Chapter 22: Purchasing the Demonic Beast

  "On the first day of the new year, I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year with a cup of coffee! At the same time, I'll take this opportunity to bow and greet all fellow Taoists, hoping to receive red envelopes from you, such as likes and recommendations. The more the better, thank you very much!"

  Yin Wind Gorge was only a few hundred miles away from Xuanji City, and Su Che and Lei Xiao relied on their light body techniques to arrive at the entrance in just two hours.

  On the plain, a huge canyon winds from north to south for more than two thousand miles. In the canyon live countless burrowing beasts, such as Shadow Wind Rats, Black Gold Pythons, and Red-tailed Foxes.

  Two people stood on a mound, overlooking the distance. Lei Xiao pointed to a small town at the eastern end of the canyon and said: "That is the supply camp built by our Tianxuan Sect in this place. Although outsiders are not allowed to enter the canyon to hunt and kill monsters, over time, it has become a small gathering place for cultivators. If you're lucky, you can also find some good stuff."

  Su Zhe nodded slightly, temporarily uninterested in other good things, and was eager to get a demon beast as soon as possible to crack the secret of the black tower in his mind.

  "Let it go then." Su Che made a gesture and was about to walk down the mound.

  "Take it easy! Don't rush!"

  Lei Xiao chuckled and pulled out a wine gourd from his Qiankun bag, removing the stopper and saying: "We've been walking for so long, let's take a short break and taste some of my own brewed fruit wine."

  "Drinking at this time?" Su Che slightly hesitated, but still took over the gourd and took a shallow sip.

  The flavor of the wine lingers on the palate, it's indeed a good wine. But at this moment, who has the heart to savor fine wine?

  Lei Xiao saw his anxious emotions and softly advised, "The people doing business in the Xu Zhen Market are all cunning and shrewd. If you're so anxious, they'll definitely see through your thoughts and it won't be beneficial for bargaining. Although we don't lack those few spirit stones, if we're careless and extravagant, it's easy to attract unwanted attention."

  "Alright." Su Che nodded humbly and accepted the advice.

  In fact, these principles would be known to Su Che even if Lei Xiao didn't mention them. It's just that Lei Xiao regarded Su Che as a young and inexperienced junior brother who had just entered the immortal path, so he was being particularly meticulous in reminding him of everything.

  His kind intentions, Su Che was definitely going to accept, and it could be said that his luck was really good, having just joined the Tian Xuan Sect and encountering two good people, one being him, and the other naturally being Master Yu Qing.

  Of course, among the tens of thousands of people in the Tianxuan Sect, there are good and bad ones. People like Jiang Chen and Song Hunzi who have ulterior motives will not be few either...

  A moment later, the two entered the supply camp, located in the middle of the town's widest street, which was also what Lei Xiao called the Cultivation Market.

  On both sides of the street, there were stalls selling all sorts of things, including elixirs, talismans, and low-grade magical instruments. Su Che discovered that most of the vendors on the street were wandering cultivators from outside, and he hardly saw any disciples of Tianxuan Sect wearing white robes.

  Just then, Lei Xiao explained in a low voice: "I sent my disciples to hold their own identities, and it's better to bring back the materials they don't need to the sect to exchange for contribution points. If we set up stalls with loose cultivators on the street here, our fellow sect members will laugh at us."

  "I understand."

  Su Che nodded, but in his heart, he was somewhat skeptical of the so-called arrogance of the sect's disciples.

  He walked and stopped, Leixiao bought a few pieces of metal ore for refining equipment on two stalls. He also explained: "I don't have the ability to refine equipment yet, but I saw that these few pieces of metal were reasonably priced, so I'll buy them and hand them over to the sect in exchange for contribution points. It's more cost-effective this way... Hehe, every little bit counts..."

  Su Che followed him patiently all the way to the central area of the town, and indeed saw people selling low-grade demon beasts.

  On the side of the street, under a big tree, four three-foot-square iron cages were placed, each trapping a large rat inside. The vendors were two young Taoist priests who looked somewhat alike and should be twin brothers born to the same mother.

  "Yin Wind Mouse!" Lei Xiao said in a low voice: "The most common type of low-level demon beast within the Yin Wind Gorge, these four Yin Wind Mice are the lowest level of first-class low-ranking, I don't know if they can meet your requirements?"

  "It's okay." Su Che nodded and said: "One is enough."

