Chapter 3, Clear Valley

Translator: Raznick

 

There was a rumor of immortals in Mist Province’s Misty Mountain. Often, woodcutters and herb gatherers claimed to have seen traces of these immortals while in the mountains.

 

This attracted many ordinary people who yearned for Dao and were ambitious to seek immortality. They came one after another into the mountains to inquire about the ways of becoming a cultivator.

 

However, Misty Mountain’s terrain was treacherous and fraught with danger; the number of venomous snakes and ferocious beasts was immense. Among those who venture into the mountains in search of immortals and sages to attain enlightenment, more than half never even caught a glimpse of their divine persona before meeting an untimely demise in this foreign land.

 

If someone were truly able to see an immortal, they would soon find out that they lacked the talent required for cultivation, and ultimately be rejected.

 

It so happened that Zhou Chun, after parting company with the Wu merchant’s fleet, made his way through mountains and valleys using the Soaring Art, reaching Misty Mountain within a day.

 

Knowing there might be a market for cultivators here, Zhou Chun dared not cast arts to travel as freely as before.

 

Otherwise, if someone with bad intentions hid in the dark and attacked, he wouldn’t even have time to react.

 

It was also his luck that after traveling for some time in the mountains, he encountered a cultivator from Jing Kingdom’s Mist Province.

 

The other party was also heading to the Clear Valley to exchange resources.

 

From what this cultivator said, Zhou Chun learned that there was actually no real cultivation marketplace inside the Misty Mountain.

 

It was because the Clear Valley housed three rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage, who gathered there for convenient cultivation practices and to form a trading hub. Typically, it’s only frequented by scattered cultivators from within Mist Province at the Qi Refining Stage.

 

In the cultivation world, places like these were aplenty.

 

After all, cultivators needed to absorb pure Qi for their practice, and even a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator couldn’t maintain the operation of a Purification Array on their own.

 

Therefore, some lone cultivators, even if their cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, if they chose not to join a sect or a cultivating clan, would inevitably seek out places with spiritual veins to establish Purification Arrays for future cultivation. They gathered people together to keep the arrays in working order.

 

Zhou Chun followed the cultivator as they crossed several peaks, and eventually arrived at a mist-shrouded gorge.

 

Without needing the other party to remind him, Zhou Chun used Qi Sight to observe the mist in the deep valley. He could see that it was an illusion created by a magic array, not genuine mist.

 

Alas, his cultivation wasn’t high enough to use Qi Sight to penetrate the mist and clearly see the objects within the valley.

 

After they stayed outside the canyon for a while, the cultivators inside noticed they were cultivators and began to question them through the array.

 

The rogue cultivator didn’t need to explain himself. It was not his first time at Clear Valley so he was easily allowed passage after the questioning.

 

Zhou Chun only possesses the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining Stage, and for the self-taught cultivators within the Clear Valley, he poses no threat whatsoever.

 

After a brief questioning, he paid the three spirit coins security and was allowed into the valley.

 

The silver-white spirit coins resemble something called silver coins from a previous era, made by refining special metals to create counterfeit-proof currency for cultivators.

 

The spirit coins in Zhou Chun’s possession were issued by the only major power Moon Cabal in Jing Kingdom that could both refine and issue spirit coins. The back of these spirit coins featured a crescent moon, which served as their sect’s emblem.

 

These spirit coins were the currency used by cultivators in their transactions. Each coin held a constant value, allowing its holder to train for one day at either the Moon Cabal or any other sect, clan, or marketplace within the Jing Kingdom.

 

That was twelve hours of practice every day.

 

When Zhou Chun learned of this matter, he was quite startled.

 

He never imagined that within this realm of cultivation, where might was determined by one’s cultivation, would emerge commerce based on credit and currency.

 

Upon closer thought, he found myself greatly admiring the cultivator inventing these spirit coins.

 

It was clear that in a world where heaven and earthly Qi had been polluted by Savage Qi, the emergence of a standard currency was undoubtedly the most fitting product for the times.

 

Powerful cultivators who issue credit currencies could use them to reap resources from other medium and small forces and rogue cultivators.

 

The most numerous cultivators, rogue cultivators, thanks to the emergence of spirit coins, found their inability to practice without a Purifying Array no longer an issue.

 

The best part was that spirit coins, although they appeared as money, as they provided tangible value by allowing one to cultivate twelve hours a day, there was no possibility of depreciation.

