Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Qingyun Valley

In Lanzhou’s Yunlan Mountain, it was rumored that Immortals resided there, and woodcutters and herbalists who went into the mountains to chop wood and gather herbs would invariably claim to have seen traces of Immortals.

As a result, many mortals who adored the path of Immortality—the spirited individuals upon hearing such tales—would successively head into the mountains to seek the Immortals and ask for their teachings.

However, the terrain of Yunlan Mountain was perilous, rife with venomous snakes and fierce beasts. Most of those who went in search of Immortals perished in a foreign land without ever catching a glimpse of them.

Even for those who did manage to encounter an “Immortal,” they would quickly find out that they lacked the Spirit Root Aptitude required to cultivate Immortal techniques, and as such, would be ultimately turned away.

After parting ways with the merchant surnamed Wu and his fleet, Zhou Chun traveled across mountains and ridges using the “Wind Control Skill,” and in less than a day’s time, he arrived within Yunlan Mountain.

Knowing that there might be a Cultivator’s Marketplace here, Zhou Chun didn’t dare to travel as carefreely as before.

Otherwise, if he were to encounter someone with malevolent intentions lurking in the dark to ambush him, he would have hardly any time to react.

By a stroke of good luck, he encountered a Cultivator from Jingguo Country in Lanzhou after wandering the mountains for a while.

The Cultivator was also on his way to “Qingyun Valley” within Yunlan Mountain to exchange cultivation resources.

From this Cultivator, Zhou Chun learned that there actually was no true Cultivator’s Marketplace within Yunlan Mountain.

It was only because “Qingyun Valley” housed three Loose Cultivators with Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation levels, who, for the convenience of their own training, gathered some Loose Cultivators to form a place for resource exchange, which also primarily served the Qi Refinement Realm Cultivators within Lanzhou.

There are quite a few such places in the Cultivation World.

After all, Cultivators need to absorb the pristine spiritual energy for their practice, and even those at the Foundation Establishment Stage cannot maintain the operation of a Spirit Cleansing Formation on their own.

Therefore, some Loose Cultivators, even if they reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, would have to seek a place with a Spirit Vein to establish a Spirit Cleansing Formation and gather manpower to maintain the Array’s operation if they did not choose to join a Cultivation Sect or Cultivation family for their future practice.

Zhou Chun followed the Cultivator; after winding through several mountain peaks, they came to a mist-shrouded valley.

Without needing the other’s reminder, Zhou Chun could see through the “Aura-Viewing Technique” that the mist deep in the valley was an illusion created by an Array, not natural water vapor or cloud.

However, since his Cultivation Level was not high enough, he could not directly see through the mist with the “Aura-Viewing Technique” and discern the true sight within the valley.

After the two paused outside the valley for a while, the Cultivators inside noticed their identities, and someone from behind the Array began to question them.

The Loose Cultivator needed no further introduction—as he had been to “Qingyun Valley” before, he passed the questioning with ease and was let through.

Zhou Chun, with only the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Realm, posed no threat to the Loose Cultivators inside “Qingyun Valley.”

Thus, after a simple interrogation, he too was allowed to enter the valley after paying a deposit of three Spirit Coins.

These silver-white Spirit Coins, which looked like a sort of currency called “Silver Dollar” from his previous life in a certain era, were refined by Cultivators using special metals, embodying a high level of anti-counterfeiting craftsmanship that made them difficult to replicate.

The Spirit Coins in Zhou Chun’s possession were issued by “Moon Wheel Sect”—the only force in Jingguo Country capable of refining and distributing Spirit Coins—with the emblem of their Sect, a curved moon pattern, on the back of each coin.

This kind of Spirit Coin is the currency used in transactions among Cultivators, and the fixed value of each Spirit Coin is such that its bearer could use it to cultivate for one day at “Moon Wheel Sect,” or at any Sect, family, or marketplace in Jingguo Country.

Indeed, that’s cultivating for one full day—twelve hours!

To be honest, Zhou Chun was also surprised when he first learned of this.

He had not expected that in this mighty Cultivation World where power converges within oneself, there would exist such a credit currency system.

But after giving it some thought, he couldn’t help but admire the Cultivator who invented this Spirit Coin.

Clearly, in this world where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was polluted by the Evil Qi, the emergence of this credit currency was definitely the most fitting product of the era.

The powerful Cultivator forces issuing credit currency could harvest resources from other smaller forces and Loose Cultivators.

