Flowing Cloud Immortal City under the nightfall was not silent; instead, it donned a different face. The solemn pavilions of the day, illuminated by countless moonstones and neon formations, shimmered with brilliance, resembling a city that never slept. And in certain specific, shadow-shrouded corners, another, more hidden and more dangerous prosperity was just beginning.
West of the city lay a derelict old market district. Amidst broken walls and ruins, figures flickered, but there was little noise. Everyone deliberately restrained their aura, concealing their appearance with hoods or spells, like wandering phantoms. This was the renowned "Ghost Market" of Flowing Cloud Immortal City.
Ye Chen wore a loose black cloak, his hood pulled low, obscuring most of his face. Wang Tiechui remained at the inn; his physique was too conspicuous and difficult to conceal. Ye Chen, alone, relying on vague directions heard from Wind Listening Pavilion, wound his way through numerous turns and finally found this lawless place.
The air was filled with a stale, cold scent, mixed with the aroma of herbs, ores, blood, and an indescribable scent of desire belonging to underground transactions. Stalls were scattered haphazardly among the ruins, with no signs and no hawking, only stall owners sitting silently in the shadows, with a cloth casually spread before them, displaying all sorts of strange, rare, and difficult-to-distinguish items: rusted broken swords, incomplete bone fragments, strangely colored pills, statues emitting ominous fluctuations, and even some unknown organs still pulsing slightly, sealed in jade boxes…
Buyers moved silently among them, their gazes sharp as eagles, using their eyes and experience to sift through potential treasures, or… fatal traps.
Ye Chen restrained his entire aura, maintaining his cultivation around the Qi Refining Second Layer, blending into the crowd, his gaze seemingly sweeping casually over each stall. The Ascension Token in his embrace remained quiet, not providing a clear direction like it did when sensing Star Stones, forcing him to rely more on his own judgment and system assistance.
【Observed 'Corrosive Poison Grass', disguised as 'Hundred-Year Blood Ginseng', highly toxic.】
【Discovered 'Damaged Qi Concealment Talisman', effect less than one-tenth of complete.】
【Within the 'Obsidian' on the lower left of the stall, a faint essence of gold was contained. 《Mineral Identification》 Proficiency +3.】
System prompts continuously flashed in his mind, helping him avoid obvious scams and occasionally discover low-value materials that were overlooked. However, his goal was not here; he was more concerned about the so-called "Fragmented Map of an Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion" and any information that might relate to the Shadow Pavilion or his current predicament.
He walked and stopped, pausing at a stall selling various broken jade slips and beast hides. The stall owner was a gaunt, cold-aura old man, with a cultivation around Qi Refining Layer 6. He sat with his eyes closed, appearing indifferent to the customers.
Ye Chen's gaze fell upon a dark-colored, scorched-edged beast hide scroll in the corner of the stall, appearing as if it had been burned. The beast hide scroll was tied with a simple leather cord, looking unremarkable.
"Boss, how much for this beast hide scroll?" Ye Chen asked in a low, deliberately hoarse voice.
The old man didn't even lift his eyelids, saying indifferently, "Ten Low-grade Spirit Stones, firm price."
The price was not cheap, far exceeding the seemingly more complete jade slips nearby. Ye Chen's heart stirred. He didn't haggle, directly taking out ten Spirit Stones and placing them on the stall. He gambled that the old man might know something but didn't fully grasp its value, or that this was a bait.
The old man slightly opened his eyes, glanced at the Spirit Stones, and with a sweep of his sleeve, collected them without further comment.
Ye Chen picked up the beast hide scroll. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, its material tough, carrying a sense of ancient vicissitude. He didn't open it on the spot but quickly put it into his embrace and turned to blend back into the crowd.
Not long after he left the stall, two figures, also wearing cloaks and with concealed auras, silently appeared before the gaunt old man's stall. On the sleeve of one of them, a corner of a twisted shadow pattern was faintly visible.
"Old Ghost Sun, has the item been sold?" one of them asked in a low voice.
The gaunt old man, called Old Ghost Sun, finally opened his eyes completely, a glint of shrewdness flashing in them. He chuckled, "Just left. A kid in a black cloak, around Qi Refining Second Layer, looked unfamiliar. As you instructed, I sold it to him for ten Spirit Stones."
