Ghost Cultivator Family
Half an hour later, Song Wen arrived at the outskirts of the Misty Ghost Market.
He was currently at the entrance to a valley, which was shrouded in a thick fog. The deeper he went into the valley, the thicker the fog became, making everything in the valley indistinct.
According to the stall owner's memory, if you follow a path in the valley for more than ten miles, you will see the entrance to the Ghost Market located between two mountains.
Song Wen released his Divine Sense and discovered Divine Sense it could only survey an area of one mile. This fog could indeed interfere with Divine Sense.
Song Wen did not rush into the valley. Instead, he released all the Black Armor Gu. Fortunately, the fog did not interfere too much with the Black Armor Gu. With the help of the Black Armor Gu's abilities, Song Wen was able to detect everything within a six-mile radius, which put Song Wen at ease.
Stepping onto the path, Song Wen headed deeper into the valley.
The path winds and meanders forward.
The deeper they went into the valley, the thicker the fog became, and visibility was reduced to only two or three meters. The range of their Divine Sense was also constantly compressed. Gradually, their Divine Sense could only detect a hundred meters away. Even with the help of the Black Armor Gu, they could only detect a distance of about a mile.
Fortunately, nothing unusual happened along the way. Even when they occasionally encountered strangely dressed cultivators, they tacitly avoided them and no conflict occurred.
A quarter of an hour later, a mountain stream about a hundred meters wide appeared in Song Wen's perception. On both sides of the stream were dark brown rock walls of unknown height. It wasn't that the stream was at the bottom of a sheer cliff, but rather that the height of the cliff exceeded Song Wen's perception, and he couldn't determine the exact height of the cliff walls on both sides.
At the entrance to the mountain stream, there were two Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators dressed in black and wearing ghost masks. According to the short stall owner's memory, these two were the guards of the Ghost Market.
Song Wen walked up to the two guards and handed them two Spirit Stones.
A guard put away the Spirit Stones and said in a muffled voice.
"The Ghost Market closes at 5 AM; you must leave the Ghost Market before then."
Song Wen nodded and walked into the mountain stream.
After walking another hundred meters or so through the mountain stream, the view suddenly opened up before us.
On the cliffs on both sides, every ten meters or so, hung a dark red paper lantern, its crimson glow dispelling the thick fog.
Along both sides of the mountain stream, rows of simple, ancient houses stretch into the distance.
In the middle was a wide road, bustling with people, including many cultivators.
The ancient houses were shrouded in a crimson light, with wisps of mist still lingering. Combined with the strange and terrifying masks worn by the cultivators, this Mountain Ravine Ghost Market truly resembled the underworld.
Song Wen walked along the street for more than two hundred meters and entered a narrow, inconspicuous shop.
The shop had no signboard, and there were no goods displayed inside. There was only a gaunt, middle-aged monk sitting in front of the counter, playing with a black, round stone ball in his hand.
As soon as he entered the shop, Song Wen felt a Divine Sense sweep over him. He immediately became alert, realizing that this gaunt cultivator was actually a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage expert.
The Divine Sense swept over it briefly before being quickly withdrawn by the gaunt cultivator.
Song Wen was wary of him, and he was also somewhat apprehensive about Song Wen, because when he probed with his Divine Sense just now, he did not detect any spiritual energy fluctuations on Song Wen.
This situation could occur either because Song Wen's cultivation level is far superior to his; or because Song Wen has completely concealed his spiritual energy using some secret technique or treasure; or perhaps, Song Wen truly has no cultivation at all.
How could someone who has managed to reach this Misty Ghost Market be a mere mortal without any cultivation?
He was more inclined to believe that Song Wen possessed some kind of secret technique or treasure to conceal his aura; after all, to completely prevent him from sensing any spiritual energy fluctuations, one would need at least a Golden Core cultivator. Even Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator could be sensed by him. Golden Core expert coming to the black market wouldn't need to be so careful as to completely conceal his aura.
The gaunt cultivator stood up and said to Song Wen, "Fellow Daoist, what brings you to my humble shop?"
"Do you have any Profound Yin Stones here, friend?" Song Wen asked, his voice coming from beneath a bull's head mask.
The stall owner bought his Human Race Essence Blood from this small shop. Song Wen, who knew nothing about the Ghost Market, decided to try his luck at this shop first.
"Profound Yin Stone!" The gaunt cultivator's voice was filled with surprise.
That's a third-tier spiritual item, and a Yin-attribute one at that!
Could this person truly be Golden Core cultivator?
Even if he wasn't Golden Core cultivator, he should at least be a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator, otherwise he wouldn't be inquiring about the third-tier spiritual item Profound Yin Stone.
Surprised but remaining outwardly composed, the gaunt cultivator shook his head.
"Fellow Daoist, I'm sorry, I don't have any Profound Yin Stones here."
"Excuse me!" Finding nothing he needed, Song Wen turned and walked out of the shop without stopping.
Just as Song Wen was about to step out of the shop, the gaunt cultivator suddenly spoke up.
"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment."
Song Wen stopped, turned around, and asked in confusion.
"Fellow Daoist, what brings you here?"
"I know a place where there are Profound Yin Stones."
Song Wen became interested. "Oh? Fellow Daoist, are you selling information about the Profound Yin Stone?"
The gaunt cultivator shook his head. "I do know there are Profound Yin Stones there, but I don't intend to sell the information."
Song Wen's aura suddenly turned cold, and a faint killing intent permeated the air.
Before entering the Ghost Market, Song Wen concealed all his cultivation aura to give people the impression of being unfathomable.
If you're going to pretend to be an expert, then you need to have the aura of one.
"Fellow Daoist, are you kidding me?"
Seeing that the other party had misunderstood, the gaunt cultivator hurriedly explained.
"Fellow Daoist, please be patient and let me explain slowly."
"The Profound Yin Stone I mentioned belongs to a Foundation Establishment Lineage, and this Foundation Establishment has a deep- Lineage hatred for me."
"This Lineage slaughtered cultivators and mortals, extracting their souls to refine insidious and malevolent Ghost Dao Law Artifacts. Unfortunately, the town where I was born was completely wiped out by this Lineage."
"My entire family was brutally murdered and their souls were extracted. They died with their eyes wide open, never to be reincarnated. Their Yin Souls may still be trapped in some Ghost Artifact, turned into mindless vengeful spirits, suffering endless torment and unable to find peace."
The gaunt monk's tone grew increasingly agitated and angry.
He continued.
"Over the years, I have been practicing asceticism every day, all for the sake of avenging my grievances."
"This Lineage is utterly inhuman, their crimes are too numerous to count. I have already contacted thirteen cultivators who have Blood Sea with this Lineage, and we will attack Lineage soon."
"I'm telling you all this so that you can lend us a hand,"
"Firstly, we can eradicate this evil Lineage and restore peace to the world; secondly, you can also obtain the Profound Yin Stone."
Song Wen listened quietly to the other person's story, without any emotional fluctuation.
He pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Your story is tragic, but to expect me to risk my life to attack a Foundation Establishment Lineage based solely on your words seems far-fetched."
"Even if what you say is true, I truly do not have the courage to oppose a cultivation Lineage that knows nothing about them."
Song Wen's words seemed like a refusal, but in reality, they were a test. He wanted to see if he could get some detailed information about that cultivation Lineage from the gaunt cultivator.