Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

Her mind raced, and after a moment, her eyes lit up: "Yes! There's a market town called Qingmu Market, three hundred miles to the east."

"Aokibo Market?"

"That's right." Liu Qing quickly introduced, "This market was built by a rogue cultivator named Old Man Qingmu. It is said that Old Man Qingmu has reached the Dao Integration Realm and his wood-type magic is superb. He came here in his early years because of his reputation. He happened to be born during a period of spiritual energy in Wuzhuang Temple and had a good opportunity. He was also guided by a master in the temple. Although he did not formally join the temple, he has a deep friendship with the temple and has lived here ever since."

Fan Yuan felt a slight chill. The Dao Integration Realm was already the pinnacle of rogue cultivators. Above that was the carefree immortal being who roamed the world.

With such a powerful and well-connected rogue cultivator in charge, the safety factor is indeed extremely high.

"What is the temperament of this old man Qingmu? What are the rules of the market?" Fan Yuan pressed.

"Old Man Qingmu is gentle and rarely fights with others, but the rules he sets are extremely strict," Liu Qing said solemnly. "Within Qingmu Market, any form of private fight is strictly prohibited. No matter what deep hatred there is, once you enter the market, you are not allowed to fight. There were two cultivators at the Dao Integration Realm who did not believe in this and fought in the street of the market. As a result, they were directly smashed into mincemeat by Old Man Qingmu from a distance, and their souls were destroyed."

"Since then, no one has dared to cause trouble in the market. It can be said that it perfectly meets the requirements of the senior."

Fan Yuan nodded slightly.

Private fights are strictly prohibited, and violators will be eliminated—this is exactly what he needs.

As long as he pays enough spirit stones as rent, he can rent a cave in that market and hide his true form inside.

At that time, the main body will go into seclusion to cultivate, while the clone will go to Longevity Mountain to compete for opportunities, allowing for both offense and defense.

"very good."

Fan Yuan no longer hesitated. "Lead the way."

"Yes! Please follow me, senior!"

Liu Qing quickly got up and led the way.

Fan Yuan swayed slightly, steadily following behind Liu Qing.

Heading east, a journey of three hundred miles might take several days for an ordinary person, but for a cultivator, it's just half an hour.

On the way, Fan Yuanqing counted the harvest he had just collected.

"Three low-grade magic artifacts, one mid-grade damaged magic artifact, 520 low-grade spirit stones, 10 mid-grade spirit stones, and a number of miscellaneous pills..."

When the majestic Green Wood Array came into view, Liu Qing, who was standing next to Fan Yuan, was already panting heavily. Given her still-recovering injuries, she couldn't keep up with the two of them at such a rapid pace.

"Senior... this is the entrance to Aoki Market." Liu Qing pointed to the area shrouded in a pale blue light, his tone filled with awe.

The light screen stretched from the sky to the earth, with countless mysterious runes flowing across it. The faint phantom of a towering tree could be seen swaying in the center of the light screen. With each sway, it caused the spiritual energy of the earth and wood within a hundred miles to surge like a tide.

Fan Yuan looked up and stared at the phantom of the giant tree. The last trace of doubt in his heart dissipated. Such a level of array formation skill was definitely not something that an ordinary rogue cultivator could set up.

At the entrance to the market, two guards dressed in blue armor stood guard. Their auras were deep and powerful, indicating that they were both at the early stage of the Void Refinement realm. Moreover, their spiritual power was faintly connected to the great array behind them. Once they made a move, they could probably unleash power far exceeding that of the early stage of the Void Refinement realm by utilizing the power of the array.

"Those entering the city will be charged twenty low-grade spirit stones each. If you need to stay overnight, you will need to pay an additional amount of spirit stones."

The guard remained expressionless, his gaze sweeping over Fan Yuan and Liu Qing without showing any reaction to Liu Qing's disheveled appearance or Fan Yuan's unfamiliar face.

Twenty low-grade spirit stones. Liu Qing bit her lip and subconsciously looked at Fan Yuan.

"For two people, forty yuan."

Fan Yuan handed it over calmly.

The guard took the spirit stone, his expression softening slightly. He tossed over two wooden plaques engraved with green wood grain: "These are identification documents. They will not be replaced if lost. Private fighting is prohibited after entering the city; violators will be executed."

Fan Yuan took the wooden plaque, casually handed one of them to Liu Qing, and then walked into the city.

Passing through that thick light curtain, the scene before my eyes suddenly opened up, and a spiritual energy several times richer than that outside rushed towards me.

The wide streets are paved with bluestone, lined with shops and towering buildings on both sides.

The streets were teeming with people, including not only human cultivators but also many demons who had not yet fully transformed, some sporting animal heads or dragging tails, swaggering among them.

The place was bustling with noise, with vendors hawking their wares and people haggling over prices – a truly vibrant scene.

However, beneath this bustling scene, Fan Yuan keenly sensed a restless and uneasy atmosphere.

The cultivators who were hurrying along had a look of vigilance and greed in their eyes, while the demons who sat cross-legged by the roadside often had traces of blood still on their claws.

This place also gathers a large number of rogue cultivators and minor demons waiting for the earth spirit tide. It's a mixed bag, where everyone is both a hunter and prey.

However, the rules of Aoki Ward forcefully suppressed everyone.

When they reached a fork in the road, Fan Yuan stopped.

"Our fate ends here." His voice was calm. "The Black Fiend Alliance members died at my hands. If you continue to follow me, you will only bring trouble upon yourself. This market is very large. Find a place to hide, or find a job. Whether you can survive or not depends on yourself."

Liu Qing knew very well that she knew too much. Although the senior in front of her had saved her, he was also ruthless and decisive. If she hadn't been sensible enough along the way, she would probably be a corpse by now.

"Take care, senior!"

Liu Qing bowed deeply, then turned and disappeared into the bustling crowd without any hesitation.

Fan Yuan looked in the direction she disappeared and nodded slightly.

Without this burden, things became much easier for him.

He found an inn called Jingxinju in the western district of the market and spent fifty low-grade spirit stones to rent a meditation room with independent restrictions for ten days.

The quiet room wasn't large, but it was peaceful and protected by an array that prevented people from being detected. Fan Yuan sat cross-legged, while his clone Shen Feng continued to stroll around the market with his storage bag.

……

Aokibo Market: the east street is bustling, while the west street is chaotic.

West Street is mostly filled with stalls run by unlicensed repairmen and shops specializing in black market business, making it a good place to sell stolen goods.

After some investigation, Shen Feng did not rush to make a move. Instead, he circled around West Street several times and observed for a long time before choosing a shop with a dilapidated facade and a general merchandise sign.

The shop owner was a one-eyed old man who was polishing an unknown animal bone. When he saw Shen Feng enter, he merely glanced at him with his single eye and said indifferently, "Buy or sell?"

"Sell."

Shen Feng didn't waste any words, casually poured out a few storage bags and slapped them on the counter.

These are all magical artifacts belonging to Liu Qing's deceased companions. Although they are not of high grade, they can still be considered personal magical artifacts of a cultivator who has reached the Refinement of Spirit stage.

The one-eyed old man sized him up for a moment and then quoted a price: "Two hundred spirit stones."

Shen Feng remained silent for a moment, then grabbed the storage bag and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." The old man tapped the table. "Three hundred, that's the most I can offer. Young man, you should know when to be content. The prices for these black market goods in this market aren't too high."

Shen Feng stopped, turned around, and pushed the items over: "Deal."