Ye Hao placed these talismans into his spatial backpack, only then feeling completely at ease.
The black market outside Baiyun City would not open until after midnight.
Therefore, he would spend the night in Baiyun City and return to Baiyun Sect tomorrow.
Ye Hao found a random inn and checked in.
Night gradually deepened, and the system's countdown slowly ticked toward midnight.
[Today's Yield: 7,000 low-grade spirit stones, 5 First-Tier supreme-grade Fireball Talismans, 3 Second-Tier supreme-grade Fireball Talismans, 3 Second-Tier supreme-grade Golden Light Talismans.]
[Sixty-fold yield settlement.]
[Congratulations! You have received: 420,000 low-grade spirit stones, 300 First-Tier supreme-grade Fireball Talismans, 180 Second-Tier supreme-grade Fireball Talismans, 180 Second-Tier supreme-grade Golden Light Talismans.]
"300 First-Tier supreme-grade Fireball Talismans."
"180 Second-Tier supreme-grade Fireball Talismans."
"And 180 Second-Tier supreme-grade Golden Light Talismans that can protect my life."
"Now, even if I'm besieged by more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, I can still save my own life."
Upon hearing the system prompt, Ye Hao snapped his eyes open, a faint smile spreading across his face.
Immediately afterward, he retrieved several Golden Light Talismans from his system backpack and placed them close to his chest.
That way, if he encountered any danger, even if he failed to react in time, the Golden Light Talismans would automatically activate to protect him.
This was the real reason he had purchased the Golden Light Talismans.
"The black market should be open by now. Time to head out."
Ye Hao checked the time, adjusted his clothing, and stepped out of the inn.
He made his way toward the city gates.
Cities for immortal cultivators were unlike mortal cities; there was no such thing as a curfew.
Even at midnight, the streets remained bustling.
The two guards of Baiyun City merely glanced at Ye Hao as he walked out, then withdrew their gazes.
If he were an ordinary resident, they might have stepped forward to advise him against leaving Baiyun City at night.
However, a cultivator at Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement was even stronger than them.
It was simply none of their business.
...
The Baiyun Black Market was located in a valley outside the city.
Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the secluded valley featured steep cliffs and dark, dense woods. By day, it was dead quiet and deserted, but late at night, thick mist billowed ceaselessly.
The hazy, grayish-white mist could block spiritual sense inspection and seal off outside peeking.
One could not hear the wind outside the valley, nor see the light of the stars or moon above.
A circular market had naturally formed inside the valley, its ground paved with smooth, aged bluestone covered in fine veins nurtured by years of spiritual energy.
There were no permanent pavilions or shops—only rows of temporary stone stalls and transaction tables covered with black cloth.
Late at night, the valley was dimly lit, illuminated only by the faint glow of night-luminous pearls and dark blue spiritual flames lit by cultivators themselves.
Light and shadows flickered as crowds moved about.
Subdued whispers and quiet hushed chatter filled the air, free of loud commotion.
The air was thick with the fragrance of spiritual herbs, the sulfurous scent of talismans, and the faint metallic tang of demon beast blood, creating an atmosphere that was secretive, stifling, yet lively.
Regarding the existence of the Baiyun Black Market, Baiyun City—and even Baiyun Sect behind it—turned a blind eye. As long as it wasn't brought into the open, they treated it as if it didn't exist.
There were also Baiyun Sect disciples within the black market.
They sold items obtained from elsewhere here.
Grave-robbing, killing and looting, and so forth.
Anything that couldn't see the light of day could be brought to the black market for sale.
"Entrance fee: ten low-grade spirit stones."
At the valley entrance, a figure flickered and blocked Ye Hao's path.
Ye Hao nodded, pulled out ten low-grade spirit stones, and tossed them to the person.
Only then did the person step aside and let him enter.
"Ten low-grade spirit stones per person... this money is certainly easy to make."
As Ye Hao entered the valley, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Only after everyone reached the basin of the valley did it gradually become lively.
"Are these spirit stones?"
Suddenly, Ye Hao's gaze was drawn to something.
It was a pile of spirit stones.
Their surfaces were dim, their spiritual energy incomplete, and their edges worn down.
"Spiritual energy purity... only seventy percent of a standard low-grade spirit stone?"
After walking over, Ye Hao casually picked up a spirit stone, probed it, and frowned slightly.
He couldn't help looking at the vendor standing behind the stall.
The vendor was gaunt and emaciated, looking as though he had no flesh on him at all.
His skin seemed clung directly to his bones.
He looked up at Ye Hao and said in an extremely raspy voice, "These are defective spirit stones discarded by major sects. Although their spiritual energy purity is only seventy percent of a standard low-grade spirit stone..."
"Their price is half that of standard spirit stones."
"Their advantage lies in being half the price, making them suitable for daily meditation, setting up low-tier minor spirit gathering arrays, or maintaining technique consumption."
"Fellow Daoist, if you want a large quantity, we can negotiate the price."
Ye Hao frowned and gently set it down. "Forget it, I'll keep looking."
He currently had fully over four hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones on him, so he had no use whatsoever for these defective spirit stones.
"Fair enough, Fellow Daoist, take your time browsing."
Since Ye Hao didn't make a purchase, the vendor was neither anxious nor annoyed.
He sat back down, his entire face receding into the darkness.
"Mm."
Ye Hao nodded and turned to leave the stall.
There seemed to be something wrong with the man; his vitality was severely depleted.
However, their encounter was purely by chance, so Ye Hao merely gave him an extra glance.
He didn't want to get involved.
"Dew Condensation Grass?"
"What a pity, a total waste of a gift from nature."
As he walked along, Ye Hao paused again because he spotted another familiar sight.
It was none other than the Dew Condensation Grass he had previously discovered on the cliff wall in the valley.
Unfortunately, the owner's harvesting technique had been poor, damaging its roots, greatly reducing its vitality, and even losing most of its medicinal potency.
The true medicinal efficacy of this stalk of Dew Condensation Grass was likely less than one-fifth of the one Wan Bao had harvested earlier.
"Are these jade slips recorded with techniques?"
Ye Hao only gave the Dew Condensation Grass a single look before leaving.
Soon, Ye Hao stopped in front of a stall.
Looking at the jade slips laid out on the stall, he felt a bit curious.
Most of these jade slips were extremely worn down.
Evidently, they had been used many times.
"Yes, they're all techniques, but their tiers aren't high."
"For example, the Fireball Technique, Fire Control Technique, Earth Escape Technique, and so on."
The vendor looked up at Ye Hao and explained.
"These are all First-Tier techniques. Do you have any Second-Tier ones?"
Ye Hao asked, curious.
"The sect's control over First-Tier techniques isn't particularly strict, but Second-Tier techniques are strictly regulated. Even in the black market, they're hard to come by."
The vendor shook his head gently.
"Meaning there are no cultivation methods either?"
Ye Hao frowned; cultivation methods were the very reason for his trip.
After all, the cultivation method he was currently learning was merely a basic internal cultivation art, something handed out to every single handyman disciple.
It could at most allow him to cultivate to Qi Refinement Great Perfection.
As for a Foundation Establishment method beyond that, he had none at all.
"Naturally. The more powerful a cultivation method is, the better those sects safeguard it."
"At most, some Qi Refinement Realm methods circulate on the outside. Once it reaches the Second-Tier Foundation Establishment Realm, it's basically the core foundation of a sect."
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