Infiltrating the world of cultivation

For three consecutive days, the nine-story ancient pagoda remained silent, and Wang Chao lost his initial excitement and resumed his cultivation.

After a long while, Wang Chao got up, stretched his body, and his body made a crackling sound like popping beans.

Having gotten used to running five kilometers for a long time, I find it difficult to adjust to sitting meditation now. I don't know why, but Wang Chao just wants to exercise. As soon as he stops, he feels uncomfortable all over.

Perhaps because I was used to high-intensity training in the military, I am finding it difficult to adapt to a different training method.

I don't know how people who go into seclusion for one or two months can endure it. Wouldn't someone go crazy if they stayed at home for two months to cultivate?

Those people may genuinely treat cultivation as a profession. In the cultivation world, having power is perhaps the same as having money on Earth.

The dynasty took a short rest and did not continue training, because today was the day the market would open.

Inside Han Dianli's residence, Zhang Quan bowed his head; his injuries had largely healed.

"This pill is a holy medicine for healing injuries, and it will be of great benefit to your injuries."

Han Dianli took out a scarlet pill from a small porcelain bottle, which emitted a fragrant aroma.

"Thank you, master."

Zhang Quan had no doubts and swallowed the pill in one gulp. The pill melted in his mouth, and a stream of spiritual energy flowed through his body.

"what!"

Zhang Quan, who was refining the elixir, suddenly screamed and his face began to contort.

"Master, what are you giving me to eat?"

Zhang Quan screamed, only to find his voice had become somewhat hoarse.

"I have a magical artifact that requires the soul of a cultivator as its final guide."

Han Dianli revealed a sinister smile. From the very beginning, when he was training Zhang Quan, he had already been preparing for this day.

He originally didn't want to kill Zhang Quan, but now that he had broken ties with Zuo Qiuzhen, he had to increase his strength and deal with Zuo Qiuzhen as soon as possible.

He has already contacted a mining tycoon in the No. 2 mining area, and plans to take advantage of the Dynasty's trip to the auction to eliminate Zuo Qiuzhen as well.

Amidst screams, Zhang Quan collapsed to the ground, his body curled up in a ball, convulsing incessantly, and black mist appeared on his skin.

"what!"

From within the residence of the celestial ceremony came a piercing scream, and the snowflakes on the treetops were shaken and fell with a whooshing sound.

Wang Chao ran to the market; he didn't use spiritual power, but relied on his physical strength to run.

That feeling of every cell in your body leaping with joy is irreplaceable.

Upon arriving at the market town, Wang Chao discovered that the market town he had visited earlier was only on the outskirts.

Upon returning to the market, Wang Chao no longer felt the same sense of novelty as the first time. After turning through several alleys, he arrived at the place where he had first probed the spiritual root.

The wooden table remained in its original place, and the surrounding restaurants were bustling with people, but the old man had vanished without a trace.

After making inquiries, Wang Chao learned that the old man was actually an outer disciple of the Qinghui Sword Sect, and that he had just happened to be passing by and set up a stall.

It turned out that the old man had come to earn some extra money. Wang Chao felt a little regretful for not seeing the old man, after all, the old man had given him guidance.

That old man was practically a mentor to Wang Chao, as Wang Chao remembered saying before he left.

"The Emperor will remember the Immortal's kindness today and will repay it generously when he achieves great success in his cultivation."

But now we don't even know the old man's name; we only know that he is an outer disciple of the Qinghui Sword Sect.

If he wanted a reward, he would have to wait until he went to the Qinghui Sword Sect in the future. Wang Chao sighed and then wandered around the market.

There's still some time before the auction, so going early will only mean waiting anyway. It's better to take a good look around the market.

Back on Earth, Wang Chao hated shopping the most; he could just buy anything online. But now, without the internet and delivery guys, he suddenly found strolling the streets quite enjoyable.

"What's so special about this animal hide of yours? Why does it cost five low-grade spirit stones?"

A dark-skinned miner shouted loudly.

Wang Chao stopped in front of a street stall, where a large crowd had gathered. As is typical for such lively events, the crowd was dense.

Joining in the fun isn't a bad habit; it's existed since ancient times. It's just that there's the internet on Earth, otherwise, there would be more than just older women dancing in the square in our neighborhoods.

Imagine this: in ancient times, when an imperial edict was posted, a crowd would immediately gather to watch; or when a street performer put on a show, a crowd would again be drawn to the scene.

