SFS Chapter 118 Misty Pool City, Xiao Family
Chapter 118 Misty Pool City, Xiao Family
Before learning about the Meteor Sea, Yunzhou was the most expansive region Chen Xu knew.
Unlike the somewhat chaotic separatist regime in Nanjiang.
Yunzhou is home to numerous sects and powerful families, whose influence is deeply intertwined, forming three major camps:
The Righteous Alliance, a powerful force in central and southern China.
The Demonic Alliance, located in the frigid northern region, is divided by the Du'e River.
And the Cangshan Alliance, which occupies the majestic Cangshan Mountain in the east and claims to be neutral.
Among the three factions, the Righteous Alliance is the strongest, followed by the Demonic Alliance.
The Cangshan Alliance has clashed with other factions, but its strength should not be underestimated.
Furthermore, the northern border of Yunzhou is the endless sea.
The far west is a resource-scarce desert, which is the territory of the Bone Clan.
In Yunzhou, righteous cultivators are undoubtedly the mainstream.
It is said that after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, a righteous cultivator will generate a unique righteous energy within their body.
This energy is inherently incompatible with the demonic energy of demonic cultivators; they are like fire and water.
Although both righteous and demonic energies have many different types, only righteous energy has been divided into detailed subcategories by cultivators in Yunzhou.
For example, the sharp metal energy is mainly used for killing and is very sharp, especially effective against evil spirits and ghost cultivators.
To cultivate this energy, one must possess a metal spiritual root and wield a weapon of slaughter.
By drawing in the killing energy of Geng metal and supplementing it with suitable military techniques, one can condense the sharp metal energy through years of continuous battles.
Those who cultivate this energy must be extremely careful to avoid being soft-hearted, soft-handed, or having greedy thoughts.
In addition, there is the upright and peaceful righteous energy, the pure yang energy that is extremely strong and powerful, and the steady and profound earth energy, etc.
Every kind of righteous energy has its unique advantages, as well as its different shortcomings and taboos.
As for the cultivators in the Cangshan Alliance camp, they mostly practiced ordinary cultivation techniques that did not contain any righteous or demonic attributes.
The "Qingyuan Jue" that Chen Xu mainly cultivated was an anomaly among ordinary cultivation methods.
It is not countered by the five elements, nor suppressed by righteous, demonic, or yin energies, but it also does not restrain other cultivators.
In short, it's a kind of all-purpose technique; nobody can bully me, but I can't bully anyone either.
However, thanks to the dual enhancements of the growth mindset and the masterpiece upgrader.
Chen Xu's "Qingyuan Jue" has profound potential and is enough to overpower a host of other martial arts techniques.
Although he has not yet fully explored the potential of the "Qingyuan Technique", he has had some guesses about it recently when fighting enemies.
It seems possible to develop a technique for stacking spiritual energy.
However, how to unleash the full power of stacked force still needs to be explored gradually.
Another advantage of conventional martial arts is that it allows one to practice another type of martial arts.
For example, Chen Xu himself, in addition to the "Qingyuan Jue", also practiced the demonic body-refining method, "Xuan Gu Zhen Mo Gong".
Fortunately, this skill allows one to conceal demonic energy within the skin, preventing it from being visible.
Otherwise, if Chen Xu wanted to enter the Cangshan Alliance's territory, he would likely encounter a lot of unnecessary trouble and hostility.
……
At this moment, Chen Xu was heading straight ahead of the plain.
He didn't have a map of Yunzhou at the moment, so he could only choose a direction to go and find a place where cultivators gathered before making any further plans.
Fortunately, after traveling for only about half a day, he discovered the outline of a city faintly appearing at the end of the plain ahead.
As they drew closer, a city of comparable size to Gui Island was revealed.
The city gates were wide open, and cultivators came and went in an endless stream, none of them being checked.
Above the city gate are three large characters: Fog Pool City.
Chen Xu concealed his aura, suppressing his cultivation to the late stage of Qi Refining, and silently followed a caravan of goods into the city.
As soon as you step through the city gate, the scenery opens up dramatically, with crisscrossing stone bridges and walkways beneath your feet.
Beneath the bridge, the deep, verdant Tanjiang River flows through the entire city.
The water flows gently, exuding a rich spiritual aura, with wisps of steam rising from the river surface.
The entire city was shrouded in a hazy veil, like a dream.
It is likely that the name of Fog Pool City originated from this.
The city is crisscrossed by waterways and bridges, with shops and buildings lining the waterways.
Chen Xu strolled along and soon found a tavern by the water. He went inside and sat down in a corner by the window.
A waiter in the early stages of Qi Refining immediately approached: "Sir, what would you like to order?"
Chen Xu casually took out five low-grade spirit stones and placed them on the table, his voice calm:
"I'm new here and not very familiar with Fogpool City. Could you perhaps tell me about the ins and outs of the city?"
The waiter's eyes lit up at the sight, and he subtly pocketed the spirit stones, his smile widening as he patted his chest and said:
"Don't worry, sir! I, Song Xiaojiang, have lived in this Misty Pool City for over thirty years. There's nothing I don't know!"
He skillfully pulled out a palm-sized bell-shaped magical artifact from his waist.
With a gentle shake, a very faint soundproof light shield enveloped the two seats, and he began to explain to Chen Xu the various intricacies of Fog Pool City.
"Our Misty Pool City has three major Core Formation families: the Xiao family, the Lie family, and the Ba family."
The three parties governed together and lived in peace for many years.
Our restaurant, along with all the properties on this street, belong to the Xiao family.
The Xiao family's main businesses were restaurants, inns, and brothels.
He continued, counting on his fingers, "The Lie family specializes in alchemy, talisman making, and weapon crafting. Nine out of ten of the pill shops, talisman shops, and weapon crafting workshops in the city are owned by the Lie family."
As for the Ba family, they are a major livestock breeder in our Wutan City.
They contracted all the fisheries in the city, as well as large tracts of spiritual fields inside and outside the city.
The three major families practically monopolized all industries in the city, leaving ordinary cultivators and small families to scrape by.
"The Xiao family..." Chen Xu pondered, "It must be Xiao Muwan's family..."
After listening silently, Chen Xu ordered another pot of sake, drank it all in one gulp, and then got up and left the tavern.
He walked along the bridge, planning to find a safe place to settle down.
As we approached a fork in the road, sharp shouts and curses came from a small restaurant next door.
"Our Xiao family doesn't support idlers. You good-for-nothing, if you can't earn five hundred low-grade spirit stones for the clan this month..."
"Pack your bags and get out of here to that poor, destitute Nanjiang to keep your useless sister company! Don't just stand here wasting the clan's resources!"
A man dressed in a magnificent purple brocade robe was seen. He was pointing at a girl in a gray robe and scolding her sternly.
The girl was thin and had her head down, so her face was not visible.
But her clenched fists and slightly trembling shoulders betrayed her inner anger.
She didn't argue, but simply raised her head, her gaze fixed intently on that... .
He was taken aback by the unwavering gaze in the girl's eyes, then flew into a rage:
"You little bitch! How dare you glare at me? You're asking for it!"
Before she could finish speaking, she raised her hand and slapped the girl hard across the face.
Chen Xu, who was just passing by and had no intention of getting involved in other people's affairs, quietly stopped in his tracks.
His gaze swept over the gray-robed girl who appeared to be only at the early stage of Qi Refining, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes...