57. The Market District
The two men exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, “Then we shan’t stand on ceremony.”
Although the Vitality Pill was by no means a rare elixir—merely a second-grade one—among common folk it was already a precious rarity. On the open market, it would fetch at least a hundred taels of gold, and even then, demand would far outstrip supply.
Liang Jun and Luo Erfu swallowed the pills on the spot. Li Miao placed his hand on their shoulders, channeling his energy to refine the medicinal effects for them. Very soon, the power of the Vitality Pill was completely absorbed.
Nourished by the medicine, the two men’s complexions took on a healthy glow. The lines of middle age seemed to recede from their faces, their wrinkles lightened, and their limbs gained new strength.
Feeling the transformation, the two could not thank Li Miao enough, their gratitude overflowing past words. So instead, they proposed a toast.
Li Miao settled the debts in his heart, his worries vanished, and he drank heartily with them, sharing laughter and joy.
It wasn’t until the sun had climbed high overhead that he finally bid them farewell.
Liang Jun and Luo Erfu accompanied him to the inn’s entrance. Liang Jun said, “Young Master Li, who knows if fate will allow us to meet again after today. If ever you wish to travel by boat, come find me at the docks. Perhaps by then, I’ll have already bought myself a new vessel.”
Luo Erfu added, “Young Master Li, the Luo Trading House of Longling is always open to you. Whatever goods we have in stock, you may take freely!”
Li Miao laughed, clasped his fists, and replied, “Then I won’t be modest when the time comes. Gentlemen, until we meet again.”
In all solemnity, the two men echoed, “Until we meet again!”
...
Parting ways on the busy street, Li Miao took Xiao Yun and left Weicheng, heading toward the main city of Pangshan, a steel-clad behemoth.
As they walked, Xiao Yun asked, puzzled, “Master, why are you so kind to those two mortals, yet so indifferent to the other two cultivators?”
She referred, of course, to He Xianyuan and Yan Ruofei.
Li Miao smiled. “You’re a little monster—you don’t understand how humans think. Liang Jun and Luo Erfu may be mortal, but I like their characters. Drinking and chatting with them puts me at ease. As for those two cultivators, all they see is profit. They only tried to befriend me because I’m stronger than they are. Such people can never be true friends—they’d stab you in the back for greater gain at any moment.”
Xiao Yun suddenly understood.
“So that’s why... No wonder. Those two really are bad people. I even overheard them speaking ill of you this morning, Master.”
“Oh?” Li Miao raised his brows in surprise. “What did you hear?”
He had slept deeply that morning, unaware when dawn broke. By the time he woke, He Xianyuan and Yan Ruofei were long gone.
Xiao Yun, who slept lightly, had awoken early and overheard their conversation.
She said, “They whispered in a corner of the hall, thinking no one would know. They didn’t realize I’m a monster with much sharper hearing than ordinary humans—I caught every word.”
“The female cultivator said that despite your youth and astonishing cultivation, you must be a direct heir of some great sect, here on important business in Pangshan City.”
“The male cultivator replied that all the major sects in Pangshan County had been quiet lately—what important business could there be? He guessed you’d come to the city for leisure, which is why you brought only a maid and no guards.”
“Then the female cultivator said, as a direct heir of a prestigious clan, you must be carrying many treasures.”
“The male cultivator was shocked and asked if she intended...”
“She answered that she very much wanted to, but they lacked the strength. Instead, she suggested selling the information to the Ghost Shadow Sect and letting their old fiends ambush you.”
Xiao Yun imitated Yan Ruofei’s sly expression, then mimicked He Xianyuan’s sinister face as she recounted the story.
Li Miao’s heart sank. His earlier good mood was now ruined.
The Ghost Shadow Sect was a mysterious order. No one knew the location of their headquarters or the true extent of their strength. What was certain was that its members were greedy and bloodthirsty, specializing in ambushing lone cultivators to murder and steal their treasures.
Traces of the Ghost Shadow Sect’s activities could be found throughout Pangshan County. Many times, the corpses of solitary cultivators were discovered in deep forests—or even in bustling cities, dead in some shadowy alley.
