Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 139 Golden Core Bows Down, Auction Warm-up

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Outside the city gate, wild grass stretched to the horizon, and corpses littered the ground.

Inside the city gate, the bluestone pavement is seamlessly connected, and red paper lanterns emit a soft glow beneath the gray tiles and white walls on both sides.

Separated by only one door, it's as if they are in two different worlds, the Yin and Yang realms.

The Azure Dragon Sect's enormous Azure Dragon Flying Ship shrank in mid-air, transforming into a palm-sized wooden carving, which was then stored in the sleeve of True Person Azure Wood.

With a gloomy face, Master Qingmu led dozens of elite disciples dressed in cyan outfits into the city gate of Changning County.

Gu Yan and a group of officials stood in the middle of the city gate, weighing the storage bag containing more than 10,000 low-grade spirit stones in their hands, their smiles incredibly bright.

"As expected of you, senior, the city entrance fee is exactly as promised, not a penny more or less."

Gu Yan stuffed the storage bag into his sleeve, stepped aside, and gestured for them to come in: "Esteemed disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect, please come in. Changning County is a small place, so please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

Master Aoki ignored Gu Yan's polite words. The moment he took his first step on the bluestone slab, his cloudy eyes narrowed sharply.

An extremely heavy aura, like a continuous mountain range, was spreading upwards from the soles of his feet.

The golden core within his body was slowly rotating, absorbing and releasing spiritual energy, but the moment he entered the city gate, the golden core's rotation speed slowed down by 30%.

"This is the power of rules!"

Master Aoki thought to himself, then raised his head and gave Gu Yan a deep look.

This young man, who appeared to be only at the Foundation Establishment stage and smiled like a street vendor, was now shrouded in an unfathomable mist in the eyes of this Golden Core cultivator.

"Commander Gu, the waters in Changning County are truly deep."

Aoki Masato's tone was cold and gloomy.

"Senior is joking. Changning County relies on the mountains for its livelihood, not on water. We barely make a living by relying on the formation left by the founder of the Liuyun Sect."

Gu Yan's answer was watertight, always prioritizing the banner of the Flowing Cloud Sect as a shield.

Master Qingmu snorted coldly and strode into the city with his disciples.

Song Hong and Xiao Chen followed behind Gu Yan, one on each side.

Looking at those arrogant disciples from major sects, Song Hong couldn't help but lower her voice and say, "Junior brother, these are Golden Core cultivators. If we let them into the city, what if they suddenly attack at night? Can our formation hold up?"

"Don't worry, senior sister."

Gu Yan calmly fanned himself with his folding fan, his eyes fixed on the retreating figures of the Azure Dragon Sect members: "Golden Core cultivators value their lives most. There are plenty of treasures outside the city; he has no reason to risk his life against me in this unpredictable formation just to spite me. Once he enters this city, he'll have to abide by my rules. The spirit stones in his pocket will eventually end up in our Demon Suppression Division's accounts."

The South Street Market in Changning County is at its busiest time.

Wooden sheds line both sides of the street paved with blue bricks.

Various independent cultivators piled up fragments of magical artifacts, unknown jade slips, and bloodstained pill bottles that they had dug out from piles of corpses and cracks in the ground outside the city the night before, and placed them all on their stalls.

Although most of the items are broken and dilapidated, there are occasionally a few glimpses of something amazing, so there are quite a few people who are looking for a bargain.

The disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect, who usually lived in high esteem within the sect, had never seen such a cultivation market that resembled a secular marketplace.

While covering their noses and disgusted by the bloody smell emanating from the surrounding rogue cultivators, they couldn't help but glance at the stalls.

"Uncle-Master, look at that."

A beautiful female disciple of the Azure Dragon Sect tugged at a steward beside her and pointed to a ragged old rogue cultivator in the corner.

In front of the old rogue cultivator's stall was a piece of ore the size of a baby's fist.

The ore was entirely black, with tiny sparkles on its surface, and was enveloped in an aura of extreme cold.

"Star Spirit Cold Iron".

The deacon's eyes lit up.

This is an excellent auxiliary material for refining high-grade flying swords, and it has always been in high demand but unavailable in the outside world.

The deacon strode to the stall, looked down at the old rogue cultivator, and said coldly, "I'll take this broken stone. Fifty low-grade spirit stones, take it and get lost."

As he spoke, he casually tossed out half a bag of spirit stones and reached out to grab the piece of Star Spirit Cold Iron.

The old rogue cultivator was only at the late stage of Qi Refining, but under the protection of the rules of Changning County, he became much bolder.

He clutched the ore protectively, shaking his head repeatedly: "Sir, this is Star Spirit Cold Iron. Fifty low-grade spirit stones wouldn't even buy a scrap of it. This should cost at least eight hundred spirit stones."

"Eight hundred? Are you out of your mind?!"

