Ice Silk Spider

Wei Suo walked out of the old fox's shop with an egg-sized night pearl that emitted a soft white glow tucked against his chest, then headed toward Vinegar Workshop Bridge in the north of the city.

This time, Wei Suo did not sell off the Fireball Talismans in his possession for Spirit Stones as he had last time. What the Green Robe Old Man had said before made a great deal of sense: every extra time he did such a thing, the risk of drawing the attention of Lingyue City's major powers increased by another measure. So his plan now was to first use his remaining twenty-seven Low-grade Spirit Stones to acquire some equipment, then rely on that equipment and his Fireball Talismans to hunt things down and sell them.

Vinegar Workshop Bridge was an ordinary black stone bridge. However, this plain stone arch bridge had been built alongside Lingyue City and was among the city's earliest structures. At the southern end of Vinegar Workshop Bridge stood a huge stone wall, where many markets and merchants posted information. It was effectively the largest notice board in northern Lingyue City. Accepting commissions from markets and merchants, hiring themselves out or gathering the materials they needed, had always been the most important source of cultivation Spirit Stones for Rogue Cultivators across Tianxuan Continent.

Since he had run out of Qi Replenishing Powder, and the Earth Shield Treasure Talisman with decent defensive power could only be used one more time, Wei Suo first bought four bottles of Qi Replenishing Powder from a shop in the north of the city. Though the total spiritual energy contained in two bottles of Qi Replenishing Powder was less than that of a single Low-grade Spirit Stone, when it came to rapidly recovering True Essence, Low-grade Spirit Stones could not compare.

Qi Replenishing Powder was an essential consumable for all low-level Rogue Cultivators venturing into the wilderness. Wei Suo dearly wished the Green Robe Old Man knew a Pill Recipe similar to Qi Replenishing Powder. If its ingredients were as cheap as those for his Fireball Talismans, he would truly strike it rich. But the Green Robe Old Man clearly did not have such a recipe. Otherwise, he would surely have given it to Wei Suo first, just as he had given him the Fireball Talisman formula.

After buying four bottles of Qi Replenishing Powder, Wei Suo gritted his teeth and spent three Low-grade Spirit Stones on a Second-Order Ice Talisman, fifteen Low-grade Spirit Stones on a Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant, and one Low-grade Spirit Stone on a Wind Evasion Talisman and a Golden Light Talisman.

Other than Fireball Talismans, Wei Suo did not yet possess any particularly powerful offensive magical treasures. The Second-Order Ice Talisman not only possessed the spell power of a cultivator at the Circulation Realm First Level, but could also freeze and numb opponents, slowing their movements. The Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant was a magical artifact of the Tianyi Sect. The defensive power of the spiritual light barrier it released was roughly equal to the Earth Shield Treasure Talisman in Wei Suo's hand. However, this artifact could be used five times. Once activated, it could automatically sense changes in the surrounding vital energy, and if he was ambushed, the spiritual light barrier would deploy automatically.

This was especially useful in wilderness regions teeming with demon beasts. Wei Suo had long coveted a Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant, which greatly increased one's chances of survival, but in the past, when he generally never had more than seven Low-grade Spirit Stones on him, he simply could not afford one. As for why he had bought the Golden Light Talisman, another defensive talisman, after purchasing the Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant, it was because Wei Suo felt that when facing demon beasts with weak attacks, he could use this Golden Light Talisman, worth only half a Low-grade Spirit Stone, for defense instead of consuming the power stored in the Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant.

The night pearl in Wei Suo's chest had also cost him one Low-grade Spirit Stone. He had bought it partly in case he accidentally fell into some pitch-black place in the wilderness, and partly for making talismans at night. The brighter the light in his little stone hut, the higher his talisman-making success rate would be.

After all that careful calculation, the twenty-seven Low-grade Spirit Stones Wei Suo had started with had dwindled to just five.

"Brother, could we borrow a place to talk?" Near the entrance to an alley by Vinegar Workshop Bridge, three people suddenly approached Wei Suo from behind and called out.

Wei Suo turned around in surprise. The one speaking to him was a young Daoist in a green robe who looked around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His face was somewhat long and narrow, and he appeared very amiable. Beside him stood a man and a woman. The man looked about thirty, broad and powerfully built, more than half a head taller than Wei Suo. He had an honest-looking face and wore a fitted green outfit. A dark gleam flickered beneath his clothes, as though he wore some kind of metal inner armor. A long strip of cloth was strapped across his back, looking broad and heavy. It was probably a heavy weapon. Standing beside this burly man was a delicate-looking woman in pale yellow clothes embroidered with faint rose patterns in green thread. She had an oval face and fair skin, and appeared slightly older than Wei Suo.

"Ordinary magical robes, worthless. Black iron soft inner armor, one Low-grade Spirit Stone."

"This girl is rather pretty..."

Accustomed to poverty, Wei Suo habitually inspected the three people's belongings first. After judging that they were likely low-level Rogue Cultivators much like himself, he secretly glanced again at the delicate, oval-faced woman before asking the friendly-looking green-robed cultivator, "What is it? I don't think I've ever met any of you before."

"My name is Lin Daoyi. These two are Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Guowei." The young green-robed Daoist with the long, narrow face smiled politely. "Forgive my presumptuousness, but we have a task that should earn quite a few Spirit Stones. It would be safer with one more person, so we would like to invite you to join us. Would you be interested?"

"A task that can earn quite a few Spirit Stones? What kind of task?" Wei Suo paused. Of course, he knew that some Rogue Cultivators would join hands to take on a task too large for one person to swallow, yet highly profitable. But Wei Suo had always followed the principle of safety first. If something was too dangerous and offered too little certainty, he generally would not do it.

