Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 211 Young Master Xinshan, Old Friends Missed

Xiao He stood between Song Yan and Wu Dou, listening to his lament, sighed, and patted his shoulder with feigned seriousness.

"You're so pitiful."

Song Yan wondered which junior sister was looking for him in such a hurry.

He was also a little annoyed. If he saw her, he would have to give this junior sister a good talking to about how she had caused such a commotion in the city.

After listening to Wu Dou's account, he pondered for a moment and then asked, "Did that female cultivator mention where she was going? Or did she mention any place names in her words?"

If any place names were mentioned, they were nothing more than sects, markets, or gathering places for cultivators.

The sect can confirm whether this junior sister is a disciple of the sect. If she is from the Sheyang Sect, she could be Sheng Yun.

A market would be even better, as Song Yan was looking for a market to sell some of the miscellaneous items and spiritual objects he had on hand.

It also allows you to prepare some matters related to foundation building.

Previously, it was simply because I wasn't very familiar with Linzhou and Feng'an City, since this area was under the jurisdiction of Xuanjian Mountain and Sheyang Sect.

Wu Dou wiped the snot and tears from his face, pondered for a while, and said, "The fairy seemed to have mentioned something before she left... something called Forget-Worry Market."

Song Yan's eyes lit up.

Having been in an unfamiliar place, unable to find even a gathering place for cultivators, we finally have a clue.

Do you know of any place nearby called 'Forget-Sorrow'?

Wu Dou was taken aback, but still told the truth: "Although I have never been there, I have heard from merchants that there is a Forget-Worry Marsh a hundred miles to the east, which is the largest lake in the area of ​​a thousand miles."

Song Yan nodded; this must be the place.

He glanced at the darkening sky outside the window, then at Wu Dou's ragged appearance, and felt a pang of guilt.

This matter ultimately stemmed from his own actions, and if it is not properly handled, this honest man may suffer further consequences.

"What are your plans for the future?" Song Yan asked.

Wu Dou sighed, "Alas. I can't stay in Feng'an City any longer. I wanted to go back to my hometown to farm, but... but the Hailong Society and the Huangshan Society won't let me leave."

Song Yan took out a small package from his Qiankun bag and handed it to Wu Dou.

He then took out a protective talisman, channeled his spiritual power, and it transformed into a blue light that disappeared into his clothes.

"This matter arose because of me, so please accept this money. Keep this talisman close to your body to ensure your safety."

Wu Dou opened the package with trembling hands; it was filled with gold and silver.

These were all ordinary gold and silver items that Song Yan had collected from other people's storage bags and then sorted out into different categories.

"This……"

Wu Dou wanted to be polite, but Song Yan stuffed the things into his hands: "Take them. I'll see you out of the city later to avoid any more trouble."

It was dusk when I left the teahouse.

As they approached the eastern side gate of the city, the martial arts practitioners were about to come forward to question them when Song Yan flicked his finger, sending a wisp of spiritual energy past. The crowd's eyes immediately became unfocused, as if they hadn't seen him at all.

Three miles outside the city.

Wu Dou knelt down and kowtowed: "Immortal Master, I will never forget your great kindness!"

Tears welled in his eyes from the joy of surviving the ordeal.

For ordinary mortals, getting involved in anything related to immortals can easily lead to their annihilation.

However, great risks also come with great opportunities.

The gold and silver given by this immortal young master won't guarantee a lifetime of wealth and luxury, but at least it will ensure a comfortable life.

"It all started because of me, there's no need for this."

Song Yan offered a helping hand: "Go on, don't mention today's matter again."

"Yes Yes."

Watching Wu Dou's departing figure, Xiao Ju said softly, "Senior Song, shall we set off immediately?"

"Ah."

Since it is a market town, it must be a place where cultivators gather.

It's a good time to exchange the miscellaneous items I have for spirit stones. If I have the opportunity, I'll search for some more spiritual items to prepare for my future Foundation Establishment.

……

On the banks of the Forget-Worry Marsh, a hundred miles of misty waves stretch out.

While traveling on the river, the old ferryman wanted to stop at the riverbank and saw two figures in the distance.

"Are you going to cross the river? What a coincidence..."

The kind old boatman adjusted the direction slightly and rowed towards where the two people were.

A thick fog suddenly rose on the river, but fortunately the old man was skilled at navigating and remained perfectly still.

The boat docked at the shore.

"what?"

How strange!

The old man looked around, but there was no one there.

In such a short time, those two people disappeared?

Could it be that I'm getting old and my eyesight is failing...?

The lake was shrouded in mist, and in front of me stood rows of blue stone archways on the water's edge, inscribed with the four characters "Wangyou Fangshi" (meaning "Forget-Worries Market"), their ethereal beauty subtly revealed.

There were fluctuations in the array around, and ordinary people would only see a vast expanse of water mist when they arrived here.

Below the archway, a young cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining sat cross-legged, playing with a small gadget that resembled a mechanism for disassembly.

It seems he is the guard of this market.
Xiao He peeked out from Song Yan's clothes, gazing longingly at the toy in the boy's hand.

"what?"

