Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 125 Ghost Market, Rank Six Spirit Pearl

Spirit pearls of grade seven or higher?
Li Qingyan suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with astonishment.

She didn't understand why this man wanted a high-grade spiritual pearl.

He's not a cultivator, so even if he had a high-grade spirit pearl, he probably wouldn't be able to use it.

But she dared not ask any more questions, and could only suppress her doubts and respectfully reply, "Master, high-grade spirit pearls are all produced in the high-level waters deep in the Blackwater Lake. The yin energy there is extremely strong, and the water is extremely dangerous. Ordinary boat people would be sent to their deaths if they went down there."

"So those areas are usually where martial arts experts captured by sects or disciples who have committed serious offenses are responsible for harvesting."

Li Qingyan paused, her voice even lower: "This servant...this servant was previously in charge of guarding a high-level body of water, but because the environment was too harsh, the yield was always poor, so..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was already quite clear.

The main reason for her demotion was her failure in a power struggle, and a secondary reason was that she had not achieved anything significant over the years.

"Can I buy it?" Chen Ye interrupted her.

“Okay,” Li Qingyan nodded. “It just requires sect contribution points, and the price is extremely high. I have very few contribution points left. Let alone a sixth-grade spirit pearl, I can’t even afford a seventh-grade one. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be exploiting those criminals.”

In the end, Li Qingyan's words were filled with deep resentment.

Seeing this, Chen Ye understood.

It seems that the competition within the Blood Lotus Sect is indeed extremely fierce, otherwise Li Qingyan, who was once so arrogant, would not have fallen to such a state.

Seeing Chen Ye remain silent, Li Qingyan hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "Master, there is actually another place where we might be able to obtain high-grade spirit pearls."

"Oh? Where is that place?" Chen Ye became interested.

"There is an underground ghost market within the Blood Lotus Sect. It is a place where sect disciples conduct private transactions, issue shady missions, and sell forbidden items. High-grade spirit pearls, which are hard currency, often appear in the ghost market. Moreover... it doesn't necessarily require sect contribution points; spirit stones or barter can be used."

“I used to go there often to trade for things, and I would occasionally make some unexpected gains. But after I was demoted to Blackwater Lake, I never went there again.”

A ghost market?

Chen Ye's eyes lit up.

"Take me to see it."

“But Master…” Li Qingyan said with a bitter expression, “We are penniless now. Even if we enter the Ghost Market and see high-grade spirit pearls, we can’t afford them.”

Chen Ye glanced at her and suddenly smiled.

"Who said we're broke?"

Li Qingyan was stunned, not understanding what Chen Ye meant.

Chen Ye didn't keep him in suspense and said calmly, "Aren't low-grade spirit beads just money?"

Exchange it with a low-grade spirit orb?
Li Qingyan's expression was somewhat strange. "Master, it would probably take many, many low-grade spirit beads to exchange for one high-grade spirit bead. The price difference..."

"It's alright," Chen Ye interrupted her. "As long as we can exchange them."

Li Qingyan looked at the confident Chen Ye, but her heart was still full of doubts.

But she dared not say anything more, because in the past two days she had found that Chen Ye's control over her was getting deeper and deeper, and now if she had even the slightest doubt about Chen Ye, she might suffer painful punishment.

This made her even more fearful of Chen Ye's methods, and she dared not question him any further.

Over the next few days, Chen Ye began diving for pearls.

Now he is no longer afraid of the coldness of this water, and with the sensing power of the level 4 spirit clam, harvesting spirit pearls is as easy as turning his head.

On the first day, Chen Ye brought back dozens of spirit beads, and in the following days he did the same thing, quickly accumulating a large number of spirit beads.

Finally, on this day, just as dusk fell, Chen Ye and Li Qingyan changed into inconspicuous black clothes, put on straw hats and masks to conceal their faces, and then headed to the Ghost Market.

The entrance to the Ghost Market is located in a very secluded rocky cave on the edge of Blackwater Lake.

There were two guards at the cave entrance, their auras deep and composed, clearly not ordinary men.

Li Qingyan stepped forward and skillfully showed his identity token.

After the guard finished his inspection, he didn't say much, but his gaze lingered on Chen Ye for a moment.

“My lackeys and servants,” Li Qingyan explained in a cold voice.

The guard then withdrew his gaze and waved for them to pass.

After passing through a dark and damp passage, the view suddenly opened up before me.

A huge underground cavern appeared before us, brightly lit and bustling with activity, creating a lively street.

The streets were lined with all sorts of stalls, and most of the stall owners, like the vendors, were dressed in black robes and masks, exuding an air of mystery and danger.

"Master, the left side is the materials area, the right side is the pills and magic artifacts area, and at the end of the street is the place for mission postings and information trading." Li Qingyan lowered his voice and followed closely behind Chen Ye, introducing him to the layout of the Ghost Market.

“Spiritual pearls and other cultivation resources are usually located deep within the materials area, where the vendors are stronger and the items are rarer.”

Chen Ye nodded and walked straight towards the materials area.

