"Chief, the clan’s Spirit Tailed Chicken has run away again!"
Chen Xingzhen paused for a moment upon hearing the report. The clansman in front of him looked dejected, clearly unsure of what to do. For a brief moment, Chen Xingzhen found himself at a loss for words. But when he saw that the Divine Tree had not conveyed any new thoughts, he straightened his posture and responded without hesitation.
"Let it go. If it wants to leave, there's no need to worry."
He glanced at the clansman, his tone calm yet firm. "Another Spirit Tailed Chicken in the clan is about to lay eggs. If that doesn’t work out, we can always catch another one in Chaotic Burial Mountain."
Right now, there were far more pressing matters—planting Blood Rice, clearing new paths—tasks that required manpower. Until the Divine Tree issued new orders, searching for a lost Spirit Tailed Chicken was simply not a priority.
As he walked away, the clan member in charge of the chickens stood there, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
…
One Month Later
In Yong’an City, Chen Qingyu stood before a bustling shop, the Stone Warm Pavilion. This was his final stop. After extensive research, he confirmed this was the nearest city to his clan. By his calculations, it would take three days to reach here—at his pace. For ordinary travelers, the journey would take far longer due to the lack of proper roads from Chaotic Burial Mountain to Yong’an City.
If he used the Wind Chasing Falcon, he could cut the travel time even more.
The city, while large, could not compare to Yunmeng City, where the Zhou clan resided. Yet, it was far more prosperous than his own clan. The sight of numerous shops packed with unfamiliar goods caught his attention. He hadn’t had the chance to explore before, too preoccupied with travel and completing the clan’s tasks. Now, with his map nearly complete, he could finally take a look around.
"Customer, please come in."
A young attendant in green stepped forward, his smile polished and eager. Despite his friendly demeanor, he was at the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm. The moment he noticed Chen Qingyu's aura, his expression brightened with enthusiasm.
"May I ask what the esteemed guest is looking for? Our store is the largest in Yong’an City, offering a wide variety of goods. Whatever you need, we most likely have it."
Chen Qingyu raised a brow. "Oh? You have everything?"
The attendant let out a light chuckle. "Indeed. Our shop is backed by the Shilin clan, one of the four great families of Yong’an City. Though our strength may not match the others, in trade, no one surpasses us. If you don’t believe me, feel free to compare our stock with other shops."
He lifted his chin slightly, the clan emblem on his robe clearly visible. "If you can’t find it here, it doesn’t exist."
Chen Qingyu studied him for a moment before nodding. "I'll take a look around."
"Of course, esteemed guest. Please, take your time."
The attendant remained perceptive, not pressing any further. Instead, he followed at a respectful distance, occasionally pointing out items where Chen Qingyu's gaze lingered.
The shop lived up to its reputation. The sheer variety of goods was astounding—hundred-forged and thousand-forged iron weapons, rare beast materials, unique ores, and even martial arts manuals.
As he browsed, interest flickered in his eyes. The clan possessed several fighting techniques, but one could never have too many. He picked up a combat manual titled "Tiger Fist" and flipped through it. A moment later, he exhaled quietly. It was just an ordinary low-grade Yellow technique, requiring the practitioner to mimic a tiger’s stance while hunting.
Nothing remarkable.
He skimmed through two more manuals. As expected, they were of similar quality—low-grade Yellow techniques at best. The only mid-tier technique required a special weapon, making it impractical for him.
His brows furrowed slightly. "Is there anything more advanced here?"
The attendant blinked, then offered a wry smile. "Esteemed guest, you must be joking. High-level martial techniques are closely guarded by the great families and rarely circulate outside. Even if one occasionally appears, it is swiftly acquired by the major clans before ordinary martial artists can even glimpse it."
He lowered his voice. "Besides, high-level techniques require a significant amount of jade coins—something most martial artists simply cannot afford."
Chen Qingyu gave a slight nod, now understanding the situation. He didn’t bother looking at the cultivation techniques nearby. If the fighting manuals weren’t impressive, the cultivation techniques would be no different.
Besides, the pricing was exorbitant. Even the simple "Tiger Fist" technique cost three thousand jade coins.
Jade coins—something he had only learned about after leaving Chaotic Burial Mountain. These coins, widely circulated, resembled polished jade but contained traces of blood qi. They were said to be mined from Blood Jade ore, refined, and introduced into the market by major powers.
He had never heard of Blood Jade before but assumed that only the top families controlled such resources. The coins’ legitimacy came from the blood qi within them, making counterfeiting nearly impossible.
Jade coins were divided into three grades—ordinary jade coins, superior jade coins, and blood jade coins. Their exchange ratio was 1:10:100.
Ordinary jade coins contained only a trace of blood qi. Superior jade coins contained half of it. Blood jade coins were fully infused with blood qi.
It was said that in desperate moments, martial artists of the Qi Control Realm could extract the blood qi from blood jade coins to replenish their vitality. However, doing so was incredibly difficult, and once drained, the jade coin would shatter.
Chen Qingyu didn’t have a single jade coin to his name. Over the past month, he had exhausted his rations and survived purely on his Innate Realm strength. Let alone affording martial techniques, he had nothing to spend at all.
But that didn’t stop him from browsing.
His purpose here wasn’t to buy—it was to observe and report back to his clan.
Drifting deeper into the store, he arrived at another section. The items here were far more unusual. A single glance confirmed that the price of each item ranged from hundreds to thousands of jade coins—just as expensive, if not more so, than the fighting manuals he had seen earlier.