On one hand, it was because Bai Qi provided food and lodging, sparing them from the hardship of braving the elements;

on the other hand, the disorder of the Celestial Fiend Day's four movements was a rare opportunity for the tight-living heterodox loose cultivators.

"To be honest with you, Brother Bai, the Black Water River stretches for eight hundred miles, truly a treasure land. The Ren Shui floods, while causing disasters, also makes life flourish abundantly."

Qi Yan spoke eagerly, nodding towards his junior brother Lv Nan, who fished out a small box from his pouch, revealing a shimmering red glow inside, quite beautiful.

"What is this?"

Bai Qi's eyelid twitched.

"Spring Moon Bright Mist Qi."

With a naïve round face, Lv Nan looked as pleased as if he had struck gold and proudly said:

"In spring, yang energy rises, yin energy descends; thus, rain nourishes and water flourishes, a natural phenomenon. With luck, encountering Ren Shui's flood, the aura of water mingles with the morning glow to allow my brother to capture ten strands.

This has little benefit for practicing Daoist skills or increasing one's accomplishment, but it has a peculiar use—it is an essential ingredient for Dragon Court Daoist Officials to refine the 'Longevity Grand Pill'!

When taken to Celestial Water Prefecture, selling it to a major firm would easily fetch fifty taels of red gold!"

Bai Qi clicked his tongue; he had never seen real gold in his life, for even the affluent large clans frequently used snowflake patterned silver, considered affluent and luxurious.

"In this light, practicing Daoism spends a lot, but also earns quickly. Just ten strands of so-called Spring Moon Bright Mist Qi are worth fifty taels of red gold; how many treasure fish does that equate to?"

Qi Yan closed the small box, suddenly sighing:

"Under normal circumstances, even guarding the great rivers, enduring thousands of dawns to wait for the morning glow, might not yield a single strand.

My master often says that heterodox loose cultivators are no different from rural farmers, depending on weather conditions to make a living. Upon reflection, it is quite absurd, because due to the Turbid Tide, when we meditate and visualize, experiencing Divine Soul Emergence, drifting through the void, we inevitably encounter interference from external demons, often leading to death and disappearance of the Dao.

Yet, it is precisely because of the rise of the Turbid Tide, triggering phenomena akin to the Celestial Fiend Day, that loose cultivators can gain treasures, encounter fortune, and enhance their cultivation."

Bai Qi fully agreed, the pros and cons of the Turbid Tide couldn't be summarized in a few words.

Dragon Court Daoist Officials residing in Grotto Heaven Blessed Land naturally find it taboo, avoiding it as if it were poison.

But the heterodox loose cultivators most afflicted by the Turbid Tide don't hate it as much. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

They even hope for the rise of the Turbid Tide, like fishermen chasing water currents, awaiting phenomena to appear, to seize further opportunities and fortune.

"Brother, if the Dragon Court could return the myriad spiritual energies to their origins... that would be great!

Why must the various primordial energies from the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas be allocated to the fourteen prefecture cities, nurturing Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands, to support those Daoist Officials in their cultivation?"

Lv Nan pouted, looking resentfully at the Spring Moon Morning Glow Qi that could be sold for fifty taels of red gold, saying:

"This isn't fair!"

Qi Yan frowned, glanced at Bai Qi who appeared unaffected, then turned and rebuked:

"Nonsense! Have you forgotten the catastrophe of the loss of the Dao three thousand years ago, when the Turbid Tide swept across the Red County Divine Land, polluting the mystical veins, and corrupting myriad spirits with magic?

The Dragon Court... despite its mistakes, is generally good. If things were as you suggested, with myriad spiritual energies returning to their origins, allowing everyone to breathe them in and out, wouldn't it replay the dark period of Dao loss, with major sects raising the populace like pigs and dogs for slaughter, sacrificing them to refine magical artifacts and practice magic?"

Lv Nan shrank his neck but muttered:

"Outside the prefecture cities, the common folk born in poor villages have been marked as base households, could it really be any better."

Qi Yan was about to scold further when Bai Qi intervened to mediate:

"Both of you are outsiders cultivating Dao, why quarrel over mundane court matters, hurting your amicability. Today, the Earth Element is in full swing; I'm planning to go out and test my fortune. Brother Qi, Brother Lv, are you interested?"