To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Don't miss out: Chapter 166, Night Raid, full text available here. Click to read.

Xuan Yin Fang Market.

Gu Fan and Zhao Qi sat facing each other.

Zhao Qi's eyes showed a look of reminiscence as he recounted, "The five Xuan Yin families are all Foundation Establishment families, but the Zhu family and the Lu family each have two Foundation Establishment cultivators, while the other three families each have only one Foundation Establishment cultivator. Therefore, the Zhu family and the Lu family are the most difficult to deal with."

"Tsk." Gu Fan took a light breath and frowned, "If that's the case, why don't the Zhu family and the Lu family absorb the other three families?"

Zhao Qi shook his head and smiled, "Senior, you may not know this, but although the Shang family and the Yuan family each only have one Foundation Establishment cultivator, they have long been related by marriage and will advance and retreat together."

"In this way, the three parties will be in a strong position, and although the Yi family only has one Foundation Establishment cultivator, they can benefit from both sides."

Gu Fan nodded slightly, his brows relaxing, and asked, "What are the Foundation Establishment realms of the five Xuan Yin clans?"

Zhao Qi quickly waved his hand: "How could I possibly know such news? What I just said was heard in the market. However, I have been making a living in the market for many years and can guarantee its reliability."

Gu Fan felt that it was a bit abrupt, as his cultivation level was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, so he immediately changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, I have some experience in finding spiritual herbs, and I'd like to stay in the market permanently in the future. I wonder which family would be the most profitable to sell to?"

According to information provided by the Lingxiao Sect, the Lingxiao Sect disciple who was attacked was attacked while collecting spiritual herbs.

If the other party is targeting spiritual herbs, then the family with the greatest demand for spiritual herbs could be a good entry point.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qi did not hesitate at all and said bluntly, "If that's your plan, it doesn't matter which company you sell to."

"Oh? What does that mean?" Gu Fan raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Qi explained, "Senior, you may not know this, but the five families have actually secretly agreed that the price for purchasing spiritual herbs is always consistent, and no family is allowed to raise the price on its own."

"If there were only one or two medicinal herbs, it would be fine; they could probably be sold by setting up a stall at the foot of the mountain."

"But living in the market costs spirit stones every day, and if there is no suitable buyer for a while, the only option is to sell to the five major families."

"Moreover... setting up a stall requires paying a stall fee, and setting up a stall without permission will attract the attention of the market guards."

Gu Fan stroked his chin and explained, "Living and setting up a stall in the market requires spirit stones. In short, all the independent cultivators are working for the five major families."

"That's for sure!" Zhao Qi said with a wry smile, "What can we do when we're just independent cultivators!"

"If you want to buy better cultivation techniques, magic weapons, and pills, you have to go to the shops of the five major families. You can buy them from the stalls of independent cultivators, but the quality is not guaranteed."

"However, if you know cultivation techniques, you can apply for a job at the shops of the five major families. If you are accepted as a guest elder, you will have a powerful backer."

Gu Fan nodded, finally gaining a clear understanding of the market's ecosystem.

Through private collusion, the five clans of Xuanyin have basically monopolized the market. Although they have to supply the three sects of Wei State every year, they are still a superior force to independent cultivators.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Qi got up and took his leave as it was getting late.

Gu Fan escorted him to the door.

After Zhao Qixing bowed and took his leave, he had only taken two steps when he suddenly turned back.

"I almost forgot! If you're skilled at finding spiritual herbs, there's a good opportunity to earn spirit stones right now."

"What good opportunity?" Gu Fan asked.

Zhao Qi smiled and said, "In a few days, it will be the season for the Nether Lamp Grass to mature. The five major families have already announced that the purchase price of the Nether Lamp Grass has doubled."

"Although the Ghost Lamp Grass is difficult to find during the day, it is not hard to spot at night. Many rogue cultivators are preparing to go into the mountains to make a fortune."

"Senior, you shouldn't miss this!"

"Netherworld grass?" Gu Fan muttered to himself, then nodded to Zhao Qi and said, "Thank you, I understand."

