Living a peaceful life in the world of cultivation

Seeing everyone's confusion, Lü Ping explained with a smile.

"It's nothing, the snow was a bit too heavy in the mortal town, and Xiao Fan's body is weak, so he couldn't handle it."

"It just so happens that I wasn't planning on patrolling in places far from the market, so I can help Brother Dashan and the others by taking care of Xiao Fan."

Upon hearing this...

The independent cultivators queuing around them all spoke up.

"Fellow Daoist Lü, your righteousness is truly admirable."

"With a brother of such noble character as Fellow Daoist Lü, what more could one ask for?"

Many cultivators believe that Lü Ping originally planned to patrol the Lingnong area, but because of his friendship with Zhao Dashan's family and in order to take care of Zhao Xiaofan, he changed his mind and went to patrol the outskirts of the market instead.

Everyone wants to carry a sedan chair, and Lü Ping wasn't competing with them for a spot in the Lingnong area, so there was no conflict of interest. A few words were enough to establish a good relationship.

What they didn't know was that Lu Ping, the patrol guard, hadn't planned to participate if it weren't for not wanting to stand out from the crowd.

Furthermore, from the beginning, Lü Ping only intended to patrol the outskirts of the market; he was not interested in the spirit stone rewards for patrolling the spirit farming area.

Now it's even better, because there's a legitimate reason to take care of Zhao Xiaofan.

Even the young man in black from the Yunzhu Li family couldn't help but look at Lü Ping with new respect.

Soon, the next registered cultivator was Lü Ping.

"Name, age, cultivation level."

"Lü Ping, thirty-three, Qi Refining Level 3."

"Registration complete. Tomorrow, you will join the team for a night patrol in the West District Market."

Compared to nighttime patrols, daytime patrols are definitely safer.

Patrolling during the day provides a wide field of vision, and there are many cultivators moving around in the outer areas. Unless a demon beast is brainless, it will not choose to attack the market during the day.

Another point is that the number of cultivators who act wickedly in broad daylight will also decrease significantly.

However, Lü Ping did not raise any objections. He did not know the nature of the Li family cultivator who registered this matter. He knew that family cultivators always looked down on independent cultivators in the market.

Among them, the cultivators of the Yunzhu Li family were the most outstanding.

If the cultivator registering in front of him were to suddenly think that Lü Ping was actually provoking him, he would most likely be subjected to difficulties.

"Place him in the daytime."

Just then, the young man in black walked over and casually gave an order.

"Yes, Brother Tie."

The registered monks, under "Iron Brother's" orders, immediately arranged Lu Ping's patrol shifts into daytime.

The conversation between the two surprised Lü Ping, as he had never had any interaction with this "Iron Brother".

Why would the "Iron Brother" mentioned by the Li family cultivator help him?

The young man in black ignored him and left, leaving Lü Ping completely bewildered and filled with speculation.

"Don't be surprised, Brother Tie is a man with a very江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) style."

"It's probably because you helped your brother take care of the kids that Tie Ge noticed."

After the registration monk finished speaking, he handed over a wooden plaque and warned Lü Ping that a small recording array was engraved on the plaque. Each registration at the Western District Consulate would count as one day of patrol.

It's truly rare to find good people among the Li family cultivators.

There was a reason for this, and Lü Ping's vigilance eased slightly.

......

The next day.

After having breakfast with Zhao Xiaofan, Lü Ping took him to patrol the western district.

After the shift change, everyone registered at the consulate and then began patrolling the western district under the guidance of a Li family cultivator.

Yunzhufang City, the outskirts of the scattered cultivation area, is divided into four regions: east, west, south, and north.

In the eastern district where Lü Ping resides, most of the cultivators are spirit plant masters who make a living by cultivating spirit plants. Most of the cultivators there come from mortal academies.

The cultivators in the Southern District are mostly independent cultivators who make a living by hunting monsters in the mountains. Most of the cultivators participating in this land reclamation are independent cultivators from the Southern District. In order to ensure that the cultivators who are reclamation have no worries, the Southern District is also the focus of patrol affairs for the Yunzhu Li family.

