Chapter 28

As dusk fell, shopkeepers hung lanterns outside their doors.

With the New Year approaching, the snow from a few days ago has not yet fully melted. The distant mountains were capped with snow, but within the city, the snow had been thoroughly cleared away. Despite this, the ground remained icy, causing pedestrians to tread carefully. Due to the difficult travel conditions, many shops experienced a noticeable drop in customers.

However, there was always one place that remained brightly lit. It exuded an aura of mystery from the outside, but lifting the curtain and giving the password revealed a bustling scene within, showcasing an eternal liveliness.

The sounds of dice clattering against bowls and cylinders, the clamor of pai gow tiles being shuffled, and the shouts and curses of gamblers filled the air. Rolled-up sleeves and fluttering hems of robes added to the vibrant scene. The lights never dimmed, day or night.

This was the gambling den.

As the heavy curtain lifted and fell, a row of tall, burly martial artists stood against the wall, their piercing gazes monitoring every movement in the room.

A gambling den could easily drive people mad with greed, corrupting hearts and turning the living into desperate souls. The owner of this establishment, aware of the risks, took the necessary precautions to ensure that other customers’ enjoyment and safety were not compromised.

As a result, the martial artists frequently dragged unruly patrons out, their mouths stuffed with dirty rags, and tossed them onto the icy ground, delivering a kick for good measure. These individuals, jolted awake by the cold wind, would slide across the ice, bruised and terrified, eventually crashing into a snowbank. Only then would they realize their folly and humiliation.

A short-statured youth watched someone slide past his feet, unable to suppress a twitch of his mouth. He lowered his voice and asked his companion, “Are you sure this is the place?”

The taller youth, who had previously exuded an air of worldly experience, now couldn’t hide his own surprise at the scene before them.

“Yes, this is the place.”

The shorter youth hesitated briefly.

“Alright… we’re here now, anyway…”

The taller youth cleared his throat, stepped forward, and lifted the curtain. A young servant greeted them with a smile.

“Are you here for a meal or a room?”

The noise from inside burst out, clearly unrelated to meals or lodging, yet the servant’s words were delivered with the utmost confidence. His eyes scanned the two newcomers with unabashed curiosity.

The taller youth instinctively disliked the scrutiny but suppressed his irritation, lowering his voice to reply, “Not for a meal, not for a room. We’re not here to climb mountains or sail seas. Just to walk a certain path.”

The servant’s eyes twinkled. “Oh? And what path might that be?”

“The path lined with flowers,” replied the taller youth.

“Ah, that path. Of course, right this way.” The servant’s expression turned into a knowing smile.

“This way, please.”

The taller youth glanced back at his shorter companion, waiting for him to step forward before following.

These two were none other than Yu Xizhi and Yi Zui, disguised as young men. They dressed plainly, in dark, unadorned clothes. Yu Xizhi was disguised as a man, and Yi Zui had masked his handsome features. Blending into the crowd, they appeared entirely unremarkable and unnoticeable.

The servant led the two into the gambling den, expertly weaving through the crowd and leaving behind the sounds of cursing and dice-rolling. At one point, Yu Xizhi raised her hand and smacked Yi Zui on the head as he curiously craned his neck to take in the sights. Only then did they leave the gambling den behind.

The servant stopped in front of a wall and knocked in a particular pattern, revealing a hidden door that led to a path behind the gambling den.

The path was dark, a narrow passageway leading to an unknown destination. It bore no resemblance to a flower-strewn road, but there were two wilted wildflowers in pots at the entrance, as if to half-heartedly fulfill the name.

Yu Xizhi and Yi Zui exchanged glances.

The servant smiled broadly.

“This is the flower path. Please, go ahead.”

Yu Xizhi silently recited a mantra, “We’ve come this far,” and stepped forward.

The so-called “flower path” was, of course, not to be taken literally. Yu Xizhi and Yi Zui had gone through considerable effort, disguising themselves and changing their accents. Starting from Kunwu Mountain Sect, they had used four teleportation talismans to arrive at this gambling den in Zhuyun City. They certainly weren’t here to gamble.

The gambling den was merely a front. Behind it, a secret passage led to a branch of the most mysterious black market on the Yuanshen Continent.

Wherever there were sects, there were also wandering cultivators. The black market was a place where these cultivators traded resources and information or engaged in more nefarious activities in exchange for spirit stones.

Naturally, many sects and major factions also conducted their clandestine dealings here, using the black market as a cover.

In this place, no one asked about origins or destinations. Transactions were straightforward: one hand exchanged goods for money, and once outside the black market, no one acknowledged having met.

The narrow passage was cramped but wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Yu Xizhi sensed an examining divine consciousness sweeping over them. Such black market transactions appeared orderly, but this order was maintained by powerful cultivators overseeing the place. The divine consciousness scan was both a reminder and a declaration of control.

At the other end of the passage, the scene was different from what they had imagined.

Instead of an open market with vendors shouting their wares, there were rows of rooms with black curtains, their interiors completely hidden. If a curtain was drawn, it meant the room was occupied; if open, it revealed a simple setup: a table and a person.

Yu Xizhi headed towards an open room. As she and Yi Zui stepped inside, a soundproofing talisman activated, and the black curtain naturally closed behind them.

The person behind the table was not actually a person but a paper talisman figure. These figures, infused with spiritual energy, could resemble real people, but the one in front of Yu Xizhi had only basic functions: it pointed to a set of written transaction rules on the table and picked up a tray, waiting for the items to be placed on it.

The transaction rules were simple and direct: once a deal was made, there were no returns or complaints. Outside this room, the transaction was as if it had never happened.

