The entry for cultivating immortality states that after dying a hundred times, I attained immortalit

The wind outside the cave stopped.

Jiang Bai slowly opened his eyes, waking up from his meditation. The light outside the cave was dim and unclear, making it difficult to tell whether it was dawn or dusk. The gray fog above the Burial Ground often confused people's sense of time.

He stood up and stretched his limbs.

The nine sacred runes extending from the right arm to the chest slowly moved under the skin, their dark gold color more solid than a few days ago. The Myriad Poisons Dao Foundation was running smoothly in the dantian, and the poisonous essence filled the meridians. The first level of the Foundation Establishment realm had been firmly established.

"It's time to go."

Jiang Bai spoke softly, his gaze sweeping across the corner of the cave.

There were several items piled up there, including Tu Gang's broken axe with chipped edges, the Yin Bone Elder's soul banner that broke in the middle, and some unusable magical artifacts that were taken from the Starfall Pavilion steward's storage ring.

Carrying it around is a burden; exchanging it for spirit stones is the right thing to do.

He raised his hand and wiped his face.

When the disguise technique recorded in the "Black Swamp Poison Manual" is used, if it is combined with the "Corpse Poison Body" to make subtle adjustments and controls to the muscles and bones, the facial bones will make a slight "clicking" sound, the skin color will slowly turn into a waxy yellow, the corners of the eyes will be elongated, and the bridge of the nose will be lowered.

In less than ten breaths, the person in the mirror was completely unrecognizable.

He was a rogue cultivator around thirty years old with a sallow complexion. His aura hovered around the eighth level of Qi Refining. This was the result of Jiang Bai's deliberate control of his aura. If his aura was too strong, he would easily attract trouble; if his aura was too weak, he would easily be seen as a fat lamb and be coveted.

He changed into a gray cloth robe, carefully sorted the items in his storage ring by category, and then walked out of the cave.

The wind picked up again.

Jiang Bai discerned the direction and headed southwest.

Ghost Cry Market is about two hundred miles from the Burial Grounds, located below a natural cave. Jiang Bai had already heard of this place when he was in Black Stone Market. It is the largest underground black market in the Wasteland, filled with all sorts of people from all walks of life. As long as you can afford the price, you can even buy a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation technique.

Of course, you also need to be alive to take it out.

Two hours later, a hillside with jagged rocks came into view.

At the foot of the hillside, there was an inconspicuous cave entrance, so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time. Two burly men wearing straw hats stood by the entrance, their arms crossed and leaning against the rock wall, their eyelids drooping as if they were dozing off.

As Jiang Bai walked over, the man on the left raised his eyelids slightly.

"Entrance fee: ten spirit stones."

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding iron.

Jiang Bai didn't say anything, but took out ten low-grade spirit stones from his pocket and handed them over. The man accepted the spirit stones, played with them for a while, and then stepped aside to make way for him.

It was very dark inside the cave.

After walking down about thirty feet, the view suddenly opened up before us.

This underground cave is enormous, with numerous stalactites hanging from the ceiling, their tips adorned with glowing fluorite, giving the cave a deep green hue. The cave floor has been excavated by humans to create crisscrossing streets, with simple sheds, stone houses, and several two-story wooden buildings on both sides.

The crowd was full of people.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, and hushed conversations mingled together, creating a buzzing echo within the cave. The air was filled with the scents of herbs, rust, blood, and a unique damp, earthy smell characteristic of the underground.

Jiang Bai pulled down his straw hat and blended into the crowd.

He first went to the "Miscellaneous Goods Shop" on West Street.

It was an open-air stall where more than a dozen vendors spread out cloths on the ground and displayed various items, including broken magical artifacts, bloodstained armor, unidentified bones, and strangely colored minerals. Many people came here to hunt for bargains, but only one in a hundred people could actually find a good deal.

Jiang Bai found a relatively secluded corner, took out the items he planned to sell from his storage bag, and then unfolded a piece of black cloth and placed it on the ground.

