Lu Chen did not dare delay. Once he returned to the Corpse Handling Room, he immediately began making careful preparations.
He tucked away the few packets of Blood Activating Powder he had accumulated, along with that Qi and Blood Pill, keeping them close to his body. He also fastened the Boning Knife he used most smoothly at the most concealed spot on his lower back.
This was his first true contact with the outside world, and his heart was filled with anticipation as well as wariness.
The next evening, Lu Chen followed behind a ten-man team of Demon Suppression Division warriors, pushing a handcart piled high with discarded Monster Materials that reeked of blood, as they left Nanling Prefecture City.
Before they even drew near, a complex scent mixed with demonic aura, spiritual energy, medicinal qi, and even human and ghostly qi came rushing toward them.
At the valley entrance stood a gatehouse built from enormous beast bones, with two lanterns hanging from it, each glowing with a faint green flame.
When he entered the valley, the scene before him secretly startled Lu Chen.
The valley was brightly lit and teeming with people, yet, strangely, there was very little noise.
Both sides of the road were packed with all kinds of stalls.
Some stall owners were Rogue Cultivators with long swords on their backs and razor-sharp auras.
Others were scions of Aristocratic Clans, dressed in finery and wearing arrogant expressions.
More still were shadowy figures with cold auras, cloaked beneath broad capes.
The things sold at the stalls were even more bizarre and dazzling.
There were fragments of magical artifacts that flickered with faint light, their authenticity unknown.
There were also strange medicinal materials giving off peculiar herbal fragrances. There were dismembered parts of demons and devils, and even several cages holding living little demons that let out low growls.
Following the team, Lu Chen felt like an ant that had barged into a land of giants. The aura emanating from every person seemed stronger than his.
His purse was empty and his cultivation was feeble, so he could only make his presence as small as possible and stay behind the warriors.
As he pushed the cart, he cautiously and curiously observed this entirely new, strange and dazzling world from the corner of his eye.
The Warrior Team delivered the cartload of waste to a designated recycling station in the Ghost Market. After exchanging it for a few utterly insignificant copper coins, they dispersed in twos and threes, each going to browse the stalls that interested them.
Lu Chen had the lowest status, so naturally no one bothered with him.
He traveled alone, cautiously threading his way through the crowded stream of people.
With the pitiful amount of property he possessed, he did not even have the qualifications to ask the prices.
Just as Lu Chen passed a remote stall at the very edge of the Ghost Market, one that was almost completely ignored, the system suddenly stirred without warning.
The newly unlocked system function, [Trace Source], produced an extremely faint, almost imperceptible resonance!
Lu Chen's heart tightened, and his feet stopped inconspicuously.
Following that thread of resonance with his gaze, he finally landed on a pile of scrap metal in the corner of the stall.
It was a rusty iron slab the size of a palm, so inconspicuous it could hardly attract notice.
The iron slab was covered in long-dried, blackened demon blood and mixed together with broken armor and snapped weapons. If not for the system's prompt, he would not have spared it a second glance.
The stall owner was a gaunt, sickly-looking old man. He was listlessly sprawled over the stall, dozing, and paid no attention to the passing pedestrians.
Lu Chen's heart began pounding violently.
He forcibly suppressed his excitement, put on an expression of boredom, and slowly wandered over to the stall as though he were merely idly browsing.
He first picked up a broken dagger and examined it. Then he lifted a damaged breastplate and weighed it in his hand. Only at the end did he seemingly pull the Rusty Iron Slab from the pile of odds and ends as if it were an afterthought.
"Old sir, how much for this pile of scrap iron?" Lu Chen asked, feigning nonchalance.
The stall owner lazily raised his eyelids and glanced at the lowest-grade laborer's uniform Lu Chen wore from the Demon Suppression Division. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes as he said weakly, "Ten copper coins for the whole pile. Take it or leave it."
Lu Chen was delighted inside, but he furrowed his brows on the surface and put on a troubled expression. "Ten copper coins? That's too expensive. I didn't bring any money. I've only got a few packets of healing powder left. Will you trade?"
As he spoke, he took the small paper packet containing the Blood Activating Powder from his clothes, poured out three pellets, and placed them on the stall.
Although this Blood Activating Powder was crude, it was quite effective against ordinary cuts and sword wounds. In the Ghost Market, it could fetch three to five copper coins.
When the stall owner saw the medicinal powder, a glimmer finally lit up in his murky eyes.
He picked up one pellet and smelled it, then scraped off a little with his fingernail and tasted it. Only then did he nod reluctantly.
"All right. It's a deal."
Lu Chen was ecstatic inside, yet he maintained his composure. He swept the Rusty Iron Slab and several pieces of genuine scrap iron into his arms, then turned and quickly left the stall, afraid the other party might change his mind.
Only after Lu Chen had gone some distance did the stall owner reveal a triumphant smile.
"What a fool. He actually thinks he got a treasure. If the writing on that rusty iron slab could be made out, would it ever have fallen into the hands of a corpse handler like you?"
Lu Chen did not linger in the Ghost Market. After finding the Warrior Team's meeting point, he returned to the Demon Suppression Division with the main group.
As soon as he returned to that familiar Corpse Handling Room, redolent with the smell of mold, he immediately bolted the stone door shut.
Unable to wait another moment, Lu Chen took out the Rusty Iron Slab, brought over a basin of clean water, and carefully wiped away the grime and bloodstains with a scrap of cloth.
As the rust and blood were wiped away bit by bit, the iron slab revealed its true appearance.
Its material was neither gold nor iron. It felt icy to the touch, yet its texture was extraordinarily tough.
Beneath the layers of bloodstains lay countless mysterious patterns finer than strands of hair. They were intricate and profound, as though they contained some great principle of heaven and earth.
He had struck treasure!
Lu Chen's breathing grew rapid.
He tried slowly injecting that thread of feeble Turtle Breath Inner Qi from his dantian into the iron slab.
The instant the inner qi entered it, the fine patterns on the iron slab suddenly lit up with a layer of dark radiance, only to quickly dim again and return to their original state.
Confirmed! This was definitely a treasure!
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Chen immediately sank his mind into his consciousness and issued an instruction to the system.
"System, use Trace Source to analyze this iron slab!"
[Command confirmed. Beginning analysis...] [Detected a damaged high-grade energy imprint within the target. Analysis requires the consumption of Demon Devil Lifespan.] [Would you like to consume three months of Demon Devil Lifespan to conduct the analysis?] "Yes!" [Consuming three months of Demon Devil Lifespan. Analyzing...] [Analysis complete... Damaged information discovered...] [Shadow Step (Incomplete Fragment)] [Grade: Suspected Mysterious Grade Low Rank] [Description: Suspected to be the basic movement technique of an ancient assassin sect. Once cultivated to mastery, the user can transform into a shadow and traverse the unseen, excelling especially at sneaking through shadows and darkness.] [Status: Severely incomplete. Only scattered fragments of the introductory section remain.]
A Mysterious Grade movement technique!