Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Come to Taibon Valley (4)
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Taibon Valley's central district, the entertainment street.
It was a place where cultivators gathered to indulge in drinking and revelry.
For reference, it was right next to the scholarly street.
Not exactly a fitting combination, but who could study nonstop without going mad?
The street shone brightest at night, when evening arrived.
Cultivators who had diligently studied all day—or those resolved to party just for today—flocked in droves.
Those with means filled the main avenue, while those without crammed the alleys.
A man sitting in a shabby tavern shouted out.
“The East Continent's cultivation world can't keep going like this!”
For reference, they had just been chatting about how tasty the snacks were.
It was a wildly abrupt change of topic.
But that was how drunk people were.
His similarly inebriated friends joined in, raising their voices.
“You're absolutely right!”
“The great sects are devouring the East Continent!”
“All the abuses they commit have gone way too far!”
The drinking party's mood heated up.
The gathered men railed nonstop against the great sects' baleful influence on the cultivation world.
Everyone was completely wasted, faces flushed beet red.
Even Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn't get drunk on liquor, but these hot-blooded youths were mere low-level Qi Refinement scrubs, so there was no helping it.
No matter the era or place, when men got together for drinks, it usually turned into political debate.
And so they followed the universal law of the masses.
Today's topic: “Is the East Continent okay like this?”
Of course it wasn't.
“To begin with, the spirit energy imbalance between regions is way too severe. Outside the great sects hunkered down near the Great Forest, there aren't any proper sects left. Even rogue cultivators are killing themselves training just to squeeze into one of the Ten Great Sects.”
“Exactly. The great sects grow ever stronger with their abundant spirit energy, while the minor sects wither away bit by bit. Every scrap of spirit energy in the mountains and rivers has dried up. Trainable land shrinks every year—prospects look downright bleak.”
“Polarization and spirit energy depletion are problems, but the worst is how all the minor sects are vanishing. Who in this era would cultivate in the boonies? Might as well live as a rogue cultivator in the Great Forest. At least spirit energy's plentiful here.”
“You hear about that news? Some Foundation Establishment senior was wandering the frontiers looking for disciples and found a Single Spirit Root Holder. Guess how old that genius was? Over fifty, they say.”
“Whoa, no wonder the East Continent hasn't produced an Incarnation Cultivator. All minor sects shut down, new cultivator intake plummets—fat lot of good it does when a Single Spirit Root Holder wastes their life tilling fields, oblivious to their own talent.”
“Who was the last Incarnation Cultivator to emerge? Was it about ten thousand years ago?”
“Roughly, yeah.”
“The East Continent's totally doomed.”
“It's all because of the Great Rift, you know?”
“Damn right.”
The East Continent's cultivation world was in freefall.
Their futures looked equally grim.
The hot-blooded youths abruptly grew sullen.
At that moment, a certain girl chimed in.
“The great sects are the ones at fault.”
The men startled and turned toward the voice.
There sat a girl who had slipped into their group unnoticed.
It was Ryu Seoran, who had attended the top-grade auction only to get crushed by the great sects' capital and leave empty-handed.
Seoran took a sip of fruit juice in lieu of uninebriating liquor and spoke.
“I was listening from afar, and you all seem overflowing with righteous spirit. Proper talents with ambitions to govern the realm. So, mind if I ask something?”
The men readily accepted her proposal.
They couldn't use spirit sight without spiritual power, but her attire alone screamed nobility.
Seeing such a heavenly senior made the alcohol evaporate from their systems.
Seoran nodded and posed her question.
“I wandered the shop district all day today. But get this—every puppet materials store only had junk. Couldn't find a single high-grade item. Any idea where I might get some?”
It was the truth.
Having let the Millennium Earth Spirit Wood slip through her fingers, Seoran had squatted miserably in front of the auction house before realizing something.
Top-grade auction rarities were impossible for individuals to buy from the start.
It was obvious the great sects' wealth multiplied far faster than the money she earned from lectures.
Greed would keep her from reaching the West Continent for a century.
Thinking of her Black Bamboo Sect family awaiting her, Seoran set aside her puppetry ambitions.
She planned to settle for decent high-grade materials and head home.
