Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Sects Go to War
Arduous cultivation wasn’t really Jiang Xu’s thing. After experiencing the rocket-like speed of advancing by popping elixirs, the miserable toil of absorbing Spiritual Qi just couldn’t satisfy him anymore.
At this rate, it seemed only popping elixirs would be enough to get by.
’I wonder how Zong Ziqi is doing. This past month has been so hectic that I completely forgot about him. I still need to use his master to judge whether I should flee the Marketplace... and that bug, I should go take a look at it.’
...
In his bid to raise his cultivation to the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, Jiang Xu hadn’t gone to his shop to sell Talismans for the past few days.
Furthermore, with business at the small shop booming, Jiang Xu worried that cultivators might steal things in his absence, so he had deliberately kept it closed for a few days.
Even though the shop was closed for business, that old man remained inside as always.
As far as Jiang Xu could tell, the old man had never once left the shop, nor had he ever been seen eating or drinking.
But since the old man always treated him as if he were invisible, Jiang Xu had the good sense not to press him with questions.
After leaving the inn, Jiang Xu considered his plan. ’I’m going to look for Zong Ziqi, and he might very well be in the Endless Forest right now. The trip is bound to be dangerous.’
Thus, Jiang Xu decided to make some preparations first.
The Tier One Upper Grade Talismans in the shop were perfect for saving his life in a critical moment.
Jiang Xu already had plenty of ways to save his own hide, but who would ever turn down a few more trump cards?
He ambled toward "World’s Number One Talisman," but stopped before he got close.
A massive crowd was gathered outside the small shop. Every single person wore an anxious expression, and it looked like they had been waiting for a very long time.
Jiang Xu stopped in his tracks, confused by the situation. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he was spotted by some sharp-eyed Cultivators, who all swarmed around him.
"Shopkeeper, you’re finally here!"
"Where’ve you been the past few days?! Waiting for you has been absolute misery!"
"That’s right, that’s right! We’ve all been eagerly waiting for you to show up these past few days!"
Jiang Xu was swept up by the crowd, unable to escape even if he wanted to. He could only brace himself and go open the door.
’I’ve closed for a day or two in the past, but I’ve never had this many people hassling me to open up. Why so many today? Have I been closed for too long this time?’
Jiang Xu went forward and opened the door, and the Cultivators behind him instantly flooded in, frantically grabbing items off the shelves.
"Back off! I saw it first!"
"You’re the one who should back off! I’m the one who grabbed it first!"
"Bullshit! That Talisman is mine!"
As the grabbing continued, arguments broke out between several Cultivators inside the shop.
Jiang Xu quickly intervened:
"Don’t fight in the shop! If you’re going to fight, take it outside! If you damage anything in here, you’ll have to pay double in Spirit Stones!"
The moment he said that, the Cultivators who had been fighting over the Talismans fell silent and obediently got in line to check out.
"Hello, do you have a membership Token? If so, please state the number... Okay, your total comes to twenty-eight Spirit Stones. Would you like to consider rounding up to thirty?
A single purchase over thirty Spirit Stones not only gets you a bigger discount, but you also receive a complimentary Dust-removal Talisman. Just think about it."
As the cultivators in the shop began to line up and check out one by one, Jiang Xu noticed that not only were there more of them today, but they were also buying more than usual. Even the Tier One Upper Grade Talismans, which normally attracted few customers, had been bought by several people.
This struck Jiang Xu as very strange, and he couldn’t help but ask:
"I’ve been in closed-door cultivation for the past few days. Why is everyone buying so many Talismans all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
Overhearing him, a customer in the shop laughed and said:
"So that’s it, you were in seclusion, Shopkeeper. You really missed out on some major news."
Another customer nearby chimed in:
"No kidding! You have no idea, Shopkeeper. While you were in seclusion, all hell broke loose outside the Marketplace!"
’All hell broke loose?’
Jiang Xu pricked up his ears.
"About seven or eight days ago, the Profound Origin Sect and the Celestial Blade Sect suddenly launched a joint attack on some of the subsidiary properties of three sects: Wind and Thunder Manor, Flame Dragon Stronghold, and Cyan Island Valley.
The three sects suffered devastating losses. They even had their Tier Two Spirit Veins and mineral lodes, which were guarded by Foundation Establishment Cultivators, seized.
The three sects were absolutely livid and immediately launched a counterattack. Just like that, a massive war erupted between the five major sects.
Although the fighting has been kept below the Foundation Establishment Realm, it’s still incredibly fierce. Many Loose Cultivators have been conscripted by the five major sects with the promise that if they make a certain contribution, they’ll have the chance to enter a sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple."
The customer in front of Jiang Xu remarked with a sigh:
"We all know these sects are just trying to preserve the lives of their own Sect Disciples by making us worthless Loose Cultivators risk our necks. But everyone’s still fired up about it. Even if they’re asking us to die for them, they’ve put some serious chips on the table.
You have to understand, that’s a spot as an Inner Sect Disciple in a Golden Core Sect! You might even be able to get your hands on a Foundation Establishment Pill. For that alone, you have to risk it all. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
After he finished speaking, the other customers in the shop all voiced their deep agreement.
And so, they all went back to the shelves to grab a couple more Talismans...
Once all the customers had left, Jiang Xu finally went to the shelves himself, took three Tier One Upper Grade Talismans, and tucked them into his Storage Bag.
One Small Breaking Charm, one Thunder Fire Talisman, and one Water Prison Talisman.
The market price for these Tier One Upper Grade Talismans in the Marketplace had risen by more than fifty percent, with each one now selling for around ninety Spirit Stones.
They were a bit pricey, but Jiang Xu had made a killing selling Talismans from this shop lately.
Adding in the money from Yang Shu, those Tribulation Cultivators, Ji Shengliang, and the Talismans he sold when he first arrived at the Marketplace...
All told, Jiang Xu now possessed over four thousand Spirit Stones!
Jiang Xu gave the old man his share of the day’s revenue, along with the Spirit Stones for the three Tier One Upper Grade Talismans he had taken.
After taking care of this, Jiang Xu walked right out of the shop and locked the door.
The door could also be opened from the inside. Jiang Xu had demonstrated this for the old man, but he had no idea if the man had paid any attention.
After the door was locked, the old man inside slowly gathered the Spirit Stones from the table.
He stared at the shop door with vacant eyes, as if he were looking through it at the departing Jiang Xu.
...
Once he was outside the Marketplace, Jiang Xu’s sense of the ongoing sect war intensified.
Many of the cultivators on the Marketplace’s streets reeked of blood. If fighting weren’t forbidden within the Marketplace, the Loose Cultivators and disciples who had joined the five warring sects would have probably started brawling on the spot.
Outside the Marketplace, Jiang Xu found himself looking up at the sky from time to time.
Every so often, a wave or several waves of Cultivators would pass by in the air.
He even saw rival cultivators break into fights right there in mid-air.
’Good thing I’m just a disciple of the Hundred Arts Pavilion. Otherwise, I’d probably have been conscripted by the Sect to serve as a foot soldier.’
