Chapter Twenty-One: Small Traps of the Past

“Exclusive Qi-Gathering Powder, come and take a look!”
“Artifact unearthed from the relics of a deity, anyone interested can come and inquire!”
“Latest distribution map of the demon tribes in Broken Mountain, if you’re heading in to hunt demons, come and see it—no losses, no scams, honest dealings for young and old alike!”
“Exclusive secret recipe for demon beast meat, boosts magical power, have a look!”
...
As soon as he entered the inner city, all manner of hawking voices enveloped him.
If he didn’t know only cultivators could enter the inner city, Yang Xuan would have thought he'd returned to the marketplace of his previous life.
“Young master, would you like to buy some Qi-Gathering Powder? This is my exclusive formula—one dose for a Qi cultivator increases magical power for half a month!”
Yang Xuan had just paused to observe his surroundings when a rogue cultivator, recognizing him as a newcomer to Azure Cloud City, approached eagerly.
Yang Xuan glanced at the so-called exclusive Qi-Gathering Powder in the man’s hand: golden and dazzling, its appearance alone could easily impress the unwary.
But Yang Xuan wasn’t about to buy such things.
These rogue cultivators loved to swindle novice cultivators by mixing something called Spirit Enhancer into various spiritual herbs and materials.
Spirit Enhancer itself had no real use; its only effect was to make spiritual items shine brighter, enhancing their aura.
A mundane Qi-Gathering Powder, once mixed with Spirit Enhancer, would appear to be of the highest grade.
Once you, full of excitement, thought you’d stumbled upon a treasure and bought it, you’d discover that the medicinal effect was long gone due to the Spirit Enhancer, and you’d have paid a high price for something inferior to even ordinary Qi-Gathering Powder.
Just thinking about Spirit Enhancer made Yang Xuan feel frustrated.
His first claim to fame on the Cultivation forum was because of Spirit Enhancer.
As a pay-to-win player, leveraging the power of money, he was among the first to reach level ten (Foundation Establishment) and enter the main city.
Right after entering the main city, he encountered a rogue cultivator selling something to a player.
The rogue claimed the unknown golden seal was brought from a deity’s relic, but he couldn’t identify it and urgently needed spirit stones, so he was selling it.
Curious, Yang Xuan used the system’s appraisal skill on the golden seal.
The appraisal revealed—astonishingly—a piece of orange-tier divine gear.
You can imagine how excited Yang Xuan was; he immediately began bidding against the other player.
The two held an impromptu auction right there.
In the end, Yang Xuan bought the orange gear for a thousand spirit stones.

Yes, in Cultivation, you could buy in-game currency; one spirit stone equaled ten thousand yuan.
A million yuan for an orange-tier item was nothing to Yang Xuan, whose family had some assets. In fact, in the player market, orange equipment could easily fetch millions.
But he was conned.
The item was merely a fragment of a magical tool, cleverly disguised by the rogue using Spirit Enhancer.
He spent a million yuan for a worthless piece of junk.
Initially, only Yang Xuan knew about the incident.
But when his cultivation improved and he hunted down the damned rogue, he happened to run into the player who’d bid against him.
That player, already disgruntled at losing the orange gear, helped the rogue escape.
And then! That guy learned from the rogue that the orange gear was fake and posted the story on the forum.
For a while, Yang Xuan’s reputation plummeted; every player treated him like an idiot, offering him Spirit Enhancer-tainted goods.
He never bought any, but his reputation as a sucker spread—not only among players from his world, but even those from other worlds.
Thinking of this, Yang Xuan’s anger flared, and he showed no courtesy to the rogue cultivator, releasing the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“Out of my way!”
The moment his aura surged, the rogue’s face changed, and he hurriedly pleaded,
“Forgive me, senior, forgive me!”
He retreated while apologizing.
Yang Xuan gave him a cold look and continued down the street.
After a few steps, he turned back to the rogue, “Which way is the Pill Refining Pavilion?”
The rogue, still sweating, sighed with relief and trembled,
“Senior, which Pill Refining Pavilion do you mean?”
“What do you mean? There’s more than one in Azure Cloud City?”
Yang Xuan was stunned.
“Senior, there are five or six called the Pill Refining Pavilion here; the most famous is the Azure Cloud Pill Pavilion under the Azure Cloud Sect...”
The rogue explained carefully.
Before he finished, Yang Xuan interrupted, “The Pill Refining Pavilion of the Chen family from Dongli!”

“Oh, oh, I know, I know. Senior, just follow Azure Cloud Avenue straight ahead, about five or six hundred meters and you’ll see the Chen family’s Pill Refining Pavilion from Dongli. It’s very well-known in Azure Cloud City, with a big sign—you can’t miss it.”
The rogue pointed respectfully down the street.
Yang Xuan nodded and strode toward the indicated direction.
As soon as he left, the rogue returned to his stall, packed it up, slung it over his shoulder, and rushed toward the city gates.
While running, he shouted, “Old Li, I’m giving you my stall—you take over, I’m heading out to lay low for a while!”
...
“Damn it...”
On the street, Yang Xuan’s expression grew darker and darker.
Damn it, he’d been tricked again.
According to the rogue, the Chen family’s Pill Refining Pavilion from Dongli was just ahead on this street. Yet he’d walked all the way to the city gate at the end of the street, and still hadn’t seen a trace of the Chen family’s Pill Pavilion.
“If I ever run into you again, if I don’t finish you, I’m not the War God of Azure Dragon Mountain!”
He knew he wouldn’t find the guy if he tried, so Yang Xuan could only mark it down in his heart.
That’s how rogue cultivators operate: they shrink away when necessary, but given the chance, they’ll swindle you without hesitation.
Just how audacious are the rogues in Cultivation? These people even scam Golden Core cultivators.
In his previous life, several Qi-stage rogues spent years fabricating a so-called deity’s relic to earn spirit stones for Foundation Pill purchases.
They then faked a treasure map and sold it to Golden Core cultivators.
Though the scheme was eventually exposed, those rogues became legends, idolized by countless others.
Of course, the reason these rogues dared to offend those of higher realms was entirely thanks to the convenient transportation between city sects.
Their thinking: if they offended someone, they’d simply move elsewhere—maybe just to another city, or even from Heavenly Profound Sect to another sect’s territory.
After all, the world is vast; where would you look for me?
Many adopted this mindset.
As for the outcome—most ended up caught.
Cultivators are inherently resourceful; if a grudge grows deep, it’s easy enough to hire a divination expert. Under the gaze of the Heavenly Fate Diviner, you might escape to another realm, but otherwise, there’s nowhere to hide.