  "That's good." Lei smiled and said: "The price should not be more than 15 spirit stones, if it's expensive I won't buy it."

  "Alright." Su Che nodded in response.

  Arriving at the stall, Lei Xiao asked one of the scattered cultivators: "Fellow Taoist, how much are these few Dark Wind Mice?"

  "Twenty Spiritual Stones." The cultivator who answered had a dark red birthmark on the right side of his temple, looking slightly older and likely to be the elder brother.

  "Too expensive!" Lei Xiao shook his head and said, "The lowest-level demon beast in the Yin Wind Gorge is not worth this price. Two days ago, one of my fellow disciples bought one for only ten spirit stones."

  "Ten spirit stones?" The loose cultivator shook his head repeatedly: "This price is impossible!"

  "This kind of monster can be seen everywhere in the valley of Yin Wind. If we didn't have to rush, we would have gone into the valley ourselves to catch it..."

  Next, Lei Xiao brought out his most skilled mouthwork, patiently haggling over the price, and finally, at a cost of twelve spirit stones, he helped Su Che negotiate this deal.

  Su Che paid with spirit stones and casually picked up an iron cage. The iron cage was worthless, a free gift, but the yin wind mouse inside didn't move, its breath steady, clearly having eaten a hallucinogenic drug and remaining in a daze.

  They successfully bought the demon beast and Su Che and Lei Xiao left the stall.

  It should have been just an ordinary transaction, not worth anyone's attention; Leixiao was being annoyingly meticulous about the price, making it seem like he was being petty, and there shouldn't be any issue of showing off wealth, let alone arousing envy in others... Unexpectedly, the two brothers running the stall were staring at Su Che and Leixiao's backs, their eyes filled with malice.

  A long-haired loose cultivator gave a signal with his eyes, another person slightly nodded, and quickly wiped his face, instantly changing into another face.

  It's actually quite skilled disguise technique!

  Then, the person in disguise left the stall and followed Su Che and Lei Xiao from behind, all the way...

  Su and Chu did not know that they had already been targeted, after walking a short distance, Lei Xiao asked: "Su Shidi, the demon beast you need has been bought, what do you plan to do next?"

  "What advice do you have, senior?"

  Lei Xiao said, "A few days ago, I accepted a sect mission that requires entering the Yin Wind Gorge to collect the roots of ten 'Dun Di Du Gen' vines. Originally, I planned to take you into the gorge and help you capture a demon beast, which would save at least a dozen spirit stones, wouldn't it? However, seeing how anxious you are, there must be a reason for it, so..."

  Su Che understood his meaning and immediately said: "It's like this, I need the blood and flesh of a demon beast and its demonic soul to refine a magic weapon. If the refining is successful, my ability to protect myself will also be greatly enhanced. At that time, I can enter the valley with Shixiong again for training, and I won't become a burden to Shixiong...I estimate it will only take half a day's work, which should be enough."

  Lei Xixi nodded with a smile: "Just in time, the sky is already late, let's find an inn to rest for a night and enter the canyon early tomorrow morning, what do you think?"

  "Alright." Su Che nodded in response.

  As for what Su Che said, it requires the blood and flesh of a demon beast and the soul of a demon to refine the artifact. Lei Xiao was not surprised at all, as this kind of thing is extremely common in the cultivation world. Many types of artifacts require special refinement before they can exert their maximum power.

  However, neither of them noticed that not far behind them, there was an ordinary-looking follower who seemed to be casually browsing the goods on a certain stall. In fact, those two big ears were slightly trembling, and Su Che and Lei Xiao's conversation was heard clearly.

  It's not that Su Che and Lei Xiao are lacking in vigilance, but they really didn't think of it, and had been very low-key, yet still got targeted. Moreover, the other party has a certain special eavesdropping ability, which can hear people's whispers from tens of meters away in noisy environments.

  In a certain inn, Su Che was alone in his room, while Lei Xiao lived next door.

  Only foundation-building cultivators could cultivate divine sense, which allowed them to penetrate walls and peek into other people's houses. This was basic common knowledge. Therefore, Su Che didn't worry that his little secret would be discovered by Lei Xiao.

  "For the time being, Lei Shixiong seems to be a good person, but one must always be cautious and not trust anyone, especially when faced with the temptation of high-grade magical artifacts. In the world of cultivation, no one can be trusted! Only what you know yourself is truly a secret."

  Su Che once again secretly reminded himself.