Marketplace

Two days later, in the city below the Five Mountains Sect, the streets teemed with activity, and many people moved about with leisurely expressions, appearing no different from a mortal city. However, most of the people in this city were cultivators, and the goods being sold were also somewhat different.

"Magic artifact cloak, can resist attacks from the Spirit Gathering Realm!"

"Selling Strength Pills! Can rapidly increase Body Tempering Realm cultivation, come and see!"

"Demonic Beast Twin-Headed Serpent Essence Blood! Can temper the body, come and see!"

Amidst these shouts, Murong Xue and Zeng Fan walked through the crowd. Zeng Fan wore a helpless expression, while Murong Xue seemed to grit her teeth. The reason, of course, was the bickering of Yuan Jin and Wang Beichen behind them.

"You're a little kid tagging along when a couple is out for a stroll, why are you here? You're not her mother," Yuan Jin glared at Wang Beichen, acting like he was shielding his brother from a third wheel.

"You're the little kid! Your whole family are little kids! Dare you fight me? And you have the nerve to talk about me? Who was it sneakily following behind us, and when I found out, you still had the audacity to say 'what a coincidence~'," Wang Beichen retorted fearlessly, making a face at Yuan Jin.

Yuan Jin's old face flushed, and he was about to make a move. Wang Beichen also widened his eyes, spiritual energy surging around him.

"You two, be quiet! Fighting is forbidden in this city. Do you want the Sect's Enforcement Hall to come over?!" Murong Xue yelled at them angrily.

The two men trembled simultaneously, shot each other a fierce glare, but dared not argue further.

Zeng Fan also had a headache. After a day of cultivation yesterday, he had finally stabilized his Body Tempering Bone realm. The Body Tempering Bone primarily increased strength; the higher the realm, the stronger the strength.

After his cultivation stabilized, Zeng Fan had invited Murong Xue to visit the market. Yuan Jin had shown no reaction when Zeng Fan mentioned it, only making a few teasing remarks. As a result, he had been secretly following the three of them today and was spotted by the sharp-eyed Wang Beichen. It was somewhat helpless; Yuan Jin looked burly but was quite the gossip.

Murong Xue bringing Wang Beichen along was purely out of helplessness. After all, the kid had insisted on coming from the start, sticking to them like glue. Murong Xue couldn't shake him off, so she could only let him come.

The four of them wandered through the city. Zeng Fan looked around curiously, as it was his first time in such a place where cultivators gathered.

A scent of medicinal herbs reached him, invigorating Zeng Fan slightly. The spiritual energy circulation within his body seemed to accelerate. Following the scent, Zeng Fan arrived in front of a stall. The vendor was a young male disciple with Body Tempering Realm cultivation. Seeing Zeng Fan and the others arrive, his eyes lit up.

"What does this senior brother need? Feel free to look around. I guarantee the prices are reasonable. I picked these myself."

A spiritual grass with a yellow hue caught Zeng Fan's attention. It was this grass that continuously emitted the fragrance, causing his internal spiritual energy to surge.

"Is this... Earth Yellow Grass?" Zeng Fan understood. No wonder it could make his internal spiritual energy surge. The pills in their monthly stipends contained this medicinal ingredient, which could speed up the absorption of spiritual energy. However, Zeng Fan shook his head. This medicinal herb had a certain toxicity and could only be effective after being refined into a pill with other ingredients. He didn't know how to refine pills, so he had to give up.

Just as Zeng Fan was scanning the other medicinal herbs and considering moving on, suddenly! A faint fluctuation emanated from his storage ring, seemingly yearning for a certain medicinal herb in the stall.

While others were browsing the herbs, Zeng Fan subtly checked the inside of his ring. The faint fluctuation was coming from a skeleton. Zeng Fan's scalp instantly tingled.

"It's Guo Ren's skeleton! Could he not be dead? Is there a remnant soul left inside the bones?" Zeng Fan's expression was uncertain. He didn't know if this was good or bad. The fluctuation from the skeleton was still ongoing, though very weak. It seemed it would extinguish immediately if Zeng Fan destroyed the skeleton. However, Zeng Fan's current opportunity also came from the owner of this skeleton, who had left words for someone to avenge him before dying.

"Let's test what it needs first," Zeng Fan decided for the time being. He began to carefully pick up each stalk of grass, appearing very interested in them. As Zeng Fan picked up a small black grass, the fluctuation in his ring suddenly intensified.

