck," Li Qing said modestly.
After speaking, Li Qing glanced at the items displayed on the other stall's table, a slightly strange expression crossing his face.
They were all... aphrodisiacs and health tonics.
"Hahaha, forgive this old man for making you laugh, young friend. In my younger days, I indulged too much in carnal pleasures, which left my body depleted. That's when I began studying this field."
"How about it? Would you like to buy some deer antlers? I've been tracking a herd of wild deer since winter, finally getting my hands on these in the spring!"
"They're all top-quality!"
Listening to the stall owner's enthusiastic pitch, Li Qing shook his head with a wry smile, declining the offer.
Are you kidding me? he thought. I'm a Grandmaster of the Martial Dao, with Vital Energy as abundant as a vast ocean. How could I possibly need such things?
Compared to many cultivators with frail bodies, Li Qing could honestly say he'd never need such a tonic in his life.
Seeing Li Qing's genuine lack of interest, the stall owner lost his enthusiasm and stopped trying to sell.
Li Qing himself leisurely took out a small booklet and sat at his stall, engrossed in its contents.
It was the freebie he'd received yesterday when buying talismans—Tales of the Azure Ridge Cultivation World.
The trade fair bustled with people, but Li Qing's mind quickly became absorbed in the booklet's contents.
It described the Azure Ridge Domain's diverse geography, local customs, and strange occurrences, as well as major events from the past few millennia.
Li Qing's current region was called the Azure Ridge Domain. It was home to four human settlements: Liang Country, Maple Country, the Grasslands, and the Mu Kingdom in the far south.
The Azure Ridge Domain's terrain was unique, surrounded on three sides by natural barriers that ordinary people could never cross.
To the west lay the Great Abyss, a massive chasm rumored to have been formed by powerful cultivators battling in ancient times, though the true cause remained unknown. Crossing the Great Abyss required at least Core Formation Realm cultivation. The air above it was thin, and it slowly drained spiritual energy from cultivators' bodies—a bizarre phenomenon that made it one of the Azure Ridge's most dangerous forbidden zones.
To the east, beyond Liang Country, stretched an endless ocean that even Core Formation Realm cultivators would gaze upon with awe.
Looking south, beyond the Mu Kingdom, lay a frigid mountain range of snow-capped peaks. This range dwarfed Maple Country's Small Jade Ridge; several of its peaks soared into the clouds, forming a spine that seemed to cleave the heavens and earth.
The only way to leave the Azure Ridge Domain was to travel north. The north was dominated by vast, endless grasslands. Though still difficult to traverse, it was the only viable escape route compared to the perilous Forbidden Lands in the other three directions.
With cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Realm, or even the Late Qi Refining Realm, and riding a spiritual horse, one might cross the grasslands in a few months and reach another domain.
The author of this book had once attempted to travel north, hoping to reach other cultivation regions beyond the grasslands. However, the grasslands proved too vast. After two months of relentless travel, they still hadn't reached the edge.
The spiritual energy along the way was also incredibly thin, leaving their storage pouch empty of spiritual stones. Forced to turn back, they returned the way they had come.
Due to the treacherous terrain surrounding the Azure Ridge Domain, it had little contact with the cultivation worlds of other regions. The domain had long been dominated by four powerful Immortal Path factions: the Heavenly River Sect, the Shangqing Sect, the Lingyun Sect, and the Holy Temple Tribes of the grasslands.
As Li Qing read this, his fingers clenched so tightly he nearly crushed the book.
Lingyun Sect!
At those three words, Li Qing's emotions surged like a tidal wave. He immediately thought of the white jade token he kept hidden away.
Could that token be the legendary Ascension Token?
He couldn't be sure. Sometimes a sect would have various tokens, perhaps to represent a disciple's status.
Suppressing his excitement, Li Qing continued reading.
The passage described the Foundation Establishment Pill, a sacred medicine for rogue cultivators.
Initially, the pill was crafted from various Spirit Herbs found throughout the world. But as time passed, these herbs became increasingly scarce, eventually only existing in secret realms or Forbidden Lands.
Without the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Dao of most cultivators became incredibly difficult. Aside from a few prodigies, few dared to attempt the Foundation Establishment Barrier.
Failure meant risking death!
Mana would dissipate, violently assaulting the cultivator's physical body. This backlash could leave them severely weakened or even kill them outright.
Eventually, even the great Immortal Path sects couldn't stand idly by. They dispatched high-ranking cultivators across the Heavenly Chasm to other cultivation worlds in search of new materials.
Finally, a cultivator returned from another cultivation world with a new Foundation Establishment Pill formula. This formula replaced the nearly impossible-to-find main ingredient with the Crystal Core of a Tier 2 Demon beast!
This discovery was earth-shattering, giving the entire Azure Ridge Domain's cultivation world a much-needed lifeline.
However, the new Foundation Establishment Pill formula also led to a drastic decline in Demon beast populations within the Azure Ridge Domain.
Fortunately, both the Boundless Sea to the east and the Bitter Cold Mountain Range in the far south still harbored significant Demon beast populations.
"No wonder there are so few Demon beasts on Small Jade Ridge," Li Qing muttered to himself. "I spent two and a half years here and only encountered a single Tier 1 Early-stage bear demon."
He figured they had all been hunted to near extinction, their Crystal Cores harvested for Foundation Establishment Pill production.
As Li Qing lamented this situation, someone finally approached his stall.
And it wasn't just anyone—it was the arrogant Talisman Master he had met yesterday!
"How much for that bear demon hide?" the Talisman Master asked, still maintaining his aloof demeanor, as if buying from Li Qing was a favor he was bestowing.
Li Qing's heart skipped a beat at this.
Li Qing had originally planned to sell the bear hide for a mere twenty or thirty spirit stones and be done with it. But after learning how rare and scarce demon beasts had become, his mind began to stir with ambition.
"Fifty spirit stones, no bargaining!" Li Qing said with a grin.
"This is just the hide of an early-stage demon beast! Why are you charging so much? Are you trying to rob me?" The Talisman Master immediately flared up.
Li Qing shook his head and replied, "If you think it's expensive, I think it's expensive too. Look around Small Jade Ridge—where are the demon beasts these days?"
"It took me two and a half years of searching Small Jade Ridge to find this bear demon. Killing it took a lot of effort!"
With that, Li Qing adopted an indifferent air, as if to say, "Buy it or don't, I don't care." He continued reading the Tales of the Azure Ridge Cultivation World he had obtained from the Talisman Master.
Indeed, knowledge truly equals wealth. Had he not acquired this book, he would never have realized how scarce demon beasts had become.
The Talisman Master was a practitioner of talismans, and such a large bear hide might be used to make special talisman paper.
The saying that every part of a demon beast is a treasure wasn't just a figure of speech.
"Ah, fine!" The arrogant Talisman Master finally relented, seeing Li Qing's stubborn demeanor.
Li Qing's heart leaped with joy.
(End of the Chapter)
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