Translator: Cinder Translations
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Half an hour later, Song Wen arrived at the outskirts of the misty Ghost Market.
He found himself at the entrance of a valley, entirely shrouded in thick mist. The deeper he went into the valley, the denser the mist became, making it hard to see clearly.
According to the vendor's memory, following a small path in the valley for more than ten miles would lead him to the entrance of the Ghost Market, situated between two large mountains.
Song Wen extended his spiritual sense and found that it could only probe up to one mile. The mist indeed interfered with spiritual detection.
Song Wen did not rush into the valley but instead released all his black-armored Gu. Fortunately, the mist did not greatly affect them. With their help, Song Wen could detect everything within a radius of several miles, which eased his mind.
He stepped onto the path and proceeded deeper into the valley.
The path wound and twisted, stretching onward.
As he ventured further into the valley, the mist grew denser, reducing visibility to only two or three meters. The range of his spiritual sense continued to shrink. Gradually, it could only probe up to a few meters, and even with the help of the black-armored insects, the detection range was limited to a mile.
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened along the way. Even when encountering cultivators dressed in peculiar attire, they mutually avoided conflict without any incidents.
After a quarter of an hour, a ravine about fifty meters wide appeared within Song Wen's perception. The walls of the ravine were high, the exact height unknown as it exceeded what Song Wen could sense.
At the ravine's entrance, two cultivators in black robes and ghostly masks stood guard. According to the short vendor's memory, these two were the guards of the Ghost Market.
As Song Wen approached the guards, he handed over two spirit stones.
One of the guards took the stones and said in a gruff voice:
"The Ghost Market closes at the hour of the Ghost, so you must leave before then."
Song Wen nodded and entered the ravine.
After walking another ten meters into the ravine, the scene before him opened up.
On either side of the ravine, about every ten meters, there was a dark red lantern. The lanterns emitted a crimson glow that dispersed the thick mist.
On both sides of the ravine, ancient houses extended into the distance.
In the center was a wide street crowded with cultivators.
The ancient houses were bathed in the crimson light, with lingering thin mist still present. Combined with the various strange and frightening masks worn by the cultivators, the Ghost Market indeed resembled a place from the underworld.
Song Wen followed the street for over twenty meters and entered an inconspicuous narrow shop.
The shop had no signboard, and there were no goods on display. Only a thin, middle-aged cultivator sat at the counter, playing with a black stone ball.
As soon as he entered the shop, Song Wen felt a spiritual scan. He became suddenly alert; the thin cultivator was surprisingly a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The spiritual scan quickly passed and was soon withdrawn by the thin cultivator.
Song Wen was wary of him, and the cultivator harbored some suspicion towards Song Wen, as his scan detected no spiritual fluctuations from him.
This situation could mean one of three things: either Song Wen's cultivation was significantly higher; or he was using some secret technique or artifact to completely conceal his spiritual presence; or he truly had no cultivation.
Given that someone could reach the misty Ghost Market, it was unlikely they were an ordinary person with no cultivation.
The thin cultivator leaned towards the possibility that Song Wen was using some secret technique or artifact to conceal his presence. After all, to completely hide any spiritual fluctuations, one would need to be at least a Golden Core cultivator. Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator should still have detectable spiritual fluctuations. A Golden Core cultivator would not need to be so cautious about completely concealing their presence.
The thin cultivator stood up and said to Song Wen, "Fellow cultivator, welcome to my humble shop. How can I assist you?"
"Do you have any Xuan Yin Stones?" Song Wen asked, his voice coming from beneath a bullhead mask.
The vendor's human vital blood was purchased from this shop. Not knowing much about the Ghost Market, Song Wen decided to start here and try his luck.
"Xuan Yin Stones?" The thin cultivator's voice showed surprise.
They were a type of third-grade spiritual material, and even more so, they were a Yin-attributed spiritual material!
Could this person really be a Golden Core cultivator?
Even if he wasn't a Golden Core cultivator, he should at least be a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; otherwise, he wouldn't be inquiring about a third-grade spiritual material like the Xuan Yin Stone.
Despite his astonishment, the thin cultivator maintained a calm expression and shook his head.
"Fellow cultivator, I'm sorry, but I don't have any Xuan Yin Stones here."
"Pardon the intrusion!" Without the item he needed, Song Wen turned and walked toward the shop's exit without hesitation.
Just as Song Wen was about to step out the door, the thin cultivator suddenly spoke up.
"Fellow cultivator, please wait."
Song Wen stopped, turned around, and asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Fellow cultivator, what can I do for you?"
"I know a place where Xuan Yin Stones can be found."
Song Wen's interest was piqued. "Oh? Are you offering information about the Xuan Yin Stones for sale?"
The thin cultivator shook his head. "I do know where to find them, but I don't intend to sell the information."
Song Wen's demeanor suddenly grew cold, and a faint hint of murderous intent began to emanate.
Before entering the Ghost Market, Song Wen had completely concealed his cultivation aura to give the impression of being unfathomable.
Since he was disguising himself as a master, he needed to project the aura of a master.
"Fellow cultivator, are you toying with me?"
Seeing the misunderstanding, the thin cultivator quickly clarified.
"Please don't be hasty. Let me explain."
"The Xuan Yin Stones I mentioned belong to a Foundation Establishment family, and I hold a deep grudge against them."
"This family massacres cultivators and ordinary people, extracting their souls to refine sinister ghostly techniques. Unfortunately, my hometown was slaughtered by this family."
"My entire family was brutally murdered, their souls torn from their bodies, unable to rest in peace, eternally tormented. Their souls are likely trapped in some ghostly artifacts, turned into mindless wraiths, suffering endlessly."
The thin cultivator's tone grew more agitated and furious.
He continued.
"My daily cultivation is solely for the purpose of seeking revenge."
"This family is so inhuman that their crimes are beyond measure. I have already contacted thirteen cultivators with a blood feud against this family, and we will soon attack them."
"I am telling you all this to seek your assistance."
"Firstly, to eliminate this evil family and bring peace to the world; secondly, you may also obtain the Xuan Yin Stones."
Song Wen listened silently, his expression unchanged.
After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke.
"Your story is indeed tragic, but to ask me to risk my life to attack a Foundation Establishment family based solely on your word seems rather fanciful."
"Even if what you say is true, facing an unknown cultivation family, I'm afraid I lack the courage to confront them."
While Song Wen's words seemed like a refusal, he was actually testing the waters. He wanted to see if he could gather more detailed information about the cultivation family from the thin cultivator.
(End of the Chapter)
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