I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

Jueyuan County, Dark Moon Valley.

Three months later, the scenery in the valley was very different from when Chen Qing first came.

The most obvious change is that there are fewer people.

Chen Qing stood at the entrance of the valley, his gaze sweeping across the deep valley below, and he sighed inwardly.

After Lu Zhenjun took charge of Yunzhou, the cultivators of Qian Kingdom fled faster than rabbits, and even the number of rogue cultivators and tribulation cultivators in this black market decreased significantly. In the past, there were at least dozens of stalls in the valley, but now there are only about twenty left. The stall owners sit idly behind their stalls, too lazy to even shout out their wares.

"It's better to be quieter."

Chen Qing muttered to himself as he stepped into the valley.

His last three months have not been peaceful.

Ever since he gave Meng Yuanbai two thousand spirit stones and secretly slipped two hundred to Qian Youfu, his purse has been emptied out.

The Blazing Essence Pills of Qingtian and Danyu, and the Spirit Beast Pills of Yinyue all require spirit stones, and the Green Carp and Spirit Sheep Chicken will not be ready for market for more than two months, which is really too much to wait for.

Fortunately, Lin Yuan County lacks everything except for cultivators who have undergone tribulations.

After Lord Lu Zhenjun took charge, the cultivators of Qian Kingdom did indeed flee completely, but the local Tribulation Cultivators couldn't escape. Most of these guys were rogue cultivators, with low cultivation levels and little to no profit, but their advantage lay in their numbers. If you killed one, there would be two more; if you killed one pair, there would be three more.

In the past three months, Chen Qing has taken down seven unlucky guys.

Unfortunately, these seven unlucky fellows together couldn't even compare to the wealth on Yang Ming alone. Most of their magical artifacts were second-rate items among the mid-grade first-tier ones, not to mention their pills, which were not only of poor quality but also contained all sorts of messy impurities. No one would want them in a proper market.

Chen Qing continued walking, passing through the sparse stalls, and headed straight for the row of stone houses at the bottom of the valley.

The plaque of Qibaozhai remained unchanged as Chen Qing pushed open the door and entered.

Behind the counter, the middle-aged shopkeeper, with an ordinary face and a slightly plump figure, was fiddling with an abacus. Hearing the noise, he looked up and immediately put on his signature smile.

"Oh, our guest has arrived! It's been a while since we've seen you."

The shopkeeper emerged from behind the counter, his gaze sweeping over Chen Qing, his smile unchanged: "What brings you here today, sir? Is there anything you wish to buy, or anything you wish to sell?"

Chen Qing nodded, lowered his voice, and said in a hoarse tone, "Manager Qin, it's been a long time. I have something to offer."

Manager Qin's eyes lit up, and he stepped aside to lead the way: "Please follow me, sir."

The two entered the inner secret room, where the soundproof array on the four walls glowed faintly, isolating the inside from the outside.

Without wasting any words, Chen Qing took out one magical artifact after another from his storage bag and placed them on the stone table.

The seven magical artifacts were all of mid-grade first rank, including knives, swords, hooks, and forks, with varying degrees of spiritual energy and inconsistent quality.

Looking at the seven magical artifacts, Chen Qing secretly shook his head. Seven Tribulation cultivators and seven magical artifacts—that was all their possessions.

Chen Qing then took out six more jade bottles and placed them on the table one by one.

As soon as the jade bottle was taken out, a faint smell of blood and malevolent energy filled the secret room.

Shopkeeper Qin frowned slightly, picked up a jade bottle, uncorked it, sniffed it, poured out a pill, examined it carefully for a moment, and asked, "Is this the kind used by cultivators in the Blood Spirit Abyss? This one is much cheaper."

Chen Qing nodded: "Of course."

Shopkeeper Qin put down the jade bottle, then picked up the seven magical artifacts, examining each one carefully. He probed them with his spiritual sense to assess their quality. After a moment, he put down the last artifact, pondered for a moment, and said:

"All seven are mid-grade first-tier magic artifacts, but their quality is only average for mid-grade. They could probably sell for around 500 spirit stones outside. I'll give you 350 spirit stones."

