Chapter 71: Returning to the Market City, Peaceful Cultivation
"Hmm?"
"I’ll go take a look."
The person knocking on the door leaked a hint of their aura—it was a cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refinement.
Naturally, it was up to Ji Yuan, also at the late Qi Refinement stage, to go and check.
"Alright."
To be safe, Qiu Qianhai returned to the inner room to wait.
Ji Yuan went to open the door and saw, standing outside, an old woman dressed in a bright red Daoist robe.
She was followed by a young woman holding a gift box.
Seeing Ji Yuan open the door, the old woman leaned on her cane and smiled as she clasped her hands in greeting.
"I am Xiao Hong, here to congratulate fellow Daoist on advancing to the late stage of Qi Refinement."
Her cultivation was at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, yet she was already this old—clearly, she had little hope of joining the Water Dragon Sect.
Ji Yuan had this thought flash through his mind, but he still returned the greeting with a smile.
"Xu Changsheng, pleased to meet you, Daoist Xiao."
At this moment, Ji Yuan was not using his original appearance, so he naturally had assumed another identity.
Then Xiao Hong presented her congratulatory gift, which Ji Yuan politely declined despite repeated urging.
Seeing this, Xiao Hong had no choice but to give up.
"Daoist Xu doesn’t seem to be from our Jingde Market?"
"Oh, no, I’m from Huaiyin Market. I came to Jingde Market to visit relatives, and it just so happened I was on the verge of a breakthrough, so I borrowed this fine place for a bit."
When traveling, one’s identity was always self-assigned.
"I see, then it seems Daoist Xu and our Jingde Market are truly fated."
"Indeed, indeed."
Ji Yuan replied with a cooperative smile.
After some polite small talk, Xiao Hong took her leave.
Ji Yuan closed the door and returned inside.
Seeing Qiu Qianhai come out, he immediately said, "Let’s go. This Xiao Hong was likely sent by the late-stage cultivators of Jingde Market to probe our identity. Once they start working together, we’d better leave quickly."
Qiu Qianhai had just taken several pills and looked much better now.
"Alright."
The two had only rented the place for the breakthrough.
They hadn’t brought anything with them.
Besides, their rental was nearly up—only a day or two remained.
Leaving now was just a matter of saying a few words.
Ji Yuan took the lead. In no time, they reached the banks of Yunyu Marshlands and launched their boat directly into the water, skipping the lake surface altogether.
After traveling for another hour underwater, they finally surfaced in the vast Yunyu Marshlands.
"Where are you headed next?" Ji Yuan asked.
Qiu Qianhai seemed to have already made plans. "I’ll head back to Qingbo Market, kill Deng Lang, and then probably stick around there for a bit longer, earn some more spirit stones first."
"I’m now at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. I won’t say I’m unbeatable at my level, but as long as a late-stage cultivator doesn’t chase me to the death, I should be fine."
"Good. The Qin family surely still has people stationed at Qingbo Market. Be careful," Ji Yuan warned, not trying to talk him out of it. "As for market cities, Heishui Market is too chaotic, so I wouldn’t recommend going there. With your current level, you’ll find peace in just about any regular market."
"Got it."
"If the Qin family sends Qin Long or that Old He San after you..."
Ji Yuan thought of the Water Dragon Sect’s mutual aid group that was waiting for his return.
He would soon meet the late-stage cultivators of Zengtou Market, plus Du Wanyi and the others.
So his identity couldn’t stay hidden much longer—nor did it need to be.
"Then just tell them we’re sworn brothers. If they kill you, I’ll stop at nothing for revenge."
Qiu Qianhai respond solemnly.
"Don’t worry, you don’t need to be concerned about me."
"As for that technique... better not practice it if you can avoid it."
Ji Yuan was referring to that demonic technique that could boost cultivation speed.
"Alright."
"Yes. If anything comes up, just use the old way—leave me a shell."
"Don’t worry, we’re not young anymore. Life and death are fate, fortune and wealth are heaven’s will. I’m off now."
Qiu Qianhai activated his spirit boat and departed. He waved his hand at Ji Yuan without looking back. "You too—cultivate well when you get back. Don’t let me catch up to you."
