Sword Sect Outer Sect

The final question in Chapter 74: Ren Water Transforms into Spirit (Unity)

"Inner Sect Member Shan Zifeng?"

Shao Sichao seemed to be thinking about something, but without pausing, he continued, "The one on Tongchen Peak?"

Song Yan was also unsure whether there was anyone with the same name as him in the vast Dongyuan Sect.

However, since Shao Sichao has already made it clear, there shouldn't be another person named Shan Zifeng among the disciples of Tongchen Peak.

"It's him."

"What do you want to ask?"

Song Yan had already thought things through and asked for all the information he wanted to know.

"Senior Brother Dan Zifeng from the Inner Sect..."

"What level are you at now?"

Shao Sichao replied, "About three years ago, I broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining and was promoted to the inner sect."

This sentence actually contains a lot of information.

Firstly, Shan Zifeng should also have the aptitude of three spiritual roots or below, otherwise he wouldn't need to reach the seventh level of Qi Refining to advance to the inner sect.

Secondly, there is a very high probability that he is still at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Each level in the late stage of Qi Refining is extremely difficult. Without exceptional talent and abundant resources, it would probably take an ordinary person five to seven years to break through to the eighth level of Qi Refining.

"Does Senior Brother Shan Zifeng have any relatives in the sect...? And which elder does he study under?"

"That involves two issues."

Shao Sichao held up two fingers.

You can't keep asking questions even with 30 spirit stones; you can only ask five.

Song Yan said yes.

"There is a Foundation Establishment Realm deacon in the inner sect who is a distant relative of Shan Zifeng."

"The two are not related by blood, and their interactions are not very deep."

"However, the fact that Shan Zifeng became a disciple of Elder Wang Lin of Tongchen Peak was indeed orchestrated by this person."

"Shan Zifeng's nominal master is Wang Lin, the peak master of Tongchen Peak, but in reality, it is Elder Li Jianping who guides his cultivation."

Song Yan nodded.

"I said……"

"Junior brother, why are you asking such detailed questions?"

Shao Sichao picked up a spiritual fruit from the table and took a bite.

Song Yan suddenly laughed, the human skin mask on his face perfectly illustrating what it means to have a forced smile.

He retorted, "I paid thirty spirit stones to invite you here, so why are you asking me questions?"

"Hehe, just asking."

After a moment's thought, Song Yan slowly said, "Heh heh, it's like this..."

"I think Senior Brother Shan Zifeng has a bright future ahead of him, and I want to befriend him."

"If I have the opportunity to enter the inner sect in the future, I can ask him for guidance."

"But I'm afraid I might not have thought things through and send him something he doesn't like."

"That's why I came to inquire..."

After a brief explanation, he asked his fourth question.

"Do you know what kind of cultivation technique Senior Brother Shan Zifeng practices?"

Shao Sichao frowned and stopped what he was doing.

"This... I'm afraid it involves privacy."

"We need to add spirit stones; this problem requires ten more."

"..."

Without the slightest hesitation, Song Yan placed the spirit stones on the table.

"Fire-based cultivation technique, the complete 'Blessing Fire' manual."

...A fairly common exercise.

However, during the Qi Refining stage, there are relatively few cultivation techniques that can be obtained normally. The most well-known ones are these Five Elements Dao Scriptures, plus the Qi Condensation Scroll of the Tongxuan Scripture.

The choices for Qi Refining cultivators are indeed limited.

"Do you know what spiritual items he needs for cultivation recently?"

After asking the last question, he added, "Over the years of cultivation, I have accumulated some spiritual resources. If I happen to have something he needs, it will be convenient for me to smooth things over with him."

He then placed ten spirit stones on the table.

Shao Sichao gave him a meaningful look.

"About half a month ago, he tried to bid on a set of indigo flowers at an auction in the night market, but another cultivator offered a higher price that day, and he didn't win the bid."

Indigo sparks?
Song Yan did recognize the name; it was a kind of spiritual herb that wasn't particularly rare, but was in high demand.

Its petals, when ground into powder, can be used to refine Indigo Fire Powder. When combined with Fire Element Techniques, it can slightly accelerate cultivation progress.

The improvement may not be significant, but its advantage lies in its continued usability.

Song Yan was pondering that if the indigo flower could work, it meant that similar spiritual objects should also be able to.

"All right."

Shao Sichao stood up, preparing to leave.

"I've asked all five of your questions. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

"Wait a minute."

Song Yan suddenly spoke up and called out to Shao Sichao.

"How should I address this senior brother?"

Old Shao chuckled: "That's also a problem."

"But just in case you want to do business with me in the future and can't find me, I'll tell you."

"I am Shao Sichao, and I will not change my name or surname."

"..."

It's true that one's name doesn't change.

