Taichu Yandao: Starting from the Villain

"The spiritual energy in Yan State is thin, and no one can become a high-level cultivator anyway, so I didn't mention it when I was teaching you the Dharma," Qian Xiaoyi explained.

"What does this have to do with our need to pay back the spirit stones as soon as possible?" Zhao Rui asked.

Qian Xiaoyi said sternly, "It seems that there are many benefits to being an official cultivator, but each one requires a large amount of spirit stones, and the interest on credit is ridiculously high."

"This is no different from what I did in Yan State. I gave a small profit in exchange for what the upper echelons needed."

"And the so-called conscription is most likely because Jin is not peaceful and needs a large number of troops, and it is still a war between monks."

Zhao and Shen's faces changed drastically. They had received the same information, but they hadn't noticed these problems. Qian Xiaoyi might have just been guessing, but if you think about it carefully, it all makes sense.

"Then according to your opinion, what should we do next?" Zhao Rui asked

"There is no other way. We just arrived and can only take one step at a time. Let's go out and get some information tomorrow." Qian Xiaoyi said.

Zhao Rui nodded repeatedly and said, "We can only take one step at a time. You two have been busy for half a year. Let's have a good rest tonight and we can talk about everything tomorrow."

Qian Xiaoyi said nothing and got up to leave. However, Shen Chenqing said, "Master Zhao, my room is very cold!"

"Aren't you practicing a fire-attributed technique?" Zhao Rui looked doubtful.

Shen Chenqing snorted coldly, turned around and left abruptly.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, the three of them headed straight for the market in the west of the city.

The towering pillars held up an ancient plaque with the words "Shengxian" written on it. The streets were lined with shops, and those who shuttled between them were all monks.

The three of them arrived at the gate tower, and Qian Xiaoyi said first: "Two fellow Taoists, there are obviously more cultivators here, why don't we split up and investigate?"

Shen Chenqing, who was dressed as an ordinary woman today and wore a loose robe, agreed: "That's good. There is no danger here, and it can speed up the speed of gathering information."

Zhao Rui nodded and said, "Okay, then let's meet here at 15:00."

The three of them separated and plunged into the bustling crowd.

The street was very wide, and it was estimated that it could accommodate four carriages at the same time. In addition to the luxurious shops on both sides, there were countless vendors:

"Come and take a look. This is a top-quality diamond talisman that is indestructible by swords and spears."

"Take a look. Top-grade golden pearls are excellent materials for practicing qigong and making talismans."

"My fellow Daoist, do you need a magical weapon? This one of mine is infinitely close to a magic weapon, and it will definitely greatly increase your strength."

Zhao Rui looked through it and found that they were all exaggerated, so he said that the knife was definitely more powerful than ordinary iron, but it was far from enough to catch up with magic weapons.

However, he gradually discovered a pattern: among these vendors, six out of ten sold things related to gold pearls. Green bean-sized ones were sold in boxes, while thumb-sized ones were displayed in conspicuous places.

Zhao Rui walked around quickly and soon came to an alley full of people. Out of curiosity, he walked in.

At the end of the alley, a person stood on a high place. He was thin and skinny, wearing a fish-killing skirt. He held a pearl shell in his hand and shouted, "Everyone, take a good look at this one. It comes from the Red and Black Trench. The starting bid is 100 spirit coins."

The moment the shouting sounded, someone started bidding:

"One hundred and fifty spirit coins"

"One hundred and sixty spirit coins"

"I'll offer 200 spirit coins," said the monk with a lizard squatting on his shoulder.

"Three hundred spirit coins!" a female cultivator in white shouted.

"Three hundred spirit coins per time." Seeing that no one was bidding, the hemp man said, "I won't say much about the Red and Black Trench. A month ago, someone opened a purple gold bead here. Old players should all know that we are honest and fair."

His words were like pouring boiling oil on the crowd, and it instantly boiled over. Many people were furious and shouted, "How can you auction like that?"

However, more people asked, "Is it true? Did someone really get the Purple Gold Pearl?"

The quotations continued one after another:

"Three hundred and fifty spirit coins."

"Four hundred spirit coins."

"Four hundred and eighty spirit coins."

"Five spirit stones." The nobleman, who was holding a folding fan in one hand and wearing a brocade robe with a flying bird pattern, shouted.

This sound instantly silenced all the bidders.

The hemp man smiled and shouted:

"Five Spiritual Stones at a time"

"Five Spiritual Stones twice"

"make a deal!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a cultivator walked up to the young man and took the spirit stones from him.

When everything was ready, the hemp man continued to shout: "One knife brings wealth and fortune, and external money rolls in. Fellow Taoists, watch out."

After he finished speaking, he took out a shell cutter. Just as he was about to cut, the nobleman suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute, let me check the shell."

The stubble man remained calm and said, "Please do as you please, Taoist friend. A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. We have been running this stall for many years and will never do anything to deceive others."

