Alleyway Crisis

"Three low-grade spirit stones! Damn it all!"

In a slightly secluded corner of the market north of the city, the Green Robe Old Man in the Ghost Nurturing Jar was acting a bit crazed, even using Wei Suo's catchphrase.

"Old man, what on earth is this thing?" Holding the magic treasure fragment that emitted a gray light and an aura that made Wei Suo feel uncomfortable, he was incredibly excited.

After all, this was something that the Green Robe Old Man had gone mad over as soon as he saw it, urging Wei Suo to buy nothing else. If he didn't buy this, Wei Suo would regret it for half his life. The Green Robe Old Man was an ancient relic from tens of thousands of years ago. Wei Suo wasn't worried about how to use this magic treasure fragment, which had no known use in the present day. He just wanted to know what this item was that made the somewhat shopaholic Green Robe Old Man so excited.

"Yin Charm Blade! This is a fragment of the Yin Charm Blade. The Yin Charm Blade is a high-grade spirit artifact, and I've just checked, this item should still retain most of the Yin Charm Blade's power!" the Green Robe Old Man said, acting a bit erratically.

"Spirit artifact? A true spirit artifact, and a high-grade one?" Upon hearing the Green Robe Old Man's words, Wei Suo's mouth also fell open, and he started acting a bit erratically himself.

A high-grade spirit artifact, if it retained most of its power, wouldn't its might be equivalent to a true low-grade spirit artifact? Its power would be more than double that of Lin Daoyi's magic treasure replica.

"What kind of magic treasure is this, and how is it used?" After a long while, Wei Suo finally came to his senses, his palms sweating as he gripped the gray magic treasure fragment, which looked like half a small knife, and asked quickly.

"Wait a moment, let me first examine the extent of this magic treasure fragment's damage and its remaining power."

As the Green Robe Old Man's voice reached Wei Suo's ears, a faint green light emerged from the Ghost Nurturing Jar on Wei Suo's chest. It floated out from inside Wei Suo's clothes, coiled rapidly around his arm, and then attached itself to the gray magic treasure fragment in his hand.

The half-knife-like magic treasure fragment was forged from an unknown rare metal. Intricate runes, much finer than spider silk, were carved onto it. It felt very cold in his hand. The green light flowed through these runes a few times before suddenly retracting back into the Ghost Nurturing Jar.

"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" the Green Robe Old Man's voice sounded again.

Wei Suo, already impatient, gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, tell me both!"

The Green Robe Old Man was speechless but immediately said, "The good news is that most of the magic array on this treasure is undamaged, and its power can indeed be equivalent to a true low-grade spirit artifact, comparable to the powerful spells unleashed by a cultivator at the fourth level of the Circulation Realm. The bad news is that due to some damage to the magic array, using this treasure consumes much more True Essence than before. With your current True Essence cultivation, you can probably only activate it twice before your True Essence is depleted. Also, there are some cracks in the body of this fragment. If it clashes with powerful magic treasures or spells, its damage might increase. The mild consequence is reduced power, and the severe consequence is complete destruction, rendering it unusable. So, if you have the chance, it's best to repair it first."

"Repair it? How do I repair it?" Wei Suo, already overjoyed, replied dismissively.

What Wei Suo lacked now were powerful offensive spells and magic artifacts. A magic treasure equivalent to a true spirit artifact, even if it could only be activated once or twice, made him ecstatic. Moreover, as his cultivation advanced in the future, he could use it more often. As for being easily damaged and unable to clash directly with opponents, it could at least be used for surprise sneak attacks. And repairing something of this caliber would certainly not be easy.

As Wei Suo expected, the Green Robe Old Man replied, "I know how to repair it, but it's useless to tell you. Without the cultivation of the fifth level of the Circulation Realm and a powerful True Fire Spell, it's impossible to repair."

Wei Suo looked at the gray-glowing magic treasure fragment in his hand, "Then what kind of magic treasure is this thing?"

The Green Robe Old Man said, "This was refined by an elder of the Yin Yuan Sect in the past. The Yin Yuan Sect specialized in cultivating Yin Qi Cultivation Methods and refining Ominous Magic Treasures. This Yin Charm Blade was made by fusing the bone blade of an Iron Bone Flood Dragon with several types of rare metals. It absorbed the souls and Yin Qi of many demonic beasts. When it was intact, its release not only unleashed a terrifying black light but could also unleash dozens of formidable black Yin wind skulls, creating a gale, kicking up sand and stones, and howling like ghosts!"

Wei Suo's mouth watered profusely. He didn't care who refined this magic treasure or whether it was ominous or not, as long as it was practical and powerful. The more ominous, the better.

"Old man, let's quickly buy the rest of the things and then go back so you can teach me how to use this magic treasure fragment. If this Yin Charm Blade fragment has the power of a spirit artifact, then killing a Fourth-tier Demonic Beast like the Unicorn Thunder Viper won't be a problem. I can even use spirit stones to buy information on where to find Fourth-tier demonic beasts."

