Ghost Immortal

He recalled the woman's question before she left: Zhao Laosan died with his eyes open.

In the tomb raiding business, it is a major taboo for a dead person to have their eyes open.

The old book mentioned that people who die with their eyes open and their souls refuse to disperse are most prone to problems.

Not only did Zhao Laosan die with his eyes wide open, but he was still walking around the city ten days after his death, which in itself was strangely eerie.

Li Feng put the crescent moon back into his hidden bag, picked up the paper lantern, and walked out of the dilapidated courtyard.

The next day, he didn't have the job of night watchman, so he changed into civilian clothes and wandered around Qingyan City.

I was in such a rush when I entered the city yesterday that I didn't have time to explore many places properly.

Now that he has the identity of a night watchman, he can move around the city with a perfectly legitimate reason.

Now is the time to buy some things, try to make more powerful talismans, buy some magical artifacts, and enhance our strength.

The market area of ​​Qingyan City, located at the junction of the south and east sides of the city, is called Shizi Street.

The streets were much wider than elsewhere, lined with shops on both sides: Baicaotang selling medicinal herbs, Baofuzhai selling talismans and cinnabar, and several blacksmith shops with weapons signs.

Li Feng walked back and forth on the street several times and noticed that several shops had small wooden signs hanging in front of them, with words such as "collecting spirit stones, collecting demon bones, collecting demon souls" written on them.

These shops all do small-scale, independent repair business; the storefronts aren't big, but there's a lot of foot traffic.

He walked into a shop called Lingcaifang. The shopkeeper, a plump middle-aged man, greeted him with a smile: "What would you like to see, sir?"

"Just browsing."

Li Feng casually glanced at the items in the cabinet.

A few spirit stones of mediocre quality, a few herbs wrapped in oiled paper, and a few dark bones in the corner, the origin of which was unknown.

The prices are all clearly marked. The cheapest herb costs half a low-grade spirit stone, and it says that no responsibility will be taken after leaving the counter.

This is treating people like pigs, almost like strolling through an antique market.

Li Feng inquired about the price of buying fragments of demon souls. The shopkeeper said it depended on the quality. Ordinary fragments were worth three to five low-grade spirit stones, while complete demon souls could sell for more than ten.

Li Feng silently made a mental note of it, then turned into another alley and found a shop that specialized in selling talismans and cinnabar.

He still kept the ten spirit stones he had previously looted from Zhang Gengtou's house safely in his pocket, but he couldn't bear to spend them.

These spirit stones were his lifeline for breaking through to the Qi Refining stage. Until he found a stable source of spirit stones, every one he spent was one less.

However, I still need to buy the talisman paper and cinnabar. Last time, I used rags and blood vine juice to draw the immobilization talisman, which greatly reduced its effectiveness.

If you use proper talisman paper and cinnabar, the power of the talisman you draw will at least double, and you can also try other more powerful talismans.

He spent three spirit stones to buy twenty talismans and a small packet of cinnabar.

The talisman paper is pale yellow, made from spirit bamboo pulp, with a smooth and delicate surface, and is imbued with a faint spiritual energy.

Cinnabar is mixed with the blood of demonic beasts, giving it a dark red color and a faint fishy smell.

The shopkeeper said this was low-grade cinnabar, enough for drawing low-level talismans; they couldn't afford to sell anything higher grade.

Li Feng carefully wrapped the talisman and cinnabar and put them in his pocket. He then wandered around the streets and found out that the most famous auction house in Qingyan City was called Jubaoge, located in the most prosperous area in the east of the city.

Jubaoge holds an auction on the first and fifteenth of each month, where valuable items consigned by independent cultivators are auctioned off.

Magical artifacts, elixirs, fragments of cultivation techniques, and materials from demonic beasts will all appear, and occasionally even rare spiritual items.

Today is the eighth day of the lunar month, and there are seven days until the next auction.

Li Feng planned to go and take a look then. Even if he couldn't afford it, he could still find out the inside story of the independent cultivators in Qingyan City.

At dusk, he returned to his small courtyard in the south of the city.