But after scouring the shops all day, she found nothing but trash.
She wasn't demanding rarities like Millennium Earth Spirit Wood.
A decent century-old Earth Spirit Wood or high-grade black spirit stone would suffice.
But all she found were decades-old Earth Spirit Wood or mid-grade black spirit stones.
In the end, she wandered sadly until stumbling into this tavern.
An answer came right away to Seoran's question.
“Ah, high-grade stuff's hard to come by these days.”
“Why's that?”
“For the past few years, the Ten Great Sects have been hoarding all high-quality materials indiscriminately. Puppet stuff, magic tool ingredients, pill components—you name it. High-grades have dried up from the market.”
Seoran asked again.
“So no hope until the Ten Great Sects resell them at markup years from now?”
“They might sit on them for decades or more. These materials only gain value with age, right? In extreme cases, they lock 'em in storage for nearly a century.”
“Then the only way is bribing exploration teams for direct buys...”
“Discovery hauls from teams taking substantial great sect investments go straight to auction houses first. And once bidding starts, the Ten Great Sects snap 'em all up.”
The man explained the distribution process in more detail.
Most exploration teams received great sect funding.
Thus, the vast majority of Great Forest finds funneled through auction houses into the Ten Great Sects' hands.
The pipeline—Great Forest, exploration teams, auctions—blocked direct deals at the root.
The great sects monopolized all cultivation resources, dictating supply, demand, and prices.
This corrupt cartel devoured not just spirit-rich lands but the East Continent's entire wealth.
No wonder Seoran had lost badly at auction.
Seoran wanted to smash the great sects.
Just as her slender, pretty brows nearly furrowed in fury, the hitherto silent man asked.
“But aren't you that Determination Realm cultivator famous as the 'Sacred Taboo' on the scholarly street? Why bother with rogue cultivator life? Knock on any Ten Great Sect door, and they'd take you in instantly.”
Seoran shook her head.
“I don't want to join a sect.”
She had briefly considered joining one, snatching rare materials, and fleeing.
But she wasn't that desperate.
Nor could she betray Black Bamboo Sect, so she'd long since given up on the Millennium Earth Spirit Wood.
The man pressed on.
“What materials are you after, exactly?”
Seoran answered without much hope.
“Millennium Earth Spirit Wood.”
The man said.
“Then why not enter the Tree Beauty Contest? It's held once every century, and this year's the time. Top three finishers get one of the Millennium Five Elements Woods—worth a shot, no?”
Seoran asked hurriedly.
“Where's that?”
“Pardon?”
“Where do I sign up?”
The man haltingly gave the registration office's location.
Memorizing it, Seoran shot to her feet.
She vanished like a gust of wind.
The now-sober men exchanged glances.
“We should head out too.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Not much point drinking more anyway.”
“We drank a ton today, huh.”
“Bill's gonna sting.”
“We'll scrape by if we tighten belts awhile.”
The men rose in a clamor.
They headed to the counter to settle up.
The owner at the counter said.
“Gents, that lady from earlier covered your tab before leaving.”
The men jumped in shock.
“What?!”
“As expected of Senior Sacred Taboo!”
“Thank you, Senior!”
“That's the Determination Realm bearing!”
Smiles bloomed on the faces of these hard-up Qi Refinement cultivators.
*****
The Tree Beauty Contest registrar said.
“Where's your bonded Five Elements Treefolk? No proxies allowed. The gardener and Treefolk must both come to fill out the forms.”
Seoran, who had barged in to sign up without knowing what the contest even was, couldn't help blurting a question in confusion.
“Five Elements Treefolk?”
“Yes, that's right.”
Seoran asked again.
“You mean bond with one?”
“That's what I said—why keep asking?”
She asked one more time.
“Bond? Me and a Five Elements Treefolk?”
“Security!”
Seoran got booted from registration.
She clutched a handout on entry requirements.
Solo participation was impossible.
The Tree Beauty Contest crowned the most beautiful tree.
Thus, both gardener and Five Elements Treefolk were required.
It was a duo contest of tree and cultivator.
Thirty days until deadline.
She had one month to make a tree buddy.