From a martial arts disciple to a god through countless trials and tribulations

Chapter 134: Mushrooms
The purple moonlight penetrated the mist, and the ghost market emerged in the mountains, just like a bustling street in the mortal world.

Mountains and seas have their own classics, and all things have spirits.

When Chen Xuan set foot in the ghost market in the Southern Wilderness, he immediately saw countless ghosts that were rarely seen in Chu. In addition to the local ghosts living in the Southern Wilderness, there were also many nomadic ghost merchants who rushed to the foot of Fox Mountain from all corners of the world.

These traveling merchants not only operate within the Southern Wilderness, but also travel to Chu, Yu Country, Zhi Country, and even further afield.

"Are they human merchants from the Chu State? Taking advantage of this chaos, sneaking across to do business?"

Chen Xuan frowned and looked at a young man not far away. It was Xue Qian who was being chased by many major forces in Chu.

Most of the people in the market are ghosts from the Southern Wilderness, but there are also a small number of humans and monsters.

Chen Xuan didn't know what Xue Qian looked like. The reason he saw him at first sight was because Xue Qian's current appearance was extremely eye-catching among the many strange-looking ghosts.

Xue Qian's face was pale, like a sickly ghost whose essence had been sucked dry by a female ghost. He was bent over, with a heavy burden on his back...

"An old man's corpse. What's this kid's hobby?"

Chen Xuan blinked. The old man's body was broken into pieces, and his twisted arm, revealing bone fragments, was clinging to the young man's shoulder. He was covered in blood, and it seemed that the blood would never dry up. As the young man walked, glaring scarlet footprints were left on the ground.

"Or perhaps, this young man in the Yuhua realm was held hostage by an old ghost?"

Chen Xuan was watching with great interest, but the other ghosts seemed to be completely oblivious to the old man's body on the young man's back.

"Wow!" In an instant, the old man seemed to sense something, and suddenly turned his head, looking towards Chen Xuan with his gloomy dark eyes.

"Huo, we've been discovered..."

The moment the old man turned his head, Chen Xuan's expression remained normal and he withdrew his gaze in advance.

The ghosts in the market are all strange and bizarre, and staring at them for a long time is extremely rude. If you meet someone with a bad temper, it is easy to cause unnecessary trouble.

Chen Xuan didn't look at it again.

"What were you looking at just now?" Hu Da, carrying a knife on his back, looked at Chen Xuan and asked curiously.

The tiger cubs were all looking around the bustling market, looking for what they needed.

"There's a human immortal monk who's been held hostage by an old ghost. His back is crushed and he looks like he won't live long."

Chen Xuan whispered, without revealing any special emotion in his tone. He respected the life trajectory of others and would not rashly cause trouble for strangers without understanding the cause and effect.

Take the initiative to clarify the situation and save any innocent people?
However, more than 90% of the ghosts, monsters, and human demons here are likely stained with the blood of innocent people. Instead of bravely doing what is right, Chen Xuan has more reason to take out the Human Emperor Banner and clear out the entire ghost market.

After all, those who practice Qi cultivation are different from ordinary beings...

The fighting skills at the Daozang realm level can already change the terrain in a small area.

When two great cauldron masters, Rushan Jun and Cui Tianhe, fought, the mountains and rivers shook, and there were at least eighty, if not a hundred, innocent ghosts and monks who died tragically on the ground in the aftermath of the battle.

Does the tiger deserve to die as well?
When higher-level Qi practitioners fight, any single battle can cause indescribable devastation. Mountains and rivers stretching across thousands of miles will be shattered, and billions of innocent lives will suffer.

Why did the Five Directions True Lords want to enter Shangyang Cave Heaven?
If a fight breaks out in the real world, half of Yaoguang Province will be sunk and everything will be burned to ashes!

In the fantasy world, if harming innocent people means death, then 99% of Qi practitioners deserve death. Moreover, the higher the realm, the more they deserve death. Even if they die a thousand times, it will be difficult to wash away their sins.

No cultivator can guarantee that innocent people will not be harmed in battle... This is something that cannot be helped and must be acknowledged.

A cultivator like Chen Xuan, who does not kill indiscriminately and is relatively restrained in fighting, is considered a rare good cultivator and a moral role model in the entire Qi training world.

Hu Da was shocked when he heard this and asked in surprise, "Are you dazzled? This is clearly a human consumptive ghost. He's so young, but his back is hunched. How could he have been carrying an old ghost on his back?"

He had just noticed the young immortal monk named Xue Qian, who looked strange, but he did not see the old ghost described by Chen Xuan.

"Didn't you see it?"

Chen Xuan was stunned, and his eyes turned suddenly, looking towards the young monk again.

