Chapter 54: The Truth Behind It All

Hearing Chen Lin's inquiry, Bai Lingshan, who was sitting opposite him, suddenly spoke up.

"To answer Immortal Master Lin, although the Li family has no alchemists, Li Ziqing's sister is the concubine of the only alchemist in the Kaoshan Sect. I suspect that the pill recipe is what that alchemist desires."

"It is only because our Bai family has been part of the Qingyun Sect for three generations that the people of the Kaoshan Sect do not dare to go too far, fearing it might spark a conflict between the two sects. Instead, they have allowed the Li family to use disgusting methods, hoping we will hand over the recipe ourselves."

Chen Lin nodded.

To establish a sect, no matter how small, one must have an alchemist; otherwise, what would the disciples rely on for their cultivation?

"So you offered the recipe to the Qingyun Sect's alchemist? That is a good method—sacrificing wealth to avoid disaster. Very wise."

No matter how good a treasure is, once it is coveted by others and one lacks the strength to protect it, the best course of action is to surrender it. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the treasure at stake, but one's very life.

At this moment, the driver, Bai Yunyue, suddenly spoke up, saying with a hint of embarrassment, "To be honest with Fellow Daoist Lin, the alchemist of our Qingyun Sect was my grandfather, but he has already passed away. Now, the sect's medicinal pills must all be purchased from the Zhao Clan Trading House."

"In truth, the so-called Spirit Nourishing Pill recipe is merely an ancient formula with no real value. It was something my grandfather obtained by chance during his lifetime. Because he once successfully refined this pill, everyone assumed he had successfully improved upon the ancient formula."

"But in reality, my grandfather did not succeed in improving it; that successful refinement was purely accidental. Furthermore, since my grandfather passed away so suddenly without leaving any inheritance regarding alchemy, no matter how we explain it, no one believes us."

Hearing this, Chen Lin nodded again.

"You are right. Once something is met with suspicion, the more one explains, the less people tend to believe."

Having said that, he fell silent.

As for whether the other party's words were worth believing, he would have to wait and see. If what they said was true, it might be worth getting his hands on the ancient formula to see if he could improve it himself or find someone to do so.

His alchemy relied on a "cheat" rather than true skill; he could succeed as long as he was close enough.

The Bai siblings fell silent as well, and the speed of the carriage began to increase.

After about half an hour, a city far more magnificent than Kaiyuan City appeared before their eyes.

Despite the setback in front of Li Ziqing, Bai Yunyue seemed to hold a very high status in this city. As soon as their carriage reached the city gates, the guarding general immediately jogged over to greet them obsequiously.

Bai Yunyue merely gave a slight nod and ignored him, driving into the city.

The status of cultivators was plain to see.

In this city, cultivators and mortals lived mixed together, unlike Kaiyuan City, which was populated entirely by cultivators. Consequently, the number of cultivators in this city was far inferior to that of Kaiyuan City.

In fact, even including the nearby Kaoshan Sect and the Qingyun Sect, the total number of cultivators was not as high as in Kaiyuan City, and the highest cultivation level was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

This situation surprised Chen Lin greatly. He had previously guessed that the cultivation level here was low, but he hadn't expected it to be this low.

According to Bai Yunyue, even the Lieyang Sect, the largest cultivation sect in the Kingdom of Yan, seemed to possess only one Golden Core stage cultivator.

With a single Golden Core suppressing an entire nation, it was no wonder that sects could be established at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The Bai family was quite grand, occupying a large area in the center of the city. They had many domestic servants and guards, and the maidservants were all very beautiful. Regardless, they were a cultivation clan, and their status was far higher than that of any high-ranking official among mortals.

According to Bai Yunyue, the cultivation families living within Guyuan City were actually quite weak or had seen their paths to cultivation severed. The stronger families lived outside the city in areas with spiritual veins; the city itself was too heavy with mortal aura and lacked spiritual veins, making it unsuitable for cultivation.

He himself rarely went home, usually cultivating within the mountain gates of the Qingyun Sect. He had only been forced to return this time because his father's injuries had worsened, necessitating a trip to Mount Duanmeng to search for Red-Pattern Ginseng.

Chen Lin, however, did not have particularly high requirements for his cultivation site. Kaiyuan City was a place with spiritual veins, yet he had still been stuck at the Qi Refinement stage for twenty years.

With his aptitude, unless he cultivated in a high-quality spiritual vein area, it was impossible for him to feel any benefits; he could only achieve results by relying on medicinal pills.

After leading Chen Lin into the living room, Bai Yunyue excused himself.

A moment later, he brought out a pouch containing fifty low-grade spirit stones.

Chen Lin took it casually and placed it into his belongings, then took out the Red-Pattern Ginseng and handed it over. Because storage bags were too conspicuous, he always kept his in his robes, while his daily necessities were kept in his backpack to avoid being targeted. He was only at the middle stage of Qi Refinement, not Foundation Establishment, so he had to act low-key.

"Brother Lin, if you have no urgent business, why not stay at my house for a few more days? It just so happens that in a few days, the Zhao Clan Trading House will hold its annual trade fair. Many cultivators will participate, even those from other cities."

Having completed the transaction, Bai Yunyue extended a warm invitation.

Since Chen Lin already had plans, he naturally agreed, but he did not agree to stay at the Bai residence, deciding instead to stay at an inn. The Bai family was clearly embroiled in trouble, and he had no desire to get caught in the middle.

A look of disappointment crossed Bai Yunyue's face, but he still personally escorted Chen Lin to a high-end inn and booked a premium room for him. He originally wanted to send two maidservants to attend to him, but Chen Lin declined firmly.

Once Bai Yunyue had left, Chen Lin began to reflect on his journey, feeling that there were no major issues. Li Ziqing's target was the Bai family's pill recipe; even if he had helped Bai Yunyue in Huangtu Town, the other party likely wouldn't come looking for trouble with a middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

However, to be safe, he left the inn, changed his attire to that of a burly man, and began wandering through the city.

But he discovered that the city was mostly populated by mortals, with almost no sign of cultivators. Furthermore, there were no shops selling items related to cultivation.

This puzzled him. After making some inquiries, he learned that the cultivators' market was located three miles south of the city.

The existence of an exclusive market for cultivators piqued Chen Lin's interest, and he immediately headed there.

By circulating his magic power, the three-mile journey was completed in an instant.

However, he did not see a market; instead, he saw only a barren little hill. In front of the hill stood a solitary gatehouse, and a faint layer of white mist seemed to hover within the archway, looking quite peculiar.

Confused, he walked forward and found four large characters on the gatehouse: *Guyuan Market!*

This was the market?

Chen Lin found it somewhat amusing. How could such a market trade goods? Would they all just set up stalls in the open?

But he immediately realized that there must be a formation in place to prevent mortals and wild animals from wandering in, or perhaps for security reasons. This was the downside of not having studied detection spells; otherwise, he could have used a spell to see through the illusion.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the Mingqing Spiritual Water, intending to see if it could pierce through the formation's effect.

But before he could apply it, he saw a streak of light suddenly approach from a distance and land not far from him.

"Haha! This fellow daoist looks quite unfamiliar. Could it be that you have come from another city?"

A young man dressed in white robes appeared before Chen Lin, speaking in a loud, heroic voice.