Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

After saying goodbye to Fatty Han Yu, Lu Zaian continued browsing the trading hall.

As I walked along, I discovered something new and interesting in a corner.

A huge animal hide was spread out, taking up most of the corner.

The animal hide was covered with materials from various monsters, as well as many bottles and jars.

A strong, pungent, and scorching smell of blood hit me.

First-tier mid-grade Cloud Pattern Leopard Root Bone, first-tier low-grade Azure Armor Wolf Back Armor, first-tier mid-grade Raging Flame Boar Tusks...

"Hiss, it's all materials from demonic beasts, and they've all died recently."

Lu Zaian couldn't help but gasp. With so many monster materials, it was no wonder that the stall was located in such a remote corner.

If it weren't placed here, the entire hall would probably be enveloped in this strong stench of blood.

Lu Zaian carefully examined the stall owner, a young man with a cold and jade-like face. His face was as if it had been carved by a knife and axe, with distinct lines. His left eyebrow was broken, and there was a cross-shaped scar at the corner of his eye, which added to his coldness and unruliness.

At this moment, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, tightly holding a precious sword in his arms, and leaned against the pillar with his eyes closed to rest.

Sensing someone approaching, the cold-faced youth suddenly opened his eyes.

In an instant, a cold, piercing gaze swept towards Lu Zaian!

A chilling aura of killing intent swept over him, as if an invisible blade was pressed against Lu Zaian's neck.

Lu Zaian felt a tightness in his chest, and a layer of fine goosebumps involuntarily rose all over his body.

It felt as if the slightest movement would cause its head and neck to separate...

"Senior Brother Leng, how much does the essence blood of the Wind Ghost Crane cost?"

Lu Zaian carefully pointed to a ceramic jar on the stall, his breathing becoming somewhat labored.

That's way too exaggerated, that kind of momentum...

Searching through Elder Xiao's memories, Lu Zaian recognized the stall owner in front of him as Leng Sheng, the second senior brother of the inner sect of Lingyao Valley.

However, Elder Xiao was engrossed in alchemy and didn't know much about Leng Sheng.

But Lu Zaian was certain that this Senior Brother Leng was definitely a decisive and ruthless person.

Because the essence of the Wind Ghost Crane in this pottery jar is actually of the highest grade of the first rank!

Being able to fight against a first-tier high-grade flying beast, this Senior Brother Leng's strength is top-notch even in the late stage of Qi Refining!

Leng Sheng withdrew his icy gaze and said succinctly, "One hundred and sixty."

One hundred and sixty?

Lu Zaian thought to himself, "This amount of spirit stones is enough to buy a mid-grade first-tier magic weapon..."

However, Lu Zai'an could faintly sense the fierce and chilling crane cry emanating from the essence blood in the pottery jar, which was truly a rare and excellent quality!

The Wind Ghost Crane, according to the "Nine Fiends Demon Body", is said to appear in the "Qingchuan Domain Quchen Ridge".

Judging from the freshness of the blood essence in the pottery jar, it should not have been hunted in the Qingchuan region.

First-tier demonic beasts are not particularly rare, so it's quite normal to encounter one in the Northern Sky Domain.

However, a first-tier high-grade demonic beast is not something Lu Zaian can handle on his own. Being able to buy it with spirit stones is already a huge surprise.

Lu Zai'an pretended to ponder for a long time, looking pained, before taking out 160 low-grade spirit stones and handing them to Leng Sheng.

"Senior Brother Leng, I'll take this first-grade, high-quality Wind Ghost Crane's essence blood. Thank you!"

Leng Sheng raised an eyebrow, his gaze towards Lu Zaian showing slight surprise.

I never expected that a guy at the fourth level of Qi Refining could pull out a large sum of spirit stones to buy the essence blood of a first-grade high-quality demon beast.

As for what this thing is for, Leng Sheng was too lazy to think about it and wasn't interested.

"make a deal."

Lu Zaian hugged the pottery jar of essence blood, his heart filled with excitement.

Next, we need to prepare several auxiliary materials and medicinal herbs.

Once you collect them all, you can cultivate the "Flying Crane Fiend" from the "Nine Fiends Demon Body," strengthen your physical body, and learn the grappling power of the demon crane!

"Thank you, Senior Brother Leng!" Lu Zaian bowed again in gratitude before leaving.

Next, Lu Zaian browsed through all the stalls in the trading hall, but unfortunately, he couldn't find the materials he needed.

There's only one chance for a pleasant surprise, but at least there's something to look forward to.

However, a conversation he overheard at a stall made Lu Zaian uneasy.

"Hey, Senior Brother Hu, you don't know, a few days ago I bought some spiritual materials from a rogue cultivator and paid a deposit, but when the agreed time and place arrived, there wasn't even a trace of him, and I lost dozens of spirit stones for nothing..."

"Haha, that's normal, that's normal. Junior brother, you're just too carefree to make deals with those rogue cultivators so casually."

They were unaffiliated, lacked resources, and were like rootless duckweed, indiscriminate and greedy creatures. A few dozen spirit stones were a fortune to them.

"Tsk tsk, Senior Brother Hu, you're mistaken. There are indeed some decent individuals among the rogue cultivators. It's not that I'm naive, it's just that I knew that rogue cultivator before, and he seemed quite good. I never expected to be deceived..."

“Indeed, junior brother, you've come out on top; you've only been cheated out of a few dozen spirit stones.”

I've heard there's been some chaos outside Blackrock Market lately. Apparently, a gang of roaming cultivators is committing crimes, and many rogue cultivators have been killed and robbed..."

"What? I haven't heard of that? So, does that mean the rogue cultivator I traded with might not have breached the contract, but was actually murdered?"

"Hmm...that's possible. Those cultivators who dare to attack us sect disciples are afraid of attracting bounties, and the ones who suffer the most are actually the rogue cultivators."

…………

The conversation between the two brothers gradually faded away, leaving Lu Zaian listening quietly to them.

Are there bandits causing trouble outside Black Rock Market?

Are they specifically targeting and killing rogue cultivators?

As Lu Zaian stroked the stubble on his chin, the first person he thought of was the guy who had ambushed him outside Black Rock Market.

Could they be in cahoots?

However, the message obtained from that cultivator's storage bag seemed to be directed by someone from the Fire Refining Sect.

Considering that Elder Xiao of Lingyao Valley was also killed by the people of the Refining Fire Sect, could it be that the Refining Fire Sect was also behind those troublemakers?

Lu Zaian was filled with dread as he pondered the matter more deeply. The more he thought about it, the more he seemed to see an invisible black hand manipulating a chessboard within the Black Soil Mountains, quietly laying out its plans...

Oh well, never mind, don't overthink it. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.

I'm currently under house arrest in the Spirit Medicine Valley. Unless the Fire Refining Sect attacks, my safety is not a problem.

As for whether or not to report this information?

Lu Zaian felt it was unnecessary.

First of all, I'm not sure if that ambush was ordered by the Fire Refining Sect or just the disciple's own greed.

He had never even witnessed the subsequent chaos caused by the Jiexiu.

Simply linking the two based on hearsay is unbelievable and will only put you in an awkward position.

Secondly, Lu Zaian believed that the Lingyao Valley lineage had been able to continue for over a thousand years, so it must have its own methods for dealing with various situations.

There's no need for an old man like me, a mere Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator, to worry about this.