With the full support of the Bright Void Sect’s three lineages, the Marketplace at the foot of Feifeng Mountain gradually got on the right track.

The daily flow of customers remained stable within a certain range.

The place became a bridge for Sect Disciples to interact and connect with the many Loose Cultivators of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

「One year ago.」

The Bright Void Sect even established rules modeled after the Xiao Family’s marketplace: aside from villains on the Sect’s Death Order, all other Cultivators could receive the Bright Void Sect’s protection within the Marketplace, Tribulation Cultivators included.

Entering the Marketplace meant one’s life was guaranteed.

Resources from the Ten Thousand Mountains and goods from the Dazhou Territory also circulated through here. Bolstered by various measures, the Marketplace grew ever more prosperous.

After returning from the Magic World, Zhu Ju didn’t immediately go back into secluded cultivation. Instead, he started frequenting the Marketplace.

Partly to relax, and partly to gather materials.

’I’ve gathered most of the materials for the Dust Banner. I can probably find the last few in the Marketplace.’

Besides, he needed to find a way to offload the goods he’d obtained from the Otherworld.

「After some time.」

He had acquired all the materials except for two rare ones. Now, he could only wait for an opportunity to present itself.

Soon, news arrived.

Aside from the public shops and businesses in the Marketplace, there were also various private exchange gatherings. One of the materials he needed had appeared at one such small gathering.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister."

Zhu Ju said, clasping his hands.

"You’ve opened your Innate One Acupoint. The Great Dao is within reach."

"Hee hee..." Ning Ruxue beamed.

"I can’t compare to your exceptional talent, Senior Brother. I imagine you’re probably close to opening your third Acupoint by now."

"I can only run around working hard, earning a few Spirit Stones to buy Elixirs just to barely keep up."

She said, pressing her lips together slightly.

The first Acupoint she opened was the Mouth Acupoint. Among the Innate Nine Acupoints, it was best to open this one as early as possible.

Moreover, opening an Acupoint in just a few years, while not comparable to Zhu Ju, still made her one of the top Sect Disciples.

Given time, she would definitely reach the Middle-Stage Innate Realm, and with enough effort, she might even have a chance at breaking through to the Dao Foundation Realm.

"Junior Sister, you have a shop to earn Spirit Stones, so you don’t lack Elixirs."

Zhu Ju said.

"Once the business is on track, you can just hire someone to manage it. Then you’ll be able to focus on your cultivation in peace."

"Sigh!"

"I should have gritted my teeth and bought a shop back then."

It wasn’t that he coveted the income from running a shop, but that it would have given him a channel to sell the various goods he had on hand.

If he had a shop, he wouldn’t have to secretly trade for Spirit Stones in the Marketplace.

Ning Ruxue smiled without a word.

Betting all her savings on a shop in the Marketplace was indeed the best decision she had made in over twenty years.

"We’re here!"

She pushed open a door, revealing a room of moderate size.

Inside were several Cultivators. Some wore black robes, their heads and faces concealed, while others openly showed their true appearances.

"This is where a few fellow Daoists and I hold our small gatherings. I don’t usually bring outsiders here,"

Ning Ruxue whispered.

"Of course, Senior Brother, you don’t count as an outsider."

"Thank you," Zhu Ju said gratefully.

"Is there any Star Sand?"

"Yes," Ning Ruxue nodded, leading him to a beautiful woman and making the introduction.

"This is Senior Sister Songx Xi from the Flying Phoenix Lineage."

"Senior Sister, this is Zhu Ju."

"Senior Brother Zhu has been looking for Star Sand. I heard you have some for sale, so we came to find you."

"Senior Sister Songx," Zhu Ju said, clasping his hands.

"Junior Brother Zhu." Songx Xi looked at him with a peculiar expression, like someone finally meeting a person they had long heard about.

She pressed her soft lips together and took something out of her Qiankun Bag.

"Are you looking for this?"

The Star Sand resembled gravel, yet it glittered like a river of stars, floating lightly before her and swaying like a ribbon.

A dense aura of Spirituality emanated from it.

"Yes!"

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up, then his expression turned to surprise.

"High Grade Star Sand?"

Star Sand was also divided by grade.

Low-Tier Star Sand could be found in certain mineral veins, but High Grade Star Sand only came from beyond the heavens.

As for Top-Grade Star Sand...

it was said that it could only be found within the Celestial Galaxy itself.

