Chapter 8 Tanzhou City
In the early morning, the flying boat continued to sail through the clouds. The glare was scorching, so Feng Jingluo opened a barrier to soften the sunlight, protecting Yun Ruchen from the heat. The boat had already entered the territory of Qinzhou. Looking down from above, the dense forests swayed like waves in the distance. A clear lake reflected the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds. They ate hot porridge on the deck. The flying boat arrived at Qinzhou City at noon, landing in an open space near the forested hills outside the city. After disembarking, Feng Jingluo stored the flying boat in her storage ring. The red ring stood out on her finger, and she looked at Yun Ruchen. "Does Ruchen have any money from the mortal world?" Yun Ruchen pursed his lips, seemingly troubled, but his cheeks flushed again. He wanted to shield his face, but he was afraid it would be unnecessary. "...No." Could you please not call him by his name? It was as if she were crushing him between her lips and teeth. "I haven't been down the mountain for a long time, and I don't have much money," she said. "Luckily, there's an area within Qinzhou City for cultivators." Feng Jingluo planned to find a place to live first, settle the young sect leader, and then take on a few easy missions before taking Yun Ruchen into the Qinzhou Mountains for training. So, the two walked side by side, passing through the city gates. The outer city was the mortal realm, a place full of everyday life. Once they reached the inner city, they needed to prove their identity before entering. Feng Jingluo took out his Wentian Sect disciple token and entered the inner city with Yun Ruchen. Everywhere they looked were cultivators. On the streets, independent cultivators hawked rare treasures. Feng Jingluo took a quick look and saw that most of the items were useless. There were also some sect disciples selling unused magical instruments and elixirs. Better treasures could only be found at auction. A young man in tattered gray clothes held a stall that caught Yun Ruchen's eye. A scrap of cloth, its original color unrecognizable, lay on the ground, upon which lay a few medicinal herbs, some metal, a few books, and a broken weapon. One of the herbs was emerald green, with only a few purple spots on the back of the leaves. It had leaves but no flowers. Yun Ruchen leaned over to pick it up for a closer inspection, but the young man blocked his way with a folding fan. "Sir, you can't look at it unless you want to buy it. This is a treasure of mine. If you damage it, you'll have to pay for it." He looked Yun Ruchen up and down. He didn't look like a young man from a wealthy family. Yun Ruchen withdrew his hand, not angry. This herb looked like green smoke, a herb with the power to confuse the mind. If it was used as the core of a formation, it could cause anyone who entered to hallucinate until the spirit stone energy was exhausted. "How much is this herb?" The young man raised his hand and said with a smile, "I see you're a connoisseur, so I won't ask for too much." He spread his fingers...
In the early morning, the flying boat was still sailing through the clouds. Because the light was blazing, Feng Jingluo opened a barrier to soften the sunlight to prevent Yun Ruchen from being overwhelmed.
The flying boat had already entered the territory of Tanzhou. Looking down from above, the dense green forest was like a wave rolling into the distance. A clear lake could be seen reflecting the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds.
They drank hot porridge on the deck. The flying boat arrived at Qinzhou City at noon and landed in an open space next to the mountains and forests outside the city.
After getting off the flying boat, Feng Jingluo put the flying boat into the storage ring.
The red ring on her hand was particularly conspicuous. She looked at Yun Ruchen. "Does Ruchen have any money from Fanchen?"
Yun Ruchen pursed his lips, looking troubled, his cheeks flushing again. He wanted to hide his face, but was afraid it would be unnecessary.
"...No." Could you please not call him by his name? It was like you were crushing him between your teeth.
"I haven't been down the mountain for a long time, and I don't have much money." She said, "Fortunately, there is an area in Qinzhou City for practitioners to live in."
Feng Jingluo thought of finding a place to live first, settling the young master down, taking on a few easy tasks, and taking Yun Ruchen into the Qinzhou Mountains for training.
So the two walked side by side, passing through the city gate and entering the city. The outer city was the mortal area with a strong sense of fireworks. Until the inner city, you need to prove your identity before entering.
Feng Jingluo took out the disciple token of the Wentian Sect and entered the inner city with Yun Ruchen.
All you can see are people practicing cultivation. There are independent cultivators selling items on the street, hawking rare treasures.
Feng Jingluo took a quick look and saw that most of the items were useless. There were also some disciples from the sect selling their unused magical instruments and elixirs. The better treasures could only be found at the auction house.
