Chapter 6: Behind the Scenes of Red and Gold

He JiYang woke up early. A large city was bustling at almost all hours, and the sounds could easily be heard from the thin walls of this room.

She got ready and headed downstairs after eating a fruit. In a city like this, while she and Mo Jin were both weak, it was best to not show off too many treasures. Fortunately, security was quite high within city premises, and there were many rich cultivators, so it wasn’t difficult to blend in.

Over the past few days, she went around the city on her own to let Mo Jin cultivate instead. Although she was weak and in poor health, Mo Jin was a glass cannon. He was powerful, but he would break with a few shots, so he needed to cultivate to manage his internal chaos.  In comparison, He JiYang’s condition was stable.

The investigation on the first day with Mo Jin wasn’t fruitless; she learned the names and whereabouts of several acclaimed pill alchemists and the Medicinal Alchemist Association. Furthermore, someone inadvertently revealed that the Medicinal Alchemist Association was secretly affiliated with the Merchants Alliance controlled by Tao Duo Lu.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any connections in Tao Duo Lu. Additionally, this meant they would have to find an independent alchemist outside the Association in order to prevent any possible spread of information.

This was a tall order, and the formula also required an alchemist at the Core Formation level or above. Most pills and potions with some difficulty required an alchemist to have fine control over their spiritual sense, so the Medicinal Alchemy paths were considered “intermediate” since one wouldn’t a true alchemist until they entered the Mind Refining stage. It should be noted that the Medicinal Healing path is different to the Medicinal Alchemy paths.

Therefore, Foundation Building was considered the “tomb of the ill-fated”. The skills of their paths were almost entirely out of reach for alchemy cultivators in this stage, yet cultivation itself is resource-heavy and most cultivators never pass this stage. Many bright young seedlings with big dreams choose to scatter their cultivation and walk a different path instead. In the Mind Refining stage, depending on their grasp of their spiritual sense many popular low-level pills can be crafted.

Most practitioners selling their skills and lacking in funds were in the Mind Refining stage. Taking on commissions give them opportunities to cultivate and resources, and if lucky they can even learn new formulas. In the latter stages, alchemy was an incredibly lucrative career, so cultivators weren’t lacking in resource or funds. Therefore, the truly powerful ones at Nascent Soul or above couldn’t be commissioned. However, these alchemists were often interested in working with rare ingredients and accepted unusual pill formulas as payment.

Unfortunately, the most powerful alchemists often had a strong ego or highly eccentric personality. They often travelled in hopes of discovering lucky encounters and were difficult to meet or search for. Fortunately, He JiYang’s requirements weren’t too high. Nonetheless, given their circumstances an encounter would still depend on chance. After all, 95% of all cultivators were in the Mind Refining stage or below.

The easiest way to contact a Core Formation alchemist was to go through the Medicinal Alchemist Association channel, but that wasn’t an option. She couldn’t let any of the Noble Sects learn they possessed the Green Lantern pill; it was also likely they already had it and wouldn’t be willing to allow others to spread it.

She also couldn’t casually approach independent alchemists. There weren’t many in any case, but she also didn’t want to support the growth of demonic cultivation. If this formula was to spread to those with unfortunate intentions, it could be disastrous. Core Formation cultivators, particularly the most common ones at the Lower level, also charged extravagant fees. It was likely the formula wouldn’t be enough for them, but He JiYang was lacking in resources.

The past few days were mainly spent investigating the alchemists, but as expected none were promising. She had all but given up and planned to spend the day looking at spiritual plants or other items instead. He JiYang was very interested in the Medicinal Healing path, and her interest spread to include the tonics and medicines such cultivators sometimes used. Of course, she never cultivated one of the Alchemy paths, so she couldn’t make any spiritual recipes. However, that didn’t stop her from loving to learn about and purchase the items, particularly ones that didn’t require spiritual energy.