Ji Yuan stood in place, watching Qiu Qianhai leave until he vanished from sight.
Floating on the waters heading back to Zengtou Market, Ji Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
He recalled how he once wondered why Qiu Qianhai advanced so quickly in his cultivation and suspected some fortuitous opportunity—he just hadn’t expected that it was a demonic technique.
Oh well, as he said, life and death are fate.
There wasn’t much Ji Yuan could do.
After parting ways with Ji Yuan, Qiu Qianhai went alone to Qiuyu Island.
He stayed there for a night and left the next day.
When Ji Yuan neared Zengtou Market, he had already lifted his disguise and returned to his original appearance.
Soon enough, he saw the three familiar lakeside huts and let out a long sigh of relief.
After over a month traveling outside, experiencing multiple life-and-death situations, he had finally made it back.
And he had returned with the strength of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.
From now on, within these Yunyu Marshlands, he no longer needed to be overly cautious.
Ji Yuan returned around midday. As soon as his spirit boat reached the shore, both neighbors on either side opened their doors.
First out was Wu Qin.
She looked slightly alarmed at first, but when she saw it was Ji Yuan returning and not Lin Hu, she clearly relaxed.
"Ji—Ji-ge, you’re finally back!"
Seeing Ji Yuan return, Wu Qin was visibly happy.
Ji Yuan looked at her a moment longer and understood her earlier reaction—she was pregnant, and Lin Hu had gone out alone on the boat.
She must’ve heard the boat sound and thought Lin Hu had met with some accident and returned early.
"Mm, everything okay at home?"
Ji Yuan asked with a smile.
"Yes, everything’s fine," Wu Qin quickly replied.
From the Wen household, Zhao Yuechan and Wen Ling’er emerged.
Wen Ling’er especially wanted to run straight toward Ji Yuan, but Zhao Yuechan held her back firmly.
"Congratulations, Brother Ji."
Wu Qin was still at the early stage of Qi Refinement, so she couldn’t sense Ji Yuan’s change in aura.
But Zhao Yuechan was already at the fourth layer—she clearly sensed the shift in Ji Yuan’s energy.
Before, they were evenly matched as mid-stage cultivators, but now, Ji Yuan was giving her significant pressure.
"Just barely."
Ji Yuan smiled and looked toward Wen Ling’er.
The latter immediately ran over joyfully.
"Big Brother Ji!"
Wen Ling’er called out in a crisp voice.
Ji Yuan reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a small carved wooden toy—a windmill and a little figure—something he had found in the Liu brothers’ storage pouch.
It was perfect for children.
Wen Ling’er happily took it. "Thank you, Big Brother Ji!!"
She ran back into the house with the toy without even looking back.
Zhao Yuechan said helplessly, "Only Brother Ji would spoil her like this. Lately, my husband and I have been teaching her to write—it’s driving us crazy."
"Take it slow."
Ji Yuan laughed it off, then pulled out his key and entered his home.
On the left-hand side inside the gate, the two peach trees had begun to bear fruit, but they were only the size of fingertips—still a while from ripening.
On the right side, the small patch of farmland had grown full of weeds due to neglect.
The interior of the house had gathered a good amount of dust, but as soon as Ji Yuan activated the [Cave Dwelling] effect, everything was refreshed and spotless.
He glanced at the Panel again.
The [Cave Dwelling] was still at level 1. Now it was time to consider upgrading it to level 2.
Ji Yuan then went to the backyard and activated the effects of the [Pigsty], [Chicken Coop], and [Fish Market], collecting today’s blood essence, spiritual soil, and Water Essence Dew.
Another dozen spirit stones added to the account.
Ji Yuan tidied up casually and lay down on his little bed.
Only here could he feel truly at peace.
Tomorrow, he would go to Baibao Pavilion to check the price of high-grade magic tools and perhaps sell some Cold Iron Sand.
He had also accumulated quite a bit of blood essence and Water Essence Dew in his storage pouch.
Those could be sold as well.
Right—Spiritual Fish, Spiritual Chickens, and Spiritual Pigs could also be arranged again.
Now that he had returned with late-stage Qi Refinement strength, Ji Yuan no longer feared anyone.
He could finally develop peacefully for a good while.