Translator: AnubisTL
Giant Deer Prefecture.
"The Yin Puppet Sect and Ghost Sword Sect have clashed! Their supreme elders engaged in a fierce battle within the royal marquis's grand tomb!"
"An earth-shattering treasure! The royal marquis's grand tomb contains a massive Primordial Chaos Stone as a burial item!"
"Hiss! That's a peerless spiritual material for refining magical artifacts! To use such a rare and precious resource as a burial offering... that's sheer extravagance!"
"And that's not all! I heard they also cultivated spirit herbs inside. The surviving ones are all over a thousand years old now!"
"Unbelievable! Is this what the Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty was like a millennium ago? Their foundation must have been terrifyingly profound!"
"..."
News of the royal marquis's grand tomb spread like wildfire, each revelation more explosive than the last.
The conflict between the Ghost Sword Sect and Yin Puppet Sect sent shockwaves through the cultivation world. Both were demonic path factions and had formed an alliance to oppose the Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty. No one had anticipated such a clash between these two powerful forces, a development with suffocating implications.
Could this mean the demonic path alliance was on the verge of collapse?!
Upon learning this intelligence, Li Qing was actually delighted.
"Let chaos reign! The more chaotic, the better! The black market's second trade fair is only about seven days away. The more turmoil within the Ghost Sword Sect, the better!"
With that, Li Qing resumed his cross-legged meditation in his cave abode, refining the abundant spiritual energy of the world using the Netherworld Cold Fire.
His cultivation was nearing the late foundation establishment realm, his mana growing increasingly profound, and his aura becoming incomparably vast and enduring.
At this rate, he would reach the late foundation establishment realm within two to three years at most, and begin contemplating core formation.
The seven days passed in a flash. Empowered by the Netherworld Cold Fire-enhanced Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, Li Qing's cultivation deepened further.
"If I can acquire some mana-enhancing pills at this trade fair, I'll reach the late foundation establishment realm even faster."
"Hopefully, I'll find something worthwhile."
In the Great Wilderness Domain, several types of pills enhance foundation establishment realm cultivation. The most widely known are the Spirit Gathering Pill, Purple Yang Pill, and Clear Profound Pill.
Among them, the Purple Yang Pill boasts the greatest efficacy. This ancient pill formula has been passed down since ancient times and remains remarkably effective from the early to late foundation establishment stages.
When Li Qing was still with the Lingyun Sect, he had a reliable source for obtaining Purple Yang Pills. Now, as a rogue cultivator, he had to rely on his own efforts.
Fortunately, the black market continued to thrive. As long as this momentum persisted, these mana-enhancing pills wouldn't become particularly scarce.
With this thought, Li Qing stood up and flew directly out of the market district.
This time, he wasn't hosting the black market trade fair. Instead, Shen Ningbing would take charge. With her late foundation establishment realm cultivation, she should be able to maintain order.
Li Qing, disguised as a regular attendee, would observe from the crowd, ready to respond to any unexpected situations.
This arrangement had been agreed upon with Shen Ningbing. They had co-hosted the first two auctions, but future events would be entrusted to the orphans they had trained.
Upon returning to Sunward City, Li Qing couldn't shake the feeling that the crowds were significantly larger than before.
This was likely due to the recent commotion surrounding the royal marquis's grand tomb and the black market's ongoing trade fair.
With the Ghost Sword Sect sealing off the area around the tomb mansion, many rogue cultivators had no choice but to retreat, unwilling to openly defy the sect.
News of the black market auction in Sunward City had spread, attracting numerous rogue cultivators drawn by its reputation.
As Li Qing made his way through the city, he noticed many cultivators dressed in concealing robes, their identities hidden. Their destination was the same: the underground shelter in the north district.
Upon entering the black market's underground plaza, he found a sizable crowd already gathered, standing in small groups.
Over time, the black market had expanded, now featuring numerous simple stalls set up by rogue cultivators. Some sold goods, while others offered long-term purchases of specific spiritual objects. These stalls provided the black market with a stable income of spirit stones.
Amidst the crowd, orphaned mortal children occasionally weaved through the throng, assisting with the black market's daily operations. After so long, these children had developed some martial arts skills. Having consumed Medicinal Liquor brewed from two different medicinal wine recipes, some had even reached the Outer Strength stage.
After all, these were carefully selected martial arts prodigies. Li Qing wasn't surprised by their rapid progress.
The Great Wilderness Domain was simply too abundant in resources. High-grade common herbs were practically worthless, growing everywhere.
Even a handful of spirit stone fragments could buy a substantial quantity. With the enhancement of these aged medicinal herbs, it was nearly impossible for their martial arts to progress slowly.
"A major incident has occurred! Someone dared to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, stealing something right under the noses of the Ghost Sword Sect and Yin Puppet Sect!"
