Only after three days did Chen Ming surface in the river. He poked his head out and looked around, letting out a long breath of relief only when he saw no sign of Zhao Qian. A few breaths later, he submerged again, removed his mask, and put it back in his Storage Bag. He even changed out of his night clothes before continuing through the water.
He had no idea how much time had passed before he felt he must have shaken off his pursuer. Slowly, Chen Ming raised his head above the water. Looking around, he discovered that he had actually reached the coast.
A fleet of fishing boats lay moored offshore, while quite a few mortals bustled along the shore, unloading cargo from the boats.
Chen Ming slowly walked ashore, still glancing around from time to time. At the slightest rustle of wind or grass, he would flee immediately. Only after observing his surroundings and confirming that there was nothing here but a group of mortals did he gradually lower his guard.
He found a somewhat older man among the mortals and asked a few questions, only to learn that this place was actually within Tianxing City's territory.
Once he had learned the basics about the area, Chen Ming flew off on his sword.
Not long after passing through Tianxing City, he spotted Tianxing Market. Chen Ming stopped his sword flight and headed toward the market.
Chen Ming lowered his flight light, landed, and put away his flying sword before walking toward the market at an unhurried pace.
The market was considerably larger than he had expected. From a distance, he could see a massive pavilion, two to three hundred feet tall, towering over its center. A huge silver plaque hung on the pavilion, the words "Stardust Pavilion" shimmering with faint spiritual light in the sunshine, clearly visible even from several miles away.
Surrounding the pavilion were numerous buildings barely a tenth of its height, radiating outward. The entire market had a neat, orderly layout, clearly the work of a formation master.
Chen Ming nodded inwardly. The Tianxing Sect had built its foundation on the art of formations, so such grandeur in a market under its control was hardly surprising.
He walked slowly into the market's outskirts. The bluestone road beneath his feet was smooth and clean, with shops packed side by side like scales on a fish. Some flew banners marked "Artifact Refining," with samples of magical artifacts displayed outside, their spiritual light flickering. Others bore signs reading "Talismans," and vermilion talisman patterns could faintly be seen through their paper windows.
Occasionally, cultivators passed him in twos and threes. Some hurried along, while others lingered outside shops, looking around and conversing in low voices.
Chen Ming took everything in without betraying any reaction.
After walking for roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Chen Ming's gaze settled on an inconspicuous shop at a street corner. Its storefront was small, and an old wooden plaque hung above the door, bearing the words "Hundred Herbs Hall." The lettering was somewhat worn, suggesting that the shop had been there for many years.
The door stood half-closed. Through the gap, he could see shelves crowded with jade boxes and porcelain bottles of every size, and a faint medicinal fragrance drifted out.
After a moment's consideration, Chen Ming pushed open the door and entered.
The shop was dimly lit. Three rows of wooden shelves along the walls were densely packed with medicinal ingredients. Some were stored in transparent jade boxes, others wrapped in oiled paper, with labels listing their names and ages.
Behind the counter sat an old man in his fifties, dressed in a gray cloth robe. He had a lean face and a wisp of goatee on his chin. His head was bowed over a thin booklet, and he looked up only when he heard the door.
"What would you like, fellow Daoist?"
The old man set down his booklet and offered a practiced smile, his eyes quickly sweeping over Chen Ming. His cultivation appeared to be only at the eighth or ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage, but anyone who had run a shop in Tianxing Market for so many years naturally had a discerning eye. He immediately recognized Chen Ming as a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, and his tone grew noticeably more courteous.
Chen Ming wasted no time. He approached the counter, cupped his hands, and said, "Shopkeeper, I'm looking for a few poisonous spiritual herbs. Does your shop have any in stock?"
The old man stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying evenly, "What sort of poison do you mean, fellow Daoist? My shop may be small, but we do stock some common poisonous herbs and flowers, such as heartbreak grass, aconite, and datura, ranging from ten to a hundred years old. If you're after something more potent, that will depend on exactly what you want."
Chen Ming shook his head dismissively. "Those are too ordinary. I'm looking for spiritual herbs and medicines, preferably varieties containing yin-cold or paralytic poisons. The older, the better."
At this, the old man's expression grew slightly more serious, and he looked Chen Ming over again. Still, he asked no further questions. He simply stood, said, "Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist," and went into the storeroom at the back.
While waiting, Chen Ming wandered casually around the shop, his gaze passing over the medicinal ingredients on the shelves. The hundred-year-old Solomon's seal, lingzhi, and fleeceflower root were all of decent quality, and their prices were fair.
In a corner stood several sealed black earthenware jars, with talismans pasted over their openings. Faint fluctuations of spiritual energy emanated from them. They probably contained some sort of living medicinal ingredient.
After roughly half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the old man emerged from the storeroom carrying three jade boxes of different sizes, which he carefully set on the counter.
"Please take a look, fellow Daoist. These three are the finest poisonous spiritual herbs my shop can currently offer." As he spoke, the old man opened the first jade box.
Inside lay a pitch-black herb about the size of a palm. Its leaves were thick and fleshy, edged with dark purple markings, and it gave off a faint, sickly-sweet scent.
Chen Ming leaned closer for a look. The veins formed a strange, netlike pattern, resembling black blood vessels spread across the surfaces of the leaves.