Fortunately, the situation wasn’t too urgent.  It was an unexpected blessing to acquire the Fruit and the formula as quickly as they did; in the beginning, He JiYang didn’t hold any hope. Now, she wanted to obtain the pill before she finished formulating her core. This step, to most cultivators, would take over 100 years if it could be completed at all. However, He JiYang had gone through this already, and it only took 20 years due to her innate talent and suitability for this path. This time, she was mainly missing just the cultivation aspect. Adding in how Mo Jin was bringing her any good thing he could find, she estimated completion in less than 5 years.

She wandered through the streets in a whimsical mood, stopping to look at various small vendors along the way. He JiYang also casually wandered into various expensive shops, greeted by overly friendly salespeople and sparkling displays of items. Looking at her clothing and graceful bearing, many were excited to serve what they presumed to be a rich customer. Although she knew she couldn’t afford anything, He JiYang felt no pressure asking about products and being waited on by staff. In any case, they were still getting paid.

This was the confidence of the nobility that was engraved into her bones, even if she was now in the mud.

As the day got darker, He JiYang naturally gravitated towards the brighter and louder areas. Eventually, she found herself by the red-light district. As she saw the garishness from afar, she was overcome by a strange feeling of curiosity and rule-breaking eagerness. A young and pretty girl walking by herself through the red-light district would surely draw a lot of attention, so she made sure to wear her robe tightly. Anyway, there were many people who were covered to hide their shamefulness; perhaps they had ascetic reputations to uphold or were married yet couldn’t resist the appeal of sultry kisses and drunken madness.

She had never come before, so she was feeling awkward as she stepped in. As a lone person clearly emitting a guilty conscience, she was even approached. Every time, she would shiver with shock before quickly walking away.

He JiYang sneakily looked around. Flower petals and handkerchiefs fluttered in the wind, and the air was thick with the scent of smoke and perfume. Exuberant laughter, great cheer, and coy words dripping with temptation mixed for a dizzying sense of fantasy and hysteria.

But underneath the glittering illusion bordering vulgarity, she could see the red paint chipping off the walls. Beautiful young men and women flaunted their sensuous figures by the storefronts, but higher up the building older and less attractive workers desperately shook their hips and called loudly for some attention. He JiYang’s sharpened eyesight could easily make out the thick layers of makeup, artificially raised voices to sound coquettish, and smiles etched into their faces on the verge of cracking.

She stood amidst the bustle and glee. He JiYang felt as if she understood something, and yet also did not. It felt like a word on the tip of her tongue, flickering away before she could grasp it.

Suddenly, she lost interest, almost feeling nauseous as she went quickly through the alleys to leave. She wasn’t afraid of these areas; the red-light district typically had mortal or lower-level cultivators as patrons. Stronger cultivators didn’t lack beautiful and willing bed companions sending themselves to their door, so they rarely joined the excitement here.

The red-light district was surrounded by activity and shops, but a little way off there was a forest towards the north. He JiYang slowly walked in that direction, feeling detached from the world spinning around her. She looked up at the moon. It was just a thin crescent above the skies.

Closer to the trees, she heard a struggle. Walking closer, she saw a man and a woman disdainfully looking down at a young girl desperately trying to escape. With a glance, the girl’s seductive eyes and ethereal features could be seen. Her clothing revealed her alluring figure; it was clear she was a prostitute from the red-light district trying to escape.

Although this was near the forest, there were still people walking around. Some glanced in her direction as she pleaded for help, but they indifferently continued their way.

He JiYang saw from a distance but didn’t try to help. Not only was the woman a cultivator even stronger than her, even if she helped the girl escape today, she didn’t have the ability to keep protecting her after. If the group could hire guards at that woman’s level, they certainly didn’t lack resources and wouldn’t forgive escape. There was nothing she could do.

Just as she was going to look away, her eyes met the girl’s.

“Save me! Please! I don’t want to go back!” She pleaded, tears dripping down.

“There’s nothing I can do to help you.” Stared at by those eyes, He JiYang felt compelled to respond. She knew there was nothing she could do, and it would be courting death to jump in. The cultivation world was one where only the strong survived. And yet… what did she really have to lose?

Author's Note: I am precisely that person that is extremely pressured by salespeople in expensive stores... Like if you are too? *acting cute*