Evil Cultivator, Golden-Scaled Beast

As the setting sun sank behind the mountains, nocturnal birds deep within the range began to cry.

Riding his flying skiff, Ye Jingcheng finally caught sight of the vast bamboo forest.

Having arrived here, he finally relaxed. He stowed away the spirit stone he had been circulating to absorb in his hand.

He also put the Crimson Flame Fox and Jade Ring Rat into the spirit beast pouch.

No fighting was allowed near Taihang Marketplace.

Purple Palace cultivators were stationed here year-round. Just now, he had sensed a faint thread of divine sense trailing behind him. Though the Jade Ring Rat had not flapped its jade ears and squeaked incessantly, it had been extremely uneasy.

In the wilderness, when cultivators left in a hurry, it did not necessarily mean they had been cowed by strength. It was also possible that they had gone to call for reinforcements.

That was why Ye Jingcheng had raced here without stopping, regardless of the Qi Recovery Pills he had used up.

He descended from the spirit skiff and formed a hand seal. The bamboo grove parted, revealing a narrow path.

Passing through the path, he finally entered the marketplace. At this moment, quite a few people were moving through its streets.

This struck him as rather strange. Taihang Marketplace did not permit ordinary cultivators to stay overnight. Some cultivators, unwilling to spend spirit stones, would leave the marketplace early.

Ye Jingcheng arrived at the Ye Family shop, where several Rogue Cultivators were still asking about the prices of spirit beasts.

"Thirteenth Aunt!"

"Jingcheng, you're here. Your Eldest Uncle is in the inner courtyard!"

Ye Jingcheng went straight to the inner courtyard.

"Eldest Uncle!"

Ye Xinghe was currently examining a Golden-Scaled Beast. The Golden-Scaled Beast resembled a mountain hound, but its entire body was covered in a dense layer of golden scales. It had an attractive appearance, sharp fangs and a keen muzzle, and remarkable strength.

Even within the Ye Family, it was a highly sought-after spirit beast.

Seeing Ye Jingcheng arrive, Ye Xinghe rose to his feet.

"Jingcheng, you're here. You didn't run into any trouble on the way, did you? I hear quite a few Rogue Cultivators have gone missing lately!" Ye Xinghe asked.

At those words, Ye Jingcheng immediately recalled the three men he had encountered on the way. Judging by all those stories they had told, they had likely robbed and killed no small number of cultivators.

And there were still quite a few cultivators wandering about the marketplace now.

"Eldest Uncle, there was indeed a small mishap. I encountered three bandit cultivators, but my Crimson Flame Fox scared two of them off!" Ye Jingcheng recounted everything that had happened in full detail.

Ye Xinghe found it strange as well.

Then he looked at Ye Jingcheng.

"Open that cultivator's storage pouch and take a look!"

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng took out the storage pouch. But when he opened it, several fresh corpses lay within. As for treasures, there were few to be seen.

There were only a dozen or so scattered spirit stones and several low-grade first-tier artifacts.

The most valuable item was instead the mid-grade first-tier magic sword that the gray-robed cultivator had held while fighting him.

"Looks like an evil cultivator has emerged. These bandits were placed under a blood curse as well." Ye Xinghe frowned.

This evil cultivator clearly needed a great quantity of cultivators' flesh and blood.

"Jingcheng, if you come across treasure maps or cultivator caves lately, it would be best not to believe them. I'll take this matter to Marketplace Master Jiang of Taiyi Sect!" Ye Xinghe took the corpses, then picked up the gray-robed cultivator, and headed outside the cave dwelling.

An evil cultivator had appeared, and right around the marketplace at that. This was a major matter.

If it continued for long, it would surely affect the marketplace's profits.

Ye Jingcheng nodded, lingering fear on his face. If, that day, he had assumed that scaring off the two men meant he could stop and rest where he was, then once those two brought back the evil cultivator behind them, he truly would have faced certain death.

Fortunately, he was merely an alchemist and could remain in the marketplace at all times.

Ye Jingcheng decided that until he broke through to the late stage of Qi Refinement, he would not leave the marketplace.

