Extorting the Credit Peddler, Prefect Lord's Demon-Breaking Twenty-Four Mystic Pearls

Chen Lingxi quietly returned to Inlaid Gold Mountain and activated the Thorough Awakening Divine Ability!

Suddenly, the Twin Luminous Mirrors in the Void the Divine Chamber lit up.

A blazing golden sun and a silvery moon descended simultaneously, casting brilliant pillars of light upon the body whose consciousness was concentrated within the Divine Chamber.

Instantly, he felt the world turn upside down, light and shadow become chaotic, and he was swept up by an unimaginable force, falling into the churning fog deep within the Divine Chamber.

When the scene before him became clear again, Chen Lingxi was already standing in the mountains within the Divine Chamber. Two precious mirrors hung high in the sky like the sun and moon, illuminating the mountains with a clear radiance from Chen Lingxi's perspective.

He paused for a moment, and once the slight dizziness subsided, he immediately Inlaid Gold Mountain without hesitation.

"There are still three days until the Ancestral Mountain Mother Qi emerges; let's go and fleece the Credit Peddler."

Chen Lingxi never forgot the Credit Peddler.

This person is mysterious and unpredictable, possessing an endless stream of treasures, yet he insists on receiving "future treasures" as payment.

Ever since Total Perception saw this man at Ancestral Mountain, he had always felt that this Credit Peddler possessed many mysteries and wonders.

"This Credit Peddler is no ordinary Truth-Seekers... his strength must be extremely powerful, possibly no less than that of Consort Chun or Xi Yu."

"However, since we don't have to pay a real price in this Total Perception Divine Chamber, we can rest assured and try it out again. If we can really get treasures for free, that would be great."

He walked out of the Eastern King Palace, bent his knees and jumped, leaping dozens of feet across the mountain path, and then headed straight towards the Ancestral Mountain.

Ancestral Mountain is shrouded in thick fog all year round. From a distance, it looks like a giant beast crouching on the Yuan River. The gray fog surges like waves, completely obscuring the scenery above the mountainside.

Chen Lingxi stepped into the fog. The trees on both sides of the mountain path were only vague outlines in the fog. Even the sound of the wind was blocked out. There was a deathly silence all around.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fog ahead suddenly began to churn more violently, as if something was stirring up the depths of the fog.

Chen Lingxi stopped and looked up, where she saw a stone standing by the mountain path not far away.

The rock was about half a person's height, and its entire body was grayish, just like any ordinary mountain rock that could be found anywhere in the mountains, and it was not particularly eye-catching.

Chen Lingxi naturally recognized the stone.

The last time Total Perception, the Credit Peddler emerged from this very stone.

Sure enough, in just a few breaths, a very faint ripple appeared on the stone surface, just like the water surface being disturbed by a pebble, with ripples spreading out in layers.

A thin crack appeared in the very center of the stone, from which a faint blue light shone. The crack widened and widened, and the stone surface twisted like a lump of kneaded clay. Finally, a person emerged from it.

He was already dressed as a peddler, a smile on his face.

It was Credit Peddler!

The Credit Peddler emerged from the stone and looked up at Chen Lingxi.

He still wore that sly smile on his face, his clear eyes scanning Chen Lingxi up and down. Suddenly, he stretched out his right hand and quickly tapped his thumb between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers a few times.

Chen Lingxi watched him without showing any emotion.

This time, however, the Credit Peddler frowned.

His rapidly moving fingers suddenly stopped, halting at the second joint of his middle finger.

The past ten or so breaths.

The Credit Peddler finally raised his head, and for the first time, a genuine look of surprise appeared in his clear eyes.

"Strange," he muttered to himself, then counted on his fingers again.

This time, his fingers moved faster, but his brows furrowed even deeper.

A few breaths later, the Credit Peddler lowered his hand, looked at Chen Lingxi, and the sly smile on his face had faded, replaced by a strange and inexplicable expression.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out what the person in front of him wanted.

Or perhaps, this person in front of me is just too strange.

"This person wants everything..." the Credit Peddler thought to himself in astonishment.

He had seen countless cultivators; some sought Cultivation Method, some sought elixirs, some sought Law Artifact, and some sought to prolong their lives.

Those who come to him to do business all have a predetermined desire, which he can know with a simple calculation.

But the person before him, no matter how he calculated, was nothing but chaos.

Amidst the chaos, there were many desires, making it impossible for him to calculate clearly.

"This person wants Cultivation Method, elixirs, Law Artifact, and formations; it seems he wants to possess all the good things in the world."

The Credit Peddler couldn't help but glance at Chen Lingxi a few more times, feeling that the man before him was far too greedy.

