The sky was gloomy today, and a whistling north wind carried a hint of chill. In another month, it would be the Moyun Workshop's most difficult season, winter, when many Loose Cultivators would meet untimely ends each year.
In the bitter cold of winter, snow would blanket the forests.
Food would become scarce for the Demon Beasts within the Yunlan Mountain Range, so they would attack the Moyun Workshop's districts to plunder for blood and flesh. However, the Demon Beasts would not attack the core area, nor would they dispatch Second Tier Demon Beasts with combat power comparable to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
'The Moyun Sect must have some agreement with the Demon Kings of the Yunlan Mountain Range,' Zhao Zuo guessed. 'Neither side dispatches combatants at the Foundation Establishment Realm. It's more like a military drill… a way to sort the strong from the weak through survival of the fittest.'
The streets of the Moyun Workshop were a bit crowded. People came and went, and all sorts of shops lined the way. Cultivators in various styles of Magic Robes, holding Exotic Beasts, entered a nearby shop. Some held trinkets made of Spirit Jade, while others had Spirit Birds with five-colored feathers perched on their shoulders.
Zhao Zuo turned onto the commercial street of the core area. The places on both sides of the road—Magic Robe Workshops, Spirit Wine Stores, the Spirit Pill Pavilion, pawnshops, gold and silver shops, and the many stores selling Talismans, materials for Artifact Refining and Alchemy, and Spirit Rice—were all densely packed with people.
This time, he planned to buy Pill Medicine and chose the Core Heart Hall.
It was an establishment under the Moyun Sect's Core Heart Hall, mainly selling Pill Medicine that could be used during the Qi Cultivation Stage. As for Pill Medicine for the Nourishing Body Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage, although they were available, the quantity and variety were extremely limited.
In fact, most of the shops on the commercial street were related to the Moyun Sect. The remaining few belonged to Foundation Establishment powers affiliated with the Moyun Sect. The only exception was the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
"What can I get for you, sir?" The shop assistant in gray robes first sized up Zhao Zuo, then asked in a flat tone, not bothering to hide the trace of disdain in his eyes. He truly looked down on these Loose Cultivators who struggled to survive, clawing their way up from the mud.
"How much are the Qi and Blood Pills that boost Body Refining Cultivation?"
"Qi and Blood Pills have always been four Spirit Stones each."
Zhao Zuo ignored the other's gaze and continued to ask.
"How many Spirit Stones for a Spirit Revitalizing Pill?"
Spirit Revitalizing Pills were a type of combat Spirit Pill, their main function being to restore spent Mana during a fight. They were arguably the most common type of pill medicine used in battle.
"Spirit Revitalizing Pills are six Spirit Stones each." The impatience on the gray-robed assistant's face eased slightly. Most Loose Cultivators were desperately short of Spirit Stones; a sale of more than ten Spirit Stones was already considered a major accomplishment.
"I'll take two Qi and Blood Pills and one Spirit Revitalizing Pill."
'Although one Qi and Blood Pill should be enough to break through the bottleneck,' Zhao Zuo calculated silently, 'this concerns my path on the Dao. It's better to buy an extra one as a spare.'
"Sir, that will be fourteen Spirit Stones in total." The gray-robed assistant's attitude immediately did a complete one-eighty, becoming almost sycophantic. In his eyes, Loose Cultivators who bought only one pill at a time had no future; only those who bought several were true customers.
Zhao Zuo paid no mind to the assistant's change in attitude; whether it was good or bad made no difference to him. He took out fourteen Spirit Stones from his pocket and placed them on the table. After the assistant counted the stones, he took out three porcelain vials from under the counter and handed them over.
The transaction went smoothly. Zhao Zuo pocketed the vials and left the Core Heart Hall. He now had twenty-five Spirit Stones left.
Next, Zhao Zuo went to a shop that sold Talismans and spent five Spirit Stones on five Vajra Talismans.
After all his purchases were complete, Zhao Zuo followed his memory to Elder Li's divination stall. He sat down directly opposite Old Li and took out one tael of gold from his bag, offering it.