Chen Qing nodded and did not haggle.

Shopkeeper Qin picked up the six jade bottles again and examined them carefully: "The pills are fine, but they are tainted with blood and evil energy. Cultivators from outside are not used to using them and it can easily affect their temperament. Even the demonic path is concerned about them. They won't be easy to sell if we take them back. I'll give you ten spirit stones per bottle, six bottles for sixty yuan."

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then probed his storage bag with his spiritual sense and scanned it.

There are quite a few things inside.

There were various cultivation techniques and secret manuals from the cultivators of the Qian Kingdom, several manuals from Yang Ming, two bottles of "Qi and Blood Pills" for body cultivators, and a large number of talismans—high-grade, mid-grade, and low-grade first-level talismans, at least forty or fifty in total.

Most of these talismans were seized from those cultivators who had undergone tribulations. Their quality varied greatly; some were radiant with spiritual light, while others were dull and grayish, clearly cheap goods.

Chen Qing rarely used it, but it was a pity to throw it away, so it just sat in the corner of the storage bag collecting dust.

Chen Qing took out all the unused talismans and spread them out on the table in a colorful array. He looked up at Manager Qin and asked, "Would you like to buy these?"

Manager Qin glanced at them casually, picked up a few, flipped through them, and said, "I'll take them, but these are all mid-grade and low-grade first-tier items. They're not very useful, so the price will be a bit lower."

Chen Qing nodded, not minding at all.

Shopkeeper Qin bowed his head and counted the items, then pondered for a moment: "Twenty-one talismans, seven of the first rank, mid-grade, and fourteen of the first rank, low-grade, of average quality. 20 spirit stones."

"The magical artifacts, elixirs, and talismans together cost 430 spirit stones. What do you say, sir?"

Chen Qing nodded without haggling.

These things were never meant to be seen in the light of day, so it's already pretty good that they sold for this price. He's not the kind of person who haggles over every penny.

Seeing him nod, Manager Qin's smile deepened. He took out 430 spirit stones from the counter, stacked them up, and pushed them in front of Chen Qing.

Chen Qing scanned the items with his spiritual sense, confirmed the number was correct, and put them into his storage bag.

Shopkeeper Qin cleared the pile of items from the table and asked with a smile, "Is there anything you wish to buy this time, sir? Our shop recently received a new batch of goods, all of excellent quality."

Chen Qing didn't rush to answer, but instead carefully considered the matter again.

He has no shortage of spells, escape and defense magic tools and talismans—the speed of the Azure Leaf Boat is comparable to that of a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator, the Silver Scale Soft Armor combined with the Spirit Turtle Shield provides considerable defense, and with the dozen or so first-grade life-saving talismans on his body, it wouldn't be so easy for an ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivator to capture him.

In terms of attack...

Chen Qing frowned slightly.

Although both Qingtian and Danyu are top-tier first-order items, Qingtian's "Ancient Ape True Body" lasts too short and leaves him weakened after use. It can only be used as a trump card and not as a regular method.

Although Dan Yu's Crane Heart White Flame is quite powerful, it is only at the first level of the upper grade. It can deal with cultivators at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, but it is somewhat ineffective against those at the ninth or tenth level of Qi Refining.

As for himself...

Chen Qing shook his head. As a seventh-level Qi Refining Beast Tamer with three spiritual roots in earth, wood, and water, head-on confrontation was never his forte. He could simply hide behind and fire a few "Mystic Ice Spikes" and be done with it.

"We need something that can make the final decision."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, then looked up at Manager Qin: "Do you have any powerful offensive magical artifacts in the shop?"

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Manager Qin's eyes, and his smile deepened: "Yes, please wait a moment, sir."

He turned and went deeper into the inner room. A moment later, he came out carrying four items and placed them one by one on the stone table!

[I apologize for the lack of updates during the new book period, and I'm shamelessly asking for votes! ^O^]