Living Techniques

Red Leaf Market was a trading ground formed spontaneously by the sect's disciples.

The area was surrounded by red-leaf trees, their scarlet leaves scattered like rosy clouds, hence the name.

The market offered a bewildering array of goods and never asked where they came from, making it a perfect place for disciples to sell unexpected windfalls.

As soon as Fang Huai reached the market entrance, more than a dozen market rats who earned Contribution Points by guiding people surrounded him.

Since he was new here and unfamiliar with the place, he figured he might as well spend a few Contribution Points to save time.

He picked a sharp-looking disciple and transferred fifty Contribution Points to him. "Show me the way!"

"Senior Brother, you came to the right person!"

The disciple beamed. "My name is Cui Ji. I've been at Red Leaf Market for over ten years. I know exactly where to find the best techniques!"

The path Lin Yan had pointed him toward was Red Leaf Market.

There were all kinds of techniques here, including some that could improve his Skinning Technique, but finding a good one depended entirely on his own judgment.

Cui Ji led him swiftly through the market, taking him to several areas devoted to selling jade technique tablets.

But the techniques were either outrageously expensive or shoddy, defective junk.

Seeing Fang Huai's expression darken, Cui Ji edged closer and lowered his voice.

"If you're not interested in the techniques on those jade tablets, Senior Brother, I can recommend a place where you can choose a technique yourself—and the price is very low."

"Choose a technique myself? You're not trying to swindle me, are you?"

Fang Huai had never heard of anything like that before.

Cui Ji blinked. "I'm a veteran market rat of over ten years. You can trust my word, Senior Brother. Just follow me—I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

They kept walking, passing through several bustling areas, until at last they stopped at a strange-looking section.

There were only a handful of stalls, but something about them felt eerie—

Each stall had several Mystic Sword Sect cultivators bound with Immortal Binding Ropes.

Fang Huai looked puzzled. "Junior Brother Cui, this doesn't look like a place that sells techniques."

"Senior Brother, the cultivators at these stalls are living techniques!"

Cui Ji explained, "We've been fighting the Mystic Sword Sect these past few years, and we've captured quite a few prisoners.

"The sect rules that disciples may do as they please with prisoners.

"It would be such a waste to take only their blood and qi. So one day, a genius disciple had an idea. Our sect's techniques are limited and expensive, while the Mystic Sword Sect disciples practice all kinds of techniques. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could learn something useful from them?

"So these prisoners ended up in the markets.

"But after buying a prisoner, how much truth you can pry from them is entirely up to your own methods."

Fang Huai suddenly understood.

Now that he thought about it, the path Lin Yan had pointed him toward might have been a hint to buy one of these living techniques.

After saying goodbye to Cui Ji, Fang Huai wandered from stall to stall, but soon found himself at a loss.

[Fireball Technique: Proficient], [Spirit Sword Art: Beginner], [Benevolent Appearance Technique: Proficient]...

The techniques were all over the place, and none of them were any use to him.

He asked about the prices. The cheapest Mystic Sword Sect prisoner cost five thousand Contribution Points, which made his heart ache.

After wandering for quite a while, he finally found two that fit his needs.

One had [Silk Extraction Technique: Proficient], while the other had [Dexterous Hand Technique: Beginner].

The first cost thirty thousand Contribution Points. The second was cheaper, but its owner had been beaten until his mouth hung crooked and his flesh was a bloody mess.

After hesitating for a long time, Fang Huai decided to look around some more.

And this time, he made an unexpected discovery.

The person bound at the stall in front of him was the very Mystic Sword Sect female cultivator who had chased him yesterday!

She was the daughter of an elder, so she was bound to have learned plenty of techniques. Buying her could be a worthwhile deal.

He also couldn't help marveling at how efficiently the Corpse Sha Sect operated.

Li Sirou had only been captured by Meng Yi yesterday, yet today she was already on display at a market stall.

Li Sirou's eyes were red, and she trembled all over. Even in her current plight, she still glared at him a few times.

