Translator: Cinder Translations
---
The thin cultivator smiled slightly upon hearing Song Wen's response.
"Fellow cultivator, there's no need to provoke me. I'm not going to easily reveal the name of that Foundation Establishment family."
"If you're truly interested, you can come to the Ghost Market's eastern outskirts, ten miles away from the Three Rivers Confluence after the hour of Shen."
"We, the thirteen cultivators, will gather there to discuss attacking the Foundation Establishment family."
"At that time, I will share all the information about the Foundation Establishment family with you."
Song Wen furrowed his brows and asked, "Fellow cultivator, can you tell me what level of cultivation the thirteen cultivators have?"
The thin cultivator replied, "I can disclose that. Among us thirteen, there are two Foundation Establishment cultivators, three early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the remaining eight are all at the ninth level of Qi Refining."
"The family we plan to attack has six Foundation Establishment cultivators and nearly a hundred late-stage Qi Refining cultivators."
Song Wen nodded and said, "Thank you for the information. I will consider it. Farewell."
After speaking, Song Wen left without hesitation.
Once outside the thin cultivator's shop, Song Wen casually explored the entire Ghost Market.
The Ghost Market wasn't very large, only about a few hundred meters in size.
The front part was filled with shops, while the back part had stalls.
Many of the spiritual items for sale here were considered forbidden in East Huafang Market.
Song Wen felt as though he was in a small magical artifact market.
Human blood, cultivator souls, ghostly and demonic qi, corpse qi, ghostly methods, corpse techniques, blood magic...
All these items could be found in the Ghost Market.
After spending a few months in East Huafang Market, Song Wen had gradually learned about the righteous sects' situations.
In the righteous sect's territory, it was rare for cultivators to practice demonic techniques, as their bodies would be tainted by the world's filth, making their demonic nature obvious to others.
However, many righteous cultivators secretly practiced some demonic techniques that were less likely to taint their aura or refined demonic artifacts.
For instance, the Foundation Establishment family mentioned by the thin cultivator secretly refined ghostly artifacts. As long as they didn't openly use these artifacts, their demonic practices wouldn't be easily detected.
The righteous sects turned a blind eye to such secret practices, as long as these cultivators didn't blatantly commit acts that would anger the heavens or the common people. Generally, the righteous sects wouldn't actively seek to eliminate them.
The Ghost Market clearly existed with the tacit approval of the Beastmaster Sect and the Lei Family, or even involved direct benefits for the two major powers.
Otherwise, the Ghost Market would have been wiped out long ago by the Beastmaster Sect and the Lei Family.
After a round of exploration, though there were many demonic items in the Ghost Market, Song Wen didn't find what he urgently needed.
The Tier 3 spirit beast elixir he wanted wasn't available in the Ghost Market either.
It seemed that the Beastmaster Sect had very strict control over Tier 3 spirit beast elixirs.
In the future.
At the Three Rivers Confluence!
Thirteen cultivators gathered there, with the thin cultivator among them.
The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Refining cultivators matched exactly what the thin cultivator had described.
None of the thirteen cultivators concealed their aura or appearance; they all showed their true selves, indicating that they trusted each other completely.
"Fellow cultivators, we all have deep enmity with the Li Family. For the sake of revenge, we are all willing to risk our lives."
"After planning for so many years, everyone is now ready. Tonight at the hour of Zi, it is the time for us to seek revenge and settle old scores."
An older cultivator in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, who was somewhat overweight, spoke.
A female cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment stepped forward. What made her most striking was her face.
She had a long scar running from her left forehead to her right jaw, resembling a long centipede crawling across her face.
Her left eye was also lost due to the scar; it had sunk inward, making her appearance quite terrifying.
The female cultivator's face was filled with hatred, as if it were suppressing a raging inferno.
"Finally, the day has come. I, Nie Qian, and the Tianhe Li Family will not rest until one side is annihilated!"
"My family of thirty-two people, and this scar on my face, are all the work of the Li Family. Over the years, I have never repaired this scar, as a constant reminder of my deep hatred with the Li Family."
As she spoke, the scar on her face twitched and moved as if it were alive, writhing like a centipede.
Under Nie Qian's influence, most of the cultivators had eyes filled with overwhelming hatred, united in their common cause.
Only the thin cultivator was looking around, as if searching for someone.
"Wang Yi, what's the matter?"
The mid-stage Foundation Establishment elder noticed the thin cultivator's actions and asked.
Wang Yi, somewhat disappointed at not finding the expected figure, replied, "Elder Li, a few days ago, a mysterious cultivator with undetectable cultivation came to my shop. He was looking for Xuan Yin Stones, and I wanted to recruit him to join us in attacking the Li Family."
"I invited him to come here today, but his presence is missing."
"I suspect he might be a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. It's a pity; if he had come, it would have been more assured to deal with the old bastard Li Jiangu."
Elder Li's heart sank with a sense of alert. He spoke sternly, "Wang Yi, you didn't reveal our plan to attack the Li Family to that mysterious cultivator, did you? If he is in league with the Li Family and reveals our plan to them, all our years of planning will be in vain."
Wang Yi replied, "Elder Li, rest assured. I wouldn't be so foolish. I didn't disclose the name of the Li Family or our action plan to him. He knows nothing."
Elder Li sighed in relief and said, "That's good. However, if what you said is true and a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator joins us, it would indeed increase our chances of success."
"Ah! It's my own fault. I'm stuck at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment and have been for decades. Seeing my lifespan dwindling, I still can't break through. Otherwise, my plan could have been postponed for a few more years to accumulate even stronger forces."
Wang Yi said, "Elder Li, don't be too hard on yourself. If it weren't for the countless hours and effort you've put into gathering us, we might never have had the chance to seek revenge."
Wang Yi then continued to ask, "Elder Li, based on your understanding, is it true that the old bastard Li Jiangu has obtained several Xuan Yin Stones?"
Elder Li replied, "It's mostly true. The old bastard Li Jiangu is only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, but he has two ghost generals comparable to late-stage Foundation Establishment. Without Xuan Yin Stones, it would be difficult for him to refine such ghostly creatures."
Ten miles away, in a small cave, Song Wen, who had been observing everything through the black-armored insects, felt a bit surprised.
It seemed that the thin cultivator, Wang Yi, was indeed telling the truth about what he had said.
The Tianhe Li Family was about three thousand miles away from here, located on the famous Tianhe River in the Tianyuan Continent, and had become wealthy by raising Qingjia spirit fish.
According to what Song Wen knew, there were indeed rumors that the Tianhe Li Family was involved in refining ghostly artifacts.
(End of the Chapter)
---
Perks of Joining My Pa treon (pa treon.com/CinderTL)
- Read (RDC) Ahead, Currently up to Chapter 287 as of 07Oct24.
- Daily Updates of 2+ Chapters
- Mass Releases
- 2 Other Stories to Read (More Coming in Future)
- Support My Hardwork. and Show Some Appreciation
If You Are Unable to Join as a Paid Member, Please join as a free member to show some love. (/^▽^)/
AND PLEASE LEAVE SOME REVIEWS, It only takes a few minutes. ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)