Eighth Qi Refining Layer, Entering the Ghost Market Again

After seeing Lin Qingxuan off, Qin Huaian did not dwell on it any further. His foremost priority now was to raise his cultivation and strength.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than seven months had passed.

During this time, after deducing the Spirit Tempering Formula, both Qin Huaian's Mirror Body and true body devoted all their time to cultivating the Yi Wood True Formula and the Spirit Tempering Formula.

Qin Huaian took one True Essence Pill every day, supplementing his cultivation of the perfected Yi Wood True Formula.

On this day, the spiritual power within his body surged, finally breaking through the barrier of the Eighth Qi Refining Layer. His Dantian expanded further as the spiritual power around him flooded madly into his body, transforming into his own spiritual power and filling the enlarged Dantian.

The Eighth Qi Refining Layer!

As his cultivation rose, his Divine Sense, which had already reached the limit of the Inner Vision Realm, seemed to break through some kind of barrier. It left his body and expanded to a range of one zhang around him.

The second stage of Divine Sense, the Perception Realm! A Divine Sense realm that only Foundation Establishment cultivators could attain—Qin Huaian had reached it upon breaking through to the Eighth Qi Refining Layer!

Qin Huaian closed his eyes and used his Divine Sense to perceive the things around him. Everything became incomparably clear. Unlike seeing directly with his eyes, Divine Sense could detect the tiniest details, and it perceived in all directions without a single blind spot.

Once cultivators reached Foundation Establishment, their Divine Sense could leave their bodies and sense the surrounding environment. Its range would gradually expand alongside their cultivation.

Yet Qin Huaian could already project his Divine Sense beyond his body, sensing an area within one zhang around him. His Divine Sense could not only grow with his cultivation, but could also be directly strengthened through cultivating the Spirit Tempering Formula.

Now that his Divine Sense had reached the Perception Realm, he wondered whether he could refine second-grade pills.

Not only second-grade pills—second-grade talismans also required the assistance of Divine Sense. He wondered whether he could now craft second-grade talismans. If he could, it would be tremendously important for strengthening his current ability to protect himself.

It could be said that with Divine Sense, many things that had once been impossible were now unlocked.

A few days later, it was once again the day the Ghost Market opened.

After more than half a year of lying low, no one in the West City Ghost Market should still be paying attention to the Breakthrough Essence Pills he had once sold.

After arriving at the Ghost Market, everything was as usual.

Qin Huaian casually rented a stall and laid out twenty-six Breakthrough Essence Pills in a neat row.

It had been a long time since the Ghost Market had seen someone selling so many Breakthrough Essence Pills at once. Qin Huaian's stall quickly drew a large crowd.

The cultivators all asked about the price of the Breakthrough Essence Pills.

"Breakthrough Essence Pills, thirteen thousand Spirit Stones each. If you can sell Essence-Breaking Herb to me, you'll receive priority purchasing rights for Breakthrough Essence Pills. I'm buying Essence-Breaking Herb for three thousand Spirit Stones each," Qin Huaian called out to the crowd.

At that shout, even more cultivators gathered around.

The Breakthrough Essence Pills were still as sought-after as ever. Before long, Qin Huaian's pills had sold out completely.

He received a total of three hundred and fourteen thousand Spirit Stones, as well as eight stalks of Essence-Breaking Herb.

After selling the Breakthrough Essence Pills, Qin Huaian quickly blended into the crowd in the Ghost Market's trading hall.

He had already visited the Ghost Market several times and had gained a general understanding of it.

There was an enormous variety of goods sold in the Ghost Market, all of it random. Since everything was sold by individuals, every Ghost Market brought plenty of new and unusual items.

He planned to see whether he could find a better pill furnace. The one he currently used was nearly unable to meet his alchemy needs. If he tried refining second-grade pills, his current pill furnace would certainly be inadequate.

Qin Huaian made a round through the hall but found no pill furnaces for sale. It seemed he would have to buy one from a shop in New Peace City.

As noon approached, some people gradually began leaving the Ghost Market trading hall. He too prepared to mingle among them and leave the Ghost Market. Just then, he suddenly spotted a stall with a talisman brush and several talismans.

