0p0 Chapter 35 Qingli City
Chapter 35 Qingli City
As a city directly under the jurisdiction of Guiyuan Sect, one of the five major sects, Qingli City is unexpectedly prosperous.
The city streets are wide and flat, bustling with pedestrians. Shops line both sides of the road, displaying a dazzling array of goods, including rare and precious items.
The magnificent city walls stand tall and imposing. Palace-style mansions are scattered throughout the area, while ordinary houses are arranged in neat rows.
The streets and alleys were filled with the aroma of various delicacies, attracting people to stop and sample them. Laughter and cheerful conversation filled the taverns and teahouses, as cultivators drank and chatted about events happening throughout the cultivation world.
The three were disciples of the Guiyuan Sect, so they didn't have to queue up or pay spirit stones like ordinary people when entering the city.
The three decided to book three rooms at the largest inn in the city first. After all, they didn't know when they would return to the sect, so booking rooms first would give them a place to stay.
"What? There are no rooms left?" Yingyue asked incredulously. You have to understand that staying here for one night costs ten top-grade spirit stones, which is no different from robbery for some rogue cultivators. So, this place is usually not full.
"To tell you the truth, Miss, the young lady of the City Lord's Mansion is preparing to choose a husband by throwing a bridal bouquet, and all the heroes of the land have come to see her."
In Qingli City, not only Baofu Inn, but all the other inns were basically full.
"You can turn left after you leave. There's a rental place about three miles away. The three of you are very well-dressed and have an impressive presence. You can rent a small courtyard there; it would be more suitable for your status," the innkeeper said respectfully.
"I remember that Miss Xiao from the City Lord's Mansion, she seems to have been engaged for a long time?" Yingyue stopped walking, her heart itching with this news.
"Oh dear, miss, how could such a good-for-nothing be worthy of the pearl of my Qingli City?" The shopkeeper seemed extremely disdainful of the so-called fiancé.
"A useless person?" Yingyue thought for a moment. "I remember the other party seems to be a genius with purple aptitude."
Although he didn't choose to join the Guiyuan Sect, but instead served his family at home. While the Long family couldn't compare to the Guiyuan Sect, he was still the young master of the Long family; he couldn't be considered a useless person.
"To be honest, this young master Long went into the secret realm with Miss Xiao for training, but he was seriously injured, his meridians were broken, and his whole body was crippled. He is now a cripple."
Moreover, he only had a purple aptitude before, and Miss Xiao looked down on this young master Long back then. It wasn't that Medicine King Valley hadn't examined him, but they couldn't find a solution.
It might require the intervention of a ninth-grade alchemist, but what kind of person is that? Would they possibly treat the young master of such a small family? The shopkeeper also expressed some regret when he spoke of this.
"So, Miss Xiao and Young Master Long broke off their engagement?" Yingyue asked hesitantly.
"These two are completely mismatched. Miss Xiao is the daughter of a Great Ascension Immortal Lord. If her father hadn't gotten drunk and made a promise with someone else, Young Master Long wouldn't even be worthy of carrying Miss Xiao's shoes." The shopkeeper wasn't surprised.
"The Immortal Lord said that if the Long family is willing to annul the engagement, they will offer two Grade Nine Purple Yang Jade Pills as compensation to Young Master Long. You should understand that with these two pills, Young Master Long's injuries can be easily healed, and the Long family has therefore agreed."
"That's quite ethical." The Ninth-Grade Purple Sun Jade Pill is the best healing pill of the Ninth Grade, not only because of its high level of refinement, but also because of the rarity of its medicinal materials.
Throughout the entire Guiyuan Sect, Elder Yao only refines one Ziyang Qiongyu Pill every hundred years, so two pills are indeed a great token of his sincerity.
"Of course, Miss Xiao is very much loved by the Immortal Lord. After she broke off her engagement, the Immortal Lord wanted to help her find an outstanding and ideal husband."
Tomorrow at Zhengyang Gate, Miss Xiao will hold a ball-throwing contest to choose her husband at the embroidered tower that has been set up there.
