The cultivation world Chu Ran had transmigrated into was known as the Tian’nan Continent.
The continent was divided into five regions: the Central Province, the Eastern Sea, the Southern Region, the Western Desert, and the Northern Plains.
Vast mountain ranges and endless wastelands lay between the five regions, making travel difficult. Each region ruled its own domain.
The Heaven Demon Sect was located in the Southern Region. It was not a top-tier major sect, but neither was it a pushover anyone could bully. It could be considered a mid-to-upper-level sect with several Golden Core cultivators.
The sect master, the Heaven Demon Ancestor, was a mid-stage Golden Core grand cultivator. Beneath him served three elders, each at the early Golden Core stage.
Liu Mei had been accepted as a disciple by one of those elders, instantly becoming the sect’s envy-inspiring favored daughter.
The Heaven Demon Sect controlled a territory spanning more than three thousand miles. It had over ten thousand disciples, but the vast majority were low-level Qi Refinement disciples. Fewer than a hundred had truly reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Every Foundation Establishment cultivator was either a core disciple of the sect or held an important position.
Before the eyes of outer-sect disciples, they were all existences who had to be looked up to.
Chu Ran had originally hoped that once Liu Mei broke through to Foundation Establishment, she would remember how he had taken meticulous care of her for more than a decade and lend him a hand.
Even if she merely let a little of her surplus resources slip through her fingers, it would have given him at least a glimmer of hope for reaching Foundation Establishment.
He had never expected that what he would receive in return was a command to fend for himself.
“Liu Mei, since you’ve shown me no loyalty, don’t blame me for showing you none either.”
Chu Ran silently swore in his heart.
For now, the most important thing was still to increase his strength.
Liu Mei had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement and possessed countless methods at her disposal. He, on the other hand, was merely a fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator, a weakling among weaklings.
Not to mention taking revenge—even if ten of him attacked Liu Mei, they probably would not even be able to touch the hem of her robes.
What was more, the Senior Brother Li Liu Mei had mentioned was named Li Cheng, a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He did not even need to say anything himself. Quite a few people had already taken the initiative to cause trouble for Chu Ran.
If they had not been worried about arousing Liu Mei’s resentment, they probably would have killed him long ago.
“Although I have a cheat, it can’t provide me with any direct combat power. Improving my strength still depends on me.”
Having lived in this world of cultivation for so long, Chu Ran had long since seen through it. The cultivation world was a place that devoured people without even spitting out their bones.
That was especially true of a demonic sect like the Heaven Demon Sect. On the surface, there were sect rules; beneath the surface, however, it was filled with blades and blood. The slightest mistake could bring disaster and death.
If someone died, no one would uphold justice for them. They could only blame themselves for being too weak and accept that their fate had been sealed.
Only one’s fists were the sole rule in the cultivation world.
Chu Ran searched every corner of his cave dwelling. All that remained were the three mid-grade first-rank Blazing Fire Talismans left over from when he had killed the demon serpent, along with five spirit stones.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll sell these three Blazing Fire Talismans and gather ten spirit stones. That should be enough to enter the Forbidden Arts Hall once.”
The Heaven Demon Sect had two places where spells were stored: the Cultivation Arts Hall and the Forbidden Arts Hall.
The Cultivation Arts Hall contained ordinary cultivation methods and spells. When new disciples joined the sect, they could enter once for free and select a cultivation method or spell suitable for themselves. It was the only benefit provided to every newcomer.
The Forbidden Arts Hall was completely different.
Apart from personal disciples like Liu Mei, who could enter freely, anyone else who wanted to go inside had to pay ten spirit stones in a single payment.
Furthermore, each entry lasted only three days. Once the three days were up, whether or not one had learned the forbidden art, they had to either pay more spirit stones to extend their stay or leave.
Do not assume that ten spirit stones were a small amount. For many outer-sect disciples, they represented nearly an entire year of monthly allowances.
The Heaven Demon Sect’s Qi Refinement disciples were divided into three levels.
The first through third levels of Qi Refinement were considered the early stage. These disciples were the lowest-ranked servant disciples and did not even receive a monthly allowance.
To earn spirit stones, they had to take on menial tasks for the sect. Earning one spirit stone a month already required being lucky enough to receive a decent assignment.