Since he couldn't calculate it, he simply stopped trying.

"I am Credit Peddler, and my cart holds countless wonders!" The Credit Peddler retracted his fingers, grinned, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what do you desire?"

Chen Lingxi feigned surprise, then lowered his head to ponder for a moment.

He was indeed thinking, and after a dozen or so breaths, Chen Lingxi remembered the upcoming battle for Mother Qi and finally looked up.

"This junior desires a treasure, the greater its power, the better."

Upon hearing this, the Credit Peddler's eyes flashed with a shrewd light, and he began calculating again with his fingers.

This time he calculated extremely quickly, tapping his thumb between his knuckles several times, and the sly smile returned to his face.

He looked up, smiling at Chen Lingxi, and asked, "How great is 'extremely powerful'?"

Chen Lingxi remained calm and said indifferently, "It would be best if we could kill the cultivators on the Heavenward Third Floor."

Upon hearing this, the Credit Peddler's smile froze.

A strange expression flickered across his handsome face, as if he wanted to laugh but couldn't, wanted to be annoyed but felt it wasn't worth it.

He looked Chen Lingxi up and down, his gaze sweeping from head to toe and back again, his eyes conveying the implication that "you're not just making fun of me."

After a long pause, the Credit Peddler finally spoke, "Fellow Daoist, you're only at the Qi Circulation Sixth Floor Qi Circulation Sixth Floor of Heavenward Third Floor?"

He paused, shook his head, and said firmly, "It's nothing short of a pipe dream."

Chen Lingxi remained expressionless, took a step back, and said, "Being able to kill Ninth Floor of Qi Circulation is not bad."

The Credit Peddler remained silent, simply watching him.

That handsome face was expressionless; it neither nodded nor shook its head, but simply stared at him quietly.

There was even a hint of helplessness in those clear eyes, as if they were watching a clueless newbie asking for an exorbitant price.

Qi Circulation Sixth Floor wants to kill Ninth Floor of Qi Circulation? Do you think you're a disciple of some True Lord, possessing Slaying-Force Cauldron?

He didn't even bother to speak.

Seeing that he remained silent, Chen Lingxi could only concede another step. "If that's the case, I can barely accept that it can defeat the Qi Circulation Seventh Floor."

This time, the Credit Peddler's helpless expression disappeared.

He nodded and smiled, "I do have a treasure here with immense power, but you'll need to exchange it for something."

Chen Lingxi nodded in agreement and, just like last time, asked what it was.

The Credit Peddler laughed again, "I'll exchange it for something you earn in the future."

Sure enough, it's that same phrase again.

Chen Lingxi's heart stirred, but she remained expressionless and nodded again.

He wasn't afraid the Credit Peddler would ask him for another treasure later; he was only afraid the peddler wouldn't agree to the deal.

Anyway, this is the Total Perception Divine Chamber), so no matter what the Credit Peddler wants, you don't have to actually pay Credit Peddler.

Seeing that he readily agreed, the Credit Peddler's smile grew even brighter.

He reached into his robe and pulled out a wooden box from the inside of his shorts.

The wooden box was no bigger than the palm of my hand, with a dark wood color and no carvings. Only a small copper clasp was inlaid at the seam. It looked like an old wooden box used by ordinary people to store odds and ends, and was not particularly eye-catching.

The Credit Peddler handed the wooden box to Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi took the wooden box, and with a gentle flick of her finger on the copper clasp, the lid popped open.

There were twenty-four beads lying in the box.

The beads were about the size of a thumb, dark gold in color, and smooth as a mirror, gleaming with a clear, cold light in the mist.

Each bead is engraved with intricate and mysterious patterns, which are interwoven with each other and seem to flow with spiritual light, as if a net of spiritual light has been woven on the bead.

What alarmed Chen Lingxi even more was that these twenty-four beads seemed to resonate with each other in a strange way, as if they were not independent entities, but different parts of a complete set of Law Artifact, and the loss of any one of them would greatly reduce the overall power.

"This is the [Prefect Lord's Demon-Breaking Twenty-Four Mystic Pearls for Exorcising Demons]," the Credit Peddler's voice came from the side, tinged with a hint of smugness. "I obtained it by observing the treasures of a great figure and imitated his divine intent."

This treasure only requires a tiny wisp of Spiritual Qi to activate instantly. Once unleashed, all twenty-four beads will fire simultaneously, as if the demon-slaying power of twenty-four local deities descended at the same time. Its power is so great that it can help you surpass your esteemed Seventh Floor cultivator."

He paused here, his tone suddenly shifting, a hint of regret in his voice. "But after this, these twenty-four Mystic Pearl will vanish into thin air, carried away by the wind."