For lone cultivators, such a sect was a nightmare.
After all, who wants to be stabbed to death in the street without warning?
“So, when did they leave?” Li Miao asked.
Xiao Yun replied, “They left right after breakfast, around the hour of the dragon—it’s been almost two hours.”
Two hours...
From Weicheng to the main city was only about a hundred li—a trivial distance for a cultivator, easily covered by now.
Li Miao felt a headache coming on.
He wasn’t afraid of offending Zhu Zifeng or provoking the Illusory Sword Pavilion. The Pavilion would never act over a minor grudge.
But the Ghost Shadow Sect was different. They lived for murder and robbery. Once marked, he’d never know peace again.
“Master, are we still going to Pangshan City?” Xiao Yun asked.
Though she was not particularly clever, even she could see the problem.
Li Miao rubbed his temples and lowered his head in thought.
Suddenly, a phrase flashed through his mind.
—“Go forth and conquer that world. You can do it.”
He started, his heart trembling.
He couldn’t recall who had spoken those words, or even the exact phrasing. Yet, inexplicably, he felt a deep and unwavering trust in them, as though they were an undeniable truth. It made him feel as if he could stride unimpeded, unafraid of any who would stand in his way.
“How strange...” Li Miao murmured.
He clearly knew the Ghost Shadow Sect was a deadly threat, likely to plunge him into peril. Yet an unaccountable confidence urged him forward.
So he said, “No need to worry. If trouble comes, we’ll meet it head-on. Who knows if those two will even persuade the Ghost Shadow Sect? And even if they do, I doubt they’ll be my match.”
With that, he strode toward the main city without hesitation.
————————
As Li Miao approached the mighty Pangshan City, two thousand li away at the Frozen Pool Demon’s Nest, several demon cultivators arrived.
Leading them was a massive black-winged bat, trailed by several powerful demon lords.
The bat landed on a boulder by the waterfall, folded its wings, and transformed into a seductive woman clad in black.
She looked down at the charred and cleaved corpses of demon beasts below and frowned.
A demon lord with bony wings went to inspect the nest, then reported, “Mistress of the Night, Hengjiang and Fushui were slain by the same person, killed by a weapon imbued with flames. The body of Fanyun is missing—I believe she may have fled.”
“The entire nest destroyed by a single person?” the Night Mistress asked coldly.
“Yes, and with overwhelming force. There was hardly any sign of resistance,” the bone-winged demon replied.
The Night Mistress’s gaze turned icy. “Human cultivators are growing more brazen by the day, daring to send powerful ones to slaughter our kind. Do they really believe we demons are so easily bullied?”
An eight-armed demon beside her added, “Mistress, the humans no longer regard us with fear. In the past few years alone, the Blood Mist Mountains have seen thousands of our young slain. If we do not resist, the demon race is doomed!”
“What do you all think?” the Night Mistress asked, her blood-red eyes flashing with murderous intent.
A male demon, fully in human form, replied, “If the humans want war, we’ll give it to them. They love to hunt demons in the Blood Mist Mountains—let’s send our demon lords over and slaughter them all!”
“Good,” the Night Mistress said approvingly. “In that case, Yanmo, I leave it entirely to you—kill until the humans are afraid. And send word throughout the territory: if anyone finds Fanyun, bring her to me at once!”
The gates to Pangshan City stood at the mountaintop, three hundred feet above the base.
The city itself spanned eighty li in circumference, larger than a hundred Longling county-towns put together.
And that was only the surface.
The entire mountain, three hundred feet high, was almost entirely hollowed out to form part of the city. The layers of underground districts together were several times larger than the surface, with countless factions, markets, and establishments interwoven—a world unto itself.
This was a true metropolis—masterfully wrought, surpassing the bounds of nature, a feat only possible for cultivators. The very construction of the city had consumed the lives’ work and fortunes of countless individuals.
As Li Miao and Xiao Yun approached on foot, the closer they drew, the more they felt the city’s grandeur and awe-inspiring presence.
Climbing thousands of steps, they reached the city gate.
The towering gate connected to the high walls built along the mountainside. Inside was the most prosperous city for thousands of li; outside, a sheer cliff hundreds of feet high—one misstep would spell certain death.
