From the fake emperor to the concubine

Both guards were at the late Nascent Soul stage and were highly vigilant. It would be quite difficult to slip evidence into the mailbox right under their noses.

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Yi decided to use a diversionary tactic.

He picked up a stone, used his spiritual power, and threw it towards a corner of the wall in the distance.

With a loud crash, the stone struck the wall.

"What's that sound?" The two guards looked around alertly.

“I’ll go take a look,” one of them said, walking in the direction the voice came from.

The other person also turned around and looked in that direction.

Just then, Zheng Yi flashed out from the shadows and stuffed the scroll of evidence into the mailbox.

The whole process took less than a breath. By the time the guard turned around, Zheng Yi had vanished without a trace.

"Huh? Something seems to have moved?" The guard looked at the mailbox with a puzzled expression, but found nothing unusual.

“You must be seeing things,” another guard said, returning. “There’s nothing there; it’s probably just rats.”

“That’s true.” The first guard nodded, no longer paying attention.

Zheng Yi had already climbed over the courtyard wall and disappeared into the night.

mission completed.

Back at the inn, Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the infiltration was somewhat dangerous, it was successfully completed. Once the Zhenbei Army sees the evidence, Qian Baiwan's good days will be over.

"Now, we just have to wait for Miss Hongyu to fulfill her promise," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

The next morning, Zheng Yi came to Cuiyu Tower again.

Red Rain Girl is already waiting for him.

"Young Master Zhang, is everything settled?" she asked eagerly.

"It's done." Zheng Yi nodded. "The evidence has been sent to the Zhenbei Army's liaison office. They'll send someone to investigate Qian Baiwan in three to five days at most."

"That's wonderful!" Miss Hongyu's eyes welled up with tears. "Ten years! Hongyu has waited ten years for this day! Young Master Zhang, thank you!"

“No need to be so polite,” Zheng Yi said. “It’s time for you to keep your promise.”

“Of course.” Miss Hongyu took out a piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to Zheng Yi. “This is an application form for seven silver tokens. Young Master Zhang only needs to fill in his name and basic information, and he can come to collect the tokens in three days.”

Zheng Yi took the application form, looked at it carefully, and found that it was indeed an official form from Cuiyulou, stamped with Cuiyulou's seal.

"Thank you." Zheng Yi put the application form away.

“There’s one more thing,” Miss Hongyu said. “Young Master Zhang said before that if he needs to gather information in the future, I, Hongyu, should do my best to cooperate. I’ve remembered that. If Young Master Zhang needs anything in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

"Okay." Zheng Yi nodded. "I might need your help quite often in the future."

“Red Rain is happy to help,” said Red Rain with a smile.

After chatting for a while, Zheng Yi said goodbye and left.

Zheng Yi was in a good mood as he walked out of the Jade Pavilion.

With seven silver tokens and the intelligence support from Jade Pavilion, this transaction was incredibly profitable. Once they had legitimate tokens, they wouldn't have to hide anymore.

"Go back and tell everyone the good news," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He flew away from Qingyun City and headed towards the barren wasteland.

On the barren wasteland, everyone was anxiously waiting for news from Zheng Yi.

"The patriarch has been gone for two days, why hasn't he returned yet?" Zheng Bowen asked worriedly.

"Is the patriarch alright?" Liu Ruyan asked, somewhat uneasy.

"Don't worry, with the patriarch's strength, no one in Qingyun City can do anything to him," Zheng Hongzhi said, but there was also a hint of worry in his tone.

Su Wanqing stood aside, silently watching everyone. She had gotten along well with everyone over the past few days, and had begun to worry about Zheng Yi's safety.

Just then, a figure appeared in the distant sky.

"It's the patriarch! The patriarch is back!" Zheng Bowen, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot Zheng Yi.

Everyone immediately went to greet them.

Zheng Yi descended from the cloud and smiled when he saw the enthusiastic faces of the crowd.

"Are they all waiting for me?" he said.

"Master, you're finally back!" Zheng Bowen exclaimed excitedly. "How did it go? Was the token matter settled?"

"It's done." Zheng Yi took out the application form from his pocket and showed it to everyone. "In three days, we'll have seven official silver tokens."

"A silver token?" Everyone was overjoyed. "Patriarch, how did you do that?"

Zheng Yi briefly recounted the events at Cuiyu Tower, omitting some details.

After hearing this, everyone was filled with admiration for Zheng Yi.

"The patriarch is truly remarkable!" Zheng Bowen exclaimed. "Not only did he obtain a legitimate token, but he also established connections with the Jade Pavilion. From now on, we'll have a source of intelligence in Qingyun City."

