Volume 1, Chapter 4: As the Saying Goes, Rivals in the Same Trade Are Natural Enemies

In her dream, she watched her former self as an outsider, witnessing time and again the exhaustion, the heart-wrenching agony, and the tragic demise, yet her mood remained unusually calm.

It was time to wake up.

Bai Zhi awoke as dusk was settling in.

She checked the materials in her spatial ring and sighed.

Her elixir was missing just one ingredient: the Milky Way Flower.

Calculating the days, tonight marked the monthly opening of the black market—perhaps she could try her luck there.

The Milky Way Flower was indeed rare, but with enough money, what was unattainable?

Glancing at her empty bag of spirit stones, Bai Zhi smiled bitterly.

Over the years, all the spirit stones earned from selling elixirs and magical tools had been handed over to the sect, leaving her own pockets meager.

She went to the treasure pavilion and skillfully withdrew a good sum of spirit stones before heading down the mountain.

At the mountain gate, she encountered the second disciple, Fu Ming.

He was sneaking off down the mountain in a furtive manner.

“Master, Mistress, what are you doing here?” Fu Ming stammered, startled to see Bai Zhi approaching briskly. He trembled and forced a guilty smile.

Bai Zhi cast him a faint glance and habitually asked, “Where are you off to this time?”

Smiling wryly, she didn’t wait for his answer and continued down the mountain.

This second disciple had always been a prodigal son—possessing the highest talent among all disciples but also the most careless.

While others were cultivating, he often sneaked down the mountain, indulging in the pleasures of the mortal world. Bai Zhi had admonished him many times for this.

He had even met a woman of questionable intent in a mortal brothel and fallen desperately in love.

To sever their relationship, Bai Zhi had gone to great lengths.

Later, under her daily supervision, his progress in cultivation soared. With age, he grew more composed, becoming a standout among the new generation and a rising star in the sect’s competitions.

Unfortunately, all his honors were attributed to the companionship of the junior sister, and he harbored deep resentment toward Bai Zhi, the mistress, for breaking him away from his beloved.

In this lifetime, whether he lived or died was none of her concern.

“Master, Mistress, where are you going?” Fu Ming called out, stunned as Bai Zhi descended the mountain without looking back.

Wasn’t she here to catch him?

Usually, she would have angrily dragged him back to cultivate by now.

But since she was going down the mountain, tonight might be his chance to follow openly.

He could find an excuse to run away later...

Thinking this, he grinned and followed her.

“Master, Mistress, I’ll go with you! I know the disciples around here. Where are you headed? I’ll take you!”

At the foot of the mountain lay Wutang Town of the mortal realm. Not far off, on what appeared to be an ordinary hillside, was the black market.

Fu Ming watched Bai Zhi walk calmly toward the dark hillside, puzzled.

“Master,I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.