"Jie Jie Jie, since you're here, why not enter the shop?"
An old and hoarse voice emanated from the shop. The sound resembled that of a demon from the depths of the netherworld evoking a bone-chilling sensation in those who heard it.
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed as his mind began to race. He knew that he was able to come here because of the token, which meant that his safety was at least somewhat assured.
Taking a deep breath, he approached without a hint of fear and gently pushed open the dilapidated wooden door to enter.
The first impression the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop gave Xiao Yan was that it was not a shop at all. It felt more like entering a graveyard, a haunted place.
The interior of the shop was dimly lit, with only a few candles on the counter to illuminate the place. The entire shop was pitifully small; even the smallest shops in the Xiao Clan Market were larger than this.
Apart from an old, tattered wooden cabinet of unknown age, there were only a few cobweb-covered shelves on either side, with nothing else in sight.
Next to the cabinet was a black curtain. He couldn't see what was behind the curtain. There was only darkness and he had no way of knowing where it led.
At this moment, Xiao Yan's eyes fell on an old man sitting behind the counter. The old man's right hand was resting on his chin, and his eyes were closed as if he were dozing off. He was incredibly thin, his body nothing but skin and bones, with sunken eye sockets and only a few sparse strands of hair left on his head. He looked more like a corpse that had been dead for three days than a living person!
Had it not been for the voice that had just proven that this old man was still alive, Xiao Yan would have thought that he was looking at a dried-up corpse sitting there.
Even someone as brave as Xiao Yan felt goosebumps all over his body in such a place. Even the air was cold and uncomfortable.
Gathering his courage, Xiao Yan approached the counter and gently tapped on the tabletop, "Excuse me, old man, may I ask what place this is?"
The old man's body slowly moved upon hearing this question. It was like a mummified corpse coming back to life. His eyelids slowly opened, revealing a pair of ghostly pale green eyes staring back at Xiao Yan.
"You dare to come here without even knowing what place this is?" A harsh, deep voice emanated from the old man's throat.
Xiao Yan felt a bit embarrassed by the question and smiled awkwardly as he said, "I was just wandering around and accidentally ended up here."
The corners of the old man's mouth cracked into a smile, revealing a set of yellow teeth, half of which were missing. He spoke slowly, "No one can pass through the spatial barrier to come here without the permission of my clan."
After some thought, Xiao Yan didn't hide anything and took out the black token of unknown material from his pocket.
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly and curiously scrutinized Xiao Yan before slowly saying, "Neither a member of my Hun Clan nor affiliated with the Hall of Souls, yet you possess my clan's Soul Command token. Interesting, very interesting."
Xiao Yan touched his nose and said, "This was given to me by someone named Hun Huzi, who claimed I had a talent for alchemy and begged me to join some Hall of Souls in the capital of the Jia Ma Empire."
His words were half true and half false. The token was indeed given by Hun Huzi, but the other party hadn't mentioned anything about having a talent for alchemy or begging him to join the Hall of Souls.
Xiao Yan's intention was to elevate his own status.
The old man smiled meaningfully when he heard those words. He shook his head stiffly and closed his eyes as if he was about to fall asleep.
"This is the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop, a place where my Hun Clan trades with the outside world."
"Trade?"
It was only at this moment that Xiao Yan earnestly examined the items on the shelves. When he brushed aside the cobwebs and carefully discerned what was on them, his expression instantly changed.
"Sinking Fragrance Soul Wood! This is an extremely precious and rare treasure! Grinding the Sinking Fragrance Soul Wood into powder and making it into a sachet to wear on can slowly enhance one's Spiritual Strength! It's also the main ingredient for refining 6th-tier soul-type medicinal pills!"
"Dream Nectar Flower!"
"Dragon Millet Rice!"
Xiao Yan turned his head to look at a gemstone next to the Sinking Fragrance Soul Wood. His eyelids twitched violently as he identified it. It was a Yin-Yang Stone, one of the main ingredients for refining the 7th-tier Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill.
As for whether the Yin-Yang Stone had any other uses, Xiao Yan had no idea. If it weren't for the fact that the pill recipe for the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill was in his storage ring, which included a description of this gemstone, he wouldn't have known what it was.
"Jie Jie Jie, not bad at all, you've got quite an eye."
Xiao Yan spent over a decade familiarizing himself with the various pill recipes, herbal compendiums, and catalogs of rare treasures stored in his storage ring. Yet, there were still some things here that he couldn't identify.
Without exception, anything he recognized was extremely valuable, at least starting as the main ingredient for 5th-tier medicinal pills.
Xiao Yan swallowed his saliva and pointed to a withered leaf in the cabinet behind the old man as he asked, "How much for that withered leaf?"
The most valuable item he recognized was undoubtedly the withered leaf behind the old man.
The old man replied with indifference, "This is the main leaf of the Earth Vein Sacred Tree. It can nourish the soul, extend one's lifespan, and is the main ingredient for refining the 8th-tier medicinal pill, the Soul Returning Pill. The Soul Returning Pill can repair damaged souls and restore Spiritual Strength."
The old man accurately described the withered leaf's functions without any emotional fluctuations.
"It's not expensive, just the soul body of a high-star Dou Ancestor."
!!!!
The items here were not traded with gold coins or medicinal pills, but with cultivators' souls!
'No wonder the books record that the people from the Hall of Souls are hunting soul bodies all over the continent.' Xiao Yan had a moment of realization in his heart. The currency of the Hall of Souls was actually souls!
He shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, "Not to mention a Dou Ancestor, I'm just a Dou Practitioner right now, not even a Dou Master. Forget it, forget it, the items here aren't suitable for me."
Dou Ancestor? Even if a Dou Ancestor was lying on the ground, Xiao Yan wouldn't be able to harm them in the slightest, even if he exhausted all of his Dou Qi.
"Kid, these things are just a drop in the bucket. The items here are all obtained from the Black-Corner Region, mere junk sold by Soul Envoys to exchange for Soul Points."
"My Hun Clan's collection is far beyond this."
The old man was thin, but his tone was grand.
Xiao Yan couldn't help but complain in his heart. Why were all the people from the Hall of Souls the same? One said the Bone Chilling Flame was trash, and now this one said everything here was worthless junk.
But he finally understood what this Soul Sacrifice Old Shop was for. It was like the black market of the Hall of Souls. Even if you weren't a member of the Hall of Souls, you could still exchange things here with soul bodies.
Moreover, according to what the old man said, the items here were considered useless by the Hall of Souls. The truly valuable items were those exchanged using soul points.
As a Little Clan Leader himself, Xiao Yan naturally understood that it was normal for a faction to have its own merit point system. In the Xiao Clan, merit was also required to obtain certain techniques and magic crystal weapons.
Just like the Xiao Clan's medicinal herb gathering team, the more precious herbs they collected, the higher their merits would be.
The purpose of such a system was to motivate the disciples within the clan.
"What can soul points be exchanged for?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
The old man grinned, "Anything."
Xiao Yan's eyes flickered as he tentatively asked, "Even a Heavenly Flame?"
As if guessing Xiao Yan's desire for a Heavenly Flame, the old man grinned widely and let out a chilling laugh, "Jie Jie Jie, of course! Even specific information about certain Heavenly Flames, their locations, and methods to obtain them, as long as you have enough soul points."
"My Hun Clan can provide it for you."