A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity-Chapter 60 - 59: Yanling Mountain Market

After getting the information he needed, Lü Zhong walked toward the city gatehouse.

The guard at the entrance saw he was an outsider and treated him with the kind of affection one might show their own father.

But the look in his eyes was off—it was the kind of look one reserved for Spirit Stones.

"You’re a new face, fellow cultivator. Do you know the rules of Yanling Mountain?" A portly Tax Officer, holding a teacup and reclining in a lounge chair, spoke in a slow, deliberate manner. "You need to have mastered a craft to enter the market. It doesn’t matter if it’s Artifact Refining, Alchemy, or growing Spirit Medicine, as long as you can pass the certification."

Lü Zhong heard him and nodded. "I understand. I am a Talisman Maker."

"Oh? Then you are quite young and promising, fellow cultivator!" The fat Tax Officer put down his teacup, looking slightly surprised. He first waved a hand to someone behind him before rising and clasping his hands in a salute to Lü Zhong. "As per the rules, I must trouble you to demonstrate your Talisman Making skills. We will purchase the Talisman you create at double the market price."

Upon hearing this, Lü Zhong thought to himself, ’The management here not only knows how to make money, but they also know how to treat people.’

But to his great heartache, it was now nighttime. Any Evil Exorcism Talismans he drew would be defective and completely worthless.

Left with no choice, he had to draw an Arrow Avoidance Talisman instead.

With a series of fluid, practiced motions—given his current skill in Talisman Making, his success rate with Arrow Avoidance Talismans was a high seventy to eighty percent—he successfully drew one on his first try.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" the fat Tax Officer praised, repeating the word three times.

Immediately after, he took a Black Iron Token from the Storage Bag at his waist and said with a smile, "You truly are a Talisman Maker, fellow cultivator. I’m thoroughly envious. This is your Certification Token. Be sure to keep it safe. Replacing it costs five Spirit Stones."

’Five Spirit Stones?’

Lü Zhong couldn’t help but glance at the small hut nearby. ’That must be the price for a ’Spirit Plant Cultivator certification,’’ he guessed.

He took the token. It felt quite heavy in his hand, clearly not forged from Mortal Iron.

The token was oval-shaped. The front was engraved with the two words "Talisman Making," surrounded by a decorative border of cloud patterns, while the back was completely smooth.

With it in hand, Lü Zhong only had to pay twenty talismanic coins to pass through with ease.

Walking into the gatehouse, he could see a cyan barrier inside. Passing through it would grant him entry into the Yanling Mountain Market.

Inside the market, the Spiritual Qi was surprisingly dense.

It was far denser than the Spiritual Qi in Qingliu Market.

Meditating and refining Qi in this environment could probably increase one’s cultivation speed by twenty or thirty percent.

No wonder all those cultivators outside were desperate to get in.

Just as Lü Zhong was hesitating about where to go, a large group of people suddenly swarmed him from both sides of the main road. They were all cultivators at the first or second layer of Qi Refining.

"Fellow cultivator, Fukang Workshop is urgently hiring manual labor! Ten talismanic coins per ancient hour!"

"That’s a Black Heart Workshop, don’t go there! Fellow cultivator, you should test medicine at Huichun Pharmacy instead! It’s only five talismanic coins per ancient hour, but they cover food and lodging..."

"No, no, no, you should choose our Longyang Tower! A man as dashing as you, fellow cultivator—it would be a real shame not to capitalize on it!"

Surrounded by this crowd, Lü Zhong felt as if he had been transported back to his previous life.

’But wait, something isn’t right.’

’Longyang?’

Lü Zhong mulled over the name, then glared angrily at the pimp-like man.

If he weren’t in an unfamiliar place where he knew no one, he would have made sure the man bled for it.

’And these blind idiots couldn’t even tell he was a Talisman Maker.’

He flashed the token, causing the crowd to gasp in surprise. They all apologized and quickly retreated.

Unlike those "Spirit Plant Cultivator" Loose Cultivators, it wasn’t difficult for a Talisman Maker who had mastered a craft to survive in Yanling Mountain Market. This put him in a much better position than these low-level Loose Cultivators, who had to desperately earn money just to avoid being kicked out of the market.

However, Lü Zhong noticed that the pimp-like man hadn’t left. He was wearing an obsequious smile.

"Uh, so... fellow cultivator, care to relax at Longyang Tower?"

Lü Zhong thought that this man truly didn’t know what was good for him. He even had the urge to grace him with a couple of strikes from his Late Sun Magic Sword.

Just then, a lazy voice came from the side.

"Slapping him costs ten talismanic coins per slap. A minor injury will only run you one Spirit Stone, a major one costs five Spirit Stones. If you’re willing to pay the fine to the Law Enforcement Team, fellow cultivator, feel free to vent your frustrations on this man however you please!"

The speaker was a young man at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

He wore the same uniform as the Tax Officer—a maroon robe embroidered with a wild goose feather—except the character for "Tax" on his chest had been replaced with the two words "Law Enforcement."

Not far behind him were five other Qi Refining Cultivators in black robes, though they were all only at the first or second layer of cultivation.

Hearing this, however, Lü Zhong calmed down.

It wasn’t that he was planning to let the insolent pimp off the hook; rather, the young man’s words sent a chill down his spine.

’If you could really just pay money to be absolved of any crime...’

’...Then wouldn’t that mean if I offended someone one day, I could be treated the same way?’

As if sensing Lü Zhong’s thoughts, the young man burst into laughter. He walked over, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Relax. Since you’re a Talisman Maker, you won’t be classified with the stupid cultivators. You’ll have at least some basic protection."

’Will I really?’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Lü Zhong had serious doubts about that.

But he hid his thoughts well.

His expression unchanging, Lü Zhong clasped his hands in salute to the young man. "I appreciate the kind sentiment, fellow cultivator."

"Need to buy some information? I’m a squad leader in the Law Enforcement Team, so I know quite a bit. I happen to be free right now. One Spirit Stone per piece of information, and I guarantee I’ll answer whatever you ask!" The young man sized Lü Zhong up as he spoke, his words surprising to any outsider.

’This was a real eye-opener for Lü Zhong.’

But as it happened, this was exactly the kind of service he needed.

And given the man’s position in the Law Enforcement Team, he was likely to know some crucial information.

After a moment’s thought, Lü Zhong nodded in acceptance.

...

The group entered a tavern.

It was clear the young man was a regular here; a waiter came up and immediately asked if he wanted the usual.

"The usual... Oh, right, and get one for him too." After speaking, the young man walked over to the wine counter with practiced ease and picked up a jug of aged wine himself.

He glanced at Lü Zhong and smiled. "Don’t worry, this is on my tab. You just need to pay for the information, fellow cultivator."

With that, he turned and went upstairs.

Lü Zhong followed behind, thinking, ’I probably can’t trust him on that.’

’If I don’t ask enough questions today, he’ll likely hold a grudge, which will probably lead to all sorts of trouble for me later on in Yanling Mountain Market.’

’After all, the King of Hell is easy to meet, but his minions are the real trouble.’

He followed him into a private room. The decor wasn’t exceptional, but it could be described as elegant.

He had barely sat down when he heard the sound of light footsteps from outside. A moment later, a flock of chattering girls pushed the door open and came in.

Perhaps seeing that Lü Zhong was handsome, one of the girls even took the initiative to sit in his lap.