Chapter 4: Wushan Market

Have I finally reached the Qi Refinement stage?

Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing’s heart raced with excitement.

The Qi Refinement stage marked the beginning of the path to immortality. Anyone who reached this realm could truly be called a cultivator.

Still… it took me ten whole years to condense a complete strand of Qi and break into the Qi Refinement stage…

Zhou Qing stroked his chin thoughtfully.

His spiritual root aptitude was probably nothing special.

“Whatever. It may have taken ten years in the simulation, but in reality, as long as I end the simulation now, I can instantly inherit the cultivation of a Qi Refinement cultivator…”

A smile spread across Zhou Qing’s face.

Ten years in the simulation.

A single moment in the real world.

Who cared if his spiritual roots were mediocre?

“Keep going, keep going!”

Zhou Qing turned his attention back to the shifting lines of translucent text.

[After advancing to the Qi Refinement stage, you vaguely sense that the world around you has changed. However, you can’t quite put your finger on what exactly is different.]

[You know very well that your cultivation is still far from sufficient. The Qi Refinement stage is divided into nine levels, and you are currently nothing more than a first-level Qi Refinement cultivator.]

[You take out the Qi Guidance Art and begin reading through it once more.]

[Now that you have entered the Qi Refinement stage, you faintly sense that something about this technique is different.]

[At last, your eyes settle on the final page. Your newfound cultivator’s intuition tells you that this page contains an extremely faint trace of Qi.]

[You attempt to channel the Qi you have cultivated into the last page of the Qi Guidance Art.]

[Immediately, the page begins to blur, and a map slowly emerges.]

[The map marks numerous cultivation factions of varying sizes, along with several dangerous regions.]

[“That ancestor of the Lin family really thought of everything,” you remark to yourself as you study the map.]

[For someone just stepping onto the path of cultivation, this map would be an invaluable guide.]

[As you examine it more closely, you discover that the nearest cultivation force, or rather the nearest gathering place for cultivators, to the Qian Kingdom is a place called Wushan Market.]

[The map also contains several notes describing Wushan Market.]

[You have already decided to make your way to Wushan Market.]

[On the path of cultivation, wealth, companions, techniques, and territory are all essential. If you want to go farther, you have to interact with other cultivators.]

[Wushan Market is built atop a second-grade spirit vein. Cultivating in an environment like that allows one to progress with far greater efficiency.]

[Your spiritual root aptitude is mediocre. If you wish to pursue the Dao, you’ll need to rely even more heavily on external resources and favorable cultivation environments.]

[As for avenging your parents and brothers? The Fourth Prince now sits on the throne as Emperor of the Qian Kingdom. A mere first-level Qi Refinement cultivator like you is nowhere near capable of challenging him.]

[You need greater strength.]

[Taking Dachun with you, you follow the directions on the map and set out for Wushan Market.]

[Two months later, you and Dachun finally arrive.]

[Wushan Market sits atop Black Mountain, shrouded in mist and protected by powerful formations.]

[Only true cultivators can see through the illusion and enter.]

[You settle Dachun at the foot of the mountain.]

[Dachun is not a cultivator. Even if you brought him inside, he would eventually be discovered and escorted out.]

[Wushan Market spans roughly ten li. Around its outer edge are tiered spirit fields, while the interior is filled with orderly streets lined with buildings of many different styles.]

[You watch cultivators constantly arriving and departing, soaring through the air as they come and go.]

[Cultivators stand guard at the entrance, and everyone entering the market must register.]

[After revealing the aura of your Qi Refinement cultivation, one of the guards hands you an identity token.]

[“Anyone entering the market must either stay at an inn or rent a cave residence. Otherwise, overnight stays are forbidden, and cultivating or absorbing spiritual energy is strictly prohibited. Violators will face the consequences.”]

[The guard’s tone is cold and uncompromising.]

[“Understood.”]

[You know perfectly well why such rules exist.]

[They’re there to prevent cultivators from freeloading off the spirit vein.]

[Every spirit vein can only produce a limited amount of spiritual energy.]

[After entering Wushan Market, you immediately sense the dense spiritual energy filling the air.]

[Suppressing the urge to sit down and begin cultivating on the spot, you start looking around.]

[As a newcomer to the cultivation world, your top priority is finding a stable way to earn spirit stones.]

[Spirit stones are the universal currency of the cultivation world. Cultivators need them to advance their cultivation, establish formations, and for countless other purposes.]

[Over the next two months, you gather information from all sides and finally learn a few useful things.]

[First, Wushan Market is always recruiting spirit farmers.]

[A spirit farmer is essentially the cultivation world’s version of an ordinary farmer.]

[The difference is that spirit farmers tend spiritual plants rather than mundane crops.]

[The lands surrounding Wushan Market are covered with vast fields of spiritual herbs and other spirit plants.]

[The job of a spirit farmer is to monitor the growth of spiritual plants and, at specific stages, use cloud-and-rain spells to irrigate them.]

[In simple terms, it’s a time-consuming job with low pay, so any cultivator with even a little ambition usually avoids it.]

[A spirit farmer responsible for ten mu of spirit fields earns roughly thirty spirit stones a year.]

[“A spirit farmer?”]

[You have no interest in becoming one.]

[Farming has no real future. Any cultivator can spend a few days learning the basics and qualify for the job.]

[The position is far too easy to replace.]

[More importantly, the pay is terrible.]

[Thirty spirit stones a year?]

[What you want isn’t to be a spirit farmer. You want to master a true cultivation craft, such as alchemy, artifact refining, talisman making, or one of the other specialized arts of the cultivation world.]

[Those are the skills that are truly in demand.]

[And Wushan Market does offer ways to learn them.]

[The first option is to find a master. You prepare a formal apprenticeship gift and seek instruction from an alchemist, artificer, talisman master, or another skilled cultivator within the market.]

[According to the information you’ve gathered, even the cheapest apprenticeship gift costs at least five hundred spirit stones. And that’s only the beginning. After being accepted, disciples are expected to pay a certain amount of spirit stones every year as tuition.]

[The second option is to become an apprentice.]

[Many alchemists, artificers, and talisman masters in Wushan Market regularly recruit apprentices.]

[Apprentices don’t need to provide an apprenticeship gift, but in exchange they must work for their masters at all times.]

[Before being accepted, they sign a spirit contract, effectively binding themselves to serve their master for anywhere from ten to thirty years.]

[Unlike formal disciples, apprentices have virtually no freedom of choice and are expected to obey orders without question.]

[That said, during those ten to thirty years of service, apprentices can gradually learn genuine professional skills while working under their masters.]

[Both paths have their advantages and disadvantages. The first option is clearly preferable, but it requires substantial wealth. Most cultivators simply can’t come up with five hundred spirit stones.]

[Based on a spirit farmer’s income, accumulating five hundred spirit stones would require more than a decade of saving every last coin.]

[You fall into deep thought, faced with a crucial decision.]

Outside the simulation, the translucent text before Zhou Qing shifted rapidly and presented three choices:

[Option 1: Become an apprentice.]

[Option 2: Save up spirit stones and eventually take a master.]

[Option 3: Choose neither. If this place has no room for me, another will. Leave Wushan Market and seek opportunities elsewhere.]

Each of the three choices had the potential to dramatically alter the outcome of this simulation.