Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

After leaving the Blood Tooth Tower, Chen Yuan did not change his attire and went straight into the Ten Thousand Blade Tower.

People seeking rare poisons are already extremely rare, so he simply stopped frequently concealing his identity.

The furnishings in Wanren Tower were even more exquisite than those in Xuechi Tower. Chen Yuan arrived at the twenty-fourth floor and revealed his cultivation as a mid-level demon general. He soon met the steward of Wanren Tower.

This person turned out to be a gentle and graceful young woman, whose presence was like a breath of fresh air.

Just like Steward Fuyuan, she made Chen Yuan produce top-grade spirit stones to prove his wealth before she ascended to the twenty-fifth floor.

After killing the four mid-level demon generals of the Corroded Wood Cave, Chen Yuan obtained more than 500 mid-grade spirit stones. He used 450 of them in the Blood Tooth Tower, leaving him with nearly 690.

He immediately took out four hundred top-grade spirit stones, and then, led by the gentle young woman, arrived at the twenty-fifth floor.

The gentle young woman asked Chen Yuan what he needed. He got straight to the point and said in a rough, hoarse voice, "The stinger bone powder of the Three-Tailed Crimson Crystal Scorpion, and the Blood Bone Lotus of five thousand years."

Upon hearing this, the gentle young woman frowned slightly, looking quite pitiful: "So, fellow Daoist needs a rare poison. We cannot produce a five-thousand-year-old Blood Bone Mushroom, but we can satisfy you with the bone powder from the Three-Tailed Crimson Crystal Scorpion's Tail Needle."

"However, such strange beasts are almost extinct, and this creature is only preserved in Wanren City."

"Fellow Daoist, you will have to wait for some time and bear the cost of the teleportation array. I wonder if you are willing?"

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Name your price."

The gentle young woman smiled slightly: "Five hundred top-grade spirit stones..."

Chen Yuan frowned, his face hidden behind the demon mask. This woman had a gentle appearance, but when it came to treasures, she immediately started making exorbitant demands.

He refused to budge, and after some haggling, the two finally reached an agreement on a price of 350 top-grade spirit stones.

The toxicity of the Three-Tailed Crimson Crystal Scorpion's stinger bone powder is similar to that of the Ghost-Faced Spider Demon King's venom.

But the Ghost-Faced Spider is a demon race, and although demon kings are few, they can eventually be found.

The Three-Tailed Crimson Crystal Scorpion is an ancient mythical beast that is now extremely rare, and its tail stinger bone powder is priced higher.

Moreover, the tail needle bone powder that Wan Renlou brought out weighed a full three pounds and seven ounces. It was made by removing all the tail needles of a three-tailed red crystal scorpion in the early stage of the Void Refinement realm, grinding them into powder, and then refining them. It was incredibly poisonous and substantial, and the price would be much higher.

Chen Yuan paid a deposit of one hundred top-grade spirit stones, and the gentle young woman handed him a jade token, telling him to come back in a month to collect the bone powder.

Wanrenlou had always been highly reputable, so Chen Yuan had no suspicions. He accepted the jade token, left Wanrenlou, and went to another magnificent building.

The Shadow Fortune Pavilion mentioned by Steward Fu Yuan is located within this magnificent building. It was established by a holy clan and occupies floors nine through eighteen. It is the second largest shop in Silver Tide City after Blood Tooth Pavilion and Ten Thousand Blade Pavilion.

There was no floor in Yingfu Pavilion that specifically sold the treasures of the Demon King. Chen Yuan went straight to the eighteenth floor and met the manager of Yingfu Pavilion, a thin old man with a goatee who looked very shrewd.

Like the steward of Fuyuan and the gentle woman, the gaunt old man did not inquire about Chen Yuan's identity. Upon hearing that Chen Yuan needed a five-thousand-year-old Blood Bone Lotus, he immediately smiled.