Ye Jingcheng walked toward the Golden-Scaled Beast nearby. From what he had seen just now, Ye Xinghe seemed especially attentive to the Golden-Scaled Beast, which made him curious as well.

He crouched down and examined the Golden-Scaled Beast. The little beast was clearly still young. Its golden armor was still pale yellow, making it look not yet fully grown, but its eyes were exceptionally bright and filled with ferocity!

Yet what shocked him was that the treasured book within his body turned another page on its own.

On that page appeared an even larger Golden-Scaled Beast, its silhouette actually resembling a qilin. Yet the image was far too blurry to make out clearly.

Compared to the Crimson Flame Fox's nine tails dancing wildly, with heavenly flames surging to the skies, it was far inferior.

But it likewise proved that this Golden-Scaled Beast was anything but ordinary.

Ye Jingcheng's heart began to pound.

This was the second spirit beast cub he had encountered that could stir a reaction from the ancient book. The first had been the Crimson Flame Fox; this was the second.

If possible, he naturally wanted to buy it.

Though the Golden-Scaled Beast bore the words "golden scales" in its name, it was in truth an earth-element spirit beast. He possessed an earth spirit root as well. If used properly, he could choose a dual-element cultivation technique, and both spirit beasts could increase his cultivation speed.

But with his Eldest Uncle absent, it was not convenient for him to ask about the price.

Still, he estimated that it would not cost less than five hundred spirit stones. He had purchased the Crimson Flame Fox cheaply because he had gotten a bargain, but this Golden-Scaled Beast was not only extremely healthy, it also had an excellent appearance.

Most importantly, his purse was truly empty now.

He had only a little over a hundred spirit stones, and as for contribution points, he had spent them all within the family.

Unless he sold some magical artifacts.

"Jingcheng, you're here?" Ye Jingli emerged from his room as well. Seeing Ye Jingcheng arrive, he was somewhat surprised.

He then anxiously questioned Ye Jingcheng, for he knew that the Ye Family currently had no other late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators in the market district.

Coupled with the current situation...

"Sixth Brother, this trip truly was perilous!" Ye Jingcheng recounted everything to Ye Jingli once more.

Ye Jingli also shared some of his experience, which Ye Jingcheng naturally committed to heart.

He would take in good experience and combat techniques alike. As for the bad ones, he would not dismiss them as nothing.

To him, the more he understood this world of cultivation, the more cautious he needed to be.

When cultivators consumed spiritual pills, there were side effects and pill toxins. But spirit beasts that awakened their bloodlines did not have such issues. Thus, with his ancient book working alongside spirit beasts such as the Crimson Flame Fox, his future was bound to be broad and smooth.

If he capsized ahead of time through carelessness, that would be the true injustice.

After chatting for a while, Ye Jingli returned to his room. He also intended to cultivate diligently for a time, refine more magical artifacts, and trade them for a good pill in preparation for breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement.

At the same time, he bought some Spirit Feeding Pills from Ye Jingcheng.

Ever since buying spiritual pills from Ye Jingcheng, he had found that his Azure-Scaled Python had been growing exceptionally well.

Ye Jingcheng finally learned that this spirit beast had actually been left here in someone else's care by another cultivator. As for the specific circumstances, even Ye Jingli did not know much.

Seeing this, Ye Jingcheng could only let the matter rest and return to his room to cultivate and recover.

He had practically fled back in escape. Even after using a Qi Recovery Pill and spirit stones, his spiritual energy had recovered to only half its usual level. Now that he had reached safety, he naturally could not keep wasting Qi Recovery Pills to restore his spiritual energy.

He cultivated for a full two hours before his spiritual energy was completely restored. He exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his eyes became noticeably clearer.

Though the Parting Fire Art was not some high-tier cultivation technique, it was steady and solid, and it restored spiritual power remarkably quickly.

In the time ahead, Ye Jingcheng planned to begin pill refinement as soon as possible. He had discovered that after the Crimson Flame Fox used fire more often, it could now faintly fire four consecutive Fireball Techniques.

Greater power represented greater strength!

This proved that using the Crimson Flame Fox for pill refinement was the right move.