Ice Silk Spider

Wei Suo walked out of the old fox's shop, clutching an egg-sized night-blooming pearl that emitted a soft white light, and headed towards Vinegar Mill Bridge in the north of the city.

This time, Wei Suo didn't sell his Fireball Talismans for Spirit Stones as he had before. The Green Robe Old Man's words had been very insightful. Wei Suo felt that doing so one more time would increase the danger of being targeted by the major powers in Lingyue City by a fraction. Therefore, his current plan was to first exchange his remaining twenty-seven Low-grade Spirit Stones for some equipment, and then rely on that equipment and the Fireball Talismans to hunt for things to sell.

Vinegar Mill Bridge was an ordinary black stone bridge. However, this ordinary stone arch bridge was built along with Lingyue City, making it one of the earliest structures in the city. At the southern end of Vinegar Mill Bridge, there was a large stone wall where many markets and businesses posted information, essentially serving as the largest bulletin board in the northern part of Lingyue City. Accepting commissions and employment from markets and businesses, or helping them gather needed materials, was originally the most important source of Spirit Stones for cultivation for all rogue cultivators on the Tianxuan Continent.

Since he had run out of Qi Replenishing Powder and the Earth Shield Treasure Talisman, which had decent defensive capabilities, could only be used one more time, Wei Suo first went to a shop in the north of the city and bought four bottles of Qi Replenishing Powder. Although the total amount of spiritual energy contained in two bottles of Qi Replenishing Powder was less than that of one Low-grade Spirit Stone, it was incomparable to Low-grade Spirit Stones in terms of quickly restoring True Essence.

Qi Replenishing Powder was an essential consumable for all low-level rogue cultivators venturing into the wilderness. Wei Suo really wished the Green Robe Old Man knew a Pill Recipe similar to Qi Replenishing Powder, and if it were as cheap as the raw materials for his Fireball Talismans, then he would truly be rich. However, the Green Robe Old Man clearly did not have such a Pill Recipe, otherwise, he would have definitely given it to Wei Suo first, just like the formula for the Fireball Talismans.

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

Besides the Fireball Talismans, Wei Suo did not have any other Magic Treasures with significant offensive power. The second-tier Ice Talisman not only possessed the power of a spell cast by a cultivator at the first level of the Circulation Realm but also had the effect of freezing and paralyzing opponents, slowing their movements. The Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant was a Magic Treasure from the Tianyi Sect. The defensive power of the spiritual light shield it released was roughly the same as the Earth Shield Treasure Talisman Wei Suo had in his hand. However, this Magic Treasure could be used five times, and after activation, it could automatically sense changes in the surrounding elemental energy. In case of a surprise attack, the spiritual light shield would automatically activate.

This was especially useful in wilderness areas with many demonic beasts. Wei Suo had long coveted this Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant, which greatly increased survival chances. However, Wei Suo, who usually never had more than seven Low-grade Spirit Stones on him, could not afford it before. As for buying a Golden Light Talisman, which was also a defensive Talisman, after purchasing the Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant, it was because Wei Suo felt that if the attacking power of the demonic beasts encountered was not strong, he could use this Golden Light Talisman, which was only worth half a Low-grade Spirit Stone, for defense, thus saving the power within the Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant.

The night-blooming pearl Wei Suo held in his arms had cost him one Low-grade Spirit Stone. He bought this night-blooming pearl partly for times when he might accidentally fall into dark places in the wilderness, and partly for refining Talismans at night. The brighter the light in his small stone house, the higher his success rate in refining Talismans would be.

After such careful calculations, Wei Suo was left with only five Low-grade Spirit Stones from the initial twenty-seven he had.

"Brother, could I borrow a place to talk?" Just as he was near an alley entrance by Vinegar Mill Bridge, three people approached Wei Suo from behind and spoke.

Wei Suo turned his head in surprise and saw that the person speaking to him was a young Taoist priest in a green robe, who looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He had a somewhat long face and a very amiable appearance. Beside him stood a man and a woman. The man looked about thirty years old, very burly and sturdy, more than half a head taller than Wei Suo, with a simple and honest face. He wore a green tight-fitting outfit, and dark light flashed from inside the clothes, suggesting he was wearing some kind of metal inner armor. He carried a long cloth bundle on his back, which looked very wide and heavy, likely a heavy weapon. Standing beside this burly man was a delicate woman wearing a light yellow dress embroidered with faint rose patterns in green silk thread. She had a melon seed face, fair skin, and looked slightly older than Wei Suo.

"Ordinary Dharma robes, not worth much. Black Iron Soft Inner Armor, one Low-grade Spirit Stone."

"This woman is quite good-looking..."

Accustomed to poverty, Wei Suo habitually glanced at the backgrounds of these three people first, judging that they were likely low-level rogue cultivators similar to himself. After secretly glancing at the delicate woman with the melon seed face, Wei Suo then asked the amiable white-robed cultivator, "May I ask what's the matter? I don't think I know any of you."

"My name is Lin Daoyi, and these two are Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Guowei," the green-robed young Taoist priest with the somewhat long face said with a polite smile. "Please forgive my presumption, but we have a mission that should earn quite a few Spirit Stones. It would be safer with one more person, and we'd like to invite you to join. Are you interested?"

"A mission to earn quite a few Spirit Stones? What kind of mission is it?" Wei Suo was stunned. He certainly knew that some rogue cultivators would team up to take on tasks that they couldn't handle alone but were very profitable. However, Wei Suo had always adhered to the principle of safety first, generally avoiding things that were too dangerous or uncertain.