However, his figure disappeared on the bluestone road full of ghosts, and no one knew where he went.

Did Xinzhai see something similar to the black cat?

"According to information from the Zheng and Pei families, Xue Qian, who escaped to the Southern Wilderness through a chance encounter, is a hunchback with a back problem..."

Chen Xuan frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "Hu Da, no, no one else can see the old ghost on his back."

Could this immortal monk be Xue Qian? How could he have met him so easily?

Xinzhai did not activate his deep-level power on his own. He saw the old man's existence naturally... So, the old man really exists in the world.

It is not like destiny is hidden in the person who has destiny.

He is not like the great beings like Mountain Ghost and Emperor Jiang, who are sleeping in the secret realm of Taixu.

"Ah! Benefactor, benefactor, benefactor!"

Suddenly, a clear and pleasant childish voice was heard, and a red little fox jumped out happily, circling around Chen Xuan's feet with curved eyebrows.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Bai Zi, long time no see."

The little fox Bai Zi was very happy. He was more than half a person's height. He took Chen Xuan's hand and pulled Chen Xuan forward:

"My dear, my relatives are setting up a stall. I smelled your sweet scent and came running to find you immediately!"

The weapon refining master, the three-tailed fox, has only one young daughter, Bai Zi, but he has a lot of blood relatives, all of whom have been guarding Fox Mountain during this period.

Tiger with a knife on his back crossed his arms over his chest and asked in a muffled voice, "Bai Zi, didn't you smell Tiger's breath?"

He took a shower before leaving in the early morning, but Bai Zi Xiaohu ignored him.

"Hu Er smells good too, and his little nose smells good too."

The little fox Bai Zi smiled and touched the snow-white tusks of the four-tusked elephant, treating them equally.

"It's just that the benefactor smells better."

Not long after, Chen Xuan and the others, along with the ghosts, arrived in front of the Fox family's stall. This was the most valuable location in the center of the ghost market. The ghosts nearby all seemed to have extraordinary bloodlines and impressive backgrounds.

Although the monster market is not located on Fox Mountain, the Fox family, who are proficient in refining equipment, have always been half the owner of the market.

In front of the Fox family's stall, several fox spirits were fiddling with the treasures they had refined.

A plump female vixen smiled faintly at Chen Xuan, a hint of charm flashing across her delicate fox face. She was wearing a black dress with a slender waist, and her breasts were bigger than Chen Xuan's head.

The vixen's eyes were like mist as she looked at Chen Xuan's well-proportioned, strong and upright body and handsome face. She licked the corner of her mouth with the tip of her tongue, her cheeks as if smeared with rouge, and she stretched out her hand to beckon the little fox Bai Zi:
"Little one, come here and introduce your benefactor to your aunt... Children should learn to share good things."

"..."

The ghosts from the Tiger family started setting up stalls on the open space specially reserved by the Fox family.

Chen Xuan met a group of enthusiastic vixens.

Afterwards, he decided to take a good look around the market and look for some good things he needed.

……

……

"That handsome monk is probably Chen Xuan."

In a dark corner of the market, Xue Qian was lying on the ground to rest. His posture was very strange, like a kneeling horse.

He could only rest like this. Any other posture would put pressure on the old immortal on his back.

"Who else could it be but him, with all those tiger cubs from Hushan?"

The old man lay on Xue Qian's back, his bleeding feet dragging on the ground, and his arms hanging from Xue Qian's shoulders. His posture was also strange. He said coldly.

Xue Qian asked, "Old Immortal, are you ready to take the Human Emperor Banner?"

The old man shook his head and said, "This ghost market is a secret place derived from a peerless treasure of the Fox family. Those vixen are very troublesome. Let's deal with them after we leave the market."

Xue Qiandian complimented, "The old immortal is very thoughtful."

He thought to himself that the old monster was extremely cunning and it would have been easy for him to kill the Daozang monk, but now that the task was imminent, he became even more cautious.

Xue Qian suddenly asked: "Old Immortal, did Chen Xuan see us just now?"

The old man sneered and said, "He only saw you. Chen Xuan is a Taoist monk who is as low as an ant. He has only obtained the Human Emperor Banner for a few days. How can he be qualified to see my true body?" "Oh? Can't he see the old immortal either?" Xue Qian asked.

He had been very enlightened these days, and had heard a lot of news about the Human Emperor Banner, and knew that the Human Emperor Banner could strengthen the soul.

"Hmph! Although my physical body remains in Shangyang Cave Heaven, this soul body that was condensed by chance has a trace of the power of the great [Tao Hongchen]. How can a mere [Mortal World] cultivator see it with the naked eye?"

