During his walk around Rootspire Market, Ye Wuji not only browsed through the goods of various vendors but also quietly listened in on the conversations around him, hoping to overhear something useful.
Two hours passed as he strolled through the market, checking stall after stall and keeping his ears open. Yet he didn't manage to overhear anything of real importance. Most of the chatter was completely unimportant—missing cultivators, exaggerated rumors of treasure sightings, petty gossip about affairs and betrayals. Nothing worth noting.
Eventually, he made his way to the heart of the market and stepped into the largest and most well-known restaurant in the city.
There, he ordered a bowl of mind-soothing tea and a dish of green curry. Sitting in a quiet corner, he slowly sipped and ate while continuing to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.
Though he couldn't hear everything, because some cultivators blocked their discussions using their Qi to prevent others from listening in.
However, most were early and mid-stage cultivators at most, and their attempts to conceal their words were sloppy at best, and some didn't even bother doing that. So, as a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, Ye Wuji was still able to hear the things others talked about.
Unfortunately, the majority of the topics remained irrelevant—missing disciples, some minor disputes, tales of a wandering beauty, or arguments over someone's cheating with other people's women.
The only somewhat interesting topic he overheard was the rising tension among the four righteous sects of the Crimson Phoenix Empire. After all, it had been over a year since the fall of the Scarlet Soul Sect, which was once the ruler of the empire's southern region.
And although they had once allied to bring down the Scarlet Soul Sect, exploiting the sudden death of the sect's ancestor during a failed breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm, they were still enemies in the end. Now, forced to share control of the conquered southern lands, friction had begun to grow stronger than ever, and it was only a matter of time before a new war erupted.
Just as Ye Wuji was about to finish his tea and leave, something caught his attention.
His ears twitched slightly, and he glanced towards the table near the window where four cultivators were seated. At a glance, he gauged their cultivation: two Early-Stage Qi Refining, one Mid-Stage, and one Late-Stage, just like him.
The youngest among them leaned forward eagerly.
"Seniors, are there any missions or bounty tasks available in Rootspire City? I'm running quite low on spirit crystals right now…"
The older, late-stage cultivator nodded. "There are a few. The Golden Lotus Temple recently posted one, offering a reward for tracking down any remnants of the Scarlet Soul Sect. If you report someone's location, you get a hundred small spirit crystals. If you kill or capture one, the reward is five hundred."
He paused for a moment, then added, "There's one more bounty, but it's a tough one. If anyone manages to find information on the whereabouts of either of the two surviving elders from the Scarlet Soul Sect, they'll be rewarded with one hundred large spirit crystals."
The youngest cultivator's eyes widened. "That's huge! What about that outer disciple—what was his name again…?"
The youngest cultivator's eyes widened. "That's huge! By the way, what about that outer disciple—what was his name again…?"
"Ye Wuji," the senior said flatly.
The air around Ye Wuji grew a degree colder, but he remained calm, listening intently.
"He's believed to be at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. The last sighting was at the ruins of the Scarlet Soul Sect—inside a half-collapsed tea house, where he reportedly killed a traitorous disciple of his Scarlet Soul Sect and escaped right after. No one has seen him since then. But here's the good part… his bounty just went up. They've added five hundred small spirit crystals, so now there's a total reward of one thousand small spirit crystals on his head."
"Damn! That much for just a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator? He must've pissed someone off," the youngest muttered.
The senior grunted. "They say he killed one of their handpicked traitors. That's a big slap to the temple's face."
"How long ago did that happen?" the young one asked.
"It's been three months and six days already."
"Seriously?! And still no one's caught him?"
"He's slippery. They say he's skilled in disguise. For all we know, he could be hiding in plain sight—even in one of the righteous sects if he had the guts."
"Hmph. I take it back. That's not such an appealing bounty anymore."
"Just admit you're scared," the mid-stage cultivator beside him teased.
The youngest flushed red with embarrassment. "Nonsense! I'm not scared. I'm being smart. Staying alive is the foundation of cultivation! What's the point in chasing death?"
Ye Wuji nearly choked on his tea.
"Three months and six days?!"
His eyes gleamed behind the shadow of his bamboo hat as a bolt of realization struck him.
"That means… only a little over three months passed in this world… but I spent over a year and four months in the apocalyptic world!"
He clenched the cup tightly, his mind racing.
"The time ratio is roughly one to five! Every year I spend there… only a couple of months pass here!"
His heart pounded with excitement.
"With that kind of advantage, I can cultivate faster than even heaven-blessed prodigies! I can break through at an absurd pace—train, grow, fight, and when things get dangerous, I just retreat to the apocalyptic world!"
"And if I can steal a spiritual root from someone more talented and change it for the one in my body, or even steal a special physique from someone… I'll rise to heights no one can match in enough time and with enough resources."
A grin slowly spread across his lips.
"This isn't just a heaven-sent opportunity… This is literally a heaven-defying treasure."
Then his smile faltered slightly.
"Though there's one small problem with stealing someone's spiritual root or special physique... I don't know how to do it." He clicked his tongue in mild frustration. "The higher-ups in the Scarlet Soul Sect definitely did, but the sect has already been annihilated and completely looted clean."