"Fellow Daoist, your information network is truly impressive. Our establishment does indeed have Blood Bone Mushrooms for sale, but they are only three thousand years old. As for five-thousand-year-old Blood Bone Mushrooms, our establishment can also produce them, but the price..."

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Name your price."

The gaunt old man's smile widened: "Five hundred top-grade spirit stones."

Chen Yuan didn't even blink: "One hundred yuan."

The gaunt old man shook his head repeatedly: "Absolutely impossible! Four hundred and eighty yuan..."

After another round of back-and-forth, the gaunt old man finally stuck to the price of 320 yuan, refusing to lower it by even a fraction.

Chen Yuan followed Xu Yunhai around Silver Tide City for two days and learned a little about the prices of various treasures in the city.

Even a five-thousand-year-old spiritual herb that can be used to refine cultivation pills is only priced at this level.

The Blood Bone Flower is a poisonous flower. Although it is a five-thousand-year-old spiritual herb, its uses are extremely limited. The price quoted by the gaunt old man was obviously much higher.

Although Chen Yuan needed the Blood Bone Cocoon to cultivate the Mixed Poison Body Refining Secret Technique, he was unwilling to be taken advantage of. He made a move to leave, but the gaunt old man remained unmoved.

He chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist, please go ahead. To be honest, my Blood Bat clan needs Blood Bone Mushrooms as an aid in cultivating supernatural powers in order to nurture a Blood Bone Mushroom that is five thousand years old."

"In Silver Tide City, only our pavilion can produce this item. The price of three hundred and twenty top-grade spirit stones is not high..."

Left with no other choice, Chen Yuan had to stop and handed over fifty top-grade spirit stones to the gaunt old man as a deposit, agreeing to come back and collect the Blood Bone Lotus in two months.

The physical body is the foundation of body cultivation. Five thousand years of body-tempering spiritual herbs are too precious and have no market value. He can only temper his physical body with the help of the "Mixed Poison Body Refining Secret Technique". It doesn't matter if he spends more top-grade spirit stones.

……

It was already late when Chen Yuan left Yingfu Pavilion. He returned to his cave to meditate and cultivate.

The next morning, Chen Yuan left his cave and went to a secluded place. He changed his mask, and his blue outfit turned dark yellow. He used a secret technique to grow to about nine feet tall, transforming into a burly man.

In addition to numerous shops, Yinchao City also has brothels, restaurants, and other places for pleasure-seeking, making it a very lively place.

The Burning Demon Realm has always been at a disadvantage on Tyrant Turtle Island, where human slaves are precious, especially beautiful female human cultivators.

Many demon generals, unwilling to spend large sums of spirit stones to buy female slaves, went to brothels to seek pleasure, leaving behind many tragic mixed-race people like Xu Yunhai.

After changing his appearance again, Chen Yuan arrived at a brothel, where he was greeted by a low-ranking demon general.

Chen Yuan made no attempt to conceal his cultivation level; the aura of a mid-level demon general was clearly visible. The demon general respectfully asked, "May I ask, sir demon general, what level of cultivation do you desire in a woman?"

Chen Yuan tossed out three top-grade spirit stones and said calmly, "I'm going to the dark market."

The demon general accepted the spirit stone, his expression becoming even more respectful: "My lord, please follow me."

The brothel was very quiet. Although it was called a brothel, it was actually a large pavilion and palace, no less than the cave built by the demon general.

Those who come here are at least at the level of a demon general, and they are not short of spirit stones. They all go straight into the small building to choose human women.

Chen Yuan followed behind the demon general, passing through pavilions, corridors, waterside gardens, and flower gardens, and stopped in front of an unremarkable side room.

Chen Yuan spread his divine sense, and a protective array enveloped the room, which even high-ranking demon generals could not see.

The demon general took out an iron plaque, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and released several beams of spiritual light. With a flash of the array, the empty room door opened by itself.

The demon general stepped in, followed closely by Chen Yuan. The room was dimly lit and simple, with a formation about ten feet in size carved on the ground and array flags planted around it.

