15 days ago, Author: Pig Heart Shrimp
Chapter 11: Building the Second Level of Dao Cultivation
In the western outskirts of the city, in the Tooth Market of Xiwai City, shabby and chaotic shacks crowded together, with the ground and crevices between houses filled with garbage, emitting a persistent foul smell.
Bianjing is divided into inner and outer cities, with the Imperial Palace.
The best street is Longqiao, located in the inner city connecting the Imperial Palace's Xuande Gate with the outer city's Yuanhua Gate, serving as the main north-south passage.
The roads on both sides are lined with drainage ditches, with a width of up to a hundred meters, bustling with carriages and pedestrians.
The worst place is the Tooth Market, where half of Bianjing's sewage flows into this low-lying alley.
Originally meant to be a sewage outlet for Bianjing, it has now become a breeding ground for evil.
Beggars, criminals, human traffickers, and the like are the residents here, the only place in Bianjing where the authority of the officials cannot reach.
Similar lawless areas in history have been eradicated by the authorities countless times, but without exception, they always resurface.
Jiang Fugui casually bought a monkey mask from the street and was led in by a scar-faced man through some intermediaries.
Numerous hungry eyes gathered around, staring intently at Jiang Fugui's well-made clothes.
He lowered his head, initially reluctant to take risks himself, but Gu Wen instructed him to handle things cleanly.
Jiang Fugui had to come by himself because the more people involved, the easier it was to expose, as seen in the past incidents of shopkeepers personally killing people in Longqiao's business wars.
Assassins, only the major aristocratic families can afford them, and not just any major aristocratic families.
The big man chuckled, "Don't worry, we need to eat too, can't cut off our source of income."
People like Jiang Fugui who come to buy illicit goods are never the first, and definitely not the last.
The introductory gift Jiang Fugui presented was a hundred taels, clearly indicating he was someone from a prominent merchant's family.
There are two main types of big business in the Tooth Market: buying and selling slaves and helping to sell stolen goods.
The main customers are not ordinary people, and there are countless hidden identities.
Jiang Fugui felt a bit relieved, but still couldn't let his guard down.
These are all desperate characters; even with a high status, he would still die if he made a wrong move.
The two men twisted and turned, entering countless alleys and turning numerous corners, as if the intersections here were endless.
Countless mud walls and shacks, like dark caves without sunlight, occasionally filled with weeping and wailing.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Jiang Fugui grew impatient, but then a small courtyard appeared ahead.
The courtyard was not luxurious, but its rare cleanliness stood out compared to the surrounding environment, resembling a palace.
The air was filled with the scent of medicine, and a person wearing a cotton jacket in the middle of summer was brewing herbal soup, with only his right hand visible, facing away from the two.
Jiang Fugui approached and said, "Old One-Arm, my master wants five thousand taels of medicinal fruits."
"Five thousand taels, hehe...."
A hoarse voice echoed, and the man turned around.
Even though Jiang Fugui was prepared, his eyes still seemed to dodge as if stung.
He was thin, with dark, wrinkled skin covered in freckles, a black hole in his left eye, and the only eye showing coldness and ferocity, like a venomous snake.
"Quite generous indeed, I may not earn five thousand taels in a whole year."
The imperial taxes, military expenses, and grain costs easily reached millions of taels, but for an individual, ten taels were enough for an ordinary person to live on for a year, without considering various taxes, it could last two years.
The purchasing power of Daqin silver was very high, and five thousand taels were enough for a whole family to live a good life for a lifetime.
"How much stock do you have?"
"Is it cash?"
"Of course, it's cash, and I'll pay immediately."
"Good! Generous."
The old one-armed man held up a finger, saying, "Twenty taels each."
"You old bastard, trying to jack up the price on me?" Jiang Fugui suddenly flared up, his cursing attracting the thugs outside, brandishing a large knife.
