Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 35: Humans and Immortals coexist, the twelve top sects

Wherever there is splendor, there must be filth and corruption. In a magnificent city, there must be a large number of people living at the bottom of society.

The entire city that never sleeps has a permanent population of more than two million, with humans and immortals living together. It is the holy city of cultivators that countless people in the Land of Thousand Mountains yearn for, but in fact it is also constantly absorbing nutrients from all directions in order to grow and maintain itself.

Countless people from the Thousand Mountains Country have worked hard to make this city prosperous.

The city is divided into the Fangshi District and the Mortal District. The roads are paved with emerald, the steps are made of white jade, and the pavilions and towers are spotless. The Fangshi District, on the other hand, has a very deteriorating environment.

One to five hundred thousand to six hundred thousand of the two million people live here, but the area here is not even a quarter of the entire city that never sleeps.

Many of the mountain dwellers who came here from the Land of a Thousand Mountains have lived here their entire lives, but they are very content.

Because the environment in the mortal area of ​​the City That Never Sleeps is much better than that in the Ten Thousand Mountains of Southern Xinjiang. In fact, many mountain dwellers cannot afford the city entrance tax of a spirit stone in their entire lives.

They wanted to enter the city and become immortal cultivators, but very few could become immortals. Even if they did, they would just be drawn into another copper furnace.

In the early morning, a wine, food and teahouse.

Snapped!
"The gavel has rang, and everyone listens to me."

"Everyone present here is a well-informed and true cultivator. You probably know about the four great demon sects and the eight great immortal sects. However, these twelve top sects are only a small fraction of the Tongxuan Realm. The second- and third-rate sects in the Tongxuan Realm have the largest number of people..."

"Under the Dongyang Demon Sect, there are the Wandering Soul City and the Infinite Earth Fire Demon Cave; under the Gu God Sect, there are the Burning Wood Mountain and the Never-Sleeping City; under the Ten Thousand Beasts Incarnation Palace, there are the Nine Palaces Demon Realm and the Thousand Corpse Sect; and under the Beichen Sword Sect, there are the Tianluo Sect, the Shuangxiu Mansion, and the Ice and Snow Demon Palace! Hehe, it's interesting to say that within the sphere of influence of the Beichen Sword Sect, the coldest and most ruthless of the four major demon sects, there are two sects dominated by Kun cultivators."

Kunxiu is a female cultivator. Shuangxiu Mansion and Ice and Snow Demon Palace are both cultivation sects with female cultivators as the main body.

"It goes without saying that the female cultivators of the Double Cultivation House are the best Taoist couples. The witches of the Ice and Snow Demon Palace, who can 'lock lives with the Mysterious Netherworld and break gods with ice', are always ruthless and terrifying! But it is said that once the cultivators of this sect fall in love, it will be like thunder in the sky, fire in the earth, and ripples in the cold well that are out of control."

When he said this, the storyteller, Old Man Ren, smiled on his face like a blooming chrysanthemum, revealing a vulgarity that made most people in the hall laugh knowingly.

Even the few female guests were waiting to hear the rest of the story with shining eyes, spitting softly.

"Today we are talking about the love-hate relationship between Zhuo Buqun, a second-generation disciple of the famous Cangjian Palace, and a female disciple of the Ice and Snow Demon Palace..."

Just as the old storyteller said, among the millions of cultivators in the Tongxuan Realm, only a very small number can join the twelve top sects. Even the second-rate ones in the Xuanmen Demonic Sect are beyond the reach of these cultivators present.

But the greater the gap, the more yearning it is. Besides, this old storyteller is not making up stories randomly, he has his own news channels. Although the truth and falsehood are mixed and he hears it from others, it is precisely because the sources of information are too chaotic, coupled with a lot of imagination, and the basic information is correct, that he can occasionally say something close to the truth.

For example, Master Jiao of the Tianhe Orthodox Sect in the Western Region, one of the eight immortal sects, intervened in this love between good and evil.

It is uncertain whether Master Jiao intervened or not, and it is even unclear whether Zhuo Buqun of Cangjian Palace and Qin Qingyun of Ice and Snow Demon Palace have a love-hate relationship. However, it is absolutely certain that the current head of Tianhe Orthodox Sect is Master Jiao.

If all this were wrong, this old storyteller would have been fired long ago.

It is because he can hear some useful information here and have an overall understanding of the current Tongxuan world, so Lu Cheng often comes here to listen to storytelling in recent days, and these stories sound quite interesting.

"Qin Qingyun blocked a palm attack from the elder of Shuang Xiu Mansion for her lover. Although Zhuo Buqun repelled the elder, he was too injured to pursue her and had to find a place to heal. However, while flying with Qin Qingyun in his arms, Zhuo Buqun found that the girl's body was getting hotter and hotter. Her cheeks were flushed and she was murmuring softly..."

