Inheriting A Divine Cultivation Clan At The Start, All My Juniors Are Empresses

Yuchi truly is an old hand at this.

Of course, besides this kind of business, he could see some small beasts for sale. The little beasts were furry, and at first glance, they were clearly not typical cats or dogs. Their ears perked up while listening to the seller brag, essentially claiming that these creatures were not local, but spirit beasts from other provinces.

"Spirit beast? Aren’t spirit beasts just monsters?" Just as Yuchi had this doubt, the storekeeper already provided an answer.

Spirit beasts differ from monsters in that they are wild animals that have developed a basic intelligence. At the end of the day, they are still beasts, just a bit smarter.

It’s like the difference between a husky and a border collie; though the border collie is much smarter than the husky, a border collie is still a dog.

Border Collie: You’re the dog! Tie you up, I’ll go to school on my own!

Monsters are beings with full intelligence and thought, so while they may appear similar in behavior, like humans and apes in a past life, they’re truly different entities. The idea of a gorilla suddenly taking drugs and turning into a human? Not realistic.

Simple imitation and proactive learning—these are two different concepts.

So raising a spirit beast is like keeping a small pet; don’t expect a spirit beast to help in a fight, but they can certainly be cute.

Some fluffy, chubby-cheeked little spirit beasts are particularly favored by female cultivators, and Yuchi could see that quite a few female cultivators appeared in that shop, with some male cultivators also buying spirit beasts for their partners.

"Men don’t keep cats, women don’t keep dogs; and you’re getting your female companion this big-headed spirit beast?"

Having nothing else to do, Yuchi watched the passersby on the street to entertain himself, finding amusement in observing people.

After watching for a while, it became apparent some people were quite impressive.

They had an air of arrogance about them.

Before him on the street was an elderly man with long hair, accompanied by a small child. The child had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes and carried a sword on his back, living up to the traditional image of an elder leading a youth.

Though both were dressed plainly, the old man exuded a powerful aura, the classic "stranger, do not approach" vibe.

"That kid’s killed before." Yuchi calmly assessed the young disciple.

The disciple’s eyes brimmed with disdain and indifference, truly viewing others with the cold gaze of seeing inanimate objects.

"I’ve never even killed a chicken, let alone a person."

Yuchi involuntarily nodded, clearly not believing he was responsible for Yun Chun and others’ deaths.

There were also sects that appeared very official, where every member had standard attire, and a group of twenty or thirty arrived, mighty and imposing.

Having looked all around and with nothing else to do, Yuchi donned his mask, adjusted his crimson robe, and carried his Immortal Sword before heading downstairs for a stroll—the same sword he had retrieved as the first token of Shanlan.

...

Downstairs, the place was bustling; anyone in a public area generally seeks to gather information. Yuchi smiled at someone, nodding, and after the person returned the nod with a smile, he sat down opposite them.

Understanding manners, the person stood up to pour him a cup of tea, to which Yuchi clasped his hands together in thanks.

All around, snippets of conversation drifted to his ears.

"The prizes for this year’s Sect Grand Competition are extremely generous. If we manage to win something, it would be an incredibly painful experience. Speaking of which, there seem to be many disciples at today’s competition?"

"Indeed, just here at Cyan Mountain Port, there are already over five thousand people. According to the organizer’s disciples, the previous competition had just over a thousand people, and the final gathering exceeded a hundred thousand. Imagine how many there will be this time..."

Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novelꜰire.net

"Don’t even mention it; just hearing it makes me anxious. Normally, in the sect, it’s whatever, and I feel pretty capable. But this time at the Sect Grand Competition, my eyes have really been opened, the first time seeing so many cultivators, the first time feeling cultivators are so plentiful."

"No worries, it’s also a good opportunity. People looking for dual cultivation are everywhere on the street, and once you pay, you can enhance your strength. Why not enjoy it?"

"Can’t afford it. The prices here are double those outside, and although it briefly increases power, I could slowly boost more by purchasing Spirit Stones with the same silver. This is only for those who aren’t short on funds, and is there anyone here who isn’t short on funds? We’re all lacking in Spirit Stones..."

"Who isn’t? We all lack Spirit Stones."

"Hey, by the way, have you heard that there’s supposedly an Immortal Root Fruit at the first competition?"

"Of course, but just an Immortal Root Fruit isn’t much help. It’s hard to enhance the Spirit Root with just that; only combining the fruit with other materials allows refining an Immortal Root Spirit Pill, significantly boosting aptitude. But those other materials are quite costly..."

"It’s like going to a party; we have the glass, but we still need to buy the wine."

"It’s already fortunate; the Immortal Root Fruit is pricy as can be! If we manage to get one, selling it could easily start at one hundred thousand silver pieces!"

"Understand, but the key is getting one in the first place, which is a luxury we can’t hope for. If we can squeeze some Spirit Stones out, that’d be a win."

"Right, right..."

As Yuchi listened to the conversations, he recalled his own talent—a standard zero Spirit Root, relying entirely on disciples to advance. At first, he couldn’t afford elixirs to increase Spirit Roots, and now looking again at Spirit Root-enhancing elixirs...

"An Immortal Root Pill costs only fifty thousand Tao points, which, if I grit my teeth, isn’t entirely out of reach, at most borrowing some money from the local casino."

"But still, there’s no need. Spending fifty thousand on myself might earn some Spirit Root, but then I’d lack time to cultivate. Better to invest in disciples who can still boost my cultivation."

"It’s a bit of a snake’s skin, I am the weakest of my class, but this is the logical plan unless one day money isn’t an issue and my disciples have all ascended, and I’m invincible, not needing to spend. Maybe then, I’ll indulge in some fruit just for fun."

"For now... no matter, even if the disciples get it, I’d sell the fruit and pour the funds back into the pot, then buy other things for them."

Yuchi strained to listen, lifting a corner of his mask to sip some tea.

Not bad, the flavor really was quite good.

Then, with a smile, he casually asked a question, "My fellow Daoists, who do you think will take first place this time?"

The conversations halted as one by one, their gazes landed on Yuchi.

Ahem.

Red-clothed Cultivator, quite impressive, and seemed rather ethereal.