Chapter 52: Dark Night Organization
West City Market
When Lin Jiang arrived here, he found many people gathered together, with a curious attitude. Lin Jiang also went closer to take a look and saw that the Yunzhong City Guards were escorting three cultivators, both men and women.
Through the conversation of people nearby, Lin Jiang learned that these three individuals were assassins from the Dark Night Organization, captured by Yunzhong City and soon to be beheaded.
"Beheading is something that people in the cultivation world also enjoy watching."
Lin Jiang looked at the layers of onlookers, a mix of excitement and disappointment filling his heart. Without moving a step, Lin Jiang began watching as well.
"Brother, why aren't they starting already?"
"Fishing."
"Fishing?"
"Yes, there are many people in the Dark Night Organization, and there are still many who haven't been caught. They are waiting for the Dark Night Organization to come and rescue them. I heard that the other two major markets are also doing the same."
"The people from the Dark Night Organization wouldn't be so foolish, right?"
"Who knows?"
Lin Jiang saw someone nearby discussing the reasons for not taking action yet. Lin Jiang thought it made sense, but he didn't think the people from the Dark Night Organization were that foolish.
Yunzhong City always had a Nascent Soul Ancestor watching over it. If the Nascent Soul Ancestor couldn't handle it, the two major sects still had a Soul Changing Ancestor waiting. With the strength of the Soul Changing Ancestor, it would only take an instant to rush over from the sects' mountain gates.
As Lin Jiang expected, the Yunzhong City guards waited for over two hours, but no one came to rob the field. When they realized no one was coming, they took action.
"Okay."
The executioner raised his knife and the crowd cheered loudly. There were no instances of blood-filled bread, as cultivators were not superstitious.
Lin Jiang followed the dispersing crowd and vaguely seemed to catch a glimpse of Zhang Ruifang's figure, but he wasn't sure. He didn't want to have much to do with Zhang Ruifang either.
Back at his stall, Lin Jiang started selling talismans. In these few days, Lin Jiang's talisman making had improved. He could now draw ten first level premium spiritual talismans in a day.
This wasn't an unbelievable thing either. Lin Jiang had been able to draw first level premium spiritual talismans decades ago. Having cultivated at this level for many years, his talisman drawing technique had become extremely skilled.
With years of practicing the Soul Refining Technique and taking the Soul Nourishing Pill, his spiritual power became much stronger than the average Qi Refining cultivator. Improving his talisman skills came naturally to him.
This was Lin Jiang's unique advantage. Compared to other cultivators with good aptitude, who could breakthrough the Building Foundation Period in their thirties or forties, Lin Jiang could stay in the later stages of Qi Refining for a longer time due to his cultivation.
For those with poor aptitude, if they stayed for a long time, by the time they reached sixty years old, their vitality would decline. They wouldn't be able to make further progress, and maintaining their current state would already be considered good.
Lin Jiang was the only one who could maintain his peak state. As time passed, his talisman skills kept improving, leading to his remarkable achievements.
"If I can sell all ten talismans in a day, my income and expenses would be balanced."
Lin Jiang estimated that if he could sell all his spiritual talismans, he would earn around ninety dollars per day, a high income for a Qi Refining cultivator. He could almost achieve a balanced financial situation and even save some money if he spent wisely.
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In Yunzhong City, there was no designated market for everyday shopping. All the stalls were set up in the main market. This included resources for cultivating like pills, talismans, items, and formations. Fruits, vegetables, and snacks were also available for purchase.
Zhang Ruifang might have done it on purpose. Ever since Lin Jiang helped her in Sanjiang Estuary, he frequently saw her in the main market.
However, every time Zhang Ruifang saw her, she didn't have the vibe of a killer, but instead, she seemed like a homemaker, just buying groceries every day.
"Look at that senior in the Building Foundation Period, she also buys groceries and cooks every day. Is the Building Foundation Period similar to ordinary women?"
Lin Jiang asked the person beside him, "Shouldn't the Building Foundation Period be detached from the mundane? It shouldn't be like a woman, right?"
"What's so strange about that? Cultivators are also humans. Although theoretically the Building Foundation Period can go without eating for half a year, everyone has been eating for decades. Who would want to eat Inedia Pills every day? Also, spiritual food can increase spiritual energy, and there's no toxic side effects. If Taoist Friend Lin goes to a restaurant, you'll find that there are many people in the Building Foundation Period there."
"Ah, I see. Thank you for explaining."
"No problem, but this senior is a bit strange. Is she not making any money by wandering around every day?"
The vendor beside them said, "Even Building Foundation Period cultivators in the independent cultivator world are poor. Those Building Foundation Period independent cultivators in Yunzhong City are busy every day and can't make ends meet. They are always trying to get spirit stones and resources."