The old man sneered, his old face full of disdain, and his tone was full of condescending attitude:

"The only one who can see the divine soul body is another divine soul body!"

Even though his soul and body, which were forced to condense, were broken into pieces, it was still not something that the cultivators in the [earthly world] could discover and deal with!
"If I hadn't been concerned about the existence of the legendary underworld and the strange second-life body of the mountain king, I would have attacked Tiger Mountain a few days ago and taken away the Human Emperor Banner!"

Xue Qian did not understand the advanced knowledge of the monastic world. He was silent for a moment and asked in a low voice:
"Old Immortal, are you still following the old plan? I will use the treasure to deliberately seduce Chen Xuan, and when he approaches carelessly, the old immortal will take the opportunity to attack..."

"With a gentle squeeze of my moon-like soul, his firefly-like fragile soul shattered."

"..."

The sound of conversation gradually became unclear.

The lantern light flickered, and some ghostly merchants passing by glanced with surprise at Xue Qian, who was resting in a strange posture in a dark corner...

……

……

"How do we exchange the spiritual essence of Wood Virtue?"

Chen Xuan came to an inconspicuous stall, pointed at a ball of green light on the stall that looked like grass seeds, and asked casually.

Behind him, the four little feathered monsters, Baizi Fox, Four-tusked Elephant, Bird, and Tiger, were running around, looking at the strange and bizarre items on the stalls with curiosity.

"This Wood Virtue Spirit Essence is of the second level of the Daozang Heaven. It was taken from a spirit girl from the Peony Spirit Clan of Zhi Country. It is very valuable."

Behind the stall was a middle-aged man from the Plant Spirit Clan, who answered with a smile.

He was about thirty or forty years old, with a feminine face and vein-like patterns on the skin of his collarbone. He wore a green garment woven from vines of sempervivum. His hair was stained with cold dew, and silvery-white mycelium was flowing out, with small white flowers blooming, and his whole body was shining with a green glow.

This is a traveling merchant from the Zhi Kingdom's spiritual tribe, who came to the Southern Wilderness from thousands of miles away.

Mushroom spirit?
Chen Xuan stared at the mycelium between the man's hair and roughly guessed the man's race, which should be from the mushroom family.

The mushroom spirit man placed the Wood Virtue Spirit Essence on the scale and weighed it while saying:
"Things like Wood Virtue Spirit Essence will soon become a controlled product of the Zhiguo government and won't be circulated outside... The price will be several times higher than before."

"Why?" Chen Xuan asked puzzledly.

The spiritual essence of the five elements is of equal value. When trading with traveling merchants, there is usually a premium of 10% to 20% in the exchange transaction.

Unless something special happens, the price of exchanging the Five Elements Spiritual Essence will fluctuate very little… Did something big happen in Zhiguo?
The mushroom spirit man looked up at Chen Xuan and said mysteriously:
"As soon as Shangyang Cave Heaven appeared, our Zhi Kingdom made a big move. Before I came to the Southern Wilderness, Zhi Kingdom had already captured three cities on the border of Chu, swallowing up a vast territory of three to four thousand miles..."

"This is actually happening!" Chen Xuan was shocked when he heard the voice.

The usually quiet and peaceful Zhi Kingdom had actually taken advantage of the window period when the creatures in the four places were ascending and directly invaded the Chu Kingdom... No wonder the Zhi Kingdom did not send anyone to the Southern Wilderness.

The other party was more decisive than the monsters from the Rain Country. Without even talking, they attacked Chu Di directly!

Chen Xuan inexplicably recalled the green ginseng figure that connected heaven and earth that he saw in Shangyang Cave Heaven. That great True Lord of Zhi Country was equally strong and heroic in Shangyang Cave Heaven, and his demeanor was no less than that of Emperor Jiang of Chu.

"The western part of Chu was originally the former territory of Zhi State thousands of years ago. It has only been conquered now."

"Most of us plant spirits aren't as brutal as the dragons. It's better for Chu to be divided up by us than for it to be ruled by the dragons of the Rain Country, right? They don't consider humans as living beings."

The mushroom spirit laughed, then pointed at the scales and said, "If the war breaks out, the Qi practitioners of Zhi Nation will frantically absorb the Wood Virtue Daozang from the four lands. The Wood Virtue Daozang in the outside world is hard to find, and the price will be driven up... I won't take too much advantage of you. If you use other Five Elements spiritual essences in exchange, the price will be increased by 50%."

This is not a fair price, the premium is too high.

However, the traveling merchants came here from afar and went through hardships, and the situation was turbulent at that time. It is understandable that they would definitely take the opportunity to make huge profits.

"How to exchange for spiritual essences of other attributes?" Chen Xuan asked.

