By the time it was past midnight, the snack street outside was in full swing.
In the bustling city, people were drunk on the night.
Yue Wen had already washed up. Lying on the small bed on the second floor, he scrolled through his phone for a while and was about to go to sleep.
Only, before falling asleep, there was still one thing he needed to do.
He put down his phone, closed his eyes, and meditated. His divine sense sank, and in an instant he slipped into darkness, arriving in a hollow, void-like realm.
When he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived in a deep, solemn palace of black and gold.
The walls on all four sides, as well as the floor, were made of stone as black as ink. Large swathes of golden carvings were embedded upon them, forming ancient and abstruse relief murals. Looking over them one by one, they seemed to recount countless battles between gods and devils in the primordial era.
Directly ahead of him was a long flight of steps, each step as tall as a high wall. On the vast platform above the steps, there was only one enormous black-gold seat, and coiled upon that seat was a dragon.
That was right—a true dragon of legend.
A dragon throne in the truest sense.
Its body was massive. Even that enormous seat, several stories tall, was only enough for it to loosely coil half its body around; a large portion of its dragon tail still draped over the back of the chair and hung outside.
The ink-black scales across its body shimmered with dark golden luster, each scale bearing profound and mysterious patterns. Its lofty head was steady and domineering, and within its slightly opened pupils burned blazing golden flames that made one’s heart tremble.
Its twin horns were like long halberds, pointing straight at the dome above.
“Big Dragon, I’m here again.”
Yue Wen showed no particular reverence toward the sacred aura emanating from the creature before him. He greeted it as casually as he would an old friend.
“I have told you many times not to address me so frivolously.” The giant dragon upon the throne spoke in human language, its voice deep and rumbling like thunder. “You do not understand the dragon tongue, so you cannot speak my true name. I do not blame you for that. But when you call me, you should at least add the word ‘King.’”
“Fine, King Big Dragon.” Yue Wen waved a hand casually. “I came to find you for serious business.”
“……” The giant dragon on the throne seemed somewhat speechless.
“I’ve already cultivated to the late stage of the third realm. I should be close to perfection.” Yue Wen raised a hand, and a thick, coiling dragon of chaotic qi appeared in his palm, faint whistling sounds coming from it as it spun.
He looked at the giant dragon. “How many Evil-Subduing Coins does your fourth-realm cultivation method cost?”
The flames in the giant dragon’s pupils flickered, as though it were searching through its mind. Then it answered, “The Gang Realm chapter of the True Dragon Dao Art is worth three hundred and ninety-nine.”
“Huh?” Although Yue Wen had expected it, his expression still tightened. “That expensive?”
With a flip of his hand, he produced a stack of old copper coins, about a dozen or so. Each one was stamped with the words: “Let all evil be suppressed; let this heaven and earth be fixed.”
“I killed a tree nightmare-fiend with a hundred years of cultivation, and only refined twelve Evil-Subduing Coins from it. That was already the biggest job I’ve taken recently. If I want to save enough for this one cultivation method of yours, how long is that going to take? This is only the fourth realm. What am I supposed to do when my cultivation gets even higher?”
Seeing his miserable, worried expression, the giant dragon seemed to feel somewhat vindicated. It snorted twice. “You think it’s expensive? Then go outside and buy someone else’s cultivation method.”
“Alas.” Yue Wen sighed.
The first three realms he had cultivated were all from the True Dragon Dao Art sold by the giant dragon. Leaving aside the question of whether switching cultivation methods at the fourth realm would even be compatible, even if it was, the cultivation methods that could be bought on the market were indeed far, far inferior to the True Dragon Dao Art in power.
This cultivation method could absolutely rival the most top-tier cultivation mental arts in the world. Otherwise, how could he, a pure wandering cultivator lacking resources, have reached such a cultivation level in such a short time?
If the True Dragon Dao Art were taken to the market of those cultivators to be sold, merely the fourth-realm chapter alone could definitely fetch a sky-high price of over a million.
After pondering for a moment, Yue Wen spoke again. “Then let me ask you…”
The giant dragon seemed to have anticipated his thoughts and spoke directly. “No credit.”
“I’m not asking for credit. I already said that one time was the only time.” Yue Wen chuckled. “I wanted to ask, can you accept installment payments?”
“Hmph.”
The giant dragon did not answer. It merely closed its eyes. The flames in its pupils vanished, and the entire palace instantly plunged into darkness.
Power cut.
……
Big Dragon only recognizes money.
Yue Wen opened his eyes again on his little bed, his divine sense returning to reality.
He did not dare join the Supernatural Administration Bureau, and the existence of this dragon was an important reason why.
Three years ago, after falling into a coma, his consciousness had gone to that space for the first time, and he had seen that enormous dragon.
When they first met, he had still held some reverence.
That true dragon coiled upon the throne claimed to be the true king of the Dragon Domain. It had been plotted against by treacherous ministers and thus ended up here. If Yue Wen gave it five million Evil-Subduing Coins and helped it return to the throne, it would let Yue Wen become the chancellor of the Dragon Palace.
Yue Wen did not get tangled up in what species a Dragon Palace chancellor was. He only asked, “What are Evil-Subduing Coins?”
Big Dragon answered that since he was the one chosen by destiny who could descend upon this place, he only needed to slay demons, monsters, and evil entities, and naturally he would be able to refine their souls into Evil-Subduing Coins.
