He also planned to buy materials and learn talisman drawing while he was at it.
Last time, his escape from Chu Zixue and Shangguan Qingyao was thanks in no small part to the Gale Talisman.
He planned to draw some talismans for self-defense.
If he had had several hundred attack-type top-tier talismans back then and had thrown them all at Chu Zixue, she would have had to run for her life.
Besides, talisman makers were a hot profession in the cultivation world, and the income was quite substantial.
Of course.
On another front, he also wanted to test whether the system’s Negative reversal would provide a significant boost to alchemy and talisman drawing.
The market was located between the six peaks, so it was not far away.
As he traveled, he encountered quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, many of whom Ye Bufan had never seen before.
Near the market, Ye Bufan heard people talking.
Now that the Demon-Sealing Ruins would open soon, many disciples who had been out on missions had returned, and the Heavenly Demon Sect’s market had become much livelier.
“Senior Sister Ji killed the three Foundation Establishment great completion cultivators of the Azure Cloud Sect, and her strength has risen to another level. She will definitely take first place in the Demon-Sealing Ruins this time, and she may even become a saintess.”
“Hard to say. Chu Zixue and Shangguan Qingyao both have very deep foundations. They have often gone out lately to prepare for the Demon-Sealing Ruins, and Gu Peak still has a mysterious Gu maiden.”
The Foundation Establishment cultivators walking ahead spoke while their faces were full of envy.
Whichever of the four saintess candidates became the saintess, she would be far beyond their reach.
“I mentioned this before, and you really should consider it. There are too many followers around the saintess, so we can go follow a saint candidate instead, like Chen Guangli from Holy Demon Peak.”
“Even if you’re going to follow someone, it should be Liu Wangchuan, the sect master’s direct disciple, or Mo Hai, the son of the Pill Peak peak master. I heard that Li Kui, who is at Foundation Establishment level six, has already followed Liu Wangchuan.”
“Come on, cut it out. These people are all too dark-hearted. If we follow them now, then after we get to the Demon-Sealing Ruins, we’ll just be cannon fodder charging ahead.”
The two men in black robes kept shaking their heads, fear written all over their faces.
Anyone who could become a saint candidate was ruthless.
“I think that new first disciple of the Old Ancestor, Ye Bufan, seems kind-hearted. Although he is a little weak, he feels like a good investment. Maybe in the future he can also compete with these people for a saint candidate position.”
Someone suggested.
Since Ye Bufan became the Old Ancestor’s first disciple, his past was dug up completely.
Many disciples were astonished to discover that over the past hundred years, this guy had actually never done any robbery or plundering. Instead, he had made friends with others and kept a very low profile.
And after settling into the First Courtyard on Demonic Sword Peak, he had gone to the Scripture Repository once and never left again.
Too low-key.
What was more, after Chu Zixue and Shangguan Qingyao hunted him down, he had not used the identity of the Old Ancestor’s first disciple to trouble the two women afterward.
A person like that.
In a demonic sect where everyone had several hundred lives on their hands, he was simply a breath of fresh air.
“It is not easy for our demonic sect to have a good person. As someone at supreme-grade Foundation Establishment, he really might be able to compete with Liu Wangchuan and the others for a saint candidate position.”
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
Ye Bufan, listening from behind, fell into deep thought.
Am I a good person?
Hmm.
That’s right.
I am a good person.
Just then, a harsh voice rang out.
“How dare you! How can that trash with a low-grade spiritual root compare to Senior Brother Liu? If you keep gossiping, I’ll cut off your heads!”
A burly young man in a green robe walked over, the scar on his face writhing like a centipede.
“We misspoke. Please don’t blame us, Senior Brother Li Kui.”
Several Foundation Establishment cultivators were frightened and quickly lowered their heads to admit their mistake, not even daring to argue.
Li Kui had a considerable reputation in Zhao Kingdom. With his powerful Foundation Establishment level six cultivation, no one knew how many righteous cultivators he had killed.
His methods were ruthless. A few fellow disciples had offended him and ended up reduced to human stumps, tormented for half a year.
And now that he had become Liu Wangchuan’s follower, he acted even more brazenly.
“Senior Brother Liu does not like that low-grade spiritual root. Each of you hand over two hundred spirit stones as punishment.”
Li Kui gave a sinister smile and stretched out his hand, his Foundation Establishment level six aura brimming with pressure.
“This… isn’t that a little inappropriate?”
“Hm?!”
“All right, we’ll hand them over right away!”
The Foundation Establishment cultivators cursed their bad luck inwardly, then forced smiles onto their faces and painfully handed over two hundred spirit stones.
After extorting his share of benefits, Li Kui finally entered the market in satisfaction.
“What bad luck!”
After Li Kui left, the Foundation Establishment cultivators all cursed out loud, then sulkily entered the market.
“He really is arrogant.”
Ye Bufan frowned at Li Kui’s back, then shook his head.
He had always been cautious and steady, and had no intention of inviting trouble.
As for Liu Wangchuan not liking him, that was normal.
He had heard that the fellow had originally come here to become a disciple of the Old Ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Sect, only to be rejected by the Old Ancestor.
