Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 266: Purchasing Intelligence and Entering the Black Market
Finally, Xiao Chen still had two special letters left in his hands.

The first one was so bulging that it filled the envelope like a ball.

The second copy was simply put into a box, and a wax seal was made on the edge of the lid.

The contents are protected by engraving runes on the wax.

Xiao Chen opened the first letter in order.

It was written by an elder named Liu from Yuntao Sword House, who gave some instructions to his disciples.

Put aside the greetings between master and disciple and some advice on cultivation.

The main content was to remind him that the sect had discovered abnormal conditions in the sea recently.

Since the Chinese New Year.

The spiritual energy tide on the east side seems to be rapidly increasing in both concentration and coverage.

There are also reports that someone has discovered traces of large sea beasts in the far east.

The relevant situation has been reported to all major sects as soon as possible.

At present, Jianlu has dispatched a special team to investigate and collect more clues.

In the past two months, many rumors about sea beasts have been circulating near Tingtao Sea.

Therefore, if you encounter a similar situation in the Sea of ​​Mercy, no matter where you are or when, you must report it to the sect immediately.

The letter specifically emphasized that there was no conclusion yet on the changes in the east and that it was top secret.

So you are absolutely not allowed to tell anyone, not even family members.

When it is time to notify the situation, the sect will naturally make arrangements.

If the news leaks out, there will be no tolerance and severe punishment will be imposed!
"Traces of large sea beasts?"

From this letter, Xiao Chen could clearly feel that Yuntao Jianlu seemed to attach great importance to this.

But he was a little confused about the source of this emphasis.
As we all know, there are not only fish in the sea, but also some sea beasts have lived there since ancient times.

For example, squid, jellyfish, crabs, and even sea turtles are all considered part of sea animals.

Just like sea fish, once the number of sea beasts increases, mutated bloodlines will definitely be born among them, thus forming large sea beasts.

Before in the market, Xiao Chen had seen crabs that were bigger than cows.

And he was also planning to go to Jialong Island to hunt the thousand-year-old dragon turtle.

What's so strange about this?
Special emphasis was also placed on maintaining strict confidentiality and reporting immediately.

"Wait, are they talking about the same one from before?"

Xiao Chen suddenly remembered that he had returned from Wuling before.

When passing through that particularly large area of ​​ice and snow, I heard strange shouts and the pressure from the Nascent Soul level monster.

Although I was blocked by the wind and snow at that time and I restrained my spiritual sense, I didn't see anything.

But judging from the cries alone, the two monsters must be quite large.

"Ah, this...should I go and remind them?"

Xiao Chen felt that this should be an important clue.

But the key problem is that he is not familiar with Yuntao Sword House, so it is not easy to pass on the message.

Well, actually he is not familiar with any sect.

To Xiao Chen, the only cultivator in the entire Mercy Sea who could be considered an acquaintance was Su Li.

But Su Li has imprisoned herself on the Ji'e Island for a hundred years, and she may not know as many people as he does now.

"Forget it, why should I, a Jindan cultivator, worry about this?"

Xiao Chen shook his head: "Such a vast expanse of ice and snow. The other sects are not blind. They must have seen it long ago."

Spiritual fire rose from his palm, burning the letter in his hand to ashes.

After he has a baby, perhaps he can pay attention to the situation in this regard.

If anything unexpected happens before that, I can just run away.

Escape is shameful but useful.

Ignore the wax seal and open the second box directly.

Inside was a pitch-black token, about five inches long.

There were two pages of letter paper underneath.

Xiao Chen reached out and picked up the token. There were five big words written on the front of it - Seeing the order is like seeing the person.

"Hey, why does this thing look so familiar?"

He turned it over and saw that the back was indeed divided into two parts, upper and lower.

It was engraved with the same mysterious symbol as the token he had seized before.

The difference is that under this token, there is a word "horse" written in ancient Lingwen.

"Interesting, I didn't expect to meet you here again."

Xiao Chen picked up the letter paper at the bottom. The first page was a letter from home, which contained some trivial matters.

The second page contained six rather brief sentences.

Brother, the black market you asked me to inquire about before has been confirmed to have moved back to the Zhaokong faction.

The time remains the same as before, set on the ninth day of the last month of each quarter.

But it is said that the other side has a new leader and has replaced a batch of new identity tokens.

The family asked the Qi family for help, but only received an ordinary talisman.

The uncle in the clan advised that it would be better not to rush there this time and to take a look at the new situation first.

If you go, be careful.

"I see."

Xiao Chen immediately understood that the "Sheep" character token he had obtained before should also be an ordinary talisman.

He calculated the time and found that today was May 26th.

In other words, there are less than twelve days left until the next black market gathering.

