Demon Cultivator with Celestial Book-Chapter 63 - 47: Medicinal Materials, Gu-Insects

"I was just thinking of grabbing a bowl of noodles before going to find you..."

Jiang Yi stopped He the Venerable’s gesture and added with a chuckle:

"I’m not from some Village Clan Direct Lineage, so I’m not that delicate. This place is pretty lively, with people coming and going. I remember you saying you stayed here for a while, Brother He?"

He the Venerable remarked with a sigh:

"When I finished my first work contract, I actually thought about leaving the mountain. At the end of the year, I went to Sanhe District and stayed for half a month. After seeing all sorts of destitute people, I gave up that idea and just stayed on Red Flame Peak to keep working.

The world outside is full of pitfalls. If you don’t have any skills, you’ll either be bullied or swindled."

He tapped his noodle bowl with his chopsticks and said:

"To be honest, I could make a living in Sanhe District if I had to. Look, Brother Yi, this bowl of noodles is only five talisman coins. It’s enough to fill you up completely. Work a few days of hard labor, earn seventy or eighty talisman coins, and you’ll have enough to lay around for days."

Jiang Yi looked over. It was a massive bowl brimming with noodles, certainly enough to stuff a person.

But he couldn’t see any trace of oil or meat; it looked bland.

He glanced at the large characters scrawled on the noodle stall’s sign: "One Bowl of Spirit Noodles, An Honest Five Coins." He was a bit skeptical.

"They’re made from old Spirit Grain, ground into flour. The nourishing effect is next to none, but it fills your stomach. It’s just a sliver better than eating coarse grains."

He the Venerable said with a laugh:

"A lot of the Qi Cultivation First Layer Cultivators in Sanhe District get by on this stuff."

Jiang Yi nodded. Everyone has their own way of living; it wasn’t for others to judge.

Back when the body’s original owner first entered the school of Daoism, he had imagined his future path of Cultivation would involve living as a recluse on some famous mountain, residing in a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land, surrounded by other True Cultivation Materials, and treating Sword Fighting and Spellcasting as mere games...

But working in the Quenching Room on Red Flame Peak had been a splash of cold water to the face, waking him up to reality.

After slurping down the last of his noodles, He the Venerable wiped his mouth clean.

"So, Brother Yi, what are you planning to buy, or where do you want to look around? Shuangfeng Street mostly sells food, and none of it is particularly nourishing."

Jiang Yi stood up and said:

"Spring is just around the corner. I want to buy some good medicine to strengthen my body."

He the Venerable thought for a long moment before saying carefully:

"Alright! I know a few shops that sell Medicinal Materials, but they don’t have anything great. Brother Yi, if you want something with some age to it, preferably with a bit of Spiritual Qi, you’ll have to go to Tongren Street. The True Gu Sect has a storefront there."

Jiang Yi smiled, satisfied. ’Bringing He the Venerable along was definitely the right choice.’

’Yang Xun would never bother with trivial matters like this. For this kind of thing, you really have to rely on a veteran from among the Mortal Servants on Red Flame Peak.’

...

...

Tongren Street was located within Sanhe District, but it wasn’t as noisy and chaotic as Shuangfeng Street. The Cultivators willing to come here were all dressed in fine clothes, looking as if their purses were bulging.

"Over seventy percent of the pills and Medicinal Materials in Beimang Ridge come from the True Gu Sect."

He the Venerable said as they walked:

"This Branch Sect Dharma Lineage also recruits the most Outer Sect Mortal Servants every year. I was originally supposed to be sent there. Luckily, I was quick-witted and greased the Steward’s palm, so I got transferred to the Qianji Sect instead."

Jiang Yi was a little confused. The True Gu Sect was a whole tier above the Qianji Sect.

The gap between the two was like the difference between the inner and outer parts of Sanhe District.

’So why does He the Venerable feel lucky that he didn’t end up at the True Gu Sect and was sent to the Qianji Sect instead?’

"Hah! Brother Yi, you’ll understand in a minute."

He the Venerable trailed off, as if he didn’t quite know how to explain it.

「A short while later.」

The two entered Tongren Street, and He the Venerable pointed to the tallest building:

"There. That’s the True Gu Sect’s storefront. It’s called Wudu Hall."

Jiang Yi looked over. The building was seven stories tall, looming over the street corner like a dark, heavy weight. Three ceramic toads squatted on its roof tiles, and its ebony doors were carved with bats, snakes, and insects. The whole place gave off a sinister, gloomy aura.

Night had already fallen, but the entrance to Wudu Hall was still bustling, with a dense crowd of people gathered there.

Jiang Yi and He the Venerable moved closer and heard an old man who looked like a Steward picking through the crowd, as if he were a merchant selecting mules and horses.

"Open your mouth. Not bad, not bad. Eight of your teeth have fallen out. That shows you didn’t slack off and ate it all like you were told! Come back in the latter part of the month!"

"Have you felt your appetite increase lately? Eating more? Ten bowls of rice? That’s not enough. Add another two bowls. You can come get reimbursed for it."

"You’re useless! I told you to sleep in the mass grave and absorb more yin qi! Look at you, you’ve killed the very insect we were trying to raise! Scram, scram, scram..."

Jiang Yi’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. He finally understood why He the Venerable regarded the True Gu Sect with such dread.

It turned out that Wudu Hall on Tongren Street gave out free "medicine" every month and even had human traffickers scout for Cultivators to use as test subjects.

’Human Body Nourishing Pill? Blood Embryo Muscle-Transforming Pill? Neither of those sounds like it has a wholesome origin.’

Jiang Yi glanced at the signboard Wudu Hall had put out. Every pill listed on it sounded sinister.

"Now you see, don’t you, Brother Yi? Of the two major sects and three minor gates in Beimang Ridge, only our Qianji Sect and the Zhao You Sect above us offer a halfway decent life.

Take this True Gu Sect, for example. Their workshops are the ’Insect Pit,’ the ’Poison Basin,’ and the ’Poison Jar.’ They make the Mortal Servants go inside to feed insects with their blood and cultivate poisons with their own bodies."

He the Venerable was still shaken by the thought. He had steeled himself to endure more than twenty years on Red Flame Peak, but if he had been sent to the True Gu Sect’s Outer Sect instead, he probably wouldn’t have survived three to five years.

"Look. These Lower Cultivators from Sanhe District gathered at the entrance of Wudu Hall... they’re either here because they got greedy and took the free medicine, which then caused problems with their bodies, or they were tricked into coming here to test new drugs..."

A chill went through Jiang Yi’s heart. ’Comparisons are truly odious.’ From this perspective, starting out as a Manual Laborer in the Quenching Room on Red Flame Peak really wasn’t so bad.

"Let’s go in, Brother Yi. Wudu Hall may have a nasty reputation, but their reputation for doing business is rock-solid. You get exactly what you pay for, they never cut corners! They’re renowned for it throughout Sanhe District!"

He the Venerable said.

"Fellow Daoists, please, come inside!"

An attendant greeted them warmly, serving tea and offering them seats. This deferential treatment was clearly aimed at Jiang Yi.