“Yes, the patriarch is amazing,” Zheng Hongzhi echoed.

Su Wanqing listened quietly from the side, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

She had originally wanted to help everyone by going to her cousin's house, but Zheng Yi refused. Now, Zheng Yi had found a solution himself, and a better one than hers. This made her both happy and somewhat disappointed.

"Alright, let's go inside and talk," Zheng Yi said. "I'll go get the token in three days. Everyone, please get some rest these next few days."

The crowd nodded and escorted Zheng Yi into the stone house.

As night fell, the barren wasteland returned to tranquility.

Inside the stone house, everyone sat together, discussing their next plan.

"With the Silver Token, we can move freely in Qingyun City," Zheng Yi said. "But Qingyun City is, after all, a small border town with limited resources. To truly improve our strength, we still need to go to the core area of ​​Tianyuan Domain."

"When do we set off?" Zheng Bowen asked.

“No rush,” Zheng Yi said. “Let’s stay in Qingyun City for a while, gather information about the core area, and make thorough preparations before setting off.”

“The patriarch is right,” Zheng Hongzhi nodded. “Going to the core area rashly is too dangerous; we know nothing about it.”

The group discussed the matter until late at night and finally determined the general direction for the next steps.

Zheng Yi lay on the simple stone bed, staring at the dark ceiling, his mind racing with various plans. While the desolate wasteland was remote and safe, its spiritual energy was thin and resources scarce, making it unsuitable for long-term residence. If he wanted to improve his strength, gather intelligence, and prepare for entering the core area, Qingyun City was the best choice.

But having a token isn't enough to stay in Qingyun City long-term. They need a place to stay, a place where they can cultivate in peace and store their supplies.

Staying at an inn? That's the worst option. Inns are crowded and noisy, with strangers coming and going, and you could easily give yourself away if you're not careful. Besides, seven people staying at an inn long-term would be a considerable expense.

Renting a house? It's slightly better, but a rented house isn't your own after all. The landlord could take it back at any time, or it could be targeted by someone else.

The best option is to buy your own house.

"How much does it cost to buy a house?" Zheng Yi pondered to himself.

He had no idea about housing prices in Qingyun City, but he estimated they wouldn't be too cheap. Although Qingyun City was just a small border town, it was still the largest city in the area, so housing prices probably wouldn't be low.

Now, he only has a fraction of that ten thousand taels of gold left. Most of the money was used to cultivate relationships with the Jade Pavilion, and although he didn't spend much in the end, it wasn't enough to buy a house.

"Looks like I need to find a way to make money first," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

The following morning, Zheng Yi shared his thoughts with everyone.

“The patriarch is right,” Zheng Bowen nodded. “The barren wasteland is not a place to stay for long; we do indeed need to find a foothold in Qingyun City.”

“But buying a house must cost a lot of money, right?” Zheng Hongzhi asked worriedly. “We probably don’t have enough funds on hand right now.”

"So I plan to go to Qingyun City to find some work and earn some money first," Zheng Yi said.

"Looking for work?" The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

They were all cultivators, and their daily lives consisted of cultivation, fighting, and escaping; they never really thought about finding work to earn money.

"Patriarch, let us go too," Xiao Tianxing said. "The more people, the faster we make money."

“No,” Zheng Yi shook his head. “We haven’t received the token yet; it’s too dangerous for you to go out. Let’s wait until we get the token in three days before we act together.”

Everyone thought about it and agreed, so they stopped insisting.

"What kind of work does the head of the family plan to do?" Liu Ruyan asked curiously.

"I don't know yet," Zheng Yi said. "Let's go to the city first and see if we can find an opportunity."

“Young Master Zheng,” Su Wanqing suddenly spoke up, “I’m quite familiar with Qingyun City and know some ways to make money. If you don’t mind, I can offer you some advice.”

"Oh?" Zheng Yi became interested. "Miss Su, please speak."

"In the Tianyuan Domain, there are several main ways for cultivators to make money," Su Wanqing said. "The first is to work as a guard for merchant guilds or wealthy families. This job is relatively stable, but the pay is low. The second is to run errands and deliver goods. This is riskier, but the rewards are also relatively high. The third is to hunt demonic beasts outside the city and sell their pelts, bones, and inner cores to pharmacies or merchant guilds. This is the most profitable way, but also the most dangerous."

"Hunting monsters?" Zheng Yi's eyes lit up.

