Chapter 48: Bailong Mountain Black Market

The largest black market near Guiyun Market was Bailong Mountain. Bailong Mountain was located more than a thousand li northwest of Guiyun Market and was a place controlled by several Foundation Establishment loose cultivators. The Bailong Mountain black market opened once a month, and it was said that there were many things inside that couldn't even be found in Guiyun Market. Many cultivators near Guiyun Market would go there to purchase spirit items.

After all, the black market had many things that were not fit for the light of day. It never cared about the source of the items sold inside, and there were all kinds of people, from loose cultivators to robbers. It had always been despised by the righteous sects, and the Carefree Sect also explicitly forbade its disciples from going to such places.

"Senior Shi, I was just listening to a friend in the market say that there are Foundation Establishment Pills for sale in the black market near Guiyun Market. Do you know if it is true or false, Senior? Does the Bailong Mountain black market have such spirit items?" Seeing that the atmosphere had been paved well enough, Song Qingming asked intentionally.

"Foundation Establishment Pills? I don't know if such spirit items are true or false. I have heard people say before that Bailong Mountain has auctioned Foundation Establishment Pills, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, so I don't know if it is true or false. There is also a lot of such news that is intentionally released by those people to attract cultivators to go there. Even if there were, it has nothing to do with people like us, right?"

Shi Mofeng was also a bit surprised when he heard Song Qingming ask about Foundation Establishment Pills. He looked at Song Qingming meaningfully. In the eyes of a loose cultivator like him, it was probably impossible to even smell the scent of such a spirit item in this lifetime. He never expected that Song Qingming would actually ask him about news of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Seeing Shi Mofeng’s confusion, Song Qingming hurriedly explained, "I was just listening to rumors, so I asked casually. I suppose the news must be false. Sigh, I thought I might have the luck to see a Foundation Establishment Pill."

"That’s hard to say. You are still young, so you might have this opportunity in the future. However, if you want to talk about where there might be Foundation Establishment Pills near Guiyun Market, then only Bailong Mountain might have them. It’s just that the black market doesn't welcome strangers. If you want to go, you can find Old Ghost Feng in the team to take you with him and let him be your guide. People on our side who want to go all find him to lead the way. He is familiar with that place and goes there at least two or three times a year. It is safer to have him with you. You must be very careful when you go to such a place; many bandit cultivators wanted by the market will appear there, and if you are not careful, it is very easy to be targeted. Although Old Ghost Feng is a bit stingy, he is also righteous. As long as you don't treat him unfairly, there won't be much of a problem regarding safety."

After listening, Song Qingming nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. If I go in the future, I will definitely be careful."

The Old Ghost Feng that Shi Mofeng spoke of was a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator in the team. Because he looked relatively ugly, he got this nickname. However, this guy’s metal-attribute technique was very powerful, and he also had a puppet to assist in battle, so his combat power was quite impressive. Sometimes he even dared to fight with high-level demon beasts.

In Song Qingming’s eyes, his impression of Old Ghost Feng was actually okay. This person was indeed a bit calculating in his personality, but once, when Song Qingming was performing a mission, he was chased by several mid-level demon beasts. It just so happened that Old Ghost Feng was also nearby. The Flying Cloud Guard members were all equipped with some life-saving spirit items. Once they were entangled by demon beasts during the mission, they could release these distress signals, and fellow travelers nearby were required to come to the rescue.

Seeing Song Qingming release the distress signal, Old Ghost Feng, who was closest to him, was the first to arrive at the scene. After the two spent some effort, they managed to escape. Afterward, when Song Qingming went to thank him, Old Ghost Feng insisted that Song Qingming compensate him with two spirit talismans, saying he had used them to rush over to save Song Qingming. Song Qingming had no choice but to give them to him. Although he also knew this might be Old Ghost Feng talking nonsense, he had saved him once after all. To Song Qingming, what were a few spirit talismans compared to his own safety?

