After the war ended, Emperor Tianwu personally visited Juexian Valley and saw thousands of mortals hiding from the conflict, sheltered by the Rain Clan.
As he returned to the capital, the Emperor ordered his officials to relocate these humans to the secular world.
However, despite multiple efforts by the court, even offering generous benefits, fertile land, and houses, few of these humans agreed to move.
Eventually, even Emperor Tianwu seemed to give up and no longer mentioned the matter.
Compared to the court's assurances, these humans were more inclined to believe in the foreign race that they had already deified.
"Deities, gods, spirits... are merely beings with immense power."
Jiang Yunzhou shook his head. "The authority granted by the Great Dao is meant to maintain the order of heaven and earth, not to be used to enslave living beings as a matter of course."
The so-called faith and willpower, in the beginning, was merely beings receiving blessings and thus offering their gratitude.
If viewed from the perspective of some modern Confucians, it was more like an exchange: I offer my faith and willpower, and you, who have received this willpower, must protect the stability of this realm.
Similar to the mortal world today, people burn incense in temples and monasteries to make wishes, and the local deities are then obligated to protect the populace, ensuring at least freedom from demonic influence, if not favorable weather.
"Let's not dwell on this, it only leads to trouble."
Ji Yuan sighed, ceasing to pursue the topic.
Even the Great Yu Dynasty was powerless in this regard; what could they achieve by discussing it further? It would only be adding to their own vexations.
As they talked, the group had already walked a considerable distance, and the surroundings gradually grew lively.
When they entered the valley earlier, Ji Yuan and Jiang Yunzhou had traveled by beast carriage, only catching a fleeting glimpse.
Now, as they ambled along, they truly experienced the vibrancy of the place and couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. Who would have imagined such a prosperous settlement hidden deep within the mountains?
Though the view was shaded by dense foliage, they could still see many figures, almost all of whom possessed cultivation. Most were creatures from the mountain ranges, primarily from the four subordinate races.
A smaller portion consisted of cultivators who had gathered from all directions, including disciples from various major factions, as well as ordinary hermits and rogue cultivators.
"This place in Juexian Valley is one of the few black markets in Lingyang Prefecture."
Jiang Yunzhou slowly withdrew his gaze and then whispered to the other two, audible only to them.
A prefecture naturally had many black markets, but only three or four could be considered significant in scale, and Juexian Valley was among them.
In this marketplace, there was nothing you couldn't find for sale.
However, most of the goods were of dubious origin. The more precious an item, the less it could be seen in the open. If investigated, it could easily lead to trouble.
Although, no one really cared about that. Precisely because the goods were illicit, their prices were far lower than in the outside world.
The Rain Clan did not interfere with this phenomenon. They simply collected exorbitant accommodation fees from the inns in the valley each year, earning a substantial profit.
The cheapest room cost a thousand taels of silver per day, and the fees increased significantly with each month of stay.
As soon as they neared the marketplace, Ji Yuan felt more than a dozen gazes quietly fall upon him, though most quickly shifted away.
If he wasn't mistaken, they likely deemed his cultivation level too low and turned their attention to the two individuals beside him.
However, the owners of a few gazes might have mistaken him for a disciple of a third-realm expert, thinking he might possess valuable items.
As for their true intentions, that was for them alone to know.
"If you ask me, why don't we split up?"
Ji Yuan looked at the two beside him and then proposed.
If the three of them stayed together, certain matters would be more complicated to handle.
Jiang Yunzhou and Tang Muhuan pondered for a moment before agreeing to the suggestion. Shortly after, they each went their separate ways.
After parting ways with the other two, Ji Yuan mused for a short while before directly entering the marketplace that hugged the mountain wall. He leisurely strolled past various stalls.
After a circuit, his expectations were largely met. Few items on the stalls held significant value; they were mostly ordinary goods or objects whose quality was difficult to ascertain.
These types of items typically tested one's eyesight and luck. More often than not, it was money spent for the thrill, with only rare instances of stumbling upon a hidden treasure.
However, Ji Yuan hadn't come for these things in the first place. After completing his walk with no significant discoveries, he proceeded directly towards shops further ahead.
In the areas closer to the mountain wall, there were more beings around, but most had only reached the first realm of cultivation. Those at the second realm were few.
It wasn't entirely unexpected. Second-realm cultivators were already considered the backbone of ordinary sects and factions. Moreover, with the presence of the large underground dojo in the northern part of Feiyun Commandery, most cultivators with some strength had likely rushed there to try their luck.
After about half an hour, Ji Yuan arrived outside a shop and without hesitation, walked in.
Most of the buildings in the valley were wooden huts, but many giant trees had had their trunks hollowed out to create treehouses.
The shop Ji Yuan entered was constructed in this manner, which he found rather novel, having never seen anything like it in the outside world.
This was a shop selling talismans and elixirs. It had no name displayed outside, and though the shelves inside were filled with a dazzling array of items, they appeared somewhat disorganized.
Admittedly, the items in the shop were of better quality than those at the stalls. Upon closer inspection, there were many fine pieces, some of which even tempted Ji Yuan.
Upon seeing shelves full of books, his eyes lit up. He selected over a dozen books on talisman drawing and seven or eight relatively good elixir recipes.
When paying at the counter, he intentionally produced a large denomination banknote and claimed to have no smaller change.
This action immediately drew the attention of some individuals, whose gazes lingered on him for a long time.
Among these gazes were undisguised greed, some that conveyed neither malice nor goodwill, and a few that were tinged with faint killing intent.
Ji Yuan chuckled inwardly, while also feeling a sense of melancholy. In such a small shop, there wasn't a single honest person. If not for being in Juexian Valley, he suspected he would have been attacked by a mob by now.
He unreservedly put away his purchases and then strode out of the shop, without pausing, entering another one.
In the period that followed, Ji Yuan repeatedly entered and exited various shops. His purpose was clear: he was seeking books related to drawing talismans and alchemy.