The young man did not respond. After taking the pearl shell, he first held it above his head to examine it in the sunlight, then put it to his ear and flicked it with his fingers.

After a while, he handed it back to the other party and said, "You open it!"

The straw man took the pearl shell and shouted again: "One cut brings wealth and fortune. My fellow Taoists, watch out."

With one sharp cut, the pearl oyster was instantly split in the middle.

The hemp man lifted up the shell and turned over the shell meat in full view of everyone. Soon, three thumb-sized golden pearls were turned out.

"Congratulations, fellow Taoist, for opening three top-quality golden pearls."

The rich young man's face was full of black lines. He took the golden pearls, sighed, and left with a flick of his sleeves.

In the crowd, Zhao Rui watched all this silently, and thought in his heart: "It seems that one hundred spirit coins can be exchanged for one spirit stone, but I don't know how much the purple gold bead is worth."

He was lost in thought when a scholar beside him suddenly said, "It's obvious that this guy is a sucker. There are actually people willing to gamble."

Zhao Rui turned around and found that the other party had also reached the Great Perfection of Qi Training. He immediately said, "Oh, how can you say that? Didn't the noble young master personally check it out and didn't say anything?"

The scholar said, "Of course this shell is real, but the person who actually took the shell from the sea must have felt unsure, so he sold it here."

"Isn't this all blind opening? Is there any other trick?"

The scholar twisted his beard and said, "This golden pearl shell will die if it leaves the water, but before it dies, its body is full of spiritual energy fluctuations. The shell that can produce purple gold pearls must be full of spiritual light."

When he said this, a man in armor beside him teased, "Everyone knows this, but the golden pearl shell is extremely alert and can detect monks from a long distance. Then, when the two shells are closed, there will be no spiritual fluctuations."

The scholar retorted, “If there is a magical weapon like a flying sword, if you carefully go and investigate, you will be able to sense the spiritual fluctuations of the Fritillaria without making any noise.”

Zhao Rui raised his eyebrows, realizing that the other party was not chatting him up for no reason, but because he saw that he was carrying a flying sword, so he said, "I am grateful for your advice, but a magic weapon is not something that an ordinary cultivator can possess."

The man in armor also laughed and said, "What you said is bullshit. Does someone with magic weapons need to go to the trench to pick up pearls?"

The scholar ignored the monk in armor and pulled Zhao Rui aside, whispering, "Daoyou, can I have a word with you?"

In public, Zhao Rui was not afraid of the other party doing anything, so he followed the scholar and left the crowd.

When they reached a place with few people, the scholar bowed and said, "My fellow Taoist, I am really sorry for offending you. I am Wu Zhenhua, a swordsman. I love swords as much as my life. I can't move when I see good things."

"Hey... I see the sword behind you is very radiant and not an ordinary thing. I wonder if you are willing to part with it. The price is negotiable."

In just two days, two people had made the same request. However, how could Zhao Rui sell his master's sword? He said, "To be honest, I am also a sword cultivator, and I never leave this sword."

"Hey, I see that you don't have any sword spirit in you, and I thought you were not a sword practitioner, but just got the sword by chance."

Zhao Rui raised his eyebrows and asked, "What is the relationship between sword intent and carrying a sword?"

Wu Zhenhua was surprised, but seeing that the other party's expression did not seem fake, he said, "We sword cultivators only keep our swords with us when we are tempering our sword spirit. It is not necessary at other times. If I am not mistaken, your sword is a magic weapon. This kind of spiritual thing needs to be taken into the body and nurtured."

Lu Xuan did not explain these common sense clearly in the rush back then. It was true that only when Zhao Rui reached the great perfection of Qi training would he use them.

If Zhao Rui really cultivates to such a level, he will naturally be able to learn it after leaving the island.

"To be honest with you, I have been practicing in the mountains. My master has never asked me similar questions. Is the technique of nurturing a flying sword precious?" Zhao Rui said with a fist salute.

Wu Zhenhua suddenly realized and said, "It's not a rare technique, but among the techniques of wealth, companions and land, this technique ranks first. Every family regards this technique as a treasure and will not show it to others easily."

"Does cultivation require a Taoist partner? Can't cultivation be done without a partner?" Zhao Rui heard the term "law, wealth, companion, and land" for the first time. He roughly guessed what law and wealth meant, but he had no idea what companion and land meant. However, he didn't want to show his weakness, so he said:

"I see. It seems I need to accumulate some merits and buy a set of skills to study."

Wu Zhenhua immediately said, "Hey, Daoist friend, there is no need to go to such trouble. The official price is just a trap for us casual cultivators. Besides, Daoist friend only needs one of the small spells. Isn't this buying the casket and returning the pearl?"

"From what you said, is there any other way?"

Wu Zhenhua looked around, hooked his arm around Zhao Rui's shoulder, and whispered, "To be honest, I have learned this magic from my teacher. We are acquainted, and if you are willing to spend some money... I guarantee that it will be several times cheaper than the official price."