Snapped!
"If you want to know what happened next time, please listen to the breakdown!"

"Pooh!"

"Drink, bah!"

"Old Ren, break it here, you have no bottom!"

The audience in the hall laughed and cursed, throwing fruits and vegetables at him. The old man who was telling the story bowed and begged for mercy.

At this time, a boy came down with a wooden tray to collect the reward money.

Listeners can give or not give, depending on their mood.

When the boy came to the table carrying the wooden tray, Lu Cheng casually threw a low-grade spirit stone into the tray of copper coins and silver, which made the boy's eyes light up.

"Thank you, Senior Cultivator. Thank you very much for the reward."

This was not the end. After a while, Old Ren came forward with a hunched back to express his gratitude and bow. Although they were in the city of monks, a mortal like him might not meet such a big customer in several years.

The independent cultivators in Southern Xinjiang were also poor, and they would break a piece of spiritual stone into four halves to spend. Of course, that was not the same as the poverty of ordinary people.

"You're welcome, old man. I have a batch of spiritual objects I obtained from killing and robbing cultivators that I need to deal with recently. Do you have any reasonable store to recommend?"

Half a month after entering the city, Lu Cheng was wandering around to get familiar with the city when he unexpectedly met an old man named Qin who had been unable to pay the city tax at the city gate. He saw him hanging out with the old storyteller, as well as shop assistants, waiters and the like.

At that moment, Lu Cheng finally understood that they also had their own world and their own sources of information.

It is impossible for cultivators to do many chores by themselves, so they will inevitably come into contact with mortals. Even if it is just a few words of communication, the news will naturally spread.

"Shangxiu, Guangyuantang may be small, but it is an old store with deep connections. Not only do they dare to accept things, but the prices are also relatively fair."

Old Ren looked at Lu Cheng. Although he did not look like a vicious person, he inexplicably felt that there was a fierceness in the young Taoist in front of him.

He didn't dare to rely on the information to ask for another spirit stone, but just told the news he knew directly.

If I put it this way directly, if this senior cultivator makes a small profit, he will definitely reward me with another spirit stone next time he comes to listen to the storytelling. It is better than taking the risk now.

"Guangyuantang?" This answer was consistent with Lu Cheng's observations and alternatives during this period, so he nodded and turned to leave.

Before Tang Shi said goodbye, he forced himself to leave behind 1,200 spirit stones.

This city that never sleeps has a prosperous business, and Lu Cheng also plans to clean up the miscellaneous items on his body and replace them with useful magic tools, high-quality talismans, Taoist books he wants to read, and some elixirs. In order to avoid getting into trouble in the future, it would be difficult to sell them when he comes here again.

"If you have Fire Thunder Beads, buy a few more. You will always feel insecure if you only have one. If you have more than ten, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator will die if he tries to cause trouble!"

He thought so in his mind, but Lu Cheng himself knew that this was unlikely.

The killing moves of cultivators in the Qi Condensation Stage are mostly high-level talismans. The Qi Condensation Stage cultivators use third-level talismans as killing moves, while the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators use fourth-level talismans as killing moves. Although it is difficult to bring out the full power of the talismans, they are sufficient in most fights.

As for a convenient one-time magical instrument like the Fire Thunder Bead, it would be difficult for Master Fan to refine it before he condensed his evil spirit. Most of them were obtained by chance. Even if such a thing could be sold in the market, the price would definitely be much higher than its true value. In the morning, Guangyuan Hall in the market area.

Lu Cheng came to the hall wearing an old gray Taoist robe and holding a torn long banner.

"Customer, are you buying or selling? Our Guangyuantang is a century-old store. We have everything you want."

A smart-eyed young waiter ran up when he saw a customer coming in and introduced him politely.

“Selling goods.”

Lu Cheng leaned on a long banner and spoke concisely.

"Oh, then I'll take you to the second floor."

At this time, Lu Cheng was still carrying a long banner, a sword, and a bamboo box on his back, but the waiter was still running around enthusiastically.

When they arrived at the second floor, a middle-aged shopkeeper was reading a book. When he saw Lu Cheng, he stood up and saluted, then waved his hand to let the waiter leave.

"I wonder what the customer wants to sell?"

"A few days ago, I encountered a group of thieves outside the city. Among them was a member of the Thousand Corpse Cult. Do you dare to take them on?"

Lu Cheng didn't rush to take out the items, but asked this question first.

"The Thousand Corpse Sect is a major demon sect in the Western Regions. I don't think they would bother us merchants too much. But as you know, sir, the Thousand Corpse Sect is notorious for its evil deeds. There are not many customers who dare to take over the things you sell."

"But it is more likely that good things will appear in these people's Qiankun bags." Lu Cheng said as he put down the bamboo box on his back and took out six Qiankun bags, animal teeth, flying swords, magic tools, and a copper bell from it.