That was why countless female servant disciples were willing to line up for a generous man like Chu Ran, who casually gave away one spirit stone at a time.
Those at the fourth through sixth levels of Qi Refinement had reached the middle stage and were promoted to outer-sect disciples. Even if they did not take on any tasks, their monthly allowance was no more than one spirit stone.
Only after reaching the late stage of Qi Refinement would their monthly allowance increase, and even then, it rose to merely three spirit stones.
As for cultivating a forbidden art, unless one possessed extraordinary talent and was a monstrous genius, an ordinary person usually needed half a month or even longer just to barely comprehend the basics.
Therefore, ordinary disciples would never choose to enter the Forbidden Arts Hall.
The reason forbidden arts were so precious was that they formed the foundation upon which the Heaven Demon Sect had been established.
Every forbidden art was far more powerful than an ordinary spell.
They were called forbidden arts because casting them required the user to pay a certain price.
The lighter costs included blood essence, spiritual power, or one’s body. The heavier costs included lifespan, one’s cultivation foundation, and even life itself.
Forbidden arts were not actually difficult to cultivate. The reason progress was so slow was entirely because cultivators did not dare to truly cast them while learning. They could only repeatedly deduce and simulate them in their minds.
After all, practice also came at a price.
No one dared to gamble with their own life. Spending a little more time was still better than paying the price of casting the art even once.
But Chu Ran was different. With his cheat, regardless of what price he paid, once midnight passed, his body would be forcibly refreshed and restored to its original condition.
His foundation was weak, and if he wanted to rapidly increase his combat power in a short period of time, he could only rely on forbidden arts to overtake others by taking a shortcut.
The next morning, Chu Ran opened the door to his cave dwelling and sprinted toward the mountainside.
A mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator could already control a magical artifact and fly on a sword.
However, Chu Ran had sold his flying sword long ago and exchanged it for talismans to deal with that demon serpent. He could now only make the journey on foot.
The Heaven Demon Sect’s mountain gate had been built atop a massive peak. The mountain rose a thousand zhang into the clouds, and from the foot of the mountain to its summit, it stretched more than a hundred miles.
Outer-sect and servant disciples usually opened their cave dwellings below the mountainside, where the spiritual energy was pitifully thin.
The higher one went, the denser the spiritual energy became, and the higher the cultivation of the residents.
A favored daughter of heaven like Liu Mei naturally lived at the peak alongside the Golden Core elders.
Even without relying on a flying sword to travel through the air, Chu Ran reached a bustling marketplace after only an hour.
The marketplace was situated on a relatively flat, open area halfway up the mountain. People came and went, and the racket could be heard from far away. Bargaining, shouting, and arguing rose and fell one after another.
This marketplace had been established by the Qi Refinement disciples of the Heaven Demon Sect’s outer sect. It had no manager and charged no stall fees. Anyone could set up a stall and trade freely.
In other words, it was simply a large open-air market. It was somewhat chaotic, but at least it offered complete freedom.
Some disciples simply spread an old piece of cloth on the ground and placed various magical artifacts, medicinal herbs, and bottles and jars of pills on top. That was enough to count as opening a stall.
Those who were more particular would set up a simple wooden table, cover it with a layer of clean beast hide, and arrange their items neatly. This made the stall look considerably more upscale.
Chu Ran had visited many times and was already familiar with the place. He did not stop at the entrance. Instead, he went straight through the packed crowd and headed toward a familiar corner.
In front of the stall, a disheveled, unkempt middle-aged man sat cross-legged on the ground, idly playing with a magical artifact in his hand as he waited for customers.
When he saw Chu Ran approaching, the man’s eyes lit up, and he beamed with delight.
“Junior Brother Chu, long time no see.”
Chu Ran stopped and gave a slight cupped-fist salute. “Greetings, Senior Brother Lin Gu.”
Lin Gu waved his hand. “Junior Brother Chu, here to buy talismans again today?”
A month ago, Chu Ran had purchased twenty mid-grade first-tier talismans from him, earning him quite a few spirit stones.
Chu Ran did not beat around the bush. He immediately took three fiery-red talismans from his sleeve and held them out to Lin Gu.
“No, Senior Brother. Do you buy back talismans?”