After Zhao Qi walked away, Gu Fan returned to the courtyard and pondered the information Zhao Qi had mentioned.

The quality of the Netherworld Lamp Grass is not high. Its main usable part is its root and stem, which many wood-type spirit beasts love to eat. Its greatest characteristic is that it reproduces extremely quickly.

Because the Ghost Lamp Grass is a yin-type spiritual herb, it hides its form during the day, indistinguishable from roadside weeds, and only reveals its true form at night.

Strangely, once mature, the *Ghost Lamp Grass* produces fluffy, ball-shaped seeds at its tip that emit a dim glow at night, like a nightlight.

As soon as the wind blows, the seeds drift to various places, which is very similar to the dandelion that Gu Fan knows.

Gu Fan, holding the white jade ring, frowned and asked, "Why has the price of the Netherworld Lamp Grass doubled?"

Although Yin-attribute spiritual herbs are relatively rare, there are other spiritual medicines that can replace the Netherworld Lamp Grass. Gu Fan felt that the reason for the price increase was definitely not simple.

After a long while, a thought flashed through his mind.

"What if... the Five Clans of Xuan Yin's goal is simply to allow rogue cultivators to enter Xuan Yin Mountain?"

The Yin energy rises at night on Xuan Yin Mountain, making it extremely easy to conceal one's presence. The price of Nether Lamp Grass has skyrocketed, and with many rogue cultivators flocking in, battles are bound to break out, and there will likely be no shortage of casualties.

"Are the Five Clans of Xuan Yin trying to use this opportunity to eliminate rogue cultivators?"

After pondering for a while, Gu Fan shook his head to clear his mind.

Gu Fan left the market early in the morning and flew towards Xuan Yin Mountain.

Xuan Yin Mountain was just a hundred miles away from the market town, and they arrived there in no time after concealing their presence.

Gu Fan thought he had arrived early, but to his surprise, he saw many rogue cultivators riding magical artifacts entering Xuan Yin Mountain in twos and threes halfway there.

Although Xuan Yin Mountain is not as vast as Yun Jie Mountain, it still stretches for over a hundred miles.

Many independent cultivators entered the mountains, like a drop of water flowing into a river, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Gu Fan looked around and found a secluded spot. He poked it twice in his pocket, and the gourd slowly crawled out.

Because Gu Fan emphasized that it shouldn't run around, and the gourd didn't want to go into the spirit beast bag, it had no choice but to hide in Gu Fan's arms.

Fortunately, he had already gotten used to it when he was still a Wind-Stopping Rat, and he just slept soundly all day long, unaware of what the world was like.

Gu Fan extended a finger and tapped the top of the gourd, instructing, "Quickly, find out where the spiritual herbs are!"

Xuan Yin Mountain is rich in resources, and since it is still daytime, Gu Fan wouldn't mind picking a few medicinal herbs to take back.

Hulu sniffed a few times, then accidentally sneezed. He looked at Gu Fan, spread his hands, and slowly shook his head.

"No?" Gu Fan blinked.

"Let's go somewhere else!"

......

As the sun sets in the west, a faint, eerie aura can be seen emanating from the earth.

Gu Fan walked through Xuan Yin Mountain, surrounded by what felt like a ghostly realm.

The ancient trees, twisted and gnarled, resemble menacing monsters, while in this tranquil place, tiny specks of firefly light up.

That was the glow emitted by the ghost lamp grass.

Xuan Yin Mountain truly lives up to its reputation for abundant resources. Gu Fan spent most of the day sweeping around with his gourd and found several spiritual herbs.

Although their grades are not high, as rare Yin-attribute spiritual herbs, they can be sold and exchanged for a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills without any problem.

These spiritual herbs may not mean much to Gu Fan, who is in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but their allure to rogue cultivators is indescribable.

Because of the great effort put in by the gourd, Gu Fan promised to feed it all the proceeds from the medicinal herbs when he returned.

This undoubtedly aroused the gourd's initiative; its nose twitched incessantly as it searched for the elixir, and its two eyes widened like copper bells.

Suddenly, the gourd let out two loud cries and pointed its little hand to the right.

