Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

The sound suddenly rang out from inside the shop, startling Lu Zaian. He quickly turned around, his internal magical power surging, gathering but not releasing.

"Haha, fellow Daoist, there's no need to be nervous. Fighting is prohibited in Black Rock Market, so it's absolutely safe."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man dressed in a white robe and with a dignified appearance strolled out from the depths of the shop.

"you are?"

Lu Zaian stared at the man through the black veil under his bamboo hat and asked in a hoarse voice.

The middle-aged man smiled slightly.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Wang Changzong, an outer disciple of the Refining Fire Sect. My subordinates were blind and offended me. Please forgive them, fellow Daoist."

"Lord Wang...? He...?" The fat shopkeeper was dumbfounded.

"What do you mean, 'him'? This fellow Daoist is one of my own, and I will personally entertain him. Why don't you hurry up and make some tea?!"

Wang Changzong looked at the fat man, his tone icy.

The fat shopkeeper was shocked, never expecting that the mysterious guy in front of him was actually a cultivator.

Remembering Lord Wang's usual angry demeanor, the fat shopkeeper shuddered and quickly put on a different face, bowing and scraping obsequiously at Lu Zaian.

"Yes, yes, this... Immortal Master, it was my fault for not recognizing your greatness. I hope you will forgive me!"

After saying that, he ran off to the back of the shop as if he had wet himself.

“Never mind these mortals, fellow Daoist, please sit down. May I ask your name?” Wang Changzong gestured for Lu Zaian to sit down.

"An Yi"

Lu Zaian made up a name on the spot, wondering what the cultivator in front of him wanted to do by calling him over.

Carefully sensing its magical aura, Lu Zaian realized it was at least at the mid-stage of the fourth level of Qi Refining, making him extremely cautious.

Wang Changzong seemed to be deep in thought, and said with a half-smile.

"Fellow Daoist An, are you a rogue cultivator? Is this your first time visiting Black Rock Market?"

"How do you see it?"

Lu Zaian's face under his bamboo hat turned cold as his spiritual sense locked onto a mid-grade first-tier talisman within his storage space.

He would activate the talisman without hesitation if there was any unusual movement.

"Haha, were you surprised earlier that the spiritual herb could be traded for mortal gold?"

Wang Changzong laughed heartily, keeping everyone in suspense for a moment.

Lu Zaian suddenly realized, could it be that the kind of business they just did was quite common in this market?

Did I make a common-sense mistake?

"Is there some reason for this? I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me, fellow Daoist." Lu Zaian clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and asked for guidance.

At this moment, the fat shopkeeper brewed two cups of fragrant tea, carefully placed them in front of the two people on the table, and then bowed and withdrew.

Wang Changzong picked up his cup, took a small sip, and then said:

"This is a long story. Do you know about the Black Soil Mountains?"

"Of course I know," Lu Zaian replied.

"That makes things easier. As the saying goes, 'Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water.' This applies to ordinary people as well as to cultivators like us!"

In the cultivation world of the Black Soil Mountains, most of the raw materials for the pills we consume and the magical artifacts we use come from the Black Soil Mountains.

In theory, as long as there is controlled harvesting and reasonable human cultivation, resources can be produced continuously.

However, in the last hundred years, due to changes deep within the Black Soil Mountains, a mysterious aura of ice has swept out.

This caused most of the soil in the mountains to freeze and deteriorate, resulting in the withering and destruction of many medicinal herbs.

Even if the medicinal herbs are not destroyed, they cannot be artificially cultivated after being harvested.

Moreover, the icy aura continued to spread outwards, containing a peculiar cold poison.

If one remains in such a place for an extended period, the cold poison will penetrate the body, and even a cultivator could die from it.

The spiritual herbs in the mountains are becoming increasingly scarce, and due to the cold poison, no cultivator is willing to waste a lot of time staying in the mountains to search for herbs.

Over time, these mortals began to do the work for them.

"A little bit of gold and silver is all it takes to make them grateful and search for the elixir for us."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zaian frowned and said:

"That so-called cold poison is so strong that even cultivators can't withstand it. Wouldn't it be suicide for mortals to go there?"