A broken axe, a tattered banner, and three flying swords of mediocre quality.

As soon as it was set up, people came over.

He was a fat man dressed in a silk shirt. He squatted down, picked up the broken axe, and ran his finger along the chipped edge of the blade.

"Tu Gang's axe?" The fat man looked up at Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai didn't say anything, he just nodded.

The fat man clicked his tongue and said, "It's a pity that if this 'Bloodfang Axe' were intact, it would be worth at least five hundred spirit stones, but for now... I'll take eighty of them."

"Three hundred," Jiang Bai said, his voice deliberately low and hoarse.

The fat man shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist, this broken axe is just scrap metal. If you take it back, you'll have to find a weapon refiner to repair it. The labor cost alone will be no less than this amount, at most one hundred and twenty spirit stones."

"Two hundred and eighty."

The two haggled back and forth, and finally settled on a price of 220 spirit stones.

The fat man looked at the tattered banner again, shook his head helplessly, and said, "Once a soul banner is broken, it loses its power, and the spirits within it have long since scattered. This banner is now only worth fifty spirit stones, so let's just buy it as scrap material."

This time, Jiang Bai didn't argue much and nodded in agreement.

The three flying swords sold well. They were of the lower grade of Yellow Rank, and each one was priced at sixty spirit stones. In total, this time they earned four hundred and fifty lower grade spirit stones.

Jiang Bai accepted the spirit stones and got up to leave the general store.

He wandered around the market and found a shop with a sign that read "Furnace Workshop".

The shop was small, with a facade made of bluestone and a black plaque with gold lettering hanging above the door. After pushing open the door and entering, a wave of heat hit you. Deep inside the shop was a half-person-high furnace for forging weapons, with a roaring fire that illuminated the entire room in a bright red glow.

Behind the counter sat a shirtless old man, hammering a red-hot iron billet with a small hammer.

Hearing the door open, the old man didn't even look up: "Look for yourself, the prices are all on the shelf."

Jiang Bai glanced around.

There were more than ten swords hanging on the wall, and various magical artifacts on the shelves, ranging in grade from low-grade Yellow Rank to mid-grade Profound Rank. His gaze swept over these swords and finally settled on a long sword that was entirely black.

The knife is over three feet long, with a slender and straight blade. The blade surface has a dull, matte finish. The handle is wrapped in black python skin, and the end of the knife is crescent-shaped with simple cloud patterns carved on it.

Jiang Bai reached out and took the knife.

It feels heavy when you first put it in your hand.

The Bloodstained Blade is about 30% heavier than the Bloodstained Blade. The cold aura of the blade is contained. If you look closely, you can see extremely fine golden patterns on the edge. This indicates that it contains "Spell-Breaking Gold". Magical artifacts made from this material will have an additional destructive effect on spiritual energy shields.

He gripped the hilt with his left hand and gently wiped the blade with his right index finger.

The Jiang family's disciples who practiced swordsmanship developed this habit from a young age, making their movements appear exceptionally natural. This is because whenever they tested the blade, they always used their left hand, as the fingertips of their left hand were more sensitive to subtle changes in the vibration of the blade, thus naturally forming this habit.

"A fine knife," Jiang Bai said.

The old man behind the counter then looked up and sized up Jiang Baiji.

The old man put down his hammer, wiped his hands with a towel, and walked over, saying, "Fellow Daoist has a discerning eye." This sword is called "Soul Slayer," and it belongs to the lower grade of the Xuan rank. It is forged from heavy iron mixed with magic-breaking gold. After it was forged, it was soaked in a cold pool for three years. Not to mention magic weapons of the same rank, even a shield of the middle grade of the Xuan rank would crack open if it was cut by it.

"How many?"

"Two thousand spirit stones, no bargaining."

Jiang Bai didn't say anything, but simply twirled the knife around.

As the blade sliced ​​through the air, it emitted a slight humming sound. He deliberately allowed a tiny bit of the [Ten Thousand Poisons Sacred Body] aura to seep into the blade through his palm. This aura was extremely faint and would be difficult for ordinary cultivators to detect.