But Jiang Fugui, the skinny man, surprisingly showed no fear at this point, pointing at the other party and cursing, "You despicable creature, get out!"
When one reaches this point, only a tough attitude can lead to successful negotiations, not being a fat lamb.
The old one-armed man shook his head, gesturing for his men to leave, and calmly said, "Don't be so angry. It's not that I want to raise the price, but having too much stock might attract the attention of the authorities. If you want one or two, I can have someone sneak them out for you, but for five thousand, I'll have to bribe the officials at the Taifu Temple."
"Twenty taels are too expensive, I can't explain this to my master." Jiang the shopkeeper shook his head, then negotiated, "Fifteen taels."
After a long standoff, they finally settled on eighteen taels each.
Five thousand taels of silver meant three hundred fruits, with the extra dozens being gifts.
But even so, Jiang Fugui couldn't help but curse, after so many years in business, didn't he know?
When the other party gives extra goods to make up the total, it means the markup on this batch of goods is very high.
Let these scoundrels enjoy themselves.
Jiang Fugui paid with two thousand-tael notes and left with a hundred fruits, this was just the deposit for both parties.
The remaining payment would be made upon receiving the goods.
The old one-armed man picked up the brewed herbal soup with bare hands, unaffected by the high temperature of the clay pot.
He approached the door of the house in the courtyard and lightly knocked three times, saying, "Young Master, your medicine is ready."
After a while, a faint cough was heard.
"Why did you buy so many medicinal fruits?"
The old one-armed man replied, "This old servant doesn't know, but it's probably another worldly cultivator."
"...I remember the celestial maiden of the Three Clear Sect has descended, but such a figure probably doesn't need to meddle in the Tooth Market. The celestial maidens of the Three Clear Sect only need to speak, and the Zhao family will obediently offer everything."
Another cough was heard from inside the room, only continuing after it subsided:
"This person needs so many medicinal fruits, indicating their aptitude is poor and requires the medicinal properties to aid in their cultivation, not even half as good as mine."
The old one-armed man's spirit trembled and asked, "Young Master, have you succeeded?"
There are constraints in becoming an immortal, and the normal path of cultivation is not effective.
Those who are destined to become immortals can enhance their aptitude, raising their limits.
If one can survive the immortal tribulation, they will surely reach the Golden Core stage in the future.
However, true geniuses are not aiming for the Golden Core; they seek an opportunity to ascend to immortality, often needing to forge an unparalleled Dao Foundation to bear the Heavenly Mandate.
"Perhaps three months, maybe one month, but I have only reached half a step in building the Dao."
There was a hint of arrogance in the voice behind the door.
"Congratulations, Young Master, congratulations!"
The old one-armed man knelt down directly, his body trembling with excitement.
Building the Dao signifies embarking on the path to immortality, ensuring a future as a top-tier powerhouse.
The Immortal Ascension Ground has only been open for five years, and the Young Master has already built a Dao Foundation, with an immeasurable future, truly a peerless genius!
On the other side, Jiang Fugui was escorted out of the Tooth Market by a dozen strong watermen, deterring any prying eyes from lurking in the shadows.
The watermen's treatment was not bad; besides being employees, they also doubled as enforcers.
Compared to the rats in the Tooth Market, these watermen, fed with refined rice and grains, were much stronger.
By the time he returned to the Flower Tower, it was already late at night, and even the Flower Tower had become quiet, with only faint moans heard.
Gu Wen had not yet slept; he sat at the table, organizing account books, listing out items suspected to contain celestial essence, while also eyeing the various rare treasures sent to the palace.
Among them was a type of celestial spring water that needed to be delivered to the palace every month, with the process guarded by the Forbidden Army.
In the past, he didn't have many doubts and wouldn't be foolish enough to touch the Emperor's belongings.
If he truly wanted something grand, he could buy it from the black market; it was impossible for any repercussions to trace back to him.
But things were different now; he was cautious, not cowardly.
As long as the benefits were substantial, he would strip the Emperor of his possessions.