Shi Mofeng and Song Qingming chatted for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late outside and Song Qingming had nothing else to ask, he stood up to say goodbye, but stopped at the door.

"Little friend Song, I heard that you are also a formation master. I just refined a magic robe some time ago and haven't found a formation master to help me draw a formation. If you have time, little friend, I would like to ask you to help me draw one or two formations on it. Don't worry, the remuneration will definitely not be lower than in the market."

"Senior Shi has cleared up many of my doubts today. How could I dare to speak of remuneration for such a small matter? I will naturally do my best to draw the formation, Senior, please rest assured."

After Song Qingming finished speaking, he specifically took out a bag of spirit tea and stuffed it into Shi Mofeng’s hand. Having inquired about so much news he wanted to know from this old man today, Song Qingming naturally didn't want to take advantage of him for nothing.

Shi Mofeng nodded with a smile after hearing this, and then left Song Qingming’s place with satisfaction.

The next day, this Old Man Shi really sent over a magic robe. The magic robe was shining with golden light and was actually a high-grade magic robe. Song Qingming hadn't expected that this Old Man Shi, who was unremarkable in appearance and smooth in dealing with matters, was actually a high-grade artifact refiner, which also surprised him.

He immediately looked at him with new respect and added a trace of reverence. A high-grade artifact refiner was a very sought-after skill, even in the Flying Cloud Guard.

Song Qingming had only known at first that he was an artifact refiner; he hadn't expected his artifact refining level to be so high.

These people roamed the Fuyun Mountain Range where demon beasts appeared every day. Although there was an explicit rule from above that to prevent unnecessary trouble, they were only responsible for investigating demon beast information and were forbidden from actively attacking demon beasts to avoid attracting Level 2 demon beasts to harass the camp.

However, most members of the Flying Cloud Guard didn't take this rule seriously. There were often people who would directly attack some demon beasts outside the camp. Among the demon beast materials obtained, artifact refiners and talisman makers were the most useful.

Team leaders like Lu Yunfei also turned a blind eye to these things. As long as they didn't attract demon beasts to attack the camp, they were too lazy to manage these things.

Song Qingming had been here for two months and had also received quite a bit of mid-level demon beast essence blood. It was just a pity that he didn't know these situations when he came, and he hadn't made preparations in this regard. He didn't bring blank talisman paper, and there was no way to receive such things in this place.

The Flying Cloud Guard had to rotate at least every three months. Even if he wanted to return to Guiyun Market, he would have to wait another month. For these two months, he, a mid-grade talisman maker, could be considered to have no use at all.

It was precisely because of this that Song Qingming readily agreed to help Shi Mofeng draw the formation on the magic robe.

Drawing a formation on a magic robe was like drawing a spell into a spirit talisman. Embedding the original spell into these magic treasures in the form of a formation could allow these magic treasures to possess some spells that could be automatically released, strengthening the effect of these magic treasures a little. However, these were mostly small and common spells, and the improvement to the magic treasures was also very limited.

It took Song Qingming three days to finally complete the formation drawing on Shi Mofeng’s magic robe. This time, Song Qingming drew two low-grade formations in total. One was the "Water-Avoidance Technique," which only had some auxiliary effects, allowing the cultivator wearing the magic robe to automatically block rain and not get their clothes wet when walking in water.

There was also a "Golden Light Shield," which could automatically release a metal-attribute light shield when encountering a sneak attack to block one attack. However, the grade of this spell was not high, and it could only block attack spells from early Qi Refining stage. If encountering an opponent in the mid-to-late Qi Refining stage, the light shield could only serve to delay, giving the owner of the magic robe a little more reaction time.

Over the past few years, Song Qingming’s formation level had also improved greatly. After comprehending the Liu family’s formation classics, Song Qingming’s formation level had also reached the verge of a breakthrough. With another year or two of settling down, he would have the confidence to challenge being a mid-grade formation master. Now, drawing two low-grade formations was not a difficult task for him.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 49 =====