An Accidental Encounter with an Old Friend

Spirit stones, magical artifacts, jade slips, and more—the Spirit Control Token was the most eye-catching of them all.

There were 2,225 spirit stones, fifteen magical artifacts—one high-grade, eight mid-grade, and a set of Parent-Child Blades—over twenty jade slips, and one Earth Escape Talisman.

Several jade slips mentioned the Yu Clan of the Zhao Kingdom. Since the Zhao Kingdom was a neighbor to the Qin Kingdom, the owner of the cave dwelling most likely hailed from the Yu Clan of Zhao.

Shen Long picked up a round, red jade pendant. A character for "Yu" was carved on the front, and a miniature Fire Crow was carved on the back. This pendant appeared to be an identity tag.

He tried injecting his mana into it, but the pendant showed no reaction. As far as he knew, identity tags usually required a drop of the cultivator's essence blood to function; aside from the owner, no one else could activate them, as they were used for identification.

He had no idea where the cave owner had obtained the Spirit Control Token. One yellow jade slip recorded a cultivation technique called the Dry Earth Manual, though it only contained the methods for the first six levels. The contents of the other jade slips were mostly related to the Zhao Kingdom.

Shen Long calculated his finances. Even with the high cost of living in Yunmeng Mountain, if he didn't spend recklessly, over two thousand spirit stones would be enough for him to live there for several decades without needing to hunt spirit beasts to earn more.

What he needed to do now was focus on his cultivation and wait for the Immortal Ascension Assembly to begin.

Shen Long put away the items on the bed, took out the Spirit Control Tower, and injected his mana.

The Spirit Control Tower lit up with a blue glow, and a powerful suction force pulled him inside.

A cheerful hiss rang out as the Iron Tail Scorpion crawled out from the Spirit Control Pool and scurried toward Shen Long.

It had grown more than a size larger, though it was still at the mid-stage of the first rank.

Shen Long took out a Red Storage Bag, turned it upside down, and gave it a gentle shake. A flash of red light swept across the ground, leaving behind a giant, cyan-colored rabbit with exposed fangs and a fist-sized bloody hole in its head.

This was a first-rank spirit beast he had hunted on the road, specifically to feed the Iron Tail Scorpion.

"Time to eat. Once we're settled, I'll buy you some Spirit Feeding Pills."

Shen Long said.

Without the help of the Iron Tail Scorpion, he would never have been able to kill Xu Lei and Sun Yang.

The Iron Tail Scorpion clamped its pincers onto the giant rabbit's body and easily tore off a large chunk of flesh to eat.

Shen Long exited the Spirit Control Tower and sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate and regulate his breathing.

A day passed quickly, and Shen Long walked out of his room and headed downstairs.

As he stepped out of the Gathering Immortals Inn, Shen Long's pupils constricted. He immediately turned around and headed back upstairs.

Li Ruxue and a handsome young man in white robes walked past the entrance of the Gathering Immortals Inn; she had not noticed Shen Long.

Back in his room, Shen Long frowned deeply. He hadn't expected Li Ruxue to be in the marketplace as well.

If news of the Spirit Control Token leaked, the Li Clan, the Chen Clan, and the Han Clan might search for him in the shadows.

Yunmeng Mountain was jointly controlled by the five major powers of the Qin Kingdom. While they certainly wouldn't dare to make a move on him within the marketplace, they could easily lure him out of Yunmeng Mountain. Who knew what kind of methods a Foundation Establishment cultivator might have?

"It seems I must be extremely careful until I join the Spirit Control Sect, otherwise all my previous efforts will be wasted."

Shen Long muttered to himself. For the past three years, he had traveled by night and hidden by day to avoid other cultivators, all because he feared running into the Han, Li, and Chen clans. Otherwise, he would have reached Yunmeng Mountain long ago.

Shen Long's features blurred as he altered his appearance.

He changed into a different set of clothes before leaving the Gathering Immortals Inn.

The streets were crowded with people, and Li Ruxue was nowhere to be seen.