But the old man's eyelids twitched.

After staring at Jiang Bailiang for a moment, he suddenly smiled and said, "With your temperament, fellow Daoist, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time raising a hundred or two hundred lives."

Jiang Bai raised his sallow face, his eyes calm: "Life is worthless, only a knife is valuable."

The old man laughed and patted the counter, saying, "Seeing that you know swordsmanship, how about this: 1,800 taels, plus a set of 'Concealing Breath Array Flags' for you. Although this set of flags is inconspicuous, once unfolded, it can conceal the fluctuations of aura within a radius of three zhang. Even a cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage might not be able to see through its secrets."

Jiang Bai pondered for a moment, then nodded.

He took out 1,800 spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them on the counter. Then he put away the set of six palm-sized black flags. After the old man inspected the spirit stones, he handed over the sheathed Zanpakuto.

The old man said, "If you need anything in the future, you can come directly to the Fire Furnace Workshop. Recently, the situation in the Desolate State has been unstable. Both Blood Fang Village and Starfall Pavilion are looking for candidates. You must be careful."

Jiang Bai glanced at him, didn't reply, but simply clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned around and left.

The old man watched his figure disappear outside the door, shook his head, and went back to forging iron.

……

There is a teahouse on the east side of the market.

The shop was very old, with a layer of patina worn on the tables and chairs. When Jiang Baimai entered the shop, there were already seven or eight people sitting down, all talking quietly. He ordered the cheapest coarse tea, sat down in a corner, and slowly began to drink.

At the next table were three men dressed as wandering monks, chatting animatedly.

"Have you heard? Chief Tu Lie of Blood Fang Stronghold has emerged from seclusion."

I've heard a lot about him, but I have a brother who lives in the Black Swamp area. He personally saw Tu Lie emerge from his secluded cave, and his aura... tsk tsk, he's probably close to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Tu Lie declared that he would personally execute that "poison-patterned cultivator." Now, how many people in the desolate state are searching for him because of the five thousand spirit stones bounty?

Should we look for him? How should we look for him? This guy seems to have vanished into thin air. Some say he died somewhere in the desolate wilderness, while others say he has already fled the desolate state.

The Starfall Pavilion is also hunting him down, and the bounty is even higher than that of the Bloodfang Stronghold. Anyone who provides a definite clue will be rewarded with eight thousand spirit stones, which is no secret.

Jiang Bai held his teacup, his movements never stopping, but his ears were listening intently.

At this moment, someone at another table chimed in: "The Starfall Pavilion isn't looking for a person, they're looking for something."

"What is it?"

I don't know, but I've heard that thing carries the "aura of reincarnation." The Starfall Pavilion is usually very mysterious, so why would they suddenly be in such a hurry to find someone? It must be because of that thing.

The aura of reincarnation.

Jiang Bai paused slightly as he drank his tea.

He recalled the fragments of memories Zhang Meng had given him, including the scene of the Ghostly Immortal refining souls and feeding them, as well as the opportunity to choose entries provided by the system after each death. That place truly gave him a sense of transcending life and death.

Could it be that the Starfall Pavilion has detected the existence of the system?

impossible.

The system was his greatest secret, unknown even to his closest confidants. Even with its immense power, the Starfall Pavilion had no way of knowing about such a thing.

That is... something else?

As Jiang Bai was pondering, a waiter from the teahouse came over with a teapot to refill the water.

He was a young man around twenty years old. His short jacket had been washed until it was faded, and he had a fawning smile on his face. After refilling Jiang Baixu's tea, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he took out a jade slip from his pocket and placed it gently on the table.

"Sir, someone has asked our shop to hold an item for them." The clerk lowered his voice. "He said if he sees a customer who habitually tests the blade of a knife with his left hand, he should give it to him."

Jiang Bai's pupils contracted slightly.

