Chapter 68: Temporary Market in the Camp
Chapter 68: Temporary Market in the Camp
Two monks from Mount Qingcheng followed Wen Rui in flight. Seeing him crashing into a cliff that towered into the clouds, the female monk couldn't help but exclaimed: "Daoyou, be careful! Ahead..."
Before he could finish his words, Wen Rui had already passed through the rock wall and disappeared without a trace.
The two looked at each other, slowed down their speed and flew towards the cliff. Just like Wen Rui, they passed through the cliff without hitting any entity at all.
After passing the cliff, the view immediately opened up. There was a lush jungle below. A large open space had been cleared out in the forest, and many people in Taoist robes gathered there.
The open space was bustling with people, and tents and wooden huts had been set up in the open space, so a small camp had been established.
The two slowed down their flying speed and slowly landed on the open space.
"So it's an illusion. I thought Master was too old and had a bad memory, so he drew the map wrong."
As soon as she landed, the female cultivator named Cheng Ziwei muttered softly to the people around her.
The male cultivator named Li Yu said ashamedly, "It's all my fault. I should have thought that we would arrive so late. Someone must have set up an illusion array to hide our tracks. If they had used the spell to break the illusion more carefully, we wouldn't have been delayed for so long."
Cheng Ziwei stood on tiptoe and looked into the crowd, searching for the monk in golden and red armor. His attire was conspicuous among the Taoist robes, and she found it immediately.
The female monk said, "Those who set up the illusion array to confuse people are really insidious. Are they afraid that someone will come to steal their treasures? That fellow Daoist Wen from the Jinling Sect is a sincere person. He did not give random directions and led us directly here."
Li Yu nodded: "Thinking about it carefully, he already knew that the two of us were deceived by the illusion array, but he did not point it out and led us the way. Not only did he treat people with sincerity, but he also took care of our face. He is a thoughtful and considerate person, quite a gentleman."
"Brother, before our master left, he told us that the world of cultivation is very complicated and we are new and do not know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. This time he came out to teach us a lesson."
Cheng Ziwei whispered, "I think Wen Daoyou has good character and seems to have a lot of experience in the martial arts world. Why don't we make friends? If we can explore the secret realm together, he can give us some advice along the way, so we can suffer less losses. We can share the spoils with him."
"This..." Li Yu pondered, "We know nothing about his background. It would be inappropriate to make friends with him rashly. The Jinling Sect doesn't sound like a small sect. You have to know that for a sect to be called a sect, the founder must be a direct disciple of the three founders of the sect."
"This time when we went down the mountain, exploring the secret realm and encountering opportunities is secondary. What we can gain is to make some good friends and increase our knowledge."
Cheng Ziwei looked young, but she was the more assertive of the two. She analyzed, "Whether or not that fellow Daoist Wen is willing to be our companion, we can just go up to him and say a few words of greeting and express our sincere gratitude. After all, courtesy is always appreciated. If we can get along well with him and he is willing to teach us, that would be a pleasant surprise."
Li Yu listened to her advice and thought about it, and it was indeed true, so he walked towards Wen Rui with her.
"Brother Wen Dao, it was with your guidance that the two of us were able to enter the illusion array. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you."
The two men stood in front of Wen Rui and bowed in unison and in unison.
"Oh?" Wen Rui quickly returned the greeting, "Thank you for your courtesy, fellow Taoists. I still have some trivial matters to discuss with my subordinates. Please wait for a moment."
Li Yu then realized that Wen Rui was standing in front of a row of wooden houses that had just been built, lecturing a group of businessmen wearing long gowns and octagonal melon-shaped hats.
The melon-shaped hat and long gown are the standard attire for merchants. This style of clothing has gradually formed after the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce more than 300 years ago. Nowadays, all people engaged in circulation and sales in the Western Zhou Dynasty will join the Chamber of Commerce and put on this attire as long as their business reaches a certain scale.
These merchants were all at the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and none of them had reached the "Golden Core Stage", the lowest standard for cultivators to explore the secret realm. Yet for some reason they appeared in the camp at the entrance to the secret realm.
Li Yu hurriedly said, "We are the ones who disturbed you first. Please go ahead and do your work, Brother Wen Dao. We will just wait."
"Shopkeepers, this is not the first time that our Chamber of Commerce has opened a market at the entrance to the secret realm. There is no need to repeat the nonsense. The most important thing about this kind of business is security. Spiritual stones are easy to earn, but it is difficult to transport them back!"
Wen Rui said to the group of merchants in a serious manner: "This place is full of good and bad people, and there are many scoundrels. Don't be fooled by the appearance of being righteous now. Once you leave this place, you will be covered with bandits. Have you arranged all the anti-theft and anti-robbery measures?"
"Please rest assured, Mr. Wen, everything has been arranged!" the businessmen answered in unison.
When Li Yu and Cheng Ziwei heard Rui's lecture, they couldn't help but look at each other, and they saw deep confusion in each other's eyes.
Li Yu leaned close to his sister's ear and lowered his voice to ask, "What on earth is this Brother Wen Dao doing here? Isn't he a disciple of a cultivation sect? How come he has such a close relationship with the merchants?"
