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Chapter 7
Do You Know Yunzhong Crane
Carefully, Na Jin placed the crimson pills into a jade bottle and once again bowed toward “Second Lord Guan.”
‘Second Lord… although I came here through transmigration, you have truly been watching over me and protecting me all along. Once I earn enough money, I will build you a temple and even cast your body in gold!’
After finishing his bow, the apron-wearing Na Jin clenched both fists.
‘I really am a genius at alchemy! I was born for this path! I’m going to become famous—yes, I’ve already thought of my title. Eastern Wasteland Pill God (Donghuang Danshen)! Not worse than Central Province Pill Saint (Zhongzhou Dansheng).’
Encouraged by his own thoughts, Na Jin quickly resumed work.
The kitchen was hot and dry, yet filled with an oddly light, cheerful atmosphere. But under the bright sunlight, what could be seen was a face with no expression at all.
‘Ha… everyone makes mistakes. Even the Pill Saint once burned down his stove when refining a first-tier pill. Next time, I’ll succeed for sure.’
He spoke casually, but inwardly his heart ached.
This batch of raw materials alone cost five spirit stones.
A loss.
‘No choice. I have to sell this one Mysterious Marvel Pill at a high price—or I won’t even recover the cost.’
Dawn approached.
The world was shrouded in pale mist, and the distant mountains looked like the gaping mouths of abyssal beasts waiting for Great River Market City.
A young man in clean, low-grade dao robes sprinted like the wind toward the cultivator settlement at the city’s outskirts.
A female cultivator who had just gone out to empty a chamber pot spotted him and laughed.
“Look at that kid running so fast. Is something chasing him?”
Fast—truly too fast.
Na Jin’s martial journey had progressed unexpectedly well. In just a few days, his lightness technique Soaring Freedom had reached the proficient stage, granting him an achievement point and dramatically increasing his speed.
Previously, he needed about thirty zhang in nine seconds. Now, in just a few steps, he could cross that distance.
What once took him an hour and a half of walking to reach the inner city now took him barely the time of a few breaths.
Although he had never experienced Wind Control Art, he felt that Soaring Freedom was already quite impressive. If mere proficiency already granted such speed, what about mastery or perfection?
Its potential seemed limitless.
When Na Jin reached the southwestern cultivator market area, dawn was still dim and Lord Chen had not yet arrived. Most stalls were still empty.
Na Jin didn’t immediately set up his pills. Instead, he wandered past other stalls.
“Brother Wang, you’re early today.”
Wang Yuan only glanced at him coldly and said nothing. Na Jin simply chuckled and squatted down, flipping through a few books.
“‘Five Essential Qi Refining Spells’—don’t touch that unless you’re buying.”
“How much?”
“Two mid-grade spirit stones.”
“…That’s ridiculous.”
“I set the price. What’s your problem?”
“Forget it.”
Wang Yuan was known for being ruthless and greedy, often extorting weaker cultivators near the market entrance. Na Jin could not afford to provoke him.
Still, there was a small connection between them—once, when Wang Yuan had been broke, Na Jin had given him several bottles of Bigu Pills on credit during a hunting trip.
“Don’t touch that one either,” Wang Yuan added. “Evil Yin techniques inside. Heh… careful, kid. Once I leave the city, I might just rob you.”
Then, more casually, he added:
“You can read this one for free. Want it? Five spirit stones off.”
Na Jin ignored the nonsense and picked up a book titled Record of the Wind and Customs of the Six Realms, reading it with interest.
After an hour, more people began arriving, and Na Jin reluctantly put the book down.
“Brother Wang, I’ll be leaving now. Here—some dried beef jerky for you.”
Wang Yuan glared at him.
“Get lost.”
But his hand subtly tightened around the jerky as Na Jin walked away.
Back at the blue stone square, Elder Chen had already laid out talismans and spirit beast skins.
“Uncle Chen,” Na Jin said casually, “do you know Yunzhong Crane?”
When he was serious, he called him Uncle Chen. When not, just Daoist Chen.
Elder Chen stroked his beard, instantly excited. This was his favorite kind of topic—cultivation gossip.
“You mean Yunhe Shangren. Ordinary people wouldn’t know much about him, but I do. In the Thirty-Six Regions of the Eastern Wasteland, our area is the Extreme Eastern Six Regions near the Hundred Thousand Mountains…”
Na Jin listened carefully as the old man continued.
Elder Chen explained that powerful sects could name entire regions, and theirs was called the Jade Cauldron Region, ruled by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
Among all factions, only the dual cultivation-focused Hehuan Sect had shops spread across all six regions.
Na Jin’s eyes lit up at the mention of wealth and beautiful women.
‘A massive business empire like that… that’s exactly the kind of life I want.’
Then Elder Chen continued:
“Three hundred years ago, something incredible happened…”
Na Jin suddenly interrupted:
“Yunzhong Crane?”
“Yunhe Shangren!” Elder Chen corrected him sternly. “You must use proper honorifics for a Golden Core cultivator!”
He then began telling the legendary story.
Yunhe Shangren, originally an unknown early Golden Core cultivator of the Hehuan Sect, once fought in the expansion wars of the Jade Cauldron Region.
Despite being only at the early Golden Core stage, he managed to kill a Tier Four demonic beast.
Na Jin’s eyes widened.
“Tier Four… that’s equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator, isn’t it?!”
“Exactly,” Elder Chen said proudly.
Na Jin swallowed hard.
“That means he fought above his realm?!”
“Some say the beast was weakened. Some say a Nascent Soul helped. No one knows. But that battle made his name—Yunhe Shangren.”
He pointed toward the distant inner city, where red-petaled buildings rose like flames.
“In the Six Regions, industries are everywhere. The Medicine King Sect dominates wealth, Jade Cauldron Sword Sect dominates force—but only the Hehuan Sect has shops in all regions.”
Na Jin listened intently.
A world spanning sect. Massive commerce. Powerful cultivators.
Everything he wanted.
He glanced at Wang Yuan in the distance, suddenly filled with admiration.
So stories like this… really aren’t meaningless.
Someday, when he had money, he would definitely buy that book and read it carefully again.
