Mysterious Yin Marketplace

Before the flames had even subsided, Shen Long raised his right hand, and a Giant Wind Blade, three zhang long, shot out and plunged into the sea of fire, tearing the ground open and leaving a thick crack.

Before long, the flames dissipated, and the Twin-Tail Scorpion was cut in two by the Giant Wind Blade, its body emitting a burnt smell.

Shen Long looked up at the sky and saw a streak of blue light appearing on the distant horizon, rapidly flying towards them.

Less than three breaths later, the azure light stopped, revealing a shimmering azure flying boat. An elderly man in his early fifties wearing a green robe and a slender young woman in a purple dress stood atop the azure flying boat.

The old man in the green robe had a round face and big eyes, with a rosy complexion. The young woman in the purple dress had exquisite features, snow-white skin, and high breasts. Both of them were in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

They were all somewhat surprised to see the Twin-Tail Scorpion split in two.

"I am Lin Guang, and this is my wife, Su Nan. How shall I address you, fellow Daoist?"

The old man in the green robe clasped his hands in a polite gesture.

"Shen Zhu."

Shen Long said that he grew up in Thousand Bamboo Valley and that's why he had this name.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Shen Fellow Daoist Shen. Thank you for your help. We finally found this early-stage second-tier Twin-Tail Scorpion, but it still escaped. We need its Demon Core."

Lin Guang said politely.

Shen Long killed the Twin-Tail Scorpion, and logically, the Twin-Tail Scorpion should belong to him. However, Lin Guang and Su Nan had finally found the Twin-Tail Scorpion and even injured it, only to be intercepted and killed by Shen Long.

This situation is not uncommon, and some cultivators even fight over it.

"We can't just say whoever finds the Twin-Tail Scorpion first owns it! We can give you the Demon Core, but you'll have to exchange it for something."

Shen Long said.

Second-tier and higher Demon Beast possess Demon Core, Demon Core are the most valuable part of Demon Beast, and it's unlikely that it would easily give them away.

Lin Guang breathed a sigh of relief, took out five blue wooden boxes, opened them, and found a small black plant inside each box.

"Eighty-year-old Ink Mustard Grass! Fine! Put the wooden box on the ground, the Demon Core core is yours, the corpse is mine."

Shen Long said.

Lin Guang made a hand seal, and the cyan flying boat slowly descended, whereupon they stepped off.

He put on a defensive barrier, put down the five wooden boxes, and walked towards the corpse of the Twin-Tail Scorpion. Su Nan looked wary, his right hand resting on the Storage Bag.

Lin Guang dug out the Demon Core and put it into a Cyan Jade Box.

"Thank you very much, Fellow Daoist Shen. We have other matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now. We hope to meet again someday."

After saying this, Lin Guang walked onto the cyan flying boat, made a hand seal, and the cyan flying boat immediately lit up with a cyan light and flew into the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.

Shen Long carefully scanned the five wooden boxes with his Divine Sense. After confirming that there were no problems, he opened the boxes, put away the five Ink Mustard Grass, and left the place by flying away on his magical artifact.

Half a month later, Shen Long appeared in the sky above a Cyan Bamboo Forest. It was dusk, the sun was setting, and the afterglow of the sunset was shining on the bamboo forest.

Shen Long changed his technique and increased his flight speed.

Not long after, he appeared above a half-collapsed Earth Temple, inside which was enshrined a stone Bodhisattva whose surface was covered with cobwebs.

It was getting late, Shen Long decided to rest here for the night before continuing his journey.

Shen Long cast a Dust Cleansing Technique, clearing a clean area. He took out a Blue Prayer Mat and placed it on the ground. He sat down cross-legged, took out a Cyan Jade Slip, and immersed his Divine Sense into it.

The Jade Slip contained the insights of a first-tier Alchemist on refining Spirit Feeding Pill. Shen Long exchanged his Merit Points Pill Formula for the Spirit Feeding Pill. As long as he gathers all the materials, he can start refining Spirit Feeding Pill.

