Chapter 3: Farsighted Vision
Chapter 3: Farsighted Vision
Purple Lake.
The scenery remained the same, but not many people paid attention to it anymore. Most cultivators and mortals looked at the few men and women in the tea pavilion with eyes full of envy and awe, expressing their admiration in various comments:
“…So impressive.”
“Of course! They are the official disciples of the Xuanxin Sect, not like us rogue cultivators from small places who work ourselves to death for a tiny bit of Spiritual Energy every day. Their sect is already situated on a Spiritual Peak, and they have a dedicated Spiritual Energy array. They don’t worry about Magic Power, and they have all kinds of resources available.”
“Mhm, I heard the leader is an Inner Sect Disciple that the Zhu Residence invited from the Xuanxin Sect to compete for the Elder position in Violet Cloud Town. He has a prestigious status and extraordinary strength. He alone can suppress all the cultivators in Violet Cloud Town.”
“Every Inner Sect Disciple of the Xuanxin Sect is a proud son of heaven among cultivators, with exceptional talent. They are all at least Fifth Grade cultivators. Suppressing a mere Violet Cloud Town is more than enough.”
“The Zhu Residence is already one of the three major cultivation families in our Violet Cloud Town. Now that they have an Inner Sect Disciple from the Xuanxin Sect showing up to support them, the Elder position is surely within their grasp.”
Hearing the information revealed in the conversations of the surrounding cultivators, Lu Hangzhi felt tempted.
Violet Cloud Town was a gathering place for free cultivators. It originally started as a very simple camp and gradually grew in scale over hundreds of years of development and history. It also had public authorities—the Town Guard of Violet Cloud Town and four Elders who assisted in management.
The Town Guard was in charge of all matters within Violet Cloud Town. Under him, the four Elders respectively managed the Marketplace, the Auction House, the Violet Pavilion, and the Guard Camp.
The Marketplace referred to the streets where rogue cultivators conducted daily transactions. There were three such streets in the town. One was for daily Spirit items, while the other two were occupied by visiting cultivators and hunting cultivators respectively, selling items mainly consisting of Spirit Beast materials, talismans, and Elixirs.
The Auction House held auctions every half month. Cultivators provided relatively rare and valuable items for centralized auctions, and fees were collected. The profits were not much lower than the transaction taxes accumulated daily from the Marketplace.
As for the Violet Pavilion, it was responsible for registering cultivators who settled in Violet Cloud Town, equivalent to a household register for cultivators. Based on their strength, they could hold positions in the Violet Pavilion and receive various tasks to earn rewards.
The Guard Camp referred to the defense force of Violet Cloud Town, composed of the elite from the Violet Pavilion!
To put it nicely, the Town Guard was in charge of all affairs, but in reality, power and benefits were concentrated in the hands of the four Elders. The Town Guard had already been reduced to a mouthpiece among the four powers.
The Zhu Residence already controlled one Elder position, responsible for the auction affairs of Violet Cloud Town. However, after the life token of the previous Elder in charge of the Guard Camp shattered during closed-door cultivation, the three major families all set their sights on this strongest defense force of Violet Cloud Town, wanting to grasp it in their hands.
Although Lu Hangzhi was not a cultivator, his insight was no less than that of ordinary cultivators. He knew that combining the power of the Guard Camp with that of the Auction House would double the profits. That was why the Zhu Residence went all out to invite Zhu Fuqin’s fellow Senior Brother from the Xuanxin Sect to support them, wanting to secure the top position in Violet Cloud Town in one move.
Spirit Wine, Spirit Tea, Spirit Fruit, and Spirit Spring were just superficial things. Who knew what benefits were promised in private…
Thinking of the twenty-three Spirit Coins he had painstakingly saved up, Lu Hangzhi smiled wryly in his heart:
“This world is far crueler than Earth. Ordinary mortals have no human rights. Only by leaving the mortal register can one have a bit of autonomy. Otherwise, one could be killed at any time without knowing why.”
He must gather one hundred Spirit Coins as soon as possible and strive to join the Xuanxin Sect!
Lu Hangzhi repeatedly reminded himself.
“Hey!”
Just then, Da Niu’s urgent and flustered shout came from deep within the Purple Bamboo Forest:
“Hangzhi, Hangzhi, it’s running towards you! Hurry, block it!”
