Qingyang Market.
Qin Ming was somewhat absent-minded as he walked down the street, recalling the words of Shopkeeper Liao earlier.
Once the price of spirit rice drops, it means that his income will be significantly reduced.
This directly affects his speed in earning spirit stones.
His mind was constantly pondering, and he even began to feel agitated.
Just then.
A large circle of cultivators had gathered around the announcement wall at the road ahead, pointing and discussing something.
Usually, there were cultivators watching the announcements here, but it was his first time seeing so many.
"Could something have happened again?"
Qin Ming couldn’t help but be curious and joined the onlookers.
On the top of the wall, there was a very conspicuous red bounty notice, its paper was twice as large as the others around.
There were no portraits on it, just descriptions of a five-person bandit group, specific features unknown.
This group of bandits was extremely daring, having captured the son of an elder from Golden Cloud Valley in broad daylight and extorted a huge ransom.
And then, in a very brutal manner, they killed him!
And that’s not even the end of it.
Even more shocking was that this group of bandits managed to escape from the pursuit of a Foundation Establishment Stage elder from Golden Cloud Valley...
Their actions.
Have gone beyond mere kidnapping and killing.
They were openly challenging the dignity of the entire Golden Cloud Valley sect!
This was purely a heinous event!
Golden Cloud Valley, having lost face in this incident, is now offering a massive bounty to hunt down these bandits, vowing to scour the entire Yunze Wilderness at all costs to find their whereabouts.
The notice stated that anyone who captures or kills any one of these five people will be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Anyone who provides specific information on the bandits will be rewarded with the opportunity to join the inner sect of Golden Cloud Valley, along with a Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill.
Anyone who knows but doesn’t report them will be treated as an accomplice of the bandits and put to death without pardon!
"Damn, they’re like beasts."
"Even dared to kill the son of a Golden Cloud Valley elder!"
Qin Ming looked at the notice and couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
Seeing the tempting rewards on the notice, many onlookers among the cultivators were eager to try their luck.
"A Foundation Establishment Pill is good, but you’ve gotta be alive to take it, sigh!"
"To escape unscathed from a Foundation Establishment elder’s pursuit, they surely aren’t any ordinary people."
He very clearly shook his head, then silently left the place.
"Could this group of bandits be the same ones who killed Fellow Daoist Long?"
"Such lawlessness, daring to challenge the dignity of an entire sect, the method of the crime seems very similar."
As Qin Ming walked, he suddenly remembered!
Back at ’Cool Small Residence.’
He quietly felt grateful for his wise decision to move into the market area.
Though the cost was high, at least it was much safer than outside.
Now the area around Qingyang Market is so chaotic, even the sect elder’s son can be killed without hesitation, what can’t these tribulation cultivators do?
The next morning.
Knock knock knock!
Qin Ming was using the High-Level Spirit Rain Technique on the Withered Blood Poison Vine.
The courtyard gate outside was knocked.
Qin Ming put away the spell, walked over, and peeped out through the door hole.
He saw that it was Cai the Ninth outside the door.
He opened the gate restriction and invited Cai the Ninth in.
"Lao Jiu, what brings you here today?"
"What, sold the spirit rice and are ready to treat me to a drink at Juxuan Pavilion?"
"Come in and have a cup of tea first."
Qin Ming asked with a smile on his face.
"Tea... no, no tea."
"Little Qin, um... can you... lend me a hundred spirit stones..." Cai the Ninth mumbled, not daring to look at Qin Ming.
Qin Ming was taken aback to hear this.
They had been fellow spirit farmers here for many years, but this was the first time Cai the Ninth had asked to borrow spirit stones.
Something wasn’t right...
"Didn’t I tell you yesterday to secretly sell all the spirit rice?"
"How come..."
Qin Ming, puzzled, noticed Cai the Ninth kept his head down the whole time and frowned as he said, "Lift up your head and talk!"
Upon hearing this, Cai the Ninth raised his head to look at him.
He immediately revealed a face bruised and swollen, looking very miserable.
Seeing him like this, Qin Ming was stunned.
"Lao Jiu, what happened to you?"
Cai the Ninth finally sighed in grievance, saying: "Sigh! Yesterday, when I received your communication talisman, I intended to sell all the spirit rice to Shopkeeper Liao."
"But who knew, as soon as I walked halfway, I was stopped by Jiang Kun and his gang from Spirit Feather Sect."
"They accused me of selling Spirit Feather Sect’s spirit rice to outsiders, not only did they beat me up, but they also confiscated all the spirit rice."
"They even fined me double the spirit rice, amounting to two hundred spirit stones..."
"If I can’t pay up in three days, they’ll... they’ll exile me to the battle camp..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ming’s brow furrowed deeply, yet again it was this Jiang Kun! Last time in the Steward Hall, he almost caused trouble for me too.
"What do you mean by unauthorized selling?"
"After paying the spirit rice tax, the remaining spirit rice is ours, Spirit Feather Sect has no control over it, right?"
"On what basis are they fining you?!"
Cai the Ninth nervously said: "Th-they said Jiang Kun and these inner sect disciples also set up a ’Mingzhen Tower’ in the market."
"Their number one competitor is ’Juxuan Pavilion’ within the market."
"They didn’t expect that the profit of running a restaurant in the market would grow so large, and part of the spirit stones earned through ’Mingzhen Pavilion’ would be sent back to the sect."
"So even the upper echelon of Spirit Feather Sect tacitly approve of this."
"They said, in a few days when the spirit fields open for cultivation, Steward Gue will announce this matter."
"In the future, it will be strictly forbidden for spirit farmers under Spirit Feather Sect’s jurisdiction to sell spirit rice to other shops except Mingzhen Tower."
"Violators will be heavily fined."
"Additionally, a few spirit farmers were also selling spirit rice in the market yesterday, and one of them even had his leg broken by Jiang Kun and his gang."
Cai the Ninth’s voice became hoarse as he spoke.
On hearing this, Qin Ming’s head buzzed.
"This is trying to create a monopoly!"
Forget everything else.
I have a contract with Juxuan Pavilion!
If I break Spirit Feather Sect’s ban, I surely won’t come off well.
But if I breach the contract with Juxuan Pavilion, I’ll face sky-high spirit stone compensation.
Spirit stones are secondary.
The key is that if I anger Guu Qingzhao, Mirror Snow Pavilion probably won’t let me go either.
The cost of breaking the contract, I know all too well.
"Sigh, that bastard Jiang Kun!"
"Why meddle with anything? Why start Mingzhen Tower??!"
"Those bandits should have captured him too and killed him!"
Qin Ming gritted his teeth in hatred.
This current predicament left him in a dilemma.
After pondering for a while.
He took out one hundred and fifty spirit stones from his storage pouch, along with two healing pills, and handed them to Cai the Ninth.
"Take these for now, take care of your injuries."
"We’ll discuss the other matters later."
Cai the Ninth took the spirit stones and pills from Qin Ming’s hands, immediately tearing up.
For a moment he was choked with sobs and unable to speak.
In this cruel cultivation world, not everyone is willing to lend out spirit stones casually.
PS: Thank you to all the grand audience for every recommendation vote, too many to thank individually, so thank you all together here!