Beside the formation, a burly man sat cross-legged on a futon, dressed in a black robe, with an indifferent expression.

But when he saw Chen Yuan, he immediately stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, his expression extremely respectful.

The demon general took out the three top-grade spirit stones and handed them to the black-robed giant, whispering, "This demon general wishes to enter the dark market. Quickly activate the formation."

The burly man in black robes accepted the top-grade spirit stone and respectfully said to Chen Yuan, "Please, sir, enter the formation."

Chen Yuan slowly walked into the formation. The black-robed giant took out a small array plate, pointed at it, and the teleportation array lit up with a white light. Chen Yuan's figure then disappeared.

This array turned out to be a short-distance teleportation array. After seeing Chen Yuan off, the black-robed giant sat down cross-legged again, his expression becoming indifferent once more. The low-ranking demon general also left the room and silently departed.

……

Chen Yuan's vision blurred, and after a moment of extremely slight spatial compression, he had already arrived in the dark market. Looking around, this place was quite similar to the ghost market on Tianji Island. It was also located in an underground cave, extremely dark, with only the will-o'-the-wisps of lanterns hanging beside the various shops and stalls barely illuminating an area of ​​about ten feet.

Beneath Chen Yuan was a large teleportation array, ten zhang in diameter, comparable to the teleportation array in Leishan Cave.

People were constantly appearing and disappearing into the formation.

Most of these people, like Chen Yuan, either wore masks or covered their faces with veils to conceal their appearance.

Some people do show their true selves, but they are only a minority.

Several demon generals dressed in black robes stood around the teleportation array. Chen Yuan noticed that those who walked out of the teleportation array would show a black iron plaque, and would only leave after the black-robed demon generals nodded.

Chen Yuan stepped out of the formation. A black-robed demon general stepped forward and respectfully said, "Please show your Dark Market pass, Demon Commander."

Chen Yuan stopped and said calmly, "This is my first time entering the Ghost Market, and I do not have a pass token."

The black-robed demon general took out a black iron token with the character "Dark" engraved on it and presented it with both hands: "Please accept this pass token, Lord Demon General. It only costs twenty top-grade spirit stones. From now on, you can move freely in the dark market."

Chen Yuan remained silent, took out twenty top-grade spirit stones, and put away the black iron plate.

The black-robed demon general accepted the top-grade spirit stone, bowed to Chen Yuan with clasped hands, and silently retreated to the side.

Chen Yuan stepped out and entered the dark market. The street was very quiet, and the people coming and going were all walking in a hurry, without saying a word, their eyes revealing a sense of vigilance, and they were intentionally keeping their distance from others.

Besides shops, there were also stalls on both sides of the street, but there were very few treasures on display.

Chen Yuan's gaze swept over a stall, then he paused, walked up to the stall, and asked in a high-pitched voice, "How much is this demon core?"

A burly man wearing a straw hat that covered half his face raised his head and said calmly, "Three hundred top-grade spirit stones."

Chen Yuan frowned: "Could you make it cheaper?"

In front of the burly man was a small table with an earth-yellow demon core, a golden mace, and a jade bottle on it.

This demon core exudes a strong demonic aura; it is indeed the demon core of a mid-level demon general. Judging from its aura, this demon beast was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a high-level demon general in its lifetime, making it perfect for refining demon essence pills.

The burly man lowered his head again: "No bargaining."

Chen Yuan glanced at the demon core, shook his head slightly, and turned to leave.

In the world, everything is intertwined with yin and yang. In addition to the many shops in the open, there is also a dark market in Silver Tide City.

The treasures among them are either things that cannot be seen in the light of day or things that cannot be found on the market, and their prices are extremely high, just like this demon core.

To enter the dark market, one must be at least a demon general in cultivation, and also spend twenty top-grade spirit stones to buy a pass token.

Furthermore, each time one enters, it costs three top-grade spirit stones to use the teleportation array.

Ordinary demon generals could hardly handle the task, so demon commanders were the most common sight in the dark market.

