I hacked through the chaotic world with my blade-Chapter 1547 - 367: I Really Just Want to Quietly Send Off Little Wei An (Part 4)

If that’s the case, it’s quite good.

With progress comes motivation. Standing still and getting nowhere would make anyone despair—a lifetime like that would be meaningless.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, Fellow Daoist Lin..."

Ni Haisheng rushed over from afar, looking anxious. It was obvious at a glance that something was weighing on his mind. In Lin Fan’s eyes, Ni Haisheng’s head was much like young Wei An’s, shrouded in a blood-red calamity that had not dissipated for a long time—a result of great destiny, although the outcomes of ordinary destinies kept changing.

"Fellow Daoist Ni, why so hurried?" Lin Fan asked.

"Have you heard the news?" Ni Haisheng asked urgently.

"What news?"

Lin Fan truly hadn’t heard any news, except for seeing some loose cultivators today who seemed odd, as if they’d encountered something unusual.

Ni Haisheng said, "The magic battle between the Blood Demon Ancestor and Baoling Sect has ended, and they have signed an agreement."

"That’s good news. They’ve been fighting for months, and it’s about time to end," Lin Fan said with a smile.

"No, that’s not the key point. The end of the battle means the Blood Demon Ancestor can now focus on other things. Remember the magic cultivator at Fengyang Mountain, one of the Blood Demon Ancestor’s disciples? His disciple was killed, and the Blood Demon Ancestor certainly won’t let that slide."

"So what?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Everyone is rushing to the Inner City because it’s under Baoling Sect’s protection. Even if the Blood Demon Ancestor is furious after the end of the ceasefire, he won’t dare strike against Ling Yuan City, but the Outer City is a different story."

The Outer City doesn’t belong to Ling Yuan City; it’s a new city developed by local cultivation families, hence it isn’t within the protection scope.

Just as Ni Haisheng finished speaking, Qi Yan hurried over.

Her expression was equally troubled.

"Have you heard?"

"I just told Fellow Daoist Lin," Ni Haisheng replied.

Qi Yan said, "I just inquired; the Inner City is overloaded with people. To enter the city, each person must pay a mid-grade spirit stone, regardless of age."

"What..." Ni Haisheng was shocked and speechless. "This is practically robbery."

Mid-grade spirit stones are extremely precious to cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage like them. They typically earn thirty to forty low-grade spirit stones a month, but getting mid-grade spirit stones is nearly impossible.

A mid-grade spirit stone can be exchanged for a thousand low-grade spirit stones, yet trying to exchange a thousand low-grade ones for a mid-grade stone is practically impossible.

After cultivating for dozens of years, Ni Haisheng’s entire fortune may possibly amount to a hundred low-grade spirit stones, achieved only by successful and safe endeavors with Fellow Daoist Lin’s insights.

It would have been difficult to acquire even a hundred spirit stones in the past.

It’s not that he didn’t want to accumulate wealth; it’s just that the expenses were overwhelming, for cultivation needs, family needs—everything required spirit stones.

"Fellow Daoist Qi, do you have enough?" Ni Haisheng asked, considering his two wives, five children, and himself, needing eight mid-grade spirit stones, impossible to afford even if sold off.

Qi Yan laughed bitterly, "Fellow Daoist Ni, do you think I would have them?"

Ni Haisheng sighed, knowing the circumstances of his close companions, all were struggling cultivators. Fellow Daoist Lin, who earned money from fortune-telling, was potentially even poorer.

In the past, Ni Haisheng extended help and sought Lin Fan’s insights to ensure safety before ventures, rewarding him with a low-grade spirit stone afterwards.

"No need to worry, both of you; I see good fortune upon you, your fortunes are bright, nothing will happen," Lin Fan gently comforted his scared companions, despite their ominous aura.

"I hope so," Ni Haisheng said helplessly. No matter the outcome, his family couldn’t escape, so they could only wait for fate’s judgment.

While they conversed, stories unfolded on the street.

"My lord, don’t abandon me..." A helpless mortal woman chased behind, hoping her cultivator husband would take her into the Inner City.

But the man did not look back, quickening his pace. Having finally scrounged together a mid-grade spirit stone, he naturally needed to make a living for himself. To do so, he had to sell some goods at below-market prices.

Inside the Inner City.

The major cultivation families were satisfied with the profits once the news spread.

The Chen Family was first to learn about Baoling Sect’s ceasefire agreement with the Blood Demon Ancestor. The agreement specified a demonic city emerging in Central State, along with several islands ceded, provided that the Blood Demon Ancestor’s followers wouldn’t attack Baoling Sect-controlled cities.

This allowed the worried Chen Family ancestors to breathe a sigh of relief, though the spirit stone business came swiftly—the common loose cultivator held little value alone, yet collectively created considerable value.

At this time, elder members of each major family calculated their profits.

Setting the mid-grade spirit stone as a condition for entering the city was exorbitant for ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators. However, some held low-grade spirit stones, exchanging for mid-grade spirit stones at a higher rate than in the past.

Or they could exchange pills, talismans, cultivation techniques, magic artifacts, virtually anything useful.

This was how several major cultivation families exploited the lower-level cultivators.