Yue Wen asked, I’m just a student, and I don’t have any cultivation. How am I supposed to slay demons, monsters, and evil entities?
Big Dragon said, You can use Evil-Subduing Coins to buy cultivation methods from me. After cultivating, you’ll have cultivation.
Yue Wen asked, But I don’t have any Evil-Subduing Coins. How am I supposed to buy cultivation methods?
Big Dragon said, Go slay demons, monsters, and evil entities, and you’ll have Evil-Subduing Coins.
Yue Wen asked, But I don’t have cultivation. How am I supposed to slay demons?
Big Dragon said, Buy cultivation methods from me and cultivate them, and you’ll have cultivation.
Yue Wen said, Are you sick in the head?
Big Dragon said, How can you curse a dragon like that?
Yue Wen said, I &%#…
So not only had he seen a dragon, he had also cursed one out.
After one man and one dragon went through that loop for a while, both of them realized where the problem lay. In the end, Big Dragon reluctantly agreed to sell Yue Wen a cultivation method on credit first, namely the first chapter of the True Dragon Dao Art.
Yue Wen thus stepped onto the path of cultivation.
Only after he began cultivating did he wake up, and then he suddenly realized that half a year had already passed.
After his parents were gone, this Big Dragon became his strongest support.
Not only could it sell cultivation methods, it could also sell magic artifacts, pills, talismans… Aside from living things such as spiritual plants and exotic beasts, it seemed that every cultivation treasure in the world was stocked in its treasury.
And the quality was extremely high.
It was just that in transactions, it only accepted Evil-Subduing Coins.
Yue Wen had opened this affordable cultivation agency because he had been forced to. Aside from temporarily supporting himself, the more important goal was to open a channel for obtaining information about evil entities.
Although he very much wanted to go search for his parents at once, he knew that with his current strength, he still did not have the qualifications to investigate that secret.
Only growing stronger was the top priority.
He had to slay more evil entities, harvest Evil-Subduing Coins, and go to Big Dragon to improve his own strength.
If the divine abilities and magic artifacts on him were noticed inside the Supernatural Administration Bureau, Yue Wen would have no way at all to explain their origins.
Big Dragon’s good or evil nature was unfathomable, and why he could establish a connection with it was also unknown. Moreover, if he frankly confessed this ability, he was not certain whether he would be controlled by others and turned into a research subject or a transaction tool.
So he did not want anyone to see any clues.
Although it was somewhat regrettable to refuse a golden government post, guarding this dragon was the best path to becoming stronger. Yue Wen was perfectly clear on that.
While he was thinking, his phone suddenly vibrated.
There was a message.
Yue Wen glanced at it. It was a new message in the “Jiangcheng Cultivator Job-Taking Group.” He immediately perked up and tapped in to look at the details.
Sure enough, there was a new commission.
“The eastern city public cemetery needs evil entities cleared. Now recruiting one bold, careful, and serious cultivator. Cultivation requirement: no lower than the second realm. Submit your price within three hours. City Seven candidates preferred.”
Everyone in this group was in the same line of work. Usually, they basically maintained an air of restraint and mystery. Only when commissions appeared would things become lively.
The commission information had just appeared when several replies came in instantly.
“My cultivation is high and I’m brave. Taking the job for twenty thousand.”
“Professional nightmare-fiend cleaner. Taking the job for twelve thousand.”
“I’m from City Seven. I can do all kinds of tricks and take both male and female clients. Eleven thousand per job.”
“……”
The eastern city public cemetery was a large cemetery in the suburbs. Many victims of accidental deaths or demon disasters whose families had not claimed them for a period of time, and who could not conveniently be cremated directly, were first sent here for burial.
These days, spiritual qi was active, and corpses could very easily give rise to some evil entities. They were mainly “nightmares” born from the fusion of residual mental energy after death and spiritual qi.
However, those buried there would not be any formidable figures. Even if they gave rise to nightmares, they were usually the weakest kind, will-o’-the-wisp nightmares, commonly known as lantern monsters.
Those things were not particularly dangerous. The cemetery management would let them accumulate for a period of time, and once there were more will-o’-the-wisps, they would invite cultivators to clear them out in a batch, like a regular deep cleaning.
This job was not difficult and was highly safe. The public side paid generously, and if it was done well, there could be long-term contact. For these wandering cultivators who took jobs, it counted as a decent assignment.
“A lantern monster may be small, but it’s still meat. Going over to clear them out regularly would be pretty good.” Yue Wen pondered for a moment and decided to compete for this task.
Seeing that the competition was fierce, he also sent a message.
“City Seven. Handsome, sweet-talking, high cultivation, live nearby so no need to cover food or lodging. Taking the job for one thousand.”
After seeing his price, the fellow practitioners in the group abruptly fell silent for a moment. Then a pile of replies surged out.
“Did you type the price wrong?”
“Holy crap, scab!”
“Do you have some kind of hobby for fighting evil entities?”
“???”
As usual, the first day ends with three chapters. After this, there will be two chapters every day. Friends who are interested, please try to keep up with the reading during the new book period. The early follow-up reading data is especially important right now.
Thank you, everyone.
It’s been a long time since I published chapters. I’m actually a little excited after posting, haha.