Chapter 19
On the bluestone-paved streets, people hurried to and fro. From the teahouses and taverns along the roadside came occasional bursts of laughter and lively chatter from the mortals.
At a glance, this seemed no different from any ordinary mortal town.
Liu Wu reined in all traces of spiritual power, disguising himself as a mortal as he walked into town.
No one guarded the city gate, but he had barely gone a few steps when someone “accidentally” bumped into him. The man didn’t even apologize, simply continuing on his way.
Liu Wu frowned and suddenly shouted, “Stop!”
Hearing Liu Wu call out, the man not only failed to stop but broke into a run.
He seemed familiar with the area and darted into a narrow alley. Fortunately, Liu Wu’s physique had already surpassed that of a mortal. Once he got serious, he caught up in the blink of an eye and planted an iron palm on the man’s back.
In an instant, the man was unable to move.
He seemed to finally realize he’d picked a fight with the wrong person and hurriedly put on a placating smile.
“Big Brother, I didn’t even steal anything from you. Is this really necessary?”
Liu Wu snorted. Was it that the man hadn’t stolen anything? It was clearly just that Liu Wu had nothing on him, so the man hadn’t found anything to steal.
He couldn’t be bothered to waste words. A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed a cloth pouch on the man. He took it out, tipped half a pouch of loose silver into his hand, then tossed it back.
Instead of getting angry, the man looked impressed and cupped his fists toward Liu Wu. “You’ve got my respect, brother.”
Then he took the pouch and quickly disappeared.
Liu Wu shook his head with a smile. It seemed the public order in this “Wangxian Town” wasn’t very good.
He thought no more of it. Finding a rather impressive inn, he ordered a pot of strong tea and sat quietly in a corner, listening to the conversations around him.
At his current Qi Refining cultivation level, his senses far surpassed those of mortals. The whispered conversations of dozens of people in the inn’s main hall came through to him clearly, word for word, even through the screens.
“Have you heard? The butcher Zhang’s youngest son over in the east end disappeared the night before last, too!”
“Ha! What’s so surprising about that? He must’ve received his immortal opportunity and been taken away by an immortal! Just wait. In a year and a half, he might come back riding auspicious clouds!”
“That’s true. Our Wangxian Town has such good fortune that immortals come down from the mountain every so often to choose disciples. I wonder when my own boy will be blessed with such a great opportunity.”
Liu Wu listened in silence, his heart full of disdain.
This so-called “immortal opportunity” was probably just the demonic sect’s disciples luring people up the mountain. These ignorant mortals really thought their children had gone off to cultivate immortality.
He lifted his teacup and gently blew on the steam, then casually interjected, “Forgive my impertinence, gentlemen, but how can you be so sure those people who disappeared received an immortal opportunity, rather than being murdered, abducted, or sold off to some black mine?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the men at the next table, who had been chatting enthusiastically, all turned to look at him. They regarded him as if he were an ignorant fool.
One of them, a burly man with a full beard, scoffed. “You’re from out of town, aren’t you? What would you know? Let me tell you about Gou Dan, the son of Wang Lao’er in the west end. You know him, right? He disappeared for a whole three months, and everyone thought he’d died somewhere. But guess what? A few days ago, he suddenly came back! And now he’s an immortal! He smashed that boulder by the inn’s entrance—half as tall as a man—with one slap, right in front of all of us! That’s a true immortal’s power. You can’t fake that!”
Hearing this, Liu Wu understood at once.
Smashing a rock with one palm really was easy for a Qi Refining cultivator.
It seemed the demonic sect’s disciples sometimes let a few “lucky ones” return and show off, all to keep up the lie of an “immortal opportunity” and ensure they could harvest mortals endlessly.
Seeing Liu Wu fall silent, the group of men grew interested and came over to him of their own accord.
“Young Brother, you look like you came to Wangxian Town seeking an immortal opportunity, too. Am I right?”
“What’s your name? Tell us, and we can help you figure out your chances.”
Liu Wu frowned and replied coolly, “We’ve only just met. Why should I give you my name?”
“Now, that’s not quite right!” The bearded man lowered his voice and said mysteriously, “You might not know this, but the city lord has been searching everywhere for a mortal named Shen Qingyun! Half a month ago, an immortal from Blood Feast Valley personally announced that this man had an affinity with immortals and would be taken to a blessed land to cultivate. He’d even be accepted as the Valley Master’s personal disciple as soon as he arrived!”
Blood Feast Valley?
Liu Wu’s heart stirred. The name didn’t sound like it belonged to a pleasant place.