"Could we speak somewhere else?" Lin Daoyi asked mysteriously.

Wei Suo shrugged nonchalantly and nodded. After all, no one could kill and rob in Lingyue City, and he found these three fairly pleasing to the eye—especially the fair-skinned woman in pale yellow.

Seeing Wei Suo nod, Lin Daoyi led the way. They did not go far, only into a secluded alley beside Vinegar Workshop Bridge. Once he had made sure no one had followed them, Lin Daoyi looked at Wei Suo and said softly, "It is not really a task. I received reliable information that there are three Ice Silk Spiders in a place outside Lingyue City."

"Three Ice Silk Spiders?" Wei Suo was truly startled this time. Ice Silk Spiders were mid-stage Level Three demon beasts. The ice silk in their silk sacs was not only extremely tough, but also resistant to fire, making it excellent material for refining fireproof magical robes. More importantly, all Level Three demon beasts possessed inner cores. A mid-stage Level Three demon beast's inner core currently sold for more than fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones. If they were three adult Ice Silk Spiders, their combined value would exceed one hundred and ninety Low-grade Spirit Stones. Besides, demon beasts above Level Three were generally rare beneath the heavenly dome.

"Why would you invite me?" One hundred and ninety Low-grade Spirit Stones were enough to make Wei Suo take this seriously. Yet he did not think his scorched chicken-nest hair made him look especially wise and mighty, nor that strangers would simply invite him to make a fortune together while he walked down the street.

"We noticed you earlier in the market. You bought a Second-Order Ice Talisman and a Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant." Lin Daoyi explained, "We felt that anyone able to afford such things should not be weak. But if someone were too powerful, we would also have concerns and would not dare invite them to hunt these two demon beasts with us. Your cultivation is about the same as ours, all at the Third Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm, so you happen to meet our requirements."

"How do you know my cultivation is at the Third Level of Sea of Consciousness Realm?" Wei Suo was taken aback. Aside from cultivation techniques that produced distinctive phenomena after reaching a high level, it was generally difficult to judge the depth of someone's cultivation. When Wei Suo had seen that silver-robed, curvy little beauty that day, he had only determined that her cultivation was two levels higher than his by observing the power of her Ice Wind Blade.

"Oh, I cultivate a Qi Gazing Technique. But if a cultivator is more than two levels above me, my Qi Gazing Technique cannot discern it." Lin Daoyi smiled faintly.

This Qi Gazing Technique is quite useful. It seems I'll have to find a way to learn a spell like it in the future. As Wei Suo thought this, his eyes rolled slightly. "But how am I supposed to trust you?"

"The traces of these three Ice Silk Spiders were discovered by this brother and sister. You should also know that the Flying Eagles have an excellent reputation." Lin Daoyi nodded toward the silent Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Guowei beside him.

"You're from the Flying Eagles, and you're siblings?" Wei Suo knew that the Flying Eagles were a small organization among the low-level Rogue Cultivators of Luoyue City, the city nearest Lingyue City. It consisted merely of Rogue Cultivators who knew one another, but he had heard that its members were highly trustworthy. What he could not understand, however, was how different Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Guowei looked. One was huge and brawny, like a great ape, while the other was fair-skinned and delicate-looking. They did not resemble each other much at all.

"Yes, we are from the Flying Eagles." The burly Ye Xiaozheng nodded at Wei Suo's words and drew a small token made of black refined metal from his chest. A flying eagle was engraved upon it. "It is just that the rest of our Flying Eagles happened to take on a task and went to Taiyi City. We were afraid that if we delayed too long, the two Ice Silk Spiders would leave, so we sought out Fellow Daoist Lin Daoyi, whom we had met before, hoping to hunt those two Ice Silk Spiders as soon as possible."

"If you are still worried, I can also tell you that, for safety's sake, we have arranged for someone from Tie Ce to join us. The cost is forty Low-grade Spirit Stones." Lin Daoyi looked at Wei Suo. "If all goes smoothly, each of us can still divide more than thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"If that is the case, then I'll go with you." Wei Suo nodded in agreement without much hesitation.

Tie Ce was also an organization of Rogue Cultivators in Lingyue City. There were dozens of such organizations in Lingyue City alone, but Tie Ce's reputation and scale were unmatched by the others. Other than the fact that its members were all Rogue Cultivators and could join or leave without restriction, Tie Ce's strength was no different from that of some sects. Tie Ce's members were also highly trustworthy. If they agreed to accept a certain number of Spirit Stones as payment, they took only that amount and would not be tempted by wealth. That was why Tie Ce's reputation had only grown greater over the years.

Thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones—Wei Suo would need to make talismans at full effort for two days to earn that much. And with people from the Flying Eagles and Tie Ce involved, there should not be any problems. As for those three Ice Silk Spiders, Wei Suo still had more than a hundred Fireball Talismans on him. If things truly became impossible, he could use them. Keeping his life would definitely not be a problem.

(Today, everyone's support, clicks, and red votes have been incredibly strong. The daily clicks have now risen to second place; I just can't blow JJ's chrysanthemum apart. The red votes are also charging toward four thousand, and the support rewards gave me quite a fright—so many top scholars... Tiantian told me everyone hopes for extra chapters. I happen to be in Changsha right now, and my saved drafts are exhausted, so I promise to first owe forty thousand words. Once I return, I will definitely find a chance to make them up. After this chapter goes up, I'll write like mad and strive to keep three updates tomorrow as well. I'll try to post the next chapter around midnight tonight!)