"Impossible! Could the righteous path have sent someone to interfere?"
"It's unclear. The situation is ambiguous. Right now, the supreme elders of both the Ghost Sword Sect and Yin Puppet Sect believe the other side is responsible!"
With so many cultivators gathered, discussions about the royal marquis's grand tomb were inevitable.
The few cultivators who had spoken earlier possessed unique intelligence channels, allowing them to obtain early information about the tomb.
"Who else would have such audacity besides the major sects? It couldn't possibly be some rogue cultivator, could it?"
"I heard they stole a Primordial Chaos Stone. That's a top-grade spiritual material for refining magical treasures—a treasure even core formation true lords would covet!"
"Wealth stirs the heart. Maybe some audacious rogue cultivator really did it?"
"..."
Li Qing, blending into the crowd, naturally overheard these conversations.
He wasn't surprised. The immortal cultivation world had never lacked daredevils willing to risk everything.
While the core formation true lords were locked in their Great War, someone had secretly slipped into the tomb to snatch the treasure right from the tiger's mouth.
Such audacity was truly breathtaking!
Li Qing couldn't help but admire their courage, though he knew he would never attempt such a reckless feat in his lifetime.
Just as the black market trade fair was about to begin, a few late foundation establishment realm cultivators descended into the passage.
When Li Qing noticed them, he froze in place.
He would never forget the robes these cultivators wore—a memory etched into his very bones!
Rewind time two days earlier, to a spot outside Sunward City.
"We need to leave quickly. Once the Ghost Sword Sect realizes what happened, escaping will become much harder."
"This time we've really stirred up a hornet's nest! What about the Sect Mission?!"
"Exactly! The ancestor specifically instructed us to foster good relations with the major immortal dao sects of the Great Wilderness Domain."
Several foundation establishment elders dressed in Shangqing Sect robes continued their anxious discussion.
"What are you afraid of? We haven't been exposed yet!" Mu Maocai snapped, though his brow furrowed deeply. "My disguise was flawless. The Ghost Sword Sect never suspected my true identity. Once this commotion dies down, I could even return to the Ghost Sword Sect without issue."
Hearing this, the other elders remained visibly worried.
"But Senior Brother Mao Cai, your injuries are far too conspicuous."
Mu Maocai's expression grew even more grave. It was true—he had indeed been wounded.
Originally, his operation had been flawless, so stealthy that even core formation realm True Lords hadn't detected his secret infiltration of the tomb.
But at the critical moment, the millennial yin corpse had suddenly turned and attacked. If not for a life-saving artifact he had exchanged for from the sect, he would have been utterly annihilated!
Even after escaping with his life, a horrifying claw mark from the millennial yin corpse now marred his back.
A chilling yin energy permeated Mu Maocai's body, his wounds festering and oozing pus. Without specialized medicine, they would likely never heal.
"Damn it! If that millennial yin corpse hadn't suddenly turned around, I could have harvested several more millennial spirit herbs."
"And I discovered a pool in the tomb mansion where yin-yang qi swirled and steamed. I strongly suspect it contained yin-yang spirit liquid! To miss out on that is such a waste!"
Mu Maocai perfectly embodied the saying "a greedy snake tries to swallow an elephant."
He remained unsatisfied with his gains, clinging to life wasn't enough—he still coveted more treasures from the tomb.
"Senior Brother Mu, stop talking! The most urgent matter is healing your injuries. If the Ghost Sword Sect traces us through these clues, we'll all die without a burial!" a fellow sect elder urged.
Hearing the elder's warning, Mu Maocai understood the gravity of the situation.
"We need to plan this carefully. The entire Giant Deer Prefecture is currently under the Ghost Sword Sect's control."
"To dispel the yin energy in my body, I need something extremely yang and potent. But if the Ghost Sword Sect investigates along those lines, we'll be exposed too easily!"
The most critical issue was that the Ghost Sword Sect controlled nearly all the domain-wide teleportation arrays in Giant Deer Prefecture. Any attempt to use these arrays would inevitably lead to a thorough inspection.
Escaping on foot was even more impractical. If they lingered too long, the Ghost Sword Sect would cast a net across the region, and their fate would be sealed. They understood this without needing to say it aloud.
"Sigh, there's a cultivator city nearby. Let's go there and see if we can find a discreet way to purchase pure yang items before news of our situation spreads."
Thus, the Shangqing Sect group arrived at Sunward City.
During their stay, news of the black market's opening in the north district was spreading rapidly. The Shangqing Sect elders naturally heard about it as well.
"I hereby declare the second trade fair of the black market open!"
Shen Ningbing, cloaked in black robes that concealed her figure and face, announced this to all the visitors of the black market.
Her voice was hoarse and genderless, utterly eerie.
(End of the Chapter)
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