Upon seeing the newcomers, the young rogue cultivator stood up from the ground and looked at them with a smile.

"May your immortal paths flourish, fellow Daoists. Each of you will receive one spirit stone upon entering the Forget-Worry Marsh Market. This little snake need not apply."

With a quick glance, he added, "However, if any demonic beasts enter and cause any trouble, you will have to bear the consequences and losses yourself."

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist."

"It's easy to talk about."

The boy unleashed a talisman, and ripples spread through the air in the middle of the road beside the archway.

"Please take your time."

The boy then sat back down on the ground and continued playing with the object in his hand.

Song Yan, with Xiao Ju in tow, stepped into the ripples.

In an instant, the scene before my eyes changed drastically.

The bluestone paths crisscross, with pavilions and towers on both sides, their eaves and brackets gleaming. On the signs beside the buildings, the words "elixir," "artifact," "talisman," and "array" appear with spiritual light.

The scale of this market town is probably much larger than any market town Song Yan has ever visited.

Cultivators came and went on the street; some wore Taoist robes and cloaks, some wore coarse linen clothes, and some even led ferocious-looking demonic beasts through the area.

Song Yan first found a shop with a plaque that read "Treasure Pavilion" and planned to sell some of his personal belongings.

The shop is small; it sells and receives items.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, but without checking, he was probably around the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Seeing that Song Yan's aura was restrained and his steps were steady, the shopkeeper greeted him with a smile: "What does Fellow Daoist need?"

Song Yan got straight to the point, flicking the Qiankun bag in his sleeve, and the table was immediately piled with scattered items: a few low-level magic artifacts, monster materials, and a small stack of spirit talismans.

Seeing that Song Yan was decisive and efficient, the shopkeeper did not hesitate to give an estimate for each item.

The entire batch of over eighty spirit stones was sold. Song Yan didn't care about the difference of a few spirit stones, casually put the items away, and asked, "Shopkeeper, do you have these items here?"

A note was handed over.

The name of three medicinal herbs was written on it: Fallen Vine, Yuanling Fruit, and Water Lily Flower.

Song Yan did not obtain the formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill of the present era from anywhere, after all, he had always thought it was too early.

But don't forget that among the thousand strange pill formulas, the lowest-level pill used as an example for teaching is the Foundation Establishment Pill.

That was a Foundation Establishment Pill formula that was improved by Chen Yi, Si Xiangqing, and even by the alchemy master behind Chen Yi, specifically for sword alchemy.

Without a doubt, this is the one that suits me best.

These three medicinal herbs are precisely the three main ingredients described in the elixir formula.

The shopkeeper stroked his beard, his gaze sweeping over the slip of paper. He pondered for a moment and said, "We do have Yuanling Fruit in stock. It has a wide range of uses, including refining Foundation Establishment Pills, Jade Tea Pills, and other elixirs. The price is also fair, one hundred and twenty spirit stones per fruit."

Song Yan was familiar with the Yuanling Fruit; it was needed in the refining of many pills for the Foundation Establishment stage. Although Song Yan didn't know the commonly used Foundation Establishment Pill formulas, he had heard that the Yuanling Fruit was one of the auxiliary ingredients.

One hundred and twenty spirit stones per stone, that's really expensive...

"As for the water jacaranda flower..." The shopkeeper looked troubled. "This is one of the main ingredients in the Youth Preservation Pill, and female cultivators are scrambling for it. The last time our shop stocked it was half a year ago, and one plant sold for more than three hundred spirit stones."

"..."

Seeing Song Yan's brow furrow slightly, the shopkeeper quickly added, "If you're in a hurry, you might want to ask at a nearby pharmacy."

"There's a pharmacy nearby that specializes in medicinal herbs and has a wide network. Alternatively, there's an auction in the market in half a month, and I heard that the grand finale will be a batch of rare and precious herbs, so there might be some available."

The shopkeeper shook his head in the end: "I have no news about the Fallen Vine. To be honest, I've only heard of this herb; I don't recall ever seeing it before."

Song Yan nodded his thanks, temporarily setting aside his idea of ​​buying Yuanling Fruits here, and turned to leave with Xiao Ju.

To refine the optimized version of the Foundation Establishment Pill recorded in the Thousand Pill Recipes, the most important ingredient is still the Fallen Vine. He had never heard of this before, only seen its appearance in the Thousand Pill Recipes.

Other materials are fine, there's no rush.

The most crucial point is that he doesn't have many spirit stones right now.

After strolling around the market for a while, Song Yan suddenly walked towards a secluded bamboo grove on the edge of the market.

He stopped in front of a deserted path, then suddenly turned around and looked behind him.

"Gentlemen, you've been following me all this way, why don't you show yourselves and have a chat?"

Xiao Ju was startled and turned around warily to look.

Behind them, a simply dressed female cultivator and a slender male cultivator came into view.

The female cultivator did not conceal her face; she was ordinary-looking and did not resemble a cultivator, but rather a peasant woman.

The male cultivator was even stranger. He wore a mask to cover his face, and the palms exposed beneath his sleeves were sickly pale and bloodless.

