Published: March 3, 2025
Chapter 697: Ten Years
"Maintain the current state, and try to delay matters with the Purple Scarf Army."
With this thought in mind, Liu Yu closed the account books and rose to walk towards the door.
“Creak”
The door opened and closed behind him as he descended the stairs, quickly reaching the first floor of the Jade Alchemy Hall, his footsteps never pausing.
“Senior Gu Cheng.”
“Boss.”
Along the way, both staff and customers bowed respectfully and greeted him.
This "legendary figure," who was not only highly skilled but also had extraordinary alchemical prowess, inspired awe among them.
Especially the staff, who looked at him with gratitude in their eyes.
The treatment at the Jade Alchemy Hall was not poor; it was precisely because "Senior Gu Cheng" established the hall that they could have stable jobs and income.
They no longer had to live day by day like other loose cultivators, risking danger to complete tasks.
So for now, most of the staff felt a sense of gratitude towards the legendary Liu Yu.
Thanks to Senior Gu Cheng, they had stable jobs.
“Hmm.”
Liu Yu maintained a calm expression, occasionally nodding lightly at familiar staff members, and soon left the Jade Alchemy Hall.
Stepping out onto the bustling street, a cacophony of sounds greeted him.
The sounds of vendors calling out, arguments, casual conversations, and bragging filled the air.
Various loose cultivators made a multitude of sounds, creating a lively atmosphere that felt like being in a mundane marketplace.
Red Cloud Mountain was a fourth stage spiritual mountain, and the spiritual energy there was abundant for loose cultivators even if they were not at a spiritual energy node.
Cultivators living on this spiritual mountain were among the more exceptional loose cultivators, so their cultivation levels were generally high.
Foundation establishment cultivators were everywhere, and golden core cultivators were not uncommon.
In contrast, the number of qi refinement cultivators living here long-term was very few; usually, they came to Red Cloud Mountain for business, such as purchasing magical artifacts or elixirs, or visiting friends and family.
They couldn’t stay too long and had to leave within a designated time; otherwise, if they were discovered by patrol cultivators after overstaying, they would be fined a considerable amount of spiritual stones.
Of course, if they were short on funds and unable to pay the fine, they could also "work off" the debt.
As a holy land for loose cultivators, while it didn't have as many rigid rules as Immortal City, the basic rules still existed.
For instance, one must not attack in gathering places, and killing or robbing within the bounds of the Purple Mist Mountain Range was strictly forbidden.
It was precisely because of the existence of basic order that could guarantee the most fundamental safety of life that the Purple Mist Mountain Range attracted many loose cultivators.
“Whoosh, whoosh~”
Three streaks of escape light swept across the sky, landing directly in the Red Cloud marketplace, revealing several cultivators of varying cultivation levels.
These cultivators were all above the golden core level, but perhaps due to their recent duel of magic, two of them appeared visibly unstable and pale.
Their clothes were stained with spots of blood.
Flying swiftly over the Purple Mist Mountain without restriction, even a mid-stage qi refinement cultivator could use a magical artifact to fly freely, and the class distinction wasn't as apparent.
Seeing three golden core "seniors" appear one after another, the cultivators in the marketplace couldn't help but glance over.
"Isn't the shopkeeper coming out?"
"This time, we brothers brought some high-quality goods; you can’t cheat us on the price!"
The escape light landed straight in front of a shop that bought demonic beast materials, one of them shouted loudly into the store.
Ignoring the various looks from others, the three walked directly into the shop, their figures quickly disappearing from sight.