Chapter 368: Opening a Shop

These three players were captured by the Corpse Bone Sect and refined into living corpses.

They were still alive and retained their sanity.

Most people would feel like their world had ended.

But once the players came to their senses, they actually thought it was pretty cool.

’Aren’t we on a different path from all the other players now?’

’If we start a livestream, we’ll definitely grab a ton of attention!’

Livestreaming was a gold mine these days. Aside from the truly socially anxious, most players who joined the game wanted to make some money on the side by streaming.

But streaming was a fickle business; some people had a knack for it, and others didn’t.

Plenty of streamers saw lukewarm success at best.

After all, with more players pouring in and more of them starting to stream, the internet was flooded with broadcasts from so-called Broken Sects. Without a unique gimmick, it was incredibly hard to stand out.

*

"This Spiritual Wine actually made it all the way to the Dragon Frost Swamp? Did the locals figure out how to make it? How come it tastes almost exactly like the kind I had in Liu Xian City?"

Shen Hai’an and his friend, Ye Guancang, had been staying in the Dragon Frost Swamp for several days now.

The two had come on a mission, but their trip to the Dragon Frost Swamp had yielded a number of surprises.

The biggest commotion was the uproar over a Demon Cultivator.

The City Lord of Xuanwu City had reportedly been ambushed by a Demon Cultivator, and the culprit still hadn’t been found.

As a result, Xuanwu City was under extremely tight security.

And yet, amidst this strict atmosphere, some less conspicuous novelties had begun to appear in the markets of the Dragon Frost Swamp.

Chief among them was this Spiritual Wine that had suddenly appeared.

Though low-level, it was exceptionally delicious.

Shen Hai’an and Ye Guancang had drunk Spiritual Wine before in Liu Xian City, so finding it here in the Dragon Frost Swamp was quite a surprise.

Then again, once someone figured out the recipe, it wouldn’t be hard to replicate. It wasn’t that strange for it to have become popular and eventually made its way to the Dragon Frost Swamp.

The two of them didn’t think much of it.

Ye Guancang shook his head. "They’re about the same. Someone probably just brought the Spiritual Wine here to sell."

This Spiritual Wine could easily become a craze among the Cultivators in the Dragon Frost Swamp.

It was certainly a good way to earn Spirit Stones.

The Sea View Sect might have even brought it over to sell themselves.

The Dragon Frost Swamp was a melting pot of all sorts, so it was normal for new things to pop up from time to time.

Shen Hai’an smiled. "It seems Cultivators have a lot of free time on their hands these days."

Ye Guancang also took a small sip of the Spiritual Wine. "Mm."

Shen Hai’an took a drink of wine, his smile fading slightly. "My mother sent me a message. She said my cousin has gone to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect."

Ye Guancang looked up. "Gong Xingsi, the Young Master of the Yinxiao Sect?"

Shen Hai’an nodded. "The very same."

Gong Xingsi was the genius Young Master of the Yinxiao Sect. He had reached the Nascent Soul Realm at a young age, making him far more powerful than either of them.

He was also someone Shen Hai’an greatly admired.

Shen Hai’an sighed again. "Unfortunately..."

His cousin had been terribly unlucky, which led to his misfortune.

His entire cultivation had been destroyed. The Yinxiao Sect did its best to conceal this, but they couldn’t hide it from some of the other Major Sects.

If they couldn’t find a way to restore his cultivation, it was hard to say who would inherit the position of Sect Master of the Yinxiao Sect in the future.

Even though the current Sect Master was still young, the stronger a Cultivator became, the more difficult it was to produce a powerful heir.

"But what about him?"

A hint of hesitation crossed Shen Hai’an’s face. "My mother wants me to go to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect and find my cousin."

Ye Guancang was taken aback. "Why you?"

Shen Hai’an shook his head. "She wasn’t clear, but I suspect it has something to do with my abilities. Perhaps my mother foresaw something."

Shen Hai’an had a special ability, as did his mother—and hers was far more potent than his.

