“Please don’t misunderstand, I come from Da Jin and have been trading various rare insects and beasts in the Southern Region for many years. Especially in this Southern Region black market, disciples from various sects often sell the unique insects and beasts found here. And because transactions in the ghost market are always kept confidential, you know, I ask everyone who passes by my stall!” The one-armed old man hurriedly said.

“Oh! Is that so?” Yuan Ming’s expression remained tense.

“This is something I just bought. If you don’t believe me, you can verify it.” The one-armed old man took out a small blue bag from behind, which looked like a spirit beast bag.

Yuan Ming’s doubts gradually disappeared when he saw this scene.

It turned out that this person was actually selling goods in the black market, but in reality, he was buying them.

A thought flashed through his mind. He realized that the origin of the blue beast egg was somewhat dubious, and he didn’t want to invite trouble because of it. So he decided to take the opportunity to exchange it for some spirit stones.

“I do have a rare beast in my possession, but I don’t lack spirit stones and have no intention of selling it. I’m afraid I will disappoint you, Daoist friend.” Yuan Ming said, pretending to be elusive.

Upon hearing these words, the one-armed old man did not show much disappointment. Instead, he calmly stopped Yuan Ming.

His family was skilled in raising venomous snakes and beasts. After obtaining rare beasts from the Southern Region, they would cultivate and sell them to sects in the Central Region. These rare beasts were often hard to come by in the Central Region.

He would also buy low-priced magical tools and spiritual materials from the markets in Da Jin and sell them in the Southern Region, doubling his profits.

“If you don’t lack spirit stones, I also have a collection of other things: spiritual materials, elixirs, talismans, and even two defensive magical tools. You can choose freely, Daoist friend.” With that, the one-armed old man took out a storage bag and handed it over.

The storage bag contained many talismans, elixirs, and two defensive magical tools, all of which were of the lower grade based on their aura.

“I don’t need any of these. In fact, I have a precious beast egg, but unfortunately, you can’t afford it.” Yuan Ming provoked.

“Really? Can I take a look?”

“Please have a look.” Yuan Ming took out the blue beast egg. The old man focused his gaze on it and saw a species he had never encountered before, instantly revealing a look of delight.

“I don’t lack spirit stones, but I want to exchange it for a middle-grade magical tool.” Yuan Ming said.

“A middle-grade magical tool? I’m just an ordinary peddler. How could I have such a treasure? You overestimate me. How about exchanging it for something here? Take another look?” The one-armed old man pointed to the storage bag.

“In that case, forget it.” Yuan Ming didn’t hesitate and handed the storage bag back, then turned and walked away.

The one-armed old man was taken aback, watching Yuan Ming’s figure about to disappear from sight. He immediately hurriedly caught up and said, “Daoist friend, please wait. I just remembered that I happen to have a middle-grade magical tool. Do you need it?”

Yuan Ming heard this and walked back slowly.

The one-armed old man gritted his teeth, reached into his chest, and pulled out a black wooden box. He carefully opened a slit.

Yuan Ming’s divine sense entered the box and saw a pale golden gauze inside. It seemed to be woven from golden threads, three feet long and half a foot wide, neatly folded there, emitting a golden glow.

Just by appearance, the golden gauze was completely different from the previous red shield.

Yuan Ming activated his divine sense and probed the interior of the gauze. A force invisible to the naked eye emanated from within, blocking his divine sense.

He operated the Death Moon method, and his powerful divine sense surged out, instantly breaking through the barrier of the gauze and exploring its depths.

The gauze bloomed with a bright golden light, leaking out from the slit of the wooden box, revealing two golden runes.

The one-armed old man was startled and quickly closed the wooden box. The leaked golden light disappeared in an instant.

“Do you still have any doubts about the grade of this treasure?” The one-armed old man asked.

“This gauze can barely be considered a middle-grade magical tool. How can I exchange it?” Yuan Ming asked. He had just obtained the middle-grade defensive magical tool, the Water Cloud Banner, and when he returned to the Bi Luo Cave, the Third Cave Master would help him refine the Green Fish Sword. He already had enough magical tools for defense and offense.

It was on the side of Xiying that he needed to consider. Xiying had helped him multiple times, and if he kept taking without giving anything in return, he would feel uneasy. With Xiying’s picky personality, he should like this gauze, right?

“What do you mean ‘barely’? This golden gauze is a birthday gift I prepared for my daughter. Its defensive power is much stronger than an ordinary middle-grade magical tool. If it weren’t for this beast egg, I wouldn’t sell it no matter what. It’s priced at seven hundred spirit stones!” The one-armed old man said loudly.

“This gauze is just a middle-grade magical tool. In the ordinary magical tool shops outside, even a middle-grade defensive magical tool wouldn’t cost more than five hundred spirit stones, let alone the fact that you’re selling it in the ghost market. I can offer at most four hundred spirit stones.” Yuan Ming said calmly.

“This golden gauze is made from golden silkworm silk, mixed with soft gold stone, refined iron, and other precious materials. How can it be compared to an ordinary middle-grade magical tool? Moreover, this item has a clean origin. After you buy it, you can use it as you please. Naturally, it cannot be sold according to the market price in the ghost market.” The one-armed old man said.”I don’t care where this thing came from, otherwise I wouldn’t have come to the Ghost Market. Actually, I just bought this beast egg for five hundred spirit stones. During this period, I’ve also spent quite a few spirit stones to take care of it,” Yuan Ming retorted sharply.