Song Yan looked at him, pondering something, and slowly asked:
"Senior Brother Shao, the entire sect..."

Do you really know everything?

Old Shao scoffed, "Of course, I have my own methods."

"..."

Song Yan nodded, expressing his admiration.

"Then I'll add another thirty spirit stones, and I'll only ask one question."

"how?"

Shao Sichao frowned slightly.

Logically speaking, the person in front of him has no chance left.

After asking all five questions, even if you offer a higher price, you still have to honestly re-book the order.

However, his rules are his rules.

I'm in a good mood today, and I'd like to hear what kind of question is worth thirty spirit stones.

He sat back down and added with interest, "I won't reveal anything that involves elders or higher."

After hearing what he said, Song Yan felt a chill run down her spine once again.

I will not disclose it.

That means he also has control.

He took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, it's not an elder."

"On the contrary, it's just about an outer disciple."

"Oh?"

Shao Sichao was quite interested, still with that fearless attitude.

He also wanted to know what problems an outer disciple might have, so he spent thirty spirit stones on the person in front of him.

He sat back down opposite Song Yan: "Tell me about it."

After a moment's hesitation, the person in front of him slowly spoke: "Among the outer disciples, there is a junior brother named Song Yan."

"Song Yesheng".

Beneath the human skin mask, his expression remained calm.

Shao Sichao still maintained his usual carefree and irreverent demeanor, but a subtle change could still be clearly sensed.

He stared at Shao Sichao: "The question I want to ask is..."

"Senior Brother Shao, do you know which Taoist book he learned his sword control technique from?"

Shao Sichao looked into the man's eyes and remained silent.

A bag of spirit stones was placed in the middle of the table.

"If Senior Brother could tell me something, then this bag of spirit stones..."

Song Yan looked up at Shao Sichao and said, "...Senior brother, you may take it."

"..."

Shao Sichao remained silent, but that feeling of unease vanished in an instant.

He touched his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Song Yan waited quietly for his reply.

After a while.

Shao Sichao reached out a hand and touched the spirit stone pouch in the center of the table.

"You mean Junior Brother Song Yan..."

He placed his hand on it and patted it gently.

"..."

After a brief pause, he pushed it back towards Song Yan.

"Then I don't know."

"You really stumped me, kid..."

Shao Sichao still acted like he was the biggest man in the world.

He felt not the slightest bit ashamed that he, as an intelligence operative, could not answer the question.

“Originally, if someone asked a question that I couldn’t answer, I could return all the spirit stones.” “But unfortunately, your question is not within the scope of our duties today.”

"So, I'm sorry, I can't return the spirit stones to you."

Shao Sichao stood up to take his leave, smiling broadly.

"Thank you for your patronage, junior brother."

……

Watching Shao Sichao's departing figure, Song Yan inside the room did not make any special moves.

He simply put the spirit stone bag into his Qiankun bag.

Walk out of the room.

We left Xianxinlou.

This was the first time Song Yan had spent so many spirit stones on things that were invisible and intangible, yet he didn't feel particularly reluctant.

After all, it's all for the sake of achieving that ultimate goal.

"If you count the days, the New Year is almost here."

When he was in Shiliang Town at the foot of the mountain, his grandfather told him a lot about the customs of the New Year.

For example, you should clean your place before the Lunar New Year.

It symbolizes sweeping away bad luck from the home and not letting it linger into the next year.

Even after entering the world of cultivation, he retained this good habit.

and so……

He didn't intend to keep Shan Zifeng alive until after the new year.

"..."

Song Yan walked through the market, surrounded by cultivators coming and going.

For some reason, the stronger the urge to kill Shan Zifeng became, the calmer and more composed he felt.

It's hard to explain why he's so fixated on this one thing.

After his senior brother Sun told him the truth, he didn't even consider any other legitimate means.

It's like a thought being planted and taking root in your heart.

He gradually left the core area of ​​the market and came to the edge of Lingyuan Marsh.

Remove the human skin mask and step into the Namiya General Store.

Strangely, Qin Xijun was not in the store this time.

On the old counter, there was a jade slip.

In two days, it will be the day of Lingyuanze Night Market.

This is the list of items to be auctioned at this night market auction, which he obtained through Granny Qin.

Previously, he had heard Granny Qin say that someone would be offering a batch of Qi-boosting pills at the recent auction.

The Qi-replenishing pill does not have the effect of cultivating spiritual power, but it has a special effect: it can quickly restore the spiritual power consumed by Qi-refining stage cultivators.

When cultivators fight with others, they often engage in battles that exhaust their spiritual energy.

Having a Qi-boosting pill can alleviate some of the risks of being schemed against or taken advantage of.

Considering all the uncertainties, Song Yan naturally wanted to try bidding on some items.