 

Even if a major faction over minted spirit coins, as long as it was not completely uncontrollable, there was generally no need to worry about defaulting and currency collapse.

 

Even in the case of the Moon Cabal’s destruction, the coins would never lose their value.

 

To eliminate the influence of the Moon Cabal, it was inevitable to acknowledge the original value of spirit coins; otherwise, he would become an enemy to all cultivators holding these spirit coins, and the spirit coins he issued would also not be recognized or accepted by them.

 

After carefully considering all the benefits that spirit coins could bring, Zhou Chun no longer looked down on cultivators from this world in any way.

 

There was no doubt that in terms of wisdom, these cultivators who aimed for immortality were by no means inferior to the so-called high intellectuals from his previous life; on the contrary, they might even be smarter!

 

After entering Clear Valley, Zhou Chun looked around and saw that only the front part of the valley, with some shops and pavilions, was open to outsiders.

 

The deeper regions of the gorge were still shrouded in mist from the array, making it impossible to see clearly.

 

Perhaps because it wasn’t a legitimate marketplace, Zhou Chun didn’t see many cultivators there. Only in a handful of shops could one or two customers occasionally be spotted.

 

This time he came here not to buy or sell anything, but to gather information.

 

Three Absolute Sect, originally a sect from Feng Kingdom south of Jing Kingdom, had now made the momentous decision to relocate across borders. The success of changing bases and whether they could establish a new home in Jing Kingdom remained an open question.

 

Zhou Chun needed to clarify this matter first before deciding whether to return to the sect.

 

After wandering around the valley for a while, he noticed a tea house where several cultivators were seated at a table, chatting and sipping tea. Curious, he entered the tea house and ordered a pot of spirit tea worth one spirit coin.

 

While he appeared to be absorbed in sipping his spiritual tea, he was actually listening intently to the conversation of several cultivators at the neighboring table.

 

A group of people were discussing famous incidents involving renowned cultivators in Mist Province, as well as some hearsays about cultivation sects and clans.

 

As they spoke, the matter of the Three Absolute Sect, a martial arts sect from Feng Kingdom relocating to Jing Kingdom’s Mist Province, naturally came up as a topic for discussion.

 

“He-he, Fellow Daoists, I’m sure you’ve heard by now of the fleeing Three Absolute Sects from Feng Kingdom, right?

 

“I’ve learned just two days ago that under the direction involvement of Green Lotus Monastery, the Three Absolute Sect has been split into four groups. The Three Absolute Sect is as good as gone!”

 

“Sigh, a cultivation sect that has survived for over 1700 years, and with three Golden Core cultivators still present, has collapsed and had its legacy broken. Truly lamentable!”

 

At the table, a man with a thick mustache wearing a yellow coat twitched his eyebrows, picked up his cup, and drank the tea in one gulp. Then, he looked smug as he shared the information he had.

 

Upon hearing his words, several cultivators were initially surprised. Then, similar to the speaker, they began to maliciously and gleefully discuss the matter in various ways.

 

It was obvious that as a rogue cultivator, they felt relieved and pleased about the sudden demise of these prestigious cultivation sects that had always been out of their reach.

 

Even if the Three Absolute Sect, which belonged to Feng Kingdom, had never oppressed them before, it garnered no sympathy towards it.

 

After all, all the sects under heaven were the same, they were all exploiters who maintained their noble status by squeezing the broad group of rogue cultivators.

 

As suppressed individuals, it was only natural for them to adjust their posture accordingly.

 

But Zhou Chun, upon hearing this news, was shaken to her core, as if a tempest had erupted within him.

 

This result, without a doubt, was the worst-case scenario for him.

 

The Three Absolute Sect was no more. Was he going back to rejoin the sect? Not in this lifetime!

 

Did he have to end up like these wandering cultivators, working for those cultivation sects and clans indefinitely to earn resources to cultivate?

 

Was it that even after reincarnating and being reborn, one couldn’t escape the daily grind of being a 9 to 5 worker?

 

Zhou Chun suddenly felt lost and aimless.

 

Luckily, he was facing away from the group of people, but at least they wouldn’t notice any change in his expression.

 

The man with the mustache continued to share what he knew, and his words caused Zhou Chun, who had been lost in thought, to brighten up again with renewed hope.