Lately, the Red Snake King had grown more diligent.

It would spend two hours a day cultivating.

This change was entirely because it saw in Yu Changsheng the hope of surpassing its species’ limits.

So, it seemed no one was born inherently lazy—they were just so weighed down by despair they lost the will to move.

Following this change, Yu Changsheng planned to make the Red Snake King even more diligent, increasing its training from two hours to four, and then eight, until it understood the joy of cultivation.

[Name]: Red Snake King

[Realm]: Tier One Fourth Layer

[Comprehension]: 55

[Current Status]: Lazy

’It went from the Tier One Third Layer to the Fourth Layer in just one week. The evolution of a Spirit Beast is truly frightening.’

After watching the Red Snake King finish a plate of pork, Yu Changsheng recalled it into his Inner Realm.

At the same time, he also received a reward of 1 Essence point for feeding the Spirit Beast.

The Red Snake King’s bloodline was now approaching its species’ limit. Evolving further into a Red Refining Snake—its final, complete form—would require 5000 Essence points.

Besides that, he could also make the Red Snake King stronger using the fourth function, Devouring Bloodline. However, Yu Changsheng currently had no other Demon Beast corpses on hand for it to devour.

As for the "Progenitor Fusion" function, it involved fusing multiple Demon Beasts together to create a more unique Demon Beast, or even a completely new Exotic Beast or Divine Beast.

This function was actually similar to the methods many Beast Masters used in their research, where they would use Demon Beasts as materials, crossbreed their descendants, and alter genes with Essence Blood. The success rate, however, was certainly not as high as when using the system.

He went out to feed the chickens.

When Yu Changsheng returned, many servant disciples had gathered in the courtyard, chatting and laughing.

"I’ve saved up a lot of Spirit Coins for this gathering. Hopefully, I can buy some cheap and effective Elixirs. That Loose Cultivator last time really ripped me off!"

"I’m planning to buy some books on Talisman Making, learn the craft, and earn a little extra money. Otherwise, relying solely on the income from these Spirit Fields, it would take me three to five years just to break through a single Realm."

"Talisman Making? I’d forget it. The talisman paper alone costs a lot, and the initial expenses are huge. If you end up with nothing to show for it, wouldn’t that be a total loss?"

"Haha, everything has its risks. I’ll start with the most basic Fireball Talismans. If I manage to become a Talisman Maker, that would be fantastic."

"Might as well learn Alchemy, then."

"Are you kidding? The cost of Alchemy is in a completely different league than Talisman Making! Don’t you try to push me into that pit!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Hahaha! Oh, Junior Yu is here. Let’s ask him if he’s going."

A few of the servant disciples turned to Yu Changsheng, smiling broadly. The good-natured Zhuang Yan spoke up, "Junior Yu, there’s a gathering at the Fish Market down the mountain. Do you want to come check it out with us?"

"A gathering?" Yu Changsheng asked, a curious look on his face.

"It’s mainly for the Loose Cultivators who have stalls in the Fish Market. They’ve all gathered to hold a much larger fair. Every year, many outside Cultivators and disciples from various clans also take this opportunity to come and sell their resources. You can find things like the Pure Yang Wine from the Lin Clan of Dongyang City, and the Tier One Ice Silkworm Silk from the Huo Clan—stuff we’d normally never get to see."

"Yeah, and if you get lucky, you might even snag a Divine Weapon!"

"In your dreams."

A servant disciple beside them chuckled and said, "Divine Weapons are hard to find, but there are plenty of incomplete or low-tier Magical Artifacts, and they’re a real bargain."

At this, Yu Changsheng’s interest was piqued.

His lack of offensive options had always been his weakness; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been unable to do anything against Huang Li last time.

Now that he had a contract with the Red Snake, if he could just find a good Magical Artifact to complement his Divine Sense, his power would surely increase by a large margin.

So, Yu Changsheng happily agreed.

The group walked down the mountain, arriving at the Fish Market in the evening.

"This is my first time at the Fish Market," Yu Changsheng said as they walked along the street. "Senior Brother Zhuang, is there anything I should be aware of?"

