Chapter 52: Leaving the Mountain
Chapter 52: Leaving the Mountain
Chen Lin directly mentioned the name "Red Marked Ginseng", causing Bai Lingshan's eyes to light up instantly.
"Master, you've seen it before!"
Chen Lin hesitated for a moment, then took out a Red Marked Ginseng from his backpack. The ginseng was as thick as an infant's arm, with red patterns on its leaves and roots.
He had picked several of these on his way, and they weren't particularly valuable, worth around a few dozen spirit stones in Kaiyuan City.
"I not only saw it, but I also dug it up. What will you trade with me?"
If the other party's purpose for entering the mountain was just for this, Chen Lin decided to modify his plan.
He knew very little about the outside world and could gather more information about the cultivation world by leaving with these people.
Moreover, since the other party was only at the Qi Refining second stage, they wouldn't be able to venture out of the mountain without taking risks.
"Ah!"
Both Bai Lingshan and the others let out a shocked cry.Bai Yunyue also excitedly walked forward, her eyes fixed on the Red Marked Ginseng in Chen Lin's hand, and said. "Fellow Daoist, are you really selling this Red Marked Ginseng?"
"Yes."
Chen Lin nodded.
Since he planned to leave with them, it was necessary to show some goodwill.
"Can we trade with spirit stones?"
Bai Yunyue hesitated for a moment and asked expectantly.
"Yes, fifty lower-grade spirit stones!"
Chen Lin quoted a moderate price.
Showing goodwill was necessary, but he couldn't sell too cheaply, considering the risks he had taken.
"Really!"
Bai Yunyue and Bai Lingshan simultaneously revealed an incredulous expression, which surprised Chen Lin.
"Then, thank you, Fellow Daoist Lin, for your help. If we need your assistance in the future, we won't hesitate!"
Bai Yunyue bowed deeply.
But then, he awkwardly said, "However, we left in a hurry and didn't bring spirit stones. Could you come with us to retrieve them?"
He immediately explained, "I just saw that Fellow Daoist Lin is also heading to Huangtu Town. My family is in Gucheng, not far from Huangtu Town, and it won't take up too much of your time."
Gucheng?
Chen Lin was taken aback.
According to his original memories, he was from Gucheng, and it was a surprising coincidence.
However, his original memories were unclear, and he only remembered being from a small, low-level cultivation family that made a living by refining talismans.
But he didn't plan to return to his original family home, and he was only surprised for a moment before moving on.
He agreed to Bai Yunyue's suggestion, and the group cheered up.
Especially those followers, they were just warriors who knew some rudimentary martial arts. They are usually brave and fierce with ordinary people, but in this mountain where there are monsters, they are really scared.
With Chen Lin, a "strong" cultivator, joining them, the group's safety increased, and their tense atmosphere relaxed.
Especially after Chen Lin killed an iron-armored boar demonic beast with one sword strike, the group's attitude towards him became even more respectful.
Chen Lin even discovered that Bai Lingshan's gaze towards him was filled with admiration.
It was just unknown whether they would be scared when they saw his actual, aged appearance.
Since they were already at the mountain's edge, after killing the iron-armored boar, they didn't encounter any more dangers and soon saw a small, not-too-large architectural complex in the distance.
It was very simple and desolate.
"Daoist Lin, this is Huangtu Town. Most of the residents here are hunters and herbalists, and there are also some cultivators who venture into the mountains to hunt demonic beasts. However, they are all at the Qi Refining stage, just like me."
"Those who have reached the Dao friend's stage have already learned the flying technique, and no one is willing to live here. Instead, they would live in Guyuan City."
Listening to Bai Yunyue's introduction, Chen Lin nodded.
Along the way, he had also gathered a lot of information through casual conversations.
For example, the vast mountain region was called the Dreambreak Mountain Range, and Huangtu Town was located in the Yan Kingdom.
The Yan Kingdom occupied a piece of land on the north side of the Dreambreak Mountain Range, but there were also several other countries adjacent to it.
The countries here did not have absolute control, and the true controllers were the major cultivator forces.
This was very reasonable, as cultivators' powers were unmatched, and even with many elite soldiers, it would be useless.
There was a sect near Guyuan City called the Qingyun Sect.
However, this sect was somewhat weak, with only one Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, and the rest were at the Qi Refining stage. Bai Yunyue was a disciple of this sect.
Chen Lin estimated that the Qingyun Sect's strength was equivalent to that of one of the five major families in Kaiyuan City.
A single Foundation Establishment stage cultivator could establish a sect, showing that the cultivation level in this area was not high.
Moreover, he had walked out of the Dreambreak Mountain Range for over 20 days and had only encountered a second-level demonic beast once, indicating that the demonic beasts' levels were not high.
The reason for this was likely due to the scarcity of spiritual veins and the low spiritual energy density in this region.
It was unknown whether this was the case throughout the entire cultivation world or just in this area.
Bai Yunyue's information was limited to the Yan Kingdom, and he had not been to other places, so Chen Lin couldn't ask further questions.
Huangtu Town.
As its name suggested, the soil was all yellow, and it was very dry, making it unsuitable for farming. Therefore, the locals made a living by hunting.
The saying "rely on the mountain to eat from the mountain" was true, as the Dreambreak Mountain Range had demonic beasts, but they only existed deep in the mountains, and the surrounding areas were mostly inhabited by ordinary wild beasts.
Even if demonic beasts came out, they were low-level, and Qi Refining stage cultivators could handle them.
In fact, whether it was demonic beasts or monsters, as long as they were high-level, they had no interest in ordinary people and wouldn't go to ordinary cities to hunt.
Ordinary people had no spiritual energy, and their bodies were filled with impurities, making them unpalatable and even harmful to eat.
This was like how people wouldn't eat rats or cockroaches, unless they were extremely hungry.
Demonic beasts and monsters mainly preyed on cultivators, as the meat of cultivators, nourished by spiritual energy, had a fatal attraction to them.
All this information was from the original owner's memories, which were recalled through conversations with Bai Yunyue.
"Hey, isn't that the second young master of the Bai family? How did you come out of the mountain so quickly? Were you scared out by wild boars and dogs?"
A loud, boisterous voice echoed, filled with teasing intent, snapping Chen Lin out of his thoughts.
Although he was deep in thought, he was always vigilant about his surroundings and had already noticed the speaker.
It was a young man wearing a red silk robe, around 20 years old, with a magnificent sword hanging at his waist, adorned with many yellow gemstones on the red scabbard.
He was extremely flashy.
This person was also a cultivator, with a higher cultivation level than Bai Yunyue, at the Qi Refining third stage.
His expression was extremely arrogant.
If he added a sly smile, he would be just like the cultivators in Kaiyuan City.