The market was bustling.
On both sides of the street were materials shops, pill shops, and artifact-refining shops.
There were even cultivators setting up roadside stalls. Besides pills and materials, they were also selling all kinds of strange things.
There were still bloodstains on them, making it obvious that they had dubious origins.
“Authentic Snow Spirit Sect female cultivators, fair-skinned, beautiful, and long-legged, freshly captured not long ago, only two thousand spirit stones!”
Deeper inside, Ye Bufan even saw a beautiful female cultivator lying in an iron cage, her clothes in tatters and revealing a great expanse of white skin.
The Snow Spirit Sect was one of the five great immortal sects of the righteous path, and it mainly accepted female disciples, with very few male disciples.
The female disciples there were all beauties, and not only the demonic path but even the righteous path liked them very much.
However…
Ye Bufan felt uncomfortable looking at that female cultivator.
If she were sold, there was no need to think to know what sort of fate she would meet.
A cultivation cauldron!
“What are you looking at, you Heavenly Demon Sect scum!”
Seeing Ye Bufan looking at her, the female cultivator spat at him with hatred.
“…”
Ye Bufan was speechless. He shook his head and entered the materials shop next door called Wanbao Tower.
“Junior Brother, this Wanbao Tower of mine was opened by the Grand Elder’s brother-in-law, and only top-quality goods are sold here, with no cheating!”
When the shopkeeper saw the dark-skinned young man in gray robes, his eyes lit up and he hurried forward to greet him.
“I want the materials for drawing Ice Spike Talismans, Fire Dragon Talismans, and Little Thunder Talismans, as well as a talisman brush, and also a talisman compendium.”
Talismans also had levels. What he mentioned were all Tier-2 talismans, whose power was equivalent to Foundation Establishment, while Tier-3 talismans were talisman treasures.
“Tier-2 talismans? May I ask who you are?”
The shopkeeper was stunned and looked Ye Bufan up and down.
His hands had no calluses, clearly meaning he did not hold a talisman brush all year round. He was basically a complete beginner.
Every talisman maker was built through burning money, and only after failing tens of thousands of times could one become a Tier-1 talisman maker.
Trying to draw Tier-2 talismans right from the start? No matter how high your talent, you still could not do it.
There were very few people above Tier-2 in the Heavenly Demon Sect, and he knew all of them.
Each of them was a precious asset, and even the most ruthless demonic cultivator would be reluctant to touch them.
This person was either ignorant or not right in the head.
“Zhang San.”
Ye Bufan answered briefly.
“What a great name! You must be an extraordinary great talisman master. Please come this way.”
The shopkeeper silently assessed him inwardly, but on his face he piled on a smile and introduced the materials displayed in the counter.
“This is a Qinghu Brush made from Tier-2 green fox hair, two hundred spirit stones. This is talisman paper made from fire ape hide, best suited for fire attribute talismans, only fifty spirit stones…”
He had originally wanted to fleece Ye Bufan.
But after haggling for a long time, the guy stayed miserly, and in the end the goods were sold at market price.
Ye Bufan bought a Qinghu Brush, one hundred sheets of talisman paper, and one talisman compendium, spending a total of one thousand spirit stones.
He had only five hundred spirit stones left.
Damn, I’m really poor!
Ye Bufan squeezed his deflated storage bag and sighed to the heavens.
With this little bit of spirit stones, he could not even buy medicinal herbs for alchemy, let alone alchemy formulas.
A while later.
He came to a roadside stall.
“How about trading a Foundation Establishment demonic cultivation art for the alchemy formulas for Blood Condensation Pill and Fire Dragon Pill?”
Ye Bufan squatted beside the stall, holding an old beast hide sheet and looking at the white-bearded stall owner.
He did not have much money, so he could only browse the roadside stalls.
He wanted to see whether he could find something good.
After wandering around more than a dozen stalls, he finally found alchemy formulas that caught his eye.
These two alchemy formulas could greatly boost Foundation Establishment cultivation, and they had certain side effects.
“A Foundation Establishment technique? Are you sure?”
The white-bearded stall owner was stunned and asked carefully.
Alchemy formulas were valuable and cost about the same as a Foundation Establishment technique, but alchemy formulas with side effects were heavily discounted.
Unless absolutely necessary, very few people would refine such pills.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Ye Bufan nodded and took out a technique.
This was Bright Moon Art from Lu Luo. When he had snatched her storage bag back then, he had not taken a fancy to this technique.
It was not a technique of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
“Good!”
The white-bearded stall owner looked it over and, overjoyed, immediately said.
It was even a middle-level technique, and handing it down to the family would be of great significance.
Ye Bufan was also smiling broadly and very happy.
With pills to help him, his cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds!
The transaction was completed.
Ye Bufan wandered around the market, sold off one or two other techniques, exchanged them for some spirit stones, and bought medicinal materials.
Although it was not much, it should be enough to refine a few batches of pills.
Ye Bufan thought it over and walked out of the market.
Just as he left the market, he suddenly frowned and his face darkened.
After thinking for a moment.
His expression returned to normal, and he left the market, streaking off in a certain direction.