The Green Robe Old Man immediately protested, "I helped you buy something worth far more than a thousand low-grade spirit stones for just three low-grade spirit stones, and you won't even let me browse a bit more? Perhaps I could find something similar."

Wei Suo thought about it and quickly put away the magic treasure fragment. Then, Wei Suo prepared to head towards a more crowded stall area.

"Heart Devouring Worm... Tie Ce..."

But as he walked out of this slightly secluded street corner, in an empty alley next to his location, a middle-aged cultivator in a yellow robe, with a long beard and a jade crown on his head, looking very refined, was speaking to a cultivator in a gray robe in a very low voice, giving him some instructions. Although he couldn't hear what the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe was saying, the two names that accidentally drifted into Wei Suo's ears made Wei Suo's heart lurch, and he stopped abruptly.

Almost as soon as Wei Suo got a general idea of the appearance of the two cultivators in the secluded, dark alley, the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe had finished his instructions and walked out from the other end of the alley.

"Old man, what this guy was talking about seems related to the Heart Devouring Worm and Tie Ce. I have a feeling this guy is acting suspiciously, and I want to follow him to see what's going on," Wei Suo whispered to the Green Robe Old Man. Without waiting for the Green Robe Old Man's reply, he immediately sneaked after him.

"You're worried about something happening to that Nangong Yuqing, aren't you? Fine, go ahead and follow." The Green Robe Old Man muttered softly.

Wei Suo, emerging from the alley, saw that the cultivator who looked like the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe and the cultivator in the gray robe separated as if they didn't know each other after leaving the alley.

After merely scanning them with his Qi Gazing Technique, Wei Suo's expression changed drastically. The gray-clothed cultivator, whose face he hadn't clearly seen, exuded six halos of bright yellow light from his Divine Sea, clearly a powerful cultivator at the first level of the Circulation Realm. As for the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe, his body was enveloped in a bright, flowing aura, rendering the Qi Gazing Technique ineffective!

Wei Suo was now at the fourth level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm. His Qi Gazing Technique could detect cultivators at the first level of the Circulation Realm, but it was ineffective against this cultivator. This meant that the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe was at least at the second level of the Circulation Realm!

As a chill ran down his spine and he paused slightly, the gray-clothed cultivator walked towards the outskirts of the market north of the city. The middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe, however, ambled along towards another alley. Wei Suo, observing carefully, noticed that a loose-robed Daoist in purple robes also immediately followed him.

Upon using his Qi Gazing Technique to examine the loose-robed old Daoist, who appeared to be in his fifties and whose purple robe had dragon and tiger patterns, Wei Suo was once again startled. This loose-robed old Daoist was also a cultivator at the first level of the Circulation Realm!

Furthermore, the six Divine Seas of this loose-robed old Daoist were purple, but the halos detected by the Qi Gazing Technique were extremely surging and vast, suggesting that he cultivated at least a high-grade Profound Tier cultivation technique.

Three powerful cultivators at the Circulation Realm, who were rarely seen, appearing mysteriously one after another, made Wei Suo increasingly suspect that something was amiss.

Without any hesitation, Wei Suo's gaze didn't linger on those two. He simply lowered his head and walked towards the alley where the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe had entered.

As he approached the alley entrance, Wei Suo quickly glanced inside. To his surprise, the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe and the old Daoist who followed him seemed to have quickened their pace inside. At a glance, the deep alley was completely empty.

Wei Suo, somewhat surprised, walked in. He reached a corner and saw that the two alleys inside were still empty. Just as Wei Suo's eyes flickered with surprise and he hesitated whether to retreat from the alley, a chilling voice suddenly entered his ear, "What, are you following me?"

A figure emerged from the darkness of the alley ahead. Looking at Wei Suo, it was the middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe, who was at least at the second level of the Circulation Realm!

This middle-aged cultivator in the yellow robe, with a faint smile on his face, still looked very refined. However, in Wei Suo's eyes, a bone-chilling coldness surged, and the back of his shirt was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

At the same time, faint footsteps sounded from behind Wei Suo. The old Daoist in the purple robe had emerged from somewhere and stood at the alley entrance behind Wei Suo, trapping Wei Suo in the middle of the alley from both sides.

Without any hesitation, Wei Suo's face immediately showed an expression of extreme astonishment. He turned and pointed at the old Daoist behind him, "I have a good magic treasure fragment in my hand. I just saw this Daoist brother who seemed to know its worth, so I wanted to ask if he wanted to buy it. But I clearly saw this Daoist brother walking ahead of me just now. As for what you said about following, I don't understand."

(This chapter is an addition for the red ticket bonus, and I'm also catching up on the debt owed to classmate 'Fading Gaze'. Next, I'll start catching up on the debt owed to classmate 'Oldcat0315'. We are becoming more powerful day by day, very stylish. While aiming for new records tomorrow, don't forget to check in on the homepage to collect red tickets and points. I'm about to explode again!)