Chapter 5, Advancing and Red Cliff Market

Translator: Raznick

 

Somewhere near a pond at the edge of Misty Mountain.

 

Speaking of Zhou Chun, after fighting off two rogue cultivators’ attempt on his life, he resumed his journey at a rapid pace for dozens of miles. He only stopped to rest near this pond after confirming through the Red Beak Sparrow that there were no signs of human presence nearby.

 

He meditated for several hours, restoring his spiritual power. Then, as usual, he removed the stone jar and used the Spiritual Water to cleanse the Savage Qi within his body.

 

He looked over what he got.

 

The two rogue cultivators didn’t have much of value—thirty-four spirit coins and two inferior first-grade artifacts that could be traded for a few more coins.

 

The rest of the miscellaneous items, when added together, didn’t reach ten spirit coins.

 

With such meager means, it was no wonder that upon figuring out that Zhou Chun was a displaced Zhou Clan cultivator who had migrated here, they were overcome by greed and developed murderous intentions, plotting to kill him and seize his possessions.

 

Even if one didn’t count that stone jar, which was priceless, Zhou Chun had 135 spirit coins on him. Moreover, he possessed four first-grade artifacts, two inferior and two average in quality.

 

“With other sundries, it totals around forty or fifty spirit coins.

 

“That’s a rogue cultivator, the lowest member of the cultivation world!

 

“Most of the earned spirit coins are spent on buying a spot to cultivate in peace; how could one save any money like this?

 

“Just like those burdened with mortgages and car loans—no matter how hard they work overtime, there’s little money left in their bank accounts.”

 

Zhou Chun couldn’t help but express his feelings, overwhelmed with emotion.

 

Furthermore, he also strengthened his resolve to return to the Zhou Clan.

 

In this perilous cultivation world, low-rank cultivators, with or without protection, faced vastly different situations.

 

He quickly figured out the direction and rushed toward the area where the market was rumored to be located.

 

…

 

The next morning found Zhou Chun sitting on a mountain and doing his daily meditation.

 

Halfway through, as the first rays of dawn appeared in the east, the sun’s purple glow merged with his body, where he refined and absorbed its Qi into his system.

 

A soft pop suddenly came from within him.

 

Another acupoint within his body opened up.

 

Qi Refining、 Foundation Establishment, Violet Palace、 Golden Core、 Nascent Soul、 Soul Formation—these were the six known stages in the cultivation world.

 

In the Qi Refining Stage, one refined essence into energy by drawing in Natural Qi from both the external environment of heaven and earth and the internal energies of their own body. By harmonizing these inner and outer energies, they cultivated and forged spiritual power through disciplined practice.

 

To gauge the level of spiritual power of a cultivator in the Qi Refinement Stage, one simply needed to assess how many acupoints they opened.

 

The human body had one hundred and eight major acupoints. Every time a Qi Refining cultivator broke through another point, their spiritual power deepened by a fraction.

 

After opening nine acupoints each time, the cultivator’s spiritual energy not only underwent slight shifts in both quantity and quality but also advanced within the Qi Refinement Stage’s twelve layers.

 

The Qi Refining Stage was split into three periods: early, mid, and late. Layers one through four corresponded to the early period, levels five through eight mark the mid period, and levels nine through twelve signify the late period.

 

Currently, Zhou Chun had reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivation, making him a mid Qi Refining cultivator. With each newly opened acupoint—this one being his forty-seventh—he continued to advance along his path of cultivation.

 

He achieved all this at the age of twenty-one.

 

His spiritual root was only average; however, his accomplishments at this age were solely due to his own efforts, every step of the way, through diligent cultivation.

 

Indeed, Zhou Chun had gradually become accustomed to his new role.

 

In his subconscious, he had already begun to identify himself as Zhou Chun the cultivator. His daily habits and speaking manner aligned with the previous owner of this body.

 

At this moment, upon sensing his cultivation had once again made progress, Zhou Chun felt a flicker of joy in his heart. He quickly continued with his practice, absorbing the Qi from nature and refining it into spiritual power to fill up the newly opened acupoint within him.

 

Most disciples of the Three Absolute Sect practiced their cultivation through the Elemental Dawn art which was a basic cultivation method suitable for nearly all types of spiritual roots.

 

The spiritual power cultivated through the exercises of Elemental Dawn was balanced and harmonious, with a pure quality to it. Once a solid foundation had been established, it would be easy to branch out into any other technique later on.

