Chapter 85 - 84: 2 Years of Cultivation, Bixia’s Situation
Chapter 85: Chapter 84: 2 Years of Cultivation, Bixia’s Situation
Once deep inside the alley, the old man seemed to grumble, "Heavens, Fellow Daoist, you’ve kept me waiting a while!"
Lu Zhao noticed the faint sheen of sweat on the man’s forehead and couldn’t help but smile. He had arrived at the agreed-upon hour; he wasn’t actually late.
"Yes, yes, I, Lu, have troubled you by making you wait." Lu Zhao had been using his real name ever since he arrived in Bixia.
Seeing him agree, the old man stopped pressing the issue and blurted out, "Tier One Middle-Grade Wolf Corpse! I got it for thirty-eight Spirit Stones. I won’t overcharge you, so just give me forty Spirit Stones! Once you pay, I’ll give you back the Puppet!" His tone was laced with an urgency that suggested he feared Lu Zhao might change his mind.
Lu Zhao was taken aback for a moment. It wasn’t that the price was outrageous—it was quite fair, in fact. Rather, it was the first time he had ever encountered someone who voluntarily revealed their actual cost during a transaction. Judging by the man’s anxious and awkward demeanor, it didn’t seem like an act.
After a moment’s thought, Lu Zhao decided to accept the deal. It wasn’t worth causing trouble over a few Spirit Stones, and besides, the old man was clearly not cut out for business. He took out forty Spirit Stones and handed them over. The old man hastily counted them, confirmed the amount was correct, and immediately took out the small Puppet and returned it.
As he took the Puppet back, an idea struck Lu Zhao. Half-joking and half-testing the waters, he asked, "If you happen to have another wolf corpse, Fellow Daoist, perhaps I could buy one from you again in three days?"
The old man immediately waved his hands in refusal. "No, absolutely not! Holding onto this merchandise these past few days has had me on edge, so worried I couldn’t even focus on my Cultivation. It seems this old man truly has no knack for business!" With that, he waved a goodbye and turned to leave.
Upon reaching the mouth of the alley, he paused for a moment as if recalling something. He turned back and said, "If you’re really looking to buy wolf corpses, Fellow Daoist, you should try asking around for the Wood Wolf Squad." Before his words had even faded, he had quickened his pace and vanished from the alley’s entrance.
Lu Zhao mentally filed away the old man’s words. While he didn’t need any more wolf corpses for the time being, it was a valuable lead worth remembering.
Having acquired the wolf corpse, Lu Zhao returned to Guiyun Residence. He now had a plentiful supply of Pills and a firm grasp of the Marketplace’s conditions. All that was left was to gradually sell off his materials and accumulate more Spirit Stones.
He had even found a stable source for the most elusive Puppet Materials. It was safe to say that Lu Zhao had completed all his preparations. Now, all he wanted was to cultivate in peace and focus on honing his skills in Puppetry.
「Two years passed.」
One morning, a thin, veil-like mist shrouded the Bixia Marketplace. Lu Zhao left Guiyun Residence as usual, on his way to meet Lin Yuanping for their monthly Puppet transaction. He followed the wide, moss-covered bluestone street until he stood before the Celestial Puppet Tower.
Lu Zhao reached out and pushed open the heavy wooden door. The hinges let out a long, slow CREAK.
Inside, he immediately spotted Lin Yuanping lounging in a rattan rocking chair, swaying back and forth to a gentle creak. His expression was one of rare, contented leisure. Seeing Lu Zhao enter, he didn’t rise, merely stroking his beard as he smiled. "Mr. Lu, here for the Puppet exchange?"
"My, you’re looking quite relaxed, Fellow Daoist. Have you forgotten about business entirely?" Lu Zhao teased with practiced familiarity. After two years of dealings, they had become well-acquainted and could be considered friends.
"Business has just arrived," Lin Yuanping said, finally rising from his chair with a chuckle. They deftly completed the Puppet exchange.
With their business concluded, Lu Zhao changed the subject, probing, "Fellow Daoist Lin, about the Bixia Auction...?"
The Bixia Auction was an event hosted by the Bixia Sect. A small one was held every three years, and a large one every twelve. Lu Zhao had his sights set on the triennial small auction. He was so fixated on it because he’d heard there was a high probability that Tier One High-Grade spiritual water would be available.