There were not many talismans, only seven or eight or so, and the talisman brush was not new either, bearing traces of use.

Qin Huaian walked up to the stall. "Fellow Daoist, how much are these talismans?"

Seeing a customer approach, the stall owner perked up as well. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist. These six first-grade talismans are all high-grade first-grade talismans, one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones each. These two second-grade talismans are one thousand Spirit Stones each."

Qin Huaian took a look. The first-grade talismans included three Explosive Flame Talismans, two Entangling Talismans, and one Ice Spike Talisman. The second-grade talismans were a Lightning-Drawing Talisman and a Slowing Talisman.

The Lightning-Drawing Talisman could summon the power of lightning to strike enemies, and its offensive power was formidable. The Slowing Talisman could slow an enemy's movements, buying time for its user.

Both were exceptionally useful talismans, and the price this cultivator was asking was not high.

"Fine, I'll take all these talismans. Could you give me a slight discount, Fellow Daoist?" Qin Huaian asked. Saving where he could was always best.

After thinking for a moment, the cultivator said, "If Fellow Daoist takes them all, I can reduce the price by two hundred Spirit Stones. I'll take two thousand seven hundred Spirit Stones."

Qin Huaian did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the talisman brush and examined it.

Seeing that Qin Huaian was also interested in the talisman brush, the cultivator selling it said, "Although this talisman brush isn't brand-new, it was made from the tail fur of a second-grade Silver Moon Wolf King. It is a second-grade talisman brush. If Fellow Daoist is interested, I can sell it to you for eight thousand Spirit Stones."

The price was fairly reasonable. After some thought, Qin Huaian said, "I'll take all the Spiritual Talismans and the talisman brush. Would Fellow Daoist be willing to part with them for ten thousand Spirit Stones?"

"If not, then I'll only take the Spiritual Talismans," Qin Huaian added when he saw the cultivator hesitate.

"Fine! We'll do as Fellow Daoist says. Ten thousand Spirit Stones, and Fellow Daoist can take everything." The cultivator considered it before agreeing.

"Straightforward!" Qin Huaian took out the Spirit Stones and handed them to the cultivator.

After obtaining the talismans and talisman brush, Qin Huaian followed the crowd out of the Ghost Market.

Qin Huaian arrived at a shop called the Hall of Myriad Treasures in the central area of West City. It shared the same name as the Hall of Myriad Treasures in Cloudfield Market, so it was probably a branch of the same shop.

After entering the Hall of Myriad Treasures, Qin Huaian asked a clerk to show him pill furnaces.

Qin Huaian looked around. Most of the pill furnaces were mid-grade Dharma Artifacts, while some were high-grade Dharma Artifacts.

Pointing at a high-grade Dharma Artifact pill furnace similar in style to the one he currently used, he asked, "How much is this pill furnace?"

"You have a good eye, honored customer. This is an extremely high-quality high-grade Dharma Artifact pill furnace, made by Master Ouyang. It has a high success rate when refining second-grade pills and can even refine third-grade pills. It costs only twenty-five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Qin Huaian did not know who Master Ouyang was. The pill furnace he had bought from the Hall of Myriad Treasures last time had been very convenient to use, so he chose to buy from them again.

"Fine, I'll take this one." He then paid the clerk and stored the pill furnace in his storage pouch.

Qin Huaian added, "I also want some talisman paper and spiritual ink."

"Certainly, honored customer. This way, please. What grades of talisman paper and spiritual ink would you like?" The clerk led Qin Huaian to the area selling talisman paper and spiritual ink.

"I want one hundred sheets each of first-grade and second-grade talisman paper, as well as two bottles each of first-grade and second-grade spiritual ink."

"First-grade talisman paper costs one Spirit Stone per sheet, second-grade talisman paper costs ten Spirit Stones per sheet, first-grade spiritual ink costs one hundred Spirit Stones per bottle, and second-grade spiritual ink costs one thousand Spirit Stones per bottle. The total is two thousand two hundred Spirit Stones."

After buying everything, Qin Huaian returned to the cave dwelling he had rented.

He planned to cultivate a few more supplementary techniques before returning to the sect. He had been away for nearly a year already.