CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 140: RETURNING TO THE GHOST MARKET, DISCIPLE’S SECRET

Finally, there were a few Loose Cultivators wearing golden masks, whose cultivation level might be at the Foundation Establishment Stage!

And the cultivators wearing various demon beast masks were from the Formless Ghost Collection.

However, one cannot judge the strength of these cultivators by their masks.

Some Loose Cultivators, who like to pretend to be weak to ambush stronger prey, would wear low-tier Ghost Masks they had taken.

Such as Hee Qi, his cultivation was at the Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation, and although he had an Iron Face, he still chose to wear a Copper Face.

"I’ve heard that recently, Luo Heng successfully established his Foundation... Yunxi District’s roots are ultimately too shallow, having only Luo Heng as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

Rarely seeing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator among Loose Cultivators, Chen Ye pondered silently.

Luo Heng could be considered the only Foundation Establishment Cultivator he had a deeper relationship with.

And at the auction,

After a round of intense bidding, the Blood Evil Demon Wolf skull was finally won by a black-robed cultivator in a golden mask for three hundred and twenty Spirit Stones.

"The second auction item!" The burly man shouted again, taking out another jade box.

When the jade box opened, a refreshing fragrance instantly dispelled the previous bloody Yin Evil Qi.

In the box lay a Spirit Grass about half a foot long, entirely emerald green, with faint golden halos on the edges of its leaves.

At the top of the Spirit Grass, there was even a crystal-clear, dew-like droplet, exuding rich Spiritual Qi.

"Soul-Condensing Grass! A First Tier Top Grade Spirit Grass, the main ingredient for refining Soul Condensing Pills! Soul Condensing Pills can help cultivators condense their Divine Soul, stabilize their realm, and are invaluable for those about to break through the late-stage Qi Cultivation or whose Divine Sense is damaged. This Soul-Condensing Grass is nearly a hundred years old, with potent medicinal power. The starting price is seventy Spirit Stones, each increment must not be less than five Spirit Stones!"

Among Loose Cultivators, some extremely rare Cultivation Techniques, Magical Artifacts, and Spiritual Materials are often called Top Grade.

For example, the Six-leaf Mysterious Ginseng could be referred to as a Top Grade Spirit Plant.

Similarly, Chen Ye’s Cyan Wave Sword Control Technique is also a First Tier Top Grade Flying Sword Technique.

And this Soul-Condensing Grass absolutely deserves the title of Top Grade!

Chen Ye’s pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart rate quickened!

His Divine Sense was just beginning to form, and he needed pills that could nourish the Divine Soul like this!

The Seven Luminaries Soul Nourishing Technique is mysterious, but visualizing the star maps consumes a great deal of the Divine Soul. With the help of a Soul Condensing Pill, results would undoubtedly be twice as good with half the effort!

As soon as the burly man finished speaking, sporadic bids resounded in the room.

The Soul-Condensing Grass is excellent, but one needs to find an Alchemist to refine it. In addition, ordinary Loose Cultivators lack Divine Sense Techniques and generally don’t prioritize cultivating Divine Sense.

Yet the price continued to climb, ultimately reaching one hundred and sixty Spirit Stones, acquired by a cultivator in an Iron Face.

...

"Brother Chen, the items later in this auction are likely to be even more expensive. Since we’re short on funds, why don’t we leave for now? Moreover, staying longer may invite trouble, better to leave early." Seeing the Soul-Condensing Grass had been bought, Hee Qi whispered to Chen Ye.

Chen Ye nodded; he had certainly broadened his horizons with this Ghost Market auction.

But the remaining auction items seemed to be beyond his means.

The two didn’t linger, discreetly merging into the crowd, heading towards the cave exit.

As they were leaving, Chen Ye suddenly noticed that besides them, several masked cultivators also chose to leave early.

Among them was the Iron Face cultivator who had just bought the Soul-Condensing Grass for one hundred and forty Spirit Stones.

What made Chen Ye watchful was that there were faint auras surreptitiously following that Iron Face cultivator.

"Brother Hee, this Formless Ghost Collection is a mix of good and bad people, all using masks to hide their identities. It’s probably not easy to ambush and rob outside this place, right?"

Chen Ye whispered.

He observed secretly, noting that the Formless Ghost Collection had its rules—cultivators had to exit randomly from different exits once they left the Collection.

In theory, it’s difficult to intercept them midway.

After all, everyone was wearing masks that concealed their aura, and with each employing Disguise Techniques, leaving from different exits, finding them again would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Hee Qi sneered, speaking in a low voice, "Brother Chen, you may not know that this Formless Ghost Collection has its own rules, which is why it still exists today. For one, these masks not only conceal appearance but can also somewhat confuse Divine Sense detection, making it hard to discern real identities. Two, the location and timing of Ghost Market openings are never fixed, making it extremely difficult to set up an ambush in advance."

He paused, continuing, "But, if the target is clear, and someone is already tightly locked on a person... there’s always a way."

Chen Ye understood,

As they spoke, the two had already exited the cave and returned to the desolate rocky slope.

The night was still deep, the cold wind howling, rustling their clothes.

Halfway along the path, from behind several large rocks not far ahead, a burst of intense magical collisions suddenly erupted, accompanied by a brief exclamation!

"Sure enough, a fight broke out..." Hee Qi shook his head, his gaze somewhat excited, "Since we’ve run into it, let’s go check it out; we might even benefit like fishermen from the fight."

Post-auction ambushes were indeed a common occurrence.

Saying that, Hee Qi wanted to go forward and spy.

Chen Ye pulled him back, signaling to him to conceal his aura and quietly approach.

The two cautiously circumvented several large rocks, only to see a chaotic clearing ahead, where several cultivators were surrounding an Iron Face figure.

At that moment, the Iron Face cultivator was already on the defensive, struggling to parry attacks from all directions with a dimly lit Magic Sword, coughing up blood continuously.

Among those aiding the attack, a black-robed cultivator with a hoarse voice shouted harshly, "Li Guangzong! I knew that to refine that Foundation Establishment Pill, your Divine Soul was already damaged! Now you’re just a spent force; how could you still be our match? Hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill obediently, and we’ll leave you a whole corpse!"