Chapter 23

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Chapter 23: The Extreme Struggle

Yunzhong City

East City Market was the largest marketplace in Yunzhong City.

Located in the eastern part of the city, it was the poorest area of Yunzhong City.

There were many independent cultivators here who didn’t have access to the city’s shops.

Hence, the market was created.

The rules of the market were simple.

For a spirit stone, you could pay the organizer, who would assign you a stall roughly two to three square meters in size.

The stall could be rented for a day, but longer rental periods, such as monthly or yearly, came with discounts.

Lin Jiang, however, chose to rent the stall for five years.

“Taoist Friend Jiang, have you heard? Someone has discovered an ancient cave within the Yunzhong Mountain Range, just outside the city…”

That day, Lin Jiang was at his stall, selling special magical items.

Beside him, a cultivator kept talking without stopping.

They were discussing how someone had found an ancient cave left by a senior cultivator in the Yunzhong Mountain Range outside the city.

Inside, there were cultivation techniques, secrets, medicinal pills, and magical stones worth tens of thousands of magical stones.

It was astonishing, and suddenly, they had become rich and successful.

This caused excitement among the lower-level cultivators in the city.

The Yunzhong Mountain Range was vast, and many cultivators settled there.

Some cultivators died unexpectedly or vanished without a trace, leaving their caves to be seen as treasure troves by lower-level cultivators.

“Taoist Friend Zhang, I’m not interested in treasure hunting. You can go by yourself.”

Lin Jiang replied.

These days, he went by the name Jiang Lin.

He was an independent cultivator living in Yunzhong City.

The man beside him was his neighbor, and they shared the same cave dwelling.

However, while there were four people in their courtyard, Lin Jiang lived alone.

As for treasure hunting, Lin Jiang had no interest.

Since his time with the Lin family, Lin Die had warned him that such ventures were often traps, deliberately spread by bandits.

While one thought of treasure, the bandits were thinking of taking their life.

“Hey, Taoist Friend Jiang, do you make much money selling these spiritual charms? Is it enough for your rent? You should take some risks. Without risks, how can you possibly reach the Building Foundation stage?”

“Taoist Friend Zhang, you can go by yourself. I’m only thirty years old, no need to hurry.”

Lin Jiang once again declined.

Now, he had shaved off his beard and returned to his original appearance.

However, he claimed to be thirty years old.

Among independent cultivators, reaching the mid-stage of Qi Refining at thirty was considered exceptional.

If his age was any younger, it would raise suspicions.

The person next to him, seeing that Lin Jiang wasn’t interested and wasn’t wasting time, left to find someone else.

He had always wanted to go treasure hunting, but because his skills were lacking, he didn’t dare to act alone.

He had been trying to find a team.

Lin Jiang ignored him and focused on selling spiritual talismans.

Lin Jiang had a clear plan for his future.

Treasure hunting, adventure, or hunting monsters? He had no interest.

His only goal was survival.

Why?

Because Lin Jiang’s greatest advantage was time.

If he didn’t have money, he could earn it slowly.

While others might earn hundreds of thousands of spirit stones in a year, he could only earn around three to five hundred.

It might take him a hundred or even eighty years, but he could afford it.

Surviving was the most important thing.

He would endure for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

Once his cultivation improved, he could think about other pursuits.

So, Lin Jiang had already set his routine.

He would practice for five hours every day and spend another five hours drawing talismans.

This was fixed.

The rest of the time would be spent selling spiritual talismans and practicing spells.

If he couldn’t sell them, he could take them to the shop, but the price there would always be lower than retail.

Lin Jiang wouldn’t sell to the shop unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Time’s up, close the shop.”

After some time, Lin Jiang noticed that it was almost closing time, so he packed up the talismans and headed home.

Along the way, he saw some food stalls and bought some food, saving himself the trouble of cooking.

·······

Half a year later, Lin Jiang left the house again and encountered a stranger, a Taoist cultivator.

The man greeted him and said, “Hello, Taoist friend. I’m Jiang Feng, your new neighbor.”

“I am Jiang Lin.”

“Oh, we have the same surname. Maybe we’re from the same family. I wonder where you’re from, Taoist Friend.”

“No, I’m from Anhua City.”

“Alright, I thought we were relatives.”

“What about Taoist Friend Zhang?”

