Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Qingzhou, Longchuan County, Gaoliu County.

Chen Yuan, wearing a neat white gown, looked particularly eye-catching walking on the street.

The pedestrians on the road were generally in tattered clothes and looked pale.

Beggars squatted at the foot of the wall on the side of the street, most of whom were young children, with dishevelled hair and dirty faces, pale and thin bodies.

Chen Yuan's face was solemn, and his eyes swept around, looking for restaurants and teahouses.

He avoided the caravans on Yuanpingxing, traveled at night and slept in the morning, and it took him ten days to finally get out of the Chimang Mountains and come to Gaoliu County.

Qi was divided into 35 states, 22 of which were in the south of the Chimang Mountains. The terrain was flat, with rivers crisscrossing, suitable for farming, and gathered 70% to 80% of the country's population.

There were only 13 states in the north of the Chimang Mountains, including Qingzhou. One state was as big as four or five states in the south. The terrain was rugged, mostly mountains and hills, and there were many dangerous places with no people.

Most of them live in Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Lingzhou near the Chimang Mountains. The remaining ten states have a bad environment and are sparsely populated.

Like Leping County, Gaoliu County is the closest county to Yuanpingxing in Qingzhou. Since ancient times, it has been a place where merchants and travelers gather and is quite prosperous.

But in such a place, there are so many beggars. There is also a disaster camp built by the government outside the city, which gathers thousands of disaster victims who have fled from all over Longchuan County. It is like a hell on earth.

Chen Yuan also encountered mountain bandits blocking the road and cutting the way many times in Yuanpingxing. They were extremely rampant, and he wiped them out one by one.

He only practiced in seclusion for two and a half years, and Qi State seemed to have become a chaotic world.

"Master, please be kind and give me some money..."

A ten-year-old beggar rushed to Chen Yuan, imitated the adults, bowed, and looked at him eagerly.

Chen Yuan looked down and saw that the beggar was skinny, with sparse hair, deep eye sockets, and black dirt between his nails.

Seeing his hopeful eyes, Chen Yuan sighed and said:

"Come with me."

The beggar hesitated for a moment, turned his head and looked at the street. Two taller beggars were staring at him fiercely.

Chen Yuan walked forward without looking back. The beggar gritted his teeth and followed him, repeating:

"Master, please be kind and give me some money..."

Chen Yuan did not answer, but just walked in front. The boy said a few more words, finally stopped, and just followed silently.

Finally, Chen Yuan stopped in front of a bun shop on the street. Without asking the price, he said to the boss:

"Give me five meat buns."

As he said that, he reached into his arms, took out a tael of silver, and handed it over.

This was something he had specially searched from the bandits, and it just came in handy.

"Okay, wait a moment, sir."

The boss's eyes lit up as he took the silver, weighed it with a scale, then carefully cut off a piece with scissors, put it on the scale, showed it to Chen Yuan, and smiled:

"Two cents for a bun, a total of ten cents, I cut a little more, please forgive me, sir."

As he said, he took out three cents from the cash box and handed it to Chen Yuan along with the remaining silver.

Then, he turned around and picked up a wooden clip, took out five buns from the steamer, put them in a clean lotus leaf, and handed them to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan took the bun, handed it to the boy, and said:

"Eat it."

The boy took the bun and ate it in big mouthfuls.

Chen Yuan handed the boy three more cents, looked at him, and turned away.

Everyone has his own destiny, and he still has his own way to go, so he can only let the boy have a full meal.

"Thank you, sir! I wish you good luck and good health!"

Chen Yuan paused, without looking back, and continued to walk forward.

Slowly, the street became more and more prosperous, the number of patrol officers gradually increased, and the number of beggars on the street became fewer and fewer.

Finally, Chen Yuan saw a restaurant, walked in, went straight to the second floor, and sat down at a table by the window.

A servant came up to greet him, Chen Yuan casually asked for a few side dishes and a pot of wine, and sent the servant away.

Afterwards, he spread his spiritual sense and covered the entire restaurant.