Since he was going to attend the auction, he simply asked Granny Qin to prepare a list of the auction items for him.

This kind of thing wasn't originally a secret, but Granny Qin obviously had connections in the auction house, so it was easier for her to get it.

In any case, Song Yan is currently only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and it would be extremely difficult for him to break through in a short period of time.

We can only do our best to prepare for the battle.

He casually swept his divine sense over the area and indeed found quite a few things that he could use.

"Ok?"

One of the auction items caught his attention.

"Talisman: Ren Water Transformation Talisman, a first-grade superior talisman."

Song Yan looked at the name and felt a sense of familiarity.

He frowned, then remembered.

On the day of the incident at Jiran Valley, he and Wan Songran killed Wang Xi in the secret realm. The greatest contributor to this victory was a talisman called the Yimu Severing Spirit Talisman.

Wan Songran hadn't shown him the talisman beforehand, but with his current knowledge, he could guess its meaning pretty accurately.

It's roughly about setting up a wood elemental field to suppress the earth elemental energy within it.

The name of this Ren Water Transformation Talisman seems to be somewhat similar to that of the Yi Wood Severing Talisman.

"..."

After pondering for a moment, Song Yan left with the jade slip.

……

night market.

As dusk fell, lanterns began to light up the area around Lingyuanze Market, illuminating the entire market as if it were daytime.

Song Yan put on the human skin mask again and a bamboo hat.

Although Granny Qin had informed him of the details he needed to pay attention to beforehand, it was still best to be cautious since it was his first time attending an auction.

I looked up at the ancient pavilion in front of me.

"Rare commodities are worth hoarding."

This is the location of the auction, as marked in the jade slip.

He remembered this place; it was where the auction was originally held.

The main entrance is still the hall that is open for business as usual, but the side door, which is usually closed, is now open.

A monk stood in front of the door, wearing a black cat mask that only covered the upper half of his face.

Song Yan stepped forward and handed over the jade slip in his hand.

The cultivator turned the jade slip over, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Hmm..."

The jade tokens used for entering the auction were not valuable.

Qin Xijun had also mentioned this to him.

At the beginning of each month, the opening days of the night market for that month will be announced, and a batch of auction entry jade tokens will be released.

If you are interested and want to participate, you can receive it directly without spending any money.

It is only used for counting people, identifying items of interest, or as evidence for consignment.

Jade tokens can be transferred between each other.

This one, Song Yan, was given to him by Granny Qin.

The cultivator nodded and made way for him.

"If you have anything you wish to consign, you can register it with me first."

It seemed that she was just finding her way when the cultivator noticed her and realized it was her first time there, so he gave her a few pointers.

"If not, turn left at the end of the alley and you can go upstairs."

"As for the seats, just take your seats according to the number on your entrance jade token."

"If you want to enter a private room, you need to make a reservation in advance, but there are no more available now."

Song Yan nodded: "Thank you."

Following the direction indicated by the cat-faced monk, we went up to the second floor.

The walls here are slightly tilted, and upon closer inspection, one can see neatly arranged patterns.

A large door stood in the dim light.

He pushed open the door and entered, finding it unattended.

"This……"

What comes into view is a spacious hall, and its shape can be roughly discerned as far as the eye can see.

This is the auction venue...

It appears to be located inside a giant, open, clam-shell-shaped magical artifact.

As more and more cultivators gathered around, Song Yan finally found the spot marked on the jade talisman and sat down.

After a while.

"Boom-"

A sound like something dripping into water could be heard.

All the entrance gates on all four sides were locked.

On the main stage of the auction, a ring of dark ripples appeared, from which emerged a young-looking, slender male cultivator.

"It's quite a lively day. Thank you all for coming to support us."

"My name is Luo Sheng, and I will be hosting tonight's auction."

He bowed and spoke slowly.

"I think everyone understands the rules..."

"Let's get down to business and begin today's auction."

The rules he mentioned were all written in the jade token for the entrance to the auction, and Song Yan had already seen them in advance.

Luo Sheng held a small jade hammer in his hand and gently tapped it on the table.

"The first item up for auction today is a high-quality Buddhist ritual implement."

"Imitation of Zhenshan Seal".

A graceful female cultivator, dressed elegantly, approached, holding a small golden seal on a jade plate in her hand.

Song Yan frowned and stared at the small seal for a long time.

"The Mountain-Suppressing Seal..."

He vaguely remembered that the magical artifact that Wang Xi used in his lifetime was a small seal similar to this one, also called the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

Of course, Wang Xi must have used a counterfeit.

But the more he looked at it, the stranger it seemed: "This seal... it looks..."

"It's the one Wang Xi used before..."

To ensure a smooth pacing, the next part of the story will be divided into chapters (approximately 3-4 days).

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(End of this chapter)