Chapter 697: The Path

After the harrowing teleportation incident, Qin Sang had grown more cautious. He now always kept a Mustard Seed Pouch tied at his waist, filled with a few decoy items meant to mislead prying eyes.

That way, if he ever encountered another situation like drifting across the river, no one would be able to snatch away his Thousand-Jin Ring.

Sensing that the faint sense of surveillance behind him had vanished, Qin Sang sneered inwardly and swiftly returned to his stone hut. There, he laid down several layers of barrier-breaking arrays for added security.

Holding the bone flute, he studied it for a long time. After some hesitation, he finally tied a string around it and wore it around his neck, hiding it beneath his inner armor.

He dared not let the two flute fragments come into contact here.

There were too many powerful cultivators in the market. It was not a place of safety.

The strange power within the flute was connected to the cosmic orbit and the force of the stars. If their reunion triggered some kind of phenomenon, it might be impossible to hide. That kind of attention could easily invite trouble.

To be safe, Qin Sang suppressed his curiosity and decided to wait until after the trade fair. In the following two days, he continued to wander the market, but found no other significant gains.

Then one day, he sensed the barrier outside his stone hut being disturbed. He snapped out of meditation and swept his spiritual consciousness over the area, discovering someone from the market waiting outside. Realizing the trade fair was about to begin, he opened the door and stepped out.

Upon seeing him, the man greeted him respectfully. "Senior, the trade fair is about to start. Please allow me to guide you there."

As Qin Sang followed the man toward the largest stone hut deep in the inner section, he reflected on his recent gains.

He had already acquired almost everything he needed. Even if he didn’t attend the trade fair, he could consider this trip a great success. His main reason for staying was to inquire about a path through the Thousand-Demon Sea.

The Primordial Unity Ring wasn’t essential, but without it, he would never feel truly secure in the Demonic Sea.

Of course, he could simply forget about the Primordial Unity Ring and go hunt demonic beasts elsewhere. But judging by how chaotic things were getting outside Huntian Island, even finding a quiet area in the opened-up sea regions was becoming increasingly difficult.

Unless the two races stopped fighting, it was only a matter of time before the chaos spread everywhere.

If that day came and he wanted to avoid being swept into the conflict, he would be forced to enter the unknown sea regions. At that point, the Primordial Unity Ring would be irreplaceable.

Qin Sang had to prepare in advance.

Still, if there truly was no way to get through the Thousand-Demon Sea, there was nothing more he could do.

There were guards stationed outside the stone hut, but when they saw Qin Sang and his guide approaching, they did not block the way. Instead, they bowed respectfully.

Qin Sang pushed open the door and stepped inside, only to see that the spacious hall already had over thirty chairs arranged in it, most of which were already occupied.

"So many Golden Core cultivators?"

Qin Sang was quietly surprised. Scanning the room, he spotted several familiar faces. Managers from some of the most renowned merchant guilds.

So the major guilds had also sent representatives.

He also recognized a few other cultivators, and they nodded to one another in greeting. Under the scrutiny of a few curious gazes, Qin Sang found a seat in the corner and quietly sat down to await the start of the session.

Han Cuo was not present.

Two days ago, it had been said that Han Cuo had spent all his savings to acquire a long-coveted treasure. As a result, he had left the market early and bid Qin Sang farewell.

Before departing, Han Cuo had tried, both openly and subtly, to invite Qin Sang to join his group. Qin Sang declined each time. He wasn’t interested in getting entangled with the cultivators of Huntian Island just yet. The two of them had agreed to meet again on the island in the future.

After about a quarter of an hour, a few more cultivators entered, and the chairs were nearly all filled.

Just then, an elderly man seated at the back, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up. Once he had drawn everyone’s attention, he spoke in a clear, resonant voice. "Many thanks to all the Daoists who have graced this gathering today, especially the new faces among us. I’m honored. I’m sure everyone is eager to begin, so I won’t go on at length. The rules are simple: each person presents their item in turn, states their exchange conditions, and if a trade is agreed upon, it must not be revoked. I am willing to serve as witness for the transactions."

With those few words, the elder sat back down.

Everyone seemed quite familiar with the process. After exchanging glances, the female cultivator seated nearest the entrance was the first to act. She took out two items from her Mustard Seed Pouch and displayed them. "A demonic core and a damaged astra. I’m looking to exchange them for some kind of spiritual water or similar item. The terms are flexible, depending on the value of your offer."

The astra had clearly been damaged in battle, and quite severely at that, but no one cared. Many immediately activated their spiritual consciousness to examine the item, and not long after, several began to negotiate with her.

As for the demonic core, it came from an early-stage Demonic Core Realm Black Malevolent Porpoise. Judging from her cultivation, it must have taken significant effort for her to slay the beast.

Though the Demonic Sea was full of demonic beasts, demonic cores still held high value. Quite a few people were tempted.

Not everyone was like Qin Sang, able to come and go with ease and hunt beasts of the same realm without difficulty.

Qin Sang wasn’t interested in the astra or the demonic core, so he sat quietly without joining in.

Before long, the female cultivator completed her trade and the next person stepped forward. Time passed as one treasure after another was presented. Some left satisfied, while others left empty-handed.

Qin Sang had yet to see anything that stirred his desire. Only an egg from a Thundercrane Beast made his heart stir slightly.

Demonic beast eggs were also extremely valuable here. If successfully hatched, one could raise the beast personally and train it into a spirit beast without fear of betrayal.

However, raising a spirit beast was no easier than cultivating a spiritual insect.

Qin Sang was already raising two spiritual insects. If he were to take on a spirit beast as well, it would stretch his attention and effort too far. The Primordial Unity Ring, on the other hand, allowed him to directly control a demonic beast without having to spend all that time and energy nurturing it.

The reason the Primordial Unity Ring required such an unusually vast amount of rare materials, yet still only resulted in a low-grade astra after refinement, had a great deal to do with this feature.

There was a reason Yuling Sect regarded it as a secret treasure.

Unfortunately, the Primordial Unity Ring could only control demonic beasts at the early stage of the Demonic Core Realm at most. Once Qin Sang advanced to the late stage of the Core Formation Realm, its usefulness would diminish significantly.

After some time, one person took out a demonic core from a poisonous fish and offered it for trade.

Qin Sang had been searching for this kind of demonic core to see if his fat silkworm could absorb it, but had never found one until now. He immediately joined the trade and, after a round of bargaining, exchanged another demonic core and a demonic beast corpse for it.

Finally, it was Qin Sang’s turn.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qin Sang calmly brought out three demonic cores and one astra.

Seeing that he could take out such a quantity of demonic cores, many people’s expressions subtly shifted. Their gazes toward him now carried a hint of wariness.

"I’m looking for Soul-Guiding Grass, Perpetual Camphor..."

Qin Sang went on to list several types of spiritual materials and pills. At the end, he added, "Aside from these, I’m also looking for information on a path that can cross the Thousand-Demon Sea. The price is negotiable."

Upon hearing this, those who had been focused on the treasures in front of Qin Sang suddenly looked surprised and turned their attention back to him.

"Daoist, you’re planning to go to the Thousand-Demon Sea now? Aren’t you afraid of being robbed and killed by the evil cultivators lurking there?"

Someone cried out in alarm.

Qin Sang chuckled. "I never said I planned to go there right now. Even if things settle down in the future, that road will likely still be hard to travel. But I’ll eventually have a reason that forces me to go, so I may as well try to buy another route in advance."