Chapter 37

Scandal at the Top

Back at Yunhe Alley.

The uneasy thoughts in Shen Ping’s heart became more and more intense. A Talisman Master like him, who had no combat experience, was most worried about the chaos in the market. Once the order was lost, the first target of the robber cultivators would be a fat sheep like him.

In fact, there was no need for a robber cultivator to take action. At that time, the silent brothers in the small courtyard and Fellow Daoist Mu of the Heavenly Sound Pavilion in the third house would have a 90% chance of directly attacking.

Although each house had a formation restriction, it was only used as a guard. Its defense was not strong.

“I have to make preparations as soon as possible.”

He opened his storage bag. He took out a small green shield, a jade-colored bracelet, and a purple-gold belt. These were all defensive dharma artifacts. Then, he took out two offensive dharma artifacts one after another. They were a string of emerald beads and an earthen yellow gourd.

He looked at these dharma artifacts. His uneasiness calmed down a little. These five dharma artifacts were carefully selected and replaced after the price of dharma artifacts plummeted some time ago.

Originally, he wanted to buy a high-grade defensive dharma artifact, but the price was too high. Even if he gritted his teeth and bought it, it would be difficult for his spiritual energy to support it. Therefore, he gave up after watching for a while.

But now, it seemed that he had to get one.

Although defensive dharma artifacts could not be sustained with spiritual energy, as long as they injected spiritual energy at the critical moment, the defense activated in an instant could barely withstand it. As long as he could block it for a moment, he might be able to save his life.

As for the offensive type, it was enough to have the jade bead chain and the yellow gourd. These two items consumed very little spiritual energy. With his cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, it would not be difficult for him to control one. He would keep the last one for backup.

“Dharma artifacts, talismans. Not enough, it’s still not enough. I have to ask about the price of the small array disc tomorrow.”

During the sex at night, his wife and concubine could clearly sense that their husband was distracted. Wang Yun asked about it. Shen Ping could only comfort her. “I’m fine. It might be caused by making talismans for too long. I’ll go to the market tomorrow and be fine.”

His wife and concubine were weak. Telling them would only add to their worries. He glanced at the floor and thought to himself,

“I have to tell Yu Yan not to go out for the time being after she comes back.”

The next morning.

He went to the True Treasure Pavilion again and asked about the price of high-grade defensive dharma artifacts and small array discs. He could afford to buy the lowest quality ones, but it was not enough to change into a high-grade magic robe.

The main reason was that after activating the array disc, it required a lot of spirit stones to maintain it. He hesitated.

In the end, Shen Ping sold the jade-colored bracelet and the mid-grade robe and exchanged them for spirit stones to buy a high-grade robe. At the moment, the news had not been sent from the main sect, but it was better to prepare early than to deal with it in a hurry.

“Dharma artifacts, talismans, small array discs, and high-grade robes. Even if I encounter a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I should be able to resist for a while.”

He felt much more at ease.

He had never competed with a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, let alone a Foundation Establishment cultivator. But the power of these items was not weak. Perhaps a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refinement could prepare everything, but a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refinement would definitely not be able to afford them.

In the next few days, Shen Ping continued to work on his talisman. To him, the more Spirit Protection Talismans he prepared, the better. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but he wanted to protect himself.

If he had enough time, he could go to the market to sell again and save some spirit stones. Now, the spirit stones in his storage bag made him feel insecure. In the blink of an eye, it was the day Yu Yan returned.

However, before this old neighbor could arrive, an incomparably explosive and shocking piece of news suddenly spread throughout the market.

“Golden Sun Sect’s Supreme Elder was in an incest relationship with his daughter-in-law???”

“In a fit of anger, the sect master took away a third of the higher-ups and moved them to the Cloud Mountain branch sect, officially drawing a clear line with the main sect?”

When Shen Ping heard the news, his first reaction was to gloat. How dare they frame the Golden Sun Sect’s Supreme Elder and spread rumors so brazenly? They must have eaten a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall.

It would probably take less than half a day for the person behind the rumors to die, leaving nothing behind.

However, Shopkeeper Chen said with certainty, “Fellow Cultivator Shen, this is not a rumor. Yesterday, the Sect Master of the Golden Sun Sect brought many high-level cultivators to the branch sect. Although he didn’t personally admit it, many disciples noticed the Sect Master’s green face.”

The corner of Shen Ping’s mouth twitched. He did not expect Shopkeeper Chen to be so nosy. However, this news was too ridiculous. He did not believe it.

After all, the Supreme Elder of the Golden Sun Sect was a Great Nascent Soul cultivator and an old monster who had lived for more than two thousand years. Such a figure had experienced the vicissitudes of time and had long become indifferent to the mortal world. How could he possibly have an incest relationship with his daughter-in-law?

Even if it was true, the possibility of him being discovered was extremely low. Unless it was…

Of course, if the rumors were confirmed, it would definitely be the most shocking scandal in the Wei Kingdom in thousands of years. In the cultivation world, the strong preyed on the weak.

An incest relationshi between a fahter-in-law and daughter-in-law was not something new, but it was completely different in the Golden Sun Sect, which had been passed down for tens of thousands of years.

It could be imagined that this matter would become a stain that the Golden Sun Sect would never be able to erase. It might even be ridiculed by the other immortal sects.

“Shopkeeper Chen, since the sect master and a group of higher-ups have moved to the Cloud Mountain branch sect, the branch sect’s strength will skyrocket. Under such circumstances, the price of medicinal pills, talismans, dharma artifacts, and so on should have increased. Why did it fall?”

Shen Ping was only amused by such gossip and rumors. He was most concerned about the price of the talismans that were closely related to him.

Shopkeeper Chen suddenly sighed and said, “Fellow Daoist Shen, you might not know this, but the Golden Sun Sect’s Supreme Elder is a late-stage Great Nascent Soul cultivator after all. Even if the sect master leaves with one-third of the higher-ups, they won’t be able to compete with the main sect. Therefore, they can only compete with the main sect by bringing in external help.

“I’m only guessing the exact situation. Soon, there will be changes in the market. Perhaps at that time, my old bones will have to leave the Cloud Mountain Market.” He ended the transmission.

Shen Ping frowned.

Wei Kingdom had always been the territory of the Golden Sun Sect, and it had never allowed other sects or factions to encroach on it. A large business like the True Treasure Pavilion had gone through countless high-level competitions before it was finally able to operate a shop in a few markets.

Now that the Sect Master of the Golden Sun Sect wanted to lure other sects and forces to contend with the main sect, it was undoubtedly breaking the rules that had been passed down for tens of thousands of years.

Moreover, the prices of talismans, medicinal pills, and dharma artifacts from the main sect had decreased. It was very likely that foreign sects had already entered the Wei Kingdom. In fact, this sect was not weak.

This was not a good sign.

The spirit stone mine in the Wei Kingdom was rich in resources. The other sects and factions had been coveting it for a long time. This time, they had finally found an opportunity. They would definitely use a large number of talismans, medicinal pills, artifacts, and other items to exchange for spirit stones.

“No wonder Fellow Daoist Mu said that the market would not be safe from now on. The arrival of other sects and factions will definitely cause chaos for a period of time.” Thinking of this, Shen Ping’s heart sank.

He was only a low-level cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refinement. There was nothing he could do in the face of such a huge change. The only thing he could do was to improve himself as much as possible and prepare protective measures. However, these were still speculations and inferences.

How would the market be affected? It was still too early to come to a conclusion.

“I can’t be too optimistic. I have to take a concubine as soon as possible. Tomorrow… No, I have to find Matchmaker Ceng now.”