Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

After consuming the poison pill, the two wore masks and used a concealment technique to travel a long distance on a boat before gradually approaching an island shrouded in mist.

There were other cultivators dressed similarly with them traveling together, most of whom kept a certain distance.

"This market was built with the help of sea monsters and the management of people from the Huang family and Yuefeng Sect. We might encounter monsters later, so don't talk nonsense or stare at them."

Ye Chaosheng stood behind Shunzai, listening quietly. Hearing this, he was somewhat curious, as he was undoubtedly still a novice on the path of cultivation.

"A demon is leading the charge?"

"Well, the number of spirit creatures born on and near islands is less than that in the sea, and some spirit creatures are not very useful to demons, so they are used by them to exchange for blood food."

"So, blood and vital energy are very valuable?"

"Every household raises mortals who can produce blood essence. It's just that there aren't enough spirit stones on the market, so they're just there to make up the numbers. They can't get anything good in return, so most of the time they have to barter."

Ye Chaosheng felt a little heavy-hearted. The low value of blood essence meant that he would have to kill quite a few people.

"Then... Senior Sister, how many portions of blood qi do you need for the qi and cultivation method you require?"

Shunzai glanced at him, knowing what he was thinking, and explained, "If we only use blood essence, we would need several thousand portions, and most of the time it's priceless and there aren't enough wild beasts for us to kill. We need to rely on something else."

She turned her head slightly and lowered her voice: "The old man gave Senior Brother quite a lot of things. I used some, and hid the rest. Before we left, we collected all the spirit rice on the island. Throwing it all out should be enough."

"The situation in the market is complicated. Observe more and speak less. Remember, never act impulsively!"

As they talked, their boat reached the shore. Shunzai gave them some advice and then jumped ashore first.

She negotiated with a man in black robes who approached her and obtained two jade tokens. Then she returned to the side of the boat, gestured for Ye Chaosheng to come down, and casually gave him a jade token.

"Don't lose it. We have to hand this over when we leave the island, and after that... they won't be responsible for our lives."

Ye Chaosheng nodded, carefully placed the jade pendant close to his body, and then followed Shunzai through several twists and turns on the island, passing through several forests, before finally arriving at a valley.

They encountered more and more cultivators along the way, all of whom concealed their aura and faces, traveling in twos and threes, and no one casually struck up a conversation with anyone.

Unlike the bustling crowds at the mortal market, the valley was eerily quiet, even though a large number of cultivators had gathered there.

There were only a few houses in the best location in the middle of the valley. The rest of the cultivators stood around in the valley. There was no one hawking their wares or even setting up stalls. There were only signs placed in front of the cultivators.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 1110 ...

Ye Chaosheng has been able to recognize most of the characters these days. Following Shunzai, he looked at the signs and found that they didn't say what they were selling, but rather what was needed.

He thought about it for a moment and understood. In this area, no one was willing to reveal what they had. If someone had something they needed, they would naturally come to them for contact.

Concealing one's aura and face ensures that all cultivators can minimize risks regardless of whether the transaction succeeds or fails.

Shunzai walked with a hurried pace, leading Ye Chaosheng quickly through the first part of the valley and straight into one of the houses in the middle section.

There was a counter inside, and several shelves were placed around the room, with bottles and jars containing various items. One or two cultivators moved among them, examining everything, but they didn't touch anything with their hands.

Behind the counter stood a middle-aged man who made no attempt to conceal himself; he had a beard and a prosperous appearance.

He didn't react much when people came in, just glanced at them sideways, and then went about his business, fiddling with the abacus and writing and drawing in a book.

Shunzai placed a small bag of spirit rice, several bottles of blood essence, and five spirit stones on the table.

Her voice also became hoarse as she said, "One portion each of Spirit Transformation Water and Spirit Extraction Water, and one Flesh and Blood Fruit."

The middle-aged man casually picked up the spirit rice, tossed it around, then opened the bag and glanced at it before nodding in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to open the storage bag to take something out, he saw Shunzai take out two bottles of blood essence and a spirit stone from his sleeve.

"A single pill to sustain life."

The middle-aged man glanced at the bloody aura, a look of surprise flashing across his face. Without saying anything, he took out three jade bottles and a stone box.

Shunzai accepted the gifts, hesitated for a moment in front of the counter, and finally took out three spirit stones: "I want a second-grade sword technique."

The middle-aged man, who had already resumed calculating, glanced at the spirit stones and shook his head: "Not enough."

Another spirit stone was placed on the table.

The middle-aged man was about to refuse again when he saw the customer holding half a spirit stone. He tossed it lightly without placing it on the table: "This isn't a unique item, and it's hard to find someone to buy it. What do you say, shopkeeper?"

……

On the boat back, Shunzai noticed Ye Chaosheng's awkwardness behind him. With a smile on his face, he said mockingly, "Alright, I don't know what a grown man like you is being so pretentious about."

The woman turned around and pushed him, her expression complicated: "I really don't understand you. You have your own methods, and your senior sister comes to you without you having to suffer any loss. You don't even want to pretend to be confused and just close your eyes and let it go. I even have to spend spirit stones to buy you pills. And now you're acting like this."

Ye Chaosheng lowered his head, not daring to look at her, and asked in a hesitant tone, "Why...why does Senior Sister trust me so much?"

Shunzai hesitated for a moment, then his expression sharpened, and he chuckled, "No, I don't believe you either, but I don't have time to wait any longer."

"That old man bought this spiritual item for preparing the blood pool again after such a short interval. He's probably planning to... kill all the mortals on the island, extract their blood essence, and seek a breakthrough."

"He's been stuck at this level for so many years, accumulating a lot of spiritual items and receiving a large amount of blood energy to help him break through. His time in seclusion will definitely be very short, but this is also our opportunity."

Shunzai said firmly, "As soon as he goes into seclusion, we will set sail. I know of islands with wild savages. Everything is ready. Now we can only leave it to luck."

"If he fails to break through and dies, that would be the best outcome. Then the two of us can come back and kill the other two, and the island will be mine. Consider these things as early training for you."

Her pale blue eyes glanced at Ye Chaosheng, a hint of coldness in them: "Junior brother, you're not going to leave me, are you?"

Seeing Ye Chaosheng shaking his head like a rattle-drum, she changed the subject: "If he succeeds in breaking through, I can only pray that I break through to the Qi Refining stage before he finds me. Then I can take you to another sect, which should be enough to protect you."

Suddenly, looking at Ye Chaosheng's somber expression, she became amused again: "Of course, junior brother, we can also do nothing and stay on the island, practicing fetal breathing for the rest of our lives."

"If he succeeds in his breakthrough, you'll obediently become my Daoist partner. Our cultivation levels aren't high, so we can have many children and outlive this old man. How about it?"

Ye Chaosheng looked helpless: "Senior sister, please stop teasing me." He paused for a few moments, then said, "I am determined to leave."

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, "Why don't we take advantage of his breakthrough, break into the cave, and kill him?"

Shunzai had also thought about this. She had been thinking about it since the old Taoist's eldest disciple was killed by him, but she gave up the idea after sneaking into the cave when the old Taoist was not around.

She said in a low voice, "After the eldest brother died, he had no one he could completely trust, so he dug up the entire underground of the cave."

"The old man had long anticipated this day. He hid inside during his breakthrough, making it very difficult for us to find him. If we were discovered, we would only face certain death. The risk is too great."

"Don't go back and do anything to him, just wait quietly."