"If you're interested, you can go and watch," the shopkeeper said.
The three listened with great interest, exchanged glances, and decided they must go and see it tomorrow.
However, the key event is tonight's auction, since the three of them chose to leave the sect because of it.
The three of them first went to the courtyard rental place indicated by the innkeeper. The price was lower than that of Baofu Inn, as the better residences had been occupied by people who came to participate in Miss Xiao's husband selection.
The three of them didn't mind, after all, they had learned such a big piece of gossip, and what they were looking forward to even more was the selection of husbands tomorrow.
The five cities under the jurisdiction of the five major sects are generally managed by Venerable Lords or Immortal Lords of the Tribulation Transcending or above, appointed by the sects. However, the main cities directly under their jurisdiction are guarded by Mahayana Immortal Lords who maintain the city's security.
Previously, the city lord of Qingmu City of Yunxiao Sect was also a Mahayana stage cultivator. At that time, he learned that there might be demons lurking in Qingmu City.
In fact, two teams were dispatched. One team consisted of two Mahayana and Tribulation stage cultivators who were with Venerable Qingxu, and they were sent to deal with the demons. The other team went straight to the city lord's mansion, as it was initially thought that the Mahayana cultivator had betrayed them.
It turned out that betraying him was worse than betraying him. He was imprisoned in a dungeon by the demons using underhanded tactics and was even poisoned with demonic poison. When he was rescued, he went berserk and attacked his rescuers.
Fortunately, the team that came to capture the city lord was mostly composed of cultivators at the Mahayana stage, and they quickly stopped the attack.
The city lord was later sent to the Immortal Palace for investigation. After the investigation was completed and the demonic poison was cured, he went into seclusion.
The Cloud Soaring Sect learned from this lesson, and currently, Qingmu City is garrisoned by two Mahayana Immortal Lords.
The cities are not managed by Mahayana-stage Immortal Lords, but rather by their respective City Lord's Mansions, which are typically staffed by sect elders and disciples. The Mahayana-stage Immortal Lords primarily serve a supervisory and deterrent role.
After tidying up the yard, the three of them prepared to go out for a stroll.
Wen Sishu looked at Cheng Jiu and Yingyue with a bitter expression on his face. He had accompanied his senior sister shopping before, from morning to night, and from night to the next day, for three days in a row. He didn't know where she got the energy.
It caused him immense pain; he could only hope that his junior sister wasn't like his senior sister.
The two headed straight for Caiyi Fang as soon as they came out. This was the largest clothing store in the cultivation world, and many of the latest styles in the cultivation world came from here. Since Cheng Jiu became a disciple of Qingxu Venerable, almost all the clothing he wore was given to him by him.
Qingxu Zunjun has excellent taste, and his clothes are also very stylish. But girls always feel like they're missing that one more outfit.
The two were well-dressed and received a warm welcome as soon as they entered.
The waitress warmly ushered the three upstairs. Guests like the two with their distinguished attire would certainly prefer to have their clothes custom-made rather than the ready-made garments hanging below.
Of course, the price of a custom-made one would be much higher. Seeing that the two of them did not show any unease when they picked up the jade slip she handed them, she felt relieved.
She smiled and said, "I'm afraid you two guests haven't seen a fabric version before. I'll have someone bring it to you right away."
The two began to examine the jade slip. Cheng Jiu flipped through the beautiful clothes on it and started discussing them with Yingyue beside her.
Seeing that the two were very satisfied, the waitress seized the opportunity to introduce other fabrics.
Suddenly, a commotion arose downstairs, and the two of them snapped out of their clothes selection. Wen Sishu, hearing the commotion, couldn't wait to rush out and grab the best viewing spot.
"Xiao Yunyi, how could you be so heartless? My brother entered the Luo Cang Secret Realm for your sake. He was so badly injured while trying to save you. And when you came out and saw that he was crippled, you actually took advantage of his misfortune and broke off your engagement with him."
A young girl looked at the girl who was being fawned over with resentment, her tone full of anger.
The three of them peeked out and silently watched the drama unfold. It was the young master Long's sister standing up for her brother.
