Going All Out

"Magic treasure fragments? Bring them here for me to see." The Purple Robe Old Daoist walked a few steps closer to Wei Suo, his expressionless face radiating a cold demeanor.

Wei Suo reached into his storage and pulled out an item – it was the fragment of the Yin Charm Blade he had just acquired.

"Scram!"

With just a glance, the Purple Robe Old Daoist's eyes flashed with a cold light. He uttered a single word, and six halos of light appeared around him, releasing a chilling pressure.

Wei Suo immediately adopted a posture of a fleeing rat, his head tucked down, and bolted out of the alley without looking back.

" that Yellow Robe Cultivator was extremely vigilant. Your act of hawking was flawless; your expression and demeanor were spot on. Otherwise, with their cultivation levels, they might have killed you instantly before the Tianyi Sect could even arrive. You must never again take the risk of tracking cultivators whose strength far surpasses yours." Only after Wei Suo had completely cleared the alley and there were more cultivators around did the Green Robe Old Man's voice sound, tinged with lingering fear.

"Damn it, luckily I used to do a lot of hawking back in the day." Wei Suo wiped away a bead of cold sweat. The situation had been too dangerous. If those two had really intended to silence him, even if the Green Robe Old Man had immediately told him how to use the Yin Charm Blade, he might not have escaped alive from the pincer attack of two Circulation Realm cultivators.

"This kid is acting suspiciously, very suspicious."

"He looks like just a low-level rogue cultivator, not fake at all. He actually wants to hawk a Magic Treasure Fragment that's impossible to use, hmph! If we kill him here, and it attracts the attention of the Tianyi Sect, it'll be troublesome."

The Green Robe Old Man's voice suddenly entered Wei Suo's ears.

Wei Suo was stunned. "Old man, what are you talking about?"

"Today was so dangerous, I absolutely have to find out what those two are up to. I'll risk depleting some of my energy and extend my divine sense. Don't wander off again, or I won't be able to sense what they're saying." the Green Robe Old Man said rapidly.

Wei Suo's spirits immediately lifted, and a hint of emotion flickered in his eyes. When he had asked the Green Robe Old Man why he needed to drink Fire Scorpion Blood before, the old man had mentioned that as long as his energy was sufficiently abundant, an artifact spirit like him could extend its divine sense a certain distance from the Magic Treasure's embryonic form. However, now that the Ghost Nurturing Jar's magic formation was damaged, even with the supplement of Fire Scorpion Blood, the Green Robe Old Man's energy was still dissipating daily. He hadn't expected the old man to go to such lengths for him at this critical moment.

"Tie Ce's people have all mobilized and are heading directly for the Green Wind Mausoleum. They should make their move tomorrow morning."

"If we fail, we'll have nowhere to die. Are you absolutely certain about this?"

"If we weren't completely confident, why would we act? Don't worry, Tie Ce's most powerful cultivators were commissioned to go to Seven Star City and won't be back until two days from now at the earliest. And the information is very reliable: among those Heart Devouring Worms, there is indeed one that has advanced to an elder-level Heart Devouring Worm."

"Since the information is confirmed, there shouldn't be any problems."

"One more thing. When the time comes, one of the cultivators inside must be captured alive. You'll receive an additional five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones for it. I'll point out the person; just don't harm them prematurely."

"When should we meet?"

"Let's meet at sunrise tomorrow. Many high-level demonic beasts are active there at night, so they won't make their move tonight."

"Alright!"

After the Yellow Robe Cultivator and the Purple Robe Old Daoist finished their conversation, they each departed through different alley exits. Wei Suo, who had blended in near a stall, was now drenched in cold sweat.

Although their conversation was brief, Wei Suo had grasped the general situation.

These past few days, Tie Ce's people had been preparing to ambush and kill a fifth-tier Heart Devouring Worm. The Demonic Core of a fifth-tier Heart Devouring Worm alone was worth over five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Furthermore, Heart Devouring Worms were different from ordinary fifth-tier demonic beasts; their bodies also contained materials that could be used to refine powerful Magic Treasures.

