The cultivation market was actually hollowed out underground.
A cultivator had carved out an underground cavern out of nothing with a Daoist art, protected on its periphery by powerful restrictions and formations. The entire subterranean space was divided into two sections separated by a stone gate, and only Core Formation stage cultivators were permitted entry into the inner layer.
Upon stepping into the underground cavern, Qin Sang spotted numerous exceedingly crude stone huts, clearly meant to be discarded after a single use.
By now, quite a few cultivators were already present, shuttling back and forth between the stone huts.
Han Cuo and his companions offered to entertain Qin Sang, but Qin Sang politely declined.
Dismissing the others, Han Cuo turned to Qin Sang and said, "I just inquired, and the trade fair in the inner layer won't take place for another few days. It will only begin once all the Core Formation stage fellow daoists have arrived. You might as well browse around out here first. Many of the masters of these stone huts are actually stewards from great merchant guilds on Huntian Island, and their reputations are impeccable. Whatever you need, feel free to buy from them. I still have some business to attend to, so I won't disturb you for now, Fellow Daoist Qin. I'll come call for you once the trade fair begins."
"Please, do as you need, Fellow Daoist Han."
Qin Sang watched Han Cuo enter a stone hut, pondered for a moment, and began to stroll around the area as well.
In the end, he selected several merchant guilds and negotiated his transactions.
By then, the demon carcasses, magic tools, and other goods in his Qianjun Ring, along with most of his spirit stones, had all been traded for medicinal pills, talismans, and similar supplies, ensuring he would not have to worry about provisions for at least a decade or two.
He attempted to purchase some pills capable of advancing his cultivation, only to discover that those effective for the Core Formation stage were far more expensive than he had imagined. Moreover, they were scarce in the market, driving the prices even higher.
Qin Sang temporarily set aside a portion of his magic treasures, demon cores, and other valuables, intending to see whether he could trade them for treasures he fancied at the inner-layer trade fair.
Worth noting was that he actually managed to obtain three inner cores of toxic beasts from one of the guilds, which would at least sustain the fat silkworm through the late stage of its second metamorphosis.
Qin Sang also purchased a large quantity of the spirit medicines favored by the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.
Even if he could not head to the Thousand Demons Sea right away, he did not intend to set foot on Huntian Island. Encountering such a rare opportunity, he naturally made sure to replenish his supplies to the fullest.
What concerned him most was the situation in the Thousand Demons Sea.
After making a round of inquiries, Qin Sang's expression grew increasingly grim. The information gathered by these merchant guilds differed little from what Han Cuo had told him, confirming beyond doubt that the route through the Thousand Demons Sea was impassable.
As for his attempts to purchase alternative paths traversing the Thousand Demons Sea, none yielded any intel.
Only the steward of one merchant guild suggested that Qin Sang try his luck at the inner-layer trade fair in a few days.
Perhaps an expert had stumbled upon a safe route through the Thousand Demons Sea, but they would surely treat it as a secret and rarely share it. If Qin Sang was willing to offer sufficient compensation, he might just entice them to part with it.
Having inquired repeatedly to no avail, Qin Sang had no choice but to enter the inner layer, where he rented a stone hut and settled down to wait patiently.
Even before the trade fair began, Core Formation stage cultivators were already arriving in succession.
After waiting in the inner layer for two days, Qin Sang stepped out of his stone hut and was surprised to find that several fellow cultivators had gathered in the small square outside, displaying their respective treasures and seemingly conducting trades.
Intrigued, Qin Sang strode over.
The cultivators in the square noticed Qin Sang's approach and looked his way. Some gave him an amicable nod, while others coldly withdrew their gazes.
Drawing near the square, Qin Sang glanced at the items laid out before the outermost cultivators and could not help feeling a bit disappointed.
These items were supreme treasures that Foundation Establishment cultivators could only dream of, yet to Core Formation cultivators, they were somewhat mediocre. It seemed they were holding back their finest treasures for the official trade fair.
"A toxic core?"
Just as disappointment began to set in, Qin Sang unexpectedly spotted a toxic core. Striding forward, he struck a bargain with the seller and bought it.
There were not many people, but to preserve privacy, they sat quite far apart from one another.
Qin Sang traded for a few items he needed and soon reached the very end, where he discovered a gaunt, middle-aged man sitting motionless on a prayer mat.
This person's aura was rather peculiar, faint and erratic. His face was extraordinarily pale and drawn, giving the impression of someone heavily wounded and severely depleted of vitality and blood.
Yet that was not certain, as certain strange cultivation methods could also produce such an eerie appearance.
Qin Sang could not simply stare at the man, so after a brief sweep of his gaze, he withdrew his attention without interest and directed it toward the items displayed before him.
Before this man lay several jade vials containing pills and a large pile of materials from demon carcasses, without even a single demon core among them.
Qin Sang was just about to walk past the man and return to his stone hut when he suddenly spotted a familiar object. His gaze snapped onto it, and his heart gave a slight jolt.
It was a piece of white bone the size of a phalanx!
The bone was hollow with an oily, jade-like sheen on its surface—identical to the bone flute he had obtained from the Shadow-devouring Leopard!
Back in Ziwei Palace, he and Yunyouzi had fought the Shadow-devouring Leopard for the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit, ultimately using the Xutian Thunder to scare the beast away.
The lingering shockwave of the Xutian Thunder had shattered the gold ring around the Shadow-devouring Leopard's neck, dislodging a section of a bone flute.
At the time, they had discovered that the bone flute was connected to astral power and could not be stored in a mustard seed bag, though Qin Sang had successfully placed it inside his Qianjun Ring.
Yunyouzi had conjectured that this kind of bone flute might be a fragment of some treasure.
After stowing it away, Qin Sang had never paid it much mind. After all, across the boundless world of cultivation, the chances of finding another such piece were infinitesimally slim, so he had harbored no hope at all.
Yet he never expected to encounter a second bone flute here in the Canglang Sea, countless tens of thousands of li away.
There was no mistake; it was the exact same object!
The moment Qin Sang laid eyes on the bone flute, he sensed the identical aura emanating from it. Just like the piece in his possession, this object was capable of communicating with the power of the heavenly circuit's stars!
For the fragments of the same treasure to have ended up in two places so far apart after shattering—what had transpired back then?
Qin Sang was utterly astounded, and secretly felt even more alarmed.
Were these two bone flutes the entirety of the treasure, and what would happen if they were brought together?
Intense curiosity welled up in Qin Sang's heart, but his expression remained unchanged. He halted naturally before the man and casually looked over the other items.
The stall owner opened his eyes, saw Qin Sang, and asked in an unusually raspy voice, "What has caught your eye, Sir?"
Qin Sang sighed inwardly. Aside from the bone flute, everything this man had laid out was mediocre. And the uniqueness of the bone flute was obvious to anyone without needing an explanation.
Picking up a bargain was out of the question.
However, the stall owner's raspy voice revealed that something was indeed amiss with his body, which gave Qin Sang an idea.
Deciding to cut straight to the chase, Qin Sang pointed at the bone flute in front of the stall owner and asked, "May I ask, Sir, what this piece of white bone is? Would you mind allowing me to take a closer look?"
The stall owner blinked in surprise. His gaze unobtrusively swept over Qin Sang's chest and clothes before he nodded. "I do not know what this object is called. If you wish to look, Fellow Daoist, please feel free."
Qin Sang crouched down. Under the stall owner's gaze, his expression remained impassive as he picked up the bone flute and examined it for a moment, further confirming that it was indeed the exact same thing!
Chapter 695