Chapter 243: Ku Ma Zi in Hand

「Array techniques!

「All kinds of array materials!

「First-rank, second-rank, third-rank arrays—all here…」

「Come take a look!

Not far away, a woman in a gray Daoist robe with a sweet face was vigorously waving her sleeves, shouting loudly at the passing customers.

At her feet sat a middle-aged man.

The man had a dignified face and a three-strand beard of greenish hue, floating like an immortal.

He Ping secretly extended a thread of spiritual sense, sweeping over the two of them.

The woman's cultivation base was decent—Foundation Establishment third stage, identical to He Ping's.

But the man's cultivation base was unfathomable.

It couldn't be penetrated at all.

He was almost certainly a Jin Dan cultivator.

That made sense.

If he weren't a Jin Dan cultivator, how could he craft a third-rank array?

「Let's go take a look…」 He Ping pulled Qiao Hui Zhu to the array materials stall.

All kinds of array materials were displayed, along with finished products.

For example, first-rank array discs, second-rank array discs, even a third-rank array disc.

He Ping reached out and picked up the only third-rank array disc in hand, examined it, and asked: 「Master, is this a confinement array?

「Hehe…」 The middle-aged man smiled at He Ping and said: 「Correct—it's a third-rank confinement array disc!

He Ping understood at once.

Just now, when he called him "Master," the man had accepted it without denial—there was no doubt he was a Jin Dan cultivator.

「How much for this disc?

Third-rank materials were expensive.

He Ping had bought one before at a guild—it cost ninety thousand low-grade spirit stones.

The man looked at He Ping and said: 「A third-rank confinement array disc costs two hundred sixty thousand low-grade spirit stones. With this, even Foundation Establishment disciples can easily set up a third-rank array!

Sssss…

He Ping sucked in a sharp breath: So expensive.

Of course, there was reason for the price.

Take the third-rank 【Defense Array】, for instance—only a third-rank array master could craft it from scratch.

But if you bought a third-rank array disc, even a second-rank array master could set up a third-rank defense array using it.

After all, the disc already contained ninety percent of the work required to set up the array.

And once activated, such a third-rank defense array could protect an entire immortal family.

The price was indeed justified.

「Sorry, sorry…」 He Ping smiled apologetically.

The man said: 「No problem!

He Ping quickly left.

He actually had enough spirit stones to buy it, but he was currently studying third-rank arrays.

Perhaps in time he could craft one himself.

No need to purchase it.

More importantly, this confinement array wasn't as useful as the Spirit-Sealing Array or the Defense Array.

「Not bad…」 He Ping nodded as he walked: 「Coming to Skull Mountain was truly worth it!

「So many good things here!

「Even third-rank materials!

He knew that previously, at some guilds, even small ones refused to sell third-rank materials.

But here at Skull Mountain, there were many.

He Ping glanced around: 「If you see any third-rank talismans later, remind me—I want to buy them…」

On his journey, He Ping had survived several life-or-death situations thanks to talismans.

He had a special reliance and trust in them.

He didn't find any talismans—but he found what he needed.

「Husband… that… that looks like… Ku Ma Zi!

What?

He Ping's body trembled.

Had the long-sought Ku Ma Zi appeared?

He followed Qiao Hui Zhu's pointing finger and saw a stall selling various materials.

The materials here were mixed: alchemical, metallurgical, and talisman-making ingredients.

In an unremarkable corner of the pile, He Ping spotted a small bundle of Ku Ma Zi.

Yes—that was Ku Ma Zi.

He grabbed Qiao Hui Zhu's hand and strode over to the stall in three quick steps.

The vendor was a Daoist nun, around forty years old.

The nun looked up: 「What do you want?

He Ping didn't scan her cultivation base—he pointed at the Ku Ma Zi and asked: 「Is this Ku Ma Zi?

「Yes! The nun nodded. 「It's a second-rank alchemical ingredient—Ku Ma Zi. I found it occasionally in a mountain valley. Genuine wild Ku Ma Zi!

「Hmm…」 He Ping examined it.

The bundle contained about fifty grains.

Enough for three or four batches of Yun Ling Dan.

「How much? he asked the nun.

The nun glanced at He Ping, then at Qiao Hui Zhu, and said: 「I don't know the price, but since it's a second-rank material, I'll trade for another second-rank item.

「How about two Ju Ling Dan?

The price wasn't high.

But two Ju Ling Dan weren't cheap either.

「Fine! He Ping pulled out two mid-grade 【Ju Ling Dan】 and handed them to the nun.

He still had many such Ju Ling Dan.

Last time Bai Long asked him to refine pills, he'd given her mid-grade Ju Ling Dan and received five batches of materials in return.

With mid-grade Ju Ling Dan ready, if anyone came to request refining later, he could trade directly—no wasted time.

「Mid-grade…? The nun's eyes lit up with joy.

She'd hoped for two low-grade ones at best.

「Hehe…」 He Ping said nothing, smiling as he tucked the Ku Ma Zi away.

「Huh…」 He exhaled deeply and looked at Qiao Hui Zhu: 「Only one left…」

「What's left? the woman asked. 「Tell me—maybe I have it!

Qiao Hui Zhu said: 「It's the second-rank ingredient 【Tian Xiang Dou Kou】…」

「This…」 The nun's face fell in apology. 「I've never even heard of it!

Keep searching!

After obtaining Ku Ma Zi, He Ping and Qiao Hui Zhu's moods improved considerably.

Only one left!

On the thousand-zhang square, tens of thousands of stalls were set up.

The number of people browsing them was incalculable.

He Ping had passed less than two-tenths of the stalls so far.

Still early—keep browsing!

The two continued browsing until nightfall, still not having seen all the stalls.

They even spotted two more stalls selling 【Ku Ma Zi】, but still no Tian Xiang Dou Kou.

As darkness fell, all the stalls were forcibly taken down.

Skull Mountain's management required all vendors to remove their stalls at night.

As for the reason—there was no reason!

「Let's go! He Ping and Qiao Hui Zhu returned to their rented cottage.

He lay back in his chair, staring at the ceiling: 「Tomorrow, we can't browse like this!

「Think about it! He Ping said: 「Today we only saw less than half the stalls—half remain unexplored!

「But tomorrow, when they reset the stalls, the order will be scrambled again—that's a problem.

「We need a plan.