Raise a sword!

After showing their masks to the guards at the south gate, Jiang Peng and Lan Yingying successfully left the market.

Before us lies the entrance to the northern foothills of the Diming Mountains.

In the dead of night, the world outside the market was exceptionally quiet. Apart from a few lights reflected from the market behind him, all he could see was darkness.

"Keep up."

Lan Yingying entered the mountain with light steps. Her speed was neither too fast nor too slow, but it was clearly slightly beyond the scope of the early stage of Qi Refining.

As she moved forward, she would occasionally look back.

Seeing that Jiang Peng could keep up easily, she smiled and said, "Brother Jiang, your agility is quite good."

"If Miss Lan goes any faster, I won't be able to keep up," Jiang Peng replied.

Lan Yingying rolled her eyes at Jiang Peng.

"Nobody would believe you!"

After traveling through the mountains for about an hour, a valley appeared ahead, and some noise could be faintly heard.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the valley, Jiang Peng noticed that the area was covered by an array.

"Put on the mask and you can enter... Of course, you can force your way in, but there are late-stage Qi Refining cultivators guarding the Ghost Market."

As she spoke, Lan Yingying had already put on her mask.

Jiang Peng also put on a mask and followed Lan Yingying into the valley.

The first thing that catches the eye is the countless dim lights scattered throughout the ghost market, which are used by the various means by which the customers illuminate the area.

Apart from that, the Ghost Market is not much different from the northeast corner of the market. It is mostly filled with independent cultivators setting up stalls, but there are also stationary merchants.

Lan Yingying handed Jiang Peng a lighting talisman.

[Illumination Talisman: Tier 1, Low Grade, Glowing]

"This talisman can be activated by injecting a small amount of spiritual energy."

"Thank you," Jiang Peng said.

Lan Yingying continued, "There aren't many rules in the Ghost Market, except one: no fighting. Also, remember not to flaunt your wealth. It's a mixed bag here, so good luck... Do you remember the way you came?"

"I remember."

"When are you leaving? Do you need me to accompany you?"

Jiang Peng shook her head slightly.

Seeing this, Lan Yingying didn't say anything more and left quickly.

Jiang Peng then activated the illumination talisman with practiced ease, and like a seasoned customer, began to stroll leisurely around the ghost market, looking around in amazement.

The goods in the ghost market were noticeably wilder than those in the market.

After looking at just a few stalls, Jiang Peng had already discovered several tattered storage bags and broken magical artifacts with bloodstains left untouched.

Jiang Peng wasn't particularly interested in any of these things.

Soon, Jiang Peng discovered a stall that specialized in selling spiritual materials.

The spiritual materials on the stalls were all in excellent condition; at least, in Jiang Peng's eyesight, there was nothing wrong with them.

The stall owner was clearly quite capable.

Because Jiang Peng couldn't recognize some of the spiritual materials, he frequently examined them by hand.

Unexpectedly, this action aroused the dissatisfaction of the stall owner.

"Get out if you're not going to buy."

The voice sounded old. Looking at the stall owner, who was also covered up tightly like herself, Jiang Peng shook her head helplessly.

"You have a great spirit, Daoist."

"roll!"

Jiang Peng gave the stall owner a deep look, then got up and left.

Jiang Peng didn't take what had just happened to heart.

After wandering around for a while, Jiang Peng found a shop that specialized in selling martial arts techniques.

Three jade slips were displayed on a small street stall.

The jade slips were all sealed with restrictions, and only a few details of the recorded techniques could be seen without breaking the restrictions.

Jiang Peng calmly picked up a jade slip and examined it with his divine sense.

Green Wood Skill: A Wood-based Kung Fu Technique

The information that can be seen in the jade slip is just this short sentence.

Jiang Peng asked the stall owner, "Fellow Daoist, is this cultivation technique genuine?"

"Of course it's authentic," the stall owner replied without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Peng narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a mixture of belief and doubt, he found a fire-based cultivation technique called "Golden Flame Technique" among the three jade slips.

"What's the price?"

"200 spirits."

Upon hearing the price, Jiang Peng felt even more uncertain.

"The incomplete martial arts manuals sold in the market are priced at about this level."

Upon hearing this, the stall owner immediately scoffed, "My techniques are complete; their origins are none of your concern!"

"What if it's not true after you've seen it?" Jiang Peng narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Go ahead and make a scene! You can even try it out on the spot!" The stall owner said loudly, attracting the attention of many people around him.

Seeing this, Jiang Peng pondered for a moment, but ultimately chose to pay.

The stall owner immediately removed the restriction on the jade slip.

Jiang Peng directly examined the contents of the jade slip in front of everyone.

A moment later, a look of deep surprise appeared in his eyes.

This "Golden Flame Technique" was actually a complete cultivation method. Jiang Peng even tried circulating his spiritual energy through this technique, and immediately felt a surge of internal heat rising within his body.

He would also have this feeling when practicing the "Qi Absorption Technique" on a regular basis.

This is because of the fire elemental root.

"I haven't even switched cultivation techniques yet; I was just verifying their authenticity, and they've already directly activated the spiritual energy within me..."

Jiang Peng looked at the stall owner in disbelief, still unable to believe that she had bought a high-quality fire-type cultivation technique for only 200 low-grade spirit stones.

The stall owner was clearly paying close attention to Jiang Peng's actions.

Seeing that Jiang Peng had verified the authenticity of the technique, he smiled and said, "How was it? I didn't lie to you, did I?"

Jiang Peng did not respond and turned to leave.

The whole thing seemed strange, and he vaguely sensed that several gazes were intentionally or unintentionally falling on him.

However, everyone coming and going in the ghost market was wearing masks, so Jiang Peng couldn't see their faces. She didn't know where this spying came from and just wanted to get away as soon as possible.

After some thought, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

As Jiang Peng walked away, the stall owner selling martial arts techniques winked at someone around the corner on the other side.

Immediately, two figures chased after the direction Jiang Peng had left in.

...

In the mountains and forests.

Three men with gloomy faces suddenly broke through the dense forest and appeared in a clearing.

"Strange, the cultivation technique jade slip is clearly right here, so why isn't that person here?"

"Senior Brother Li, could it be that the kid sensed something was wrong beforehand...?"

The man in the lead, referred to as Senior Brother Li, sneered.

"Heh, which of those who bought our cultivation technique before didn't notice something was off?"

While the three were talking.

A sword light suddenly flashed out from the towering treetop.

The sword light was extremely well concealed, and even the sound of the wind was barely perceptible.

Meanwhile, the three people below were still talking.

Senior Brother Li looked at his companion beside him.

"Junior Brother Wang, investigate further... Wait, be careful!"

Senior Brother Li suddenly raised his voice, and almost at the same time, a sword light passed through his companion beside him.

Junior Brother Wang's head tumbled in mid-air, spraying blood.

Senior Brother Li's pupils contracted, and he was greatly alarmed.

"Jade Pavilion Sword Technique!"

Swah——

The flying sword that had killed Junior Brother Wang changed direction and increased its speed even further, heading straight for Senior Brother Li.

Senior Brother Li quickly dodged, while frantically taking out a longsword from his storage bag.

clang!

A crisp sound.

Senior Brother Li knocked the flying sword away, but he himself also took a half step back.

"Only at the early stage of Qi Refining, we can handle it!" Senior Brother Li instantly sensed the cultivation level of the person behind the flying sword.

Meanwhile, Jiang Peng, who had been observing from the shadows for a long time, seized the opportunity and jumped down from the sky.