“You mean the previous tenant? He must have passed away. The landlord came to check because he hadn’t paid his rent for a month. His roommate said he hadn’t returned for months since he went to Yunzhong Mountain Range for treasure hunting.”

“Well, I have something to do. I’ll take my leave.”

Lin Jiang waved and walked away.

He went to set up his stall at the market.

Lin Jiang had already predicted what would happen to that person.

During that time, he had teamed up with many people, so it was likely that someone had already targeted him.

“Hello, big brother.”

When Lin Jiang arrived at his booth, the neighboring booth had been taken over by a young boy, about twelve years old, with a younger sister by his side.

There were over ten types of medicinal herbs laid out on the booth, but all of them were low-level.

“Hello, did you set up this booth yourself?”

“Yes, big brother.”

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Zhang Ruifeng, and this is my sister, Zhang Ruifang. Our family works for the Zhonghang Sect, growing herbs.”

The young boy was quite friendly, and Lin Jiang told him his background without hesitation.

Lin Jiang couldn’t help but feel both amused and frustrated.

At such a young age, the boy was unaware of the world’s dangers.

Did he really think there were no bad people in Yunzhong City?

After a while, Yunzhong City’s guards patrolled the area and stopped when they saw Zhang Ruifeng and his sister.

They chatted with him in a friendly manner.

Nearby vendors looked on in surprise.

Once the guards left, many people gathered to chat with the boy.

Before long, half the street knew that these siblings had some connections in Yunzhong City.

The greedy gazes around them disappeared.

Yunzhong City was managed jointly by two major sects, Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect, both of which were giants in Yun State.

Both sects controlled large territories, some of which were available for rent.

However, not everyone could rent them.

They were typically occupied by vassals of the sects or relatives of disciples.

Some of Zhang Ruifeng’s relatives were disciples of the Zhonghang Sect’s outer sect, and his parents had rented spiritual land from the sect to grow herbs.

So, Zhang’s family asked a fellow disciple on duty in Yunzhong City to look after Zhang Ruifeng.

When Lin Jiang heard this, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

Indeed, no one in this tough world was simple.

Even a ten-year-old boy had connections behind him.

“Big brother, are you hungry? I have a pancake here.”

After some time, Zhang Ruifeng approached again, holding a pancake in his hand.

“Thank you, little brother, but I brought my own food.”

Lin Jiang waved his hand.

Being away from home, he was cautious about eating or drinking other people’s food.

He had his own meal.

Lin Jiang never deprived himself.

At the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, he’d sell his Silver Arrow Fish, Silver Light Fish, and Colorful Pig whenever he tired of eating them.

In Yunzhong City, the ingredients were even more plentiful.

At times, even third-stage demonic beast flesh appeared.

Lin Jiang had already enjoyed hearty meals.

Afterward, his life returned to normal, but he still bought the meat of second-stage demonic beasts.

The meat of second-stage demonic beasts contained more spiritual energy.

One pound of meat equaled about one-tenth of the energy in a Spirit Gathering Pill, which was very beneficial to cultivators.

Lin Jiang had eaten it for quite some time.

“Okay, my mom’s pancakes are really delicious!”

“I believe you, but little brother, don’t disappoint your mom’s kindness. Finish the pancake yourself.”

“Yes, big brother! Would you like to buy some of our family’s medicine? It’s very good quality. My dad is a first-grade premium spiritual farmer. The medicine is full of spiritual energy and time, definitely not fake.”

“Little one, I’m a talisman maker, not an alchemist, so I don’t need your family’s medicine.”

Lin Jiang was growing frustrated.

The little boy was too familiar and wouldn’t stop talking.

“Big brother, you can also learn alchemy. Alchemists make a lot of money. Pill, talisman, item, and formation are the four skills, with pill refining being the most important…”

“Big brother…”

“Big brother…”

Zhang Ruifeng failed to notice Lin Jiang’s annoyed expression.

He kept talking, showing his chatty nature.

Lin Jiang gritted his teeth, annoyed, and decided to stop selling altogether.

“Big brother, why did you leave so early? It’s only noon.”

Zhang Ruifeng tilted his head, perplexed.

He couldn’t understand why his neighbor was wasting his stall time.

Didn’t the stall fee cost money? Why leave at noon?