"You're saying that among the cultivators you're investigating, there's something similar to an 'Immortal-Descending Pearl'?" A look of surprise appeared on Yize's face. He truly did not know about this. They had only come here following a clue. As he had said, a Buddha's Storage Pouch contained many things. They really didn't know if the killer was seeking revenge and just happened to take the Storage Pouch, or if they had come looking for something specific.
Looking at the other's expression, which didn't seem feigned, Wang Lang thought to himself, 'Does he really not know? Or is this just a coincidence?'
In fact, regarding the recent events in the territories of the four major sects, the higher-ups of the four sects already knew that a certain force was looking for something, and they already had some leads, but they would not mention it to the cultivators below. They only strengthened their manpower for investigation and began to target and hunt down the culprits. They had already tracked down and killed many people. At most, only the Golden Core cultivators of the sects vaguely knew something about the situation. People of Yize's and Wang Lang's status could not know.
However, during his recent investigation, Wang Lang had discovered that most of the people who had gone missing or been killed held important positions in their sects. And there was one point that Wang Lang found strange. Among these people, they either had bead-like magical treasures in their possession, or after their death, something similar to a bead would be missing from the sect area they guarded. Although this was only the case in two of the six sects he had investigated, combined with the death of Yiguang from the Jingtu Sect, he couldn't help but want to connect them to prove his guess.
Wang Lang was Wang Lang, after all. He was a chosen one of his generation. How could his intelligence be compared to that of an ordinary person? Although the sect's higher-ups had not given any hints, and they were only sent by the sect to collect intelligence, he could still see some clues.
Yize looked at Wang Lang and finally said, "Martial Uncle Yiguang's 'Immortal-Descending Pearl' was indeed lost along with his Storage Pouch. As for whether this is a coincidence, after all, in Buddhism, there are many bead-like magical treasures, such as prayer beads, hanging beads, and accessory beads. If these are used as magical treasures, it is very normal for them to be snatched away during a robbery and murder."
"Then were Martial Uncle Yiguang's Buddhist prayer beads lost?" Wang Lang asked. He knew that even if a monk's prayer beads were not a Magical Treasure, they were often extraordinary Spirit Treasures, capable of storing Willpower, a very important item for a Jingtu Sect monk.
"No, they were not. Huh? Martial Uncle Yiguang's prayer beads have been cultivated with Willpower for over a hundred years. That's a treasure that is in no way inferior to a Magical Treasure! Fellow Daoist Wang, what exactly is the news on your side? You can't have this idea just because of a single stone pearl. Coincidences do happen. Perhaps the other party was just killing for wealth and simply didn't know the wonderful use of the prayer beads." Yize was first shocked, but he quickly calmed down. He was a Chan Monk, and his meditation skills were very strong. Although he had just had the thought of immediately reporting to Martial Uncle Liaosong, it was better to ask for details first.
Wang Lang smiled faintly. "It's not as simple as just one stone pearl. In one of the sects I investigated..."
In a separate courtyard in the north of Yuguan City, two Buddhas sat cross-legged opposite each other.
"Senior Brother Liaosong, did the Arhats really say that Junior Brother Yiguang's 'Immortal-Descending Pearl' was the target?" a slender old monk asked the middle-aged monk opposite him.
"Amitabha. Junior Brother Yifa, this matter is certain. In fact, the temple already knew that the other party was looking for something similar to a round bead. But for the Jingtu Sect, this is a tangled mess. The disciples in the temple who use bead-like items as magical treasures number in the thousands, if not tens of thousands. Especially our Buddhist prayer beads, which can store Willpower. It's impossible to start. We can't possibly collect all the prayer beads and round-bead-like magical treasures and spirit treasures, can we?" Liaosong said, his palms pressed together.
"Then has there been any progress or news from the other three sects?" the old monk Yifa asked, raising his long, drooping eyebrows.
"Junior Brother, I know very little as well. Everything is being handled by Martial Uncle Liaofan. It is said that recently, Martial Uncle Mo Qing from the Malevolent Spirit Sect retrieved an item from a Daoist temple. It seems to be the eyeball of some stone sculpture. For a Nascent Soul to go personally, one can imagine its importance. But as for the specifics, I do not know."
