The Ancient Battlefield of the Righteous and Demonic Paths
Today happened to be the day for monthly pay. After handing over the dismembered corpse to Yuan Cheng, Song Wen received his monthly pay of thirty Spirit Stone.
For the past year and a half, Song Wen has not dared to slack off in his cultivation. Two months ago, he successfully advanced to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. It was after that that his corpse transformation gradually became more and more serious.
After advancing his Qi Refining Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, Song Wen also controlled his outward aura to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
In nearly two and a half years, he advanced to the Qi Refining Middle Stage. This is considered above average among the outer disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect. If he is lucky, he may have the opportunity to advance to the Late Qi Refinement and become inner disciple within six years of entering the sect.
After breaking through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, his treatment improved, and he received an extra ten Spirit Stones each month.
When Song Wen left the Corpse Dissection Cave, he asked Yuan Cheng for a month's leave, as he needed time to deal with the issue of corpse transformation.
Yuan Cheng readily agreed, but in his heart, he didn't believe that Song Wen would appear alive in the Corpse Demon Cave a month later; he was more likely to be gone forever.
In the past, most of the corpse exorcists who went mad in the Corpse Dissection Cave would choose to go out and seek fortuitous opportunity when they faced mental breakdown, but only one in ten actually returned alive and resolved their mental problems.
They either died in the various crises while searching for fortuitous opportunity, or their minds collapsed and they became complete zombies. Even worse, some were killed by their closest relatives or fellow disciples, becoming fortuitous opportunity for others.
After returning to his cave abode, Song Wen disguised himself, packed some things, and headed straight for the market.
On his way to the market, Song Wen found a secluded corner where no one was around. He removed the concealment of his cultivation aura from his physical body and fully revealed his Qi Refining Sixth Layer aura.
At this moment, he had transformed into a pale-faced, young, Rogue Cultivator.
After looking himself up and down, Song Wen, feeling it wasn't safe enough, took out a cloak to cover his entire body and put on a demon mask with red eyebrows and fangs before nodding in satisfaction.
Upon arriving at the market town, Song Wen entered an Inn, passed through the Inn's lobby, and came to a thatched hut in the Inn's backyard.
After showing a wooden token to the guard in front of the thatched hut, they were allowed to pass.
Upon entering the thatched hut, one is greeted by a narrow staircase leading underground. After descending the staircase for several dozen meters, the view suddenly opens up.
A large underground hall, several acres in size, came into view, with many small Cave scattered around it.
There were many cultivators coming and going in the hall, including Rogue Cultivator and disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect. Most of them concealed their appearances, so even though Song Wen was wearing a cloak and a ghost mask, he did not look out of place at all.
This is an Underground Ghost Market for cultivators, created by a Golden Core ancestor of the Corpse Demon Sect.
Here, cultivators can trade the Cultivation Resources they want, as well as buy information.
However, in these Ghost Market where cultivators trade directly, there is no guarantee of the authenticity of the goods and information; the cultivators must judge for themselves whether they are genuine or not.
In the center of the hall, there was a circular counter with several elderly men sitting behind it. They were the managers of this Ghost Market, whose main role was to facilitate transactions and information exchange between cultivators, somewhat like brokers in the secular world.
Song Wen walked up to an old man and showed him the wooden token again.
After glancing at the numbers engraved on the wooden sign, the old man left the counter and led Song Wen to one of the Cave at the edge of the hall.
More than a month ago, Song Wen was able to enter this Underground Ghost Market through the introduction of stall owner Xu Shixiong.
He spent a hundred Spirit Stone to buy information about the Sky Cicada Wood from the old man.
According to intelligence, some cultivators spotted the Sky Cicada Wood in an underground cave in the Ancient Battlefield of the Righteous and Demonic Paths. However, the Void Sky Cicada Wood was guarded by a powerful vengeful spirit, and no one was able to retrieve it.
The Ancient Battlefield is said to have been a great battle between the righteous and Evil Dao tens of thousands of years ago. The Evil Dao cultivators were no match for the righteous ones and, in an attempt to turn the tide of the battle, they plundered countless mortals and used their flesh, blood, and souls to set up the Blood God Formation, where they massacred a large number of righteous cultivators.
Tens of thousands of years have passed, and what exactly happened back then is no longer verifiable.
But the countless white bones buried in the Ancient Battlefield, the wandering ghosts, the roaming corpses everywhere, and the lingering corpse and Yin Qi all testify to the ferocity of that great battle.
Although the Ancient Battlefield is dangerous, it also hides many treasures and secrets.
Occasionally, cultivators find fragments of powerful Law Treasure left over from the great battle, while others discover Cultivation Method. Unique spirit medicine also grow within the underground caves of the Ancient Battlefield.
This led many cultivators to seek fortuitous opportunity, but most of them were Qi Refining Stage cultivators.
The Ancient Battlefield has been searched countless times by those who came before, and the truly powerful Law Treasure and Cultivation Method have long been taken away. What remains are mostly things that others have looked down upon.
Song Wen's purpose in this trip was to join an adventure team heading to the cave and seize the opportunity to obtain the Sky Cicada Wood.
This is why Song Wen wanted to reveal his full cultivation level. His cultivation level wasn't high to begin with, and if he hid it, he would easily be looked down upon by these daring and reckless individuals, which would only bring him unnecessary trouble.
The old man led Song Wen to the cave entrance and then turned and left.
Song Wen entered the Cave alone.
Inside the Cave, there were already three men and one woman, a total of four people.
Upon seeing Song Wen enter, a middle-aged male cultivator with a strong ghostly aura spoke.
"Are you the fellow Daoist with the flying boat?"
Song Wen nodded without saying a word.
Having received an affirmative answer, the middle-aged male cultivator continued.
"Alright, everyone's here. Let's all introduce ourselves."
At this moment, a burly man standing nearby stared at Song Wen and spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"Wait a minute, I, Niu Ding, never travel with cowardly fellows. Those kinds of people love to stab others in the back."
Upon hearing this, Song Wen's lips twitched, and he thought to himself: This Niu Ding is quite good at judging people.
Immediately, Song Wen removed his mask and cloak, revealing the pale face of the young cultivator.
Seeing Song Wen's cooperation, Niu Ding's displeasure disappeared, and he said.
"My name is Niu Ding, Qi Refining Seventh Layer."
The middle-aged male cultivator said, "Xuan Ye, Qi Refining Seventh Layer."
Song Wen said, "Guo Tao, Qi Refining Sixth Layer."
Without hesitation, Song Wen uttered the pseudonym 'Guo Tao'. In fact, others might not even use their real names. Among demonic cultivators, how many would reveal their true names?
At this point, only the man and woman had not yet introduced themselves.
Unlike others who intentionally distanced themselves from others, these two stood very close together, clearly indicating that they knew each other well, and that their acquaintance was one of mutual trust.
The man was of average appearance, the kind you'd easily lose in a crowd.
The woman was slender and beautiful, exuding a mature, womanly charm, but her expression was aloof and unapproachable.
The man glanced at the woman, and seeing that she didn't seem inclined to speak, he spoke up.
"My name is Lao Chun, Qi Refining Sixth Layer of Qi Refining."
He then pointed to the young woman and said, "This is my senior sister, Zi Yi, at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer."