Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that my aunt wanted to become his Daoist partner a few years ago, but he didn't agree. The jade pendant you just gave me was a token of our love that my aunt gave me back then."

The portly man, Old Wu, chuckled and spoke casually.

But Li Shen's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

Now he understood everything.

No wonder Du Shanyan advised him to go to Linlang City; he was using him as a pawn!

Although Li Shen has no immediate plans to find a Daoist partner, it doesn't mean he's a blockhead.

It's no wonder he's angry that she returned the woman's token of love to another man!

"Brother Du, this favor is quite substantial..."

Li Shen gritted his teeth inwardly, determined to settle accounts with Du Shanyan properly once he returned to the mountain.

He followed behind Lao Wu, his face slightly somber, his mind churning.

After a short while, Old Wu stopped.

His lips moved, and the invisible barrier at the end of the stone steps suddenly solidified, then rippled outwards before slowly dissipating.

"Fellow Daoist, let's continue."

The fat man, Old Wu, turned around and gave a reminder.

Li Shen suppressed his emotions and nodded to follow.

After walking along the passage for a while, the view suddenly became bright.

A bustling scene immediately came into view.

"This is... the black market of Linlang City?"

Li Shen was secretly surprised, only then realizing that he was standing on the second-floor observation deck of an ancient building.

The entire pavilion was actually built against the underground rock wall.

Li Shen quietly extended his divine sense and could clearly perceive the auras of several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators below.

And in the distance, among the noisy and indistinct crowd haggling over prices, there were several auras concealed by special means, their depth and intensity unfathomable.

This black market is much larger than the one at Yunhe Mountain.

The fact that Jubaoxuan could directly access the interior of this place suggests that Manager Fei's identity is probably more complex than he imagined.

"Fellow Daoist, this way please."

Old Wu led Li Shen down the stairs, explaining as they went:

"Fellow Daoist, as you can see, this is the black market of Linlang City, and Aunt Fei is one of the people in charge of the entire black market."

With Du Shanyan's connection and Fei Feng's instructions, the fat man, Lao Wu, was quite frank with Li Shen.

Before long, the two arrived in front of a wide curtain that was so thick it could block divine sense from probing them.

Old Wu activated his spiritual power, causing the bells on the side of the curtain to ring twice.

Immediately, the wide curtains opened to both sides, and a hunched, thin old man stepped out.

"What is it?"

The old man's voice was hoarse.

"This fellow Daoist wishes to participate in the exchange meeting."

Old Wu bowed respectfully and stepped aside to introduce them.

The old man's eyes, which were almost narrowed to slits, opened slightly as he looked Li Shen up and down, his tone unchanged as he said:

"Twenty spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Li Shen immediately counted out and presented twenty low-grade spirit stones.

The presence of the other party made Li Shen dare not be negligent in the slightest.

He is a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The old man's gaze swept lightly over the spirit stone in Li Shen's hand before he put it into his storage bag.

Then, a jade pendant was auctioned off and floated into Li Shen's hand.

The moment Li Shen touched the jade tablet, he sensed a special and extremely powerful aura.

This aura was temporarily locked within the jade tablet using some kind of secret technique, and its effect should be exactly the same as the temporary identity tablet used when entering the inner city of Yunhe Mountain.

Li Shen only sensed it briefly before putting it away.

The old man continued:

"At the appointed time, you can use this identity jade token to go to Xiaoyue Tower."

After saying that, he turned and walked back, and the two wide curtains closed again.

"Xiaoyuelou is a brothel in Linlang City, and this exchange meeting will be held there."

After the old man's breath completely disappeared, the fat man, Old Wu, explained to Li Shen, then chuckled, revealing a playful smile:

"Tomorrow, Fellow Daoist Li can go in and explore, familiarize yourself with the route, but of course don't get too engrossed and miss the exchange meeting."

Li Shen understood what Old Wu meant and cupped his hands in greeting:

"I understand."