The source of this information was the Bixia Pill Room. Over the past two years, Lu Zhao had visited the Pill Room multiple times to purchase Pills, and he was always attended to by the same delicate-featured young woman he had met on his first visit. After a while, they exchanged names. He learned she was Chen Shutong, a Servant Disciple of the Bixia Sect, and that her post at the Pill Room was a five-year task assigned by the Sect.
Lu Zhao was quite surprised when he first learned she was a Bixia Sect disciple. But Chen Shutong just shook her head in self-deprecation, explaining that Servant Disciples were vastly different from the Sect’s Official Disciples. Even with a promotion, the best she could hope for was to eventually become an Outer Sect Steward. Curious, Lu Zhao asked her to elaborate on the differences.
Chen Shutong, having no reason to hide it, detailed the Bixia Sect’s distinct promotional paths. A Servant Disciple could, at best, rise to the rank of Outer Sect Steward. If they were fortunate enough to achieve Foundation Establishment, they could become an Inner Sect Steward, but that was generally the highest they could go.
She explained that Servant Disciples came from two sources: the descendants of Sect members whose Spiritual Roots didn’t meet the requirements, and Wanderers over the age of sixty who had failed to reach Late-stage Qi Cultivation.
Official Disciples, on the other hand, followed a completely different path. Upon joining, they were immediately considered Outer Disciples. After achieving Foundation Establishment, they entered the Inner Sect directly. If they could advance even further, they had a chance to become a True Disciple—though, of course, the threshold for that was incredibly high, a feat unattainable for those without exceptional talent.
Once Lu Zhao had a clear understanding of these two systems, he posed the question that concerned him most: "Can Outer Sect Stewards also obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill?" The Foundation Establishment Pill was one of his primary motivations for wanting to join the Bixia Sect. It was an essential item for achieving Foundation Establishment and was nearly impossible to find in the outside world. Lu Zhao had long since discovered that any Bixia Sect disciple whose Cultivation reached the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer could pay ten thousand Spirit Stones to get in line and await a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Sect.
Chen Shutong nodded, confirming that Outer Sect Stewards were indeed eligible to get in line, but their positions were always much further back. They usually had to endure a bitter wait of more than a decade for even a sliver of hope. As she spoke of this, her tone was tinged with a hint of melancholy; the gulf between a Servant and an Official Disciple was as wide as a chasm. Lu Zhao observed her expression and understood. ’This woman before me,’ he thought, ’must also dream of Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so knowledgeable about all this.’
After his questions about the Sect were answered, Lu Zhao mentioned his urgent need for Spirit Water. The woman, however, explained that Alchemy wasn’t her forte. She told him bluntly that the Bixia Pill Room would never sell Spirit Water to outsiders and advised him to give up the idea. Finally, though, she pointed him toward a promising path: the Bixia Sect’s auction! All sorts of strange and wonderful things could be found there, she said, so Tier One Spirit Water likely wouldn’t even be considered a rarity.
Upon receiving this tip, Lu Zhao immediately had Zhao Xiaoshu inquire around the Marketplace about the date of the next Bixia Auction. This time, Zhao Xiaoshu did not disappoint, quickly discovering that the auction would be held in two years.
Then came the problem that gave Lu Zhao a headache: how to get his hands on a precious invitation? He tried numerous avenues, only to be met with dead ends. Finally, almost having lost hope, he approached Lin Yuanping.
Unexpectedly, Lin Yuanping claimed he had a way, though he couldn’t make any guarantees. He simply told Lu Zhao to wait patiently. That wait lasted a month and led to the scene at the beginning of their conversation.
Lu Zhao looked at Lin Yuanping, his eyes full of eager anticipation. "Fellow Daoist Lin, were you able to get the invitation?"
Lin Yuanping took two slow steps, then let out a hearty laugh. "Alright, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer." He reached into his Storage Bag and produced an object—an invitation stamped with a Dark Gold cloud pattern—and held it out to Lu Zhao. "I got it! But it wasn’t easy. I had to go through a lot of trouble and call in some favors for this, my friend. This time, you owe this old man one."
Lu Zhao took the exquisitely crafted invitation with great care. He gently ran a thumb over the gilded pattern before raising his eyes to meet Lin Yuanping’s. He nodded solemnly. "Alright. For this, consider it a favor that I, Lu, owe you, Fellow Daoist."