I am a living immortal.

It was really desolate, there was nothing at all.

The wind blew, and the dry grass swayed in the wind. A few dry and broken grasses floated past, which was really bleak. Yun Yue was also a little helpless. This place was so desolate that he began to doubt whether there was a town at all.

I had originally thought that small village was pretty bad, but I hadn't expected there to be even worse. There were small villages a few dozen miles away, some good, some bad. The bad ones were completely deserted, their houses battered by the wind and sand, dilapidated. Only a few traces of life could be seen, and the small patch of land in front of the door was abandoned.

When his old friend looked up at the sky, he saw basically the same scene.

He was moving very quickly, shrinking the distance to an inch, taking hundreds of meters at a time, as if he were flashing, and he was quite free and unrestrained. The cyan on Yun Yue's body was the only green in the wilderness.

He didn't know how long he'd walked before the surroundings finally began to change. The grass gradually grew greener, finally no longer lifeless. The weeds flourished. Now he understood why no one knew the way. He probably knew the older people only vaguely heard of it but had never seen it in person. It was simply because the town was too far away.

Even Yun Yue could feel the chasm of distance, let alone ordinary people. For them, distance might not be the most critical factor; the real key factors might be the environment and food.

Lack of food and water in this endless wasteland is absolutely fatal.

Therefore, those scattered near the border may never leave the area covered by the village in their entire lives, and live like weeds. It's not that they don't want to leave, but they can't leave.

Not going out is a life of cowardice, but going out is a dead end.

It doesn't take much thought to know which choice to make.

The weeds gradually turned from yellow to green, and the trees around them also increased in number. Although they still looked half-dead, Yun Yue was sure that this place was not far from the town.

Sure enough, not long after walking, Yun Yue encountered an old man driving a mule cart on a dirt road, and a dusty man sitting behind the cart. Their faces were rough, and this was the first time Yun Yue had met anyone on the road since entering this country.

Along the way, not to mention humans, even animals are rare.

Yun Yue immediately stepped forward, and the old man driving the cart seemed wary of him, but his caution eased when he saw his face and spotless clothes. It wasn't that he thought Yun Yue was harmless, but Yun Yue's attire showed he came from a wealthy family and wouldn't look down on their meager possessions. The only thing worth their money was the old mule.

"Excuse me, is there a town ahead?" Yun Yue asked, taking out a small bag of rice from his sleeve and handing it over.

Seeing the bag of rice, the old man was surprised and smiled, revealing his yellowed teeth, which were obviously from smoking. In his left hand, the old man held a pipe, lit it, and took puffs.

With his other hand, he pushed the rice back and said, "No need to do that. It's just a matter of a few words. If you want to go to the town, it's still a long way, about 20 to 30 miles. It will take a whole day to walk."

"Would you like me to give you a ride?" The old man tapped the mule cart with his pipe.

Pairs of eyes turned to Yun Yue.

Yun Yue nodded and held out the small bag of rice. This time, the old man didn't refuse. He took it and rubbed the bag with his fingers. It was obviously much softer than the coarse linen. He reminded him, "Young Master, it's a shame to use such a fine bag to store food. Next time, exchange it for some linen. This bag is worth half a bag of rice."

Yun Yue climbed into the car and was visibly stunned when he heard this. He hadn't expected that even in the mountains, he had no shortage of money or food, and after cultivating into an immortal, he would have no shortage of food either. If the old man hadn't pointed it out to him, he wouldn't have noticed this detail.

You have to know that fabric is as expensive as food, so such a small piece of brocade can be sold at a high price.

“Thanks for the heads-up.”

"You're welcome. After all, I, an old man, made the profit. Haha, let's go!" He patted the mule and continued to pull the cart forward.

This little incident caused the others to give Yun Yue a second look. There were five people on the mule cart: two men, two women, and a child. The gender was unclear. Their faces were flushed and a little dirty, and their skin was rough, probably due to the environment. But their eyes were bright and pure, and they examined Yun Yue with curiosity.

Yun Yue laughed, took out a candy from his sleeve and handed it over.

The child first looked at his parents, then looked at the candy in Yun Yue's hand and swallowed. Even though he didn't recognize the packaging, he knew what it was just by smelling the sweet smell.

Seeing that his parents had no expression, he reached out to grab them.

At this moment, a pair of rough hands slapped the child's hands, and the meaning was very clear, which was to stop him from taking it.

The child felt a little aggrieved after being hit, but he didn't say anything and took his hand back.

This made Yun Yue feel a little embarrassed. He didn't know whether to extend his hand or put it down.

The old man seemed to have eyes on his back and laughed out loud, which made Yun Yue even more embarrassed.

"Young Master, you are a really good person, but please don't do this again in the future. It is a burden to them."

"burden?"

"Young man, you are from a foreign land, right? It seems that this is a very rich place. But sugar is very expensive here, even more precious than a girl. Do you understand what I mean?" said the old man.

This time Yun Yue was really surprised.

It was a fantasy for him that a piece of candy was more valuable than a girl.

"Gaogou County is very poor. Many things can't grow here, and there are constant sandstorms, water shortages, food shortages, and sugar shortages... Only the wealthy can enjoy it. Sometimes, even if you pay a high price, you may not be able to buy it. It depends on whether there are caravans coming here."

"We don't ask for things without reason here. You gave him a candy, do you want to buy this girl?" said the old man with a smile.

Of course he knew that the other party might just be a rich kid who was casually showing pity to a poor person.

Yun Yue had never imagined that such compassion was not allowed here. What was advocated here was equal exchange. In fact, this was nothing, and it was very common, but this kind of equal exchange was more strict and penetrated into every aspect of life.

If that was the case, then why did her mother stop the girl from asking her parents? Thinking of this, Yun Yue was no longer shocked, but felt a chill down his spine.

The old man heard Yun Yue's breathing seemed to be a little heavier, so he smiled and said, "Now you found it?"