Translator: Cinder Translations
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Today happened to be the day for his monthly stipend. After delivering the dissected corpse to Yuan Cheng, Song Wen received his monthly stipend of thirty spirit stones.
Over the past year and a half, Song Wen had not dared to slack in his cultivation. Two months ago, he advanced to the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Since then, his condition of corpse transformation had gradually worsened.
After advancing to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, Song Wen also managed to conceal his aura to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
In nearly two and a half years, he had reached the middle stage of Qi Refining. Among the outer disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect, this was considered above average. With good fortune, there was a chance he could advance to the later stage of Qi Refining within six years and become an inner disciple.
After breaking through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, his treatment improved, earning an additional ten spirit stones per month.
When Song Wen left the Corpse Dissection Cave, he informed Yuan Cheng that he would take a month off to deal with his corpse transformation issue.
Yuan Cheng readily agreed, privately believing that Song Wen would probably not return alive after a month, most likely never to return.
In the past, those mad dissectors in the Corpse Dissection Cave, when facing mental collapse, mostly chose to venture outside in search of opportunities. However, among those who truly returned alive and resolved their mental issues, only one in ten survived.
They either died in various crises while seeking opportunities or, when their minds completely collapsed, became walking corpses, or worse, were slaughtered by their loved ones or fellow disciples, becoming opportunities for others.
Returning to his cave residence, after disguising himself, Song Wen packed up some belongings and headed towards the market.
On the way to the market, Song Wen found a secluded corner with no one around, withdrew the concealment of his aura against his cultivation base, and fully revealed his sixth layer of Qi Refining cultivation.
At this point, he had transformed into the appearance of a pale-faced, young wandering cultivator.
After examining himself, Song Wen felt it wasn't secure enough. He took out a cloak to cover his entire body, put on a ghostly mask with raised eyebrows and fangs, and nodded in satisfaction.
Arriving at the market, Song Wen entered an inn, crossed the main hall, and arrived at a thatched house in the inn's backyard.
After showing a wooden token to the guard in front of the thatched house, he was allowed entry.
Entering the thatched house, he saw a narrow staircase leading underground. Descending the stairs for tens of meters, the view suddenly opened up.
An underground hall of about several acres appeared before him, surrounded by several small caves.
There were many cultivators coming and going in the hall, both wandering cultivators and disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect. Most of them concealed their appearances. Even though Song Wen wore a cloak and a ghostly mask, he didn't look out of place here.
This was an underground ghost market established by a Nascent Soul ancestor of the Corpse Demon Sect.
Here, cultivators could trade for the cultivation resources they wanted and also buy some information.
In such a ghost market for cultivators, the authenticity of goods and information couldn't be guaranteed; it was up to cultivators to judge for themselves.
In the center of the hall, there was a circular counter where several old men sat. They were the managers of this ghost market, mainly responsible for facilitating trades between cultivators and exchanging information, somewhat like brokers in the mortal world.
Song Wen approached one of the old men again and presented the wooden token.
After the old man glanced at the number engraved on the wooden token, he stepped out from behind the counter and led Song Wen to one of the caves at the edge of the hall.
Over a month ago, Song Wen had entered this underground ghost market through the introduction of Senior Xu, the stall owner.
He had spent twelve spirit stones to purchase information about Hollow Cicada Wood from the old man.
According to the information, a cultivator had seen traces of Hollow Cicada Wood in a cave in the Ancient Battlefield of Righteousness and Evil. However, the Hollow Cicada Wood was guarded by a powerful grudge ghost, and no one had succeeded in retrieving it.
It was rumored that tens of thousands of years ago, there was a great battle between the righteous and evil factions in the Ancient Battlefield. Unable to defeat the evil cultivators, the righteous cultivators resorted to sacrificing countless mortal lives, using their flesh and souls to set up a Blood God Array, slaughtering a large number of righteous cultivators.
TL Note: Such Righteousness...
Tens of thousands of years later, the true cause of that battle was no longer traceable.
The numerous bones buried in the Ancient Battlefield, the wandering spirits drifting everywhere, the numerous walking corpses, and the perennial corpse aura and Yin aura everywhere all testified to the ferocity of that ancient battle.
Although the ancient battlefield is dangerous, it hides many rare treasures and secrets.
From time to time, cultivators find fragments of powerful magic artifacts left over from the great battle, and some have even discovered techniques. In the caves of the ancient battlefield, unique spiritual herbs have also been found.
This attracts many cultivators to seek opportunities, but most of them are at the Qi Refining stage.
The ancient battlefield has long been searched by predecessors countless times. The truly powerful magic artifacts and techniques have already been taken by them. What remains are mostly things others have overlooked.
Song Wen's goal on this trip was to join a team venturing into the caves to obtain the Hollow Cicada Wood.
This is why Song Wen exposed his full cultivation level. His cultivation was already not very high, and if he concealed it, he would easily be looked down upon by these desperate fighters, which would bring unnecessary trouble.
The old man led Song Wen to the cave entrance and then turned to leave.
Song Wen entered the cave alone.
Inside the cave, there were already three men and one woman.
Seeing Song Wen enter, a middle-aged man exuding a strong ghostly aura spoke up.
"Are you the one with the flying boat?"
Song Wen nodded without speaking.
Getting a positive answer, the middle-aged man said again.
"Alright, everyone is here. Let's introduce ourselves."
At this moment, a burly man beside them stared at Song Wen and spoke harshly.
"Wait, I, Niu Ding, never travel with people who hide their faces. They love to stab people in the back."
Hearing this, the corner of Song Wen's mouth twitched, thinking: This Niu Ding is quite perceptive.
Immediately, Song Wen removed his mask and cloak, revealing the pale face of a young cultivator.
Seeing Song Wen so cooperative, the displeasure on Niu Ding's face disappeared. He said,
"I am Niu Ding, seventh layer of Qi Refining."
The middle-aged man said, "Xuan Ye, seventh layer of Qi Refining."
Song Wen said, "Guo Tao, sixth layer of Qi Refining."
Without hesitation, Song Wen gave the false name 'Guo Tao.' Actually, the others might not be using their real names either; among demonic cultivators, few reveal their true names.
At this moment, only one man and one woman had not introduced themselves.
Unlike the others who intentionally kept their distance from each other, these two stood very close, clearly familiar with and trusting each other.
The man had an ordinary appearance, the kind that would be unnoticeable in a crowd.
The woman, however, had a graceful figure and outstanding looks, exuding a mature charm of a young woman, but her expression was cold, keeping people at a distance.
The man glanced at the woman, seeing she had no intention of speaking, and said,
"I am Lao Chun, sixth layer of Qi Refining."
He pointed to the young woman and said, "This is my senior sister, Zi Yi, seventh layer of Qi Refining."
(End of the Chapter)