Chen Yuan learned how to enter the dark market from the Iron Wing Demon General and the Heavenly Hou Demon General, but he didn't expect to see a mid-level demon general's demon core at a roadside stall.

The shops in Silver Tide City also sell demon cores of mid-level demon generals, with clear origins, but they are much more expensive than this demon core.

Although demons cannot refine demon cores into demon essence pills to improve their cultivation, they are excellent materials for refining weapons and have a wide range of uses.

However, for the demon race, the demon core is equivalent to the nascent soul and primordial spirit of a human cultivator, a matter of life and death.

To obtain the demon core of a mid-level demon general, one must take his life, which is extremely risky.

Chen Yuan treated demon generals of the same rank as nothing, but for the vast majority of mid-rank demon generals, killing a demon general of the same rank was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Those who have reached this level of cultivation are all incredibly powerful and possess immense demonic energy. Even if you manage to defeat them, it is difficult to keep them alive.

The powerful Saint Clan demon generals, or those with strong bloodlines, do not need demon cores of the same rank and would not hunt down demon generals of the same rank for no reason.

Most of the demons who die of natural causes leave their demon cores to their bloodline descendants.

Moreover, those who can cultivate to the level of Demon General are rarely those with mediocre bloodlines or no background. They either have a Demon King backing them up or a powerful clan behind them.

Even if someone obtains the demon core of another demon general, they often dare not openly sell it.

Therefore, demon cores are rarely sold on the market, and even when they do appear, they are extremely expensive.

Only in the dark market can demon cores be sold without restraint, but the prices are much higher than in the shops of Silver Tide City.

Chen Yuan needed demon cores to refine pills, but after buying four kinds of rare poisons, he had very few top-grade spirit stones left and could not come up with three hundred top-grade spirit stones.

He wouldn't spend so many spirit stones just for a mid-level demon general's demon core.

If his plan goes smoothly, he can obtain a large number of demon cores, enough to raise his cultivation to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Chen Yuan strolled through the dark market, his eyes scanning the shops on both sides. When he passed a shop called "Qing Shou Tang", he paused for a moment.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General was acquainted with the shopkeeper, but Chen Yuan had no intention of entering and continued to scan the stalls on both sides.

Those who can set up stalls in the dark market are at least high-level demon generals, and the treasures they bring out are all extraordinary; otherwise, they would have already been sold to shops in the dark market.

However, Chen Yuan had no shortage of divine weapons and magical treasures. He did see two five-thousand-year-old body-tempering spiritual herbs, but both were extremely expensive.

He continued deeper into the dark market, where the shops on both sides of the street grew larger and larger, and more and more people came and went.

He stopped in front of a grand hall with the words "Blazing Blood Hall" written on the plaque. In this gloomy dark market, it gave people the feeling of a bustling marketplace.

Chen Yuan finally stopped and entered the Blazing Blood Hall.

The hall was very quiet. A dozen beautiful maids dressed in red robes stood on both sides of the hall door. Deep inside the hall were quiet rooms, all with their doors tightly closed.

Whenever someone enters, a maid will come forward, bow, and lead them into a quiet room.

Chen Yuan glanced around and noticed that the layout of the hall was quite similar to that of the Blood Tooth Tower.

A maidservant came forward, curtsied gracefully, her obedient face slightly stiff, and said softly, "Please follow me, sir."

Chen Yuan followed her into a quiet room and sat down.

This quiet room is quite similar to the Bloodtooth Tower, shrouded in an array to prevent divine sense from prying into it. On the other side of the quiet room, there is another door.

A maidservant served the tea and said softly, "Our establishment is full of customers, please wait a moment, sir."

"If you are bored, sir, this servant may serve you..."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and removed her clothes, revealing a beautiful body.

Chen Yuan didn't even glance at him, and said indifferently, "Step back."

The woman's expression remained unchanged, her gentle smile still present. She dressed herself again, gave a graceful bow, and left the quiet room. (End of Chapter)