81: Refining demons and selling stolen goods

Wang Teng's head was groggy. He managed to open his eyes, only to find himself submerged in a pitch-black liquid.

"Wasn't I killed? My head and body were separated, so how can I still have consciousness?"

He groped his way through the liquid, and after bumping into things a dozen times, he discovered that the space he was in was spherical.

"Have I been reincarnated?"

Taiwan Novel Network—solving book shortages, ultra-practical.

Wang Teng was shocked, but then grew excited. "Reincarnating with the wisdom of my past life? Doesn't that mean I can step onto the path of cultivation earlier than anyone else!

The secret techniques I spent over seventy years learning in my previous life are now clearly remembered in my mind.

In this life, I will surely take many fewer detours. I might even achieve Foundation Establishment early and have hope for Core Formation!"

"Only..." Wang Teng felt the liquid he was in was far too cold. "My mother seems to have a cold womb; this might affect my physique!"

"..."

Fang Huai leaned his ear close to the clay jar in front of him, muttering to himself, "Can using the head of a Cultivator who suffered Qi Deviation really refine a powerful Devil Head?

Why does it feel like Wang Teng's head is talking nonsense inside the clay jar?"

After the battle with Wang Teng, he had originally intended to drain his soul, but then he discovered a Cultivation Technique Jade Tablet in Wang Teng's Storage Pouch.

He immersed his mind in it; it turned out to be a high-level method for refining a Devil Head—the Soul-Sealing Devil-Refining Art.

The methods he had seen for refining Devil Heads before were all very inferior. The resulting Devil Heads not only had low cultivation bases but also lacked any spirituality, making them quite useless.

But the Soul-Sealing Devil-Refining Art stated that one should Seal the soul and Divine Sense of a Cultivator who suffered Qi Deviation within their head, soak it in blood, and pour both Spiritual Qi and Evil Qi into it every day.

Once the head sucked the blood dry, one would obtain a highly spiritual and extremely protective Devil Head.

Coincidentally, with Wang Teng as a ready-made experimental subject, Fang Huai unceremoniously placed the head in a clay jar and filled it with Wang Teng's blood.

He pasted a Spirit-Sealing Talisman on the clay jar, chanted an incantation, and poured Spiritual Qi from his left hand while pouring Evil Qi from his right.

Inside the jar, Wang Teng had been resting with his eyes closed, but when he found the liquid suddenly filled with both Spiritual Qi and Evil Qi, he couldn't help but get excited.

"My mother is actually a demonic Cultivator! Based on the concentration of the Spiritual and Evil Qi, she's at least a Late Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator.

With such an age and such a cultivation base, she will definitely provide me with immense help.

In this life, I am destined to be the Child of Fate!"

Fang Huai couldn't be bothered with Wang Teng's mad ramblings. He grabbed several Storage Pouches and headed out toward the Red Leaf Market.

He had gained too much over the past few days. He needed to convert the stolen goods into contribution points and Spirit Stones before the Sect could react.

————

The Red Leaf Market was bustling with people, much busier than usual, and the number of Market Rats had doubled.

Most people, like Fang Huai, wore veils to cover their faces and moved in a hurry.

Fang Huai didn't plan on setting up a stall. He wanted to fence the goods as quickly as possible and simultaneously exchange all his contribution points for demon bones.

He glanced at the Market Rats surrounding him. They were either too young or had 'cunning' written all over their faces, making it hard for Fang Huai to feel at ease.

Just as he was hesitating, he saw a familiar figure on the outskirts of the crowd and immediately said:

"The one-armed one at the very back, you, come and lead the way for me!"

The person Fang Huai pointed to was his old acquaintance, Cui Ji, except the man was missing an arm and his vital energy was clearly withered, obviously having undergone some inhumane experience.

Seeing that Fang Huai had an acquaintance, the other rats scattered at once.

"Senior Brother, I am Cui Ji. I wonder which area Senior Brother wishes to visit?"

Fang Huai was wearing a disguise, so Cui Ji did not recognize him.

Fang Huai tossed a Spirit Stone to Cui Ji. "I have some Spiritual Artifacts and Medicinal Pills to handle. Find a place where I can sell them quickly. If you do well, there will be a reward!"