A steady stream of people flowed into the city.
A squad of guards, all cultivators at or above the fifth level of Qi Refining, lined both sides of the gate. They ignored most entrants, but when Li Miao arrived, he was stopped.
“Halt,” the captain ordered, blocking Li Miao’s path. His gaze fell on Xiao Yun in her snow-white dress and he frowned. “Which sect are you from, and why do you consort with a demon?”
This captain was in the early Foundation Establishment stage, comparable to the old man Zhu Ke of the Illusory Sword Pavilion whom Li Miao had met the day before.
Normally, it would be difficult for someone of his cultivation to gauge Xiao Yun’s abilities, but as a gatekeeper, he carried a special artifact that could see through the backgrounds of those who passed—unless the gap in strength was truly vast, it was impossible to hide one’s identity at the city gate.
Li Miao knew that relations between human cultivators and demons were poor, which explained the vigilance. He answered, “She is a servant bound by my soul contract. She has left the demon race and obeys only my commands. She poses no threat.”
The captain scrutinized them both, as if sensing the subtle bond of the soul contract. After a moment, he nodded. “You may enter. Once inside, buy a Demon Control Token at the market for your servant—it’ll spare you much trouble. Remember, though: there are places in the city where demon servants are forbidden. Any forced entry will be at your own risk.” With that, he stepped aside.
The captain seemed unfazed by the fact that Xiao Yun’s cultivation was higher than Li Miao’s. In a city as vast as Pangshan, many people of status had powerful servants—reaching even the Core Formation stage was not uncommon.
Li Miao asked for directions to the market, then led Xiao Yun into the city.
Inside, the view opened up magnificently.
The city atop the mountain was far grander than anything in Longling. Everywhere were stately mansions and elegant gardens, towering buildings of hewn stone, and exquisite estates built into the slopes.
The mountain teemed with ancient trees offering ample shade, and fantastic stones stood at scenic corners, adding to the beauty.
The city streets were not uniformly broad or flat—some places were spacious, others narrow; some high, others low. Everything had been built to follow the mountain’s contours. No hilltops had been forcibly leveled, no valleys artificially carved. The city’s natural harmony was preserved: three parts man-made, seven parts the original face of heaven and earth.
It was a masterpiece of both nature and craftsmanship—unadorned yet splendid, simple yet refined.
Such was the first impression Pangshan City left.
Li Miao wandered the streets, admiring the sights, with Xiao Yun at his side. She exclaimed, “Human cities are truly beautiful. Not even the Night Mistress’s domain among our demon kind can compare.”
Li Miao smiled. “Humans always reshape the world to their liking, while you demons strive to adapt to your surroundings. The two are utterly different, so their dwellings naturally differ as well.”
Xiao Yun nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true. If our kind were made to live in a city like this, probably no one would like it.”
Ahead lay the market.
Pangshan City boasted over a hundred markets of various sizes, and Demon Control Tokens could be bought almost anywhere.
These tokens were not true magical items, but mere symbols of status. Their sole purpose was to mark a demon servant as tamed and harmless.
Li Miao stepped into the “Sword One Market” and immediately spotted a shop selling Demon Control Tokens.
The shopkeeper, a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, could not discern Li Miao’s cultivation but had a keen eye. Noticing Li Miao’s distinguished bearing and Xiao Yun’s feathered arms, he immediately guessed their purpose.
He greeted them cheerfully, “Honored sir, come look at our latest Demon Control Tokens—various styles to suit every need: collars, waist pendants, headbands, bracelets, nose rings, earrings, anklets, and more. Perfect for any demon servant or companion: elegant, tasteful, and sure to convey your status.”
The shelves were filled with numerous trinkets in a dazzling array of designs, just as the shopkeeper said.
Li Miao browsed and selected a jade pendant. “This one will do.”
The shopkeeper beamed. “Excellent choice, sir! This is pure icy jade, not only imbued with the aura to mark demon servants, but also with a minor spirit-gathering effect to aid your servant’s cultivation. The price is reasonable—just eighty spirit stones.”