Cultivation begins with harvest.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to capture the sap of the wood?"

As Chen Guanggang emerged from a shop, he was stopped by a short but exceptionally handsome man, followed by a tall and robust cultivator who exuded the aura of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

The short man put away his folding fan, bowed respectfully, and said, "I am Zhao Qiushi, a junior member of the Zhao family. I have quite a few spies in the market, which is why I know some of your whereabouts, Senior Brother. It was not intentional. If you really want this 'Capturing Wood Juice,' would you mind chatting over there?"

Zhao Qiushi pointed to the second floor of the restaurant next door and laughed.

Chen Guang sized up the two men but couldn't discern anything amiss, yet he still agreed.

Zhao Qiu led the way, while continuing to talk: "Senior brother, you've come at an inopportune time. If it were an auction that only happens once every three years, you wouldn't need to run around like this. You could just wait for the auction to start and the items would naturally come to you."

Chen Guang, however, was more focused on sizing up the burly man: "Young Master Zhao is joking. Items at auctions are worth at least 20% more than they should. How could ordinary cultivators like us possibly have a chance? We're lucky if we can even go and take a look."

"Senior brother is too modest. This is my brother-in-law, Zhao Li. He is a rough man and I'm afraid he might say something wrong that would offend you. Please don't laugh at me."

Chen Guang looked at the burly man Zhao Li, who nodded expressionlessly as a greeting.

The Zhao family has some special rules. Due to the allocation of resources, only those with good aptitude and sufficient merit are given a generation name and are regarded as the direct descendants, who can cultivate on Dongdu Plain.

The other disciples only requested a family genealogy for easy tracing of their origins. They usually lived on the edge of Dongdu Plain. If they were willing to accept a life of comfort and do chores for the cultivators, they could live in these places. Those with other ideas could either go to the Mortal City Kingdom—where the Zhao family also owned property, where they would also have a life of comfort and would be spared the trouble of serving the cultivators; or they could leave Dongdu Plain and seek resources on their own.

This also shows that Zhao Li was not a direct descendant.

However, this is the Zhao family, and even if the observation of a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining is insufficient to include him in the direct line, it is not too late to include him now. Therefore, Chen Guang had some doubts about the identities of these two people.

Upon arriving at the private room of the restaurant, after being served fine tea and fruit and exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Qiushi said, "Qinmu Juice is a good thing. It can heal the injuries of birds and spirit beasts, and the effect is excellent. To be honest, this thing was indeed in the hands of rogue cultivators at first, but how many of these rogue cultivators have beast taming skills? And how many of them happen to be birds?"

"The Qinmu juice currently available on the market is all within my Zhao family, and we are using it in two ways: first, to try to crack the formula and reverse-engineer the ingredients; and second, to obtain special supplies. It will be very difficult for you to buy enough Qinmu juice in the market. If you are not in a hurry, you can wait until we get a good result."

Chen Guang nodded.

I searched around and only found a few bottles. Since they were expensive to buy individually, I didn't buy them. I also tried to obtain the formula using my abilities, but to no avail, so I gave up on that idea.

As for the good outcome Zhao Qiushi mentioned, there are only two possibilities.

One option was for the Zhao family to go to the Qingheng Sect to find someone to solve the problem.

Secondly, the Zhao family solved the problem themselves.

Both outcomes could lead to the availability of Qinmu juice on the market, but it's not certain; some things aren't meant to be used commercially.

"Let's talk about now." Chen Guang remained unmoved, twirling the teacup slightly in his hand while keeping his eyes fixed on the tea.

"Hahahaha," Zhao Qiushi laughed loudly, "This is probably beyond Senior Brother's expectations. I can't possibly sell the things the family is collecting. However, I have a way to help Senior Brother obtain the crucial clue about the whereabouts of the cultivator from the Sharp Ridge Outpost."

Zhao Qiushi had hoped to see some surprise from Chen Guang, but since the other party seemed to already know that the seller of the wood-capturing juice came from the Jian'gang outpost, Zhao Qiushi's heart stirred and he quickly said, "Senior brother is indeed a disciple of the sect, with great supernatural abilities. Then I am even more at ease. I can guarantee this news with the reputation of the Dongdu Zhao family."