A young man in tattered gray clothes set up a stall that caught Yun Ruchen's eye. A rag, its original color unrecognizable, lay spread on the ground, upon which lay a few spiritual herbs, some metal, a few books, and a broken weapon.
One of the medicinal plants was emerald green all over, except for some purple spots on the back of the leaves. It had leaves but no flowers.
Yun Ruchen bent down to pick up the herb for a closer look, but was blocked by the young man with a folding fan.
"Sir, you can't look at this unless you want to buy it. This is my treasure. If you break it, you'll have to pay for it."
He looked up and down at Yun Ruchen's clothes and thought he didn't look like a young master from a wealthy family.
Yun Ruchen withdrew his hand, not angry. This medicine looked like green smoke, a herb with the power to confuse the mind. If it were used as the core of a formation, it would cause anyone who entered the formation to fall into hallucinations until the spirit stone's energy was exhausted.
"How much is this herb?"
The young man raised his hand and said with a smile, "I see you're a connoisseur of value, so you won't ask for too much." He spread his fingers apart, "Five mid-grade spirit stones."
One hundred low-grade spirit stones are equivalent to one medium-grade spirit stone, and five medium-grade spirit stones can buy a good-quality pill.
"Too expensive," Yun Ruchen said bluntly. He was indeed tempted, but he didn't think a single stalk of green smoke was worth the price.
Moreover, he was good at using spirit stones to conduct research on formations, and the spirit stones his mother gave him every month were not enough for him to squander extravagantly, so he did not have many spirit stones on hand.
Feng Jingluo took a step forward and glanced at the herbs. "Fake."
Yun Ruchen raised his eyes, and his long hair brushed his cheek. Feng Jingluo leaned over and picked up the herbs. Before the young man could stop her, the roots had been pinched in her hand.
With a slight vibration of spiritual power, the purple spots fell off and turned into fine dust. She had gone down the mountain many times to train, and had entered countless secret realms and mountains. She had seen many good things and naturally had a set of methods to distinguish them.
She said: "Use elixirs to infiltrate similar herbs, use spiritual power to tamper with the smell, and deceive..." She paused and stopped talking.
"You!" The young man looked Feng Jingluo up and down, his tone unhappy. "Miss, doing business with bad people is a big taboo."
Feng Jingluo put down the herbs, put his hands behind his back, and his eyebrows instantly raised, but there was no arrogance in his eyes.
"Are you threatening me?"
The young man choked, muttered, grabbed the four corners of the cloth to put the things away, and left, thinking he was unlucky.
"If Ru Chen wants Green Smoke, he can go to the nearby auction house to have a look. I have a purple gold card from Qianbao Pavilion." He restrained his expression and became cold again.
However, when facing Yun Ruchen, his tone was slightly softer.
Yun Ruchen scratched his temple with his index finger, feeling awkward. Qianbao Pavilion was considered a top-three tier sect within the Profound Sky Continent. The highest tier of membership cards it issued was purple-gold, something even a major or minor sect leader might not possess.
Only by bringing irresistible benefits to Qianbao Pavilion can you have the opportunity to obtain it.
He said he didn't need it, looked away and changed the subject.
He was already wasting Feng Jingluo's time, so how could he have the nerve to borrow such a valuable thing?
"I'll go and book a place to stay first. Ruchen is interested in this place, so why not stay here and wait for me." When she comes back, they can go to the restaurant for dinner.
Yun Ruchen nodded: "Okay."
Feng Jingluo turned around, still a little worried, and warned: "Don't trust the vendors here, and don't go with others casually."
Yun Ruchen laughed. Although his realm was low, he was not a child. Could he be abducted by others?
He promised Feng Jingluo that he would not leave the nearby streets, and then watched Feng Jingluo leave.
Shortly after she left, a middle-aged man in green clothes approached Yun Ruchen. Pretending to be familiar, he asked, "Where are you from, sir? Is this your first time in Qinzhou City?"
If you were traveling around all year round, you wouldn't be so curious and look around like a child.
He couldn't sense the presence of the newcomer, so it went without saying that he was stronger than him. Yun Ruchen was on guard and ignored him, only stopping at a nearby stall to watch.
The man was a scoundrel, and continued shamelessly, "Don't worry, sir. I have a lot of good stuff on my stall. Why don't you go and take a look? Is there anything that catches your eye?"
Yun Ruchen waved his hand, "I don't have any money."
The man's smile froze, and his expression twitched inexplicably. "I felt a sense of familiarity the moment I saw you, sir. Well, let it all be fate. I don't need any spirit stones. You can take them if you like."