As he traveled along, he was amazed by all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

There were robes sewn from human skin, skulls flickering with will-o'-the-wisps, and eerie flesh and blood still writhing in jars.

This is truly the underground market of the demonic sects.

They soon arrived at the depths of the materials area.

There were significantly fewer stalls here, but the items on each stall emanated a considerable amount of spiritual energy.

Sure enough, he spotted spirit orbs for sale at several of the stalls. Chen Ye's gaze swept quickly across them, finally settling on a stall in a corner.

There sat a spirit pearl, its entire body a deep blue, shimmering with profound light, and occasionally condensing into illusions—it was clearly a sixth-grade spirit pearl.

The stall owner wasn't wearing a mask; he was a gloomy-looking young man with thin, claw-like fingers, idly wiping a dagger that gleamed with a green light.

He seemed to notice Chen Ye and Li Qingyan's gazes, slowly raised his head, and his triangular eyes swept over the two of them, finally settling on Li Qingyan's exquisite curves, which could not be concealed even though she was wearing a black robe.

"You two, do you want this Rank 6 Spirit Pearl?"

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, his smile malicious.

"Hehe, good eye, but not everyone can afford this."

His voice was hoarse, and his gaze lingered unabashedly on Li Qingyan's bare neck and wrists, filled with aggression.

"I wonder what this junior sister plans to offer in exchange?"

Li Qingyan's body stiffened, and she subconsciously took half a step back, hiding behind Chen Ye.

Chen Ye stepped forward, blocking the man's view, and asked in a feigned hoarse voice, "How do I change?"

“Barter.” Ghost Claw Liu reluctantly withdrew his gaze from Li Qingyan and then turned to Chen Ye, a cold glint in his eyes.

Without wasting any words, Chen Ye took out an eighth-grade spirit pearl from his pocket and placed it on the stall.

Ghost Claw Liu's eyes lit up, but he quickly returned to his lazy demeanor, pursing his lips: "Not enough. It took me a lot of effort to get this sixth-grade spirit pearl."

"How much do you want?" Chen Ye asked.

“There are at least 150 eighth-grade spirit beads like these, or if you have seventh-grade spirit beads, 15 will also work.”

That's outrageous!
Chen Ye sneered inwardly.

On his way here, he had already learned about the market situation from Li Qingyan.

The exchange ratio between high-grade and low-grade spirit orbs usually fluctuates between 1:8 and 1:10.

This Ghost Claw Liu is asking for a 1:15 ratio right off the bat; he's clearly treating him like an easy target who doesn't know the market.

Chen Ye didn't waste any words and directly gave his offer: "One to eight, otherwise there's no point in continuing the negotiation."

Ghost Claw Liu had just called out that price to test whether this guy knew the market. Now that he realized he couldn't fool him, he nodded and said, "Okay, but I want it in stock."

"Of course!"

Chen Ye looked around and asked, "Shall we make the transaction here?"

Ghost Claw Liu laughed heartily, "Don't worry, I've been running this stall here for years, and no one has ever dared to cause trouble here."

After a moment's thought, Chen Ye made up his mind and began to take things out.

He placed two seventh-grade spirit pearls, whose radiance far surpassed that of an eighth-grade spirit pearl, on his stall.

Ghost Claw Liu's breath hitched.

But it's not over yet.

Hua la la la——

One pile, two piles, three piles...

Forty Grade 8 spirit pearls were piled up into a small mountain.

Immediately afterwards, more than a hundred Rank 9 spirit beads were poured out by Chen Ye like worthless glass marbles.

For a time, the dazzling jewels were almost blinding.

Ghost Claw Liu was also somewhat dumbfounded. Although ninth-grade spirit pearls were not valuable, the sight of so many gathered together was still extremely shocking.

At this moment, Chen Ye broke the silence with his hoarse voice.

Is this enough?

Ghost Claw Liu snapped out of his shock, then gave Chen Ye a deep look before nodding.

"enough!"

Chen Ye said no more, put away the sixth-grade spirit pearl, and turned to leave.

Li Qingyan snapped out of her daze and hurriedly followed.

The two did not leave immediately, but instead wandered around the ghost market, making sure they were not followed, before quietly leaving this chaotic place.

Only after returning to the dock did the two feel relieved.

Li Qingyan looked at Chen Ye with some curiosity, wondering what he wanted that sixth-grade spirit pearl for.

If only I could have it. With a sixth-grade spirit pearl, I might be able to repair my damaged foundation and return to my peak.

But she only dared to fantasize about it secretly, after all, her life and death were now in someone else's control, how could she dare to have any more improper thoughts?

Chen Ye was naturally unaware of what Li Qingyan was thinking, and his vigilance towards this woman did not diminish in the slightest.

After all, every single one of these demonic sect disciples is extremely selfish.

We're just being controlled by our own methods now, but that doesn't mean we can rest easy.

Chen Ye believed that if he dared to relax even slightly, this seemingly harmless woman would definitely try every means to kill him.

(End of this chapter)