"Rest assured, Senior Brother!" Seeing Fang Huai's generosity, Cui Ji's eyes lit up. "I've been a Market Rat in the Red Leaf Market for over twenty years; my reputation is absolutely guaranteed!"

With that, he led Fang Huai, moving quickly through the market.

Ordinary Medicinal Pills and spiritual talismans were easy enough; most shops could take them.

Fang Huai didn't care about the price either. As long as it wasn't ridiculously low, he agreed immediately.

However, Spiritual Artifacts and high-grade spiritual items were harder to sell.

The chaos had lasted for several days. Shops bold enough to ignore the Sect's investigation had already filled their coffers and were no longer accepting goods.

Meanwhile, merchants who feared the Sect's power dared not touch these precious treasures of unknown origin.

As dusk approached, further delay would mean missing the window for nighttime restocking.

Fang Huai no longer hesitated and turned to ask Cui Ji, "Do you know where I can buy the demon bones needed for Bone Changing?"

"Oh, the stalls we just passed had several selling them..."

"I want foundation establishment stage demon bones!" Fang Huai interrupted Cui Ji. "As long as the quality is good, price is not an issue."

"I didn't expect Senior Brother to be one who pursues the Great Dao!"

Most Cultivators either used the bones of Qi Refinement Yao Beasts for replacement or simply stopped after replacing a few bones.

A Disciple like Fang Huai, who wanted to build a perfect foundation, was truly rare.

His mind whirred, and he spoke up: "I do know of a good place. Not only do they have fresh foundation establishment stage demon bones, but they also allow bartering, which is perfect for Senior Brother to offload his goods."

————

Inside the Spiritual Bone Pavilion.

Fang Huai and the shopkeeper exchanged a glance, both satisfied.

Fang Huai used his windfall to exchange for thirty-two foundation establishment stage demon bones, while the shopkeeper obtained a pile of high-quality spiritual items.

Just as he was about to leave, Fang Huai's gaze focused on a corner of the Spiritual Bone Pavilion.

He casually walked to the corner and picked up a few glittering stones. "Shopkeeper, these glowing stones look quite nice. How much are they?"

"Those are fluorites, obtained from the depths of Miasma Valley. They can be used for lighting."

The shopkeeper took a glance, and seeing Fang Huai couldn't put them down, he smiled. "Since Junior Brother likes them, I'll gift you one."

Fang Huai acted flattered and thanked him repeatedly, saying, "Then I'll pick a large one."

He rummaged through the fluorites for a long time and found one with a dim light, putting it into his Storage Pouch.

As the shopkeeper saw Fang Huai off, he thought the kid didn't know his stuff. The brighter the fluorite, the greater its value, yet the two pieces Fang Huai picked were little different from waste stones.

Fang Huai left the Red Leaf Market. He didn't rush to go into hiding to restock but instead immediately returned to his residence.

After spending a large amount of contribution points, his residence had been renovated and restored to its former order.

He tapped the Storage Pouch at his waist, and a Formation Plate engraved with complex patterns flew out in response.

In an instant, pale green spiritual light surged out, transforming into layers of array patterns that covered the entire residence.

This was the Primordial Gathering Array that Fang Huai had obtained by chance today. This Formation could gather the spiritual power from Spirit Stones into array power; the more Spirit Stones invested, the stronger the effect.

It sounded very domineering, but in reality, even if ten thousand Spirit Stones were thrown in, it could only withstand a few full-strength strikes from a Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

After tossing in a dozen Spirit Stones, Fang Huai stopped studying the Formation and took out the fluorite.

His gaze fixed on the [Contains Cultivation Technique] prompt on the fluorite, his eyes full of fervent heat.

The Dragon Slaying Saber hid the Book of Wumu, and the Heaven Reliant Sword hid the Nine Yin Manual; he wondered what peerless technique was hidden within this fluorite.

Injecting spiritual power into crimson heavens cry, he carefully cut the fluorite.

The process was like gambling on jade; he was afraid that if his strength was even slightly too heavy, he would damage the Jade Tablet hidden inside.

Finally, he extracted the Jade Tablet intact. Fang Huai couldn't wait to immerse his mind in it, after which his expression turned strange:

[Faith Fiend]

[Can be practiced by Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Inject this Evil Qi into a believer's body; while the believer gains cultivation, a portion of their cultivation is extracted.]