The stall owner's eyes lit up upon hearing this, though he immediately began complaining, "Brother Qin, just these incantations alone that I painstakingly curated make fifteen spirit stones far from expensive... Ah, forget it! How much are you willing to pay, Brother Qin?"
Qin Sang furrowed his brows, appearing to agonize over a difficult choice, before finally gritting his teeth. "Four spirit stones at most!"
The stall owner's face fell. "Brother, you might as well rob me! Absolutely not!"
It seemed his offer really had been too low.
Qin Sang hesitated, flipping through the book back and forth for a while. Then, he brought out the Water-Congealing Barrier talisman and said, "These incantations of yours are as common as dirt. To me, the only thing with any value is this cultivation method. But... how about this: this talisman is worth ten spirit stones on its own. I won't even ask for change. If you're willing to trade, we trade; if not, forget it."
"Ask for change? This Water-Congealing Barrier is barely worth six spirit stones..."
Rolling his eyes, the stall owner grumbled with a reluctant look on his face, but his hands moved fast. In one swift motion, he snatched the Water-Congealing Barrier talisman and slapped the Nether Scripture into Qin Sang's palm.
Having finally gotten his hands on it, Qin Sang wanted nothing more than to find somewhere to study it thoroughly right away. In the end, he reined in his eagerness and strolled two more laps around the square, finding opportune moments to inquire about a few matters.
The first was spiritual roots.
No matter whom Qin Sang asked, everyone gave the exact same answer: without a spiritual root, cultivation was utterly impossible. Even several cultivators who seemed to belong to demonic sects said the same.
This only left Qin Sang more bewildered as to why he was so peculiar.
The second matter was yin baleful qi.
As it turned out, yin baleful qi was common knowledge among cultivators; Qin Sang had nearly been laughed at for asking about it.
Yin baleful qi was an extremely cold baleful qi birthed by heaven and earth. Its exact origins were hard to explain, but it was said to be most abundant on ancient battlefields where immortals had waged war. In places where corpses piled like mountains, yin baleful qi would gradually emerge due to peculiar conditions.
Without protective means, lingering in yin baleful qi for extended periods would not only hinder one's cultivation, but even a cultivator with a fortified physique would inevitably succumb to the qi invading their body and perish.
Except for exceedingly rare secret techniques or magic tools capable of utilizing yin baleful qi, ordinary cultivators did best to stay far away from it.
Of course, typical cultivators did not need to worry about such things. Yin baleful qi was exceedingly rare, mostly forming in dark, secluded places, making encounters even less likely.
After learning about yin baleful qi, Qin Sang felt no joy, only worry, his heart sinking to rock bottom.
If yin baleful qi was this hard to find, would he have to repeat his old tricks—finding a mortal nation currently at war, slipping into the secular world, and harvesting souls?
Now that he knew about Youshan Cultivation Market, he had a channel to connect with the cultivation world, so slipping back into the secular world was not impossible.
However, entanglements in the secular realm would waste time, and as Qin Sang's cultivation level grew higher, he had already clearly sensed that using mortal souls alone to produce Soul Pills was far too inefficient to support his cultivation needs.
Unless he slaughtered hundreds or thousands of people at once.
It would be better to stay in Youshan Cultivation Market for a while longer to see if he could track down a location with yin baleful qi. Presumably, no one would compete with him for such a thing.
After wandering for so long, dusk had begun to settle, and the crowd in the square thinned. Qin Sang decided to find an inn in the market and stay for a while.
Before that, however, he found an empty corner and quietly retrieved the jade disc.
Even the young man surnamed Han had misunderstood the jade disc, mistaking it for a token of Youshan Cultivation Market.
The hazy glow upon the disc lingered without dispersing, still pointing far into the depths of the bluestone streets. Following the jade disc's guidance, Qin Sang walked and paused by turns, eventually stopping before a three-story wooden building.
