Yong Ji chuckled, but when he first visited the market years ago, he was no better than Mi Xiaojing, equally struck speechless by the awe of it all.

The only thing Mi Xiaojing felt was the enormity; Tianyuan Market was vast. Suddenly, Luo Bo tugged at Mi Xiaojing’s sleeve and pointed not far away, asking, “Is that a place to eat?”

Along the street, a row of shops had tables set up by the roadside, covered by tarpaulins held up by bamboo poles to block the sun, and various signs, most of which were just a few words written on a piece of cloth.

“Zhao’s Steamed Buns and Big Bowl Rice, hmm, it’s an eatery.”

Mi Xiaojing smiled and asked, “Are you hungry?”

In fact, Luo Bo wasn’t hungry. Having reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it was hard to feel hunger, but the kid was a foodie, wanting to eat everything. As long as it was food, he liked it.

In Tianyuan Market, ordinary people used gold and silver, while cultivators used Spirit Stones. Along the way, there were all kinds of shops, covering food, clothing, housing, and transportation, catering to all walks of life.

The majority were cultivator shops, with miscellaneous goods being the most common. Any cultivator dared to open one. The more high-end shops were run by various Cultivation Sects of Cangmin Star, some specializing in selling spiritual herbs, medicines, and Spirit Pills, others in weapons and talismans, a dazzling array that left Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo’s heads spinning.

There were also some less common shops, like those specializing in spiritual tea and liquor, or those selling spiritual fruits.

Yong Ji seemed to have a specific destination in mind. Even though there were so many shops along the way, he didn’t enter any, just leading Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo forward.

Soon, Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo lost track of their route, thankful that Yong Ji was leading the way, or they would have definitely gotten lost.

Turning from the main street into an alley, after about half an hour, the surrounding shops were no longer in sight, replaced by residential walls.

Ordinary people became scarce, with most of the sparse passersby being cultivators, likely residents of the area.

Mi Xiaojing remarked, “This place is nice, Tianyuan Market, suitable for us to live in.”

Yong Ji nodded and said, “Indeed, it’s a mix of dragons and snakes here. Ordinary people can live quite well as long as they have a source of livelihood, and killing ordinary people is strictly forbidden, which is why so many choose to reside here.”

“Protect ordinary people? Isn’t that a rule only Sects have?”

“That’s right, indiscriminate killing of ordinary people is prohibited. It’s not very strict here, but in some large Cultivation Sects, it’s absolutely forbidden. Do you know why?”

Luo Bo asked curiously, “Why?”

“Because the Sects that have been passed down for tens of thousands of years are founded on ordinary people. Cultivation starts with ordinary people. Without adequate protection, cultivators could easily kill hundreds or thousands of them. If the killing were allowed, the foundation of these Sects would be gone.”

Mi Xiaojing thought about it and agreed. Cultivation starts with mortals. Without mortals, where would new cultivators come from? Aren’t mortals the foundation of the Cultivation World?

Wang Weijun spoke up from the Heart Tower, “What’s so strange about that? On some planets, mortals can even establish nations.”

Mi Xiaojing asked, “Nations? What’s that?”

“Ah, pah! I said nothing!”

Wang Weijun grew impatient with having to explain everything.

Alright, Mi Xiaojing was no longer like before, cursing at Wang Weijun at every turn. It had to be said, Wang Weijun treated him too well, even a stone-hearted person would be moved, let alone someone like Mi Xiaojing. Since Wang Weijun didn’t want to talk, he didn’t ask further.

Wang Weijun was like a candle burning at both ends; Mi Xiaojing stopped asking, but he started explaining again, babbling on about nations and families, giving a simple explanation that gave Mi Xiaojing a basic concept, so he wouldn’t be clueless about what a nation was.

After walking a bit longer, Yong Ji stopped in front of a large mansion. Mi Xiaojing noticed two beast statues at the entrance, which gave him a sense of threat.

Wang Weijun timely explained, “These are puppets refined from the corpses of spiritual beasts. Their power isn’t great, hmm, you can handle them. They’re mainly for warning, and they’re quite valuable.”

Yong Ji stood at the entrance with Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo, not knocking or speaking, just standing quietly. At that moment, Mi Xiaojing noticed the eyes of the two puppet beasts seemed to move.

Shortly after, the courtyard door opened, and an elder stepped out.

Mi Xiaojing could tell at a glance that this person was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

The man greeted them with a beaming smile and a bow, “Greetings to the three seniors, I am the steward of Zheng Mansion, Zheng Ming. My master invites you to the main hall.”

Yong Ji nodded and said, “Lead the way.”

Steward Zheng Ming bowed and turned to lead the three through the gate.The front courtyard was exquisite, with rockeries, ponds, and well-pruned trees and flowers. A path paved with white pebbles meandered towards a carved wooden pavilion.

In front of the pavilion stood a camellia tree and an osmanthus tree, their subtle fragrance wafting through the air, just as the flowers were in full bloom.

A young man stood in front of the wooden pavilion, smiling at Yong Ji: “Brother Yong, it’s been a while. It’s rare that you still think of me, haha!”

Brother Yong?

Yong Ji stared at him, then after a moment, he shook his head with a wry smile: “Your progress is quite fast, to have reached Great Perfection!”

Zheng Cong laughed heartily. Back in the day, when Yong Ji was already at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, he was only at the early stage. Decades had passed, and now he had reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, while Yong Ji was only at the late stage. This made him very happy; he had gone from being a junior brother to a senior brother, which was extremely satisfying.

“It was just so-so. I was lucky to get a Spirit Pill and advanced to Great Perfection, haha, just luck, pure luck!”

Zheng Cong glanced at Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo, a flash of amazement in his eyes. Two children, still with traces of youth on their faces, were both Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. The slightly older one had even reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

“Are these two kids your disciples?”

Yong Ji quickly waved his hands: “I wish I had that ability. They are disciples of our Heart Sect, Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo. Come, greet Elder Zheng!”

“Greetings to Elder Zheng!”

“We’ve met Elder Zheng!”

Mi Xiaojing and Luo Bo stepped forward to pay their respects, their neat and tidy demeanor earning Zheng Cong’s favor.

“Haha, good kids, very good!”

He exaggeratedly swung his arms, as if he wanted to pat Mi Xiaojing on the head, but the boy dodged away.

Zheng Cong was actually not young, but he took good care of himself and looked much younger than Yong Ji. He wore a set of dark blue silk robes with light blue floral patterns, a jade belt around his waist, and a delicate dagger hanging from it, along with a milky white jade plaque on the other side.

On his wrist was a storage bracelet, his black hair draped over his shoulders, and a pair of mustaches above his lips. When he spoke, his mustaches moved, and when he laughed, they curled up amusingly.

Mi Xiaojing instinctively felt that this man was somewhat impetuous. He didn’t know why, but Wang Weijun explained it with a single sentence: “He’s a businessman.”