I Have No Qualifications, The System Asked Me To Marry A Wife To Practice

That evening, Chu Shen stayed overnight at the Taiping Sect.

The next day, Cheng Man sent Yu Sidao to accompany him to the scattered cultivator market, which was 80 miles away from Nanping City.

As old acquaintances who hadn't seen each other in a long time, the two of them had no shortage of topics along the way, and they also talked about the scattered cultivator market.

Yu Sidao told Chu Shen that compared to disciples of sects, scattered cultivators were definitely the most pitiful fellows in the cultivation world. However, just as snakes have their own paths and mice have their own routes, those who could mix in the cultivation world as scattered cultivators were by no means useless. There were quite a few lucky ones among them.

Although the scattered cultivator market was low-end and not as glamorous as the formal cultivation markets set up by major sects, it was still possible to find treasures there.

However, it required a keen eye and some luck. Most scattered cultivators went to the market for their livelihood and cultivation.

"Take the Lantern Grass Market, for example. Most scattered cultivators go there to exchange for the necessary spiritual plants, minerals, and other raw materials, as well as consumables like pills and talismans. There are also some transactions involving a small number of magical tools. It's also a place to exchange information about recent appearances of secret realms and such."

In addition to that, the most common transactions are...

He made a piston-like motion.

Chu Shen was somewhat surprised. "Is it really that casual?"

Yu Sidao covered his face with his hand. "You misunderstood. I mean blind dates!"

Chu Shen suddenly felt embarrassed. He thought Yu Sidao was talking about brothels.

"Of course, there are also people who engage in such flesh trade, but their numbers are very few. Most of them have cultivated in this aspect or joined sects related to this field. There aren't many who really do this for a living."

After all, they were cultivators, and even if they were down and out, they still had some bottom line. Otherwise, Xiao Hongling wouldn't have felt so resentful and missed the best opportunity to enter the Chu family.

In the end, there were indeed very few cultivators who truly degraded themselves, but they did exist.

"By the way, Lord Chu, are you planning to bring back a few female cultivators on this trip?" Yu Si asked, inquiring about Chu Shen's intentions. After all, Chu Shen had taken in so many concubines and even asked Yu Si to act as an intermediary, attempting to recruit female cultivators for love.

Chu Shen's forehead was filled with black lines. It seemed that his "lecherous" label was firmly attached.

But it didn't matter. It was a man's nature, and besides, he was also doing it for cultivation purposes.

"I am going to broaden my horizons and understand the situation of the scattered cultivator market. I might also see if I can find any treasures, but I haven't thought about meeting female cultivators at the market."

The talented scattered cultivators had long been picked up by various sects. The female cultivators who ended up in the scattered cultivator market were either old or had poor aptitude. Chu Shen was aware of this fact. If he really wanted to find female cultivators, was Chongxue Peak lacking in them?

His visit to the scattered cultivator market was more of a social survey, in order to have a better understanding of the various levels of society in Dongxuan Tian and make more thorough preparations for the Chu family to settle in Nanping City.

Yu Si thought about it and decided not to bring up this topic. Instead, he started chatting with Chu Shen about some jokes and secrets in the cultivation world.

Unknowingly, the two arrived at their destination.

This Lantern Grass Market was located on Lantern Grass Mountain, famous for its abundant lantern grass that could be used to make wicks.

However, the surrounding land was barren, with many mountains and wild beasts, and very few people lived there. This made it convenient for scattered cultivators to find a quiet place to hold their market.

Chu Shen and Yu Si rode their horses straight into the mountains. When they arrived at the destination, they passed through an illusion curtain and entered the interior of the scattered cultivator market.

Now it was already bustling here. At a glance, there were at least several thousand people wandering between the simple grass mat stalls. There were also scattered cultivators running tea shops and fruit stalls nearby, with a strong rural flavor, like ancient times when people gathered in the countryside.

"There are more people here than I imagined." Chu Shen was somewhat surprised by the prosperity of the Lantern Grass Market.

