Old Crow

'Who said I wasn't wearing a mask?'

'I was wearing the mask of my heart!'

'You know Flesh Magic? I'll scare you to death just by telling you about it.'

Zhong Shenxiu secretly rolled his eyes and moved closer to a small circle.

This small circle was where Old Crow had originally been. Seeing him approach, they let out an unpleasant laugh. "Little fellow Daoist, may I ask where you're from?"

"I am Young Master Shenxiu, born of the martial world. My cultivation has reached the peak of Xiantian, and I have deliberately traveled far and wide in search of a path to Entering the Dao."

Zhong Shenxiu clasped his fists and offered a sweeping bow. This explanation was perfectly ordinary. Once those martial artists reached a bottleneck, nine out of ten would make the same choice.

There were certainly those who truly found opportunities, but sadly, the odds of dying far from home were even higher.

"Giggle!"

Before he had finished speaking, a light laugh came from beside him. "Sure enough, he's just a foolish boy."

Zhong Shenxiu looked over the people in his circle. Aside from Old Crow, there were four others: a slovenly Sword Hero wearing a bamboo hat; a monkey that seemed to have gained sentience, constantly picking lice from its body; and a paper figure with rouge painted on its cheeks.

Besides them, there was also a woman wearing a silver-white mask and a gauze robe. Her bearing was alluring, and it was her who had laughed.

"Tsk, tsk!" The silver-white-masked woman stared at Zhong Shenxiu's face and sighed. "What a handsome little gentleman... How about this? If you're willing to spend a night with me, I'll give you some pointers."

"I sell my art, not my body." Zhong Shenxiu seemed to blush, then lowered his voice. "But if you have a Daoist Arts true transmission, I suppose it wouldn't be impossible."

Of course, by then, he might simply release the Headless Count and rob her after killing her.

"A true-transmission Daoist Secret? You've got some nerve dreaming that big."

Old Crow barked, "We Rogue Cultivators are all practicing wild fox Zen. Having one or two formidable Daoist Arts is enough to boast about. You want a Daoist Secret before you'll sell yourself? No matter how good-looking you are, there's absolutely no chance."

The silver-white-masked woman seemed to have thought of something. She let out a faint sigh and fell silent as well.

"So the method of Entering the Dao is actually this rare?"

Zhong Shenxiu asked in surprise, "I don't know much about these matters. I hope you fellow Daoists won't begrudge me your guidance."

"I could tell from the start—you're just a greenhorn!"

The silver-white-masked woman pointed at Zhong Shenxiu, her tone carrying a hint of flirtatious teasing.

"Then may I ask, what cultivation experts are there in this Fufeng Protectorate?" Zhong Shenxiu ignored her and humbly sought instruction.

"'Guidance' is putting it too grandly. We're merely chatting." Old Crow grinned. "As for great cultivation experts, most are within the government and sects. We won't speak of the government—we can't afford to provoke them. As for sects, this place was once a land of barbarians, so there weren't any sects before. Now there's only the Cloud Mirror Sect, trying to expand its influence here."

Zhong Shenxiu suddenly felt that Feng Xi'er's sect did not seem very formidable.

A truly formidable sect would not have been driven to recruit disciples in some remote borderland.

"Still, there are many exiles here, as well as people who fled here after defying the king's law. So among the Rogue Cultivators, there really are a few experts."

Old Crow's expression turned solemn.

"Chitter, chitter... For example, you, Senior. To hold down this place and open the Black Mountain Gathering every full-moon night, you're certainly a first-rate expert."

The monkey beside them plucked out a louse and ate it, speaking with a fawning grin.

This monkey is quite skilled at flattering. It seems to be an Daoist's Yin God residing within it.

Zhong Shenxiu shot it a sidelong glance, then looked at the Sword Hero and the paper figure. He found that they remained silent as usual, seemingly tacitly agreeing.

"Haha... This old man is unworthy. I only barely stepped through the Daoist gate after turning sixty. Now that Consuming Nine Yin has been accomplished, I still need to refine baleful energy. I wonder whether, in this lifetime, I'll have any hope of glimpsing the gate of divine abilities." Old Crow sighed.

