Primordial Spirit Orb

Normally, cultivators had to step into the Spirit Transformation realm before they were qualified to give birth to a Primordial Spirit and obtain all manner of extraordinary divine abilities.

Even amid the golden age of cultivation ten thousand years ago, such figures could be called great cultivators.

The Primordial Spirit Orb in Shen Yuan's hand was true to its name—a special treasure capable of allowing someone to give birth to a Primordial Spirit out of thin air.

However, unlike the Primordial Spirits born from great cultivators of the Spirit Transformation realm, the Primordial Spirit produced by refining a Primordial Spirit Orb was not a true Primordial Spirit in the strict sense.

It was more like divine sense gathered together and sublimated, creating a false Primordial Spirit that possessed some of a true Primordial Spirit's traits.

It had only some of a Primordial Spirit's characteristics, yet could not wield its various divine abilities.

But that did not mean the Primordial Spirit Orb was useless.

At the very least, for cultivators below the Spirit Transformation realm, the Primordial Spirit Orb was still an exceedingly rare supreme treasure. It allowed one to refine a false Primordial Spirit in advance and thereby comprehend some of the traits of the Spirit Transformation realm.

The reason Shen Yuan knew so much about the Primordial Spirit Orb was that someone had recorded in the Falling Cloud Sect's diaries that the reward for first place in the Falling Cloud Sect's sect tournament had once been a Primordial Spirit Orb.

Those who could participate in the Falling Cloud Sect's sect tournament ten thousand years ago were basically inner disciples who had stepped onto the path of becoming Qi cultivators.

Once they claimed first place in the tournament and obtained a Primordial Spirit Orb, they could use its effects to enter the Spirit Transformation realm at the fastest possible speed and gain the qualifications to contend for a place in the True Transmission Hall.

So while the Primordial Spirit Orb might only have been a reward for the sect tournament, what it represented was practically equivalent to a true transmission seat.

And that had been during the golden age of cultivation ten thousand years ago. In the resource-starved era ten thousand years later, the value of a Primordial Spirit Orb would inevitably be even greater.

When Shen Yuan saw the relevant information, he had coveted one for a long time.

He had never expected that, after taking part in the Ghost Market, he would actually obtain a Primordial Spirit Orb. To Shen Yuan, it was a treasure no amount of gold could buy.

He contentedly stored it in his storage ring, and the gloom brought on by fleeing the Ghost Market somewhat faded as well.

Surveying his surroundings, Shen Yuan abruptly discovered that the Ghost Market had long since taken him off the original route. He had no idea which desolate wilderness he was in.

Below the mountain ridge where Shen Yuan stood, large numbers of unconscious ordinary people lay sprawled in every direction. A rough count put them at several hundred.

Clearly, the Ghost Market had honored the condition Shen Yuan proposed and released the ordinary people who had been forcibly taken into it.

These ordinary people were all dressed in modern clothing. Aside from the occasional few missing arms or legs, most were in intact condition. They had merely suffered a certain degree of corrosion from the ghostly mist within the Ghost Market, leaving their complexions slightly pale.

Shen Yuan did not care much about that. Being able to leave the Ghost Market alive was already a tremendous stroke of luck for them.

If the four pavilion masters had continued tormenting them, their best possible fate would have been to turn into neither human nor ghost, becoming monsters and joining the Ghost Market.

His divine sense, strengthened by the seed of swordsmanship divine ability, easily swept across the mountain ridge. Shen Yuan found no fierce beasts, snakes, insects, or other such creatures in the area.

The Ghost Market's occupation had likely frightened off all the ordinary animals long ago. None could have remained where they were, so this place was relatively safe for the time being.

Saving people had merely been an act of following his heart. Now that matters here were settled, Shen Yuan had no reason to remain.

The Ghost Market had caused such a massive disturbance here that it would certainly draw an official investigation. Shen Yuan had no desire to come face-to-face with the authorities.

Looking at the dense sea of forest ahead, Shen Yuan, who had yet to learn the art of flight, felt a slight headache.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Yuan's gaze fell on the Maine Coon beside him.

The Maine Coon was nearly the size of a tiger, and its natural talent allowed it to move through mountain forests as if walking on level ground. Was it not the perfect means of transportation?

There were certainly no shortage of immortals riding tigers in ancient myths and legends. Shen Yuan was inclined to give it a try.

"Lie down."

The Maine Coon froze for a moment, then obediently crouched on the ground and let Shen Yuan sit on its back.

If it had been anyone else, even a cultivator stronger than the Maine Coon, the pride in its heart would have driven it to fight its enemy to the death.

But after this journey through the Ghost Market, Shen Yuan's status in the Maine Coon's heart had risen without limit. In the Maine Coon's eyes, being able to serve as Shen Yuan's mount was instead an honor.

As Shen Yuan settled onto its back, wind rose beneath the Maine Coon's paws. Borrowing the power of demonic wind, it leaped into the air and carried Shen Yuan swiftly into the distance.

Just then, someone woke from unconsciousness.

He opened his bleary eyes and saw only, beneath the bright moonlight, an immortal riding a divine and formidable tiger through the sky.

At dawn, as the sun's light had just begun to shine upon this mountain ridge, many people of differing identities had gathered in this land that should have been devoid of human presence.

There were generals of the Southern Pacification Army representing the Great Xia court, emissaries from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau stationed in the Cloud Prefecture provincial capital, consecrated cultivators of the Southern Pacification Marquis's Residence, accomplished true cultivators from Mount Laojun, and representatives of Cloud Prefecture's great clans.

Any one of these people would have been a major figure renowned throughout Cloud Prefecture, with influence that even far surpassed the borders of the prefecture itself.

Yet these great figures had gathered in this remote wilderness, their expressions grave as they looked at the barren mountain before them.

"Has the Ghost Market really left?"

"This time, the Ghost Market actually remained for less than twelve hours!"

"According to the Southern Pacification Army members who arrived first, the Ghost Market even left behind more than a hundred survivors.

"Among them were not only local residents of Cloud Prefecture, but also the group of residents taken away when the Ghost Market appeared in Liang Prefecture half a month ago."

"Apart from a very small number of residents who lost parts of their limbs, the others were completely unharmed. They did not even retain any aftereffects from the ghostly mist's corrosion."

"How is that possible?"

"The Ghost Market has existed for several thousand years. Never before has anyone heard of an ordinary person who accidentally entered it being able to walk out alive."

Amid the discussion among the many great figures, a young cultivator dressed in a Daoist robe approached from the camp that had been set up in the distance.

The discussions stopped instantly, and everyone's gaze turned toward the young cultivator.

Being watched by so many great figures, including quite a few powerful experts who had already entered the Qi Transformation realm, the young cultivator felt immense pressure.

Suppressing the palpitations in his heart, the young cultivator spoke to the Southern Pacification Army's commanding general at the center.

"Reporting to General Yu, the survivors have been temporarily settled.

"After several masters examined the survivors' souls, they confirmed that they had indeed come from the Ghost Market."

"As for why they were able to leave the Ghost Market, they themselves do not know."

Although they had already made their guesses earlier, these words still caused an uproar.

"How could that be?"

"For ordinary people to leave the Ghost Market, there must be another hidden reason!"

"Three thousand years ago, my ancestor produced a great cultivator of the Spirit Transformation realm. When his lifespan was nearing its end, he entered the Ghost Market in search of a fortuitous opportunity.

"Yet even such a great cultivator ultimately failed to leave the Ghost Market. How could that group of ordinary people possibly accomplish such a thing now?"

"The Southern Pacification Army must be concealing something. We need the truth!"