After a brief exchange, the one-armed old man’s tone softened. After some negotiation, they finally settled on a price of five hundred spirit stones for the golden silk.

Yuan Ming exchanged his beast egg for two hundred spirit stones.

After a heated argument, they both got what they wanted.

Yuan Ming didn’t stay in the Ghost Market any longer. He returned the black cloak to the gatekeeper and left with the last middle-grade spirit stone in his storage bag.

After taking a detour and confirming that he wasn’t being followed by releasing his soul crow to investigate, Yuan Ming returned to the inn.

As soon as he entered the room, Yuan Ming closed the doors and windows, took out four square sealing talismans, and stuck them on the walls and doors.

Four waves of spiritual energy spread out and merged with each other, forming a barrier-like formation that enveloped the entire room, completely blocking out any sound from outside.

Yuan Ming waved his hand and summoned the golden silk. The golden silk floated in mid-air, emitting waves of spiritual energy that were completely blocked by the sealing talismans.

He was quite satisfied with the effect of the sealing talismans. He then turned his attention to the golden silk and infused it with his spiritual energy.

The golden silk suddenly extended more than ten times in length and increased in width several times, wrapping around him easily for five or six rounds.

He made a hand gesture and the golden silk tightened, layering five or six layers of golden silk to form a thick golden curtain, leaving no blind spots for defense.

Yuan Ming took out the Qingyu Sword, infused it with spiritual energy, and unleashed a sharp sword qi that was about a foot long, striking the golden curtain.

The golden curtain remained motionless, as if the full force strike of the Qingyu Sword was nothing more than a mosquito bite.

Yuan Ming put away the Qingyu Sword, extended his right hand, and chanted an incantation.

He shot out seven or eight wooden thorns from his palm, which then merged into a large sword-shaped wooden thorn that was about half a zhang long. It was the Qing Sword Art!

“Go!” Yuan Ming shook his arm, and the wooden thorn, resembling a green sword, shot out like a crossbow arrow, piercing the golden curtain.

The golden curtain only trembled slightly before returning to its calm state.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming’s face showed a satisfied expression. The Qing Sword Art, as a mid-level technique, could only slightly shake the golden silk. The defensive power of the golden silk was even better than he had expected.

Although the Exploding Fire Art could test the defensive power of the golden silk to a greater extent, it consumed a lot of spiritual energy and made too much noise. The sealing talismans might not be able to conceal it. Moreover, he was also afraid of being too clever and ruining everything.

Yuan Ming put away the golden silk and the sealing talismans, sat on the bed, and took out the “Miscellaneous Discourses on Formation Dao” that he had just bought from the Ghost Market, carefully reading through it.

The book explained the basic principles of formations and provided introductory knowledge for beginners in formation dao. The author had a deep understanding of formations but used simple and easy-to-understand language, making it easy for outsiders like Yuan Ming to understand.

After finishing the book, he had a preliminary understanding of formations.

“Hmm, what’s this…” Yuan Ming’s gaze fell on the last two pages.

These two pages described something called “Formation Flags” and “Formation Plates,” which were special types of magical tools that could carry formation patterns.

A formation master would engrave a set of formation patterns onto the formation flags and plates in advance. When they needed to activate them, they would arrange them in a certain order and use corresponding spirit stones to quickly set up a formation.

Using formation flags and plates to set up formations was much faster than recording formation patterns on the spot. However, the power was weaker because the formation flags and plates didn’t match the environment well.

The book mentioned that engraving a set of formation flags and plates was even more difficult than setting up a formation. Even for a skilled formation master, the success rate was not high.

“So, the small flags and plates in the White Dragon Island’s Shark Jade Box should be a set of formation flags and plates! Unfortunately, I don’t know what formation patterns are engraved on them,” Yuan Ming thought to himself.

Without knowing the positions and rules of the formation patterns on the flags and plates, it was impossible to set up a formation. He could only study them carefully when he had the opportunity in the future.

Yuan Ming put away the “Miscellaneous Discourses on Formation Dao” and took out a Qingxuan Spirit Incense that he had purchased. He lit it up, and the spiritual energy contained in the incense filled the room, refreshing his mind and spirit.

Then, he sat cross-legged on the bed, swallowed a Foundation Nurturing Pill, closed his eyes, and began to refine his cultivation using the Nine Elements Formula.

With the White Deer Summit meeting in the distance and the White Night Scattered Alliance mission approaching, he needed to make use of every moment to cultivate and improve his spiritual power for a little more security.

After cultivating for a moment, Yuan Ming suddenly felt something. He summoned an incense burner and placed the lit incense on the table.

The incense on the incense burner immediately changed. A wisp of green smoke rose straight up, swirling and gathering in the room, continuously condensing without dispersing.He felt a connection with the smoke, his nostrils flared slightly, and he subconsciously took a deep breath. The drifting blue smoke gathered again into a wisp, rushing towards him like a living creature.

Yuan Ming only felt a sense of coolness traveling straight from his nostrils to his lungs, then sinking directly into his dantian. An indescribable sense of comfort spontaneously arose.

At this moment, he felt as if he was bathing in a cool river on a hot summer day. His whole body, limbs, and bones were all relaxed at this moment. The blue smoke made a turn inside his body and was slowly exhaled by him.

The spiritual power in the blue smoke remained in his body, and the exhaled turbid air took away all his fatigue.

Between each inhale and exhale, the wisps of blue smoke around him seemed to come alive, swirling around Yuan Ming’s body, repeating in cycles.

In this world, it was as if he was in a fantasy.

(End of Chapter)