Seeing that the person beside him was becoming suspicious, Lin Jiang quickly changed the topic. He didn't want things to go wrong. But as they talked, the conversation turned to the topic of the assassin organization.
According to their accounts, the assassin organizations in Yunzhong City have been numerous for hundreds of years. Most of them are small-scale and made up of temporary members. They do business by taking contracts to kill.
Compared to the Dark Night Organization, those killers are very amateurish, while the Dark Night is much more professional. Their killer organization is carefully trained, focusing on killing skills and mastering various techniques. Even those in the Building Foundation Period may be assassinated by killers in the Qi Refining Period.
Therefore, the two major sects deeply despise the killer organization. When they encounter one, they wipe it out. Just like this, after the battle at the Sanjiang Estuary, the two major sects took action. The Dark Night Organization suffered heavy losses and has now gone silent. Perhaps it has already disbanded.
Lin Jiang cannot deny this. He believes that Zhang Ruifang is still undercover, and the Dark Night cannot simply disband like this.
"Forget it, forget it. It's not my business. It's best to mind my own safety and well-being."
Finally, Lin Jiang shook his head. He couldn't get involved in such nonsense. The more involved, the quicker the death. He just wants to live his own peaceful life.
As time passed, Lin Jiang's spiritual power became more and more profound, constantly growing. This is a very good thing because on the path of cultivation, there is a very frustrating thing called a bottleneck.
A bottleneck is a peculiar thing. No matter how you cultivate, your spiritual power cultivation doesn't increase. The refined spiritual power seems to disappear into thin air.
And solving this bottleneck is also difficult. Some people rely on elixirs, like the famous Barrier-Breaking Pill, but not only is it expensive, it is also not effective for everyone.
Others go out on adventures. There is a theory that says a bottleneck occurs due to a problem with one's state of mind. Therefore, one must travel to different places and experience various matters to break the bottleneck.
Some people rely on endurance, keep enduring, and the bottleneck might naturally open up. Of course, the most possible outcome is they directly die of old age.
Lin Jiang doesn't show any sign of a bottleneck yet, so he is considered lucky. Of course, there are many people without bottlenecks, like Mr. Lin and Lin Ying. They both built their foundations early, and it's uncertain if there will be a bottleneck during the Foundation Building Period.
"I have been at the ninth level of Qi Refining for almost four years. I estimate that it will take another ten years or so to reach the perfect level. After reaching the perfect level, I need to find a way to build my foundation. I wonder how many Building Foundation Pills someone with my poor talent would need."
Lin Jiang pondered. There are genius individuals who can forcefully break through without using Building Foundation Pills, but obviously, Lin Jiang is not one of them.
He has inquired and found out that there are Building Foundation Periods for cultivators with Five Spiritual Roots. However, he hasn't heard of an independent cultivator with Five Spiritual Roots being able to build their foundation. This is because independent cultivators don't have enough money to buy a large amount of Building Foundation Pills, they can't even afford one.
Don't underestimate the value of Building Foundation Pills, they cost around twenty to thirty thousand spirit stones. For cultivators in the Qi Refining Period, this is already a sky-high price. Ordinary people start cultivating at the age of twelve and at the age of sixty, their vitality starts to decline. That's why they say there's a sixty-year limit.
In other words, ordinary people only have a total of forty-eight years in the Qi Refining Period. To improve their cultivation by ten levels during these forty-eight years, they need to invest a lot of resources each year. On top of that, they also need to take care of daily expenses like food, drink, and living. It's incredibly difficult to save up an additional twenty to thirty thousand spirit stones.
This is why independent cultivators envy sects and families. Sects and families not only have territories that generate continuous income each year, but they also gather people and can collectively fund major events. Independent cultivators can't compete with that alone.
"I went off track. I went off track. Let's get back to the main topic. How many Building Foundation Pills should I prepare?"
Lin Jiang quickly refocused his thoughts and stopped daydreaming, focusing on how to build a strong foundation.
According to the information Lin Jiang gathered, some well-born cultivators called the "Five Spiritual Roots" want to build a foundation. They need at least two "Building Foundation Pills," as well as some auxiliary elixirs, a rich spiritual environment, and skilled guards to ensure a stable environment.
If Lin Jiang wants to prepare all these requirements, he would need to spend a hundred thousand or even more spirit stones.
"To prepare four Building Foundation Pills, plus other auxiliary elixirs and the right environment, it will cost around twenty thousand spirit stones. So, in total, it will be over a hundred thousand. At this rate, even if I save one thousand spirit stones per year, it will take me a hundred years to accumulate enough. It seems the hope for lower-level cultivators lies in mutation after all."
Lin Jiang calculated and realized that the cost was too high. Unless a lower-level cultivator had exceptional talent, there was truly no hope of breaking through the Building Foundation Period.