Shen Long began to wander, walking and observing.

He noticed a large number of pill shops, weapon shops, and talisman shops. Some small stores even had top-grade magical artifacts for sale, but the prices were staggering—far beyond what he could afford.

Half an hour later, Shen Long stood before the entrance of an eighteen-story cyan pavilion. The plaque above the door bore the three golden characters: "Spirit Control Pavilion."

According to some shopkeepers, this was a store opened by the Spirit Control Sect. They sold spirit insects and spirit beasts, and they also carried Spirit Feeding Pills.

Standing at the entrance, Shen Long could already hear the loud roars of beasts.

He strode inside and was met with a spacious, bright hall. Large iron cages were placed throughout the room, housing various spirit beasts.

There were red leopards with three eyes, vultures with two heads, and giant golden scorpions with four wings on their backs.

Behind a long, cyan counter was a row of tall shelves filled with various bottles and jars, where attendants in cyan robes were introducing products to customers.

As Shen Long walked over, a cyan-robed attendant hurried toward him and asked enthusiastically, "Fellow Daoist, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I would like to purchase some Spirit Feeding Pills. How many spirit stones for one?"

Shen Long asked.

"Two hundred and seventy spirit stones for a bottle of ten. How many do you need?"

The attendant asked.

"I'll take one bottle."

Shen Long said.

"Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist. I'll be right back."

After saying this, the attendant turned and walked toward a cyan shelf.

"I also need Spirit Feeding Pills. Two bottles."

A pleasant female voice rang out.

Shen Long felt the voice was somewhat familiar. He turned his head and saw Ye Yuqing walking toward him. She was already at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Shen Long never expected to run into Ye Yuqing here; it seemed she had also come to participate in the Immortal Ascension Assembly.

Not long after, the attendant in green returned and handed a cyan porcelain bottle to Shen Long.

Shen Long poured out the Spirit Feeding Pill, inspected it carefully, and only after confirming it was correct did he put it back into the bottle and pay the spirit stones in full.

Even for the same Spirit Feeding Pill, the Spirit Control Sect's price was cheaper, which was only natural; if the Spirit Control Sect charged more, the Treasure Pavilion's Spirit Feeding Pill would certainly be even more expensive.

After exiting the Spirit Control Pavilion, Shen Long followed behind Ye Yuqing, keeping a distance of over ten feet; with the many pedestrians on the street, Ye Yuqing did not notice him.

A cup of tea's time later, Ye Yuqing arrived at the entrance of a thirty-six-story golden pavilion, with the three large silver characters "Cloud Dream Tower" written on the plaque.

Ye Yuqing strode inside, but Shen Long did not follow her in.

He had inquired about the situation on Yunmeng Mountain with the manager of the Gathering Immortals Inn, and the Cloud Dream Tower was the largest inn on Yunmeng Mountain, as well as the most expensive.

Ye Yuqing was a talisman master who could earn spirit stones by selling talismans, so it was not strange for her to stay at the Cloud Dream Tower.

Shen Long noted Ye Yuqing's lodging and continued to wander around.

A cup of tea's time later, he arrived at a vast bluestone square, in the center of which stood a golden stone stele over three zhang tall, inscribed with the four large characters "Free Trade Square."

This was a place for rogue cultivators to set up stalls, but unlike Thousand Bamboo Valley, one had to pay a fee to set up a stall here; it was free trade where prices were set by the individuals, and no responsibility was taken if one was swindled.

There were many small stalls in the Free Trade Square, with the stall owners mostly being Qi Refining cultivators, though there were also Foundation Establishment cultivators; the items on the stalls were diverse, including spiritual herbs, ores, monster materials, spiritual wood, talismans, spiritual wine, and so on.

"Freshly brewed Green Apricot Wine from this year, effective for improving magic power, come and take a look."

A voice like silver bells reached Shen Long's ears.

Shen Long frowned, as this voice was all too familiar; he followed the sound to a small stall and saw Huang Xiuyun.