It was afternoon, the meal time had passed, and there were not many guests in the restaurant. Including Chen Yuan, there were only four tables.

At one table sat a young scholar, who was silent and drinking by himself.

At another table were two middle-aged men dressed as merchants, who were talking about the cotton cloth business, toasting and drinking.

At the last table were two dusty men, dressed in luxurious clothes, drinking and chatting.

The topic they were talking about attracted Chen Yuan's attention.

"Brother Cheng, what did you gain from Lingzhou this time?"

"Don't mention it, I just barely broke even."

"Why is that?"

"Wang Zhubu of Yingbei County, Xianyin County, joined the White Lotus Sect and believed in the Mother of No Birth. He wanted to share the land, wait for wealth, establish a heavenly kingdom on earth, and create a vacuum hometown. A large number of people followed him to rebel. They have already captured two counties. The momentum is huge and the market is depressed. It's because I sold it quickly, otherwise I would have lost everything."

"Alas, it has become more and more chaotic in the past two years. When I went to Yuzhou this time, I heard that the White Lotus Sect was also causing trouble in the south, and it is said that some have already broken through the county city."

"Who said it wasn't? In the past two years, various places have either suffered from floods or droughts, and several states have also suffered from locust plagues. We have few people in the north, and we can go into the mountains to find some food. The population in the south is dense. Once there is a disaster, there will be no harvest in the fields, and there will be starving people everywhere. How can we not rebel?"

"There are more people falling into bandits than before in the Chimang Mountains. I have encountered bandits five times along the way. Fortunately, I spent a lot of money to hire escorts from the Longmen Escort Bureau. If I had been replaced by people from the small escort agencies in the past, At least half of the goods must be dispersed to ensure safety. "

"Brother Cheng is indeed very courageous. This trip will bring at least three thousand taels of silver into his account, right? Unlike me, I only dare to travel around the Three Continents to earn some hard money. I really want to live longer and return home."

"Haha, Brother Wei, this is a safe move..."

When Chen Yuan heard this, his heart moved. He touched his storage bag and found a one hundred tael silver note in his hand. He stood up and came to the two men, cupped his hands and said:

"Brothers, please invite me. I have a question for you, Chen Yuan."

The two of them turned to look at Chen Yuan and saw that he was wearing a white gown, clean as new and with a calm expression. They did not dare to neglect him, stood up to greet him, and returned the favor.

The man surnamed Wei who was doing business in Qing, Yong and Ling prefectures said with a smile:

"Brother Chen, what do you want to ask?"

Chen Yuan put the banknotes on the table and said:

"I just heard that these two brothers are doing business among various states and have extensive knowledge. Chen wants to visit friends in Shuozhou. However, the world is in chaos and he does not dare to go alone. He wants to go with a caravan. Can you two brothers introduce me to a friend? The way?"

When the two of them saw Chen Yuan casually taking out a hundred taels of silver notes, they were shocked and did not dare to look down upon him.

The man surnamed Cheng reluctantly took back the bank note and said:

"Brother Chen, please forgive me. Cheng has been traveling to Yuanpingxing all year round and is not very familiar with Shuozhou. I'm afraid I won't be able to help."

The man named Wei smiled and said:

"Wei often does business in the three prefectures of Qing, Yong, and Ling. He has also been to Shuozhou twice. He knows several colleagues who travel to Shuozhou. However, Shuozhou has a vast terrain. I wonder where Brother Chen is going to Shuozhou? "

Chen Yuan replied:

"Huanyue Mountains."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of both of them changed. The smile on the man named Wei's face turned cold and he said:

"Brother Chen, could he be entertaining Mr. Wei?"

Chen Yuan's heart moved and he said:

"Brother Wei, what do you mean by this?"

The man named Wei said coldly:

"No one knows that the terrain of the Huanyue Mountains is dangerous. There are often vicious beasts and miasma. Even the herb collectors who regard wealth as their lives do not dare to go into the mountains to collect herbs. Could it be that the friends of Brother Chen are the ones in the mountains? A ferocious beast?"