And with the most populous Loose Cultivators, the advent of the Spirit Coin solved their problem of lacking the shelter of a Spirit Cleansing Formation for their cultivation practices.

What’s ingenious is that although the Spirit Coin appears to be a credit currency,

because it fixed the practical value of being able to cultivate for twelve hours a day, it runs no risk of devaluation.

Even if a major power were to issue too many Spirit Coins, as long as it’s not a completely uncontrolled inflation, there’s basically no need to worry about credit bankruptcy or currency collapse.

In such a situation, even if the “Moon Wheel Sect,” which issued the Spirit Coins he held, were to be destroyed, the Spirit Coins would still remain valid.

That’s because the power that destroyed the “Moon Wheel Sect” would have to recognize the original value of the Spirit Coins; otherwise, it would become the enemy of all Cultivators holding these coins, and the currency it issues would also not be recognized or used by them.

So, after realizing the various benefits of Spirit Coins, Zhou Chun became even more circumspect about the world’s Cultivators.

Without a doubt, in terms of intelligence, these Cultivators, who pursue the goal of eternal life, are in no way inferior to the so-called intellectuals of his previous life and may even be smarter!

When he entered Qingyun Valley, Zhou Chun looked around and saw that only the front half of the valley, where some shops and attics were built, was open to outsiders.

The deeper parts of the valley remained shrouded in the fog of a Formation, unclear to the eye.

Perhaps because it was not a proper Marketplace, Zhou Chun did not see many Cultivators there, only the occasional customer silhouette inside a few shops.

His visit here wasn’t to buy or sell anything but to gather information.

The Sanjue Sect used to belong to Fengguo to the south of Jingguo Country. Whether it could successfully relocate and settle in Lanzhou of Jingguo Country was still an uncertain matter.

Zhou Chun needed to clarify this before deciding whether to truly rejoin the Sect.

Thus, after wandering around the valley for a bit and seeing a few Cultivators sitting around a table sipping tea and chatting in a tea house, he also entered, ordering a pot of Spiritual Tea worth one Spirit Coin.

While he seemingly sat drinking his Spiritual Tea, he was indeed all ears, listening to the conversation at the next table.

Those people were originally discussing the exploits of some renowned Cultivators within Lanzhou territory and internal matters of Cultivation sects and families that they had heard through the grapevine.

As they talked, the story of Sanjue Sect, the Sect from Fengguo that had moved into Lanzhou of Jingguo Country, naturally became a topic of conversation.

“Heh heh heh, fellow Taoists have probably also heard about the deeds of Sanjue Sect from Fengguo who fled here recently, right?”

“Tang just learned the news a couple of days ago, under the leadership of Green Lotus Temple, Sanjue Sect has already been disbanded into four parts. From today onwards, there’s no more so-called Sanjue Sect!”

“Tsk tsk tsk, a Cultivation Sect with a 1,700-year legacy, even with three Golden Core cultivators, has just like that ceased and ended its lineage, truly lamentable!”

At the tea table, a man in a yellow robe with a mustache twitched his eyebrows and guzzled a mouthful of tea, then shared the intelligence he knew with a smug expression on his face.

Upon hearing his words, the Loose Cultivators at first were startled, then, like the mustached man, began to discuss the matter with a schadenfreude attitude.

Clearly, as Loose Cultivators, they were very gratified and pleased about the sudden demise of these prestigious Cultivation Sects.

Even though Sanjue Sect was a Sect of Fengguo and had never oppressed them, they felt no sympathy for the Sect’s misfortune.

After all, the Cultivation Sects of the world were all the same to them, maintaining their privileged status by exploiting the vast community of Loose Cultivators.

Being oppressed Loose Cultivators themselves, they naturally had to clarify their stance.

But upon hearing this news, Zhou Chun was shocked, feeling turmoil inside as if oceans were flipping over.

This outcome was undoubtedly the worst possible scenario for him.

With Sanjue Sect gone, what was there to rejoin?

Did he have to work for these Cultivation Sects and families like these Loose Cultivators to earn resources for his own cultivation?

Could it be that even with rebirth, he couldn’t escape the fate of being a worker?

For a moment, Zhou Chun was also lost, unsure of what to do next.

Fortunately, he was sitting with his back to that table, so they couldn’t see the change in his expression.

And then the mustached man continued to share the news he had heard. His words gradually brightened the lost Zhou Chun’s eyes, reigniting a sense of hope.