Lu Hangzhi found it both funny and annoying. He didn’t expect this kid to actually find a Snow Rabbit?
But…
How to block it?
Although eating three Spirit Fruits had made his physique stronger than an adult’s, it was still far from matching the speed of a Snow Rabbit.
His heart stirred, and Lu Hangzhi reached back to take the slingshot hanging from his waist. At the same time, he pulled out a Spirit Coin. This was something he had made out of boredom a few days ago.
Just then, a snow-white, ball-of-fuzz-like blur of light dashed out from deep within the Purple Bamboo Forest.
Using a Spirit Stone was a bit extravagant, but he only had Spirit Coins that could act as “pebbles.” Lu Hangzhi didn’t want to disappoint Da Niu. Without further thought, his movements were swift and sharp. He pulled back and released, and the Spirit Stone shot out at an astonishing speed.
The Snow Rabbit was a pseudo Spirit Beast and was extremely sensitive to spiritual energy. Hearing the sound of the projectile cutting through the air, its body suddenly halted, and the Spirit Stone hit it right on the forehead.
With a “thwack,” the Snow Rabbit fell to the ground like a fluffy ball, its belly facing up and its four short legs exposed. The Spirit Coin happened to land on its belly, looking quite comical.
Lu Hangzhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He didn’t expect his unintentional action to actually knock down a Snow Rabbit. This, this…
Da Niu chased frantically out of the forest, picked up the Snow Rabbit and the Spirit Coin on the ground, and walked over with a face full of shock: “Hangzhi, you’re really amazing!”
“…”
Lu Hangzhi smiled but said nothing.
Just then, many people noticed the Snow Rabbit in Da Niu’s hand and gathered around in surprise.
“Oh, a Snow Rabbit?”
“These two kids are quite lucky. They actually caught a pseudo Spirit Beast. Even cultivators have a hard time finding these things.”
“Is it alive?”
“Little brother, I’ll give you ten Spirit Coins. Sell me the Snow Rabbit, please?”
A cultivator in the crowd made an offer.
Da Niu didn’t expect the Snow Rabbit to be worth so much money and immediately became uncertain. He said, “This, this Snow Rabbit was caught by my brother. Hangzhi?”
Whenever he was unsure, he would turn to his most trusted brother for help.
Lu Hangzhi was still pondering why the Snow Rabbit had foolishly stopped. Seeing this, his mind quickly turned. Ten Spirit Coins weren’t much.
The flesh and blood of a pseudo Spirit Beast were worth seven or eight Spirit Coins. The key was that the Snow Rabbit in their hands was alive, which made a big difference. He couldn’t let someone cheat him.
Just then, the crowd was suddenly parted by an invisible force, and a group of people walked over. The leader was none other than Miss Zhu Fuqin and her Senior Brother from the Xuanxin Sect.
Although Zhu Fuqin and the others had set up a Barrier while enjoying the lake, it was one-way. They could still hear the outside commotion.
The sudden gathering of people outside the tea pavilion had caught their attention, especially when they heard “Spirit Beast.” They couldn’t help but get up to take a look—after all, the Purple Bamboo Forest was a relatively safe area, and there shouldn’t be any Spirit Beasts active there.
The group of six people walked into the crowd and immediately saw the flustered Da Niu and Lu Hangzhi, who was holding a ball-of-fuzz-like Snow Rabbit.
“Ah! What a cute Spirit Beast!”
Another female cultivator among the six was instantly deeply attracted by the Snow Rabbit in Lu Hangzhi’s arms.
Once again, facts proved that fluffy, petite rabbits were indeed a killer weapon for girls, regardless of age.
“Junior Sister, it’s just a pseudo Spirit Beast…”
“But I like it, Senior Brother.” The female cultivator, who looked only about seventeen or eighteen years old, was also quite pretty. She stared at her Senior Brother with hopeful eyes, pleading: “I didn’t bring any Spirit Stones on this trip…” At this point, everyone present understood what she meant.
The cultivator who had made the earlier offer was very tactful and promptly withdrew, smiling as he watched the Xuanxin Sect disciples’ reaction.
“Alright, since Junior Sister likes it, we’ll buy it. Little brother, how do you plan to sell this pseudo Spirit Beast?”