The steward's face darkened, and he unleashed the pressure of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, forcing the old rogue cultivator to lower his head and gasp for breath.

"Our Azure Dragon Sect buying your goods is an honor. If you dare utter another word, I'll kill you with one strike!"

A murderous glint flashed in the deacon's eyes, and his right hand was already on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding rogue cultivators retreated, their eyes showing little fear but rather a hint of anticipation.

"Clang."

The deacon had only half-drawn his longsword when, before he could retaliate, a cold, emotionless voice rang out from the end of the street: "South Street Market: No fighting, no forced buying or selling. Violators will be fined five hundred spirit stones."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Gu Yan had somehow become standing in the middle of the street.

He tapped his palm rhythmically with the folding fan in his hand, a smile that never changed on his face.

The deacon was furious and about to unleash a torrent of curses when he suddenly felt the sky above him darken.

The Xuanwu formation on the city wall sensed the hostility from within the city, and the formation's light instantly converged.

An extremely terrifying gravity, like a tangible mountain, pressed down directly on the deacon's shoulder.

"Click."

The bluestone slabs beneath the deacon's feet shattered inch by inch. His knees buckled, and he was forced to kneel on the ground by the force of the weight. The longsword that he had drawn halfway out was also pressed back into its sheath.

"you!"

The deacon's face turned red as he desperately tried to stand up by channeling his spiritual energy, only to find that the spiritual energy within his body was like stagnant water, impossible to mobilize at all.

Master Qingmu was examining an ancient, incomplete array in front of him when he noticed the commotion and immediately turned around.

Seeing his steward forced to kneel on the ground, his face immediately turned extremely ugly.

"Gu Changsheng, how dare you insult the people of my Azure Dragon Sect!"

Master Qingmu took a step forward, and the pressure of the Golden Core stage surged towards Gu Yan like a tsunami.

Gu Yan stood still, his expression unchanged, his clothes swaying in the breeze.

The heavy light of the Xuanwu Formation formed an invisible barrier in front of him, dissolving all the oppressive force.

"Senior Aoki, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

Gu Yan closed his folding fan and pointed to the huge notice board at the market entrance: "Enter the city, lay down your armor, and make money. This rule is clearly written. Your sect's disciples attempted to force a sale and even drew their swords to kill. As the commander of the Demon Suppression Division of Changning County, it is my duty to maintain local order. Does this mean that the rules of the Azure Dragon Sect are more powerful than the regulations set by the founder of the Flowing Cloud Sect?"

Gu Yan's words were barbed, yet he stood on an absolute moral high ground.

Master Qingmu looked at the unfathomable array barrier in front of Gu Yan, and then at the rogue cultivators around him who dared not utter a sound, but whose eyes were full of mockery.

He knew that if he forced his way in today for these few hundred spirit stones, he would not only fail to break the strange formation, but would also become a laughing stock in the cultivation world.

Moreover, his purpose in coming here was to find a treasure deep underground, and he absolutely could not reveal his trump card here in advance.

"You idiot, aren't you ashamed enough already!"

Master Aoki suddenly flicked his sleeve and slapped the deacon across the face, sending him flying and rolling several times on the ground before stopping.

Then, Master Qingmu took out a storage bag from his robes and casually tossed it to Gu Yan: "This is the fine of five hundred spirit stones, and the eight hundred spirit stones for that piece of Star Spirit Cold Iron. Take it!"

Gu Yan steadily caught the storage bag, scanned it with his divine sense, and a bright smile appeared on his face: "Senior is indeed very righteous, I admire you. That piece of cold iron is yours now."

Gu Yan waved his hand, and the weight pressing down on the deacon gradually dissipated.

The old rogue cultivator nervously accepted the spirit stones and presented the Star Spirit Cold Iron with both hands.

After this confrontation, the disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect put away their contempt and arrogance.

They finally realized that Changning County was not a lamb to be slaughtered, but an ancient ferocious beast in sheep's clothing.

As night falls, the hustle and bustle of Changning County gradually subsides, and the underground river surges even more turbulently in the darkness.

……

Inside the top-floor luxury room of the Tianzihao Inn.

Master Aoki sat cross-legged on the cloud bed, his brows furrowed.

He had already used his divine sense to search the entire inn and even the surrounding ten miles ten times.

"What an overbearing earth-elemental formation. This could never be the work of the Flowing Cloud Sect; it's more like the Black Tortoise Formation from the legendary ancient Four Symbols Formation. No wonder Gu Changsheng dared to be so reckless; he had this to rely on."

Aoki Masato muttered to himself.

He knew that this kind of formation, which was completely connected to the earth's veins, could only be broken by a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator who could forcibly interrupt the flow of the earth's veins.

Otherwise, even as a Golden Core cultivator, he wouldn't be able to unleash 70% of his strength while inside the formation.