The leader of the five Tribulation Cultivators had two Qiankun Bags on him, and the third-order Thousand Winds Whirling Wall Talisman in his hand could not be activated, so Lu Cheng kept it for his own use.

"Three second-level mid-grade magic weapons. Uh, these two flying swords are badly damaged. This corpse-controlling bell is valuable. There are two armored corpses inside..."

There are defensive restrictions on the six Qiankun bags. Although Lu Cheng could also open them, he chose to sell them. Now no one knows what is inside. As long as the shopkeeper's price is not too low, Lu Cheng will not waste his time.

The shopkeeper of Guangyuan Hall obviously knew this truth. The two Qiankun bags of the Thousand Corpse Sect monks were likely to contain a lot of spiritual objects, but this was also a small gamble. The price was too high, and he would lose money after working hard.

But if you happen to come across someone's Qiankun bag containing a profound cultivation method, you will make a lot of money, although the possibility of this is very small.

Half an hour later, Lu Cheng left Guangyuan Hall. Apart from his sword and bamboo box, he even took away the long banner in his hand.

However, there were more than 1,600 spirit stones in his Qiankun bag. The second-level magic weapon was not valuable. The most valuable things were the corpse-controlling bell and two well-trained armored corpses. The six Qiankun bags also sold for a good price.

The cultivators in the City That Never Sleeps are different from Li Jiuyou, Tu Hong and others. The latter would like to put all the property accumulated by their family over the years on themselves. The ordinary cultivators in the City That Never Sleeps are far less wealthy than them. They try their best to convert their cultivation resources into their own mana and combat power. That is why the total wealth of the five of them is similar to that of Li Jiuyou.

A cultivator, unless he is a true disciple of a prominent family, must learn one of the hundred arts to cultivate immortality, and among them, swordsmanship and alchemy are the most profitable.

They correspond to the Tribulation Cultivator and the Alchemist respectively.

Therefore, there are swordplay halls and alchemy halls everywhere in the city that never sleeps. Even mortals can go in and learn as long as they have spirit stones.

Since there is a sword-fighting hall, there must be no shortage of weapon refining workshops. After the total number of spirit stones in his pocket exceeded three thousand, Lu Cheng went to a weapon refining workshop that was recognized locally for its excellent skills: the Divine Weapon Workshop.

Inside the fire refining workshop, the temperature was blazingly high. A smart guy came to ask questions and then took Lu Cheng to find the master in the workshop.

But half an hour later, this time Lu Cheng came with high hopes but returned disappointed.

"Sir, it is not difficult to upgrade this sword to the second-grade upper grade. Customization is a little more expensive. We will charge you 140 spirit stones. If you fail to refine it, we will double the compensation. But you want this sword to be upgraded to the third grade in the future? We dare not accept this job even if you offer 400 spirit stones, and 600 spirit stones are not acceptable..."

The Foundation Establishment Realm seems to be just a realm to be promoted to after the late stage of Qi training, but in the Tongxuan Realm it is already a management level and cannot be easily invited.

As for a weapon refiner at the Qi training stage, unless he is extremely talented, he certainly has no guarantee that while refining the Red Pine Sword to the second level, he will have to reserve space for further improvement in the future.

"Are you going to stop here in the future? You can only make a second-level flying sword, and you don't even have the chance to make a third-level flying sword?"

Playing with the Red Pine Sword in his hand, Lu Cheng could faintly sense the aggrieved cry coming from it.

After all, this is a sword he has kept for five years. If possible, Lu Cheng still hopes that the sword can stay with him longer.

"Forget it. If you can only refine a second-level flying sword, then you might as well not refine it. Didn't you just smash two second-level flying swords a few days ago? It shows that those flying swords are nothing special."

"Buzz..."

Red pine seemed to be trembling with great recognition.

Strolling leisurely and enjoying the scenery, Lu Cheng came to a magnificent and luxurious building made of black crystal as the main building material and with spiritual gold inlaid on the corners.

There were many monks in the square, coming in one after another. There were even several foundation-building monks riding swords from high in the sky, and walking into the building after landing.

"Liujin Ancient Artifact Shop, there will be a large-scale ceremony held tonight."

After observing the surroundings for a while, Lu Cheng gradually realized that this was a large auction held among monks to exchange what they had.

He happened to have some spirit stones on him. For a Qi training cultivator, more than three thousand spirit stones was definitely a huge sum of money, so Lu Cheng walked towards the auction house with curiosity.

"My fellow Daoist, are you a foundation-building cultivator?" A female cultivator in green asked with a sweet smile, making it difficult for people to react even if it was a slight offense.

"No."

"If you want to participate in this Dharma Assembly, you need to pay five low-grade spirit stones. After entering, your safety in the Liujin Ancient Artifact Workshop will be the responsibility of this workshop."

"..."

Hearing this, Lu Cheng nodded, paid the spirit stones and walked in.

(End of this chapter)