Chen Lingxi looked down at the twenty-four dark gold beads in the box, and then picked up another one.

The bead felt slightly heavy in my hand and cool to the touch, like holding a pebble scooped up from the depths of a cold pool.

He tried to inject a tiny wisp of spiritual energy into it, and in an instant, the patterns on the Mystic Pearl seemed to be ignited, turning from dark gold to brilliant gold, then from brilliant gold to blazing white, and finally settling on a nearly transparent pale golden light.

At the same time, the remaining twenty-three Mystic Pearl in the box also lit up, like twenty-four tiny stars shining brightly in the mist.

Chen Lingxi felt a heavy, mysterious power flowing between the twenty-four Mystic Pearl, like twenty-four small streams merging into the same lake, the water level rising higher and higher, until it would turn into a devastating torrent once the sluice gate was opened.

He quickly withdrew his spiritual energy, and the light on the twenty-four Mystic Pearl receded like a tide, instantly returning to their original dark golden appearance.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

It can only be used once.

This is not surprising.

The treasure that allowed him, with his cultivation at the Qi Circulation Sixth Floor, to surpass Qi Circulation Seventh Floor expert, could not possibly be an ordinary item. If it could be used repeatedly, it would be a true treasure, and it would not have fallen into his hands so easily.

"In that case, the deal is done."

"Fellow Daoist, we will only trade once. The next time we meet will be when I come to collect that treasure."

Seeing that he had accepted the goods, the Credit Peddler's smile grew even brighter. He cupped his hands in greeting, took a step back, and his figure, like dissipating mist, inch by inch sank into the rocks behind him.

A moment later, the stone returned to its original dusty appearance, and no longer showed any abnormality.

Chen Lingxi put the wooden box into his Hongdong Bag, then turned and left.

After the Credit Peddler sank into the stone, he did not leave immediately.

He sat cross-legged in a dark Void, surrounded by a strange space woven from countless fine specks of light and mist.

The sly smile on his face had vanished, replaced by confusion.

He did a quick calculation with his fingers, then another, his clear eyes filled with surprise.

He muttered to himself, "I made a pact with that person to obtain the Six-Qi True Method! I clearly calculated that someone in this Cave Heaven might need this wondrous method! Why hasn't that person come yet..."

He shook his head again, sighed, and said, "How strange..."

Before he finished speaking, his figure completely disappeared into the dark Void, leaving only a few wisps of extremely faint gray mist that lingered on the surface of the rocks for a moment before vanishing completely.

Chen Lingxi away the Ancestral Mountain, but did not immediately descend it.

Standing at the Ancestral Mountain, gazing at the mountain shrouded in thick fog, a thought suddenly came to mind.

"The Mother Qi will be born in three days. He might as well familiarize himself with the terrain of this Ancestral Mountain first, so that he will have a better chance of winning the battle later."

With this in mind, he didn't delay any longer. He took a deep breath, and his Qi and Blood from the Jade Jade-Qi Realm and the spiritual Qi from the Qi Circulation Sixth Floor began to circulate simultaneously.

These two forces coexisted harmoniously within him, causing his Qi and Blood to surge like boiling water, and his spiritual energy to flow like a stream, transforming into a vortex, thus increasing his speed to an astonishing level.

With a light tap of his toes on the ground, his body rose several feet into the air, leaping more than ten feet away. His robes were filled with wind and fluttered in the wind. He was like a wisp of green smoke flying close to the ground, moving swiftly through the thick fog.

Ancestral Mountain is not considered vast; from its foot to its summit, it is only a few miles in circumference.

Chen Lingxi walked through many corners of Ancestral Mountain, carefully memorizing them.

It took five or six hours to roughly figure out the terrain of this mountain.

The mountain has three main peaks, arranged in a triangular shape.

Between the three main peaks lies a bottomless canyon, where the fog is thickest, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face.

Several streams flow along the mountainside, their waters clear and jade-like, appearing and disappearing in the mist.

The mountaintop is extremely flat, like an inverted bowl, with several gnarled old pines growing on it. The pine needles are lush and green, showing no signs of withering or turning yellow on this fog-shrouded mountaintop.

He memorized the rocks, caves, cliffs, and dense forests one by one until he was sure he knew them by heart before he descended the mountain.

By the time we returned to the cliffside cave on Inlaid Gold Mountain, night had fallen.

Outside the cave, the north wind was like a knife, swirling up snowflakes that lashed against the cliff face with a rustling sound.

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged on the flat bluestone in the center of the cave, closed his eyes and concentrated, his consciousness sinking into his Universe Bag.

He reached into the bag and pulled out a jar from his hand.

It was that Cauldron Artifact Fragment, the Taotie Urn!