Chapter 323: Buying Materials

"This is ridiculous! No one told me a thing about this!"

After the players in Demon Cave Valley informed Su Huanli, she was more shocked than anyone to receive the news.

"How could I possibly become dao-companions with that Zhang Xiwen!"

Su Huanli frowned, utterly repulsed.

She knew of Zhang Xiwen, the head disciple of the Fierce Eagle Sect.

But she had never interacted with him.

After all, Zhang Xiwen had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage before her and was incredibly arrogant.

The Feique Sect and the Fierce Eagle Sect had always been on bad terms. Their disciples never associated with one another; whenever they met, they couldn’t stand the sight of each other.

’How could something so terrible be happening?’

Su Huanli’s first thought was that this was a setup.

The people from the Longevity Sect would never lie to her.

She had to return to the Sect and send a message to Jingque True Man to confirm whether this was true.

So, Su Huanli and Shui Ping rushed back to the Sect.

Of course, Song Jiulai also heard about Su Huanli’s situation. While she wasn’t very familiar with the feud between the Feique Sect and the Fierce Eagle Sect, she knew one thing for sure: someone with Su Huanli’s personality could never have anything to do with Zhang Xiwen.

She told the System to keep an eye on it and notify her of any news.

Su Huanli was her first friend in this world, and one who treated her with genuine kindness.

As for Song Jiulai, after she finished gathering the people from the five Major Sects, they all departed for the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect.

Meanwhile, after more than a month, Liang Xueyao broke through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment and had become quite confident in his ability to refine Magic Treasures.

He did, however, ask the System to pass a message to Song Jiulai.

He needed at least three types of spirit materials infused with Dragon Breath Spirit, and they had to be Third Rank or higher.

One of them even had to be Fourth Rank.

He was now confident he could craft an Earth-grade Treasure, and these particular spirit materials were available for sale in the markets of the Dragon Frost Swamp.

Mu Qiu and her group were the ones who had scouted out this information.

Apparently, there was a cultivators’ black market in Xuanwu City where materials with Dragon Breath Spirit sometimes appeared.

Song Jiulai reverted to her Li Daqiang persona and first returned to the Sea View Sect to deliver the required spirit materials for the month.

Since this was her third time delivering, the Sea View Sect disciples seemed to have formed an impression of him.

This Li Daqiang was a dull and honest(?) fellow who showed up on time every month to deliver his spirit materials without causing any trouble.

’His luck just isn’t very good, though. He only ever brings two stalks of Dragon Breath Spirit each month.’

’Never a single one more.’

After delivering the spirit materials, Song Jiulai changed back to her female cultivator appearance.

Mu Qiu and her two companions had also been operating here for a few months. While they weren’t as quick as Song Jiulai at finding spirit materials, they had managed to gather all the necessary intelligence.

For example, they were the ones who had found out where the black market was located.

’You have to hand it to the players for being so proactive and resourceful. If it were up to me, finding these places in such a short amount of time would have been really difficult.’

As it happened, Xuanwu City held an underground cultivator market day every two days.

Getting in was simple, too—just pay an entry fee of ten low-grade spirit stones.

But you had to pay each and every time.

Once inside, they only guaranteed your safety. The management wasn’t as strict as the Sea View Sect’s; for instance, you could use items to hide your cultivation and identity. But if someone saw through your disguise, that was your own problem.

It was easy to get into trouble if you were targeted after making a trade inside.

This wasn’t much of a problem for Song Jiulai.

When she found the black market, the entrance was guarded by a drinking old man with a bulbous, red nose. He wasn’t even half the height of an average person.

Song Jiulai walked over and gave him the ten low-grade spirit stones, and the old man opened the door behind him.

It was pitch-black inside. Neither of them said a word the entire time, as if they were conducting some illicit underground transaction.

’Though, to be fair, it *was* an illicit transaction.’

’But to be able to run a market day like this in Xuanwu City with no one interfering... they must have powerful backing!’

Upon entering, a bustling but rather crude underground plaza appeared before Song Jiulai.

It was truly crude; there wasn’t even a place to sit down and rest.

The Cultivators’ stalls were arranged in rows, displaying the goods they had for sale. Some had also written lists on boards detailing the items they were willing to trade for.

’Let’s see, what did Xue Yao need again?’

’Third-rank Fire Nao Wood, Third-rank Nine Nether Snake Bone Liquid, and Fourth-rank Green Beast Bone.’

’And they all had to be infused with Dragon Breath Spirit.’

These three were all common spirit materials, but finding them infused with Dragon Breath Spirit was rare.

Song Jiulai went down the rows of Cultivator stalls, and after a long while, she finally found a piece of Fire Nao Wood infused with Dragon Breath Spirit.

The Fire Nao Wood was a complete log, shaped like an agate and shimmering with the flowing light of Dragon Breath.

The Cultivator selling the Fire Nao Wood was a masked figure in black. Song Jiulai glanced at him and asked, "How much for this Fire Nao Wood?"

The man’s voice was raspy. "Fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones."

Song Jiulai’s eyes widened. "A regular piece of Fire Nao Wood costs one Mid-grade Spirit Stone. Even with the Dragon Breath infusion, you’ve marked it up fifty times! Brother, isn’t that a bit unreasonable?"

The man was clearly confident, letting out a smirk. "You don’t have to buy it."

’Clearly, he had the goods, so he could name his price.’

Song Jiulai shot back, "Thirty Mid-grade. Let’s call it making a new friend."

System: ’Such a familiar line.’

The man: ?

The Cultivator was clearly not having it. "Fifty Mid-grade. Not one stone less."

Song Jiulai regretfully turned and walked away.

’The main thing was, she hadn’t finished exploring the market yet. What if he wasn’t the only one selling it?’

’And what if Liang Xueyao’s Artifact Refining failed? She would need more than just one log.’

Meanwhile, someone in a corner was watching her. After Song Jiulai had completed a lap of the underground plaza and still hadn’t found the spirit materials she needed, someone suddenly approached her.

"Fellow Daoist."

Someone called out to her. She turned to see a male cultivator with a thin, two-pronged mustache.

’He had shifty, rat-like eyes and didn’t look like a trustworthy character.’

’Although, she was admittedly being judgmental.’

’Still, Song Jiulai had a feeling that him stopping her meant trouble.’

His cultivation was at Late-stage Qi Refinement.

"Fellow Daoist, are you in need of Fire Nao Wood infused with Dragon Breath Spirit?"

Song Jiulai eyed him thoughtfully. "I am. Don’t tell me you have some?"

"I do have Fire Nao Wood, and I guarantee it’s cheaper than what you’ll find here."

He beckoned Song Jiulai to the side to talk. "I don’t just have one, either. Two logs, I’ll sell them to you for fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones. How about it?"

Song Jiulai’s interest was piqued. "That would be perfect. If you have them, I can give you the Spirit Stones right now."

"Fellow Daoist, I only have one on me right now. And I’d wager you don’t just need Fire Nao Wood. You’re also looking for Nine Nether Snake Bone Liquid, aren’t you?"

These were all materials for Artifact Refining, and the formulas for some Magic Treasures were public knowledge.

So it was easy to guess which materials were needed together.

Song Jiulai was even more interested. "You have all of them?"

He nodded with a smile. "Of course. It’s just... these spirit materials aren’t here right now. Fellow Daoist, you know how it is. We’re in the Dragon Frost Swamp, and spirit materials infused with Dragon Breath Spirit aren’t easy to come by. We can’t trade them in Xuanwu City."