Chapter 44 Ancient Runestones

Lin Yue had been cultivating for decades, yet he had never obtained a presentable Magical Artifact for flight.

Usually, if he needed to travel long distances, he could only apply one-time-use Talismans like the God-Speed Talisman, then cast techniques like the Gale Art.

However, right now, he had to accompany Ling Wei to a marketplace ten thousand miles away, and using this method was quite inconvenient; a round trip would take at least half a month.

"Senior Brother, you should take my flying boat." Ling Wei seemed to have noticed Lin Yue's awkwardness. Her fingertips held a palm-sized Talisman; the edges of the beige Talisman paper were adorned with fine silver patterns, as if starlight had been kneaded into them.

Lin Yue leaned in to look and felt that the Talisman paper had an unusual luster; it did not have the rough texture of ordinary yellow Talismans but instead resembled brocade woven from cloud silk.

Before he could ask, a faint cyan Spiritual Qi condensed at Ling Wei's fingertips, and she gently tapped the rune in the center of the Talisman.

In an instant, the silver patterns flared, and with a "whoosh," the Talisman unfolded, transforming in the twilight into a flying boat about a zhang in length.

The body of the boat glowed with a soft, lustrous light, and the sides were carved with intertwined lotus patterns. Even the deck was formed by layers of folded Talisman paper, yet when stepped upon, it did not sway or drift, feeling even steadier than a solid wooden boat.

Lin Yue had seen records of this in Sect texts but had never imagined he would actually see one—ordinary flight Magical Artifacts were either cast from metal or refined from wood and stone; how could there be such an ingenious design that could shrink into a Talisman?

Ling Wei had already stepped onto the flying boat and raised a hand to signal him to join her: "This is a 'Cloud-Pattern Talisman Boat' specially made by the Sect. When not in use, it can be kept in one's sleeve, saving space like other Magical Artifacts do."

Lin Yue stepped onto the deck cautiously, and as soon as he stood still, the flying boat slowly rose.

He subconsciously gripped his sleeves, only to find that the boat was shockingly steady—even as the evening mountain breeze swept past, the boat didn't sway at all, and the hem of his clothes hanging by his side barely fluttered.

Just then, a cyan shadow swept past from the east; it was a Cultivator wearing the outer Sect attire, stepping on a blue steel sword. As the blade cut through the air, it brought with it a sharp whistling sound, and in the blink of an eye, it overtook them.

The Cultivator glanced back at the Talisman Boat with a trace of disdain on his lips, likely thinking that this flying boat was too slow.

"It is slower than a Flying Sword." Ling Wei seemed to read his thoughts, her fingertips brushing over the lotus patterns on the side of the boat, "But it excels in stability."

As she spoke, she took a celadon teacup from her Storage Pouch, poured a cup of Spirit Tea, and handed it to him, "You try it."

Lin Yue took the teacup; the tea was filled to the brim. As he held the cup while the flying boat rose, not a single drop spilled.

He looked at the forest below that was gradually shrinking, watching the mist flow slowly past both sides of the boat, as if separated by an invisible barrier, not even a trace of moisture touched the deck.

Lin Yue couldn't help but exclaim: "This Talisman Boat is even steadier than a carriage." He had only previously ridden Lin Dexuan's Thunder-Pattern God-Speed Flying Sword, which had swayed so much during flight that it almost made him vomit.

Ling Wei smiled and traced the silver patterns on the Talisman Boat: "The Talisman paper is mixed with thousand-year cloud silk and sap from sinking water wood, which can dissipate most of the impact from the airflow. Although it cannot match the speed of a God-Speed Flying Sword, when flying long distances, one doesn't need to expend Spiritual Qi to steady the boat, which saves energy."

Half a day later, when the Talisman Boat broke through the morning mist, the silhouette of Qingyue Marketplace spread out beneath the sea of clouds—it was not the scattered stalls of an ordinary marketplace, but a city with a radius of ten miles centered around a thousand-year Spiritual Vein.

The outer layer was the pale golden "Nine-Turn Spirit Gathering Array," with hundreds of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones embedded in the Formation patterns, the Spiritual Qi so dense it could condense into mist droplets; the inner layer was wrapped in a silver-threaded "Warning Array," and as long as any aura above the Foundation Establishment Stage approached, the Formation patterns would glow with cyan light, forcing even passing spirit birds to fly around it.

"Qingyue Marketplace is the 'neutral ground' tacitly agreed upon by the three Sects. A hundred years ago, a Golden Core Cultivator tried to seize it, but ended up having his cultivation crippled by the joint efforts of the three Sects." Ling Wei pointed to the towering stone tower in the center of the marketplace, its spire glowing with a pale purple Spiritual Qi, "That is the 'Treasure Appraisal Tower.' During the Sacred Fair, a Golden Core Grade Cultivator will be stationed there to prevent anyone from causing trouble."

