Yu Quan was walking through the streets, happy with the amount of money he now owned. Since he didn’t have a spatial ring, he asked Merchant He to hold on to it until he found a way to carry it. It’s not like he would spend it anyway. The cult needs the resources. He felt he would give it to the Yellow Qilin Academy before he spent it. The only reason he wouldn’t be donating any was that he didn’t think money was an issue for the academy. If Yan Liqin needed money, Yu Quan was confident he would know how to get it. So, instead of shopping, Yu Quan just decided to explore the first city he had ever been to. It wouldn’t hurt to gather some information on it, as well.
The first thing he thought was about its size. It was as big as a small country. That’s why he wasn’t surprised to hear that Merchant He was just in charge of the “eastern sector.” Being in charge of an entire city alone would likely be tiring. Walking around, he saw many types of businesses, houses, and people. Stalls were selling all types of techniques and artifacts. As much as he wanted to take a look, he didn’t even want to be tempted to spend anything. Those resources were for the cult and the cult only. Eventually, he got bored of walking and decided to take a seat somewhere. From where he was, the only place he could see was a small tavern in between buildings. Having nowhere else to take a break, Yu Quan went inside the tavern.
The tavern wasn’t bustling, but it had a decent amount of customers. Yu Quan walked over to a table and took a seat. The only people near him were a group of what looked like disciples of a sect. They were a bit loud and obviously a bit drunk, but they were definitely enjoying their time. Yu Quan didn’t mind the noise and honestly didn’t feel up to any conflict at the moment, so he let them be. He had run into so many conflicts of late. First, the ambush by the Hei family, then the first fight with the pack of death-dealing damas. Conflict was more of a bother to him, although he did enjoy domineering from time to time when it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. After thinking for a while, an interesting statement made by the group of disciples caught his attention.
“Cao Yi, what do you mean you’re going to stay for another drink? Your face is already red! How will you perform well in the Pure Dao World?” one of them laughed as he stood up.
“Pshh! Maybe it’s too much for you, but I’m cut from different cloth,” the one supposedly named Cao Yi barked back.
All the disciples shared a laugh and said their goodbyes to Cao Yi as they paid and funneled their way out of the tavern. Yu Quan pondered what he had heard. The ‘Pure Dao World’? From all of his experience with cultivation web novels, he was sure this was about a small world. He hadn’t heard anything about them until now, so he wasn’t sure they existed in this world. He wished he had the chance to go to such a small world. The opportunities and fortuitous encounters were plentiful in them. But, seeing as the disciples were the only people he had heard talking about this Pure Dao World, he knew that this was something only sect disciples were going to do. It was even possible that only their sect was going. Yu Quan sighed and wondered if he could somehow sneak into the Pure Dao World. As he thought this, he heard a loud bang as Cao Yi’s head fell onto the table. He was now loudly snoring with a smile on his face. Seeing this, Yu Quan grew a smile of his own.
…
Yu Quan was now walking out of an alley wearing the orange and yellow robes that were once on Cao Yi, who was now sleeping, naked, and with nothing in the alley. Yu Quan had pretended to take care of him, helping him out of the tavern, only to rob him blind when he got the chance. Yu Quan now had the robes to use as a disguise, but he still needed to get some information on the sect in case he was questioned. He also made sure to take Cao Yi’s spatial ring. He did feel bad, but all was fair in a cultivation world. If he ever found a chance to return the favor, he would. But for now, he could only take advantage.
Inside the spatial ring he had taken were some qi stones, which he left with Cao Yi as consolation, some off-white, nearly yellow pills, and a closed bottle in it. He had no way of telling what they were, so he decided to go to the only person he knew in the city.
…
Merchant He was sitting at his desk, looking over a report on a scroll while fiddling with his abacus, when he heard a knock at the door.
He sighed before calling out, “Enter!”
His annoyed mood quickly left his body when his newest customer walked in.
“S-sir Yu! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you. Please, please, come in!”
Yu Quan went in and sat down and asked about the sect that wears yellow and orange robes, which he obviously switched out when coming to see Merchant He.
“Ah! That would be the Roaring Flame Sect. They are pretty influential around here, but only on the east side of Virtuous City. Why do you ask?”
Yu Quan asked for information on the Roaring Flame Sect and the Pure Dao World without letting Merchant He knew what he had done at the tavern. He didn’t know just how much he could trust Merchant He just yet, so he chose to be careful. He also decided to mention his payment, as he had a spatial ring to hold it now.
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“Oh, of course, let me get your qi stones sent here,” Merchant He said before immediately sending off a jade tablet. Yu Quan noticed he seemed really eager to please. Although it was a bit weird for him, why would he tell him to stop?
“As for information on the Roaring Flame Sect and the Pure Dao World, I’ll give it to you what I can for free as a courtesy. Of course, if you want anything more, I unfortunately don’t have the power to give it to you. Especially not for free. I hope you understand.”