"If he had any self-awareness, he should have taken the initiative to break off the engagement with me. I don't like your brother. If my father hadn't been tricked into agreeing to my marriage with your brother, he wouldn't even be worthy to carry my shoes!"
Miss Xiao replied matter-of-factly, "As for saving me, ha, did I not bring anyone with me? I am the daughter of a Great Ascension Immortal Lord, there are plenty of people willing to risk their lives for me, I don't need your brother!"
"You've gone too far! What about all the feelings my brother has had for you all these years?" The girl's face turned bright red as she glared at her fiercely.
“He’s just unlucky!” Miss Xiao replied naturally. “I have plenty of people like your brother around me, so I don’t need another one like him.”
The girl was about to say something when she was interrupted by a slap. A young lady next to Miss Xiao said impatiently, "What did you say to her, Sister Xiao? Her brother is crippled. Will the Long family abandon him in the future? We don't know yet. Sister Xiao, what is your status? How can you allow her to be so presumptuous here?"
The ladies around him all nodded.
"I'm telling you, don't be like your shameless brother, clinging to Miss Xiao just because of the engagement. Don't you take a good look at yourself? A toad trying to eat swan meat?"
"Even if you haven't had your ordinary purple aptitude ruined, you still don't know what kind of person you are!"
The girl blushed as she was being talked to, but a man who looked to be in his early twenties grabbed her arm. "Xiao Yunyi, you've gone too far! Sister, let's go back."
When the main character arrived, the other ladies were not about to let him go.
"You took two Grade Nine Purple Sun Jade Pills and now you're ordering your sister to shamelessly cling to this place. You're utterly shameless!"
"I'm telling you, he's like a toad trying to eat swan meat. He wants elixirs, he wants people too. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"He should take a good look at his own character. Does he even deserve it?"
Young Master Long was driven to the brink of madness by what the others were saying: "Xiao Yunyi, I will definitely return the pills to you, and I will also break off the engagement!"
Then he grabbed his sister and hurriedly left.
The three people watching the drama were a little disappointed, mainly because the man was too weak; he only managed to utter such a harsh statement.
After buying the clothes, the two decided to go to the black market.
As the main city of the Guiyuan Sect, the black market is a melting pot of all sorts of people, including those who manage to get rich overnight by finding a bargain.
Finding treasure among a pile of trash is definitely an exciting experience.
"You sold me this garbage for 100 low-grade spirit stones? This Spirit Gathering Pill is fake! Give me my money back!" A burly man violently overturned a rogue cultivator's pill stall.
"No returns or exchanges once the goods are sold." The person selling the pills retorted sharply, "How can you prove that the pills I'm selling are fake?"
"I just bought this from you! You bastard, give me back my spirit stones!"
The burly man slapped him across the face, but the other man wasn't stupid and didn't fight back. The two then started fighting.
This is the current situation of independent cultivators. Most of the resources are monopolized by the five major sects, and the remaining resources are mostly divided up by sects and family forces.
Rogue cultivators are those with low aptitude, who started cultivating too late, or who do not want to be bound by the rules of sects or small families, and thus voluntarily become rogue cultivators.
There are indeed many outstanding individuals among them, but they are relatively few. It is extremely rare for a rogue cultivator like Gong Cheng and Gong Yu's parents to have even ascended to immortality.
The aptitude of independent cultivators is generally not very high, and with resources being monopolized, independent cultivators have even fewer resources.
These 100 low-grade spirit stones might be the other party's harvest for a day.
That's why the rogue cultivator couldn't wait to confront the small vendor after discovering he had bought counterfeit medicine.
Although this is a black market, it is still located in Qingli City. While the authorities generally turn a blind eye to black markets, any fights that occur will still be discovered by the patrolling disciples of Qingli City and the perpetrators will be brought back for mediation.
The black market is full of all sorts of things, which really tests one's eyesight. The three of them walked around and looked around.
Cheng Jiu spotted a turtle-shaped carving at a stall and casually squatted down to select a scroll and a mirror-like item.