"Heh heh, Junior Yu, you’ve only just joined the sect, so you probably don’t understand the weight the Wanxiang Sect’s name carries. While we may be the lowest-ranking servants within the sect, out here in the Fish Market, we’re Sect Disciples whom others must treat with reverence—a status they can only envy."

"The Fish Market itself was established by the sect. These Loose Cultivators have to pay monthly rent to live here. To put it bluntly, this is our territory. Just wear your Sect Disciple Token on your waist, and there’s nothing to worry about, short of committing murder!"

Zhuang Yan grinned. It seemed that once he was off the Outer Peak, he became full of life and spirit.

Yu Changsheng noticed that the other servant disciples behind them, who normally walked with their heads bowed, were now standing tall with their chests puffed out and heads held high. In an instant, he understood the value of the uniform they wore!

The Fish Market was vast. Though called a marketplace, it was larger than a small town. Built on the edge of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, its outermost shanty district was constantly expanding.

The fair they were going to was in the eastern part of the Fish Market. The area was brightly lit and bustling with a clamorous crowd. There were even Loose Cultivators holding up wooden swords and hawking their wares; it had the lively feel of a street market.

Yu Changsheng browsed the Elixirs sold by the Loose Cultivators. He saw common ones like Qi Blood Pills, Grain Avoidance Pills, Qi Recovery Pills, and Spirit Gathering Pills. The prices were considerably cheaper than in the sect, but their quality looked terrible. They didn’t seem to have been refined in a Pill Furnace at all; rather, they looked as if they had been rolled by hand.

"Junior Yu, this Spirit Gathering Pill might be less effective than a Spirit Enhancement Pill, but it’s good enough for Cultivators like us at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining. Want to grab a few?"

A servant disciple sidled up to Yu Changsheng and said, "The quality doesn’t look great, but I’ve checked it out. The ingredients are all there. It’s not a fake, so it should be fine to take."

Buying Elixirs from Loose Cultivators was risky. Some were only looking to make a quick profit and then disappear, using only a third of the proper ingredients and padding the rest with similar-looking but fake Spiritual Medicine. If you consumed one of these fakes, you’d be lucky to just get an upset stomach. If you were unlucky, you could end up vomiting mouthfuls of blood.

Although Yu Changsheng was eager for Elixirs to aid his Cultivation, he didn’t dare to take this kind. He shook his head and said, "I’m going to check out the other stalls."

Seeing this, the servant disciple didn’t try to stop him. With a chuckle, he took out a hundred or so Spirit Coins and bought a small bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills.

As impoverished as they were, they couldn’t afford to be so picky. As long as it worked, it was good enough.

Yu Changsheng walked past stall after stall, which were filled with all sorts of strange and bizarre items. One Cultivator was even selling the dung of some Demon Beast, claiming its scent could be extracted and refined into a spray for repelling wild beasts.

’Huh? Is that a Poisonous Spirit Python corpse?’

Yu Changsheng suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a nearby stall. On it lay the corpse of a blue python. Its head and poison gallbladder had already been bought as materials for refining Magical Treasures and Poison Pills, leaving only part of its body.

"How much are you selling the rest of this Poisonous Spirit Python for?" Yu Changsheng asked.

The Poisonous Spirit Python was quite a powerful Tier One Demon Beast. A mature specimen could reach the Tier One Eighth Layer Realm and possessed a terrifyingly potent poison. Only Cultivators at the Late Stage or Peak of Qi Refining would dare hunt one.

A complete corpse would be worth at least eighty or ninety Lower Grade Spirit Stones, a price far beyond what Yu Changsheng could even consider.

But with its most important parts—the head with its Poisonous Fangs and the poison gallbladder—already sold, the value of the massive remaining body was limited. The flesh contained so much poison it would be difficult to even cook, and at most, the scales could be made into a suit of soft armor.

However, a Poisonous Spirit Python’s scales were brittle and not very tough. Rather than making soft armor from them, it was better to just buy a pre-made suit, saving both time and effort.

This was why the previous person had only bought the head and the poison gallbladder.

The stall owner lifted his head and gave him a curious look, as if surprised to get a customer when he was about to pack up for the night.

The man sized up Yu Changsheng’s sect robes, then gritted his teeth and called out.

"Ten Lower Grade Spirit Stones."