Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 78 The Underground Black Market of Baihai Valley
"Having circulated the Small Heavenly Circuit, chanting incantations and making hand gestures, I, a humble Taoist, am originally a minor immortal from Longhu Mountain who has attained the Dao..."

Humming a little tune, Chen Ye strolled around Qingyunfang.

He agreed to the request from the three men, Fu Lu Shou. It was just a small favor, like asking if Vajra Powder was for sale and how much it cost. He naturally wouldn't refuse such a simple task.

The three of them thanked him profusely, making Chen Ye feel embarrassed.

However, another problem arose: Chen Ye had no idea how to find Mo Suixin.

I made some inquiries and found out that the Incense Burning Sect has a headquarters in Hundred Seas Valley, but it's not easy to get there. It's not that the requirements are too high, but that it's too far away.

Baihai Valley looks like a valley, but it has a whole world inside. If you walk, it will take three days to walk from Qingyunfang to Fenxiangmen's residence.

Chen Ye currently has two urgent matters to resolve.

The first thing is to find a way to get around, otherwise the constant travel will be too troublesome. Given the current situation, by the time he gets good news and returns, the Hundred Seas Valley gathering will probably have already started.

The second thing is to find a place where spiritual energy gathers, so that I can cultivate.

The eighteen Qi Seas are fine under normal circumstances, but once the Six-Syllable Mantra is used to accelerate cultivation, they become as powerful as a tiger that can devour thousands of miles of spiritual energy, turning the surrounding spiritual energy into a vacuum. Chen Ye can then experience the feeling of spiritual energy depletion, which is quite uncomfortable.

There must be a way to solve this problem, otherwise a single breath of spiritual energy from a high-level cultivator could turn Hundred Seas Valley into a desolate wasteland devoid of spiritual energy.

However, the gathering has not yet started, so it won't be easy to get a mount or magic item.

The three men, Fu, Lu, and Shou, mysteriously directed Chen Ye to Qingyunfang to find a man named Hei Xiaosan.

This Hundred Seas Valley may seem like a blessed land of immortals, but it is, after all, the territory of unorthodox cultivators. Although there are no wanton demons, there are definitely some shady places there.

The mistress seems to be the contact person, but this person is not easy to find.

Chen Ye circled Qingyunfang several times, and perhaps because his search was too obvious, he finally heard a deep voice calling out: "Friend, I have some erotic pictures of the Crimson Serpent Demon here. Do you want them?"

Chen Ye turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a pale face and the appearance of a scholar waving a fan.

That sentence just came from his mouth.

The pale-faced scholar repeated, "Friend, would you like some?"

Chen Ye interjected, "I don't want anything that isn't the secret version of the Hehuan Sect. I'll take all the ones that are woodblock printed."

Upon meeting the caller's gaze, the pale-faced scholar revealed a bright smile: "So you're a true friend. Follow me this way."

"So you're the black mistress? You're not black at all." Chen Ye said helplessly, "No wonder I couldn't find her after searching for so long."

This pale-faced scholar had nothing to do with being dark-skinned; all his clothes were white.

Blackie, fanning himself, said, "Friend, if someone selling erotic pictures uses their real name, are they afraid someone won't be able to catch me?"

"Makes sense."

Chen Ye stroked his chin, thinking that he should also come up with a nickname.

"Jade-faced Little Flying Dragon"? Not quite right, it matches his features too well.

It would be better to call him Blue-Faced Beast or Fat Pig King; such nicknames would definitely not be associated with Chen Ye.

But it sounds too awful.

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then followed the mistress into a secluded alley.

From the outside, it appears to be a dark and dead-end alley, but once you step into the shadows, you'll discover a hidden world.

The path winds its way up, its destination unknown.

Chen Ye cautiously placed his hand on the sword case, ready to fight his way out if anything seemed amiss.

The sword box is now filled with thirty-six sword energies, and its power is no longer what it used to be.

However, the people introduced by Fu Lu Shou seemed to be quite reliable. Chen Ye followed Hei Xiao San for a long time without encountering any ambushes or double-crosses.

The journey seemed to have taken them beyond the boundaries of Qingyunfang. Hei Xiaosan led Chen Ye to a secluded secret room.

The door to the secret room was covered by an illusion, and I thought it was just a small, oppressive room, but when I went in, I found that it was a completely different world.

Upon entering, you'll find yourself on a bustling main street lined with numerous small stalls of varying quality.

Despite being underground, it was brightly lit.

However, each stall used different lighting, including fireflies swirling around, gleaming bronze mirrors, and even bronze animal heads glowing with fire—all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

On the contrary, none of those using lanterns and candles for lighting could be seen, presumably for fear of being ridiculed.

After all, it's a cultivator's stall; it can't be made to look like a mortal's.

Chen Ye walked in out of curiosity and was soon attracted by a stall.

Chen Ye walked up to the old, decrepit cultivator and asked, "A single Azure Pearl and a cultivation manual?"

The white-haired, wrinkled old man hurriedly said, "These are all treasures I dug up in Hundred Seas Valley. They are all secret techniques of the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect back then. If they weren't now forbidden books, I wouldn't be selling them." Chen Ye glanced at them. These old books all had simple introductions written on them, and the four big characters "Do Not Touch If Not Buying" were particularly prominent.

Chen Ye absolutely refused to believe in any kind of demonic secret techniques.

Although Baihai Valley was once the territory of the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect, it is a place where corpses are abandoned. Where would you find sect secret techniques to dig them up?
Chen Ye just wanted to see if there were any cultivation techniques that would interest him, such as the two notes related to the Qi Sea that he had seen before, which were quite interesting.