For her to suddenly tell him to find this cousin he rarely saw, it couldn’t have been a mere whim.

Ye Guancang, now genuinely surprised, set down his chopsticks. "Then where is Young Master Gong Xingsi now?" he asked seriously.

Shen Hai’an shook his head. "No one knows. Apparently, my cousin kept this trip a secret from everyone. Very few people even within his sect know about it, and my mother has no idea what he’s doing. I’m guessing it might be related to restoring his cultivation, or perhaps it has something to do with the current chaotic situation in the Tianyang Sect."

After Master You Shan Liu’s fall, the Tianyang Sect had effectively lost a powerful backer at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage.

Now, the Tianyang Sect was in turmoil.

All sorts of rumors were flying around, and Demon Cultivators were even taking the opportunity to invade.

Many from the small sects were even forced to flee.

Gong Xingsi’s departure at this time was likely due to one of those two reasons.

Ye Guancang asked, "So, you’re leaving the Dragon Frost Swamp now?"

Shen Hai’an nodded. "It’s my mother’s request, after all. I want to go and see what’s happening."

He had to search for his cousin, even if there were no clues to his whereabouts.

He looked at Ye Guancang. "Do you want to come with me?"

Ye Guancang considered for a moment. Their business in the Dragon Frost Swamp was nearly concluded, so he nodded. "Alright."

Shen Hai’an and Ye Guancang thus prepared to return to Liu Xian City.

Conveniently, Liu Xian City was the territory of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect. They might be able to find some news about Gong Xingsi there.

The pair prepared to take the Teleportation Array back to Liu Xian City.

But just as they were about to depart, they saw two familiar figures.

Shen Hai’an spotted Honghuang and An Xiu moving through the crowd and let out a small, questioning "Huh?"

Ye Guancang turned his head. "What was that for?"

"Nothing. I just saw two people I know. It’s a rare sight, is all."

Cultivators lead transient lives; unless you specifically seek someone out, chance encounters are rare.

And yet, he had already run into Honghuang and An Xiu several times now.

He remembered that they were also from Liu Xian City and had even spoken to them there.

They had a distinctive puppet fragrance about them.

’That’s right, the puppet fragrance...’ he thought.

Just then, An Xiu and Honghuang walked by, chatting and laughing—or rather, Honghuang was doing most of the laughing.

Shen Hai’an frowned.

Just then, a female cultivator approached and met up with Honghuang and An Xiu.

As Shen Hai’an passed them, he caught the same Puppet Medicine Fragrance on the female cultivator.

’Strange.’

’Does everyone in their Sect practice with puppets?’

’Such a strong Puppet Medicine Fragrance couldn’t be developed overnight.’

Puppets were useful to High-level Cultivators, but for low-level cultivators, the ones they could refine were merely spiritless puppets.

Sometimes they were too clumsy to even be trusted with planting Spirit Grass.

Very few sects would specialize in the study of puppets.

Despite his confusion, Shen Hai’an boarded the Teleportation Array with Ye Guancang and left the Dragon Frost Swamp.

Meanwhile, Honghuang and An Xiu, who had just brushed past him, happened to run into Mu Qiu.

Xuanwu City wasn’t like Wang’an County. The group exchanged a few pleasantries in person, saving the rest of their discussion for their private group chat.

Mu Qiu had come to the Dragon Frost Swamp to gather materials for Han Tian and the others.

They had found that while the materials were excellent, one person alone couldn’t gather a significant amount of spirit materials.

Besides, now that the Longevity Sect’s Artifact Refining Department was established, spirit materials containing Dragon Breath Spirit were perfect for low-level disciples to use for practice.

Applied to a Thunder Stone Treasure, the buffs would stack, and the power of a Magic Treasure used by a Qi Refinement Realm Cultivator could be boosted to incredible levels.

Mu Qiu and their group had come under the patronage of the Sea View Sect and had to give them a cut of the harvested spirit materials, leaving them with even less.

"Five top-grade spirit stones for a deposit just to open a shop? Holy shit!"