Yun Ruchen glanced in the direction Feng Jingluo left, and slowly reached out his hand to his chest. He had kept the handkerchief on his heart.
The man seemed to sense something and grabbed Yun Ruchen's wrist, his voice sinister. "Young Master, come with me now." The overwhelming spiritual power pressed down on him, making it impossible for Yun Ruchen to struggle. He was held hostage all the way out of the inner city.
Afterwards, a soul-locking formation trapped the dantian.
"Foundation Establishment Stage, where did this piece of trash come from?" The man sneered, "I guess there aren't many seeds to be found, but the face is still okay."
Was he kidnapped?
Yun Ruchen felt unlucky. No wonder his parents didn't let him go down the mountain. Was it so dangerous down the mountain that people were being trafficked openly?
After leaving Qinzhou City, the man picked up Yun Ruchen and flew directly towards the Qinzhou Mountains.
He said, "Some guys like you, a young guy. You can probably fetch a good price."
He felt that Yun Ruchen had nowhere to escape, so he relaxed. "Do you know Lan Yu Palace?"
He didn't wait for Yun Ruchen to answer: "It's just a bandit's den that's not presentable. It's the Xiaoyao Cave founded by a disciple of the Hehuan Sect."
"He's recently offered a high price for a handsome young man like you." He smiled lewdly, "If you can please him and become his favorite, wouldn't that be better than being a poor kid in a remote village?"
Yun Ruchen's eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth twitched as he understood what he meant. "You...you want to sell me to a man to be used as a furnace?"
The man lowered his voice and said, "This is your blessing."
This blessing is given to you, do you want it?
He had a rare expression of anger, but more of it was unease. Yun Ruchen lowered his head, and while the man was hurrying on, he lowered his spiritual awareness and slowly unlocked the Soul Locking Formation.
Because he is obsessed with formations, his spiritual awareness is much higher than his cultivation level and can roam within the body.
After entering the mountains, the man turned left and right, entering a maze. There were traces of formations along the way. Unless one knew the route or could break the formation, they would be trapped.
At the end of the road, there was a small formation. The man threw a few spirit stones into it, jumped in with Yun Ruchen, and the two were teleported to other places.
After the dizziness disappeared, Yun Ruchen's face looked unhappy. This kind of crudely made teleportation array would cause a strong sense of discomfort.
The man threw Yun Ruchen to the ground, reached out to feel his waist and neck, and then tore open his clothes, only to see a handkerchief falling.
"You're so poor that you don't even have a magic weapon worth any money." The man looked at the white jade on his belt and saw that it was just an ordinary decoration, not even spiritual jade. His tone became even more disgusted.
"Open the storage ring and throw out everything inside."
Yun Ruchen stared at the handkerchief that fell at his waist, reached out and grasped it in his palm, and a cold light flashed in his eyes when he raised his eyes instantly.
It actually made the man panic.
"You...you still dare to glare at me?"
"You'd better send me back." Yun Ruchen propped himself up, his hair draped over his shoulders, his eyes gentle, without any threat in them.
"My wife..." He heard her restless heartbeat, as if accusing him of taking advantage of the situation, or teasing him for calling her that without permission. "She'll be worried."
The man laughed and looked at Yun Ruchen with suspicion, wondering if he was mentally ill.
"Whether your wife is worried or not is none of my business?"
Yun Ruchen carefully placed the handkerchief back on his chest. "She is a very powerful swordsman."
She would use her natal spirit sword to block him.
Now that he was captured, he was not going to use the sword Feng Jingluo had left for him until his life was in danger.
Avoid encountering other dangers after use.
On the other side, after Feng Jingluo decided on a house to live in, he returned to the street but did not see Yun Ruchen.
She frowned and connected with the sword energy remaining on Yun Ruchen, and found that they had already left Qinzhou City.
Someone kidnapped Shaozong.
Her breath was shaking, and the bricks under her feet were crushed by her. People around her looked at her in surprise.
Because the inner city is inhabited by cultivators, all expenses are specially made and cannot be destroyed by ordinary cultivators.
Feng Jingluo took out the black bird, stood on the sword and soared into the sky, leaving a streak of light and disappearing into the sky.
No one has ever dared to snatch Feng Jingluo's things under her nose.
There was a trace of regret and worry between her brows. She shouldn't have left the Young Master alone. If she got hurt, how would she explain it to the elders who trusted her?
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