"Junior Brother has a good eye," Songx Xi said with a captivating smile.

"This is indeed High Grade Star Sand!"

"This is a leftover material from when a senior of the Flying Phoenix Lineage was refining a Magical Treasure. It was extracted from a Celestial Meteor that fell to earth, and I happened to acquire it by a stroke of luck."

"It’s a wonderful item!" Zhu Ju praised.

"Senior Sister, what’s the price?"

"One thousand Spirit Stones," Songx Xi said.

"No bargaining."

One thousand Spirit Stones!

It wasn’t expensive; it was very cheap.

One must understand, this was a material for refining Magical Treasures. A mere thousand Spirit Stones was already a discounted price.

Zhu Ju fell into thought.

To refine the Dust Banner, Low-Tier, Low Grade Star Sand would suffice. Of course, High Grade would be even better.

The grade and effectiveness of the Dust Banner would also be enhanced.

But, one thousand Spirit Stones!

A few days ago, he could have barely scraped that amount together, but now he had already spent his Spirit Stones on other materials.

"Senior Sister."

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Ju spoke slowly.

"I don’t have that many Spirit Stones on me at the moment. Could you allow me some time to gather them? I can come back to buy it in a few days."

"No need for all that trouble." Songx Xi smiled and waved her hand.

"Junior Brother can take the Star Sand first. When you’ve gathered the Spirit Stones, you can just come to Feifeng Mountain and pay me back."

Hmm?

"Ah!"

At these words, not only was Zhu Ju surprised, but even Ning Ruxue, who was standing beside him, cried out in shock.

That was a thousand Spirit Stones!

Not a small sum.

’Senior Sister Songx is known for being forthright, but since when was she this generous? Could it be that she already knows Senior Brother Zhu?’

’It doesn’t seem like it!’

"Senior Sister," Zhu Ju said, also looking confused.

"There’s really no need for this."

"I trust you, Junior Brother," Songx Xi said with a faint smile.

"A Junior Brother who would give away a Sword Talisman worth over ten thousand Spirit Stones to a friend wouldn’t covet my mere thousand Spirit Stones, would he?"

"Take it!"

She thrust the Star Sand into Zhu Ju’s hands.

"I, Songx Xi, do things as I please. I like your character, so let’s just consider this making a friend."

"This..." Zhu Ju hesitated for a moment before nodding and accepting it.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Ning Ruxue pursed her lips, silent. She hadn’t expected that Zhu Ju giving away the Sword Talisman would actually earn someone’s admiration.

’It was clearly an extremely foolish act.’

Little did she know.

Kindness, sometimes, is a form of credibility.

If someone were cunning and deceitful, even those who cooperated with them would be constantly on guard, never daring to let down their defenses.

The higher one climbed, the more one’s character mattered.

*

*

*

「Quiet Chamber.」

"HISS..."

Zhu Ju controlled the Five-Pointed Flying Sword, slicing through the Sheep Demon’s skin and flesh.

The Sheep Demon, the toad, and the Tree Demon—all three were Tier One High Grade Demons, and their blood and flesh were quite valuable.

The meat had to be sold for money.

But he planned to keep the hides for his own use.

As the Flying Sword sliced away, the sheepskin, now devoid of Demonic Power, was peeled off in one piece.

"SWISH!"

The Jile Spirit House, hovering nearby, trembled slightly and eagerly absorbed the sheepskin.

Next, by consuming Magical Power, he could turn the sheepskin into a Puppet. Such a Puppet would naturally be stronger than a Paperman.

It would be roughly equivalent to an Acquired Martial Artist.

The key was, a change in quantity could lead to a change in quality.

As long as he had enough Puppets, the Jile Spirit House could even pose a threat to a Late-Stage Innate existence.

He followed the same method.

The toad skin and tree bark were also peeled off one by one.

Besides the Demon blood and flesh, he also obtained a palm-sized piece of Tree Spirit.

Unfortunately, there was no Inner Core.

’It seems only Demons at the level of a Second Decline True Man can form an Inner Core. Otherwise, the Qi in their bodies is too impure to condense one.’

Shaking his head, he was about to deal with the blood and flesh all over the floor when the urgent cooing of a Sect messenger pigeon came from outside.

He went out, took the letter, and raised an eyebrow.

’An old acquaintance from Hejian Prefecture?’

’Who could it be?’

