Scanning the many cultivators below, their faces filled with questions, Wu Tao began to explain.
"Due to the overwhelming number of fellow cultivators arriving in Black Blood City this time, for the sake of everyone's safety, we had no choice but to fully activate the Minor Heavenly Cycle Big Dipper Formation."
"Facing so many of our peers, I cannot lie. I will speak the truth."
"Currently, too many cultivators have come to Black Blood City. As the hosts, our manpower is simply insufficient."
"This starlight that blankets the entire city serves a defensive purpose. If anyone harbors ill intentions and attempts to harm others, the starlight will converge."
"The Enforcement Team will be able to arrive immediately upon seeing this, thus effectively ensuring the safety of our fellow cultivators."
"If any fellow cultivators wish to trade treasures they have brought, you may set up a small stall on the streets of Black Blood City. We only ask for a small stall fee!"
"Of course, if any fellow cultivators have particularly good magical artifacts they wish to consign to the auction house, you may also find my two disciples, Nangong Nan and Nangong Xing."
"If any fellow cultivators are simply visiting Black Blood City and wish to admire its scenery, please feel free to do so."
"You may all rest assured that within Black Blood City, bathed in starlight, unless one has reached the Nascent Soul stage or above, no one can easily evade the starlight's perception and act in secret."
"Hahahaha, I have taken up too much of your time. I have finished speaking."
"Alright, I wish all fellow cultivators a fruitful harvest!"
...
After he finished speaking, Wu Tao vanished without a trace.
Only the bewildered crowd, looking up with tilted heads, remained.
...
"Hiss! That person standing in the sky just now, was that Wu Tao, the Lord of Chu Domain? To think I would see such a distinguished figure. This trip to Black Blood City was indeed worthwhile."
"Indeed, this is the first time my brother and I have ever seen someone so important!"
In a secluded corner of Black Blood City, after hearing Wu Tao's speech, two junior cultivators at the Qi Refining stage couldn't help but swallow. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with envy and admiration, and sighed in a low voice.
These two junior cultivators at the Qi Refining stage were named Yin Ni and Yin Dong.
...
"Brother, do you think we should set up a small stall and sell the treasures we have?"
A moment later, as the two brothers emerged from their shock, the younger one, Yin Dong, spoke.
As he spoke, he cautiously touched the storage bag at his waist, as if it contained extremely precious treasures.
"Tsk! The Lord of Chu Domain is truly benevolent. You two, at the Qi Refining stage, dare to get involved in this mess and even want to set up a stall in Black Blood City?"
"With your humble statuses, what good treasures could you possibly have?"
"Moreover, with your meager possessions, you can't even afford the spirit stones for a stall. How laughable!"
Before Yin Ni, the elder brother, could reply, a middle-aged man at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, standing beside them, turned his head, surveyed them, and couldn't help but mock them.
Sensing the cultivation of the middle-aged man before them, Yin Ni and Yin Dong's expressions soured. After exchanging a look, they gritted their teeth and reluctantly loosened their instinctively clenched fists.
As expected, those who dared to openly mock them were individuals they couldn't afford to offend.
In fact, along the way, quite a few people had already mocked and humiliated them for their low cultivation and their audacity in coming to Black Blood City.
Having been ridiculed by countless people, the two brothers were surprised to find that in this place, they couldn't seem to find any cultivators with cultivation levels lower than their own!
Watching the two brothers exchange bewildered glances, the middle-aged man shrugged disdainfully and said with a playful smirk, "You two little fellows are truly audacious."
"Don't you know that although the Lord of Chu Domain hasn't explicitly designated where each cultivator should go..."
"Secretly, centered around the Black Blood City Lord's Mansion, everyone has tacitly divided into several activity zones?"
"Your exchange area for Qi Refining cultivators is not here, but near the entrance of Black Blood City."
"I truly don't know how you two little fellows ended up here. This is the designated activity area for cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and above."
"Although no one is forcing you to leave, with your impoverished appearance, loitering here for a year or half a year will be of no use. You should leave quickly!"
...
Upon hearing the words of the middle-aged man at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, the brothers Yin Ni and Yin Dong finally realized something.