"Found it so quickly?" Gu Fan raised an eyebrow.

The gourd quickly shook its head, conveying its thoughts through the spiritual contract.

Gu Fan's eyes narrowed immediately: "You mean... there's a smell of blood?"

"Aww!" the gourd nodded and cried out.

Gu Fan's body blurred, concealing his form and aura, and he hovered in mid-air like a ghost, heading in the direction the gourd pointed.

A moment later, Gu Fan walked through a patch of tree shadows and suddenly saw a figure lying on the open ground ahead.

The figure was lifeless, with blood pooling on the ground, clearly having died recently.

Gu Fan cautiously approached, and when he saw the figure's face, he immediately clenched his fist.

That person was none other than Zhao Qi!

After not seeing him for several days, the capable and polite young rogue cultivator was found dead here!

His limbs were pierced by sharp blades, and blood flowed from the wounds. He was still clutching a leaf of the ghost lamp grass in his hand.

What shocked Gu Fan was not only Zhao Qi's death, but also the real cause of his death.

Although his limbs were pierced, it was not a fatal injury for a Qi Refining cultivator.

Zhao Qi's face was contorted, as if he had suffered immense pain before his death, and his body was a dark gray.

His life force was drained away!

Gu Fan squatted down for a closer look and then noticed a small hole in Zhao Qi's clothes around his abdomen.

Reaching out and lifting his clothes, he saw a bloodstain on his lower abdomen.

Gu Fan could imagine a tiny insect crawling into his dantian, slowly moving through his meridians, and devouring all the spiritual energy.

Then it burrows into the internal organs and devours life force until the last bit of life force is squeezed out, and then it dies in despair!

"As expected, he's a demonic cultivator!" Gu Fan's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Although Zhao Qi's storage bag disappeared, there were still two Nether Lamp Grasses nearby. If it were a rogue cultivator, they certainly wouldn't have let these spiritual herbs go.

Moreover, Zhao Qi's face was extremely similar to the plague victims in Gu Fan's memory.

Thinking of this, Gu Fan looked down at the gourd and asked, "Can you smell where those people went?"

Hulu noticed that Gu Fan's expression was grave, and his round face also tightened.

It jumped out of Gu Fan's arms, lay down on the ground and carefully sniffed around, then pointed ahead and barked twice.

Gu Fan was overjoyed. He hastily buried Zhao Qi and quickly chased after him with the gourd.

Following the gourd's guidance for a short while, they heard a low, hoarse sound.

Pushing aside the branches in front of me, I was immediately confronted with a horrifying sight.

The moonlight, like water, slanted across a meadow.

Two men in black stood not far away, one an elderly man with white hair and the other a robust young man.

At their feet lay a brown-robed monk writhing and struggling.

The brown-robed cultivator, with only the early stage of Qi Refining, had no chance of escaping from the two black-robed men who were at the late stage of Qi Refining. His limbs had been severed, and even his vocal cords had been crushed.

Because of the ruptured vocal cords, even the most agonizing cries could only turn into hoarse low moans.

The two men, as if awaiting the brown-robed monk's death, stood aside and chatted idly.

A wisp of dark light swirled in the young cultivator's palm as he asked listlessly, "Wouldn't catching a few more be enough?"

"Enough? Not even close!"

The white-haired old man snorted coldly and continued, "If you hadn't handled things poorly and let someone escape, why would the clan be in such a hurry?"

The young cultivator grumbled, dissatisfied, "We didn't know that person was a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, and he wasn't wearing the Lingxiao Sect's robes!"

"Furthermore, even if that person escaped, he would be seriously injured and might not be able to return to the Lingxiao Sect alive."

"In my opinion, what His Majesty is thinking is..."

"Shut up!" the white-haired old man snapped. "How dare you speak ill of His Majesty!"

"No, no!" the young cultivator quickly replied with a fawning smile. "If it weren't for Your Excellency, we wouldn't be where we are today. How could I dare to criticize Your Excellency?"

As soon as the two finished speaking, Gu Fan's deep voice came from the woods.

"Finally caught them!"