The celestial spring water was not available on the market.
At that moment, Jiang Fugui pushed the door open and entered.
He wasn't worried about seeing Lord Wen towering like a pillar, as due to his physical condition, the latter rarely engaged with women.
"Master, I've brought it back for you."
Jiang Fugui placed a larger box on the table, venting his grievances, "The scoundrels in the Tooth Market raised the price, originally ten taels each was already outrageous, now they've increased it to eighteen taels. I had to argue to bring it down to eighteen."
"As long as we can buy it, money is not an issue."
Gu Wen opened the box, checked and found some fruits were too small, likely inferior quality.
He immediately understood the leakage of medicinal fruits, probably disguised under the name of inferior quality.
Jiang Fugui left, and Gu Wen grabbed a handful of fruits, stuffing them into his mouth like candy.
Each grab and release was worth hundreds of taels, a fortune that an ordinary person couldn't earn in a lifetime.
This was why Gu Wen chose to stay in Bianjing, to stay by Zhao Feng's side.
Perhaps treasures were everywhere in this world, perhaps the wilderness was filled with elixirs that could make one immortal.
But how much could he gather alone?
It was better to stay in Bianjing and wait for all the treasures of the world to be delivered.
His destiny vibrated, celestial essence increasing, but the Emperor's pattern remained unchanged.
First celestial essence.
Second celestial essence.
As the last fruit entered his mouth, the growth of celestial essence stopped at two, spending five thousand taels for only one-fifth of Fairy Yuhua's pill.
It was not just costly but almost life-threatening.
Gu Wen felt a bit frustrated; even though he didn't value money much, such a huge expenditure was still painful.
After all, only with nine celestial essences could he master the foundational technique, a step towards mastering the first level of the technique.
In his testing, the effects of the first level of the technique were significant yet not overwhelming.
The effect of 'endless vitality' manifested in his body, boosting his endurance, and Gu Wen hadn't even gasped since mastering it.
But compared to flying and teleportation, this wasn't an extremely powerful effect.
Perhaps with a suit of heavy armor and a bit more strength, he could dominate the battlefield.
Unfortunately, given Gu Wen's current position, it was impossible for him to risk hiding armor.
"I hope the second level brings stronger abilities."
Gu Wen sat on the ground, about to close his eyes when suddenly the door was knocked.
"Lord Wen, are you asleep?"
"What is it?"
"I almost forgot to tell you, His Highness wants you to go to the Wang Mansion tomorrow, it's about the water veins of the water house."
"I understand."
The figure outside the door disappeared, leaving Gu Wen with a cold chill in his eyes.
Although these guards weren't vigilant about surveillance, they were still a threat.
He couldn't make them disappear, only hasten his steps and increase his capital.
Closing his eyes, he cultivated.
The second celestial essence poured out, refining the Dao scripture like a melting furnace, peeling off the second level of the Jade Clear Heart Sutra's Dao Foundation.
Gu Wen's cultivation speed leaped once again, feeling faster than before, but the second level was also more challenging.
This confirmed that the celestial essence didn't directly enlighten him but enhanced his comprehension on a certain basis.
When he first started, it took an hour to complete a circulation, now that he had broken through to the first level, it only took half an hour.
But the path to the second level seemed ten times more difficult than the first!
At a normal pace, he wouldn't reach the second level even if he cultivated without eating or drinking for ten years.
And the Jade Clear Heart Sutra given by Fairy Yuhua had nine levels.
This was just the first realm, and cultivation was already so difficult?
The second level of the Jade Clear Dao Foundation, achieved!
At the Gu Mansion.
A snow-white figure crouched on the eaves, bathed in moonlight, exuding a sacred and ethereal aura.
Yuhua could confirm that below was Gu Wen's room, but he seemed to be absent.
Where did he go?
The rooster crowed, and the sun rose.
Many books are now hard to find, so cherish what you have.