Chapter 329: Reunion at the Secret Market

Qin Sang rented a stone house and meticulously set up multiple layers of barriers within it. He retrieved the sheepskin from his Mustard Seed Pouch.

On the surface, the sheepskin appeared unchanged.

The moment Qin Sang channeled his spiritual power onto it, a speck of white light flickered to life. However, before the Ziwei Secret Talisman could fully manifest, he swiftly withdrew his spiritual power, and the sheepskin returned to its normal state.

Holding the Ziwei Secret Talisman in his hand, Qin Sang fell into deep contemplation.

He was still uncertain about how to handle this item.

At present, the Spirit Tide had only begun showing signs of emerging. These signs would gradually intensify, and in due course, celestial phenomena would occur frequently, accompanied by violent Cloud Beast uprisings.

Eventually, the Ancient Immortal Battlefield would plunge into complete chaos, with celestial phenomena raging day and night, and the Cloud Beasts descending into madness. Only the strongest individuals could survive in such an environment; for most cultivators, it would be nearly impossible.

At that time, the seven strongholds would be sealed off, and the Spirit Tide would arrive in its full force.

According to past occurrences, the brewing process of each Spirit Tide varied in duration—sometimes taking decades, and in some cases, nearly a century.

If the Spirit Tide arrived later than expected, he might have a chance to enter the Core Formation Realm before the opening of the Ziwei Palace and explore it. However, Qin Sang was well aware that such an opportunity was highly unlikely.

At present, he had no clear path to achieving Core Formation.

Even his senior brother, Qi Yuanshou, renowned as the strongest below the Golden Core Realm in Shaohua Mountain, had already stepped into the Fake Core Realm when Qin Sang first arrived at Xuanlu Stronghold. Yet, after nearly thirty years, he had still not reached the Core Formation Realm, which spoke volumes about the difficulty of the breakthrough.

Returning to Xuanlu Stronghold to leverage his sect's resources and learn more about the Ziwei Palace seemed to be the most prudent course of action.

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Sang sighed inwardly, storing away the Ziwei Secret Talisman. He then took out the treasures he had acquired from the recent auction and laid them before him.

Several types of spiritual wood were intended for his ebony sword, which he planned to let it slowly absorb.

The top-grade spiritual artifact, the Yellow Sand Banner, was relatively easy to control. With minimal refining, Qin Sang could wield it with ease, adding another weapon to his arsenal for future confrontations.

Next were the three Soul-Guiding Grass stalks.

Qin Sang carefully opened a jade box and took out the Soul-Guiding Grass with great caution.

The three intertwining leaves formed a bud at the top, and their length rivaled that of an adult’s arm, yet they were as light as a feather.

He gently sniffed the medicinal aroma emanating from the grass. It carried no distinct fragrance or peculiar scent, yet the moment the essence entered his body, he felt his soul subtly stirred.

He refrained from touching the barrier placed on the Soul-Guiding Grass, deciding instead to wait until he was in a secure environment before attempting to refine it into Heavenly Corpse Talismans.

With three stalks and nine leaves in total, he could afford a few practice attempts, but he couldn't afford to waste them. This spiritual herb was extremely rare and hard to come by.

By the time the auction concluded, it was already the early hours of the morning. Qin Sang waited inside the stone house for an hour.

When daylight broke, he stepped outside.

Many experts had been drawn to the auction, and the quality of today's items was evidently superior to those of the previous days. Qin Sang strolled through the market with great interest, reaping abundant gains.

Among his acquisitions, he was pleasantly surprised to find two of the five-elemental yin objects—an unexpected delight.

Unknowingly, the entire day passed as Qin Sang explored the stone island. Everywhere he went, discussions about the auction were constant, with most conversations revolving around the Ziwei Palace and the Ziwei Secret Talisman.

These rumors would soon spread like wildfire throughout the Small Cold Domain, igniting a frenzy in the search for the Ziwei Secret Talisman.