People tend to gravitate towards topics that generate discussion; this is a social phenomenon and a specific law of civilizational development.

"Exactly, could it be that this animal hide of yours is from some ancient demonic beast?"

Some onlookers joked that many people were so desperate to earn spirit stones that they would just pick out any hard stone and claim it was a rare meteorite from outer space.

Wang Chao also stuck his head out and glanced at the animal hide.

It's obvious this is a fresh animal hide, as fresh as it gets. This vendor is too arrogant! Does he really think everyone is stupid?

If you're selling the hides of ancient monsters, at least make them look old! This one has bloodstains and a fishy smell on it. Did Jiang Ziya forget to put ginger in his fishing net?

"You've misunderstood. I'm not selling animal hides; I'm selling a map of the western section of Mine Area No. 3. I guarantee with my integrity that this map is the most complete one!"

Seeing that the crowd was starting to make a fuss, the vendor quickly began to explain.

Shhh!

A murmur of sighs arose from the surroundings; many people were preparing to leave.

"Who doesn't know that a major collapse occurred in the western part of the No. 3 mining area? It's now a complete ruin. What use is your mine tunnel map to us?"

Someone has already revealed the truth, so he doesn't need to say it; everyone knows it.

When the dynasty first arrived at the Nanshan Immortal Mine, it already knew that a major collapse had occurred in the No. 3 mining area, killing many people, including some cultivators.

However, that place had already become a ruin and had no value for use, so the dynasty didn't think much of it.

Now, seeing someone selling maps of the collapsed mining area has stirred up the dynasty's thoughts. That place is where the corpses of several cultivators are buried.

It is said that those cultivators were not ordinary miners, but outer disciples of the Qinghui Sword Sect.

They must have cultivation items on them, but it would be too difficult to find those buried cultivators in a ruin.

Even if someone wanted to profit from the dead, they would back down because of the sheer scale of the project.

In the first few days, a large number of people went to dig. The collapsed mine site was once within Han Dianli's sphere of influence, so Han Dianli was the most enthusiastic about it.

After being met with a rebuff, almost everyone chose to give up.

A month has passed, and even the most determined person would probably have given up by now. After seeing the mine map, Wang Chao's mind started to work.

"Your map is definitely incomplete, isn't it? After all, mine maps are treasures compiled with countless hours of effort. They're not easily shared!"

Wang Chao stepped forward, pretending to be a newcomer. These people were all ordinary martial artists, and they couldn't tell his cultivation level, so Wang Chao didn't mind playing dumb to fool them.

Although he was strong enough to not fear these ordinary martial artists, it was never a good thing to be coveted by others.

"To be honest, I come from the Cao family of JD.com!"

The miner surnamed Cao introduced himself with an arrogant expression. Wang Chao was puzzled. What kind of power did the Cao family have? Were they very powerful?

"It's actually the Cao family of Jingdong?! The Cao family of Jingdong, the family of tomb raiders?"

The dynasty was unfamiliar to them, but the natives of Chu knew them by heart. In the martial arts world, there was a saying that it was better to offend the imperial court than to offend the Cao family of Jingdong.

Who knows, one day your ancestral graves might be dug up. Everyone has ancestors, so even powerful forces are unwilling to offend the Cao family of Jingdong.

"It's that Cao family of JD.com, famous throughout the world!"

When the miner surnamed Cao saw that someone recognized him, he immediately perked up.

"His mine tunnel map must be the most detailed one. It's a bit of a waste for the Cao family of Jingdong to use their skills in mining."

Some people sighed with regret, never expecting that the Cao family of JD.com would fall to such a state.

"It turns out to be the famous Cao family of Jingdong. I'll take this mine map as a memento. Although the ruins are worthless now, it's still a valuable collectible."

To prevent others from coveting it, the dynasty gave itself the gimmick of collecting.

As expected, everyone understood after Wang Chao said those words, but unfortunately, they were short of money and couldn't afford the ten spirit stones.

So everyone watched as the dynasty bought the mining map, feeling only a little envious, but without any covetousness.

Facing a group of ordinary people, the dynasty wouldn't normally be so cautious, but when traveling, it's always better to keep a low profile.

The tallest tree catches the most wind, and the first bird to stick its head out gets shot. Being too high-profile makes one an easy target for covetousness.