But Chen Ye was soon disappointed; the so-called secret techniques of the Demonic Sect were all worse than ordinary goods.

The so-called "Red Serpent Technique" is actually just the method for refining Blood Pills, and "Supreme Demon Realm" is just the method for refining the Myriad Soul Banner. Even the synopsis is full of errors, and you can tell that the contents are unreliable without even reading them.

This is a complete scam. It looks cheap, but you'll lose money if you buy it.

Chen Ye shook his head and prepared to leave, but the old man said excitedly, "Wait, young man, if you don't buy something today, you're bound to suffer a terrible disaster."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye became furious. He patted the sword box behind him and said to the old man, "What, are you trying to force me to buy or sell?"

The old man shrank his neck, but stubbornly said, "Hmph, the young ones don't know how powerful the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect is. Do you think their secret techniques are so easy to understand? Even just looking at the words on the cover will leave you entangled in their resentment."

"When you drift off to sleep at midnight, those demons will transform into giant dream-devouring serpents and devour your soul. Buy me a secret manual, and I'll give you a talisman to protect you from the harassment of demonic spirits. What do you say?"

Chen Ye said dismissively, "I happen to enjoy playing with snakes."

Possessed by demonic souls, dream-devouring serpents—who would believe such nonsense that even ghosts couldn't be fooled?

Besides, who isn't a devil at heart?

Chen Ye got up to leave, but the old man was still shouting, "Don't go! Buy one get three free! Ten free is also fine!"

Leaving the stall selling counterfeit goods, Chen Ye was drawn to another stall selling Gu worms. Dozens of enormous fireflies hovered and danced around the stall, forming various formations, which was quite a sight.

This monk's control over the insects is quite interesting.

Chen Ye was very interested, but he wasn't going to buy; he was going to sell.

Among the monk's legacy were several Gu worms, but Chen Ye had never learned how to refine Gu, so he killed most of them in the past few days, leaving only one that was half dead.

Chen Ye didn't know the value of these insects, but he figured they were treasures of cultivators at the Tongxuan Realm and must be quite valuable.

When Chen Ye encountered someone selling Gu worms, he pretended to look them over, then gave a disdainful smile and shook his head in disgust.

This appearance naturally displeased the insect vendor.

"If you want to buy it, then buy it. What do you mean by this, sir?"

Chen Ye said dismissively, "I thought I'd met a fellow professional here, but it turns out he's just an amateur."

These words made the stall owner jump up.

"So you're here to cause trouble. If I were an outsider, I'd like to see just how knowledgeable you are."

A buzzing sound emanated from the man's body. Chen Ye felt a chaotic breeze blowing past, as if insects were fluttering their wings in front of him. However, Chen Ye could only see blurry outlines, and these insects seemed to be transparent.

Although Chen Ye was somewhat surprised, he remained outwardly calm and casually took out a vine cage containing Gu worms from his storage bag.

Before Chen Ye could release the Gu worms inside, the transparent insects in front of him emitted even sharper sounds, as if they were frightened.

Chen Ye maintained his smug smile, put down the rattan cage, and said, "Please take a look."

The stall owner was also taken aback, and his anger subsided considerably. He cautiously took the rattan cage, but instead of opening it, he put his ear close to listen carefully.

After a moment, he put down the rattan cage with a solemn expression and said, "The seven-aperture withered bone cicada is indeed a top-grade product. However, it looks like a diseased insect that has been weak for a long time, and your breeding method is not very skillful."

"Ha, how arrogant! What do you know about the withered bone cicada?"

"Of course I know. This withered bone cicada is a top-grade Gu worm fed with resentment, poisonous miasma, and the obsession of living beings. It not only needs to be fed with fresh blood, but also with a mixture of bone ash and arsenic to make a liquid. It needs to be fed at least once every three days. Your withered bone cicada is obviously not fed on time. It looks sickly and has no energy at all. It's a real waste."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Hehe, you speak very eloquently, but unfortunately, all the insects you sell are not as good as my sickly, withered cicada."

The stall owner retorted, "Hmph, you're the one who doesn't know the market. My Gu insects are of lower quality, but they're raised exceptionally well. They're worth six hundred Azure Pearls in total. The seven-aperture withered bone cicada is valuable, but with its appearance, it's hard to say whether it can even be raised back. At most, it's only worth five hundred Azure Pearls."

Chen Ye put down the rattan cage and smiled at the stall owner, saying, "I'll sell you this withered bone cicada for five hundred Azure Pearls."

The stall owner selling Gu worms was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized: "You're trying to trick me!"

Chen Ye said smugly, "Just tell me if you want it or not. Anyway, you've already made a offer, and you're not the only one here who collects Gu worms."

"I...this..." The stall owner's expression shifted between light and dark, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Deal!"

The money was exchanged for the goods, and the transaction was completed.

Chen Ye put away the azure pearl he had prepared, and the stall owner, holding the vine dragon, said smugly, "Kid, you've been fooled. This withered bone cicada, once properly raised, is worth at least eight hundred. You've lost a lot of money."

The stall owner had expected to see shock, resentment, or even anger on Chen Ye's face, but Chen Ye calmly said to him, "Oh, then congratulations on making a profit."

After saying that, Chen Ye turned and left, as if he didn't miss it at all.

The stall owner, who had made a fortune, became suspicious. Could it be that he had misjudged the situation and that he was the one who had suffered a great loss?
(End of this chapter)