He tested the blade with his left hand... This was a habitual gesture he made when he was in the furnace workshop.

He looked up at his colleague.

The waiter smiled, said nothing more, picked up the teapot, and turned to go to another table.

Jiang Bai picked up the jade slip.

The jade slip was quite ordinary, belonging to the most common type of blank jade slip. After probing it with his divine sense, he discovered that the jade slip was enchanted and could only be unlocked by someone with a specific bloodline aura.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly infused a wisp of the Jiang family's direct lineage into the aura.

The restriction rippled outwards like waves, revealing the contents of the jade slip.

It is Jiang Shi's handwriting.

The secret code circulating within the Jiang family was used here. Even if outsiders obtained the jade slip, they would not be able to understand its meaning. Jiang Bai slowly deciphered these words, and his expression gradually became solemn.

"Jia'an, Jingsheng."

The first four characters mean that the family is temporarily safe and the Poison Thorn Squad is still alive.

After the Black Wind, the remaining forces of the Li clan formed an alliance with the elders of the Chen family to launch a rebellion. The patriarch was seriously injured and stayed at home, with the Grand Elder temporarily acting as his representative.

Jiang Bai tightened his grip on the jade slip.

We must each conceal our tracks and follow the caravan to "Fallen Maple City" on the border of Central Continent. If we receive news, we do not need to return to provide support; just ensure our own safety.

"Also: Beware of 'Starfall,' they seem to be searching for something with 'the aura of reincarnation.'"

"Stone, stay."

That concludes the contents of the jade slip.

Jiang Bai remained silent for a long time before slowly crushing the jade slip.

Broken pieces of jade slipped through her fingers and landed in the coarse earthenware teacup, splashing up tiny droplets of water.

He picked up the teacup and drank the remaining half-bowl of cold tea in one gulp.

The tea is very bitter.

The bitterness went from my throat all the way to my heart.

With the patriarch seriously injured and the Grand Elder temporarily acting as regent, Jiang Bai could roughly imagine the current situation in Ping'an County: the remaining forces of the Li family launched a counterattack, the Chen family took the opportunity to profit, and there would probably be a power struggle within the Jiang family as well.

The Poison Thorn Squad dispersed and went into hiding, while Jiang Shi traveled far to the border of Zhongzhou...

It's all because of him.

If he hadn't murdered Li Yueyao and Chen Lei, if he hadn't created so many noises in the Black Wind Valley secret realm, if he hadn't eventually fled into the desolate state and disappeared...

"You're overthinking it."

Jiang Bai suddenly whispered something, it was unclear whether he was speaking to himself or to someone else.

He put down his teacup, took out a few pieces of silver from his pocket, placed them on the table, and got up to leave the teahouse.

The cave was still noisy. The light of the fluorite fell on the faces of the people coming and going, revealing a variety of expressions, including greed, vigilance, and numbness. Jiang Bai walked through the crowd of people of varying heights and headed towards the cave entrance he had come from earlier.

When we emerged from the cave, it was already completely dark.

The wind on the wasteland, carrying sand and gravel, stung a little when it hit his skin. Jiang Bai put on his straw hat again, hung his Zanpakuto at his waist, and gently stroked the cool scabbard.

The news from Ping'an County weighed heavily on my chest.

He knew that going back now would be suicide. At the first level of Foundation Establishment, he might be able to do whatever he wanted in Ping'an County, but facing the combined forces of the Li and Chen families, as well as other possible variables, his strength was still insufficient.

Far from enough.

"The aura of reincarnation..."

Jiang Bai raised his head and looked southwest.

Duanlong City, the Great Gathering of a Hundred Villages in the Desolate State.

Rumors circulated in the teahouse that three months from now, all the more prestigious villages and various forces in the desolate state would be heading there. This was an opportunity, not only to gather intelligence and purchase supplies, but also... a good time to collect debts.

Jiang Bai said softly, "When I go back... I will make those people pay back the debts they owe the Jiang family and the debts they owe Du Jing with their blood."