Zeng Fan understood. It was this item. Zeng Fan began to feel conflicted. It was clear that the fluctuation from the skeleton was for this item. If he obtained this item, perhaps Guo Ren could be resurrected. A son's skeleton and a conscious remnant soul would surely mean different things to that island lord.

"I'll take it for now. If anything unusual happens, I'll hand him directly over to the sect," he decided, no longer hesitating, and spoke to the vendor.

"How much for this one?"

The vendor quickly said, "I don't know the specific use of this herb, but if you want it, brother, two hundred spirit stones. How about it?"

Zeng Fan calculated in his mind. The price for these spirit herbs useful to remnant souls was not low. Two hundred spirit stones was a complete bargain for him. He was about to take out his spirit stones.

Just then, an awkward expression appeared on Zeng Fan's face. He had no spirit stones. "How could I forget about this? After coming to the sect, I only get that little bit of spirit stones each month. Plus what I snatched from those two guys before, it's only a little over a hundred spirit stones. I'll borrow some from Yuan Jin first!"

Zeng Fan turned his head. Before he could speak, Yuan Jin had already taken out two hundred spirit stones and thrown them to the vendor, giving Zeng Fan a reassuring look.

The vendor, having received the spirit stones, was naturally beaming and was about to hand the herb to Zeng Fan. Just then, something unexpected happened!

"Three hundred spirit stones! I'll take this herb!" a woman's voice rang out, and a slender hand, carrying spiritual energy fluctuations, reached for the herb. Murong Xue's eyes turned cold upon seeing this and she directly intervened, her palm colliding with the hand.

"Don't you have eyes? We've already bought this herb. If you want it, go find it somewhere else!"

The owner of the hand was forced back several steps by Murong Xue's strike. Zeng Fan also turned his head with a murderous glint in his eyes. It was a young girl of similar age, with a pretty and charming face, alluring eyes, and fair, glowing skin. His gaze traveled downwards, tracing a stunning curve across her chest, then sharply narrowing at her waist, revealing her commanding figure. However, her slightly sharp lips and flustered expression marred the scene for them.

"What did you say? You're the one who doesn't have eyes! I'll add a hundred spirit stones to your two hundred and buy it. Don't be ungrateful," Yang Ling said to Zeng Fan and the others.

She was also annoyed. She had accidentally seen this Spirit Grass just now. It could repair souls and enhance divine sense, which was exactly what her cultivation technique required. She had been searching for days and hadn't expected to find it here. Seeing it about to be bought, her naturally somewhat spoiled personality couldn't help but act directly. She didn't expect to be unable to defeat the woman in front of her.

"Was that buying? That was snatching. I can't be bothered to argue with you. We've already bought it, so go find it yourself," Murong Xue said impatiently.

Looking at the fluctuations on this woman, she was probably only at the peak of Body Tempering Bone. Murong Xue alone could suppress her, so there was no need to be polite.

Yang Ling gritted her teeth and was about to say something else. Murong Xue's gaze towards her already held a hint of murderous intent, momentarily intimidating Yang Ling into silence.

"You guys just wait!" After saying this, Yang Ling turned and left.

Murong Xue scoffed and stopped looking at her. Zeng Fan had already put the spirit grass into his storage ring and turned to Murong Xue, "Are you okay? That person seemed to have some backing. Maybe we should go back to avoid more trouble."

Murong Xue blinked and pointed to the side with her finger, "As long as you got your item, did you forget we still have this kid here?"

Zeng Fan followed Murong Xue's finger and saw Wang Beichen with his hands behind his head, looking bored.

"Almost forgot about this 'second-generation immortal'," Zeng Fan patted his forehead. Knowing Murong Xue's meaning, with this kid around, there wouldn't be any major problems, so he relaxed. The four of them resumed their stroll through the street, occasionally bursting into laughter.

Zeng Fan and the other two accompanied Murong Xue to the clothing pavilion. Women have no resistance to beautiful clothes. Murong Xue actually stayed there for a full four hours, making the three men miserable, yet they dared not say anything.

When Murong Xue emerged from the pavilion, completely satisfied, the three men were exhausted and only wanted to return to their residences to cultivate.

"Brother! It's them!" an angry voice called out. The four of them froze. Zeng Fan turned his head and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What's coming will eventually come."