"I will collect the rare wind and thunder spiritual essences, as well as the even rarer yin and yang spiritual essences. If you have these rare spiritual essences, I will give you money." The mushroom spirit said with a smile.

"Do you want the spiritual essence of the Plague Department?" Chen Xuan continued to ask.

He didn't know how to trade the Plague Department's spiritual essence, as he didn't have enough for himself. He was just curious why the mushroom spirit didn't mention the Plague Department's spiritual essence.

"Although the Plague Spirit Essence is equally rare, I won't accept it."

The mushroom spirit shook his head and said in a serious tone:
"It's hard to cash out. The Plague Tribe monks are a bunch of ruthless killers, poor and vicious. If you do business with them, they will definitely kill and rob."

"As a traveling merchant, saving one's life comes second. I cannot take any risks."

"..."

Chen Xuan twitched his lips, then asked, "A 50% premium is indeed too high. If I buy more things from you, can I get a discount? I'll trade the Fire Virtue Spirit with you."

He pointed at the stall, and saw a golden spherical spiritual essence emitting a sharp platinum light.

This is also a spiritual essence, and its weight is no less than the wood virtue spiritual essence of the second heaven level.

Then, he pointed to some books on the stall, such as "The Merchant's Path to Immortality," "A Directory of Ancient Mountain and Sea Sites," "Records of the Various States of Yaoguang Prefecture," and "Dragon Species of the Rain Country: Untold Secrets of the Palace"...

"I want both Jinde Lingyun and these books. Can you give me a discount?" Chen Xuan said.

There are no such books in the primitive southern wilderness. They are very rare. He really needs such things to broaden his horizons.

"These copied books can be given to you for free, but the price of Lingyun cannot be reduced. There is a war going on at the border of Chudizhi State. It is not easy for me to come here, Junzi. I am a small business."

The mushroom spirit smiled and placed another piece of Jinde Lingyun on the scale. He said, "I'll give you the Jinde Lingyun at the normal price, only a 20% premium."

"..."

Chen Xuan thought for a moment. The mushroom spirit's offer was a bit high, but still within a reasonable range that he could tolerate.

He is a straightforward person and will never argue over trivial matters such as bargaining... If the price is not suitable, he will just leave.

However, the Plague Emperor Scripture and the Wood-Attributed Yellow Millet Scripture are the only two complete scriptures he has. He is determined to obtain this uncommon spiritual essence of wood virtue.

Chen Xuan was about to respond, but Bai Zi Xiaohu refused to do so.

"Good mushrooms, cheaper!"

The petite head of the little Baizi fox suddenly popped out from the stall that was more than half a person's height, with its two little paws clinging to the edge of the table. It had a cute expression, its eyelashes trembling slightly, and spoke in a pleading tone.

"You... Miss Bai Zi." The mushroom spirit was stunned when he heard the voice, staring blankly at the little fox Bai Zi, then raised his head to glance at Chen Xuan, and said in a bitter tone: "Fellow Daoist, do you have this kind of relationship?"

Bai Zi, the owner of this ghost market, is the only daughter of the three-tailed fox.

The mushroom spirit came to the Southern Wilds once or twice a year, so how could he not recognize this wealthy little fox? He would later go to the fox family to purchase a treasure and bring it back to Zhi Country to sell!

"Uh, yeah." Chen Xuan blinked and touched the little fox's soft head.

"Benefactor, it's Little Fox's benefactor!"

Bai Zi, the little fox, wished everyone could hear this. He quietly stood higher, rubbed his head against Chen Xuan's palm, and then said to the mushroom spirit:
"Good Junzi, please don't take advantage of the little fox!"

"Look at what Miss Bai Zi said. I have always been fair in doing business."

The mushroom spirit showed a flattering look, and then showed a kind smile to Chen Xuan, saying: "Miss Bai Zi's benefactor is also the benefactor of this mushroom. I will sell the wood-type spiritual essence to you at a 20% premium."

Xiaohu refused to do so and continued to help Chen Xuan bargain:

"Can you make it cheaper? You make so much money from my family every year. Good mushroom, you don't want to be a bad mushroom, right?"

“I didn’t make much, I didn’t make much!”

The mushroom spirit said hurriedly, sighing, gritting his teeth, and said to Chen Xuandu: "Then I will exchange it with you at the original price! This business is not profitable, so I will just consider it as a friend of yours! Miss Bai Zi, do you think this is okay?"

Chen Xuan was a little embarrassed: "Is this okay?"

Bai Zi Little Fox said, "That's great!"

Chen Xuan pointed at the books on the stall and asked, "Fellow Daoist Junzi, are you still giving these away?"

(End of this chapter)