Chapter 329: Secret Market Reunion

Qin Sang rented a stone house, where he immediately set up several layers of restrictions. From his mustard seed pouch, he took out the 'sheepskin scroll'.

Outwardly, the 'sheepskin scroll' still showed no changes.

The moment Qin Sang channeled spiritual power onto it, a faint white light instantly appeared. Before the Ziwei Secret Record could fully manifest, Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual power, and the 'sheepskin scroll' reverted to its normal state.

Holding the Ziwei Secret Record in his hand, Qin Sang fell into deep thought.

He was currently unable to decide how to deal with this item.

At present, the spiritual tide had only just begun to show signs. These signs would slowly develop, leading to frequent celestial phenomena and cloud beast riots.

Eventually, the Ancient Immortal Battlefield would enter a period of complete chaos, with celestial phenomena occurring day and night and cloud beasts falling into a frenzy. Unless one possessed immense strength, other cultivators would find it very difficult to survive in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.

By then, the Seven Heroes Pass would be closed off, and the spiritual tide would finally arrive.

According to past conventions, the speed at which each spiritual tide developed varied. This process could take decades, or even nearly a century, which would not be unusual.

If this spiritual tide arrived late, and he could reach the Core Formation stage before the Ziwei Palace opened, exploring it would be no problem. However, Qin Sang knew in his heart that this possibility was extremely slim.

He currently had no clue how to achieve Core Formation.

Even a talent as strong as Senior Brother Qi Yuanshou, the foremost figure below the Core Formation stage in Shaohua Mountain, had already entered the Pseudo Core stage when Qin Sang first arrived at Skull Pass. Nearly thirty years had passed, yet he still hadn't achieved Core Formation, demonstrating just how difficult it was.

He decided to return to Skull Pass and, with the help of his sect, learn more about the Ziwei Palace before making any further decisions.

Reflecting on these thoughts, Qin Sang sighed inwardly. He put away the Ziwei Secret Record and, one by one, took out the items he had acquired from the auction, arranging them before him.

Several types of spiritual wood were purchased for the Ebony Sword, to be slowly absorbed by it.

The high-grade spiritual artifact, the Yellow Sand Banner, was not difficult to control. Qin Sang could use it proficiently after a brief period of refinement, adding another method to his arsenal for future combat.

Next were the three Soul Guiding Grasses.

Qin Sang opened one of the jade boxes and carefully picked up a Soul Guiding Grass.

Three grass leaves intertwined, forming a 'flower bud' at the top. It was as long as an adult's arm but felt weightless.

Qin Sang's nostrils flared slightly as he sniffed the aura emanating from the spiritual herb. There was no unique fragrance or strange smell, but the moment the aura entered his body, he felt his soul subtly stirred.

He did not attempt to activate the restrictions on the Soul Guiding Grass, deciding instead to wait until he was in a secure location before beginning to refine the Heavenly Corpse Talisman.

With three Soul Guiding Grasses and nine leaves, he could practice several times, but he couldn't afford to waste them carelessly. Such spiritual herbs were rare and hard to come by.

The auction had ended at the Hour of the Tiger (3-5 AM), and Qin Sang waited in the stone house for an hour.

After daybreak, Qin Sang emerged from the stone house.

Many experts had been drawn by the auction, and the goods available today were clearly a notch above what had been offered previously. Qin Sang, feeling inclined to browse, gained a significant amount.

Among his acquisitions were two items related to the Five Element Yin, which was an unexpected bonus.

Unbeknownst to him, a full day passed. Qin Sang explored the entire stone island, hearing discussions about last night's auction almost constantly. The vast majority of these conversations revolved around the Ziwei Palace and the Ziwei Secret Record.

These tidings would spread like a storm across the entire Lesser Cold Domain, quickly sparking a frenzy to find the Ziwei Secret Record.

With a 'sheepskin scroll' offering a chance to exchange it for a magical treasure, who wouldn't be tempted?

Even without this auction, news of the Ziwei Secret Record would have eventually come out, just not so quickly. After all, the competition for the Ziwei Secret Record was primarily limited to Core Formation cultivators.

Furthermore, the major powers that controlled the Lesser Cold Domain, such as the Eight Orthodox Sects with Nascent Soul Patriarchs, would not participate. They could enter the Ziwei Palace under the protection of their Nascent Soul ancestors, without needing the Ziwei Secret Record.

The true beneficiaries of the Ziwei Secret Record were cultivators from smaller sects or rogue cultivators at the Core Formation stage.

As dusk approached, Qin Sang found an secluded spot and activated the restrictions on his jade pendant using his spiritual power.

A faint light gleamed in the center of the jade pendant, forming a dagger-shaped arrow of light that pointed southeast, indicating the location of the secret market organized by the old man.

"Surely it's not off the stone island, is it?"

Qin Sang subtly frowned. Following the jade pendant's guidance, he walked all the way to the edge of the stone island, where he found the light dagger pointing towards an unassuming stone house.

After observing discreetly for a while, he saw people entering the stone house one after another. Qin Sang waited until the appointed time before walking over.

A banner hung outside the stone house, which had no visible customers. Qin Sang tightened his cloak and stepped inside. He didn't see the old man; instead, the proprietor was a beautiful young woman with a Foundation Establishment cultivation.

"May I ask what the customer needs..."

The young woman, sitting idly, had just begun to speak when she noticed the jade pendant revealed in Qin Sang's palm. She immediately broke into a wide smile and whispered, "Fellow Daoist, please follow me?"

Entering the back room, he found a hidden door. Behind it was a deep, dark passage where restrictions flickered with obscure light.

Qin Sang stopped at the entrance of the dark passage, his gaze fixed on the restrictions.

The young woman chuckled, covering her mouth. "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to worry. These are concealment restrictions, set up to prevent outsiders from discovering the secret market. We lack the deterrent power of Yinshan Pass, so we have to resort to this method. The fellow Daoists attending our market also wish to remain discreet."

Confirming that they were indeed concealment restrictions, Qin Sang nodded and said calmly, "Please lead the way, Fellow Daoist."

Not long after entering the dark passage, they reached its end, where a small stone chamber appeared. Inside, a long table and several chairs were arranged, and the chamber was already almost full of cultivators dressed in various styles.

Despite the number of people, the stone chamber was eerily quiet, completely silent.

The old man was seated at the head of the long table. Seeing Qin Sang enter, he immediately rose to greet him, gesturing with a hand and saying with a smile, "Another fellow Daoist has arrived. Please take a seat and wait a moment; the secret market is about to begin."

Qin Sang nodded and found an empty chair to sit on.

He keenly sensed several probing gazes landing on him. Qin Sang feigned ignorance, while quietly observing the others.

Without exception, they were all at the Foundation Establishment stage, including quite a few experts in the mid to late Foundation Establishment stage. The old man's influence secretly surprised Qin Sang.

Many of these individuals might have been familiar faces from yesterday's auction.

However, everyone was heavily cloaked, appearing even more cautious than they had been at the auction.

He estimated there would be many good items today. Although his spiritual stones were running low, he still had the spoils he'd taken from Yu Daiyue and others, so he hoped to acquire something.

Qin Sang thought to himself.

Soon after, several more cultivators arrived one after another.

The Hour of the Dog (7-9 PM) was approaching, and the secret market was about to begin.

The old man straightened up and cleared his throat, just as he was about to speak, a heavy and unusually hurried set of footsteps suddenly echoed from the dark passage.

Who could be so impatient?

Qin Sang turned his head and saw a burly figure hurriedly squeezing in through the doorway—it was the robust man he had seen yesterday!