The cultivators in the western district mostly make a living by doing odd jobs. Most of them come from ordinary towns, while a few come from other places.

The North District faces Yunzhu Mountain directly. The spiritual energy in this area is richer than that in the other three districts. Consequently, the cultivators living in the North District are basically cultivators who have mastered some basic skills of the four arts of immortal cultivation, such as rogue cultivators who tan talisman skins and cultivators who can refine military ration pills, also known as fasting pills.

Those cultivators who have truly mastered one of the four arts of immortal cultivation all reside in the inner city; they are rarely seen in the outer areas of the market.

Therefore, among the four major regions of independent cultivators—east, west, south, and north—the northern region is considered the most prestigious, while the western region is the least prestigious.

Those who practice as independent cultivators in the outer areas are more or less looked down upon, especially those who reside in the western district.

Daytime patrols are the easiest.

Let alone whether there will be any attacks from demonic beasts, even battles between cultivators are rare. Even if there are, they have nothing to do with Lü Ping and the others.

After handing over the shift, Lü Ping took Zhao Xiaofan to their residence.

The east and west areas are opposite each other, so it takes some walking.

As the snow fell, darkness gradually descended.

Upon seeing what was ahead, the cultivators formed a dense circle, as if watching a spectacle.

Lu Ping had no intention of getting involved and was about to leave with Zhao Xiaofan when Zhao Xiaofan's "gossip spirit" was aroused.

Unable to persuade Zhao Xiaofan otherwise, the two found a spot on the outskirts.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, we brothers all trust your character, and we also heard from other Daoists that the Cloud and Water Array in your courtyard can melt rain and snow, so we agreed to transplant the Moon-Closing Flower to your courtyard."

As Lü Ping listened, he realized the name sounded somewhat familiar.

Cloud and Water Formation, Fellow Daoist Chen, could it be the Chen Xiuping that Manager Lu mentioned, the one with such a strong fighting spirit?

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you personally inspected our Moon-Closing Flowers back then, and there was nothing wrong with them. You even accepted the spirit stones. Now, our Moon-Closing Flowers have withered and died in your courtyard. You have to give us an explanation."

Surrounded by three fierce cultivators, Chen Xiuping's face was grim. What the three said was true, but the Moon-Closing Flower in the courtyard was damaged because of the demonic insects eating it.

Even cultivators can't withstand the weather in the market, let alone demonic insects.

Chen Xiuping suspected that he had been set up, and the person who set him up was skilled at cultivating demonic insects, but he was not sure if it was the three people in front of him.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, the three of us brothers have a total of nine Moon-Closing Flowers, worth forty-five low-grade spirit stones. We understand your difficulties. All you need to do is give us this Cloud and Water Formation as payment."

The three men revealed their true intentions, and Lü Ping understood that this was most likely a trap set for the Cloud and Water Formation, with Chen Xiuping being the unlucky one.

His gaze swept over several cultivators.

Unlike the gloating of the surrounding cultivators, the expressions on their faces showed that they looked at Chen Xiuping as if he were an enemy.

Surrounded, Chen Xiuping saw the three people closing in and intending to make a move, so he took out the sword energy talisman.

"Gentlemen, I, Chen Xiuping, am not an unreasonable person, but if you intend to seize by force, don't blame me for being impolite."

Knowing there was a high probability he wouldn't be able to make a move, Lü Ping forcibly pulled Zhao Xiaofan away, just in case Chen Xiuping saw him and said, "Fellow Daoist, please wait..."

In the courtyard, after dinner.

"Uncle Ping, do you know that cultivator from the West District who was surrounded? I think he's in a terrible situation, surrounded by so many people, being laughed at, and being forced to hand over the formation."

"That's a formation, it's very expensive."

We met once.

"As for his misery? Compared to misery, I think he's a bit too greedy."

"Xiao Fan, remember this: within the market, and even in the entire cultivation world, all conflicts can be seen as conflicts of interest..."

Lü Ping felt that Chen Xiuping's matter was more than just a simple conflict of interest on the surface...