Song Yan didn't think the other party would dare to make a move in the market. In such a gathering place for cultivators, there must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge.

Of the two opponents, the female cultivator was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while the male cultivator was at the peak of Qi Refining. Even if it really came down to a fight to the death, he was quite confident.

The key point is that Song Yan did not sense any hostility from the two people.

Forget about hostility, he couldn't even sense any life force in the male cultivator.

Is this male cultivator actually a corpse puppet?
"Corpse Control Technique?"

A corpse puppet at the peak of Qi Refining, what a grand gesture...

The female cultivator seemed worried about a misunderstanding, so she hurriedly stepped forward and politely bowed: "My name is Chen Jiping. May I ask if you are the Immortal Master Song Yan of the Dongyuan Sect?"

The female cultivator's name sounded familiar, but Song Yan didn't pay it any mind.

Xiao He peeked out from under her clothes, staring at the corpse puppet, wondering, "This smell... I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before."

It seems that the other party came prepared.

Song Yan nodded: "It's me."

"However, you had better explain clearly how you knew it was me?"

Chen Jiping quickly explained, "Young Master Song, please calm down. My young master is your close friend, and we are here to see you on his orders."

"He bestowed upon us a secret method of tracking, which enabled us to sense your presence by following the direction of your communication talisman."

After she finished speaking, she took out a communication talisman from her hand, which was indeed the one from her prime.

However, the sound transmission talisman seemed to have been enchanted.

There were two beams of light above, one of which should indicate Song Yan's location.

"When I passed through Feng'an City a few days ago, your name was widely known, but for some reason, the secret technique failed at that time."

"We waited here in the Forget-Worry Market. Fortunately, the talisman was restored later, and we saw you moving this way."

"We suppose you are heading to the Forget-Worry Market, so we thought we would wait for you here."

Strange, wasn't the female cultivator who approached Wu Dou in Feng'an City this Chen Jiping?

As for the secret technique failing... it must be because of entering the Sword Sect ruins.

"Young Master, a close friend?"

After a moment's thought, Song Yan had already made up his mind, but still asked as if seeking confirmation: "Since we are close friends, there is no need to hide anything, just tell me your name."

“Xin Shan is in his prime, and he is the young master of my family.”

really.

Dog Sheng used all his dirty tricks on his brothers.

"..." Song Yan sighed lightly, somewhat annoyed: "Speak, why did he send you to find me?"

"They say there's a big deal they want to do with you."

Chen Jiping said, "I don't know the specifics either. The young master said he would wait until you go to Yijiang to talk in person."

"And acting all mystical," Song Yan said disdainfully. "Why doesn't he come himself?"

"Well, the young master just finished something and hasn't completely gotten away yet. He just sent us to find you."

After listening, Song Yan pondered for a moment.

There's no rush to go to Zuo You Ling Hua Valley. We can take advantage of this time to visit old friends and hear what this so-called big deal is all about.

Moreover, Yijiang is also in the north, not far from Longquan Prefecture.

only……

In this way, wouldn't Xiao Ju know that she has such a close friend in the world of demonic cultivation?

Song Yan's gaze fell subtly on Ju Luyi as he pondered.

At this moment, Xiao Ju, who was originally very wary, relaxed after hearing that the other party's host was a close friend of Song Yan.

She looked at the two of them with some curiosity.

But he was pondering a small matter.

He addressed Song Yan as Senior Song mainly because Song Yan's cultivation was far superior to his own, and because Song Yan was unwilling to accept him as a disciple.

Furthermore, since he was not a disciple of the Dongyuan Sect, he could not address him as his senior brother.

But calling him "senior" always feels a bit too old-fashioned.

Senior Song is clearly young and promising.

The way the other person addressed him was quite appropriate.

"Little Lord……"

He sounds young and impressive.

Song Yan was naturally unaware of what the young girl was thinking.

"Never mind." He made up his mind. He might as well go with her. After all, Xiao Ju wasn't a disciple of the sect.

Strictly speaking, she was just a rogue cultivator, and a complete novice with absolutely no experience in the martial arts world.

"Leave now?"

It seems that the junior sister who was looking for him may have already left. Now that she has invited him in her prime, he can go and see her first.

“Okay.” Chen Jiping didn’t dare to delay. She turned to the male cultivator beside her and said, “A Yuan, let’s go.”

"Ah."

Under Song Yan's astonished gaze, the male cultivator nodded stiffly and led the way.

"How come this corpse puppet seems to have sentience?"

I haven't seen Gou Sheng for the past few years. He's living a really comfortable life, with maids and thugs at his side.

“Xin Shan…” he muttered to himself, pondering the name.

What exactly is this kid up to?

……

The four people and one snake had barely left the market when a girl dressed in pure white returned from outside.

Her expression was calm, but there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

I have been searching for Senior Brother Song here for more than ten days, but to no avail.

He couldn't help but sigh softly, feeling a tightness in his chest.

"Things come together by chance and fate; it's all about destiny. Forcing things will only lead to nothing..."

Xie Chan understood.

This time, it seems we are destined to be apart.

(End of this chapter)