’Besides my sister and brother-in-law, do I have any other old acquaintances in Hejian Prefecture?’

...

「Dragon Head Peak.」

「The Great Hall.」

By the time Zhu Ju arrived at the Great Hall, Shen Youx and Xiao Bufan were already there, along with two other people.

A boy and a girl.

They were around fifteen or sixteen years old.

Their clothes were tattered and they were covered in grime. Upon seeing Zhu Ju, their faces lit up with joy, and they hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"Master!"

"Master!"

?

Zhu Ju frowned and lifted them up with a wave of his sleeve.

"Do we know each other?"

Looking closely, the two youths’ faces did seem vaguely familiar to him.

But for the moment, he couldn’t recall where he had seen them.

"Master!"

the girl said in a clear voice.

"Have you forgotten? I’m Ye Yao from the Ye Family, and this is my older brother, Jingming. We acknowledged you as our master."

The Ye Family?

Ye Yao, Ye Jingming?

Realization dawned on Zhu Ju’s face.

In his early days of martial arts, he had started with the Ye Family’s Thirteen Body Refinement. He had also entered the Bright Void Sect thanks to the Immortal Sect Token given to him by Ye Chongshan.

As repayment, he had indeed taught two of the Ye Family’s younger generation the Health Cultivation Skill.

However, strictly speaking, it didn’t count as formally taking them as disciples.

At the time, the Ye Family didn’t think much of their own inherited Hard Skill, so the "discipleship" was more like a transaction.

"Ah, it’s you two."

Zhu Ju nodded, then focused his power into his eyes.

"Not bad. You’ve reached the entry level with the Health Cultivation Skill, and you haven’t given up on the Thirteen Body Refinement either. What brings you here?"

"Master!" Ye Yao fell to her knees, crying.

"After you left Hejian Prefecture, San Fen Hall fell into troubles both internal and external. Several of the Ye Family’s Inner Qi Experts died one after another."

"We... we had no other choice but to flee Ancient Northern Pass and come here to seek refuge with you."

"How did you know I was at the Bright Void Sect?" Zhu Ju’s expression remained unchanged.

"Who told you?"

Two teenagers traveling all the way from Hejian Prefecture to Dragon Head Peak must have endured many hardships.

But there was plenty of suffering in this world.

Even a favored child of heaven like Pei Jingque worried daily, and a Major Immortal Sect like the Bright Void Sect had once been forced to relocate.

If even the best among men could face hardship and helplessness, it was perfectly normal for ordinary people to encounter setbacks and trials.

"Well..."

Ye Yao peeked up and said in a low voice:

"We heard it from someone."

"In the Prefecture City, there’s a woman named Hex Yufu. We heard she was your housekeeper in Leping County, Master. We learned some things about you from her."

Hex Yufu?

Zhu Ju sighed helplessly.

’That woman is fine in every way, except she’s too much of a social climber.’

’Knowing that I’ve reached the Innate Realm, she would definitely spread the news to secure a certain status for herself.’

"Senior Brother."

Xiao Bufan spoke up.

"These two were rescued from Tribulation Cultivators by a disciple from the Celestial Sword Lineage. When he heard they knew you, he brought them here."

"Hmm..."

"Senior Brother, your reputation in the Celestial Sword Lineage is quite something."

His expression was odd, as if he wanted to laugh but didn’t quite dare.

"Junior Brother."

Shen Youx said.

"Inner Sect Disciples of the Dragon Head Lineage are now permitted to accept apprentices and teach them. If you wish, you can take them in."

"But remember not to let it delay your own cultivation."

Taking on apprentices was a choice mostly made by disciples whose cultivation had stagnated and who were over sixty years old.

Zhu Ju was not yet thirty, and his cultivation was in a stage of rapid ascent. He shouldn’t let apprentices slow down his progress.

"Yes."

Zhu Ju acknowledged.

"I understand."

Then he turned to the Ye Family siblings.

"What is the current situation in Hejian Prefecture?"

"Not good," Ye Jingming said, looking up with bloodshot eyes.

"The Blood Flood Dragon Bandits are getting stronger and stronger. At first, the Prefecture City would send Soldiers out to suppress them, but now they only dare to defend the city walls."

"I heard..."

"...that the Blood Flood Dragon Bandits will make a move on Hejian Prefecture soon. Who knows how many people will die then."

Zhu Ju’s expression changed.