After closing the courtyard gate, first check the hidden marks that were set up yesterday.

The hair on the door hinge was intact, the broken tiles on the windowsill were in the same position, and the few withered leaves in the corner of the wall had not been stepped on.

It seems nothing has been in the house today.

He went into the inner room with peace of mind and spread the talisman paper and cinnabar he had bought on the table to draw talismans.

The immobilization talisman he drew last time using blood vine juice and rags could only freeze the enemy for a moment. This time, he plans to use proper materials to draw some more powerful talismans.

The talisman chapter records several low-level talismans for the Spirit Root stage, including the Immobilization Talisman, Exorcism Talisman, Fire Talisman, and Thunder Explosion Talisman, in addition to the Immobilization Talisman.

Exorcism talismans are specifically designed to counteract evil spirits and should be effective against the kind of tomb energy associated with tomb raiding.

The Fiery Talisman and Thunder Explosion Talisman are offensive talismans, with power equivalent to three to five times that of Fireball and Palm Lightning, but they do not require consuming one's own spiritual power and can save lives in critical moments.

It's a great product; the only downside is that it's expensive.

Li Feng held his breath and picked up a newly bought talisman brush. This brush cost him half a spirit stone, and the handle was made of purple bamboo while the bristles were made of wolf tail.

After being dipped in cinnabar, the brush tip naturally gathers, making it much easier to use than a thick charcoal-whittled brush.

However, the yield rate was still pitifully low.

The first exorcism talisman was only half-drawn when the paper suddenly burst into flames and burned to a pile of bluish-gray ash.

Undeterred, Li Feng adjusted his spiritual energy output and continued drawing.

The second one was successful, but the quality was average. The sealed spiritual power was only roughly equivalent to the full-force attack of a cultivator with a spiritual root of about five inches.

The third one went even further, reaching a level close to an eight-inch spiritual root.

He spent two whole hours drawing, using up all the talisman paper, and finally drew three exorcism talismans, two fire talismans, two thunder explosion talismans, and two immobilization talismans.

The best quality one was a Thunder Talisman, whose sealed spiritual energy fluctuations reached the level of a nine-inch spiritual root, on par with Li Feng's own cultivation level.

Li Feng carefully put away the talismans, stuffing them into his sleeves, belt, and boots.

This is how you can catch someone off guard.

By the time all this was done, it was completely dark outside.

He changed into a blue long gown, picked up a lantern and a clapper, and went out to begin his night watchman's shift the next day.

Tonight's night watchman's route is still the twelve alleys in the south of the city.

Li Feng walked along the empty streets, banging on his clapper to disperse the fragments of wandering souls along the way, silently planning his tomb raiding trip for tomorrow night.

The one-eyed old man said they would meet at the land temple in the north of the city.

The north side of the city leads to the mass graves, where the dark and ominous atmosphere is strongest, and the quarries are also located there.

Zhao Laosan was a stonemason working in a quarry. He was likely chosen by tomb raiders because he discovered the entrance to the tomb while quarrying.

If that's the case, the tomb is near the quarry, or even directly beneath it.

Therefore, he could hide Gao Feng here in advance, so that he could use it to help him when the time came and catch the tomb raider off guard.

The next day, Li Feng went to the crossroads again and used the remaining spirit stones to buy a few spare animal tendons and a jar of ointment that could quickly stop bleeding.

He dared not place his hopes on the four tomb raiders; if he were to get injured, he would have to rely on himself.

Then he went to the blacksmith's shop to buy a short dagger, an ordinary fine iron dagger, which could be used as a throwing knife in critical moments and for self-defense in the narrow tomb passage.

As evening fell, he returned to the courtyard and checked all his belongings several times.

The talisman was carefully placed close to his body, the dagger was tied to his calf, and his bundle contained a water bag, dry food, and medicine. A miniature bronze cauldron hung on his chest, and the golden crescent moon was hidden close to his body in a secret pocket in his bosom.

As dusk fell, Li Feng changed into a black short-sleeved tuxedo, used his lightness technique, and silently left the courtyard, heading towards the north of the city.