Heretical Cultivator, Golden Scale Beast

Heretical Cultivator, Golden Scale Beast

As the setting sun sank behind the mountains, nocturnal birds deep within the range began to cry.

Riding the Flying Boat, Ye Jingcheng finally caught sight of that vast bamboo forest.

Once he reached this place, he finally relaxed. He put away the Spirit Stones he had been absorbing in his hand.

He also stored the Crimson Flame Fox and Jade Ring Rat in the Spirit Beast Bag.

No fighting was allowed near Taihang Market.

Purple Mansion Cultivators stood guard here year-round. Moreover, just now, he had constantly sensed a faint thread of divine sense trailing behind him. Though the Jade Ring Rat had not flapped its jade ears and cried without stop, it had been extremely uneasy.

Out in the wilderness, if cultivators hurried away, it did not necessarily mean they had been cowed by strength. It could also mean they had gone to fetch reinforcements.

That was why Ye Jingcheng had rushed here without stopping, disregarding the loss of Qi Return Pills.

He descended from the Spirit Boat and formed a spell incantation. The bamboo forest parted, revealing a narrow path.

Passing through the path, he finally entered the market. At this moment, there were quite a few people flowing through its streets.

This struck him as rather strange. Taihang Market did not allow ordinary cultivators to stay overnight. Some cultivators who were unwilling to spend Spirit Stones would leave the market early.

Ye Jingcheng arrived at the Ye Family Shop, where several Rogue Cultivators were asking about the prices of Spirit Beasts.

"Thirteenth Aunt!"

"Jingcheng, you're here. Your Eldest Uncle is in the Inner Courtyard!"

Ye Jingcheng went straight to the Inner Courtyard.

"Eldest Uncle!"

Ye Xinghe was currently examining a Golden Scale Beast. This Golden Scale Beast closely resembled a mountain hound, but its body was covered in a full layer of golden scales. It had a handsome appearance, sharp teeth and a pointed mouth, and formidable strength.

Even within the Ye Family, it was a highly sought-after Spirit Beast.

Seeing Ye Jingcheng arrive, Ye Xinghe rose to his feet.

"Jingcheng, you're here. You didn't run into any trouble on the way, did you? I've heard that quite a few Rogue Cultivators have gone missing lately!" Ye Xinghe asked.

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng immediately recalled the three people he had encountered on the road. Judging from one story after another, they had likely robbed and killed no small number of cultivators.

And there were still so many cultivators wandering about the market now.

"Eldest Uncle, there was indeed a little accident. I ran into three Robber Cultivators, but my Crimson Flame Fox scared two of them away!" Ye Jingcheng recounted everything that had happened without leaving out a single detail.

Ye Xinghe found it strange as well.

Then he looked at Ye Jingcheng. "Open that cultivator's Storage Bag and take a look!"

At this, Ye Jingcheng took out the Storage Bag. But when he opened it, several fresh corpses lay sprawled inside. As for treasures, there were very few.

There were only a dozen or so scattered Spirit Stones and several First-Order Grade-Low Dharma Artifacts.

The most valuable item was instead the First-Order Grade-Middle Dharma Sword held by the Gray-Robed Cultivator, the sword he had used to fight Ye Jingcheng.

"It seems a Heretical Cultivator has appeared. These bandits were also planted with Blood Curses." Ye Xinghe frowned.

This Heretical Cultivator clearly needed a great quantity of cultivators' flesh and blood.

"Jingcheng, if you come across any treasure maps or cultivator caves lately, it's best not to believe them. I'll take this matter to Jiang Ward Master of the Taiyi Sect!" Ye Xinghe took the corpses, then picked up the Gray-Robed Cultivator and headed out of the cave dwelling. A Heretical Cultivator appearing near the market was a major matter.

If this continued for long, it would inevitably affect the market's profits.

Ye Jingcheng nodded, lingering fear also showing on his face. If, that day, he had stopped to rest where he was after believing he had scared off the two men, then once they brought the Heretical Cultivator behind them, he would truly have faced certain death.

Fortunately, he was merely an Alchemist and could remain in the market at all times.

Ye Jingcheng also decided that unless he broke through to Qi Refining Late Stage, he would not leave the market.