After all, who wouldn't be tempted by the chance to exchange a mere sheepskin for an astra?

Even without the auction, the news of the Ziwei Secret Talisman was bound to leak eventually, though perhaps not this soon. In reality, the competition for the Ziwei Secret Talisman was mainly confined to cultivators in the Core Formation Realm.

Furthermore, the major powers presiding over the Small Cold Domain—such as the Eight Major Sects, which had Spiritual Realm cultivators overseeing them—would not participate in the hunt. They had no need for the Ziwei Secret Talisman, as their Spiritual Realm grandmasters could effortlessly lead them into Ziwei Palace.

The ones who truly needed the Ziwei Secret Talisman were the smaller sects and rogue cultivators at the Golden Core Realm.

As dusk fell, Qin Sang found a secluded spot and activated the barrier on his jade pendant using his spiritual power.

A faint glow emerged from the pendant's center, transforming into a dagger-shaped light arrow that pointed southeast—indicating the location of the secret market arranged by the elderly cultivator.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Do I have to leave the stone island?"

Qin Sang frowned slightly as he followed the jade pendant’s guidance, walking all the way to the edge of the island. There, he found the light-dagger pointing toward an inconspicuous stone house.

After observing in secret for a while, he noticed several people entering the house one after another. Only when the agreed time arrived did Qin Sang take a step forward and approach.

A hanging sign swayed outside the stone house, but there were no customers inside. Qin Sang tightened his cloak, stepped inside, and found no trace of the elderly man. Instead, a beautiful woman with Foundation Building Realm cultivation was managing the shop.

"May I ask what you need..."

The woman lazily sat inside, but the moment she caught sight of the jade pendant in Qin Sang's palm, her demeanor changed instantly. A bright smile appeared on her face as she whispered, "Daoist, please follow me."

She led him into the back hall, where there was a hidden door. Beyond it lay a deep and shadowy passage, with faint glows from concealed barriers flickering within.

Qin Sang paused at the entrance of the passage, carefully inspecting the barriers.

The woman covered her mouth with a smile and reassured him, "Daoist, there’s no need to worry. These are concealment barriers set up to prevent outsiders from discovering the secret market. Unlike Yinshan Stronghold, we lack its deterrence, so we had no choice but to take these precautions. Everyone attending our secret market prefers to stay in the shadows."

Seeing that the barriers were indeed for concealment, Qin Sang nodded and said calmly, "Please lead the way."

Not long after entering the passage, they arrived at a modest stone chamber. Inside, a long table and several chairs had been arranged, and the room was nearly filled with cultivators dressed in various attire.

Despite the number of people present, the stone chamber was eerily silent.

The elderly man was seated at the head of the table. Upon seeing Qin Sang enter, he immediately stood up to greet him, extending his hand and smiling. "Another Daoist has arrived. Please take a seat and wait for a moment; the secret market is about to begin."

Qin Sang nodded and casually chose an empty seat.

He keenly sensed a few scrutinizing gazes directed at him but feigned ignorance while silently observing the others in the room.

Without exception, all the attendees were Foundation Building cultivators, with quite a few at the middle-to-late stage. The elderly man's influence surprised Qin Sang.

Among them, there were likely several familiar faces from the auction the night before.

However, everyone was tightly wrapped up, even more cautious than at the auction.

Looks like there will be some valuable items today. But I don’t have many spirit stones left. Fortunately, the spoils I seized from Yu Dayue and the others are still with me—hopefully, I can make some gains.

Qin Sang thought to himself.

Soon, a few more cultivators arrived.

As the sun began to set, signaling the start of the secret market, the elderly man straightened his posture and cleared his throat, just about to speak when heavy and urgent footsteps suddenly echoed from the passage.

Who's this person who can't keep their calm?

Qin Sang turned his head and saw a burly figure squeezing hastily through the doorway—it was none other than the robust man he had seen at the auction the previous night!