A quarter of an hour later, Shen Long took off the Jade Slip and took out a thick Blue Book with the four large characters "Travels of Zhao Kingdom" written on the cover. It was the travelogue of a Rogue Cultivator cultivator who had traveled to the Zhao Kingdom. It was kept in the Scripture Depository of the Spirit Control Sect and was compiled thirty years ago, so its credibility was quite high.

As Shen Long looked through the pages, darkness fell. He took out a piece of Moonlight Stone, which emitted a soft white light, illuminating the entire Earth Temple.

The Travels of Zhao Kingdom provides a detailed account of the state of the Zhao Kingdom. Zhao Kingdom ten provinces, which were divided among the Hundred Ghosts Sect, the Yin Corpse Gate, the Blood Skull Sect, and the Heavenly Fiend Sect. The Hundred Ghosts Sect controlled three provinces and was the most powerful.

This book records some strange and interesting stories from the State of the Zhao Kingdom, including the reasons for the destruction of the Yu Clan.

Along with the Spirit Control Token, Shen Long also received a jade pendant engraved with the character "Yu". After consulting numerous ancient texts, he confirmed that the jade pendant was indeed the Identity Token of a member of the Yu Clan.

The Yu Clan member was already dead, and Shen Long didn't know his name. Since he couldn't directly impersonate the Yu Clan member, he could only call himself Shen Zhu. If necessary, he would still reveal his identity Yu Clan.

More than two hundred years have passed. Even if there are still descendants of the Yu Clan alive, many generations have passed, and it is impossible for them to know each other. There is no problem for Shen Long to pretend to be a descendant of a member of the Yu Clan.

In the Zhao Kingdom, there is a dangerous place called Mysterious Yin Valley. Mysterious Yin Valley is filled with yin Yin Qi and is rich in various yin-attribute materials and Ghost Creature. A Ghost King at the Golden Core Realm once appeared there. It was only after the Core Formation Cultivator of the Hundred Ghosts Sect took action that the Ghost King was defeated, and the area was sealed off and restricted.

The Four Sects of Zhao control Mysterious Yin Valley. Every so often, they send disciples into Mysterious Yin Valley to collect Yin-attribute materials and kill Ghost Creature to prevent the reappearance of Ghost King in the Golden Core Realm.

Besides dangerous places, the ancient texts also introduce some famous mountains and rivers of the Zhao Kingdom.

Shen Long held the book and read it with great interest, gaining a deeper understanding of the State of the Zhao Kingdom.

An hour later, a loud explosion rang out, interrupting Shen Long's thoughts.

He frowned and looked toward the source of the sound. Explosions continued, as if someone was engaged in a magical battle.

Shen Long's Divine Sense was wide open, and he sensed two auras rushing towards the Earth Temple.

Shen Long stood up and walked out.

A Green-Faced Fanged Zombie was locked in combat with a young man in his early twenties dressed in a red shirt. The zombie's ten fingers were pitch black, its facial features were a bloody mess, and it emitted a nauseating stench. Green liquid dripped from its body from time to time.

The young man in red was pale, holding a Red Banana Leaf Fan in his hand. A thick red light screen covered his body. He waved the Red Banana Leaf Fan, releasing dozens of Red Banana Leaf Fan the size of bowls, which smashed into the zombie one after another. Rolling flames engulfed the zombie's body.

"Disciples of the Yin Corpse Sect!"

Shen Long's gaze fell on the young man in red. There was a black human-shaped pattern on the young man's sleeve, which was the mark of the Yin Corpse Sect.

He never expected to encounter a disciple of the Yin Corpse Sect in the middle of nowhere; the young man in red was clearly no match for the zombie.

The zombie leaped several meters into the air, landing in front of him. Its ten black fingers struck the red light screen, producing a muffled thud. The red light screen shook slightly, and its spiritual light dimmed.

"Fellow Daoist, I am Chen Feng from the Yin Corpse Sect. I would be extremely grateful for your assistance."

The young man in the red shirt asked for help, his tone urgent.

Shen Long raised his right hand, and a beam of azure light shot out and disappeared into the ground. A Cyan Vine as thick as an adult's thigh sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the zombie's body.