Ye Jingcheng walked toward the Golden Scale Beast nearby. From Ye Xinghe's manner earlier, he seemed to care greatly about this Golden Scale Beast, which made Ye Jingcheng curious as well.

He crouched down and observed the Golden Scale Beast. This little beast was clearly still young. The golden armor over its body was still pale yellow, making it seem not yet fully grown, yet its eyes were exceptionally bright and filled with ferocity. However, what shocked him was that the Treasure Book within his body turned another page on its own.

On this page appeared an even larger Golden Scale Beast, its shadow resembling a qilin. Yet the shadow was far too blurry to make out clearly.

Compared to the Crimson Flame Fox's nine tails dancing wantonly, with heavenly fire surging to the sky, it was far inferior.

Yet this likewise proved that the Golden Scale Beast was extraordinary.

Ye Jingcheng's heart began pounding wildly.

This was the second Spirit Beast cub he had encountered that could trigger a reaction from the Ancient Book. The first had been the Crimson Flame Fox. This was the second.

If possible, he naturally wanted to buy it.

Though this beast bore the words "golden scale" in its name, it was a genuine earth-attribute Spirit Beast. He himself possessed an Earth Spiritual Root. If he used it well, he could choose a dual-attribute cultivation technique, and both Spirit Beasts could increase his cultivation speed.

However, his Eldest Uncle was not here, so it was not convenient for him to ask the price.

Still, he estimated it would not cost less than five hundred Spirit Stones. He had bought the Crimson Flame Fox cheaply because he had taken advantage of an opportunity, but this Golden Scale Beast was not only extremely healthy, it also looked excellent.

Most importantly, his pockets were truly empty now.

He had only a little over a hundred Spirit Stones left, while his Contribution Points had already been spent clean within the family.

Unless he sold some Dharma Artifacts.

"Jingcheng, you're here?" Ye Jingli came out of his room at this moment. Seeing Ye Jingcheng's arrival, he was somewhat surprised.

Then, knowing that the Ye Family had no other Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators coming to the market now, he worriedly asked Ye Jingcheng about his journey.

Coupled with the current situation...

"Sixth Brother, this trip was indeed dangerous!" Ye Jingcheng told Ye Jingli everything once more.

Ye Jingli also shared some experience. Ye Jingcheng naturally committed it all to heart.

He would absorb good experience and combat techniques. As for bad ones, he would not dismiss them as nothing.

To him, the more he understood this cultivation world, the more cautious he needed to be.

When cultivators consumed spirit pills, there would be side effects and Pill Poison. But Spirit Beasts that awakened their bloodlines did not have such issues. Thus, with his Ancient Book and Spirit Beasts like the Crimson Flame Fox working together, his future would surely be broad and smooth.

If he capsized early because of carelessness, that would be truly unjust.

After chatting for a while, Ye Jingli returned to his room. He also planned to cultivate diligently for a time and refine more Dharma Artifacts.

He would exchange them for a good pill and prepare to break through to Qi Training Stage 6.

At the same time, he bought some Spirit Feeding Pills from Ye Jingcheng.

Ever since he had bought spirit pills from Ye Jingcheng, he had found that his Azure Scale Python was growing exceptionally well.

Ye Jingcheng finally learned that this Spirit Beast had actually been left here by another cultivator. As for the specific circumstances, Ye Jingli did not know much either.

Seeing this, Ye Jingcheng could only let the matter go and return to his room to cultivate and recover.

He had practically fled back. Even after using Qi Return Pills and Spirit Stones, only half his spiritual energy remained. Now that he had reached a safe place, he naturally could not continue wasting Qi Return Pills to restore his spiritual energy.

He cultivated for a full two hours before his spiritual energy was completely restored. He exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his eyes became clearer.

Though the Li Fire Art was not some high-tier cultivation technique, it was steady and solid, and it restored spiritual power quite quickly.

In the time ahead, Ye Jingcheng planned to begin refining pills as soon as possible. He had discovered that after the Crimson Flame Fox used fire more frequently, it could now faintly fire off four Fireball Spells in succession.

An increase in power also represented an improvement in strength!

This showed that using the Crimson Flame Fox to refine pills was the right move.