What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

The carriage was quiet. Li Qing leaned back in his seat, took out his phone, and started playing his game again.

He seemed completely uninterested in the little incident that had just happened in the blacksmith shop, or in the case of the heretical cultivator that Fang He was investigating.

This is also why we feel comfortable together.

Unless the trouble is directed at us, nobody will bother with it.

After driving for a while, the streetlights gradually became brighter.

Jin Wanliang glanced at me through the rearview mirror while keeping an eye on the road ahead.

Suddenly, he spoke, his tone tinged with worry:

"Brother Chen, the materials that Old Man Huo mentioned earlier, such as thousand-year-old yin wood or cold iron from beyond the Great Wall, are not ordinary items that can be easily found on the market."

Are you really capable of handling this?

If it's inconvenient, I have a few deep connections in the black market in Jiangcheng and the surrounding areas. I can keep an eye out for you.

While we may not find it immediately, casting a wider net always increases our chances.

I turned my head and looked at Jin Wanliang's chubby profile, knowing that he genuinely wanted to help.

However, I shook my head and said in a relaxed tone:

"Old Jin, I appreciate your kindness."

Don't worry about the materials; I know what I'm doing and can handle it.

Seeing that I answered so readily, Jin Wanliang did not pursue the matter further.

He's a smart man; he knows that everyone in this circle has their own trump cards and tricks.

Since I said I could handle it, I must have my methods.

Asking too many questions would only make us seem distant.

"Fine, then I won't bother with it."

Jin Wanliang chuckled and agreed.

"As soon as your materials arrive, I'll contact Old Man Huo to start the furnace."

After a whole night of running around, and since we hadn't eaten dinner before leaving, everyone was feeling a bit hungry.

Jin Wanliang suggested that they skip the fancy restaurants and just find a down-to-earth place in the north of the city to eat something casual.

The car stopped at a night market street on the edge of the old street.

This place is full of all kinds of food stalls and barbecue stands, with a lively atmosphere and the air filled with the aroma of cumin and grilled meat.

We found a popular barbecue stall and sat down at a small folding table set up by the roadside.

Jin Wanliang, familiar with the place, ordered a large plate of roasted meat and several pieces of tendon.

However, considering that one of us is a patient, another needs to drive, and the third doesn't drink alcohol...

So they replaced the iced beer that was a staple at barbecue stalls with iced cola.

The summer night breeze felt cool on my skin.

The three of us sat around the table, eating grilled skewers and drinking iced cola.

Li Qing occasionally complained about how bad his teammates were in the game, while Jin Wanliang casually chatted about some interesting anecdotes from Jiangcheng's business world recently.

Most of the time I just listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a few words.

This kind of leisure time, full of local flavor, makes people feel particularly relaxed.

After we had eaten and drunk our fill, it was already past 10 p.m.

Jin Wanliang drove Li Qing and me back to Tingyuxuan, then took his leave.

After all, he has a lot of businesses to manage and can't just stay here with us all the time.

Li Qing and I went up the wooden stairs to the third floor.

The waiters in the teahouse had long since gone home, and the entire third floor was very quiet.

"I'm going to take a shower now, I smell like barbecue all over."

Li Qing yawned, stretched, and walked into his room.

I went back to my bedroom.

The temperature inside the room was still a bit lower than outside, so I took off my guitar bag and put it in a corner under the bed.

Afterwards, I took a change of clothes and went to the bathroom for a hot shower, washing away all my fatigue and the grime of daily life.

After drying my hair, I lay on the bed in my pajamas and took out my phone.

Now that Old Man Huo has agreed to take the order, it's better to deal with the materials sooner rather than later.

After entering the password, I opened the Folklore Bureau's internal network app.

Without much hesitation, I directly opened the "Internal Treasure Vault" redemption module and entered the relevant criteria in the search bar.

The Folklore Bureau's heritage is indeed astoundingly profound.

All kinds of rare and precious items handed over by branches across the country, as well as those collected by the General Administration over the years, are listed here in detail with exchange prices.

Of course, this is on the premise that you have enough merit points.

I carefully browsed the list of items on the screen, searching for materials that met Old Man Huo's requirements for "gathering and nourishing evil spirits".

Soon, my gaze fell upon a piece of material from Liaodong called "Centennial Evil-Inflicted Cold Iron".

According to the information, this piece of cold iron came from an ancient battlefield site in the extremely cold region outside the Great Wall.

Not only is the material incredibly hard, but it also naturally absorbs centuries of cold and malevolent energy.

It is extremely effective for forging weapons.

I scrolled down and found that the exchange price for this piece of cold iron was 80,000 merit points.

The price... is acceptable.

However, I don't think it's safe enough.

To ensure the scabbard achieved the best possible effect, I searched through the wood section again.

Ultimately, I chose a piece of thousand-year-old submerged wood from the deep mountains of western Hunan.

Submerged wood is inherently yin, and with the sedimentation of thousands of years, it can not only perfectly contain evil energy, but also nurture the spirituality of objects.

This piece of submerged wood is even more expensive, priced at 120,000 merit points.

After seeing the price, I fell silent...

It seems that Director Song really went to great lengths to recruit me.

However, I didn't hesitate and added both materials to the exchange list.

The total comes to 200,000 merit points. Although it hurts to spend, it's worth it to completely eliminate the threat of the Black Knife.

After selecting the materials, I thought about my current cultivation progress.

Although I only recently condensed my Demon Core, cultivation is like rowing against the current.

To continue improving, high-quality resources are essential.

So, I did a quick search and directly redeemed two Xuan Yin Sha Crystals marked as top grade.

Judging from its size and appearance, this top-grade evil crystal should be of similar quality to the one Lei Zhenshan gave me back then.

These two top-grade Xuan Yin Sha Crystals cost a total of 60,000 merit points.

After confirming that everything was correct, I clicked "Submit Redemption".

The system notified me that 260,000 merit points had been deducted. Looking at the remaining balance of over 90,000 in my account, I felt a surge of frustration.

Merit points seem plentiful, but why do they disappear so quickly?!

However, despite that, the services provided by the Folklore Bureau were still very good.

After filling in the address of Tingyuxuan, the system indicated that the materials would be delivered via special escort channels no later than tomorrow afternoon.

I'll just pick up the package tomorrow and deliver it to Old Man Huo.

After finishing my business, I put down my phone and turned off the bedside lamp.

Feeling the evil pill slowly circulating within my dantian, I closed my eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.