Taking this opportunity, the young man in the red shirt quickly retreated.

The zombie struggled violently, its arms tearing off the Cyan Vine, and a Giant Fireball fell from the sky, smashing into its body.

A deafening roar followed as billowing flames engulfed the zombie's body.

Before the flames had even subsided, another Giant Fireball hurtled towards them.

Shen Long unleashed ten Giant Fireball in succession, which struck the zombies one after another, turning the area within a radius of several dozen feet into a Crimson Sea of Fire, and the ground showed signs of melting.

Shen Long clasped his hands together, then separated them, and a Giant Wind Blade, three zhang long, appeared above his head.

With a "whoosh," the Giant Wind Blade shot out and plunged into the sea of fire. It emerged from the fire and struck the ground, leaving a thick, long crack.

As the flames subsided, the zombie was split in two and lay motionless on the ground.

A look of surprise flashed in Chen Feng's eyes. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank Fellow Daoist Xie for your help, fellow Daoist. May I ask your name?"

"Shen Zhu."

Shen Long said.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Shen. Fellow Daoist Shen's Great Perfection Fireball Technique is truly impressive. May I ask which sect or school you belong to?"

Chen Feng asked politely.

"I belong to no sect or school; I am merely a Rogue Cultivator."

Shen Long had already prepared his explanation.

"Rogue Cultivator?"

Chen Feng looked on with suspicion. It was rare to see such a young and powerful Rogue Cultivator.

A streak of blue Escape Light appeared in the distance, and soon after, Escape Light stopped above the Earth Temple, revealing a Blue Flying Boat about ten feet long. A Blue-Skirted Matron stood on the Blue Flying Boat, and judging from the markings on her clothing, she was also a disciple of the Yin Corpse Sect.

"Junior Brother Chen, where is that Purple Zombie?"

The Blue-Skirted Matron asked, her gaze fixed on Shen Long.

"This Fellow Daoist Shen has taken care of it. Senior Sister Sun, what about the other Purple Zombie?!"

Chen Feng asked.

"I've taken care of it. I am Sun Xin. Thank you for your help Fellow Daoist Shen."

The Blue-Skirted Matron said politely.

"It was nothing, just a small favor. Are there any zombies around here?"

Shen Long asked casually.

"A Purple Zombie suddenly appeared in this area, harming many cultivators. We received the news and came here specifically to eliminate Purple Zombie, but we didn't expect there to be Purple Zombie. It's all thanks to Fellow Daoist Shen's intervention, otherwise Junior Brother Chen would have been in trouble."

Sun Xin explained.

"It's nothing. Any other fellow cultivator would have offered their help as well."

Shen Long said nonchalantly.

"We have other matters to attend to, so we won't stay any longer. Junior Brother Chen, let's go back and report!"

Sun Xin made a hand seal, Blue Flying Boat slowly landed. Chen Feng stepped onto it, and Sun Xin made another hand seal. The Blue Flying Boat immediately emitted a bright blue light and flew into the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.

Shen Long returned to the Earth Temple and continued reading "Travels of Zhao Kingdom".

Early the next morning, Shen Long rode his magical artifact and left, flying into the sky.

More than two months later, Shen Long appeared in the sky above a vast, boundless, Emerald Green Mountain Range, with towering peaks and ancient trees reaching for the sky.

He made a hand seal, and the flying Law Artifact beneath his feet flew forward at a slow speed.

After a while, Shen Long slowed down and looked ahead, where he could see a Giant Valley surrounded by mountains on three sides.

He maneuvered his flying Law Artifact to descend slowly, then strode towards the Giant Valley.

He arrived at the entrance of the Giant Valley and saw a Golden Stele more than ten feet tall, with four large silver characters engraved on it: "Mysterious Yin Marketplace". A commotion came from inside the valley.

Shen Long stepped inside. The streets were wide and clean, and the buildings were built against the mountain. Many cultivators were coming and going, and the shops on both sides of the street offered a wide variety of goods.

