Chapter 80: One Leaves, the Other Arrives – Gathering at the Marketplace
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Boom, boom, boom!
A heavy downpour finally eased the thirst of the parched earth.
Summer thunder roared—under the majesty of heaven and earth, people were like ants, mere specks of dust.
At this moment, Yu Xian was resting in a mountainside cave, gazing at the curtain of rain with a calm expression.
After rushing over a hundred more li and fighting a fierce battle before that, although he hadn’t spent much spiritual energy, the tension had worn him out. He needed to rest and adjust his breath.
At the same time, he wanted to examine the storage pouch of the demonic cultivator.
Yu Xian raised his hand, and a low-grade storage pouch appeared in his palm. His spiritual sense flowed in with the aid of his qi.
Despite being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, that demonic cultivator hadn’t even managed to obtain a mid-grade storage pouch.
Loose cultivators were always broke.
Upon checking inside, Yu Xian’s brows furrowed.
The first thing that met his eyes were dozens of bloody meat lumps, each the size of a fist.
Some of the flesh still twitched, soaked in blood—horrifying.
Upon closer inspection, he realized with a chill… these pieces of meat were infant corpses!
Yu Xian’s brow twitched uncontrollably, filled with rage—this demonic cultivator had died too easily!
There was no doubt these fleshy chunks were refined from children one or two years old, meant as nourishment for that purple-armored zombie!
No wonder the righteous sects insisted on exterminating demonic cultivators!
They were truly venomous.
Demonic cultivators who slaughtered mortals were undermining the very foundation of all cultivation!
Who among cultivators didn’t come from mortal parents?
Who didn’t walk out from among mortals?
Yet these fiends…
Low-level ones might slaughter hundreds or thousands.
But high-level ones—Golden Core, Nascent Soul, even Soul Transformation level—could exterminate entire nations to forge weapons and concoct pills from millions!
What kind of madness was this?
No matter how they argued that might made right, that the winner defines justice—it didn’t change the fact:
They were evil.
And all proper cultivators would kill them without mercy.
Because demonic cultivators were cutting off the roots of cultivation itself!
Mortals were the root—without mortals, even godlike cultivators would wither and die.
That’s why demonic cultivators were universally despised.
As for those who proclaimed “All living beings are like straw dogs,” even righteous cultivators turned a blind eye to the struggles among mortals.
But to Yu Xian—it was simple. These evil cultivators deserved to die.
Using power to slaughter helpless mortals?
He too had come from mortal roots.
And he was still young—not yet so arrogant as to see himself as a god and no longer human.
He was human.
As a human, he had compassion.
What if his own parents, wife and child, siblings, or neighbors were the ones slaughtered by these monsters?
How would he feel?
They deserved to be killed—torn into a thousand pieces!
With a wave of his hand, Yu Xian took out all the flesh lumps and incinerated them with Fireball Technique, scattering the ashes into the pouring rain.
Only then did he examine the other contents.
Dozens of bottles of pills—four bottles were proper Grade-3 healing pills. Sadly, that old demonic cultivator died before he could use them.
The remaining twenty-plus bottles were foul and bloody, clearly demonic pills meant to strengthen his zombie-like body.
There were about 3,000 low-grade and 200 mid-grade spirit stones.
A bunch of odds and ends: clothes, maps, and…
A cultivation manual – “Eternal Indestructible Bone Technique.”
Yu Xian didn’t even bother checking the details—without hesitation, he burned it on the spot with Fireball Technique.
Now he understood where that corpse-refining man from Liu Family Village had come from.
He was definitely from the Rain Mountain Temple.
Those villagers even pooled their money to beg the same temple’s branch in the county to help them eliminate monsters…
Only to learn that the so-called cultivator was worse than the monsters themselves!
There were also a dozen or so Tier 1 and Tier 2 magical tools—likely used as rewards for disciples or henchmen.
Lastly, there was a piece of sheepskin.
It read:
“True Spirit Master’s Hidden Treasure Map.
Fortune favors the lucky—this may be a legacy.”
It was a crude map with a crooked route.
Yu Xian found it oddly familiar.
Frowning, he quickly searched through his own mid-grade storage pouch.
Soon, he pulled out an identical sheepskin map.
True Spirit Master… Who was he?
How many copies of this map existed?
How many people had found the treasure?
The map wasn’t detailed, and Yu Xian couldn’t pinpoint its exact location.
All he could gather was that the destination seemed to be somewhere around Great Kui Manor.
He put both maps away, took the spirit stones and healing pills, and destroyed all remaining contents of the demonic cultivator’s pouch.
Then he tossed the empty pouch into the back of the cave—leaving it for some future “fated person.”
As for the treasure?
He had no intention of going after it right now.
His cultivation level was too low. Going might mean dying without even knowing how.
His current goal:
Reach White Cloud Sect and reunite with his master.
The heavy rain finally lightened after more than an hour, leaving only thunder rumbling.
Yu Xian looked at the sky.
He had recovered his strength and qi.
With a quick hand seal, he activated Gale Step, and bolted out of the cave, rushing through the forest like a wild ape.
But shortly after he left—before even half a stick of incense had burned—three figures arrived, flying through the rain!
All three were late-stage Qi Condensation sword cultivators, swords on their backs.
They quickly noticed the discarded pouch in the cave.