Considering that it takes at least a month to go from here to Jialong Island and back.

If Xiao Chen wanted to hunt dragon turtles, he would definitely miss this black market.

However, if you miss this black market, the next one will conflict with the opening of new ruins.

In other words, either go now or you have to wait until the end of the year or next year.

"That's a little too late."

Xiao Chen thought about it and decided to postpone the hunting.

Next, go to Terukokai, then to Kakuryu Island, and finally to the New Ruins.

It is equivalent to going from the northwest corner of the Mercy Sea all the way to the southeast corner.

If this route is drawn on a nautical chart, it will be in the shape of a crescent moon.

"What a life of running around!"

Xiao Chen sighed and once again missed the time when he was in Lizhou and practicing in Cuiwei Valley.

Everything went smoothly along the way.

Nine days later, he successfully arrived at the territory of Zhaokong Sect.

It took another day to go deeper, and on the sixth day of June, we finally saw the legendary Sanye Islands.

There are more than sixty islands of various sizes, which are almost evenly divided into three parts.

Gathered around Zhaokong Island in the middle.

From a distance, it looks like a clover, hence the name Three Leaf Islands.

Before the Zhaokong faction unified this area, there were three large families occupying part of the Sanye Islands respectively.

At that time, three separate markets were built, pretending to compete with each other.

But what’s interesting is that the Zhaokong faction has now made its public appearance.

However, Xiao Chen could still see that the three markets were operating normally, and the two extra markets had not been demolished or merged together.

Even the original family logo was replaced in the market.

The overall layout is almost identical to the old portrait given in the intelligence.

I randomly picked a market town and landed there.

Many guides around immediately looked over.

However, Xiao Chen had plenty of time this time, so he did not hire a guide.

Instead, he went to the market town himself to look for local intelligence agencies, and listened to the conversations of the independent cultivators in the market town to understand the general situation there.

Soon he saw the familiar Lingtong Pavilion.

But this time, Xiao Chen didn't stay inside for long.

And he asked directly: "Are there any other intelligence organizations here? Where are their addresses?"

Lingtong Pavilion has no taboos in this regard, and they don't mind if their guests go to their peers.

Therefore, Xiao Chen only spent ten spirit stones to get a rough draft.

With the route map, he easily found the Jianying Building set up by the Zhaokong School.

"Welcome, senior, to our building!"

As soon as I entered the door, a female cultivator at the foundation-building stage came up to greet me: "According to the rules of this building, all Jindan cultivators are honored guests. Please go up to the third floor!"

The other party looked at Xiao Chen's young face, and the smile on his face became three points more genuine.

He was brought to the third floor, to a quiet room engraved with numerous runes.

"Please come in and wait for a moment, my dear guest. I will go and inform the steward."

The female cultivator took a token from the wall and opened the door to the quiet room.

Xiao Chen pushed the door open and found that the interior was very simply decorated, with only a square table and two wooden chairs.

As he entered, runes on the surrounding walls lit up.

The noise outside disappeared immediately. Even with his spiritual sense, he could not penetrate the wall.

There is no need to worry about anyone eavesdropping on the conversations taking place here.

He didn't have to wait too long before a young man in black pushed the door open and walked in.

"Hello, Senior. My code name is Jia Twenty-One."

As soon as the other party came in, he closed the door of the quiet room and bowed: "Next, I will entertain you, senior."

"If the senior is not satisfied or has someone he knows, he can always change people."

Xiao Chen waved his hand: "No need, it's you."

He didn't mind these things, but directly made a request: "I need intelligence on all major events since this year."

"The latest situation regarding the new ruins in the second half of the year."

"Also, I need to check the black market situation within the Kong faction."

Since he was already here, he naturally wouldn't just buy one thing.

"These three things..."

The young man in black lowered his eyes and calculated in his mind. After a pause of almost a breath, he replied, "A total of 3,500 spirit stones."

"According to the rules of this building, you need to pay half as a deposit first."

"In addition, information is different from ordinary items. Once viewed, it cannot be returned or exchanged."

Xiao Chen waved his hand and gave out 3,500 spirit stones: "Don't worry, I understand the rules."

The other party bowed and said, "Thank you for your understanding, senior."

Then he put away the spirit stone, walked to the wall on the right, took out a token from his waist and contacted the restriction.

A separate secret passage was actually opened.

Then he took the three pieces of information that Xiao Chen needed from the secret passage.

"It's all here, please take a look, senior."

The young man in black laid out the information on the table one by one, then bowed again.

"The quiet room is protected by a formation. Senior, you can stay here to check the relevant content."

"If you don't have any other needs, I'll leave first."

Xiao Chen nodded: "Okay, go ahead." The young man in black bowed for the last time and left the quiet room through the secret passage.