He strolled around, occasionally entering a shop to check out the goods. The Mysterious Yin Marketplace sold many Yin-attribute materials, even Corpse Refining refining products, as well as weapon shops, pill shops, and Talisman shops, though not in large quantities.

Half an hour later, Shen Long appeared at the door of a small shop. The signboard read "Liu Family Sundry Shop" in five large characters. The shopkeeper was an elderly man in his sixties wearing a green robe, but he was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

The shelves were stocked with various crafting materials, but none of them were of high quality.

The shopkeeper 'Liu Shi, but his true identity is a spy on the outskirts of the Spirit Control Sect, responsible for gathering intelligence. He has lived in Mysterious Yin Marketplace for most of his life.

Shen Long did not reveal his identity to Liu Shi. He had just arrived in Mysterious Yin Marketplace and was unfamiliar with the situation Mysterious Yin Marketplace, so he planned to observe for a while before making a decision.

He entered Liu Family Sundry Shop, Liu Shi quickly walked over and said respectfully, "Welcome to our store, senior. How may I help you?"

"I'm just browsing."

Shen Long picked up a piece of golden ore, examined it carefully for a while, then put it down and picked up a piece of black ore.

He looked at all the ores on the shelf, but couldn't find anything he wanted. He shook his head, turned around, and left.

Liu Shi was completely bewildered and said nothing.

Shen Long wandered around the Marketplace and only found three spies. The whereabouts of the other two spies were unknown; he didn't know if they had encountered an accident or had gone out.

More than two hours later, Shen Long appeared in a secluded Blue-tiled Courtyard. The plaque above the courtyard read "Green Begonia Courtyard," which was the courtyard he had rented.

The courtyard is not large, with a two-story Cyan Pavilion and a Cyan Stone Pavilion. The plaque on the Cyan Pavilion reads "Green Begonia Pavilion" in three large characters.

Shen Long entered Green Begonia Pavilion and came to a secret room. He saw a magic array about ten feet in size in the lower left corner. He took out a Cyan Token, poured Law Power into it, and a beam of blue light flew out and disappeared into the magic array.

The magic array trembled slightly, and a Cyan Light Screen appeared, covering the entire Green Begonia Courtyard.

Shen Long patted a Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, and more than three hundred Gold-Eating Ant flew out, the Ant Queen already having advanced to the First Rank Late Stage.

Shen Long took out three black ore stones the size of millstones, threw them on the ground, and let them gnaw on them.

Gold-Eating Ant crawled on the ore and began to gnaw at it.

Before long, they had eaten all three pieces of ore.

Shen Long put them into the Spirit Control Tower and left them on the First Floor.

Shen Long sat down cross-legged, flicked his sleeve, and a Red Tripod Furnace flew out, with three legs and two handles, and a Crimson Fire Crow crow was carved on its body.

Crimson Crow Cauldron, a mid-grade Alchemy Furnace.

Shen Long bought it while passing through a Marketplace. It was specifically for refining pills. High-grade pill Alchemy Furnace are quite rare and not easy to buy. Besides, his current identity is that of Rogue Cultivator, and using a high-grade pill Alchemy Furnace would be too conspicuous.

Shen Long closed his eyes and sat in meditation to calm his mind.

An hour later, Shen Long opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Shen Long took out the alchemy materials and began refining pills. After advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could use Innate True Fire to refine pills. Core Formation Cultivator Nascent Soul Cultivator have Nascent Soul Fire.

For Alchemist, possessing a Spirit Flame would greatly increase their alchemy efficiency and success rate; however, Spirit Flame are extremely rare and hard to come by.

Shen Long opened his mouth and spat out a stream of Crimson Flame, which landed on the ground of the Crimson Crow Cauldron.

Under the tempering of the Innate True Fire, the Fire Crow pattern on the surface of the Crimson Crow Cauldron emitted a faint red light.

He opened the cauldron lid and threw the ingredients into it one by one to refine the Spirit Feeding Pill.

After a while, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted out of the cauldron.

Shen Long was completely focused, his Divine Sense closely monitoring the situation inside the Crimson Crow Cauldron.