"This is a hundred-year-old blackleaf aconite. It grows in places of extreme yin, nourished by the emanations of rotting corpses, and contains a deadly poison. If an ordinary cultivator gets even a drop of its sap on them and fails to neutralize it within an hour, their entire body will become paralyzed, and they will die. It is often used to refine poison pills that counter fire-attribute cultivation techniques, and can also be used to temper magical artifacts with yin-cold properties."
The old man explained, a measure of pride in his voice as he gave his introduction.
Chen Ming nodded without immediately expressing an opinion, then turned his gaze to the second jade box.
The second jade box opened to reveal a section of withered vine, only as thick as a finger and about half a foot long. Its surface was covered in fine cracks, making it look like an utterly unremarkable dried twig. Yet when Chen Ming swept it with his spiritual sense, he detected a faint, cold yin aura flowing within, as though some living creature lay dormant inside.
"This is a three-hundred-year-old yin snake vine." The old man lowered his voice slightly. "It grows deep within underground rivers, never seeing sunlight all year round, and feeds on subterranean yin energy and the essence of poisonous insects in the water.
"Extreme care is needed when harvesting it, because tiny venomous insects called Yin Thread Worms live inside its vines. Once they enter the body, they travel through the meridians, devouring spiritual power, and are exceedingly difficult to remove. Its greatest use is in making Spirit-Dissolving Powder, which targets high-level cultivators. Anyone afflicted with this poison will rapidly lose spiritual power within a short time, greatly diminishing their combat strength."
An almost imperceptible gleam flashed through Chen Ming's eyes. This yin snake vine was a fine ingredient, especially given the effects of Spirit-Dissolving Powder, which were exactly what he needed. His face remained impassive, however, and he merely said, "Not bad. Let's see the third one."
Seeing Chen Ming's muted reaction, the old man found it difficult to gauge the depths of this Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. Still, he opened the third jade box as requested.
The moment the third jade box opened, a pungent, sour stench filled the air.
Inside was a black mass covered in a layer of viscous black liquid. Tiny bubbles constantly rose from it, as though a living creature were breathing.
"Is this... bone-corroding venom?"
Chen Ming stared at the mass for a while before asking with some uncertainty.
The old man raised his thumb. "You truly have exceptional knowledge, fellow Daoist! This is indeed bone-corroding venom, extracted from a fourth-rank demonic beast, a Venom Marsh Toad. Its purity is extremely high.
"This substance is fiercely poisonous. On contact, it rots flesh and eats away bone. Even the protective spiritual light of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator cannot withstand its corrosion.
"However, it is extremely difficult to store. A specially made jade box must be used together with sealing talismans to preserve its toxicity; otherwise, it will evaporate completely within three days. This small portion is all my shop has. A badly wounded beast hunter brought it in years ago to trade for pills that would save his life."
After inspecting the three jade boxes in turn, Chen Ming had already formed a plan. Each ingredient had its own uses. Blackleaf aconite was suitable for refining ordinary poison pills, yin snake vine could be used to prepare Spirit-Dissolving Powder, and bone-corroding venom was an excellent material for making the single-use offensive magical artifact known as the Venom Burst Pearl.
These things were probably expensive, though. He would have to consider whether he had enough Spirit Stones.
"Shopkeeper, name your price for these three."
Chen Ming spoke bluntly.
The old man rubbed his hands, a troubled expression appearing on his face. "Fellow Daoist, these three are all treasures my little shop keeps at the bottom of its chest.
"A hundred-year-old blackleaf aconite would cost at least eight hundred Spirit Stones on the market. A three-hundred-year-old yin snake vine is even rarer and would fetch no less than twelve hundred Spirit Stones. As for this bone-corroding venom, although there isn't much of it, it came from a fourth-rank demonic beast and is ready-to-use venom. It has to be worth at least a thousand Spirit Stones..."
Chen Ming said calmly, "Although the blackleaf aconite is a hundred years old, it has a short growth cycle and isn't particularly difficult to cultivate. What truly commands a high price is a king blackleaf aconite over five hundred years old. A hundred-year-old specimen is worth six hundred Spirit Stones at the very most.
"Yin snake vine is indeed rare, but yours is clearly a broken section, not a complete plant, which greatly reduces its value. Nine hundred Spirit Stones at most. As for the bone-corroding venom, venom from a fourth-rank Venom Marsh Toad is certainly hard to come by, but this portion hasn't been stored particularly well, and it has already lost some of its potency. Eight hundred Spirit Stones is a fair price."
The old man listened in stunned silence. He had never expected the young cultivator before him to know the medicinal ingredient market so thoroughly. Every sentence hit the mark, leaving him no room to argue. He had hoped to make a little extra profit, but it seemed he had met an expert.
With a helpless expression, the old man gave a wry smile and cupped his hands. "Since you've laid everything bare, fellow Daoist, I won't conceal anything either. If you genuinely want these three ingredients, take them for twenty-five hundred Spirit Stones. Consider it the beginning of a friendship. If you need any unusual medicinal ingredients in the future, please come to my shop. I'll be sure to give you the best price."
In the end, Chen Ming bought all three medicinal ingredients and put them in his Storage Bag before leaving the shop. He then browsed the market some more, purchasing over a dozen poisons with different effects before departing Tianxing Market.