Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 17 Night Market
Xiao He has been discovered...

Song Yan knew that the existence of the little snake demon would eventually be discovered, but he didn't expect that day to come so soon.

Song Yan said nothing more, but handed over another spirit stone.

Qin Xijun didn't ask anything, but simply put her arm around Song Yan and walked into the market: "Senior brother, you're so kind..."

Guided by Chen Qi, the two entered the night market.

Chen Qi watched the two figures walk into the night market, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, before he chuckled softly.

“A Foundation Establishment cultivator is called a mid-stage Qi Refining senior brother… Heh, never heard of that.”

……

"Grandma Qin... what are you doing?"

Chen Qi was no longer there.

"Oh, it's so good to be young."

Grandma Qin sighed and reluctantly let go of his hand.

"I didn't realize you had such a slim waist, Yesheng..."

As she spoke, she pinched him again, as if savoring the moment.

Knowing that Granny Qin liked to cause trouble, Song Yan couldn't be bothered with her at all.

Qin Xijun teasingly leaned close to his ear: "Now that you've been exposed, why don't you, little snake, come out and meet your mother-in-law..."

Since that's the case, Song Yan didn't hesitate.

hiss……

Xiao He peeked out from Song Yan's collar, her small, dark eyes looking at Qin Xijun.

"The little green snake demon is quite cute..."

Qin Xijun tapped Xiao He's snake head: "That person must have cultivated some kind of pupil technique, which is why they could see it. But raising demonic beasts isn't a taboo, so why are you being so secretive?"

"..."

Song Yan remained silent, seemingly acquiescing.

The reason he didn't want to show off was that Xiao He hadn't cultivated for many years and was able to take human form as soon as she gained sentience.

He had also consulted the sect's records and found that this type of demon was considered a "genius" among demon cultivators.

It seems that there are countless secret techniques and methods in the cultivation world, and there are countless ways to sense demonic energy. If there is no better way to hide, it would be better to let Xiao He reveal herself openly.

"Let's go, don't delay our business."

Night market, core area.

As the moon rose, thousands of talismanic lanterns lit up the night, illuminating the entire Lingyuanze Night Market.

Song Yan and Qin Xijun walked slowly.

He hadn't actually been here much. Usually, when he came out of his cave, he would either head straight to Granny Qin's shop or to Huogong Village.

They came and went in a hurry, never truly visiting the core area of ​​the market.

The area around the old shops was packed with people, including the Treasure Pavilion, the Fire Refining Pavilion, the Herb Pavilion, the Array Pavilion, and "Rare Goods for Hoarding".

Talismans and magical artifacts, elixirs and formations, all sorts of materials, scriptures and incantations—as long as you have spirit stones, you can find anything here.

The “Treasure Pavilion” hangs high with a golden plaque, and a heroic cultivator sits at the counter. On the sandalwood shelves, a dazzling array of magical artifacts and elixirs are displayed, and the protective light screen flows like a galaxy.

In addition, there are countless small shops, stalls and vendors run by ordinary monks.

The shouts of Qi Refining stage cultivators rose and fell.

"A stack of Fire Crow Talismans costs three spirit stones!"

Some vendors simply write a spiritual mark on their stalls.

"Southern Frontier Demon Bones, exchange for Earth Element Technique!"

A burly man with a thick beard was arguing with the stall owner: "Your 'Minor Cloud and Rain Technique' only has the first six levels, yet you dare to ask me for so many spirit stones?!"

A masked cultivator crouched at the end of the alley, half a blood-red jade slip faintly visible beneath his black robe. He whispered to the buyer before him, "A clue to a demonic cultivator's cave, in exchange for three..."

Before the words were finished, the patrol's bronze boat swept past, startling a flock of crows.

"Grandma, there are quite a few cultivators here, but they don't seem to be disciples of the sect..."

Qin Xijun nodded: "Of course, if they were all disciples of the sect, why would the patrol team need so many people?"

"Strictly speaking, Lingyuanze is not actually within Dongyuan Sect, but is under the sect's jurisdiction."