Yu Quan and Merchant He exchanged pleasantries while waiting for Yu Quan’s qi stones and the intel on the Roaring Flame Sect and the Pure Dao World. After receiving everything he was owed, they bid each other farewell, and Yu Quan was on his way. Yu Quan went and found a quiet place to go over everything.
The Roaring Flame Sect was just as Merchant He said. A decently influential sect in the east area of Virtuous City. They only accepted and taught fire cultivators, as that was their specialty. One of their traditions was that each student would get a strange fire. The information didn’t say how the Roaring Flame Sect acquired so many strange fires, but it did say that they were often low-quality ones and functioned more as a cultivation aid than a weapon. This meant the bottle he received was likely a strange fire Cao Yi had earned as a reward. Maybe he was likely going to strengthen the flame he already had but hadn’t found the time. The information also mentioned what the pills likely were: Lesser Yang Pills—pills that slightly increase inner yang energy. They were common among cultivators of yang-based arts, which made sense since fire and heat are yang.
With that settled, Yu Quan looked through the information about the Pure Dao World. The Pure Dao world was a small world that appeared every few years and remained open for six days. It is believed that a great master died, and part of his power materialized into a small world. Yu Quan was a bit skeptical. How strong would one have to be for such a thing to happen? It was possible in the web novels he had read, but he hadn’t even heard a hint of such existences living in Murim. But anything was possible. The Pure Dao World had three levels, each with its own challenges and rewards. The most common reward was crystals that matched the level you found them in, each better than the last. The crystals could expand the core and increase qi capacity when used to cultivate. This piqued Yu Quan’s interest. He had just realized in his fight with the death-dealing damas that his qi capacity became a problem in long, active battles. Sure, it would be that way for everyone, but he didn’t want to leave a weakness just because it was common for everyone to have. He decided to secure crystals for himself, and for the cult was his main priority. When he continued, he saw that the sects of the Virtuous City had monopolized the small world, and they wouldn’t allow any outsiders in.
"Luckily, I thought to rob poor Yiyi.”
Yu Quan finished the information, seeing that the resources available there could greatly boost cultivation and strength. Although it didn’t say which ones and how, he knew that if he could obtain them for himself and the cult, he could help further his strength and the strength of all of his cult disciples.
“Alright, let’s make our disguise more believable.”
Yu Quan went to an alley that had even fewer people, not wanting there to be the fewest witnesses possible. He didn’t know what he would do if his actions were traced back to him, and he implicated the Yellow Qilin Academy. First, he took out the strange fire. He opened the bottle and looked inside. It didn’t look like anything special. It just looked like fire. Yu Quan believed it was likely that this was the most common strange fire. Yu Quan shrugged. It wasn’t like he needed this strange fire to be strong. He was strong enough as it was. This was just to help him blend in. So, Yu Quan went ahead and accepted the strange fire into his core alongside the murderous flame. Then, in case he had to fight with the common strange fire, he took the lesser yang pills and focused on cultivating it. The flame was big enough for him to manifest it outside his body, but it was much smaller than when he first manifested the murderous flame. He could also tell from the heat that it was far less potent than the murderous flame. Yu Quan shrugged again.
“A disguise is a disguise.”
Yu Quan didn’t have much to do until the next day when he entered the Pure Dao World, so he decided to spend the entire night cultivating the common strange fire using the inner yang energy he had just received from the pills. By the time the next day had rolled around, the flame was about two-thirds of when he first manifested his murderous flame. Much smaller than what it was now. Yu Quan wanted to keep going and make the flame a bit stronger, but he saw disciples from all types of sects running through the streets toward the plains. He knew it was time for the Pure Dao World.
Yu Quan sighed. “How do I find myself on such adventures?” He shook his head and smiled. How could he complain? As long as he survived, he would likely benefit greatly. He didn’t think there were many people who could take advantage of him in the small world anyway. So what if the Laiyuandao region had purer qi? They still weren’t as hardworking or lucky as Yu Quan was.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Body Tempering Realm
Stage: 5th Level Skin Tempering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 3)
Strength: 1410 Catties
Qi: 2500/2500 wisps
Mùmùlián Core: 22/100
Strange Fire: (Level 4)Murderous Flame(x4), (Level 7)Common Flame(x1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 3)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 3)
[Murder Mantra](Level 3)
[Yellow Qilin Dance](Level 3)
[Qi Compression](Level 3)
Attributes:
[Strange Fire: Murderous Flame]
[Starfire Eyes](Level 1)
[Sightburn](Level 1)
[Top-Quality Maned Hog Ferocity Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Winged Watcher Awareness Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality False Dragon Pride Eyes](Level 1)
[Low-Quality Death-Dealing Dama Killing Eyes](Level 1)(x10)