Fang Huai chuckled to himself, pretending not to care about her as he chatted with the stall owner.

"Senior Brother, I'm a disciple of Skinning Peak. Could you recommend a living technique that would help me in my cultivation?"

The stall owner perked up the moment he heard Fang Huai was from Skinning Peak.

Skinning Peak's disciples might be low in cultivation, but they had plenty of Contribution Points and urgently needed techniques to protect themselves. They made ideal buyers for living techniques.

"Junior Brother, take a look at this Mystic Sword Sect male cultivator. He's proficient in the Spirit Sword Technique. Learn from him, and you'll not only improve your skinning skills, but also boost your combat strength by a great deal."

Fang Huai shook his head. "His eyes are full of rage, and he looks ready to fight to the death. I'm afraid he'll kill me."

"No need to worry about that," the stall owner said. "The living techniques at these stalls have all been placed under the Slave Curse by the elders of Curse Insect Peak.

"Just drip their blood onto your Identity Token, and they'll have no choice but to obey your commands.

"If they resist, you can channel your spiritual power and annihilate their souls in an instant."

Fang Huai clicked his tongue. No wonder it was a demonic sect. They had a complete industry chain, with even the elders involved behind the scenes.

As they spoke, a male cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining arrived at the stall. After glancing around, his gaze settled on Li Sirou.

"Stall owner, how much for that young lady?"

The male cultivator seemed to practice some wicked technique. A thick stench of decay clung to him, and tiny Gu insects occasionally crawled out of the festering sores on his body. It was a horrifying sight.

"Junior Brother has a keen eye. This one only arrived yesterday, and I guarantee she hasn't been touched. She's perfect for a furnace cauldron."

The stall owner had a sharp eye. From the male cultivator's expression and words alone, he understood what he was after.

He continued his pitch. "The price isn't high, either. Only twenty thousand Contribution Points."

When Li Sirou heard the male cultivator asking about her, her face turned deathly pale. She shrank back, trembling.

Fang Huai couldn't help marveling at how much profit the middleman was making!

Meng Yi had taken only eight thousand Contribution Points for her yesterday, but now the stall owner was asking twenty thousand.

At the price, the male cultivator furrowed his brow and hesitated.

Just then, Li Sirou shouted anxiously at Fang Huai, "You bad man, come buy me!"

At her words, everyone around the stall turned to look at Fang Huai.

"You know her?" the male cultivator asked, his gaze uncertain.

"That's right. It was because of me that she fell into the Corpse Sha Sect's trap."

Seeing that Fang Huai was at the fourth level of Qi Refining and stronger than him, the male cultivator asked tentatively, "You want to buy her?"

Before Fang Huai could answer, Li Sirou spoke first. "Buy me! He wants to buy me! You bad man, hurry up and pay!"

She had spent the day at Red Leaf Market, and every male cultivator who passed by had looked at her with lustful hunger.

If the stall owner hadn't set such a high price, she would have been bought by some lecher long ago.

As for why she wanted Fang Huai to buy her, the reason was simple.

In the Corpse Sha Sect, Fang Huai was the only one she had ever beaten so badly that he'd run away clutching his head.

"Why would I buy you? If I bought you, you wouldn't listen to me. Besides, I can't afford twenty thousand Contribution Points."

The stall owner heard him and smiled. "Junior Brother, if you don't have enough Contribution Points, Spirit Stones will do. And if you can't scrape together enough Spirit Stones, you can pay in monthly installments."

Fang Huai hesitated.

Although Li Sirou had practiced many techniques, buying her would be pointless if she didn't know anything that could improve his Skinning Technique.

As he hesitated, the third-level Qi Refining disciple had already taken out his Identity Token, ready to have the stall owner transfer the Contribution Points.

Seeing this, Li Sirou panicked, her voice breaking with tears.

"You bad man, I know the Thousand Silk Jade Hand! This technique will definitely help you!"