Traitor to the Sect

With Shi Shou dead, the threat weighing on Song Wen was removed, and he is now displaying a cultivation level of Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

Using the speed of Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivator and employing Flight Technique, it took Song Wen half a quarter of an hour to reach the External Affairs Hall.

Seeing that the External Affairs Hall was still open, Song Wen's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly walked into the hall.

There was still a steward inside the hall, tidying up his desk, seemingly preparing to leave duty.

The steward was an old-looking male cultivator with Qi Refinement level of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

"Sir, I am Extreme Yin, an outer disciple. This is my disciple token. I'm here to receive this year's sect mission."

Song Wen respectfully handed the disciple's token to the old man.

The old man did not accept the disciple token handed to him by Song Wen, nor did he even raise his eyes. It was as if he was in a bad mood because someone had come to do business at his off-duty time and had delayed him. He spoke in a somewhat impatient tone.

"Go back. All sect missions have been cancelled. There are no more missions this year."

"All field missions canceled! How is this possible?"

Song Wen gasped softly, as if he didn't believe what the old man said.

Then, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he continued.

"Then aren't we disciples who haven't yet done this year's field missions getting a huge advantage?"

The old man finally tidied up the table, looked up at Song Wen, and a smile also appeared on his face.

"Not having to do sect missions is indeed a good thing. I haven't done any missions this year either. Every mission is fraught with danger. It's safer to stay in the sect."

Seeing that the old man had spoken to him, Song Wen seized the opportunity and continued to ask questions.

"Senior brother, do you know why the sect suddenly canceled all outings?"

The old man shook his head and scoffed, "How could this be something I could possibly know? Such important sect matters require at least Foundation Establishment Realm elder to be qualified to participate."

After a brief chat, Song Wen took his leave.

He was now certain that something big was about to happen to the Corpse Demon Sect.

The cancellation of the sect's mission outside the sect also confirms what Chen Feihe said.

Song Wen descended the mountain and headed straight for the market.

Since leaving the sect is not permitted through official channels, Song Wen planned to try and see if he could leave the sect privately.

Since Chen Feihe said that Rogue Cultivator still have a chance to leave the Corpse Demon Sect's territory, then infiltrating among Rogue Cultivator should allow them to leave the sect.

Upon entering the market, Song Wen noticed that the number of patrolling guards had increased several times over, and there were even Foundation Establishment cultivators among them.

There were still many Rogue Cultivator coming and going in the market, and they were not hindered from leaving the market.

Song Wen stood not far from the exit of the market, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

He was unsure whether or not to leave the sect at this moment.

Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly received a message from the sect.

"From this day forward, all disciples are forbidden from leaving the sect. Disciples who are outside the sect must return immediately. Anyone who disobeys this order will be considered a traitor and will be punished for the crime of treason."

Upon seeing the message from the sect, Song Wen immediately abandoned the idea of leaving the sect.

Leaving the sect is considered treason, and he wouldn't challenge the sect's authority at this time.

With chaos looming, the Corpse Demon Sect needs to establish its authority, and he has no intention of becoming the chicken to be killed as a warning to others.

When Song Wen received this sect message, the other disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect also received it at the same time.

Instantly, the Corpse Demon Sect disciples coming and going in the market began to discuss among themselves in small groups.

Most people wore expressions of worry.

Meanwhile, some astute individuals were already heading to shops selling various talismans, elixirs, and Law Artifact.

Song Wen immediately went into a shop that sold Cultivation Resources.

"Fellow Daoist, how much is Yin Baleful Dew?"

"Reporting to Senior, one bottle costs nine hundred Spirit Stone!"

The shopkeeper was a shrewd-looking middle-aged cultivator Qi Refinement the eighth level of Qi Refining. Hearing Song Wen inquire about the price, he replied.

Although Song Wen's cultivation level was disguised as the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, which was lower than the shopkeeper's, the shopkeeper, being astute, deduced that Song Wen was most likely a Foundation Establishment expert who had concealed his aura because he immediately asked about Yin Baleful Dew, a substance typically used by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Even if Song Wen didn't conceal his aura, it wouldn't be a loss for him to call him "senior," as long as the business deal could be made.

"So expensive? I only bought eight hundred Spirit Stone yesterday," Song Wen said with some dissatisfaction.

"Hey-hey!"

The shopkeeper said with a forced smile.

"Don't think it's too expensive, senior. The price will go up again in less than an hour."

Song Wen cursed inwardly, "What a swindler!"

Clearly, the shopkeeper was aware that the Corpse Demon Sect had forbidden its disciples from leaving the sect and had recalled all disciples who were outside.

Something big must be happening at the Corpse Demon Sect soon, which is why they're taking this opportunity to raise prices and make a fortune in Spirit Stone.

"Give me three bottles!"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper smiled knowingly, making Song Wen want to punch him in the face.

"You have Gengjin Stone and Silver-Shining Stone here, right? Give me five of each."

"Yes, please wait a moment, senior."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed and turned to go into the backyard to fetch the spiritual materials for Song Wen.

After leaving the shop, Song Wen went into another shop and sold five bottles of Essence Blood.

After that, he went into a pill shop and bought the Upper Profound Pill, which is used by Foundation Establishment, as well as healing pills and Spirit-Replenishing Pill.

Then, he went into a talisman shop...

Song Wen spent a full quarter of an hour wandering around more than twenty shops, buying various pills and spiritual materials for cultivation, and selling fifty bottles of Essence Blood.

He earned nearly seven thousand Spirit Stone from selling his Essence Blood, and spent over twenty thousand Spirit Stone on various spiritual materials and pills. He had basically spent all the Spirit Stone he carried.

The spiritual materials he purchased with a huge amount of Spirit Stone are enough to ensure he won't lack Cultivation Resources for the next year.

Song Wen noticed that the various Spirit Artifact shops were also doing brisk business. Remembering the various Law Artifact he had obtained in the secret realm, he decided to take advantage of the chaos and sell them.

Back in the cave abode, he took out the two storage rings from the niche in the Corpse Baleful Well.

The two storage rings contained 35,000 Spirit Stone, 120 bottles of Essence Blood, and countless pills, Law Artifact, talismans, and spiritual herbs used by Qi Refinement cultivators.

Song Wen does not plan to sell his Essence Blood for the time being. He has sold quite a lot of Essence Blood recently, and he is worried that a sudden appearance of a large amount of Essence Blood in the market will attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

He categorized the pills, magical Law Artifact, and other items he no longer needed and placed them in six different Storage Bag.

With his Storage Bag in hand, Song Wen returned to the market.

In the market, there were many cultivators buying supplies, and just as many selling them. After all, most cultivators were short of money and lived a frugal life, so they had to sell their supplies in order to afford what they needed.

Song Wen also mingled among these people, moving from one shop to another, selling all sorts of treasures.

After changing his aura nearly fifty times and visiting no less than a hundred shops, he finally exchanged all the resources he had for Spirit Stone.

He received a much larger amount of Spirit Stone than he had expected, nearly 100,000 Spirit Stone.

Keep in mind that this was the result of the shop desperately trying to lower the price; if you were to actually buy these treasures, it would cost at least 200,000 Spirit Stone.

With the large sum of money, Song Wen returned to his cave abode.