Since there is a quiet room here, there is no need to leave in a hurry.

Xiao Chen first picked up a thin booklet from the table. It only had twelve pages in total, and the first ten pages were illustrations.

However, this thing cost him a full two thousand spirit stones.

On page 11 is a timeline that lists the major events that occurred in the entire Mercy Sea in the first half of this year in chronological order.

Including the joint competition of the five sects, the Tingtaohai auction, the ceremony of enthroning the golden-bodied Arhat in the Lotus Temple, etc.

Xiao Chen took a quick look and mainly added some information about Buddhism.

The key point is the last page.

There are only four lines of text on it, recording two major events.

The first major event was that at midnight on the seventh day of the first lunar month, Buddhist sounds were heard outside the Pudu Temple, and could be heard within a thousand miles.

More than one casual cultivator said that they had personally witnessed the appearance of a Buddha body at least 60,000 feet tall, standing tall and looking far to the east with golden eyes.

But so far, there has been no definite news.

"Sixty thousand feet of Buddha body?"

Xiao Chen frowned slightly. Is this a bit exaggerated?

If this information came from Lingtong Pavilion, he could understand it even if it was 600,000 feet, after all, many rumors were untrue.

But since it appears here, the problem seems to be a bit serious.

Although Xiao Chen didn't know much about Buddhist practice.

But he had heard that there was a Yuanying Zhenjun who could cast spells covering thousands of feet.

Then by analogy, a 60,000-foot Buddha body should at least be equivalent to a cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage, right?

"Why is it east again?"

Xiao Chen immediately remembered the letter he had received from a disciple of Jianlu ten days ago, which indicated that there was an abnormal spiritual energy tide in the east.

Putting these two pieces of information together, they seem to be related.

Of course, this connection is a bit far-fetched, after all, there is a time difference of four months.

But there was one thing he was basically certain of.

Something must have really happened in the east.

"Ah, this is so far away, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

Xiao Chen didn't really want to see this kind of unknown change.

But many times, things always develop towards the worst possible outcome.

The second major event was that an unusually large scallop was discovered five million miles north of the Sea of ​​Mercy.

It is said that it is three thousand feet long and two thousand feet wide, and when floating on the sea, it looks like a small island.

"How big?"

If he wasn't sitting in the quiet room, Xiao Chen would always feel that he came to Lingtong Pavilion today.

"Three thousand feet, if we catch one, we won't be able to eat it all in a year."

Of course, this is not the point. The key point is that such information should be classified as top secret, so why is it being sold?
Oh, right.

This is the Zhaokong Sect, and we are not in the same group as the five major sects.

You know what, sometimes competition can be a good thing. At least it provides an extra channel to get more information.

Xiao Chen was certain that if he was in Cangming Tower today, he would definitely not see this information.

"I hope to get the Nine-Aperture Clear Jade in the new ruins."

Now that things have come to this, all he can do is seize the time and prepare for his breakthrough.

As long as you can make a breakthrough in time, you can take the initiative in many things.

At that time, whether to catch the big scallop to make soup or return to the Storm Sea to settle accounts with the Yinshi Sect is up to him.

Thinking of the ruins, Xiao Chen immediately picked up the information about the ruins.

Unfortunately, it only provides a large map with the location of the ruins marked and a brief description of the surrounding forces.

There's no exact opening time.

It seems that we may have to go to the nearby market.

The last thing is naturally the black market information.

The so-called black market cannot be kept completely secret as long as it accepts outsiders.

Therefore, Xiao Chen not only got a map with the address and relevant information, but also saw a message on the back.

If he is interested in the black market, he can get an identity token by adding another 9,000 spirit stones.

The other party also emphasized that there are only two tokens in the building at present, so hurry up if you want to buy one!
"Good guy, you're still doing this kind of business, right?"

Xiao Chen was surprised to find that there was actually related business.

Unfortunately, he already had tokens, and two of them.

If I didn't distrust the short sellers, I might even consider selling one piece in reverse.

Now that we have successfully obtained the black market address, there is no need to rush.

After all, today is only the sixth day of the New Year, and we still have two days free.

Therefore, after coming out of the Film Review Building, Xiao Chen chose to continue walking on the street.

Relax while browsing different shops.

"My fellow Daoists, the red gold spiritual silk is on sale for a low price. This is the same spiritual silk that the Fan family uses to recruit sons-in-law. Don't miss it if you pass by!"

In front of a small shop on the street, the receptionist was greeting customers diligently.

There were indeed quite a few cultivators who were attracted by the Fan family's recruitment of a son-in-law and went to check out the bright red spiritual silks.

"Oh, yes. I think I saw the Fan family's notice before."

Xiao Chen suddenly remembered that this seemed to have happened in the last few days.

