Chapter 179: The Black Market

The so-called spiritual spring objects are those things upon which a spiritual spring depends during its formation.

Constantly nourished by the spiritual spring day and night, these objects undergo a transformation from ordinary materials into spiritual spring objects and remain in the world as the foundation of the spiritual spring.

For example, if a spiritual spring forms on a tree root, that root will transform into a spiritual spring object. If it forms on a rock, that rock becomes a spiritual spring object.

Of course, there are also spiritual springs that form in the void without any specific spiritual spring objects.

If a spiritual spring is destroyed or depleted for some reason, its spiritual spring object may still survive.

Though spiritual springs are rare, countless years have passed, and it’s inevitable that some spiritual spring objects have been discovered. Indeed, a few of these depleted spiritual spring objects still circulate within the realm of immortal cultivation.

While these depleted spiritual spring objects can’t be used in artifact refinement or alchemy, they’re often considered curious relics due to their unique formation, and many people are interested in collecting them.

The author of

Secret Dragon-Searching Techniques

speculated that such spiritual spring objects could help accelerate the formation of a new spiritual spring. Unfortunately, though he managed to acquire a spiritual spring object, he never found a spiritual spring that had yet to fully form.

Because it’s challenging for spiritual springs to form, yet they reach maturity relatively quickly, most cultivators have the patience to wait. Moreover, from the moment a spiritual spring begins to form, the spiritual energy within a cave dwelling becomes exceptionally dense, more than sufficient to sustain a cultivator's training.

Qin Sang’s circumstances, however, were different. The

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

required a combination of intense combat and cultivation. Yet in Yuncang Marshlands, most demonic beasts hid underwater. Each time he went out to search for them, it would delay him significantly. And if he were to spar with fellow disciples, the constraints of friendly combat would make it almost ineffective.

Apart from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, it was nearly impossible to find another place to meet these conditions.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

...

Wenyue Market, Tianhen House.

Tianhen House was the most renowned shop among the four major markets near Shaohua Mountain, backed by the largest immortal cultivation family in Wenyue Market, the Yu Family. The Yu Family’s success had some unspeakable yet undeniable connections with Shaohua Mountain.

The shop was best known for its monthly auction, which featured countless rare treasures and attracted many powerful cultivators. However, Qin Sang wasn’t there for the auction this time.

As soon as he entered Tianhen House, a young maiden with an appealing appearance came up to greet him. Surprisingly, she, too, was a cultivator, though only at the third stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

"Sir, my name is Xiao Huan. What do you require? Are you looking to make a purchase or sell a treasure?"

Before she finished speaking, a gray-robed elder hurried out from the depths of the hall. Apologizing to Qin Sang, he discreetly signaled Xiao Huan to step aside. "Forgive us, Senior. The young girl lacks discernment. Most items in the hall are common wares that wouldn’t be worthy of your attention. If you need, please follow me upstairs to a quiet room for a more private discussion."

Qin Sang hadn’t concealed his cultivation level, and the gray-robed elder, at the thirteenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, could sense Qin Sang’s remarkable strength.

Glancing around, Qin Sang noticed that the first floor of Tianhen House displayed various items—jade slips, spiritual materials, elixirs, and artifacts—all of limited value. Nodding, he replied, "Please lead the way, fellow Daoist."

The gray-robed elder stepped aside to guide him, smiling courteously. "My surname is Zhang, an attendant here at Tianhen House."

Upon entering the quiet room, Qin Sang wasted no time and got straight to the point. "Attendant Zhang, I need two specific materials for artifact refinement: the Ghost Feather and the Moon Pagoda Tree's core. Ideally, the Ghost Feather should be freshly collected, no older than three years, and the Moon Pagoda Tree's core should be at least five hundred years old. Does your establishment have these available?"

Seeing his straightforward approach, Attendant Zhang abandoned any attempts to make small talk and replied seriously, "Please wait a moment, Senior."

After speaking, he clasped a jade pendant, his lips moving in silent communication. Moments later, he nodded slightly. "Senior, our shop indeed has these two materials. The Moon Pagoda Tree's core is six hundred years old, which should meet your requirements. However, we don’t have any fresh Ghost Feathers, only some older ones from several decades ago. Would these be acceptable to Senior?"

Qin Sang silently considered that refining a malevolent corpse required extracting yin fire from the Ghost Feather. As this was his first time refining one, and he was unfamiliar with the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art

, the yin fire from an older Ghost Feather would likely be too weakened to be effective. However, it was better than nothing, so he decided to buy it for now.

With this in mind, Qin Sang nodded, "Please have someone bring the items here. Also, Attendant Zhang, could you check if your shop has any depleted spiritual spring objects for sale?"

...

After leaving Tianhen House, Qin Sang furrowed his brow slightly. Depleted spiritual spring objects were proving far harder to find than he had anticipated. Attendant Zhang had contacted branches at three other markets, but none had any information.

Qin Sang had no choice but to leave some spirit stones, asking Tianhen House to keep an eye out.

However, Attendant Zhang had also told Qin Sang that, in his decades at Tianhen House, he had never seen such an item.

"Let’s do what we can and leave the rest to fate. If I still can’t find it, I’ll stick to the original plan." Qin Sang sighed inwardly, quickening his pace as he headed to Shopkeeper Wu's store.

Luckily, Shopkeeper Wu was in. While chatting, Qin Sang mentioned his frustrations, and Shopkeeper Wu chuckled. "Daoist Qin, if you’re looking to buy a fresh Ghost Feather at Tianhen House, it’s actually normal not to find one. First, the Ghost Eagle is a dark and sinister demonic beast that dwells deep within the Tianduan Mountains, where the yin energy is the densest—a territory claimed by demonic cultivators. Second, the Ghost Feather, taken from the crest of a Ghost Eagle, contains a unique yin fire and is a rare material for artifact refinement. Yet, for righteous cultivators, this yin fire isn’t very useful and may even damage artifacts. In fact, older feathers with the yin fire depleted are more popular. My master left me some contacts for gathering spiritual materials, so if you need, I can arrange for a batch. But if you’re in a hurry, the price may be high."

Qin Sang was thrilled upon hearing this. "Thank you very much, Daoist Wu! As long as I can obtain it, price won’t be an issue. I will certainly reward you generously."

He then went on to share his search for depleted spiritual spring objects with Shopkeeper Wu.

"If Tianhen House doesn’t have what you need, other legitimate stores probably won’t either. But I do know of two other channels...”

Shopkeeper Wu cautiously closed the shop door and leaned in, whispering, "One of them is the Black Market."

"The Black Market?"

Qin Sang had heard of the Black Market, where it was said that one could sometimes find quality items—even better than those at Tianhen House auctions. However, many of the items there had questionable origins. In other words, the Black Market was essentially a place to fence stolen goods.

Wu Yuesheng had some artifacts that Qin Sang couldn’t use, but selling them at Wenyue Market would be a blatant disregard for Shaohua Mountain. He’d have to wait until he entered the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to offload them.

Hermit Baiyun’s artifacts, on the other hand, were quite common, so selling them posed no issue, but their low quality meant they wouldn’t fetch much on the Black Market.

Thus, Qin Sang had neither any questionable items to fence nor an urgent need for anything, so he hadn’t actively sought out the Black Market.

As a long-time resident of Wenyue Market, it wasn’t surprising that Shopkeeper Wu knew about it.

However, depleted spiritual spring objects weren’t particularly valuable, so even the black market might not have any in stock.