Chapter 1430: This Is Embarrassing

A moment later, at Lu Ye's suggestion, the five-person team arrived at a nearby barren planet and waited in silence.

After fighting alongside each other this time, the four women's friendship had deepened considerably. What was particularly noteworthy was that all four were in the early stage of the Constellation Realm, which gave them even more in common. They gathered together, chattering away like four larks.

Lu Ye took out all the spoils gained from the chaotic battle, divided them into five portions, and called the four women over to show them.

"An auxiliary cultivation method that doubles efficiency!" This was clearly nonsense. If such a cultivation method truly existed, it would surely be a secret manual never to be leaked. Even the top sects would cherish it as a treasure, and its value would be immense. Why would someone need to hawk it around like this?

Lu Ye observed the man's demeanor and knew he wasn't specifically looking for him; he was merely lurking outside the trade guild, randomly selecting targets. Lu Ye simply happened to pass by and was spotted by him.

"Not interested," Lu Ye said, unwilling to get further entangled with him.

To his surprise, the man relentlessly followed, constantly extolling the virtues of the cultivation method to Lu Ye, such as its simple cultivation, strong compatibility with various low-level methods, and how anyone could easily master it. He even said solemnly, "If you don't believe me, fellow Daoist, I can swear an Oath of Heavenly Secrets. Every word I say is true; I would never deceive you."

Lu Ye stopped and frowned, looking at him. He had sworn an Oath of Heavenly Secrets before, so he knew that such an oath, witnessed by Heavenly Secrets, was not to be trifled with. He couldn't help but wonder, could such a powerful cultivation method truly exist in this world? What kind of concept was it to triple a person's cultivation efficiency?

Noticing Lu Ye was intrigued, the male cultivator gestured with his hand and said, "There are too many eyes and ears here, so it's not convenient to say more. Please come this way, fellow Daoist."

Lu Ye thought for a moment and then followed the man to a less crowded area.

"Swear the oath!" Lu Ye said, getting straight to the point.

The words on the man's lips were swallowed back, and he chuckled, "Alright, but fellow Daoist, if I swear the oath, you can't refuse to buy it."

"If the price is right, I'll naturally buy it."

The male cultivator nodded, his expression solemned, and he stated firmly, "I, Chen He, a rogue cultivator, respectfully invite Heavenly Secrets to bear witness. Every word I have just spoken is true. If there is a single false word, may I suffer all human torments and die!"

From the ethereal, an invisible force descended, landing on the back of the male cultivator named Chen He's hand, where his battle imprint was clearly located. Lu Ye's face hardened. This guy was truly desperate to sell that cultivation method, daring to swear such a poisonous oath.

"Let me see the item," Lu Ye said.

Chen He shook his head. "Fellow Daoist, you jest. That cultivation method is simple and straightforward. If you were to see it, you'd immediately memorize it. Why would you need to buy it then?"

"How much is it?"

"Thirty spirit stones!" Chen He quoted.

Lu Ye turned and walked away.

Although he didn't know what was truly going on with that cultivation method, and Chen He was even willing to swear an Oath of Heavenly Secrets for it, he could be certain that there was definitely something fishy about it. Otherwise, it would sell for three thousand spirit stones, let alone thirty.

"Fellow Daoist, wait!" Chen He quickly grabbed Lu Ye and earnestly tried to persuade him. "Business is all about starting with a high price and settling on a lower one, isn't it? What kind of behavior is it to just turn around and leave without even trying to haggle? You should have some integrity as a person."

"Three!" Lu Ye said, going with the flow and just trying to haggle.

"Deal!" Chen He took out a jade slip and slapped it into Lu Ye's palm. Lu Ye's eye twitched.

"Fellow Daoist, I did swear an Oath of Heavenly Secrets," Chen He said. "And you just said you'd buy it if the price was right. This price of three was your own offer. You can't go back on your word, can you, fellow Daoist?"

Lu Ye was speechless and eventually took out three spirit stones and handed them to the other party. Chen He, having received the spirit stones, left gleefully.