"Elder Li, this is the Divination Fee from last time," Zhao Zuo said with a smile.
"Little Friend Zhao, it seems we are truly fated to meet." Elder Li waved his hand casually, and the simple jade ring on his finger flashed with a faint light. The gold bar vanished from the table. This act made Elder Li's image seem all the more profound and mysterious.
"Senior Li, I'd like to request another divination," Zhao Zuo said respectfully.
"Hmm, about that."
Elder Li stroked the smooth white beard on his chin, a benevolent smile on his face. He looked even more like an otherworldly immortal, exuding an air of transcendent detachment.
"The weather is poor today. It is not a good day for divination."
Elder Li chuckled, grinning like a mischievous old child. Before Zhao Zuo could reply, he immediately changed the subject. "What do you think is the most important thing in Cultivation?"
"Spirit Stones," Zhao Zuo replied without any hesitation.
"Wrong. Spirit Stones, background, Spirit Veins—these are all external factors. They aren't the most important," Elder Li said profoundly.
"Then what is the most important core element?" Zhao Zuo pressed eagerly.
"Destiny. A person with great destiny can act without restraint, recklessly. Even if they fall off a cliff, a fortuitous encounter will find them. Even if their path on the Dao is fraught with hardship, they can still reach the peak. Conversely, for those with weak destiny, disaster will strike even if they are timid and cautious."
'Is a person's ultimate achievement already predetermined by heaven?'
Zhao Zuo was reluctant to believe in this metaphysical talk of destiny; he didn't believe a person's fate was set at birth. Yet, he recalled that Elder Li had indeed accurately predicted his disaster of blood. Perhaps this world truly had a so-called Heavenly Dao and destiny.
"I can't give you an answer to that question either." A flash of grief passed through Elder Li's eyes. He paused for about three seconds before continuing. "But you are definitely not someone with great destiny."
"Then, Senior, do you have any advice?" A sense of confusion suddenly arose in Zhao Zuo's heart. 'He couldn't be sure if the man before him was just fooling him or using this opportunity to reveal certain truths.'
"Think more, guard your heart, be cautious, and do not get entangled in Cause and Effect."
In the end, Elder Li didn't explain himself clearly. Instead, complaining that Zhao Zuo was being troublesome, he packed up his stall and vanished from sight in a few breaths.
'He's always so cryptic. Isn't he afraid of getting beaten up?' Zhao Zuo pondered Elder Li's warning. 'Be cautious' and 'think more' were easy enough to understand, and he could probably grasp 'do not get entangled in Cause and Effect'.
Only the meaning of 'guard your heart' was unclear. What kind of heart should he guard? How should he guard it?
Did 'heart' here refer to his Tao Heart, or... his true self?
'What is my true self, then?' A look of confusion flashed in Zhao Zuo's eyes.
He then spent another twenty Spirit Stones in the flea market area, purchasing three heavily damaged Lower Grade Magical Artifacts for his next repair project.
Right now, Zhao Zuo had two fully repaired Magical Artifacts, worth about sixty Spirit Stones.
However... he hadn't yet figured out how to sell them. 'I need to find a safe method.'
Zhao Zuo didn't buy the materials to upgrade his Sky-Breaking Saber on this trip. This was because the other condition for the upgrade—one thousand experience points—was still a distant goal. There was no rush to buy the materials.
The flea market area within Moyun Workshop was still bustling with noise and tightly packed stalls, but he couldn't find that familiar figure in red. Zhao Zuo stood at the main gate of the Moyun Workshop as people constantly walked past him.
Zhao Zuo stood at the gate, never taking a step out.
'Thirty-nine Spirit Stones is enough to make some people take desperate measures.'
He had originally planned to exchange a few words with Shen Yunjiao, using her status as a Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer master to intimidate those secretly following him. He never intended to leave Moyun Workshop.
Unfortunately, he didn't manage to meet his "patron," so the road home might not be safe either.
In the beginning, Zhao Zuo had only come out to clear his head and alleviate his inner frustration and anxiety.
'I'll play it safe and go back into seclusion.'
.....