Yu Xizhi nodded to Yi Zui. The youth then took out a pill and a talisman from his Qiankun bag and placed them on the tray. He also picked up a pen and clumsily wrote four large characters with his left hand: (The quantity is large, and it will keep you full.)

Yu Xizhi glanced at the writing and hesitated. “Is that the right phrase to use in this context?”

Yi Zui initially thought his choice of words was clever and precise, but after writing it down, he realized it was off. Who talks about “the quantity is large, and it will keep you full” when selling pills? These weren’t fasting pills, so what kind of fullness was he guaranteeing? And the talisman wasn’t for hunting either. He blamed his recent carefree days at Qianya Peak, where all he did was eat.

Embarrassed, Yi Zui tore off the paper and wrote “ample quantity and quality goods” instead. He then placed the note on the paper figure’s tray and knocked on the table twice.

The paper figure took the tray and left.

The small dark room fell silent once more.

Yi Zui glanced around, unable to see outside. He wanted to speak but feared being overheard, so he used a trace of spiritual energy to transmit his voice directly to Yu Xizhi: “Second Senior Sister, do you think anyone will buy it?”

Yu Xizhi, sitting calmly with one hand tapping the table, replied, “There’s always someone foolish enough, right?”

Yi Zui: …

With nothing else to do, Yu Xizhi continued, “When selling something, you shouldn’t treat others like fools, but you also need to treat them as if they are indeed fools. Don’t hesitate to exploit them, but don’t go too far. You need to be convincing. If you and I perform well enough, we can fool most people.”

Yi Zui felt conflicted. “Alright, but seriously, do the pill and talisman actually work?”

Yu Xizhi raised an eyebrow. “Are you doubting me?”

Yi Zui averted his gaze, thinking it wasn’t entirely his fault.

There are countless kinds of pills and talismans in the world, and Yu Xizhi could refine any of them. Yet she chose to make a Dream Induction Pill and a Sleep-Inducing Talisman.

These two items worked as a set: stick the talisman on the headboard and take the pill to have a chance of entering the meditative state sought by cultivators in their dreams. In this state, one could advance in cultivation or gain enlightenment and, upon waking, find that the dream was reality. Wonderful indeed.

However, it was only a chance.

Yi Zui rolled his eyes discreetly, thinking that achieving a meditative state wasn’t difficult. You could enter it while walking, daydreaming, reading, or even eating… Oh, Second Senior Sister’s cooking was so delicious.

…Wait, why was he thinking about food again?

In any case, only a fool would buy it!

Suddenly, Yu Xizhi asked, “Was the food good?”

Yi Zui jumped in surprise. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

Yu Xizhi gave her junior a look of exasperation, then spoke kindly but firmly, “Ah Zui, do you know how short of money we are at Qianya Peak? Although our little uncle isn’t poor, we can’t always take advantage of his family assets, right?  We’re cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage; we need to have some awareness of earning money to support ourselves. Don’t you agree?”

She paused, seeing Yi Zui’s dazed expression, and softened her tone.

“If we don’t have any income soon, not just you, but even Little Orange Mimi will go hungry! If you want to keep enjoying good food and drinks, you need to give a convincing performance when someone comes to inquire about the price and effects of the pill.”

Yi Zui thought, If you were sure about the effects, why would you bring me here to test it?

Yu Xizhi continued to tap the table leisurely, reminiscing about her early days at Qianya Peak. She had arrived carefree and confident, only to find that the peak had just a single clear spring and a few wooden huts. Besides the boundless sword energy from the sword tomb, it was truly a deserted place.

She recalled her conversation with Xie Junzhi at that time.

“You… live here? What do you do every day?”

Xie Junzhi glanced at her.

“As a cultivator, naturally, I’m cultivating every day. What else would you be doing?”

Yu Xizhi thought about her daily routine, which involved never missing breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and found herself at a loss for words.

Fortunately, Huang Li had not yet started channeling spiritual energy into his body, making eating a necessity.

Having come from a humble farming background, Huang Li was quite adept at clearing land and farming. Every day, he would resist the surrounding sword energy by taking pills, alternating between spitting blood and swallowing pills. He managed to cultivate several acres of farmland on the once-barren Qianya Peak, transforming it into a vibrant and lively place. One day, while lifting his hoe, he entered the Dao through farming, achieving the Qi refining stage by sunset.

More than half a year had passed since then, and everything had been fine. However, for some inexplicable reason, all the cultivators who used to sustain themselves without food had become freeloaders. They always used Xie Junzhi’s resources, making Yu Xizhi feel embarrassed. Finally, she came up with some new inventions and needed some guinea pigs to test them. Additionally, she hoped to generate some revenue for Qianya Peak.

While the two were communicating telepathically, the paper talisman figure returned, followed by a slightly chubby cultivator wearing the black market steward’s attire with the character “Liu” on his chest.

Steward Liu’s thoughts stirred when he saw the obviously young duo, but he kept his expression neutral. He gave a slight bow and said, “I’ve never seen or heard of a pill or talisman like yours, and you claim to have an ample supply. Achieving a meditative state is profoundly mysterious. We have never seen anything that could aid in such a task, which inevitably raises doubts. If you two…”

He left his sentence unfinished, remaining polite, but his meaning was clear.

He didn’t believe them.

There had never been a method to help someone achieve a meditative state. Even the grandmasters of the past could only teach and guide, using their spiritual senses to probe and lead. How could there possibly be a meditation pill?

If such a thing existed, wouldn’t the cultivation world be turned upside down?

Even the prestigious Xiya Tower had never produced such a pill. These two youngsters must have concocted some fake pills and come here to deceive people. Did they think the black market was an easy place to swindle? They were too inexperienced for this.

Steward Liu’s fair face smiled broadly, but inwardly he thought, “Let’s see how these two little frauds get exposed.”