"In that case, the round-bead-like Magical Treasure the other party is looking for must contain a great secret. Otherwise, how could they not hesitate to expose their identity and kill people everywhere, especially now that they have started to target the four sects. Alas, speaking of which, Senior Brother, how could Junior Brother Yiguang... You came here in such a hurry. The clue you mentioned, I have already arranged for people to investigate today, but there is no such wretched woman of that description." The old monk's long eyebrows twitched, and a cold killing intent appeared in his eyes.
"Alas, a pink skeleton, immortal skin over rotten flesh. Junior Brother Yiguang's mind was clouded. He was subjected to the 'Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art' and had long since fallen into an illusion, having all his vital yang drained. This technique has been lost for thousands of years, and now it has appeared in the mortal realm again. It is another great disaster.
"Junior Brother, this person appeared nearby two days ago and came here from Da Ning City. They either came for something similar to the 'Immortal-Descending Pearl,' or they are looking for a target to devour vital yang to increase their cultivation. Therefore, you must strictly order the disciples in the temple to be on full alert for any abnormal person approaching them.
"If it's the former, send disciples to investigate all the shops and give me a result within half a day. See if there are any suspicious people. As for the latter, no disciple of our Jingtu Sect is allowed to go out alone for the time being. All female cultivators entering and leaving the city must be strictly investigated. You and I will go out of the city now to check the place where that woman once appeared."
Li Yan didn't know that he would still run into an old acquaintance here, though even if he came face to face with Wang Lang, he might not immediately recognize who the other person was.
Li Yan soon arrived at the auction house in the city. Looking up, it was indeed impressive, clearly built at great expense. Although there were cultivators coming and going at the entrance of the auction house, not many entered. The three large characters above the door first made Li Yan pause: "Chant-Garment Assembly."
Li Yan knew what this meant. "Chant-Garment" was actually the same as "Auction." Ancient cultivators called competitive bidding for items "Chanting Garments," and the gathering place was called a "Chant-Garment Assembly" or "Chant-Garment Field." This was a term that didn't use the mortal world's language of bidding for clothes. "Auction" was the term used by foreign cultivators. However, as interactions between demons, humans, and cultivators from other lands increased, the term that outsiders could understand was gradually adopted. But in some areas with long-standing traditions, the term "Chanting Garments" was still used. The use of these two characters here could only mean that the power behind this auction house was extremely ancient. And an ancient power often meant a strong one. An auction held by a strong power would naturally have a certain guarantee for its treasures. This made Li Yan feel a sense of anticipation.
'The power behind this auction house might even be the Jingtu Sect itself. Otherwise, how could there still be such an ancient name!' Li Yan thought to himself.
There were only two Qi Condensation stage cultivators standing at the entrance, talking. Li Yan didn't hesitate and walked up to the door to inquire. Sure enough, the auction would be held the day after tomorrow. The people who occasionally appeared here now were mostly merchants consigning items for the auction. Others were deacons of the auction house. But as for what exactly would be auctioned, the two of them only knew a rough idea. Among them, there was indeed news of Crystal Bone Water, which made Li Yan's heart leap with joy.
After asking for details, Li Yan felt a bit fortunate that he had come to inquire first. Not just any cultivator could enter the auction here. Firstly, one had to be of Foundation Establishment stage or higher. Secondly, one needed to pay fifty Spirit Stones per person in advance. Regardless of whether you ultimately decided to bid or won the item you wanted, the Spirit Stones would not be refunded. This alone barred some cultivators who just wanted to join in the fun and broaden their horizons. When Li Yan inquired, there were only seventeen spots left. Li Yan sighed inwardly at how easily the auction house made money.
Since there was news of "Crystal Bone Water" appearing here, Li Yan, no matter how reluctant, had to take out fifty low-grade Spirit Stones and hand them over. In return, he received a token carved with a two-headed pangolin. Li Yan looked at the back of the token again. On it were three exquisite characters: "Chant-Garment Assembly," the same as the three characters on the sign above the door where he stood.
'If this isn't an enterprise run by the Jingtu Sect, to be able to open an exclusive business in such an important cultivation city, they must be extraordinary,' Li Yan thought as he turned to leave.