Inside its body was a Magic Crystal that could be used to refine Magic Treasures like those that produced magic sound. Its outer skin was an excellent material for stealth-type Magic Treasures. For high-level cultivators skilled in artifact refining, such rare and difficult-to-hunt demonic beasts were worth far more than just a few hundred or thousand Spirit Stones.

Forces like Tie Ce undoubtedly had powerful Circulation Realm cultivators. However, based on the conversation between these two, Tie Ce's intelligence indicated only one Heart Devouring Worm. In reality, there were more than one, and one of them had advanced to an elder-level Heart Devouring Worm, just like the Red Armored Beetle Boss.

Many cultivators on the Tianxuan Continent referred to demonic beasts that had lived for a very long time and broken through their original tier as elder-level demonic beasts.

Since the Heart Devouring Worm was already a fifth-tier low-grade demonic beast with the innate ability of invisibility, even a single tier advancement would make it at least a fifth-tier mid-grade demonic beast.

A fifth-tier mid-grade demonic beast possessed a strength equivalent to a third-level Circulation Realm cultivator. Moreover, Wei Suo now knew that elder-level demonic beasts, after advancing, would typically develop one or two unique innate abilities. This meant that an elder Heart Devouring Worm that advanced from a fifth-tier low-grade would be even more difficult to deal with than an ordinary fifth-tier mid-grade demonic beast.

If they had prepared enough White Phosphorus Beast Bone Powder to reveal just one Heart Devouring Worm, but encountered several, plus an elder Heart Devouring Worm, it would be extremely dangerous, even with numerous Circulation Realm cultivators present.

Furthermore, judging by the tone of these two, they seemed to have set up an ambush, planning to wait until Tie Ce's people were locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Heart Devouring Worms before emerging to clean up the mess and capture Tie Ce's entire group!

In just this short while, Wei Suo had already spotted three Circulation Realm cultivators preparing to deal with Tie Ce!

The fate of the other Tie Ce members held no significance for Wei Suo. However, among them was Nangong Yuqing.

After hesitating for a moment, Wei Suo gritted his teeth, took out a message jade slip, and poured his True Essence into it.

"Are you really determined to get involved in this?" the Green Robe Old Man's somewhat chilling voice immediately reached Wei Suo's ears. He seemed to sense Wei Suo's current intentions.

"Damn it, I'll risk it! I still need to borrow Spirit Stones from her!"

After injecting his True Essence into the message jade slip, Wei Suo rapidly sprinted towards the largest notice board in the northern part of the city.

"Then don't be stingy with Spirit Stones this time. At least let me spend all the Spirit Stones you have before you go." the Green Robe Old Man's voice sounded in Wei Suo's ears, this time with a hint of killing intent.

"Alright, I'll go prepare things."

After agreeing with the Green Robe Old Man, Wei Suo quickly reached the notice board. He casually grabbed a low-level rogue cultivator who was studying the contents of the board, clearly looking for opportunities to earn Spirit Stones, and directly pulled out a Mid-grade Spirit Stone. "Brother, want to earn this Spirit Stone?"

"Yes!" The low-level cultivator, who hadn't even reached the second level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm, immediately nodded vigorously.

"I'll give you five Low-grade Spirit Stones upfront! Just stand here until tomorrow morning for me. Find a sign to hold, write the character 'Wei' on it, and if a female cultivator named Nangong asks about you, tell her not to leave and to pour some True Essence into her… item. I'll be there immediately. Regardless of whether she comes or not, as long as you stand here all night, I'll give you another five Low-grade Spirit Stones tomorrow."

"Just holding a sign and saying this?" The low-level cultivator, overjoyed, grabbed the five Low-grade Spirit Stones and quickly found a wooden board to write a large character 'Wei' on it. He then stood motionlessly beneath the notice board like a statue.

"The Golden Jade Pavilion should still be open."

Casting a glance towards the south of the city from afar, Wei Suo muttered to himself and then sprinted towards the Golden Jade Pavilion in the southern district.