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Lin Daoyi said mysteriously, looking at Wei Suo.

Wei Suo shrugged indifferently and nodded. After all, murder and looting were not allowed in Lingyue City, and he found these three people, especially the fair-skinned woman in the light yellow clothing, quite pleasing to the eye.

Seeing Wei Suo nod, Lin Daoyi led the way. The group didn't go far, stopping in a secluded alley beside Vinegar Mill Bridge. After confirming no one was following, Lin Daoyi looked at Wei Suo and said softly, "Actually, it's not exactly a mission. I've received reliable information about a place outside Lingyue City where there are three Ice Silk Spiders."

"Three Ice Silk Spiders?" This time, Wei Suo was a bit surprised. Ice Silk Spiders were mid-tier level three demonic beasts. The silk sacs on their bodies contained ice silk that was not only very tough but also had fire-repelling properties, making it an excellent material for refining fire-repelling Dharma robes. Most importantly, all level three demonic beasts had inner cores. The inner core of a mid-tier level three demonic beast was currently priced at over 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. Moreover, there were rarely demonic beasts above level three within the Sky Vault.

"Why are you inviting me?" One hundred and ninety Low-grade Spirit Stones was enough to make Wei Suo take it seriously. Wei Suo didn't think he looked particularly heroic or imposing with his messy, burnt-chicken-nest hairstyle, yet strangers were inviting him to get rich together.

"We noticed you in the market earlier; you bought a second-tier Ice Talisman and a Spirit Heaven Jade Pendant," Lin Daoyi explained, looking at Wei Suo. "We believe that those who can afford these items should not be weak. However, if someone were too powerful, we would also have concerns and wouldn't dare to invite them to hunt these demonic beasts together. Your cultivation level is similar to ours, both at the third level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm, which perfectly fits our requirements."

"How do you know my cultivation level is the third level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm?" Wei Suo was stunned. Besides many cultivation techniques that produced special anomalies after achieving a certain level, it was generally difficult to judge the cultivation level from ordinary techniques. For example, when Wei Suo looked at the silver-robed beauty with the perky buttocks that day, it was because he judged the power of her Ice Wind Blade that he deduced the silver-robed beauty should be two levels higher than him in cultivation.

"Oh, I cultivate a Qi Gazing technique. However, if a cultivator is more than two levels higher than me, my Qi Gazing technique cannot discern it," Lin Daoyi said with a slight smile.

"This Qi Gazing technique is quite useful. It seems I'll have to find a way to learn such a technique in the future," Wei Suo thought to himself, his eyes darting around. "But how can I trust you?"

"The whereabouts of these three Ice Silk Spiders were discovered by these siblings. You should also know that the people from Flying Eagle are very trustworthy," Lin Daoyi said, nodding towards Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Guowei, who remained silent beside him.

"Are you people from Flying Eagle, or are you siblings?" Wei Suo knew that Flying Eagle was a small organization of low-level rogue cultivators from Luoyue City, the closest city to Lingyue City. It was comprised of some rogue cultivators who knew each other. However, the people from Flying Eagle were known for their trustworthiness, which Wei Suo had heard of. What he couldn't understand was how much Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Guowei's appearances differed – one was large and rough, like a gorilla, while the other was fair-skinned and delicate, showing little resemblance.

"Yes, we are from Flying Eagle," Ye Xiaozheng, who was very burly, nodded. He took out a small black refined gold token from his embrace, on which was engraved a flying eagle pattern. "It's just that the rest of our Flying Eagle members happened to take on a mission and went to Taiyi City. We were afraid that if we delayed too long, those two Ice Silk Spiders might escape, so we found our acquaintance, fellow Daoist Lin Daoyi, and wanted to hunt these two Ice Silk Spiders as soon as possible."

"If you're still worried, I can also tell you that for the sake of safety, we've also invited someone from Iron Plan. The cost is forty Low-grade Spirit Stones," Lin Daoyi said to Wei Suo. "If everything goes smoothly, each of us will be able to split at least thirty more Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"Since that's the case, I'll go with you," Wei Suo agreed without much hesitation.

Although Iron Plan was also an organization formed by rogue cultivators in Lingyue City, there were dozens of such organizations in Lingyue City alone. However, the reputation and scale of Iron Plan were incomparable to other organizations. Besides being rogue cultivators with no restrictions on joining or leaving, the strength of Iron Plan was no different from some sects. Moreover, the people from Iron Plan were also very trustworthy; they would collect the agreed-upon Spirit Stone reward and would not act greedily when seeing wealth. This was also why Iron Plan's reputation had grown over the years.

Thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones was something Wei Suo could only earn by refining Talismans for two full days. With people from Flying Eagle and Iron Plan involved, there shouldn't be any problems. As for the three Ice Silk Spiders, Wei Suo still had over a hundred Fireball Talismans on him. If things really went south, he could use these Fireball Talismans, and it would definitely be no problem to save his life.

(Everyone's support and clicks today have been very strong. The daily clicks are now ranked second, only unable to burst JJ's chrysanthemum. The red tickets have already marched towards four thousand, and the support has startled me. So many top scholars... Sweetie told me everyone wants me to add more updates. I'm currently in Changsha, and my drafts have been exhausted, so I promised to owe a debt of forty thousand words and will definitely find an opportunity to make it up after I get back. After this chapter is updated, I will desperately code and strive to update three chapters tomorrow as well. I will try to post the next chapter around midnight tomorrow!)