One reached out to pick it up, scanned the inside, and frowned.
“The items are all gone. We were sent by the inner sect to eliminate the corpse-refining cultivators of Rain Mountain Temple. But someone beat us to it. According to the remnants we questioned, the one who killed the elder was also a sword cultivator. Could he be a fellow disciple from Heaven’s Origin Sword Sect?”
“Unlikely,” another shook his head.
“The sect doesn’t assign the same mission twice. Since we were given the task, no one else should’ve received it—unless we died doing it.”
“No matter who he is,” the third said coldly, “we track him with the Spirit-Seeking Mirror. If he’s a rogue cultivator, we demand proof—the corpse or magical tools. If he’s a fellow disciple who stole the mission, we demand the head. If he refuses… we’ll handle it accordingly.”
Clearly angry, the three sword cultivators took off again, riding their swords in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Yu Xian increased his speed as the rain lightened.
Using Gale Step to hover five feet off the ground, he sprinted through the forest with incredible speed.
Surprisingly, his pace was no slower than the three sword cultivators chasing from over a hundred li behind!
One escape, one pursuit—
In no time, they had crossed hundreds of li and exited the vast mountain forest.
Ahead stood a large city, but Yu Xian didn’t head there.
Instead, he made for a nearby rogue cultivator market, known from the demonic cultivator’s map.
In the Eastern Continent, aside from the Six Great Sects, rogue cultivators made up the vast majority.
So naturally, there were many markets of various sizes.
Usually, within every thousand-li radius, there was one such marketplace.
Between Tianhe County and Shanjiao County, one such market was located in a valley two hundred li east of Shanjiao.
So Yu Xian didn’t stop to rest, even though dawn had broken.
He continued toward the market.
He hoped to find a detailed map of the Eastern Continent, or ideally, a mount, like a Ten-Thousand-Li Crane.
He also had a bunch of Tier 2 and Tier 3 magical tools to sell.
But he didn’t plan to sell too much in this wild market—it might attract attention from powerful cultivators with bad intentions.
He would limit himself to selling about a dozen tools.
His main goal remained: map and mount.
After another hundred-plus li of fast travel, he finally saw the market town ahead.
It wasn’t as large as the Black Mountain Market near his sect—maybe half the size—but still quite lively.
Thousands of cultivators bustled about, entering and exiting the city gates.
Knowing the rules, Yu Xian deactivated Gale Step and Wind-Fury Technique a few li out, and walked calmly toward the gate.
Unlike the wilds where one might not see another cultivator for days, here, they constantly came and went, flying or walking.
As he approached, a voice called out:
“Hey, fellow Daoist, new here?”
Yu Xian paused and looked toward the speaker—a middle-aged man sitting under a tree near the gate.
The man asked, “Why don’t I see a Maple Leaf Token on your belt?”
Yu Xian smiled and cupped his fists, “I’m indeed new here. What is this ‘Maple Leaf Token’ you speak of?”
“No wonder,” the man said, “It’s just your pass for freely entering and exiting the market. Without one, you’ll be stopped inside.”
Yu Xian responded politely, “Many thanks. How do I obtain one? Is it expensive? I only have a few spirit stones…”
“Not expensive. Ten low-grade spirit stones is enough. One-time payment for lifetime access,” the man replied, satisfied with Yu Xian’s attitude.
“This market’s not easy to maintain. Daily schemes, internal strife, threats from outsiders…”
“I understand.” Yu Xian nodded.
“Senior cultivators built this for our convenience. It’s fair to charge something.”
“Exactly. I can’t stand those newbies who don’t want to pay and act entitled.”
He waved Yu Xian over.
“Come here. Give me ten stones, and I’ll handle it. No need to go inside.”
Yu Xian smiled, walked over, handed him ten low-grade spirit stones respectfully, and received a leaf-shaped jade token in return.
“Hang it on your belt. With it, no one will stop you,” the man said.
Yu Xian thanked him again and walked into the market.
Behind him, the man resumed sitting by the tree, calling out to other newcomers without tokens.
Half a stick of incense later—three sword cultivators arrived, descending loudly on their flying swords.
As they were about to walk in, the man stood up and shouted,
“Stop! You three! Flying all the way to the gate like that!? Where are your Maple Leaf Tokens!? No token, no entry!”
The three paused, eyes narrowing with annoyance.
“You talkin’ to us? Who the hell are you?”
“You’ve got some nerve barking at us like that! We already showed mercy by not flying into the market!”
The third cultivator spoke calmly, “We’re disciples of Heaven’s Origin Sword Sect. Get lost if you know what’s good for you.”
The man’s face changed instantly. He lowered his tone.
“Even if you’re from Heaven’s Origin, you should follow the rules. Without tokens, no one inside will trade with you.”
“Hah! A mere market with a few Foundation Establishment guards? Let them come out and try!”
“Foundation Establishment? We’ve killed plenty!” the other two sneered.
The third one said, “Enough. Give us the damn tokens—we’ve got business.”
The man gritted his teeth, heart pounding under their immense killing intent, and handed over three Maple Leaf Tokens.
“Please hang them on your belts…”
“Scram!” one of them barked.
The three then entered the marketplace.
Left behind, the man clenched his jaw and muttered bitterly,
“Damn bastards… Heaven’s Origin Sword Sect, huh? Hope someone slaughters you all one day!”
