Chapter 56: Divine Artifact Pavilion

The Mortal World

The stall owner's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately began to complain, "Brother Qin, for these meticulously selected spells alone, fifteen spirit stones are absolutely not expensive... Fine! How much are you willing to offer, Brother Qin?"

Qin Sang frowned, appearing to be making a difficult decision. Finally, gritting his teeth, he said, "Four spirit stones at most!"

The stall owner's face fell. "Brother, you might as well just rob me! Absolutely not!"

It seemed he had indeed offered too little.

Qin Sang hesitated, flipping through the book for a while. He then took out a Water Barrier Talisman and said, "All your spells are very common. For me, the only valuable thing is this cultivation method, but... How about this? This talisman is also worth ten spirit stones. I won't ask for change. If you're willing to trade, then trade; if not, then forget it."

"Ask for change? This Water Barrier Talisman is only worth six spirit stones..."

The stall owner rolled his eyes and grumbled unwillingly, but his movements were quick. He snatched the Water Barrier Talisman and slapped the *Underworld Scripture* into Qin Sang's hand.

Having finally obtained it, Qin Sang was eager to find a place to examine it immediately. However, he suppressed his impatience, walked around the square twice, and seized the opportunity to inquire about a few things.

The first concerned spirit roots.

No matter whom Qin Sang asked, everyone unanimously affirmed that cultivation was absolutely impossible without spirit roots. Even a few cultivators suspected of belonging to the demonic sect said the same.

This made Qin Sang even more puzzled as to why he was so unique.

The second concerned Yin Fiend Qi.

It turned out that for cultivators, Yin Fiend Qi was also common knowledge. Qin Sang's inquiries about it almost made him a laughingstock.

Yin Fiend Qi is a type of extremely cold fiend energy born from heaven and earth. Its exact origin is hard to explain, but it is said that it is most abundant in the battlefields of ancient immortal wars. In places where corpses piled up like mountains, for certain special reasons, Yin Fiend Qi would gradually form.

Without protective measures, staying in Yin Fiend Qi for extended periods not only affects cultivation; even cultivators with strong bodies cannot escape the fate of fiend energy entering their bodies and causing death.

Except for extremely rare secret techniques or magic artifacts that can utilize Yin Fiend Qi, ordinary cultivators encountering it should best avoid it from afar.

Of course, ordinary cultivators do not need to worry about this. Yin Fiend Qi is extremely rare and mostly originates in dark, hidden places, making it even harder to encounter.

After learning about Yin Fiend Qi, Qin Sang felt worried rather than pleased. His heart gradually sank to the bottom.

Yin Fiend Qi was surprisingly difficult to find. Was he going to have to resort to his old trick again: finding a country embroiled in war, entering the mundane world, and collecting souls?

Now that he knew about Mount You Market, which provided a channel to the cultivation world, entering the mundane world wasn't entirely out of the question.

However, first, getting entangled in mundane affairs would waste time. Second, as Qin Sang's cultivation level increased, he clearly felt that simply using mortal souls to produce Soul Pills was too inefficient and could not sustain his cultivation.

Unless he killed hundreds or thousands of people at once.

It would be better to stay in Mount You Market for a while longer to see if he could inquire about the location of Yin Fiend Qi. He probably wouldn't have to compete with anyone for it.

After wandering for so long, dusk was gradually setting in. The crowd in the square was thinning. Qin Sang decided to find an inn in the market and stay for a while longer.

However, before doing so, Qin Sang found a secluded spot and secretly took out the jade plate.

Even the young man named Han had misunderstood the jade plate, thinking it was a token of Mount You Market.

The misty light on the jade plate lingered, still pointing towards the depths of the bluestone street. Qin Sang followed the jade plate's guidance, stopping and starting, until he finally paused in front of a three-story wooden building.

The plaque above the wooden building read: Divine Artifact Pavilion.

The entire street was lined with various shops. Only the Divine Artifact Pavilion had its doors and windows tightly shut. Qin Sang watched for a while but saw no customers emerge.

Such a grand name... had it gone out of business?

Qin Sang thought, not without a hint of malice.

The owner of a nearby shop noticed him and asked, "Young brother, have you also heard about the Divine Artifact Pavilion and come to buy magic artifacts?"

Qin Sang's heart stirred, and he walked over. He scanned the shop and saw that the owner's store displayed items like beast hides and bones. However, what cultivators sold were not ordinary beast hides and bones; they should all be from demon beasts.

"Greetings, Senior," Qin Sang bowed. "Qin Sang has indeed come due to its reputation, but why are the gates of this Divine Artifact Pavilion tightly shut?"

Seeing Qin Sang's respectful demeanor, the shop owner found him agreeable and was happy to say a few more words. "Young Brother Qin, you don't know this, but the Divine Artifact Pavilion only opens for one day in the middle of each month, every three months. You've come early; you'll have to wait two more days."

Qin Sang was astonished. "Only open one day in the middle of the month?"

Who does business like this?

"Young Brother Qin, you don't understand," the shop owner said, a deep envy showing on his face. "The Pavilion Master of the Divine Artifact Pavilion is very likely from a major artifact-refining sect. The magic artifacts they sell are all masterpieces, refined with extraordinary skill, and they never have trouble selling them. Many people in the market now are here specifically for the Divine Artifact Pavilion. Every time the Divine Artifact Pavilion displays artifacts, they are bought up within a day, and some even drive up prices by competing with each other. Such skill is something we rogue cultivators can only envy. The rent for this shop is less than the profit from a single artifact, so of course, they don't care about it."

So, they were truly skilled.

Qin Sang understood; it seemed that having a special skill was also highly valued in the cultivation world. However, he currently had problems with his own cultivation and no energy or channels to learn artifact refining or alchemy. So he cupped his hands to the shop owner and asked, "May I ask, Senior, do I need a token or something similar to enter and buy things?"

"I haven't heard of that," the shop owner replied hesitantly. "This old man's fortune is meager, and I cultivate fire-elemental techniques. Most of the magic artifacts sold by the Divine Artifact Pavilion have a hint of Yin-cold energy, which isn't suitable for me. So I've only been to the first floor. I've heard that superior or even supreme-grade artifacts are sold on the second and third floors, which might have requirements."

After thanking the shop owner, Qin Sang walked out of the bluestone street while pondering. He secretly thought that the jade plate was probably a token for the Divine Artifact Pavilion.

In his previous life, such things were not uncommon in various small and medium-sized auctions. They would create a membership-like gimmick, claiming that only those with status and standing were eligible to participate, instantly elevating their prestige.

Even that shop owner didn't dare go up, so as a poor wretch himself, he certainly wouldn't need it.

He found an inn and directly spent a considerable amount to rent a small courtyard. After eating, Qin Sang closed the courtyard gate, suppressed his inner excitement, and took out the two copies of the *Underworld Scripture*.

He cross-referenced the first six layers, finding no errors. Only then did Qin Sang feel at ease. Holding the two copies of the *Underworld Scripture*, he fell into contemplation.

He had originally thought that the Yama Banner was an accompanying artifact for the *Underworld Scripture*, and thus he had always considered the *Underworld Scripture* to be an evil demonic cultivation method.

It turned out that regardless of whether it was the demonic path or the righteous path, the basic cultivation methods were the same: guiding the five-element spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body to refine oneself, with no distinction between good and evil. Only then did Qin Sang realize how ridiculous his previous thoughts had been.

However, while cultivation methods themselves had no good or evil, it didn't mean that cultivators didn't. Absorbing human souls to improve one's cultivation was, in Qin Sang's view, an absolute demonic practice.