The plaque above the wooden building read: Shenqi Pavilion.
The entire street was lined with various shops, yet only Shenqi Pavilion had its doors and windows tightly shut. Qin Sang watched for a while and did not see a single customer emerge.
With such a grand name, could it have gone out of business?
Qin Sang could not help thinking somewhat uncharitably.
A nearby shopkeeper noticed him and called out, "Did you also hear about Shenqi Pavilion and come to buy magic tools, little brother?"
Qin Sang's interest was piqued. Stepping forward, he glanced around and noticed the shop was stocked with beast hides, bones, and the like. Naturally, what cultivators sold were no ordinary beast remains; they had to be from demon beasts.
"Qin Sang greets Senior," Qin Sang cupped his hands. "I did indeed come after hearing of its reputation, but may I ask why Shenqi Pavilion is shuttered?"
Seeing Qin Sang's respectful demeanor, the shopkeeper took a liking to him and was happy to say a few extra words. "You may not know this, Little Brother Qin, but Shenqi Pavilion only opens its doors for one day in the middle of each month, once every three months. You've come too early; you'll have to wait another two days."
Qin Sang was surprised. "It only opens for one day in the middle of the month?"
Who conducted business like that?
"You may not know this, Little Brother Qin," the shopkeeper said, a thick tinge of envy appearing on his face. "The master of Shenqi Pavilion most likely hails from a prominent artifact-refining sect. The magic tools they sell are all premium quality, crafted with consummate mastery, so they never worry about sales. Many people in the market right now came specifically for Shenqi Pavilion. Every time Shenqi Pavilion puts magic tools on display, they are snapped up clean within a single day. People even outbid one another in the scramble. That kind of skill isn't something we rogue cultivators can ever hope to match. The shop's little bit of rent doesn't even amount to the profit from a single magic tool, so naturally, they don't care."
So they truly had skill.
Qin Sang understood. It seemed having specialized expertise was advantageous in the cultivation world as well. However, his own cultivation was currently a struggle, and he had neither the energy nor the channels to learn artifact refining or alchemy. He cupped his hands to the shopkeeper and asked, "May I ask Senior, does one need a token or something similar to enter and purchase items?"
"I haven't heard of such a thing," the shopkeeper said hesitantly. "My means are meager, and I cultivate a fire-attribute method. Most magic tools sold by Shenqi Pavilion carry a hint of yin chill, which doesn't suit me, so I've only ever visited the first floor. I've heard that the second and third floors sell superior-grade or even top-grade magic tools, so there might be requirements there."
Thanking the shopkeeper, Qin Sang pondered as he walked toward the bluestone street's exit, privately guessing that this jade disc was probably Shenqi Pavilion's token.
Such things were not uncommon in mid-to-small auction houses in his previous life—creating a gimmick like an exclusive membership and claiming only those with status and prestige were eligible to attend, instantly elevating their aura of exclusivity.
Even that shopkeeper dared not go up; as a pauper, Qin Sang had even less use for it.
Finding an inn, Qin Sang spent a hefty sum to rent a small courtyard. After eating, he shut the courtyard gate, stifled his inner excitement, and took out the two copies of the Nether Scripture.
He cross-checked the first six layers one by one. Finding no discrepancies, he finally relaxed. Holding both copies of the Nether Scripture, he fell into deep thought.
He had originally thought the Yanluo Banner was a complementary magic tool designed specifically for the Nether Scripture, which was why he had always regarded the scripture as an evil demonic art.
In truth, foundational methods were all identical whether demonic or orthodox: drawing the five-phase spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body to temper oneself. There was no distinction between righteous and evil. Only now did Qin Sang realize how laughable his earlier assumptions had been.
Yet while a cultivation method might not distinguish between righteous and evil, that did not mean the cultivator practicing it did not. Absorbing human souls to enhance one's cultivation was, in Qin Sang's eyes, demonic through and through.
Chapter 56