The spirit boat landed in the docking area on the east side of the marketplace. As soon as they stepped off the boat, they were enveloped by an atmosphere mixed with the scent of Spiritual Plants, the smell of pill fire, and the scent of metallic rust.

Cultivators came and went, rubbing shoulders. There were Disciples wearing the robes of various Sects, Loose Cultivators from Huangtian Mountain carrying various Magical Artifacts, and vendors pushing wooden carts selling spiritual food—the spirit rice cakes on the wooden carts were emitting faint white heat, and they were actually steamed using first-grade spirit rice.

"The Sacred Fair is divided into three areas: the Spiritual Material Area, the Magical Artifact Area, and the Remnant Treasure Area." Ling Wei led Lin Yue toward the west side with familiarity. When passing the Spiritual Material Area, the stalls were filled with various glowing Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine.

The Magical Artifact Area was even livelier. On a high platform, a second-grade Flying Sword was being auctioned, with the price rising from fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones all the way to two hundred, eventually being won by a Cultivator wearing inner-Sect silver-patterned clothing.

Ling Wei glanced at the Flying Sword and whispered: "It's a 'Cold Iron Sword,' only good for bullying Low Grade Cultivators, and the price is too high. The real opportunities to pick up bargains at the Sacred Fair are all in the Remnant Treasure Area." Speaking of this, a look of longing actually appeared on her face.

The Remnant Treasure Area was in the deepest part of the marketplace. Unlike the orderly Spiritual Material Area and the noisy Magical Artifact Area, the stalls here looked like randomly piled stones—some spread a tattered cloth to display incomplete Jade Slips, while others simply piled broken Magical Artifacts on the ground. The stall owners were either resting with their eyes closed or chatting with neighboring stall owners, not even bothering to look up when someone asked for a price.

"The stall owners here are mostly treasure hunters who 'travel far and wide.' Either they pick up scraps from Yao Beast nests, or they dig up remnants from abandoned Sect ruins. Many of the items they don't even understand themselves, only pricing them based on 'weight' or 'material'." Ling Wei's gaze seemed to scan the stalls casually, and before long, she arrived at a stall piled with stones.

The stone slabs or blocks on the stall were all engraved with blurred runes, some glowing with faint gray Spiritual Qi, while others had long since lost their Spiritual Qi.

The stall owner was an old man with a goatee. Seeing Ling Wei staring at the stones, he said casually: "These are Formation stones dug out from abandoned ruins. If you want to buy them, it's one Spirit Stone each; buy ten and I'll give you one free."

Lin Yue leaned in to look and felt that the runes on the stones were chaotic and disorganized, not even counting as the most basic "Spirit Gathering Pattern." In his opinion, these broken stones were simply not worth that many Spirit Stones.

But Ling Wei picked up a Talisman Stone, and as her fingertip Spiritual Qi swept over it, a very faint green pattern suddenly lit up on the stone—faintly echoing the Formation patterns on her black jade piece.

She looked up at the stall owner and asked: "I want all these Talisman Stone fragments. However, regarding the price, you have to give me a discount. Fifty Low Grade, is that okay?"

"Deal!" The goatee old man was stunned, clearly not expecting these broken stones to be sold, obviously overjoyed: "Take them all."

Lin Yue paid the Spirit Stones and helped collect all the broken Talisman Stones into the Storage Pouch.

"These are 'Ancient Zhou-Tian Spirit Gathering Array' Talisman Stones." After leaving the stall, Ling Wei lowered her voice and said, "Although they have lost their Spiritual Qi, they still have extraordinary uses. If you arrange them all in your Medicine Garden, they can achieve the effect of a Spirit Gathering Array. Once the Spiritual Qi of the Talisman Stones recovers, they can also serve as a protective Formation for the garden. By then, let alone those in the Foundation Establishment Stage, even a Golden Core Cultivator might not be able to get out if trapped in the Formation."

"It's that powerful?" Upon hearing this, Lin Yue couldn't help but be shocked. A Formation capable of trapping a Golden Core Stage expert was at least of the Spirit Treasure level, and its price would be extremely high.

"Of course." Ling Wei wore a look of pride and suddenly leaned close to Lin Yue's ear, "I was born with the Wisdom Eye—I can see the 'Spiritual Origin' of items. Ordinary Cultivators see these Talisman Stone fragments as having lost all Spiritual Qi, but I can see that the Spiritual Origin within them has not dissipated."

Lin Yue's heart shook; no wonder Ling Wei could pick treasures out of a pile of junk; it turned out she had such a special ability.