If he were to forcibly break the formation, it would inevitably cause a backlash from the earth's veins. In that case, the karmic burdens of tens of thousands of people in Changning County would be attributed to him.

He cannot bear this consequence.

Just then, three very soft knocks came from outside the window.

"Enter," said Aoki Jinshin coldly.

The window opened by itself without any wind, and a figure shrouded in black poisonous fog drifted in.

As the poisonous fog dissipated, it revealed the face of an old man with a withered appearance, holding a cane with a snake's head.

It was none other than the Yin Serpent Venerable, the Golden Core Elder of the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley, who had been forced back by Ye Gucheng in Sunset Valley that day.

"Old Monster Qingmu, it's been years! You actually got scammed by a Foundation Establishment junior. How was that ten thousand spirit stones you paid for the city entrance fee?"

Venerable Yin Snake let out a hoarse, unpleasant laugh and sat down at the table without any politeness.

Master Qingmu gave him a cold glance: "Your Ten Thousand Poisons Valley's spies are all over Changning County, but weren't they all wiped out by that brat surnamed Gu last night? Stop spouting nonsense. Did you sneak into my room tonight just to see me make a fool of myself?"

The Yin Serpent Venerable's smile vanished, a venomous glint flashing in his turbid eyes: "The eruption of the earth veins in Changning County has unearthed far more treasures than just those worthless scraps outside. According to my secret techniques in the valley, a true earth vein treasure has awakened beneath the south of the city. But that Gu Changsheng used some evil magic to integrate that treasure with the entire county's defensive array."

The Yin Serpent Venerable lowered his voice: "If we fight individually, neither of us will be able to take that thing. Why don't we join forces? Tomorrow night, isn't Gu Changsheng going to hold some kind of treasure appraisal conference? We'll launch our attack at the conference and attract the power of the formation. My disciples from the Ten Thousand Poison Valley will take the opportunity to use the poison of the Dragon Transformation Wood from underground to corrode the formation base. Once the formation is broken, Gu Changsheng will be like a fish on a chopping board."

Master Qingmu remained silent for a moment, his eyes flashing with weighing the pros and cons: "Alright. That brat swindled me out of a sum of money during the day. I will collect that debt with interest tomorrow night. After it's done, the earth vein treasure will be yours, and the wealth that his Demon Suppression Division has plundered these past few days will belong to my Azure Dragon Sect."

The two made a vow by high-fiving in the darkness, after which Venerable Yin Serpent transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, in the steel-framed secret chamber beneath the Changning County government office.

Hundreds of paper figures, each the size of a fingernail, floated in front of Gu Yan, continuously playing images and sounds from various corners of the city.

Gu Yan heard every word of the secret plot between Master Qingmu and Venerable Yinshe.

Gu Yan's lips curled into a cold smile.

With the enhancement of the Xuanwu Earth Vein Pearl, his current vision of the Paper Realm is completely able to ignore the ordinary shielding methods of Golden Core cultivators.

"Want to break my formation? Perfect, I'm already tired of you Golden Core cultivators emptying your spirit stones fast enough."

Gu Yan stood up and sent out a sound transmission talisman.

A moment later, Song Hong pushed open the door to the secret room and walked in: "Junior brother, you were looking for me?"

Gu Yan walked to the desk, picked up a brush, and wrote several large characters in a flowing, elegant style on a golden invitation card:

"Senior Sister, give the order. For tomorrow night's treasure appraisal event, have the brothers prepare to pick out a few of the better-looking scraps from our warehouse that can't be sold, and repackage them with the mark of our Demon Suppression Division."

Gu Yan handed the golden invitation to Song Hong: "Also, spread the word that our Changning County Demon Suppression Division unearthed a tattered ancient map last night in the southern part of the city. It is suspected to be a route map to the deepest part of the Sunset Valley Underground Palace, the place where a Nascent Soul cultivator fell. Tomorrow night, it will be auctioned as the final item, and the highest bidder will win."

Song Hong took the invitation, her hand trembling so much she almost dropped it: "A map of a Nascent Soul cultivator? Junior Brother, if this news gets out, the Golden Core cultivators in the city will probably go crazy tomorrow. If they find out it's fake, they'll tear us apart!"

"Who said it's fake?"

Gu Yan took out a piece of parchment from his pocket and, based on what he had seen and heard in Sunset Valley, casually drew a few crooked lines on it, then drew a circle at the end:

"This is a map. How could mortals easily understand the things of a Nascent Soul cultivator? The less they understand it, the more unfathomable it seems to them. I want them to empty their pockets of every last spirit stone at the treasure appraisal event for this tattered piece of paper. And when they've emptied their spirit stones and want to turn on me..."

Gu Yan paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and closed his eyes to focus his inner vision on the illusory image of the Xuanwu stone tablet that had merged into his body:

"I will teach them how penniless guests die in Changning County."