He had never heard of it. Could it be... another mountain gate of the Great Dao Heavenly Demon Sect?
Unfortunately, Qin Shuang was in seclusion, and Liu Meng couldn’t ask her to confirm it.
He kept his thoughts to himself and asked with feigned curiosity, “Has this Shen Qingyun still not been found, even after all this time?”
“It’s not that he can’t be found—there are too many of them!” another man cut in. “Once the news spread, every Shen Qingyun from every corner of the land started flocking here, eager to get in! There are at least a hundred Shen Qingyuns staying in the city lord’s residence now! After all, that immortal said he only knew the name, not the person. So he’d take everyone with the same name, and once they reached the blessed land, it’d be clear who was truly destined as soon as they started cultivating!”
“That’s why every Shen Qingyun who heard the news came running. But if some fool dares to impersonate him, the immortal has divine powers and will see through it at a glance. Then it’ll be a grave offense to deceive an immortal, and they’ll be thrown into the city lord’s dungeon, never to get out!”
Liu Wu quietly committed this information to memory. After saying goodbye to the men, he got up and left the inn.
His main purpose in coming here was still to recruit people for his cave abode.
First, he sought out several young women with delicate features on the street. Whenever he found one alone, he released the pressure of his spiritual power and appeared before her with a cultivator’s techniques. The young women would fall to their knees as if they had seen an immortal, bowing repeatedly and obeying his every word.
“Would you be willing to follow me up the mountain and cultivate, seeking an immortal opportunity?” Liu Wu asked calmly.
Every young woman looked overjoyed. None of them refused to go with him. Even when he explained repeatedly that the sect was ruled by the law of the jungle and full of danger, and that being chosen did not guarantee a path to immortality, they only grew more eager.
After hearing that, their longing grew even stronger. Each one puffed out her chest and vowed that cultivating immortality meant defying Heaven and seeking a sliver of hope. Even if the road ahead left them shattered, they would gladly accept it and never turn back.
Seeing how eagerly they tried to prove themselves, Liu Wu felt nothing. In the end, he still nodded and accepted them for the time being.
He gradually realized that the people of this entire town had probably been “transformed.” As long as they could become immortals, they were willing to do anything.
As for why they had become this way... that wasn’t something Liu Wu could concern himself with.
Just then, a cultivator in a blood-red robe, his whole body giving off a faint blood aura, suddenly appeared in front of him.
Liu Wu’s heart tightened, and he immediately went on guard.
The cultivator seemed not to notice his wariness. He smiled as if they were old acquaintances, showing a row of white teeth. “Junior Brother, you’re here to ‘stock up,’ too, right? Want to take a look at the mortals in my dungeon? I guarantee every one of them has depleted their yin virtue. Using them to cultivate won’t make you suffer qi deviation.”
“What do you say? Want to buy a few? One spirit stone for ten mortals. Fair prices, no haggling!”
Liu Wu froze for a moment. Only then did he realize that using innocent mortals for cultivation could cause one to suffer qi deviation.
That was why this cultivator was trying to sell him mortals with depleted yin virtue. Apparently, using these people as cultivation fodder wouldn’t cause the same problem.
Unfortunately... he still didn’t have any spirit stones.
Come to think of it, where was he supposed to get spirit stones?
Without spirit stones, things were far too inconvenient. Liu Wu could only ask him, “Can I pay with Three Talents Coins?”
The blood-robed cultivator was taken aback. He clearly hadn’t expected this seemingly ordinary fellow disciple to trade with Three Talents Coins. Smiling faintly, he said, “Junior Brother, you’re quite the big spender. But I don’t have that many people in my dungeon. Could I... deliver them in batches?”
Liu Wu gave him the location of his cave abode and replied calmly, “That’s fine. Just send them there. How many people can I get for one Three Talents Coin?”
“Junior Brother, you’re straightforward!” The blood-robed cultivator laughed, clapping his hands. “Since you’re so generous, I can’t be stingy either. A full thousand mortals! How does that sound?”
“That works.” Liu Wu nodded slightly.
“Do you want men or women?”
“Men.”
“Good!” The other man smiled again. “I’m Ye Xun of Blood Feast Valley. If you need anything in the future, come find me anytime!”
Blood Feast Valley again?
Liu Wu’s thoughts stirred. It seemed someone at the inn had mentioned Blood Feast Valley, too.
Could he be the “immortal” they were talking about?
Liu Wu suppressed his doubts and took his leave, intending to investigate Blood Feast Valley properly. At the very least, he needed to find out whether it was the Great Dao Heavenly Demon Sect’s fourth mountain gate!