Translator: CinderTL
Half a month later, Song Wen finished refining pills.
He had exhausted all the spirit herbs Xiao Ying had left behind for crafting the King Gu Pill and Earth Gu Pill.
After feeding one King Gu Pill to the Shadow King Gu and one Earth Gu Pill to each of the three Shadow Gu, Song Wen murmured to himself, "It seems I'll need to purchase more spirit herbs for these pills on my next trip."
Nourished by the medicinal pills and the corpses of other Gu, all four Gu showed significant improvements in strength.
The three Shadow Gu, in particular, were showing signs of advancing to the mid-third-tier.
Song Wen stored the pills and Alchemy Furnace, then retrieved Shi Man's Communication Jade Slip. He found that she still hadn't replied.
"Could she have been 'life-extended life-snatched' by the Veiled Moon Hall as soon as she joined?" Song Wen frowned slightly, doubting the Veiled Moon Hall would commit such a foolish act.
If a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator practicing the Longevity Technique disappeared immediately after joining the Veiled Moon Hall, it would inevitably arouse suspicion among all high-tier cultivators in the Qicang Domain.
After that, no one like Shi Man would ever bother trying to join the Veiled Moon Hall again.
[Senior Shi Man, have you successfully joined the Veiled Moon Hall?]
After sending another message to Shi Man, Song Wen stored the Communication Jade Slip.
Three months later...
Song Wen still hadn't received a reply from Shi Man.
But he didn't send another message.
He was no longer as certain as before that Shi Man was still alive.
Song Wen left his cultivation cave and headed to a spirit grass shop in South City.
Having exhausted his supply of King Gu Pills and Earth Gu Pills, he needed to purchase Spirit Herbs for alchemy.
The Spirit Herbs required for the Earth Gu Pills were easily obtained.
However, gathering the ingredients for the King Gu Pills proved difficult.
He scoured every major Spirit Herb shop in South City, then ventured into hidden shops in North City's back alleys and rogue cultivators' stalls, but still couldn't find a Spirit Herb called Demon Haze Grass.
Song Wen felt somewhat disappointed.
He had assumed that if Xiao Ying could gather the ingredients for both medicinal pills in the Qianchang Wilderness, he would easily find them in Cloudveil City. Yet, to his surprise, he was missing a crucial ingredient for the King Gu Pills.
Furthermore, he couldn't acquire Yin-Sinking Water, a substance needed to upgrade the Blood Sea Seal's grade.
After a moment's thought, Song Wen headed to an intelligence shop in North City.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged female cultivator with a golden core.
Seeing Song Wen enter, she rose and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what are you looking to purchase?"
Since Song Wen was wearing a black cloak, the female cultivator couldn't see his attire or sense his aura, addressing him simply as "Fellow Daoist."
"Do you have any information about Yin-Sinking Water?" Song Wen asked.
The female cultivator looked puzzled, as if she had never heard of Yin-Sinking Water.
"I'm afraid I don't know what Yin-Sinking Water is," she replied.
Song Wen quickly described the characteristics of Yin-Sinking Water in a few words.
The female cultivator pondered briefly, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I've never heard of such a treasure."
"Then what about information on Demon Haze Grass?" Song Wen asked.
The female cultivator was equally unfamiliar with Demon Haze Grass.
After Song Wen described its features, she frowned. "I think I've seen something like this before, but I can't quite recall. Please wait a moment while I check."
She retrieved several jade slips and began examining them one by one.
After a few moments, her eyes lit up slightly as she reviewed one of the slips.
A wisp of black qi surged from her body, coiling through the air and instantly forming an image of a spirit grass.
The leaf veins were clearly defined, the stem swayed with lifelike fluidity, and every minute detail was perfectly rendered. Except for the grass's black coloration, it was remarkably lifelike.
"Fellow Daoist, is this what you're looking for?" she asked.
Song Wen nodded, gazing at the spirit grass floating in the air. "That's it."
The female cultivator raised the jade slip in her hand. "Fellow Daoist, the spirit grass you're seeking isn't called Demon Haze Grass, but rather 'Bodhi Spirit Core.' All the relevant information is contained within this jade slip."
"Bodhi Spirit Core?" Song Wen was slightly surprised.
The name "Bodhi Spirit Core" carried a strong Buddhist-Daoist connotation.
"How many spirit stones do you want for this information?" Song Wen asked.
He expected the female cultivator to demand an exorbitant price, but she simply held up her palm and replied, "Fifty mid-grade spirit stones."
Song Wen immediately understood that the information in the jade slip likely wouldn't directly lead him to the Bodhi Spirit Core.
He counted out fifty mid-grade spirit stones, handed them over, and received the jade slip in return.
As his divine sense probed the jade slip, his suspicions were confirmed. The information about the Bodhi Spirit Core was sparse.
Aside from a brief description of its appearance and some uses, the jade slip only mentioned that this item could only be found at the Dry Zen Temple and was extremely rare in the outside world.
Why would the Dry Zen Temple hoard the Bodhi Spirit Core? Could this Spirit Herb hold some secret? Or does the temple have ulterior motives? Song Wen pondered inwardly.
Yet, according to the Witch Gu Dao Methods, Demon Haze Grass was a Spirit Herb favored by demon beasts. Moreover, only a select few demon beasts craved it, while it was highly toxic to humans. Song Wen couldn't quite grasp why the Dry Zen Temple would act this way.
After reviewing the information in the jade slip, Song Wen turned to the female cultivator and asked, "Do you know the location of the nearest black market?"
The female cultivator replied, "Within a hundred thousand li of Cloudveil City, there are three black markets, located at..."
Having obtained the information about the black markets, Song Wen paid ten mid-grade spirit stones and left the shop.
Song Wen soared into the sky, heading southwest. After traveling several hundred li from the city, he abruptly changed course eastward.
After another ten thousand li, a cluster of mountain peaks shrouded in mist came into view.
According to the female cultivator's intel, the largest black market near Cloudveil City—the Rotting Ghost Market—lay hidden in a mountain valley at the heart of these peaks.
Song Wen glanced at the sky.
The sun was already setting, around the seventh quarter of Shen Hour.
The Rotting Ghost Market wouldn't open until Zi Hour at midnight, so there was still plenty of time.
Song Wen continued another ten thousand li before finding a secluded grove to meditate and regulate his breathing.
As midnight approached, Song Wen set out for the Rotting Ghost Market.
Passing through the narrow, mist-shrouded entrance nestled between two towering mountains, Song Wen entered the ghost market.
The market teemed with cultivators, nearly all of whom wore disguises.
After more than two hours, Song Wen had visited dozens of shops, both large and small, but failed to acquire even a single Bodhi Spirit Core.
Finally, he arrived at a shop called Myriad Tranquility Pavilion.
This was the largest establishment in the black market, offering a vast array of treasures: spirit grass, medicinal pills, mystic treasures, artifact refining spirit materials, and nearly every other resource needed for cultivation.
Song Wen had avoided this shop earlier because its attendants were all dressed as monks, radiating an authentic Buddhist aura.
He surmised that Myriad Tranquility Pavilion was likely operated by the Dry Zen Temple.
Since the Bodhi Spirit Core was already controlled by the Dry Zen Temple, Song Wen had initially hoped to acquire it without involving them. Now, it seemed he had no choice but to find a way through the temple itself.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (RDC) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c1284. [+2]
🔑Read upto Ch1100 for FREE visit the pinned post on my p@treon to learn how!
💥Translated (6) Series, (5.3K+) Chapters, (7.7M+) Words.