79: Chapter 79 Market

Jiang Yan withdrew his Spiritual Qi.

Chen Feng slumped against the cave wall, panting heavily.

The rise and fall of his chest was as rapid as a wild dog chased for over a dozen miles, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead one after another, hitting the fine sand to create small, dark spots.

"The Li Family is a Foundation Establishment Family. There are two Foundation Establishment Old Ancestors in the clan, one at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment and one at the Early Stage."

"Black Stone City was built by them. All the rent for the shops in the city, the entry fees for Cultivators, and the commissions from the auction house all belong to the Li Family. To put it bluntly, Black Stone City is the Li Family's private property."

Jiang Yan's expression did not change. A Foundation Establishment Family with two Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

In the Sect system of the Dongxuan Immortal Realm, they wouldn't count as a major power, but in a resource-barren frontier region like the Black Stone Mountains, they were enough to act as local tyrants.

"What are the rules in the city?"

"Private fighting is forbidden." Chen Feng answered quickly this time, clearly afraid of that invisible Spiritual Qi thorn.

"Black Stone City has set up a Second-Rank High Grade Formation that can block Second-Rank Yao Beasts."

"The core of the Formation is personally controlled by Li Family Cultivators. Fighting is prohibited within the city, and anyone who dares to make a move in the city will be fined and expelled."

"What Rank is the Spiritual Vein in the city?"

"Second-Rank Low Grade." Chen Feng's mouth twitched, not knowing if he wanted to force a wry smile or if it was because of the pain.

"With just this one Spiritual Vein, the Li Family even divided it into Ranks. The circle in the center of the city consists of High Grade Immortal Caves, where the concentration of Spiritual Qi is the highest, and the rent is ridiculously expensive."

"The circle further out consists of Middle Grade Immortal Caves, and further out are the Low Grade ones. The outermost perimeter is the shantytown built by Loose Cultivators themselves outside the city, which is not protected by the Formation."

"What are the procedures for entering the city?"

"Pay Spirit Stones," Chen Feng said. "Two Low-Grade Spirit Stones per person. You receive a temporary token that allows you to stay in the city for ten days. After ten days, you either renew the fee or leave."

"If you want to live in the city long-term, you must rent an Immortal Cave."

"Immortal Caves are divided into three tiers—High Grade Immortal Caves are about five hundred Spirit Stones per year, Middle Grade are about three hundred, and Low Grade are about one hundred."

"The shantytown is outside the city gates; no Spirit Stones are required, but it is not protected by the Formation, so you must fend for yourself if Yao Beasts come."

Jiang Yan went through this information item by item in his mind.

A Second-Rank High Grade defensive Formation that can block Second-Rank Yao Beasts.

Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators are stationed there. Fighting is prohibited within the city.

This meant that Black Stone City was a relatively safe place to stay.

In the city, he wouldn't need to be constantly on guard against Yao Beast attacks, nor would he need to worry about being ambushed by other Cultivators—at least not within the city.

But on the other hand, the Li Family's dominance also meant that any action he took in the city would be under their watchful eyes.

The Second-Rank Formation was not just for show. Since the core of the Formation was controlled by the Li Family, theoretically, Li Family Cultivators could perceive the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in any corner of the city through the Formation.

However, one should not be detected inside a rented Immortal Cave; otherwise, no one would rent them.

"Besides the two Foundation Establishment Old Ancestors, how many Qi Refining Cultivators does the Li Family have?"

Chen Feng thought for a moment. The intense pain from his severed arm wound made his thinking somewhat sluggish, and it took several breaths before he spoke: "There are about twenty direct descendants. Including collateral branches and Guest Elders, there are sixty or seventy more. In total, there are fewer than one hundred Cultivators. There are over a dozen at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, twenty or thirty at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and the rest are at the Early Stage of Qi Refining."

"How many Loose Cultivators are there in the city?"

"There are three or four hundred permanent Loose Cultivators. There are even more who come and go—those gathering herbs, those hunting Yao Beasts, plus the shantytown outside the city; altogether, there should be about a thousand people."