It turned out this area was not a place for them, mere chicks at the Qi Refining stage, to be.
With their inexperience from venturing out into the cultivation world for the first time and lacking friends in Black Blood City, the brothers Yin Ni and Yin Dong had made a mistake right from the start.
No wonder they hadn't encountered any cultivators with cultivation levels lower than their own.
...
Although the middle-aged man at the late stage of Foundation Establishment had offered them a reminder, his words were too harsh.
Yin Ni, being the elder, could endure it, but the younger Yin Dong, filled with hot-bloodedness, couldn't stand it.
Recalling the rules of Black Blood City during the auction period, Yin Dong retorted without courtesy.
"You... you arrogant snob who looks down on people..."
"Which eye of yours saw that we are poor?"
...
"Tsk!"
"Two little fellows who don't know what's good for them. You, a pauper, even want to set up a stall."
"Do you know the fee for setting up a stall is five hundred spirit stones?"
"Can you even afford that?"
...
"And entering the auction itself is even more difficult."
"Although the auction doesn't have a cultivation level restriction, the entry fee alone is one thousand spirit stones. Even I am reluctant to go in, let alone you."
"Since you've traveled so far to Black Blood City, you might as well explore it and just enjoy the sights."
"This is truly not a place for people like you to get involved!"
...
Shaking his head, the middle-aged man at the late stage of Foundation Establishment didn't bother arguing with the two brothers further.
After all, the Lord of Chu Domain had just emphasized a strict prohibition against any fighting during the auction period. Otherwise, if two junior cultivators at the Qi Refining stage dared to talk back to him like this, he would have slapped them to death long ago with his usual temper.
However, even though he didn't act, the middle-aged man didn't want to waste his time bickering with these two juniors.
...
He didn't want to cause a commotion over such a trivial matter and end up being looked down upon by so many fellow cultivators.
Moreover, he had many treasures to trade this time, so why waste time here?
The most important thing was to quickly go to the Enforcement Team, pay the spirit stone fee, set up a small stall, and attract customers.
...
Seeing the middle-aged man's figure completely disappear into the corner, the brothers Yin Ni and Yin Dong exchanged a helpless glance and sighed in unison.
They looked around at the milling crowd, all cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and above, and quickly found an empty corner to squat down.
Looking at the surging crowds and feeling their powerful spiritual pressure, this pair of brothers, who had just left home, were truly dumbfounded!
Swallowing, Yin Dong glanced at the storage bag at his waist again and instinctively nudged his elder brother.
After taking a deep breath, Yin Dong, with a dejected heart, said, "Brother, I think we should leave. Anyone here could crush us with a single finger."
"If we run into some reckless madman, our lives could be lost here."
"Besides, although that senior spoke harshly, if you think about it carefully, he's not wrong."
"With our meager possessions, we can't afford anything."
"Why don't we just leave? It's better than staying here and embarrassing ourselves."
...
"Stop talking, look at your useless self!"
"Have you forgotten the grand promises we made to our parents before we left?"
After reprimanding his younger brother, Yin Ni's imposing aura completely deflated, like a flat balloon.
...
After a long silence, Yin Ni explained, "Brother, if we don't come here to try our luck and venture out, what else can we do?"
"With our brother's aptitude, unless we encounter a great destiny, we will likely never break through to the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime."
"Are you willing to turn into dry bones after a hundred years?"
...
Patting his storage bag with some helplessness, Yin Ni continued, "Brother, you know the situation of our family..."
"If nothing unexpected happens, this might be our only chance. If we miss this opportunity, our lives will be as they are!"
...
"Alas! All this talk is in vain. Brother, I'll tell you the truth."
"Our eldest uncle just broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, you know that, right?"
Seeing that his younger brother wasn't paying attention to his words, Yin Ni.
He knew that this way of "painting a grand picture" could no longer ignite any fighting spirit in his younger brother.
Knowing this, Yin Ni sighed slightly, his face grim, and revealed the truth of the matter!
...
"I know about that. Isn't that a good thing?"
"Our eldest uncle has broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and we can benefit from it..."
Yin Dong scratched his head, looking confused.
...
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