Zhao Qiushi and Zhao Li each took out an identity token and slammed it on the table.

Chen Guang didn't stand on ceremony, took it, and showed Zhao Qiushi his Qingheng Sect identity token.

The identity tokens of the Qingheng Sect are very useful. Each person has a unique token, which can be used to distinguish the authenticity of the vassal direct line. The Dongdu Zhao family is a vassal family, and the identity tokens of its direct line are all made by the cultivators of the Qingheng Sect. The purpose is to be able to distinguish the authenticity by verifying the token when needed. Let the Zhao family make their own. A powerful Foundation Establishment Qi Refining cultivator might be able to forge them, without needing Yanling.

Chen Guang confirmed the truth, and so did Zhao Qiushi.

"I trust you, senior brother. I can tell you the news first. After it's done, you can give me whatever you want, even ten or eight cents. That would be my honor," Zhao Qiushi said, revealing an address and some information. "If you don't believe me, please come here again tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Chen Guang packed his things and left with a nonchalant air.

Zhao Qiushi and his companion saw them off, but Chen Guang didn't care much. He wasn't willing to tell Zhao Qiushi his real name until he had enough evidence.

……

By the time they met up with Wan Longjing, the sun was already starting to set.

"We came up empty-handed. We only saw some scattered pieces of sap, and after thinking about it, we decided not to buy them," Wan Longjing said.

"I have some clues here. I'm going to verify the identities of these two people..." Chen Guang pulled Wan Longjing aside and recounted what had happened.

Wan Longjing nodded: "You did the right thing. There is no doubt that the identity token is one token per person. But it is a bit puzzling that Zhao Li does not have a generation name. Let's check whether Zhao Li is using the previous name. In the Zhao family genealogy, he is actually a direct descendant."

"Then I'll trouble you, Senior Brother. You go to Guanglin Hall to ask for some more details, and I'll go to the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall to verify my identity," Chen Guang said. "Anyway, we don't have any clues. Senior Brother can just stroll around the market. We can't have come all this way for nothing. We'll meet at the inn in the evening."

The two agreed on the details and then went their separate ways.

The Zhao family's ancestral hall has a first floor at the foot of Yunlao Mountain. The purpose is to facilitate the verification of the identities of some Zhao family members. This is a very necessary requirement, and it is not troublesome. It makes it convenient for visiting cultivators, and it also strictly regulates the behavior of their own members.

……

Before even entering the vermilion wooden building, one could hear a rather loud argument coming from inside.

"Why should I?! My mother is also a direct descendant of your Zhao family. Now that she's injured, you're ignoring her completely. Is this the attitude a head of the family should have?!"

"Boy, let me be clear with you, your mother is determined to marry into the Dongfang family. If it were the Fang Lincang family or the Hepu Luo family... we would consider their past relationship. But you two from the Dongfang family, you've come back to the Zhao family after being injured—no way!"

"What a hypocrite the Zhao family is! Hypocritical, utterly devoid of compassion—"

"boom!"

A sudden gust of air rippled outwards, sending a figure flying from the ancestral hall. The figure tumbled through the air before rolling several meters to the ground, landing with a bloody head wound. The somewhat thin boy, with a large gash on his head, tried to stand up, but after a few attempts, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

A somewhat aged man with a red face and flowing beard and hair walked out unhurriedly and said in a deep voice, "The little thief of the Dongfang family deserves to be beaten!"

"My Zhao family dares not say that we are perfect in every way, but we have always acted uprightly. The Dongfang clan is now vying with my Zhao family for control of the loose cultivator market, and they have used all sorts of insidious means, which is despicable. We have long been at odds and have cut off all ties. You use the blood of the Dongfang clan to speak in the name of my Zhao family, you deserve to be beaten!"

"Throw him out of Dongdu Plain, and for three years, he is forbidden to set foot in Dongdu Plain again!"

Chen Guang watched this scene with interest, but he only looked and didn't think there was anything wrong with the red-faced man's actions. He even kindly forbade the man from entering Dongduyuan for three years.

Although there weren't many cultivators here, there were still cheers.

"The Zhao family has indeed picked up some of the spirit of the Qingheng Sect."

Chen Guang stepped into the ancestral hall building.