Jiang Yan tapped his finger lightly on his knee.

A thousand Loose Cultivators, and fewer than a hundred Li Family Cultivators.

This ratio itself was a huge hidden danger—the Li Family could suppress so many Loose Cultivators by force because they had Foundation Establishment Cultivators and a Second-Rank Formation.

This confirmed that the security of Black Stone City relied more on deterrence than on management.

After asking a few more questions, Jiang Yan extended his right hand and pressed his palm onto the top of Chen Feng's head.

Chen Feng's pupils suddenly dilated. He opened his mouth wanting to say something; his mouth opened, but before his vocal cords could vibrate, the Soul Search Technique had already been activated.

His body twitched violently on the fine sand, his eyes rolled back, and white foam mixed with blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.

The memory fragments obtained from the Soul Search basically matched his testimony.

The city gate of Black Stone City was an archway built of black volcanic rock, with Formation nodes embedded in the city walls; each node stone emitted a very faint, grayish-white halo under the moonlight.

People entering the city lined up, paying Spirit Stones one by one to receive their tokens.

The Li Family's law enforcement team wore uniform cyan robes, with standard Flying Swords hanging at their waists, patrolling back and forth on the streets.

The sides of the streets were crowded with shops—Medicinal Pill shops, Magical Artifact shops, Talisman shops, and Materials shops, with crooked handwriting on the signboards.

Loose Cultivators shuttled back and forth on the streets, the sounds of bargaining rising and falling.

These images flashed rapidly through Jiang Yan's Sea of Consciousness, then shattered into fragments, and then dissipated.

The Soul Search ended.

Chen Feng lay limp on the ground, saliva and blood foam flowing from the corners of his mouth onto the fine sand. The muscles in his cheeks were still twitching unconsciously.

Jiang Yan pressed his palm against his chest, and the Bloodthirsty Demon Scripture began to circulate.

The essence blood within Chen Feng's body turned into a warm torrent, surging into Jiang Yan's Dantian.

The quality of the essence blood of a Qi Refining Level 6 Cultivator was decent; the dark purple vortex trembled slightly, becoming a bit more solid, but it was still far from reaching the seventh level.

With a jolt of Spiritual Qi, Chen Feng's corpse, along with his severed limb, turned into grayish-white powder, which was blown away by the night wind leaking in through the rock crevices, mixing into the fine sand where it could no longer be distinguished.

Jiang Yan reorganized all the spoils of war.

He placed the Vermilion Fruit separately in the deepest part of his Storage Pouch, sealing it in a jade box with tight Restrictions.

He also carefully checked for any Spiritual Qi residue on all the Magical Artifacts and Medicinal Pills, using a Cleaning Technique to erase all traces.

After finishing all this, it was not yet dawn. He sat cross-legged in the cave, mentally prioritizing what to do next.

First, go to Black Stone City to settle down, accumulate means of protection and cultivation resources, then disperse his cultivation and switch to a Righteous Path Cultivation Technique.

If conditions allow, go to the market to inquire about news of the Xuri Ridge Li Family and Cangwu Ridge.

Consuming the Vermilion Fruit directly would certainly improve his cultivation, but it would be a waste of its medicinal power.

If he could combine it with a few auxiliary herbs to refine it into a Vermilion Fruit Pill, the medicinal effect would increase by at least double, which would allow him to improve by at least two levels of cultivation after dispersing his cultivation.

Before dawn, Jiang Yan left the cave.

He took out the dark gray cloak from his Storage Pouch, wrapped it tightly around himself, and pulled the hood low to cover most of his face.

Under the enhancement of the Wind Control Technique, his figure swept south along the valley.

At the end of the valley was a low mountain ridge; after crossing the ridge, his field of vision suddenly opened up.

On the distant horizon, the outline of a grayish-black city loomed in the morning mist.

The city was built against the mountain, its walls made of black volcanic rock, with a Formation stone emitting a faint halo embedded every hundred paces.

The city was surrounded by a circle of houses mainly made of wood; this must be the shantytown, where mostly Loose Cultivators at the Early Stage of Qi Refining lived.