Destroy the Corpse and Erase the Traces

With that in mind, He Song quickly began planning how he would use his Spirit Stones in the future.

First.

Spells!

Spells were cheap. An ordinary Qi Refining stage spell only cost ten Spirit Stones.

Special Qi Refining stage spells were slightly more expensive, but surely not by much.

Learning every spell he wanted to learn would probably not cost many Spirit Stones.

This was the easiest way to improve his strength.

Moreover, many Qi Refining stage spells had all sorts of marvelous uses and were greatly useful in other aspects as well.

The Spiritual Eye Technique, the Sound Transmission Technique, and the Conceal Breath Art were examples.

Of course, practicing spells would take a long time.

But He Song had transmigrated here. His soul was stronger than that of ordinary cultivators, and he learned spells much faster than they did.

Such an enormous advantage would be far too wasteful not to make use of.

Besides that.

There were Spirit Talismans!

Spirit Talismans were tremendously useful during the Qi Refining stage.

Once activated, a low-grade Thick Earth Talisman costing five Spirit Stones could withstand several attacks from a Qi Refining Early Stage cultivator. It could even block part of the power behind attacks from the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

Once activated, a mid-grade Thick Earth Talisman costing twenty Spirit Stones could withstand several attacks from the Qi Refining Middle Stage and block part of the power behind attacks from the Qi Refining Late Stage.

Once activated, a low-grade Golden Light Talisman costing five Spirit Stones possessed astonishing killing power. Without a defensive Spirit Talisman or Magic Artifact to block it, a Qi Refining Early Stage cultivator would not have an easy time taking it head-on.

However, these Spirit Talismans generally did not last long, most enduring only a dozen breaths or so.

Because their duration was short, their prices were fairly high as well.

Ordinary cultivators usually carried only a few, while more cautious ones carried a dozen or so for self-defense.

But during the Qi Refining stage, it was never wrong to keep more Spirit Talismans on hand.

This was also why many cultivators worked part-time as talisman masters.

Drawing talismans themselves was always more cost-effective than buying them once they became proficient. Moreover, they could sell any Spirit Talismans they did not need and use the proceeds to help cover their living expenses.

Talisman masters were fairly profitable.

After spells and Spirit Talismans came Magic Artifacts.

Low-grade Magic Artifacts could be purchased from the Magic Artifact Pavilion in an Immortal Market. Depending on factors such as whether they were new or old and their style, their prices generally fluctuated around one hundred Spirit Stones.

Mid-grade Magic Artifacts were much more expensive, usually costing around five hundred Spirit Stones.

In the cultivation world.

Generally speaking, Qi Refining Early Stage and Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivators had low cultivation levels and were not wealthy, so they basically used low-grade Magic Artifacts.

Having a matching set of low-grade offensive and defensive Magic Artifacts already put one above most cultivators during the Qi Refining Early and Middle Stages.

After all, He Song had already reached the Qi Refining Middle Stage, yet he did not possess even a single low-grade Magic Artifact.

The other cultivators in the Immortal Market were basically the same.

Only Rogue Cultivators, burdened by the pressure of survival outside, would grit their teeth and acquire protective Magic Artifacts for themselves as early as the Qi Refining Early Stage.

Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators, on the other hand, had ample spiritual power and basically used mid-grade Magic Artifacts.

The Magic Artifacts Wei Fan had replaced three years ago had been a matching set of mid-grade offensive and defensive Magic Artifacts.

Among Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators, that was already a normal standard.

As for high-grade and top-grade Magic Artifacts.

They were basically only considered after Foundation Establishment.

They were too expensive and required too much spiritual power, so Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators generally would not purchase them.

Of course, some Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators did use high-grade Magic Artifacts, but high-grade Magic Artifacts consumed an excessive amount of spiritual power. They were generally kept as trump cards and could only be used for a few strikes.

Spells.

Spirit Talismans.

Magic Artifacts.

All three of these methods of protecting the Dao required vast quantities of Spirit Stones.

After carefully considering the matter, He Song decided that for now, he would first thoroughly comprehend the Array Dao Primer and set up the simplest Spirit Gathering Array to increase his cultivation speed.

Afterward, he would spend Spirit Stones to learn spells and purchase Spirit Talismans.

Once he had an ample supply of Spirit Stones, he would buy Magic Artifacts.

That way, he would neither delay the improvement of his cultivation nor neglect improving his ability in combat.

Simply perfect!

Although his combat power could not be improved for the time being.

The Immortal Market was still relatively safe. With Foundation Establishment Real Persons protecting it, its safety was extremely high so long as no massive upheaval occurred.

Having made his decision, He Song poured himself a cup of tea and waited in the small courtyard for Wei Fan to return.

Night fell.

He Song set down his teacup, and a trace of worry gradually arose in his heart.

Wei Fan had been gone for so long, yet he still had not returned.

Could it be...

An unpleasant thought flashed through his mind. He Song looked at the sky outside the courtyard, now completely dark, and gradually furrowed his brow.

That should not be possible. Wei Fan was a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, and he had just replaced his Magic Artifacts. He did not lack Spirit Talismans either.

Against a Chen Zhou at Qi Refining Layer 4, there was no way he could capsize in a gutter, right?

The gap in their strength was enormous.

However, just as He Song was beginning to lose his patience and was about to release a Sound Transmission Paper Crane to investigate.

Two figures appeared before the courtyard gate.

The two had their arms slung around each other's shoulders, looking as excited as though they had not seen each other in ages.

At first glance, He Song thought they were two drunkards.

But after looking more closely, delight appeared on his face.

Thud, thud, thud.

Accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, He Song quickly arrived at the courtyard gate.

He opened it.

"Brother Wei, Old Meng, what is this?" Looking at the two men with their arms around each other's shoulders, He Song first ushered them into the courtyard before asking.

That was right. The two figures with their arms around each other's shoulders were Wei Fan and Meng Guan.

Meng Guan, who had spent three years at the Red Spirit Gold Mine without a word of news, was now standing alive and well before He Song.

Moreover, he had returned together with Wei Fan.

The sight before him filled He Song with questions.

Naturally, after ushering the two into the courtyard, he immediately began asking about it.

"Sit down, sit down. Let's sit and talk slowly." Wei Fan smiled as he led the two of them up to the pavilion.

Once the three had sat down and each had a cup of tea before them.

Wei Fan pointed at Meng Guan and began explaining to He Song.

"I left the Immortal Market this time to kill Chen Zhou, didn't I? After I had someone drive Chen Zhou out of the Immortal Market, he was like a loach, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye."

"Fortunately, he ran into me. I humbly happened to acquire a tracking technique three years ago. After using it, I followed the direction in which he had fled and pursued him for half the day."

"I don't know how many li I traveled from the Immortal Market. Only when the sky began to darken did I finally catch up to him and kill him."

"By a stroke of coincidence, while I was grinding his bones to dust and scattering his ashes as you suggested, someone happened to pass by."

"Originally, I was thinking of killing two birds with one stone, but that person called me Brother Wei."

"So, we came back together."

Wei Fan looked at Meng Guan beside him. As he spoke, his expression could not help turning somewhat strange.

He had not expected it either.

Just after he had killed someone and was grinding the man's bones to dust and scattering his ashes as He Song had suggested, he had happened to run into Meng Guan, who had just left the Red Spirit Gold Mine and was preparing to return to the Immortal Market to find him.

At the time, Meng Guan had even asked with a puzzled expression what he was doing.

What else could he be doing? Destroying the corpse and erasing the traces.