"Would you like to take a look at the black market in Linlang City, fellow Daoist?"

Old Wu then asked.

Li Shen pondered for a moment, then shook his head. He had already achieved his goal. Having encountered two Foundation Establishment cultivators in succession, he had become quite wary of the black market in this area.

Just to be on the safe side, I don't plan to stay any longer.

Old Wu didn't try to persuade him further and led Li Shen back the way he came.

Back at Jubao Pavilion, Li Shen and Fei Feng exchanged names and then chatted with Fei Feng about Du Shanyan. In the end, Li Shen received a mask-like magical artifact from Fei Feng that could conceal his aura and face before bidding farewell and leaving Jubao Pavilion.

After walking quite a distance and confirming that no one was following him, Li Shen activated the Concealing Talisman, his figure and aura gradually disappearing, and quickly headed towards Yunlai Inn.

About fifteen minutes later, Li Shen suddenly paused and heard a strange noise.

Immediately afterward, a flash of blue light appeared in his eyes, and he sensed four different auras rushing toward him at high speed.

Three are at the late stage of Qi Refining, and one is at the middle stage of Qi Refining.

Moreover, this aura of mid-stage Qi Refining felt somewhat familiar.

Standing still, recalling for a moment, Li Shen's eyes suddenly narrowed:

"It's Brother Shi Yong's aura!"

He immediately realized that Shi Yong must be fleeing for his life, and the people chasing him were the three cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining.

If it were a stranger, Li Shen would simply ignore them and leave.

But this person is Shi Yong, who has done Li Shen a great favor.

Now that he has discovered it, he cannot possibly sit idly by.

It's important to understand that it's no easy feat for someone in the mid-stage of Qi Refining to escape alone from three people in the late-stage of Qi Refining.

Having made up his mind, Li Shen rushed towards Shi Yong without hesitation.

Before long, he saw four figures around a corner.

Shi Yong's clothes were stained with blood, and he was staggering as the three men behind him were getting closer and closer.

With a flick of his wrist, Li Shen caught three high-grade ice cone talismans, ready to be unleashed.

As Shi Yong passed by, he made a decisive move, turning his body and cutting diagonally behind Shi Yong's escape route, and promptly threw the talisman at the three pursuers.

Faced with the sudden attack, the three black-clad cultivators, who were focused on Shi Yong, were shocked and immediately summoned their magical artifacts to defend themselves.

The icicles shattered, releasing a chilling aura.

Li Shen's offensive continued, and four or five more fireball talismans flew out in succession, exploding with a bang, and the flames and smoke instantly engulfed the street.

Taking advantage of this moment, he darted to Shi Yong's side and whispered:

"Don't make a sound!"

Shi Yong was startled at first, but when he saw Li Shen's face clearly, disbelief flashed in his eyes.

Li Shen didn't offer any further explanation, and simply took out a concealment talisman and handed it to him.

Shi Yong immediately understood, and the two of them simultaneously activated the Concealing Talisman, their figures disappearing into the depths of a dimly lit alley.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the three black-clad cultivators, weapons in hand, looked around, but their target was nowhere to be seen.

The two living people vanished into thin air without a trace, and the three black-clad cultivators instantly turned solemn.

Where are they?!

The leader demanded an explanation in a stern voice.

The other two were also completely baffled.

"Find it quickly! It can't have gone far. If we don't bring this rat back, nobody's going to have a good time!"

The black-clad monk who had just shouted gave the urgent command.

The two nodded, spread their divine senses, scanned their surroundings, and walked forward.

Just as the three were about to walk away, a presence suddenly returned; it was the black-clad cultivator who had given the order.

He stared at the dark alley to the side, his eyes narrowing slightly. He gripped a black curved blade tightly and approached step by step.

Inside the alley, Li Shen and Shi Yong held their breath and pressed themselves against the wall.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Li Shen slightly opened his palm, and the Blood Soul Nail quietly gathered its power...