“Yes,” Su Wanqing nodded. “In the wilderness outside Qingyun City, a large number of demonic beasts live. Every part of these beasts' bodies is valuable, especially their inner cores, which are highly sought-after materials by alchemists. The inner core of a Nascent Soul stage demonic beast can fetch at least tens of thousands of spirit stones.”

"Tens of thousands of spirit stones?" Zheng Yi's heart skipped a beat.

With his strength, dealing with a Nascent Soul Realm demon beast would be a piece of cake. If a single inner core could sell for tens of thousands of spirit stones, wouldn't he be able to earn hundreds of thousands of spirit stones a day?

"However, hunting demonic beasts also carries risks," Su Wanqing continued. "Demonic beasts in the wilderness often travel in packs, and some are extremely cunning, setting traps to ambush hunters. Every year, many cultivators perish in the bellies of demonic beasts."

“I understand,” Zheng Yi nodded. “Thank you for the reminder, Miss Su.”

He already had a decision in his mind.

Hunting monsters—that's his job.

After breakfast, Zheng Yi set off for Qingyun City again.

This time, he didn't go directly to the Jade Pavilion, but instead took a stroll around the city to gather information about hunting monsters.

He arrived at the entrance of Baicaotang, the largest pharmacy in the city.

Baicaotang is the most famous pharmacy in Qingyun City, specializing in purchasing various spiritual herbs and materials from demonic beasts. Many hunters sell their spoils here after hunting demonic beasts.

Zheng Yi entered Baicaotang and found that business was booming. There was a long queue in front of the counter, all of them hunters who came to buy things.

Instead of queuing, he strolled around the store and looked at the prices on the shelves.

The price of monster pelts ranges from tens to thousands of spirit stones, depending on their quality.

Monster bones are slightly more expensive, ranging from several hundred to several thousand spirit stones.

The inner cores of demonic beasts are the most valuable items. A single inner core from a Nascent Soul stage demonic beast can sell for around three thousand spirit stones. The inner core from a Body Integration stage demonic beast can fetch tens of thousands of spirit stones.

"It really is very profitable." Zheng Yi nodded to himself.

He also noticed that there were some special monster materials on the shelves, and the prices were even more astonishing.

For example, there is something called "ice silkworm silk," which is said to be the silk thread spun by the ice silkworm demon. It can be used to refine magical artifacts, and one ounce can sell for five thousand spirit stones.

There is also something called "Fire Lion Marrow," which is the bone marrow of the Fire Lion Demon. It can be used to refine pills, and a single drop costs 10,000 spirit stones.

"It seems that the things on the monsters are all very valuable," Zheng Yi thought to himself.

He walked around the store and got a general understanding of the market price of monster materials.

Next, he needed to find out what kinds of demonic beasts were outside Qingyun City and where he could find them.

Zheng Yi went to the counter and asked a shop assistant.

"Sir, are you looking to buy or sell?" the waiter asked enthusiastically.

"Neither," Zheng Yi said. "I'm a cultivator from out of town, hoping to make a living as a hunter in Qingyun City by hunting demonic beasts. I'd like to ask you, young man, what kinds of demonic beasts are outside the city?"

"So, sir, you want to be a hunter," the waiter said, suddenly realizing. "There are many demonic beasts in the wilderness outside Qingyun City, mainly distributed in several areas."

"Fifty miles north of the city lies a dark forest inhabited by numerous black wolf demons, ranging in strength from the Nascent Soul stage to the Body Integration stage. Their pelts are highly valuable, and they typically hunt in packs, capable of killing several at a time."

"Thirty miles east of the city lies a swamp inhabited by many toad demons. Their inner cores contain potent poison, making them excellent materials for refining poison pills, and thus commanding high prices. However, the swamp is dangerous; those unfamiliar with the terrain can easily sink in."

"Eighty miles south of the city lies a Flaming Mountain, inhabited by Fire Lion Demons and Fire Python Demons. These two types of demonic beasts are incredibly powerful, the weakest being at least in the mid-stage of the Integration Realm, but their materials are also the most valuable."

The waiter gave a long, detailed introduction, which Zheng Yi listened to attentively, nodding occasionally.

"Thank you, sir," Zheng Yi said. "One last question: what are the rules for Baicaotang's acquisition of monster materials?"

"The rules are simple," the shopkeeper said. "We buy any complete monster materials. Prices are based on market value, no cheating. However, if you can supply regularly, we can offer a discount."

"How much of a discount can we get for long-term supply?" Zheng Yi asked.

"We can probably offer a discount of around 10%," the salesman said. "If the order volume is large, we can discuss it further."

"Okay, I've got it." Zheng Yi nodded. (End of Chapter)