He looked carefully and found that many cultivators in the market looked like outsiders.

Many people gathered in front of Lingsi, excitedly discussing the son-in-law competition that would be held in a few days.

It seems that the Fan family has achieved their goal of increasing their popularity through this.

To be honest, for most of the independent cultivators, it seems like a good idea to go to the Fan family and compete to become a son-in-law.

It is said that a thousand gold buys horse bones.

With such large-scale publicity, whoever successfully wins the competition will definitely be treated well by the Fan family.

However, Xiao Chen had no intention of participating in the son-in-law recruitment, as he happened to be one of the very few remaining people.

So I just skipped the relevant shops and people.

After wandering around, they arrived at the largest spiritual weapon shop in the market.

"Senior, please come in!"

The maid at the door greeted him and followed him consciously, keeping a certain distance.

However, Xiao Chen’s goal this time is clear.

So he simply waved his hand: "Where is the hidden spiritual weapon?"

If you want to go to the black market, you need to prepare a spiritual weapon that can conceal your identity.

In fact, Xiao Chen himself didn't care. Even if he used his true form, he was not afraid of being chased by the robbers.

However, the previous situation briefing mentioned that all monks participating in the black market need to cover their faces.

If you don't have a concealment spiritual weapon, you cannot enter.

This rule is a bit strange, but since you are going to someone else's place, it is best to respect their rules.

This is convenient for both the other party and yourself.

"Senior, please come this way. We have different kinds of spiritual tools, such as hats, masks, veils, etc. I wonder which one you would like."

Coincidentally, these things were placed on the first floor.

At this time, there happened to be two Jindan cultivators who were also comparing different hidden spiritual weapons.

When he saw Xiao Chen coming, he looked at him warily.

"Which is the cheapest hidden spiritual weapon? How many spiritual stones does it cost?"

Anyway, Xiao Chen was just following the rules, so he naturally bought whichever was cheaper.

The maid replied immediately, "Senior, if you buy this new hat now, it will only cost a minimum of 100,000 spirit stones."

Since spiritual weapons are made of expensive materials, one hundred thousand is basically the bottom line.

"Okay, this one then."

Xiao Chen immediately made the decision and went to the side to pay for the spirit stones.

Then we found an inn nearby to stay.

In the blink of an eye, it is the ninth day of June.

Interestingly, the time for this black market was set from 10:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. the next morning.

Therefore, Xiao Chen waited until dusk before coming out of the inn and following the map.

With his own rapid speed of escape, he arrived at a deserted island two thousand miles away at exactly the hour of You.

There was no no-fly zone here, so he landed directly in front of the hill in the center of the island.

According to intelligence reports, the hill has been hollowed out.

This black market was held in the belly of this hill.

"Fellow Taoist, wait!"

Noticing someone approaching, a masked burly man guarding the cave immediately said, "Please show me the token!"

There were three companions beside him.

Everyone actively exuded the aura of a late Jindan stage as a deterrent.

After checking Xiao Chen's token, the other party also breathed a sigh of relief: "Fellow Daoist, there are two rules I need to repeat."

"First, unless absolutely necessary, please do not take off your hat and reveal your true appearance."

"Second, we will conduct centralized transactions in the cave behind the mountain at midnight."

"If you need help selling something, please give it to Lord Silver Mouse at least half an hour in advance. No one will be served after this time!"

"The chief doesn't welcome people who don't follow the rules."

After saying this, he took a step back and said, "Fellow Daoist, please come in!"

Xiao Chen took back the token, adjusted his hat, and entered the black market through the cave entrance.

When we first came in, this place was almost no different from an ordinary cave.

However, after walking a few dozen steps and turning two corners, the view in front of me suddenly opened up.

The entire hill has been completely hollowed out.

The only thing left in the middle was a stone pillar that was three feet thick, serving as support.

Looking up, you can see at the top, densely packed runes like a treetop, relying on the stone pillars to support the soil and rocks above to prevent them from falling.

Thousands of eternally burning lanterns lit up the entire mountain from top to bottom.

A spiral wooden staircase spiraled upwards in front of Xiao Chen.

It was two zhang wide, and a golden dividing line was drawn right in the middle.

Many monks set up stalls near the rock wall, trying to sell the spiritual objects in their hands.

The rest of the monks can climb up the stairs from the other side.

Maybe because they arrived early, there were not many monks setting up stalls at this time, and there were also very few monks in the entire mountain.

However, Xiao Chen immediately realized that he had arrived too early.

After all, a token is needed to enter here.

Besides, the black market is not a banquet, so there is no such thing as being on time.

Probably only before the concentrated trading at midnight will more monks arrive.

In that case, let’s go find where Mr. Silver Rat is.

(End of this chapter)