Yu Si said, "After all, it has attracted scattered cultivators from several counties and even disciples from local sects. There are also many people who have come from even farther away. This number is still considered small, as many people haven't arrived yet."

Chu Shen nodded. Indeed, although the wandering cultivators had no roots, they possessed a strong vitality, like wild grass. Even if they couldn't become towering trees, they still bloomed brilliantly.

Before coming here, he had disguised himself and didn't reveal anything special. Together with Yu Sida, they blended into the crowd and looked around.

Prices, variety of goods, what the wandering cultivators needed, and what items were not selling well in the market... All of these were the things Chu Shen observed this time. Occasionally, he would take out a small notebook and use a charcoal pencil to record what he observed.

Although Yu Sida was surprised, he didn't say much. While accompanying Chu Shen to wander around, he also exchanged for the things he wanted.

Both of them took what they needed and went wherever they wanted. Just when they were enjoying themselves, the crowd suddenly became noisy, and the sounds of cursing and fighting could be heard.

Yu Sida looked at Chu Shen.

Chu Shen said, "Let's go take a look."

Following the crowd watching the excitement, the two of them also arrived at the scene.

It turned out that several cultivators, thinking they had some cultivation, wanted to force a thin and weak stall owner to sell his goods at a lower price. The stall owner refused, and a fight broke out between the two sides.

Although the stall owner was in the right, he was outnumbered and at a disadvantage. Most of the onlookers were just there to watch the excitement, and some were indignant but hesitant to step forward, which made Chu Shen furrow his brow.

"Is no one going to intervene?"

Yu Sida sighed, "There should be. Although this is a wild gathering organized by cultivators, it is still within the jurisdiction of the Dayan Immortal Dynasty. The cultivation supervision agencies of the surrounding prefectures and counties, as well as the Jin Yi envoys, will send people to oversee it.

But in recent years, the world has been in chaos, the government is short of money, and manpower is insufficient. Matters like this in the martial world are not well managed. They often hand over such affairs to people outside the government.

I have seen some wandering cultivators wearing government marks before. They should be the ones in charge, but..."

Chu Shen looked at the side that was fighting, then looked at Yu Sida who was secretly pointing at the "outsourced government personnel," and suddenly understood.

Perhaps these troublemakers and those "government outsourcing personnel" are up to something fishy.

Come to think of it, with such a big market, there must always be some benefits to be gained. Otherwise, why would those "government outsourcing personnel" bother to help the government?

"So you're saying that if you have the right connections, you can obtain the power to convene, organize, and manage this kind of market?" Chu Shen537 asked.

Yu Si realized his intentions and said, "Are you interested, Lord Chu? This job is not easy."

Chu Shen hinted at those who wore official seals and smiled, "Then how are they able to do it?"

Yu Si whispered, "They are just peripheral thugs. Do you know why others don't intervene when they see injustice? Because they know there are people behind them."

"Who are these people?"

"Some are from the government, some are from local sects, and many have connections with the ancestral sects. If your connections are not strong enough, your reputation not influential enough, and your pockets not deep enough, you won't be able to handle this situation."

Chu Shen felt a bit regretful. He had forgotten that since there are benefits involved, the government is not foolish. How could they not take advantage of it?

Of course, after the turmoil in the Great Yan Immortal Dynasty, the government's power declined and they couldn't handle it anymore. Some people wanted to take advantage of the situation and grab a share for themselves. They collaborated with insiders to divide these benefits from the government and enjoy them together.

These are definitely well-established interest groups that he couldn't meddle with, just like how others find it difficult to intervene in certain matters in Nanping City.

The chaos subsided after a while, and those "government outsourcing personnel" approached when the timing was right to "mediate."

Although the vendors managed to save most of their goods, they still had to give some discounts to those troublemakers and suffered some losses.

Those troublemakers left with their blood-stained bargains, smiling.

The market returned to its original bustling state, as if this conflict had never happened.