 

This cultivation method was not exclusive to The Three Absolutes School; many cultivation clans and sects would pass on this art as the foundational practice for their disciples and juniors.

 

The optimal time for practicing Elemental Dawn was at the break of dawn.

 

As the sun rose, all things revived. Under the harmonious interplay of yin and yang, the Qi of heaven and earth was at its most vibrant and active, making it the ideal time for absorption and refining.

 

The effects of cultivating from seven to nine were the equivalent to the effects of four or five other hours of normal cultivation.

 

“That Savage Qi is truly vexing! It’s no wonder cultivators without the protection of a Purification Array dare not train outside!”

 

At this moment, Zhou Chun concluded his meditation practice, slowly exhaled a long breath, and couldn’t help but furrow his brow in dissatisfaction.

 

It turned out that, although he could rely on the Spiritual Water inside the stone jar to remove the Savage Qi from his body during cultivation, when the Savage Qi entered him, it still caused continuous pain in his acupoints and meridians, making it difficult for him to concentrate on meditation.

 

His mind drifted to the transcendent bliss of cultivation that used to fill my memories.

 

Even though Zhou Chun possesses the stone jar, he still could only practice cultivation safely in places protected by the Purification Array.

 

After Zhou Chun finished his training, he stretched his body a bit. He took some dry food from his storage bag, washed it down with water, and fed the Red Beak Sparrow some of its favorite dried fruit. Then he continued on his journey to the cultivator’s market in Mist Province.

 

Mist Province had only one cultivator’s market, which was the Red Clif market.

 

This cultivator’s market, located within the Red Rock Mountains in the center of Mist Province, was managed by the prestigious Green Lotus Monastery. It served as the primary destination for cultivators to trade resources within Mist Province.

 

However, at the same time, the entire Red Rock Mountains were a place of extreme peril.

 

Because markets drew cultivators in, many cultivators who made a living by killing others to steal their possessions often lay in waiting hidden in the wilderness outside the market areas. They were always ready to attack cultivators entering or leaving.

 

Although the markets occasionally dispatch patrol teams to conduct inspections outside and crack down on these bandits, they found it difficult to effectively combat this issue, unable to prevent such incidents from occurring.

 

When Zhou Chun arrived at the outskirts of Red Rock Mountains, he was on high alert.

 

Not only did he refrain from carelessly using Soaring Art to speed up his journey, but he also deliberately constrained his aura and proceeded at a slow pace.

 

And the areas he had walked through were all places the Red Beak Sparrow had already conducted thorough survey on.

 

Even so, he still clutched a Wood Shield talisman in his hand, ready to activate it at any moment.

 

Actually, most of the time, cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage would travel in groups when going to and from the market for safety reasons.

 

A lone cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage like Zhou Chun had to be extremely self-assured in their abilities.

 

Or they ended up in a situation like his current one, suddenly finding themselves in an unfamiliar place with no trustworthy companions to journey alongside.

 

From this perspective, the sphere of activity for Qi Refining cultivators was also restricted; they usually did not venture too far from a familiar market area, nor would they readily travel to unfamiliar markets.

 

Over two consecutive days, Zhou Chun had been moving through the Red Rock Mountains, and the distance he covered was less than fifty miles. Sometimes he walked along rugged mountain trails, sometimes he cut through dense forests; the terrain of the Red Rock Mountains forced him to be extra cautious. The past few days he met few living creatures; only occasional signs of birds and beasts. This made him wonder if he was indeed on the right track.

 

It was on this stretch of less than fifty miles that he heard three instances of cultivator battles resulting in explosive clamor.

 

Each time the sound came and went quickly, lasting no more than a quarter of an hour from start to finish.

 

During this period, the Red Beak Sparrow sent ahead to scout gave him seven warnings, each time causing him great alarm, prompting him to take a detour and avoid what lay ahead.

 

By relying on the bird and keeping his guard up, Zhou Chun finally reached the Red Cliff Market safely early afternoon of the third day since entering the Red Rock Mountains.

 

When he saw the market district ahead, where the area was obscured by an array mist, he finally felt his heart settle back in his chest.

 

He summoned the Red Beak Sparrow that surveying around. Grateful, he held the little creature and thanked it: “Little Red, you’ve done wonders these days. When we reach Zhou Clan, I’ll keep you well-fed.”

 

After finishing, he fed the little guy until it was full, carefully put him into his pocket.

 

Just as when Zhou Chun had entered Clear Valley on Misty Mountain, upon entering Red Cliff Market for the first time without prior registration, he faced a background check. He had to pay five spirit coins as security.