Chen Yuan was startled, then smiled and said:

"Brother Wei misunderstood. I didn't mean to enter the Huanyue Mountains. It's just that I haven't seen that friend for many years and there is no information. He only said that he asked me to go to the Huanyue Mountains to find him. According to this, he should be in the Huanyue Mountains. Near the Huanyue Mountains, as long as the caravan can take me to the town closest to the Huanyue Mountains, that’s fine.”

When the man surnamed Wei heard this, his expression softened slightly and he said:

"I misunderstood Brother Chen, but these one hundred taels of silver..."

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"A small gift is not a sign of respect. After the event is completed, Chen will receive another reward and give it to the caravan manager."

The man named Wei felt relieved and said:

"Brother Chen, if you don't mind, please sit down and have a few drinks together. I will introduce a caravan to Brother Chen later. How about that?"

Chen Yuan lifted the hem of his gown, sat opposite the man named Wei, and said with a smile:

"Chen, it is better to obey your orders than to be respectful."

…

After dinner, the man surnamed Cheng left, and the man surnamed Wei led Chen Yuan to the house of a businessman surnamed Shen.

This person has been doing business between Shuozhou and Qingzhou all year round and is familiar with the roads, which exactly meets Chen Yuan's requirements.

Chen Yuan immediately presented him with a hundred taels of silver notes. The merchant surnamed Shen thought for a moment and then allowed Chen Yuan to accompany the caravan.

But with one more person, one hundred taels of silver can be credited to the account, which is such a good deal.

It happened that the merchant surnamed Shen was about to leave for Shuozhou soon. Chen Yuan only waited for six days before leaving Gaoliu County with the caravan.

Shuozhou is located in the north of Qingzhou, with Liangzhou in the middle and four thousand miles away from Gaoliu County.

The further north you go, the more desolate you become. From time to time you can see people who have been displaced from their homes by floods and droughts.

Chen Yuan chatted with the merchant surnamed Shen and learned that the destination of the caravan's trip was Qingyang Town, which is at the foot of the Qingyang Mountains and the closest town to the Huanyue Mountains.

The Qingyang Mountain Range is a branch of the Huanyue Mountain Range. It contains minerals and herbs. Some brave people went into the mountain to mine and collect herbs, and Qingyang Town was gradually formed at the foot of the mountain.

And for some reason, the quality of the mineral herbs in these branches is much better than those in other places.

Every year, caravans come to buy minerals and herbs, and even caravans from the south of the Chimang Mountains come here.

Xingshang surnamed Shen is one of them. He travels between Qingzhou and Shuozhou all year round. He has rich experience and is familiar with the situation along the way.

The caravan traveled without any dangers and lasted for three months before finally entering Shuozhou.

In half a month, we will arrive at Qingyang Town.

But the closer to the end, Hongshang surnamed Shen became more and more cautious, sending out guards to explore the road ahead every day, just like marching to war.

Chen Yuan was curious and asked:

"Why was Shopkeeper Shen so careful after entering Shuozhou?"

Shopkeeper Shen looked solemn and said:

"There are often ferocious beasts in Shuozhou. They are invulnerable. Some people have even seen monsters that can control water and fire, so they have to guard against them."

In the evening of this day, the caravan traveled to a wilderness and set up camp to rest by a small river.

After Chen Yuan had a meal with his guards, he went back to the camp to meditate and practice to increase his magic power.

Along the way, he didn't have any arrogance and lived with the guards.

The only difference is that he spent money to buy a carriage, and he would meditate with his eyes closed in the carriage during the day, seizing every moment to practice.

If you don't accumulate steps, you can't reach a thousand miles.

No matter how slowly the mana increases, cultivation cannot be neglected.

Just as Chen Yuan closed his eyes and meditated, he suddenly heard a not-quite-real roar of an animal:

"Awooo!"

Then, a faint shout came into his ears:

"Evil beast, you dare to destroy my treasure!"