Next, Li Yan, of course, did not miss the marketplace here. He spent half a day going in and out of the shops and stalls in the city's marketplace and actually had an unexpected gain. He saw two of the auxiliary materials for refining the "Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike" and bought them on the spot. As for cultivation methods and magical treasures, they were dazzling, with varying quality. Li Yan looked around but found nothing that matched his cultivation method. And upon careful inspection, most of them seemed to have exaggerated the power of the cultivation methods and magical treasures. But this was also reasonable. Good things were usually bought as soon as they appeared. After all, not many people could find a bargain. Although there were a few magical treasures that Li Yan thought were not bad, the prices were ridiculously expensive. Since these were not essential items for him, he couldn't waste his Spirit Stones.
Actually, the fact that Li Yan could buy two auxiliary materials here, while in the marketplace near the Malevolent Spirit Sect, Sun Guoshu had only occasionally seen one, didn't mean that the Malevolent Spirit Sect's marketplace was inferior to the Jingtu Sect's. This was related to the incompatible concepts of the two sects. The Peiyang Town marketplace near the Malevolent Spirit Sect that Li Yan had gone to with Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang when he was in the sect was actually a small marketplace, established by several cultivation forces themselves. The Malevolent Spirit Sect itself would not build cities. At most, they would only station their own cultivators in larger cultivation gathering places. And the Malevolent Spirit Sect did not allow large cultivation gathering places to be established near their sect mountain. Therefore, Li Yan would have to go very far to find one. But the Jingtu Sect was different. They needed to cultivate Willpower, so the closer the cities were to the sect, the better, and the more, the better. And the Jingtu Sect would even spend huge sums to build temples and new cities, so the marketplaces naturally became more numerous.
In this way, as Li Yan looked for some suitable items, he also selectively sold the unnecessary things he had recently acquired and actually got more than thirty thousand Spirit Stones. Most of these Spirit Stones came from the He Brothers. Their demonic pills were worth a lot, and most importantly, the emerald abacus and the damaged wolf-fang club. These two magical treasures alone fetched more than twenty thousand Spirit Stones. Magical treasures were inherently extremely expensive. Otherwise, for just a few thousand Spirit Stones, an ordinary cultivator could afford one after saving for a few decades. But the reality was not so. Just the raw materials for an ordinary Magical Treasure would cost thousands or even tens of thousands, not to mention the expensive fee paid to an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. A finished product was naturally expensive, and cultivators often found that what they found was not necessarily suitable for their own use.
The emerald abacus was in excellent condition. Li Yan went to a few shops and sold it for over eighteen thousand Spirit Stones. The wolf-fang club, however, had its internal Verdant Wolf Artifact Spirit self-destruct, so it was a damaged item. But the material of the wolf-fang club itself was still left. If a demonic cultivator could find a demonic beast's soul to re-refine and nurture it, it could slowly recover. It was just that this process would be a bit long. But even if the wolf-fang club was melted down and sold as refining material, the price would not be too low. In the end, it was still sold for seven thousand Spirit Stones.
In the evening, Li Yan found an inn in the city to stay in. Cultivators rarely wanted to share a room with companions, unless they were extremely close, like a husband and wife cultivator couple. So, the inns for cultivators were mostly very large, often with a separate small courtyard or a single room. But the price was also ridiculously expensive. If you were unwilling to part with your Spirit Stones, you could just go out of the city and find a random place in the wilderness to rest.
Li Yan was not a spendthrift, so he didn't choose a separate courtyard but just stayed in a single room in an inn. Even for this single room, which had nothing more than a bed, a table, and a chair, it cost ten low-grade Spirit Stones a night. Adding the three low-grade Spirit Stones paid at the temple upon entering the city, just to stay in the city for the first day without eating or drinking would cost thirteen Spirit Stones. For low-level cultivators or some rogue cultivators, they would not easily enter the city.
However, since the Spirit Stones were spent, even though it was a simple single room, the sound-proofing and protective formations inside were not bad. As long as no cultivator launched a strong attack, it would be difficult to enter easily. This point satisfied Li Yan quite a bit.