Holding the jade slip, before Lu Ye even had a chance to examine its contents, someone walked over with a chuckle and teased, "Got scammed, didn't you?"

Lu Ye looked up at the person. The person shrugged, "I was also scammed by him. That cultivation method is utterly useless."

Lu Ye realized, "You were watching the whole time?"

The person chuckled, "It's better for two people to be unlucky than just me, don't you agree? Now I feel much better." He even winked at Lu Ye.

"If I were you," Lu Ye said, "I'd go steal his business. If he can sell that cultivation method, why can't you sell it? Rather than just watching others get scammed, you might as well scam some spirit stones yourself and maybe make a profit."

The person fell into deep thought after Lu Ye's words. After a while, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That makes sense!" When he looked up, Lu Ye was nowhere to be seen.

Outside the marketplace, Lu Ye was riding on Big Tiger's back, having already sped off into the distance, disinclined to bother with the schemes and rivalries of those crafty merchants. Although he could confirm that he had indeed been scammed, fortunately, he hadn't spent many spirit stones, only three. He had just acquired over a hundred spirit stones from the Trade Guild, so he was flush with cash and didn't really care.

However, Chen He had even sworn an Oath of Heavenly Secrets, which indicated that the cultivation method truly could improve cultivation efficiency, as he claimed; otherwise, he would have long since suffered a backlash from the oath. What exactly was going on?

Lu Ye grew suspicious and began to investigate the cultivation method's true nature. "Gluttonous Feast" was the name of the cultivation method. Moreover, it was a cultivation method whose grade was difficult to assess, because its entire cultivation route only encompassed fifteen spirit apertures! One must know that the Golden Cicada Freedom Art, which Lu Ye cultivated, was already the lowest-grade Yellow-rank cultivation method, capable of opening twenty-seven apertures. This Gluttonous Feast only had fifteen apertures, making it even inferior to Yellow-rank cultivation methods. But considering that this was not a cultivation method for direct practice, but rather an auxiliary one, it was somewhat understandable.

Just as Chen He had said earlier, this cultivation method's operational route was clear at a glance and extremely simple. Because it encompassed very few spirit apertures, and these apertures were all located near the lower abdomen, it thus had strong compatibility with all low-level cultivation methods. The compatibility between two cultivation methods, high or low, depends on how many spirit apertures are duplicated in their operational routes; the more overlaps, the higher the compatibility. All low-level cultivation methods open spirit apertures that are dispersed near the lower abdomen, because the Source Aperture is located there. Many low-level cultivation methods open almost identical spirit apertures; it's only due to differences in their operational routes that the differences in their characteristics arise. The same nine spirit apertures, when connected in different sequences, will result in different speeds of spiritual power flow within them, which in turn affects the cultivator's strength. Therefore, the sequence of connections between spirit apertures is a very precise matter.

The fifteen apertures in the Gluttonous Feast's operational route largely overlap with the twenty-seven apertures of the Golden Cicada Freedom Art, with only two apertures not being included in the Golden Cicada Freedom Art. In other words, if Lu Ye were to fully cultivate the Golden Cicada Freedom Art and then open those two additional apertures, he would be able to glimpse the secret of the Gluttonous Feast.

He wasn't in a rush. He would wait until he finished cultivating the Golden Cicada Freedom Art, and then see if this Gluttonous Feast was truly as miraculous as claimed, able to double cultivation efficiency.

Putting away the jade slip, Lu Ye then took out a detailed map. He compared the distance between Qingyun Marketplace and Section Five on the map and calculated the time he had spent. He then looked at the route he had planned for his journey to the Jadeblood Sect.

After a brief calculation, Lu Ye couldn't help but sigh. At this rate, even if there were no delays along the way, returning to the Jadeblood Sect's stronghold would likely take a very, very long time. If he encountered any further delays, the time would only be extended.

The road ahead was long, but fortunately, Lu Ye was not alone; at least he had Yiyi and Big Tiger by his side.