Cheng Ziwei frowned and whispered, "From the looks of it, he is still the leader of the merchants. But he is lecturing so loudly, which seems to be a bit of a veiled criticism. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?" As if to confirm the female cultivator's words, a male cultivator with a sinister look immediately stood up and shouted, "What nonsense is that guy in armor talking about? All those gathered here are righteous Qigong practitioners from famous sects. How dare a bunch of ants criticize and slander the Taoist master? Do you think your life is too long?"
The male cultivator who spoke was a high-level Jindan cultivator. His shout was full of energy, attracting a lot of people's attention. Many cultivators also heard the hidden meaning in Wen Rui's indirect criticism, and immediately cast unfriendly glances at him, and the crowd gathered around.
Wen Rui didn't even turn his head, but waved to the fat man at the head of the merchant queue, and the fat man stepped out and said:
"Since its establishment, the Chamber of Commerce has been distributing goods all over the world and serving all kinds of people. How much trouble has our existence saved for the immortals who have achieved moral success and are devoted to meditation?"
"All the food, clothing, and other chores, cleaning, and construction of all the sects and schools in the world can be taken care of by our Chamber of Commerce with just a few spirit stones. You immortals don't need to touch the water, and you don't need to step on the dust of troubles, but you can get the most luxurious and comfortable support. Without us, the comfort of your practice will be greatly reduced."
Upon hearing this, the monks looked at each other and began to discuss. They all agreed with this statement, but they didn't know what the fat businessman wanted to express.
"The fundamental purpose of opening a market in the secret camp is to serve you and relieve you of your worries when exploring the secret. I believe that the immortals who have explored the secret before have also experienced the convenience provided by the Chamber of Commerce Market, and hope to continue to enjoy this convenience for a long time, right?"
Many of the monks who had gathered nodded, and at the same time whispered to their fellow disciples who were participating in the exploration of the secret realm for the first time.
"However, there is a group of scoundrels who have set their sights on the reasonable profits earned by our Chamber of Commerce. For their own selfish reasons, they either cause trouble in front of us to collect protection fees, or rob us in disguise. What is the result of their actions?"
Having said this, the fat businessman paused, giving everyone present time to think, and then continued:
"The Chamber of Commerce has no choice but to give up this business and no longer provide services at the Secret Realm Camp Market in the future. It doesn't matter if we earn less spirit stones, but you will have to bear the brunt of others' burdens and will no longer be able to enjoy the convenient services."
After these words were spoken, the crowd began to talk loudly.
"Yes, I have explored the secret realm three times. The Chamber of Commerce Market provides treasure and elixir appraisal, spiritual stone exchange, sale of various detoxification and treatment potions, repair of damaged magic weapons, weapons, and armor, sale of talismans, array materials, and other services. If there were no market, I don't know how to prepare before entering the secret realm."
"The market also sells flying swords and Taoist robes of the magical instrument grade. The grade is not high, but the quality is good and the price is low. If you accidentally damage your flying sword in the secret realm and cannot repair it, you can come out and buy a temporary replacement."
"Yes, Baiweilou and Wuyinfang in the market are also good places to relieve fatigue and boost spirits."
"It would be really hard to imagine the loss of the market."
"It's really inconvenient. To explore the secret realm, we need to form a logistics support team. But who is willing to do the hard work for others? Wouldn't it be better to go treasure hunting in the secret realm together?"
"Over the years, the Chamber of Commerce has provided excellent services to major sects, which is much better than raising a group of stupid and pig-like menial disciples. Some sects have abolished the menial disciple system. Even if they want to form a logistics team, they can't gather enough smart menial disciples."
……
Seeing that the situation was almost heated, the fat businessman looked at the cultivator with sinister eyes and said, "Isn't this Immortal Zhao Xian from Dingguang Immortal Sect? Your sect has been put on the Chamber of Commerce's blacklist and has been subject to comprehensive economic sanctions. We can't do any business with you. You are not afraid of ruining the business in the market, but don't drag others into it. At least ask the immortals present first if they agree!"
"I wonder who it is, the Rabbit Lord from Dingguang Sect. Only this bunch of remnants of Jiejiao can do such a disgusting thing that harms others and does not benefit themselves!"
"Be careful with your words. Their ancestors have attached themselves to the Western Religion. If you say they are from the Jie Religion again, they will turn hostile."
"Fall in love? I am a direct disciple of the Jade House Cave of the Jinting Immortal Sect. The founder of my sect is Daoxing Tianzun. I want to see how these rabbit gods will fall in love with me."
"Since they have joined the Western Religion, they are not of the same sect as ours. Yet they are still stirring up trouble and ruining our business. Who allowed them to come to the Dingguang Sect to explore the secret realm?"
"Why would they be blacklisted by the Chamber of Commerce for no reason? Disciples of the Dingguang Sect have always had a bad reputation. They must have committed a crime that got in the way of the Chamber of Commerce, and then they robbed the Chamber of Commerce's convoy and were discovered, so they are crying thief here."
……
Seeing that he had incurred the wrath of the crowd and knowing that the Dingguang Immortal Sect had a bad reputation in the world of immortals, the sinister monk dejectedly squeezed into the crowd. In the process, he was hit hard on the shoulders by several monks who were dissatisfied with his performance, causing him to stagger and look very embarrassed.
Wen Rui stared coldly at the man's disappearing back, his eyes flickering and his expression changing, wondering what he was thinking.
(End of this chapter)