"An elder in the sect thought that if the Lingyuanze Market was only open to disciples of the sect, it would be too boring, so the term 'night market' came about." "Dozens of cultivation families of all sizes that are affiliated with the Dongyuan Sect at the foot of the mountain, as well as independent cultivators from the nearby mountains, and even some disciples from Taoist temples and small mountain gates in Feng'an Prefecture, will come here to barter."

"As time went on, the night market became more and more lively."

A look of reminiscence flashed in Qin Xijun's eyes.

"By the way, although the regulations at night markets are slightly more relaxed than those at day markets, there are still some limits..."

"I see."

Song Yan nodded.

"Alright, now that you're in, you can handle how to deal with those things yourself..."

Qin Xijun smiled slyly: "Mother-in-law, I have an appointment with an old friend, so I'll take my leave first."

"Hey?"

Before Song Yan could react, Granny Qin had already disappeared into the crowd.

He now has reason to suspect that Granny Qin just wants to get his ticket money for free.

"...Never mind, let's go look around."

Fire Crow Talisman... a stack of three spirit stones.

The Fire Crow Talisman is a very common fire-based magic talisman that can condense a large flock of fire crows for a certain period of time.

Unfortunately, its offensive effect is not that strong. Even if it hits, the burning fire can only deplete the opponent's protective spiritual power.

I have heard that a male outer sect cultivator once used ninety-nine fire crow talismans in one night to express his feelings to a female cultivator he admired, but unfortunately it ended in failure.

"Speaking of which, this time the market has set new rules, and some special books and techniques that are difficult to define will no longer be allowed to be sold publicly."

There was a stall in the market where the stall owner was surrounded by a group of cultivators, who listened to him speak eloquently.

"Some say this is a deliberate attempt to curb the growth and expansion of Lingyuanze Night Market... but I think otherwise."

"If this black market is truly lawless, and one day it causes a major disaster, it would be better to have it shut down by the upper echelons of the Dongyuan Sect. That would be cutting off someone's source of income."

The stall owner, who looked like a teenager, was about sixteen or seventeen years old. Seeing the reactions of the people in front of him, he quickly seized the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot.

"At this point, some fellow cultivators may have questions..."

"Now that those miscellaneous books and classics are prohibited from sale, how can we obtain them?"

"Oh! What a coincidence! I just happen to have a batch of 'miscellaneous books' coming onto the shelves..."

"Fellow Daoists, if you take a fancy to any of these books, please take the name tag engraved on the table and leave the location of your cave dwelling. Someone will personally deliver it to your door another day..."

"Hey! Fellow Daoist! Don't go!"

"I also have some unofficial histories and secret records here! Stay and take a look! Don't leave, fellow Daoist..."

The crowd of cultivators who had been gathered in front of the stall scattered in all directions...

"Ha, a bunch of ignorant bumpkins."

The boy immediately retorted, "Without my abilities, who would provide you with these evil books?"

Only after he finished cursing did he realize that a cultivator wearing a white wolf mask was standing in front of the stall.

He quickly put on a friendly smile and greeted her: "Oh, fellow Daoist, you have excellent taste! Which book have you taken a fancy to?"

Looking at these small bamboo slips with inscriptions, Song Yan felt more and more that they were illegal.

"This book, 'Fairy Bai Jie,' was a huge hit before it was banned. If you're not interested, you can also check out 'Young Hero A Bin'..."

The boy was still enthusiastically promoting his book, but Song Yan didn't look at the inscribed bamboo slips. Instead, he took down a sample jade slip of a classic text from the shelf.

The Complete Record of the Immortal Path and Its Customs.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Song Yan returned the jade slip.

"Fellow Daoist, how much is this book...?"

The boy lost interest when he saw that Song Yan had chosen a book that wasn't a forbidden book inscribed on bamboo slips.

"Oh... this one, I'll give you two spirit stones, take it."

Two spirit stones...

It's also a bit pricey.

However, after hesitating for a long time, Song Yan gritted her teeth and accepted it.

"Thank you."

(End of this chapter)