Chapter 230: The Ghost Market

What surprised Lu Fang most was that this heightened perception could extend over vast distances—places he could never sense before, he could now easily perceive simply by focusing his mind.

The range of this perception had undergone a qualitative change.

Previously, he could sense two li; now he could sense five li, and with a magnified, all-encompassing viewpoint.

If he weren’t occupied with other matters right now, he truly wanted to test how much his perception would improve—and what effect it would have—in combat against someone this strong.

At dusk the next day.

Lu Fang opened his eyes from his light doze; he had already sensed the Luo Sha army approaching stealthily.

Not long ago, Snow Luo Sha’s message talisman had warned him to have his friend wear golden clothing and tie a golden silk band around the wrist, so the Luo Sha army would not attack.

He had previously told Snow Luo Sha that a friend of his was here, while he himself was not—this allowed him to conceal his ability to disguise himself.

As for Jiang Yuan and the other two knowing he could disguise himself, it didn’t matter; he would simply avoid letting others discover his disguise ability in the future.

As the Luo Sha army’s encirclement tightened, the demons and barbarians guarding the area sensed something was amiss.

The Lion Spirit roared: “Danger! Alert!”

Dozens of demons and barbarians snapped to attention, surrounding the Lion Spirit and the Black Robe Barbarian in a protective circle, eyes scanning warily in all directions.

The Black Robe Barbarian’s face darkened; he glanced briefly at Lu Fang, seated motionless, and assumed this crippled horse demon—missing limbs—was either injured or mentally deficient, hence his indifference.

But soon the Black Robe Barbarian had no time to think of Lu Fang, for he too sensed the approaching Luo Sha army.

“How can there be so many high-grade cultivators!”

The Black Robe Barbarian stared in disbelief at the Lion Spirit.

“Damn it!” The Lion Spirit frowned. “It seems some power from the Scorched Lands has detected the anomaly here. I thought it was just a minor faction—never expected so many to come.”

“What do we do? Flee?” the Black Robe Barbarian asked.

The Lion Spirit remained silent; he didn’t know what to do. If it were a minor faction, they might fear us and hesitate to strike.

But this many high-grade cultivators, advancing in such disciplined order—only a major power could manage this.

Before the Lion Spirit could speak, the Luo Sha army emerged fully; they could now see countless figures crowding the horizon.

Everywhere, Luo Sha soldiers wore identical uniforms. At the highest point, the Luo Sha banner flew, and a Luo Sha commander looked down at Lu Fang, then turned his gaze to the Lion Spirit and the Black Robe Barbarian.

“Surrender. I may spare your lives.”

The Luo Sha commander spoke with authority.

“Surrender!”

“Surrender!”

“Surrender!” The surrounding Luo Sha army roared in unison, their voices shaking the earth.

This Luo Sha army numbered over ten thousand; merely standing there, their aura threatened to tear open the heavens.

This was Lu Fang’s first time witnessing such a massive force—he felt his scalp prickle, even with his own advantages.

The demons and barbarians under the Lion Spirit and Black Robe Barbarian, upon seeing this, some collapsed to the ground, legs trembling.

The gap was so vast, not a single one dared consider fighting.

Even the Lion Spirit and Black Robe Barbarian—men who had seen great battles—were startled; moments ago they had whispered about finding a weak point to break through, but now, meeting each other’s eyes, they both saw fear.

Seeing the demons and barbarians surrender, the Luo Sha commander waved his hand: “Bind them!”

Immediately, a squad of elite soldiers moved forward and bound all the demons and barbarians.

Apparently, they had been warned in advance—these elite Luo Sha soldiers bypassed Lu Fang entirely, leaving him unharmed.

As the Lion Spirit and his group grew puzzled, the Luo Sha commander approached Lu Fang and nodded: “Sir, you are Friend of the Marquis of Wenguan?”

“Mm.” Lu Fang replied, pulling out Song Ce’s portrait from his storage bag and handing it to the commander. “If you encounter this man anywhere in this Lesser Upper Realm, be extremely cautious—if possible, kill him on sight.”

“As for other matters, I assume the Marquis of Wenguan has already informed you.”

He then produced a map. “This marks the location of the seal. I’ve annotated it.”

The Luo Sha commander took the map and portrait. “I will handle this with utmost care.” He then ignored Lu Fang entirely, beginning to organize camp at the entrance to the Lesser Upper Realm.

Lu Fang entered the Lesser Upper Realm and brought out Jiang Yuan and the other three.

Due to him, the Luo Sha army did not interfere.

“Senior, these are Luo Sha’s troops?” Jiang Yuan glanced at the ten thousand elite soldiers, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Their original plan had been: if they couldn’t deceive the demons guarding the outside, Lu Fang would activate the backup plan—fetching reinforcements.

But Jiang Yuan and the others never expected Lu Fang would bring the Luo Sha army’s regular forces—and so efficiently.

Lu Fang said coolly: “I have a friend with close ties to the Luo Sha royal family. Since you’re safely out, leave quickly. This place is now under Luo Sha control—you won’t be able to re-enter easily.”

Jiang Yuan nodded. “Thank you, Senior, for saving us. If you ever need me, send me a message talisman.”

Bei Tian bowed. “Same here.”

Wu Jie the monk chuckled awkwardly: “Same for me—I just wonder if Senior would be willing to leave a message talisman imprint.”

“Fine.” Lu Fang agreed.

Jiang Yuan and the others had good character and decent talent—he needed to build his own faction; perhaps he could recruit them later.

Lu Fang pulled out “Jianshi” from his storage bag and asked: “You often travel this region—have you ever seen this kind of ore?”

Jiang Yuan took the ore, examined it, frowned, and shook her head. “This ore is strange—I’ve never seen anything like it. Have you?”

She passed it to Bei Tian.

Bei Tian studied it carefully, then handed it to Wu Jie. “I’ve never seen it either. Wu Jie, you used to collect odd-shaped ores—have you seen this one?”

Wu Jie held the ore in his palm, studying it intently, murmuring: “I think I’ve seen this ore before—in the Ghost Market, deep within the Scorched Lands.”