Under the high temperature, the elixir turned into a pool of juice. Under Shen Long's control of his divine sense, the juice condensed into a ball and slowly turned into a solid.

A month later, Shen Long emerged from the secret chamber with a faint smile on his face. He had refined a considerable number of Spirit Feeding Pill, which he could now freely supply to Spirit Beast Spirit Insect.

After leaving Green Begonia Courtyard, Shen Long strolled around the streets, looking at the sights.

After a short while, he appeared in a vast Bluestone Square with many stalls selling all sorts of things.

As Shen Long walked and looked around, he suddenly quickened his pace and came to a small stall. The stall owner was a Green-Skirted Young Woman, and some Monster Beast Material were displayed on the stall.

Shen Long squatted down, pointed to a black, sac-like object, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what is this?"

"This is the Poison Sac of a second-tier, early-stage Gold-Winged Black Flame Scorpion. If you like it, it's two hundred Spirit Stone."

"That's what the Green-Skirted Young Woman said."

"No Demon Core?!"

Shen Long asked.

"The Demon Core has been bought, but the Poison Sac is still left, which is excellent for refining poison pills."

"That's what the Green-Skirted Young Woman said."

Shen Long took out two hundred Spirit Stone and bought the Poison Sac.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Shen, what a coincidence!"

A loud male voice rang out.

Shen Long turned his head and saw Lin Guang and Su Nan walking towards him.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, do you two know each other?"

The Green-Skirted Young Woman was somewhat surprised; judging from his words, she clearly knew Lin Guang.

Lin Guang smiled and nodded, saying, "We've met once before, I didn't expect to run into Fellow Daoist Shen here."

"What a coincidence! Fellow Daoist Lin, Madam Lin."

Shen Long greeted him with a smile.

"We live in Purple Bamboo Courtyard. If Fellow Daoist Shen has time, you are welcome to come and visit us. Let's become friends."

Lin Guangcheng said sincerely.

"Must."

Shen Long agreed, put away the Poison Sac, and continued to stroll around. He bought some first-tier ores to feed the Gold-Eating Ant, and some poisonous herbs to feed the Iron Tail Scorpion.

After leaving the Bluestone Square, Shen Long arrived at the entrance of a nine-story Cyan Pavilion with the three large characters "Hundred Herb Pavilion" (Hundred Herbs Pavilion) on the plaque.

Shen Long went inside, and after about a quarter of an hour, he came out of the Hundred Herb Pavilion with a batch of fire-attribute spirit medicine in his Storage Bag.

He visited several spirit medicine and purchased fire-attribute spirit medicine and fruit pits in batches.

As he passed by Liu Family Sundry Shop, he saw Liu Shi talking to a young woman in a white dress, who was in the prime of her life. The young woman had an oval face, cherry lips, and a delicate nose, and was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Shen Long glanced at it briefly and then ignored it.

Back at Green Begonia Courtyard, Shen Long entered a secret room, went into the Spirit Control Tower, and arrived at the second floor.

He came to a towering red mountain peak, took out some red fruit pits, dug small pits, and threw the fruit pits into the pits one by one, with each pit spaced two zhang apart.

This is the pit of the Crimson Moon Peach, which has a growth cycle of up to ten years. Shen Long mainly grows Crimson Moon Peach in order to earn more income.

After burying all the fruit pits, he used the Cloud Gathering Rain Technique to water the fruit pits. Then he took out the Formation Flag Formation Disk, set up a first-order Formation, and erected a stone tablet at the foot of the mountain with the three large characters "Crimson Moon Peak" written on it.

Shen Long fed the Fire Rock Beast a Spirit Feeding Pill, then left the Spirit Control Tower. He sat cross-legged, took out a bottle of Demon Beast Essence Blood, and began to cultivate while silently reciting Mnemonic.

He planned to go into seclusion for a while to cultivate and master the first three levels of the Nine Transformations Dragon Transformation Technique. As for the mission, he would deal with it another day.

When a general is in the field, he may disobey some of the military orders.

My Life-Bound Spirit Beast is on its way; I'll try to get a decent one at the Marketplace.