Faced with Lu Zaian's question, Wang Changzong smiled dismissively and said indifferently:

"Ordinary people are like ants and weeds, one generation dies and another comes."

Finding even one spiritual herb would be a great success.

Moreover, we did offer them compensation; the gold they received for a single spirit herb was enough to support them for half their lives.

Lu Zaian: "Then relying solely on mortals to gather spiritual herbs won't be enough for so many cultivators, will it?"

Wang Changzong nodded and continued, "Indeed, this is just one of the least costly methods."

Therefore, many cultivation sects in the Black Soil Mountains are studying their own medicinal gardens in an attempt to restore the cultivation of spiritual herbs.

The most successful of them all was Lingyao Valley.

I don't know what method they used to thaw the soil frozen by the cold air and cultivate a large number of medicinal herbs.

Most of the medicinal herbs in Black Rock Market come from their herb fields.

In other words, they held the lifeline of cultivators in the Black Soil Mountains region.

At this point, Wang Changzong's tone was tinged with obvious jealousy and inexplicable sarcasm.

"I see."

Lu Zaian understood Wang Changzong's feelings at that moment.

If the necessary resources for one's spiritual practice were controlled by others, it would surely be very distressing.

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Changzong suddenly asked, "I see that Fellow Daoist An seems to be practicing a water-based cultivation technique?"

'coming. ’

Lu Zaian felt a tightness in his chest, knowing that the crucial moment was about to arrive.

This person didn't stay behind just to tell himself a story.

"Yes, I wonder what advice Fellow Daoist Wang has for me?" Lu Zaian said calmly.

"I wouldn't dare offer any guidance," Wang Changzong waved his hand.

"To be honest, our Fire Refining Sect also has a medicinal herb field in the Black Soil Mountains."

The sect has a protective array to isolate the cold poison, and it just so happens that it is short of people. The sect is currently recruiting disciples with water and wood spiritual roots to manage the medicinal fields.

Since you are a rogue cultivator, you must know the drawbacks of this path. Like a rootless duckweed, you cannot compare with the disciples of a sect in terms of resources or background.

My Fire Refining Sect not only has a top-tier first-order spiritual vein for disciples to cultivate in, but also a Foundation Establishment ancestor guarding the mountain gate.

With my guarantee, Fellow Daoist An will be able to join my sect.

Simply complete the monthly cultivation tasks.

In this way, one can easily obtain the thirty low-grade spirit stones and a bottle of Gathering Yuan Pill provided by the sect, among other benefits.

What does Fellow Daoist An think?

As Wang Changzong recounted the story, Lu Zaian was taken aback.

So... they wanted to recruit me as their disciple?

However, faced with such an urgent promise of numerous benefits, including spirit stones and pills, Lu Zaian couldn't help but feel suspicious and immediately made an excuse to decline.

"Well... I'm used to being carefree, and I might not be able to get used to the constraints of the sect."

Wang Changzong seemed to have anticipated this, chuckled, and continued to persuade him:

"It's alright, Fellow Daoist An can consider it first, after all, this is a rare opportunity."

Moreover, joining a sect does not mean losing your freedom. As long as you complete the mission, you have free time to do as you please.

"Look at me, I just sit here every day drinking tea, collecting some spiritual herbs, and I even get spirit stones and pills to collect. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist Wang. This matter is of great importance, so please allow me to consider it further. I need to take a stroll in the market first, so I will take my leave now."

Lu Zaian smiled and thanked him, then stood up and said.

Realizing that his attitude had been too enthusiastic, Wang Changzong gave an awkward smile and waved his hand dismissively.

"It's alright, it's alright. I was just being presumptuous because I was thinking about the sect. You can come find me here anytime you want to think it over."

Lu Zaian nodded, thanked him again, and left the store.

Only after Lu Zaian's figure disappeared into the formation within the inner perimeter of Black Rock Market did Wang Changzong withdraw his gaze.

He glanced again at the untouched fragrant tea on the table and couldn't help but snort coldly.

"Hmph... a mere Qi Refining Level 3, quite a cautious fellow, but... such a rare easy target, I can't let him get away..."