The other person snorted coldly, "Hope this time we've hooked the main target, not some unrelated small fry. Keep an eye on him and confirm his identity."
"Don't worry, in the Ghost Market, no one can escape my 'Tracing Powder'," Old Ghost Sun said confidently.
Ye Chen was unaware of this. He cautiously wandered the Ghost Market for a while longer, purchasing a few low-grade ores and herbs that the system had indicated had some value as a cover. After confirming he was not being followed, he quickly left the dark place.
Returning to his room at Yunlai Residence, he set up a warning prohibition before carefully taking out the beast hide scroll.
He untied the leather cord and slowly unrolled it. Inside the beast hide were etched some twisted, winding lines and blurry ancient symbols, forming a fragmented topographic map. In one corner of the map, there was a flame-shaped mark, with two small characters written in ancient script beside it—Yan Yang.
【Obtained a fragmented ancient map, material identified as 'Third-grade Fire Rhinoceros Hide', ancient.】
【Map points to the likely place of the ancient cultivator 'Yan Yang Shang Ren's' demise, marked location is on the edge of 'Burning Heaven Valley', three thousand li south of Flowing Cloud Immortal City.】
【Information incomplete, missing key paths and prohibition descriptions, danger level: High!】
Yan Yang Shang Ren? Burning Heaven Valley?
Ye Chen's gaze sharpened. According to the 《Eastern Domain Gazetteer》, Yan Yang Shang Ren was a famous Rogue Cultivator from hundreds of years ago, renowned for his masterful fire-element Divine Abilities. His personality was neither strictly good nor evil, and he later disappeared. If this map were true, the value of his place of demise was self-evident! However, Burning Heaven Valley was a notorious Dangerous Place in the Eastern Region, with perpetual raging flames and filled with Earth Fire and poisonous flames. Entering without preparation would be akin to suicide.
Moreover, the map was too incomplete, missing the most crucial parts.
"It's an opportunity, but even more so a trap," Ye Chen calmly analyzed. Setting aside the map's authenticity, the Old Ghost Sun who sold it was suspicious. Ten Spirit Stones for a clue that might point to a Golden Core Cultivator's cave mansion? That itself was unreasonable.
He carefully examined the beast hide and, as expected, found some almost imperceptible fine powder with a faint exotic fragrance beneath a scorched mark on the edge.
【Discovered unknown tracking powder, possessing faint spiritual power marking and odor residue.】
As expected!
A cold glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. He had been treated as bait! This powder was undoubtedly for tracking. The one who posted the bounty was the Shadow Pavilion, and this old man who sold the map was likely connected to the Shadow Pavilion, or was their bait, intending to confirm his identity and pinpoint his location!
What a vicious scheme! If he hadn't had the System, able to perceive these subtle details, he would have fallen into the trap!
He immediately circulated his Spiritual Power, carefully shaking off and destroying all the powder, and then repeatedly washed his hands and the beast hide with clean water, ensuring no trace remained.
Looking at the fragmented map on the table, Ye Chen's mind raced. This was a crisis, but it could also be an opportunity. The opponent was in the dark, while he was in the light, always passive. Perhaps… he could use this to turn the tables?
He put away the beast hide and placed it together with the few ore fragments he had obtained from Hundred Inquiries Workshop. Both seemed to point to some unknown clue.
The immediate priority was to deal with the potential investigation. He had to improve his strength as quickly as possible and resolve the trouble of the Shadow Pavilion before the Ascension Convention began, or at least make them afraid to act rashly within the Immortal City.
Ye Chen sat down cross-legged, took out two Low-grade Spirit Stones, and began to cultivate. Chaos-colored Spiritual Power surged within his body, constantly impacting the barrier of Qi Refining Level 4. With half a month left until the Ascension Convention, he had to race against time.
The night deepened, and the neon lights of Flowing Cloud Immortal City still shone. Beneath the calm surface, the net targeting Ye Chen seemed to be quietly tightening. And he, too, had sensed the aura of danger and was preparing to counter.
The Immortal City's Ghost Market, undercurrents surged.