3: Chapter 3 Planning the Marrow Cleansing Elixir

The morning sun slowly rose from the east, until its light enveloped the entire earth.

The small wooden cabin nestled in the peach orchard, appearing exceptionally cold and desolate.

Ye Xuan had remained in a meditative posture for a full six days. He had just exhausted all of the zhenxuan pills in his hands, yet the Mystic Power inside his body had only increased by a tiny sliver.

"It's time to set out."

Ye Xuan opened his eyes and gently brushed away the dust on his body, unable to help but feel a little disappointed.

A full ten zhenxuan pills, if refined by an ordinary disciple with even a bit of talent, would have likely allowed them to advance by two minor realms. Yet, he had only experienced a tiny ripple of progress.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a trash constitution; such a cultivation speed was indeed rare in the mortal world.

Six of the seven days had already passed, and Zhao Erhu's opportunity was drawing near. Ye Xuan planned to head to the Outer Sect market early to search the stalls for the old blind man's whereabouts.

During the hour of Yin, Ye Xuan set off.

This hour was precisely when the Outer Sect market opened, and Ye Xuan rushed over immediately.

The Outer Sect market of the Cangqiong Holy Land was built to be ten thousand times more prosperous than those in the mortal world. A plaque constructed from spirit stones hung high in the air, with the four characters "Outer Sect market" carved onto it.

There were hundreds of Outer Sects in the Cangqiong Holy Land.

The Outer Sect where Ye Xuan resided was considered among the top three of all the Outer Sects.

Upon entering the market, a small pavilion stood tall right in the center. Small houses were built all around it, emitting the scent of medicinal pills, as well as various powerful talismans and spiritual weapons.

As for the ground all around, various people occupied stalls, peddling their treasures.

Ye Xuan did not stop along the way, walking straight toward the black market.

The market's black market was located in the northwest direction. The things sold there were generally the lowest of the low-grade products.

Don't ask why.

Because Ye Xuan had suffered losses there more than once.

Among them, the items in the small pavilion had the best quality and the highest prices.

People of all kinds unfolded before Ye Xuan's eyes.

Most of them had black or gray destiny. The most common ones were the Lone Star of Heavenly Fiend, the Peach Blossom Star, and impending bloody disasters.

The most terrifying destiny among them was called [Heavenly Bane]. Anyone who associated with someone like that would lose a layer of skin, and a deep relationship would result in all of their destiny being drained, leading to their death and the dissipation of their Dao.

Let alone fortuitous encounters; just looking at them made Ye Xuan's scalp tingle.

"A blind old man? Let me see, could it be this elder?"

Ye Xuan shook his head and snapped out of it. A thoughtful expression flashed across his handsome face as he scanned the surroundings, finally locking his gaze onto a raggedly dressed old man in a corner.

[Name: Zhang Yewu]

[Realm: First Stage of True Profound Realm]

[Aptitude: Low-grade (Black)]

[Life Destiny: Omen of Extreme Disaster (Black)]

[Fate: "Evil God" (Passerby)]

[Favorability: 0]

[Life Fate: In another hour, he will be confronted by a young buyer. Because the medicinal pills he sold were too low-grade, he will be severely beaten by the young buyer. Afterward, he will struggle on his stall for a day before passing away.]

The old man's eyes were closed, a cane was placed beside him, and he was filthy all over, looking as if he hadn't washed for a month.

"Young man, since you're here, why not pick a few treasures? The pills, spiritual weapons, and spiritual herbs here are all carefully selected, and I absolutely guarantee fair prices for everyone. They are all top-quality treasures."

The blind old man boasted casually, "Back in the day, I obtained these treasures from a hidden treasure cave. Young man, if you buy them, you definitely won't lose out."

If not for this blind old man's ragged attire, ordinary people might have actually fallen for his words.

After all, experts were always slightly more eccentric than ordinary people.

The problem was, if these treasures of yours were truly so good, why didn't you use them yourself?

Not to mention anything else, just these spiritual herbs on your stall are the worst among first-grade spiritual herbs.

They haven't even reached the second-grade level.

"Alright, Elder, please let this junior have a good look."

Ye Xuan smiled and scratched his head.

Over a dozen items were laid out in front of the blind old man. Spiritual herbs made up the majority, along with three pieces of jade and an iron fragment.

"Is it this one?"

Ye Xuan quietly observed those iron fragments without showing any emotion. However, he didn't pick them up immediately; instead, he picked up every single item in front of the blind old man to inspect them carefully.

This gave the old man the illusion that he was in the process of choosing something.

"Young man, my spiritual herbs are very good. Why not buy them all? It's not expensive, only thirty low-grade spirit stones."

Although the blind old man couldn't see, he could still use his Mystic Power to sense Ye Xuan's movements.

"Elder, I'll take the zhenxuan pills in this bottle."

Ye Xuan didn't want to waste any more time and casually reached for the bottle next to him.

"Ah, young man, you truly have a good eye. My zhenxuan pills are top-grade pills, costing only eighty low-grade spirit stones."

The blind old man lied through his teeth, causing Ye Xuan to massage his temples in a sudden headache.

"Tsk, the top-grade zhenxuan pills in the small pavilion only cost fifty low-grade spirit stones. How come they cost eighty here?"

"Hmph, young man, if you don't want them, put the zhenxuan pills down. My zhenxuan pills are definitely more powerful than those sold in the small pavilion."

The blind old man showed a look of dissatisfaction, spit flying from his mouth. If Ye Xuan hadn't dodged quickly, those droplets would have landed all over him.

"Alright, alright, say no more, Elder. This junior will take the zhenxuan pills, but I also want those three iron fragments next to them. My home happens to lack a few iron pieces to prop things up."

Ye Xuan stopped hiding his objective and stated his terms.

"Young man, you really know how to bargain. Fine, fine, I agree. Take them. Those iron fragments are worthless things anyway."

Hearing this, the blind old man was ecstatic in his heart, thrilled that he could swindle another eighty spirit stones. Yet, his face showed a look of intense pain, as if he had lost thousands of spirit stones.

The money of young people nowadays was truly too easy to make.

"Here are eighty low-grade spirit stones. Keep them safe, Elder."

Ye Xuan counted out eighty spirit stones from his storage spirit ring and handed them over to the blind old man.

After receiving the spirit stones, the blind old man shoved the bottle of zhenxuan pills and the three iron fragments into Ye Xuan's hands: "Young man, cash on delivery, all sales are final."

Having obtained what he wanted, Ye Xuan did not linger any longer and walked toward the exit of the market.

"I see that you have an impending bloody disaster today, Elder. It might be best for you to pack up your stall now."

"A bloody disaster? Young man, how can a cultivator worry about such things? Striving hard is the only way forward. How could I fear such illusory things!"

The blind old man said dismissively, completely ignoring Ye Xuan's warning before he left.

"Hahaha, young people nowadays are really so easy to dupe. What a fool! Top-grade zhenxuan pills? Those were just low-grade zhenxuan pills left over from when I first entered the Outer Sect to cultivate, and they've almost lost their medicinal efficacy. Selling them for eighty spirit stones is a massive profit. This young man is a total idiot."

The blind old man was incredibly delighted.

He felt increasingly satisfied with himself for swindling another junior's spirit stones.