Da Niu clearly knew that the group in front of him was not to be trifled with. He timidly and honestly retreated half a step, lowering his head and saying nothing, leaving it entirely to Lu Hangzhi to handle.
Please, this is the rabbit you asked me to help you catch. Strictly speaking, it should be yours…
Lu Hangzhi felt speechless and had a headache.
To be honest, he wasn’t very clear about the prices of Spirit Beasts and pseudo Spirit Beasts.
And…
If he really sold it for a high price, many cultivators and mortals were gathered at Purple Lake today, and soon the servants in Violet Cloud Town would know that he had come into a windfall. If it attracted the envy of other down-and-out cultivators, he could vanish from Violet Cloud Town in an instant.
Thinking this, Lu Hangzhi grabbed the Snow Rabbit by its ears and handed it to the female cultivator, showing an innocent, childlike smile:
“Since you like it, sister, I’ll give it to you. It’s just a stupid rabbit anyway.”
“Pfft!”
The female cultivator and the others were amused by Lu Hangzhi’s comment about the “stupid rabbit,” and they all chuckled.
However, the rogue cultivators and mortals all showed expressions of great pity and looked at him as if he were a fool, as if saying:
“So it’s a silly kid.”
“A live Snow Rabbit is worth at least fifty Spirit Coins. He could have gotten an even higher price selling it to a female cultivator from a major family, but he actually gave it away for free!”
“He doesn’t even know how to cherish a perfectly good windfall.”
Many people shook their heads and sighed.
Even ordinary mortals knew that the Snow Rabbit was extremely valuable. How could Miss Zhu and the Xuanxin Sect disciples not know the value of a pseudo Spirit Beast?
Although it was like a drop in the bucket to them, they had all come from the bottom.
Zhu Fuqin said with a smile:
“Lü’e.”
“Your servant is here.”
Lü’e walked over from behind the crowd.
Lu Hangzhi blinked at her, surprised to see she was also attending to them nearby.
Zhu Fuqin didn’t notice this and continued smiling as she instructed: “Take fifty Spirit Coins and give them to this little brother.”
Lü’e took out the Spirit Coins and only then noticed that the young boy in front of her was the little brother Hangzhi she had just parted from not long ago. Her movements slowed for a moment, and she showed a surprised expression.
“It’s you?”
“Sister Lü’e.”
“Oh? You know each other?”
Zhu Fuqin looked at the two of them. Lü’e quickly explained, telling her mistress that they were able to prepare the Spirit Fruits and Spirit Spring so quickly today all thanks to this little brother.
The group from the Xuanxin Sect nodded slowly.
He seemed like a simple child.
His heart was in the right place too.
He wasn’t obsessed with money.
“Are you the servant of cultivator Liu Tao?”
“Yes.”
Lu Hangzhi replied respectfully.
“My Zhu Residence never treats people unfairly. We will buy this Snow Rabbit for fifty Spirit Coins. What do you think?”
The cultivators and mortals gathered around gasped, their breathing becoming rushed.
Fifty Spirit Coins—for mortals, it was enough to live comfortably for a lifetime; for cultivators, it was also a decent amount of resources.
The Xuanxin Sect disciples looked at Lu Hangzhi with smiles, wanting to see how he would respond.
Although Lu Hangzhi really wanted to take the fifty Spirit Coins, reason told him he couldn’t accept this money!
It was too hot to handle!
Lu Hangzhi gritted his teeth and said:
“I’m sorry, Miss. A real man stands by his word! I have already given this Snow Rabbit to this pretty sister, so I cannot sell it to you, Miss.”
Zhu Fuqin didn’t expect that the other party would remain unmoved by her offer of fifty Spirit Coins. If it were anyone else, they would have probably fallen to their knees in gratitude by now. She was both startled and amused, turning her head to say: “Is he a foolish boy? Not taking money when it’s offered.”
“That might not be the case.”
The leading Senior Brother glanced at the small wound on the Snow Rabbit’s forehead, a flicker of strange light in his eyes. He said: “Since the little brother insists on not accepting, Junior Sister, you should just take it.”
Lu Hangzhi handed the Snow Rabbit to the Xuanxin Sect female cultivator, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart, and he secretly sighed in relief.