"Being able to cast a Yang Gang Spell already makes one an expert among Rogue Cultivators." The silver-white-masked woman spoke solemnly.

Daoist Arts formed from baleful energy were unafraid of most forms of suppression and were indeed quite formidable.

"As for the true experts among Rogue Cultivators, the first would have to be True Lord Dragon Tiger. His cultivation and divine abilities have reached an utterly inconceivable level. He's probably only one step away from forming an Origin Core."

Old Crow spoke slowly.

"An expert of such caliber must possess a true transmission from the Daoist sects. Why doesn't he cultivate in an immortal sect, or join the government?"

Someone else immediately asked.

With abilities like that, securing the treatment of a Principal Fifth Rank official would clearly be as easy as lifting a hand.

"He must have committed some major crime and been rejected by the immortal sects as well." Zhong Shenxiu sighed.

"Besides him, there are the Flying Flower Sisters cultivating on Scattered Flower Mountain, Venerable Poison Dragon in Poison Dragon Cave, and among the other races, there are quite a few experts too..."

Old Crow concluded, "The road of cultivation is long and distant. Who knows when we'll attain Eternal Life and Vision?"

"Enough. I, Lu, came here to exchange things, not to listen to stories." The Sword Hero wearing the bamboo hat suddenly spoke.

"Exchanging information is also one of the purposes of the Black Mountain Gathering." Old Crow was smiling and amiable. "Since Fellow Daoist Lu is impatient, let's begin the exchange. Which fellow Daoist would like to go first?"

"I have the complete pelt of a demon wolf I slew, as well as an Origin Crystal. I wish to exchange them for a strand of Geng Jin Sha Qi." The Sword Hero spoke directly, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

He's actually a Sword Hero of the Gang Sha Realm?

Zhong Shenxiu immediately felt the atmosphere around him grow tense, but no one brought out any baleful energy to trade. Perhaps they truly had none, or perhaps they felt the demon wolf's materials were not worth that much.

"So be it."

The Sword Hero nodded, rose directly, and went to other circles to barter. It seemed that he cared only about Geng Jin Sha Qi.

"Looks like this fellow Daoist really did take the path of a Sword Cultivator—straightforward and direct..." Old Crow chuckled. "Continue..."

The monkey hurriedly raised its hand. "I have some Hundred Fruit Wine I brewed myself. It can strengthen one's vital energy. I want to exchange it for a Daoist Arts..."

Zhong Shenxiu found it interesting and watched the trading proceed at his leisure. In the end, Old Crow was interested in it and took out a minor spell to exchange for it.

Before long, it was his turn.

He thought for a moment before saying, "I was fortunate enough to obtain a secret formula for refining a magic artifact called the 'Mysterious Yin Nail.' Unfortunately, I only have the artifact-refining method. I'm not particular about what it can be exchanged for, so name whatever price you like."

"Artifact refining? Without reaching the Gang Sha Realm, you have no magic power. It's useless."

The silver-white-masked woman seemed somewhat regretful. "If the Daoist Arts for the Mysterious Yin Nail were still included, I could offer a thousand White Emperor Coins."

The paper figure and the monkey also shook their heads repeatedly. Clearly, they had no use for it.

Old Crow, however, suddenly said, "I also have an artifact-refining formula here, one called the 'Soul Summoning Banner.' Unfortunately, it too is missing the cultivation method for its Daoist Arts. What do you think?"

It seems Old Crow may know the Daoist Arts for the Mysterious Yin Nail, but he doesn't want to do me a favor. Otherwise, exchanging the Daoist Arts would benefit us both.

When Zhong Shenxiu heard the words "Soul Summoning Banner," his heart stirred. "Deal. They're both artifact-refining formulas, so I won't be losing out."

"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist, there's something you don't know. When we sell Daoist Secrets, Daoist Arts, and the like at the Black Mountain Gathering, we must promise not to sell them again here."

Old Crow added that with a genial smile.