186 Principles (1)
At the market, Jiang Ming had set up a stall selling medicinal pills.
He waved at a new customer.
"Are you Master Jiang from the Plant Hall? I’ve heard that the quality of your pills is good, and your reputation is great. I don’t mind spending a little today. Let me buy five bottles first!” a burly man with a face full of stubbles said.
"Friend, why do you want to buy so many?” Jiang Ming’s heart skipped a beat. However, he still asked the customer with a smile on his face.
"Hey, there’s no harm in having a lot of these in case of an emergency,” the burly man said casually. After putting down the spirit stones and taking the medicinal pills, he quickly left.
Jiang Ming weighed the spirit stones in his hand and looked at the fewer bottles of pills left in the stall.
What bullsh*t! This person was obviously preparing for something.
Over the past few days, the prices of goods in Xiaoqian Mountain had quietly increased. Jiang Ming also followed suit and increased the price of each bottle of pills by 10%. However, his pills were getting more and more popular.
Although there had been market fluctuations before, Jiang Ming’s intuition told him that something was wrong this time.
"I have to ask the internal staff!”
Jiang Ming’s eyes flickered. He closed his stall and walked to a remote corner of the street. He took out two communication talismans from his storage ring, entered some information, and then released them.
* * *
That night in a secluded private room in the Jade Pavilion, Jiang Ming met up with a few people from the Plant Hall.
"Mr. Feng, Duan Ping, what’s going on in Xiaoqian Mountain?” Jiang Ming asked.
Feng He smiled when he heard this. “You’re quite sharp. It’s only been a few days and you’ve already noticed that something was wrong. Many strangers have come here, and some of them have even joined our halls.”
Feng He did not name anyone. However, Jiang Ming knew that the people he was describing were all newcomers like He Xiaowan.
It seemed that the higher-ups of the Plant Hall had long known that He Xiaowan’s intentions were not pure.
"Will there be trouble?” Jiang Ming asked in a low voice. He did not care about these people. He only cared about whether his day-to-day life would be disrupted.
Duan Ping, who was eating, interrupted them. “As long as we follow the principles of the Plant Hall, we’ll be fine.”
Jiang Ming’s eyes lit up. He quickly urged him to elaborate.
Duan Ping chuckled and looked left and right. He flicked out a privacy talisman that enveloped the three of them before he opened his mouth and said, “Do you still remember the storm caused by the Black Rock Ruins more than a decade ago? Countless cultivators died, and even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were involved. Golden Core Realm cultivators were watching from behind as well.”
Jiang Ming was stunned, and then he recalled what he had heard about Black Rock Ruins.
"However, those ruins are protected by a formation. Isn’t the area only supposed to open again after sixty years?” Jiang Ming said with a frown.
"That’s true. However, the array in the ruins has been weakening over time. Major cultivation forces in the Litfire Region have continued to explore it over the years, and Golden Core Realm cultivators have made their moves several times. A few days ago, the Golden Core Realm cultivator of Xiaoqian Mountain seemed to have found some amazing things in the ruins. However, he was injured in a battle with a few other Golden Core Realm cultivators and has been on the run since then.”
Jiang Ming’s heart trembled. Without a Golden Core Realm cultivator, Xiaoqian Mountain was powerless.
"Will the other forces attack Xiaoqian Mountain? Will it affect the Plant Hall?” Jiang Ming quickly asked.
Duan Ping’s expression was calm. He shook his head and said, “Xiaoqian Mountain is different from those sects. Its value lies in the many individual cultivators here. They generate a lot of profit for the authorities. At the end of the day, halls like the Plant Hall and the Pillfire Hall are at best a group of high-level individual cultivators. No matter what, as long as we don’t cause any trouble, they won’t do anything out of line to us.”
Jiang Ming nodded.
"Some individual cultivators may take advantage of the chaos. However, in the end, it won’t affect our daily lives.”
Feng He also laughed. Obviously, the two of them did not take it seriously and were not patriotic.
Jiang Ming sighed in his heart. He remembered the days when he was picking herbs in Peace County.
He suddenly recalled something and looked at Duan Ping. “Isn’t your uncle on duty at the main peak? Won’t it affect you?”
They were already familiar with each other. Thus, there was no need to skirt around the issue. Duan Ping’s uncle was a cultivator in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm and could be considered a high-level figure in Xiaoqian Mountain.
Duan Ping took a sip of wine. “My uncle gave me some advice. He told me to live as I should. He went down the mountain two days ago and has already communicated with someone!”
Jiang Ming was stunned.