"You're a bit flustered right now. For a low-level cultivator like that, you could have given him just two Low-grade Spirit Stones, and he would have stayed until dawn for you. With a few extra Spirit Stones, you might have been able to buy a useful Magic Artifact, significantly increasing your chances of survival." As Wei Suo sprinted, the Green Robe Old Man's voice sounded again. "The more dangerous it is, the less you should panic."

Wei Suo's body trembled, and he calmed down considerably. "Got it." After uttering those three words, Wei Suo continued to sprint, but his eyes gleamed like two cold, sharp stars.

"Is that Senior Wei? May I ask what brings you here so late?"

The market in the southern part of the city generally closed early. However, the Golden Jade Pavilion, specializing in various artifact refining materials, often had to process freshly collected materials immediately, so it typically stayed open until midnight. When Wei Suo arrived at the Golden Jade Pavilion, it was indeed still open. Seeing Wei Suo's hurried demeanor, a silver-robed youth responsible for reception, who recognized Wei Suo, was quite surprised.

Wei Suo looked at the silver-robed youth and said quickly, "I need to commission your pavilion to post a message. I also want to buy and pawn some items. And, I'd like to inquire if the magic robe I commissioned for modification is ready."

"That magic robe is ready today," the Silver Robe Youth said, still somewhat surprised. "I wonder what kind of items Senior Wei intends to pawn and purchase?"

Wei Suo expressionlessly took out his Treasure Pouch and withdrew two items. "I want to buy some powerful Magic Artifacts or Magic Treasures. If the Golden Jade Pavilion has anything I like, not only these two items but also the Treasure Pouch and Golden Silk Talisman Brush you auctioned off can be used as collateral first."

"Jade Cloud Ganoderma? What is this jade box?" Upon hearing Wei Suo's words and seeing the items he took out, the Silver Robe Youth was instantly startled.

Wei Suo glanced at the youth. "This is a Treasure Origin Jade Box that prevents spiritual herbs from losing their spiritual energy. I wonder if you've heard of it."

"It's actually a Treasure Origin Jade Box? Senior Wei, the price for these items of yours is too high. With my status, neither I nor Deputy Shopkeeper Liu can make a decision," the Silver Robe Youth's expression changed again. "Allow me to invite Shopkeeper Tian out."

Wei Suo nodded. "In that case, first post a message for me. I need to leave the city immediately to hunt a demonic beast and require the hiring of two cultivators to accompany me. Help me designate people from Tie Ce. Have them come directly to you to find me."

"Alright!" Seeing so many of Wei Suo's items, the Silver Robe Youth knew that the spirit stone fee for posting messages was nothing to him. Therefore, without any further ado, he nodded, quickly gave instructions, and then immediately ran inside to fetch Shopkeeper Tian.

Wei Suo sat calmly, watching the Silver Robe Youth run inside. He then channeled another surge of True Essence into the message jade slip.

Now, Wei Suo could only place his hopes on Nangong Yuqing seeing the message jade slip, or that Tie Ce hadn't mobilized all their forces as the Yellow Robe Cultivator had said, and there were still Tie Ce members left in Lingyue City.

If all else failed, he would risk his entire fortune!

(Seeing a reader's review, allow me to explain. It might be due to my unclear writing. There are two types of spiritual herbs or other materials whose spiritual energy dissipates rapidly: one type, regardless of anything, will lose its spiritual energy quickly once picked unless preserved in special Magic Treasures like the Treasure Origin Jade Box. The other type will wither if not picked within a specific period, much like some flowers that bloom, continue to grow, set seeds, and then naturally wither. You have to wait for the seeds to grow into spiritual herbs again. Once picked and cut off from continued growth, the spiritual energy of these spiritual herbs won't dissipate quickly. The Jade Cloud Ganoderma belongs to the latter type. These might be mentioned again in future chapters. Lastly, the awesome thing is, did you see my chapter title? Yesterday, we were just a little bit away from breaking the 7000 red ticket mark. Can we be fierce today and push for it, breaking through 7000 in one go?!)