"Inner Sect Disciple Dan Zifeng?"

Shao Sichao mused, but without much pause, he continued, "The one on Tongchen Peak?"

Song Yan wasn’t sure if there was anyone with the same name in the vast Cave Abyss Sect.

However, since Shao Sichao had already specified, at least within the scope of Tongchen Peak Disciples, there shouldn’t be a second person named Dan Zifeng.

"It is he."

"What do you want to ask?"

Song Yan had already thought everything through, asking the information he wanted to know one by one.

"Inner Sect Senior Brother Dan Zifeng...",

"What Realm is he in now?"

Shao Sichao replied, "About three years ago, he Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level and was promoted to the Inner Sect."

This sentence actually contained a lot of information.

Firstly, Dan Zifeng’s Aptitude should also be a Three Spiritual Root or below, otherwise, he wouldn’t need to reach the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level to be promoted to the Inner Sect.

Secondly, there’s a high probability he’s still at the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level.

Each level in the Late Stage of Qi Refining is incredibly difficult to advance through. Without exceptional talent or abundant resources, an ordinary person would likely need five to seven years to Breakthrough to Level 8 Qi Refining.

"Does Senior Brother Dan Zifeng have any relatives in the Sect... and under which Elder is he a Disciple?"

"That counts as two questions."

Shao Sichao held up two fingers.

Thirty Spirit Stones couldn’t buy an endless stream of questions; only five were allowed.

Song Yan indicated his agreement.

"Among the Inner Sect, there is a Foundation Establishment Realm deacon who is a distant relative of Dan Zifeng."

"The two have no blood relation, and their interactions are not very deep."

"However, the matter of Dan Zifeng becoming a Disciple under Elder Wang Lin of Tongchen Peak was indeed orchestrated by this person."

"Dan Zifeng’s nominal master is Tongchen Peak Lord Wang Lin, but in reality, the one guiding his Cultivation is Elder Li Jianping."

Song Yan nodded.

"I say..."

"Junior Brother, why are you asking in such detail?"

Shao Sichao picked up a Spirit Fruit from the table and took a bite.

Song Yan suddenly smiled, the human skin mask on his face perfectly illustrating what it meant to smile without warmth.

He retorted, "I paid you thirty Spirit Stones to come here, how come you’re the one asking questions now?"

"Hehe, just asking."

After a moment of thought, Song Yan slowly said, "Hehe, it’s like this..."

"I feel that Senior Brother Dan Zifeng has boundless prospects in the future, and I wish to befriend him."

"If I have the opportunity to enter the Inner Sect in the future, it would be good to ask him for some care."

"I’m also afraid of being inconsiderate and giving him things he doesn’t like."

"That’s why I came to inquire..."

After a brief explanation, he continued with his fourth question.

"Then do you know what Cultivation Technique Senior Brother Dan Zifeng Cultivates?"

Shao Sichao frowned, stopping his actions.

"This... I’m afraid it involves privacy."

"You’ll have to add Spirit Stones, this question requires ten more."

"..."

Song Yan didn’t hesitate at all, placing the Spirit Stones on the table.

"Fire-elemental Cultivation Technique, the complete ’Zhu Huo’ scripture."

...A relatively common Cultivation Technique.

However, during the Qi Refining Stage, there are few Cultivation Techniques that can be normally acquired. The more well-known ones are these few Five Elements Dao scriptures, plus the Qi Condensation Scroll of the Tongxuan Scripture.

Qi Refining Cultivators indeed don’t have many choices.

"Then do you know what Spiritual Materials he needs for his Cultivation recently?"

After asking the last question, he added, "In my years of Cultivation, I have accumulated some Spiritual resources. If I happen to have something he needs, it would be convenient for me, Junior Brother, to smooth things over."

He placed another ten Spirit Stones on the table.

Shao Sichao gave him a meaningful look.

"About half a month ago, he once bid on a set of Indigo Fire Flowers at the Night Market auction, but another Cultivator offered a higher price that day, and he didn’t get them."

Indigo Fire Flowers?

Song Yan knew the name; it was a Spiritual Plant that wasn’t particularly rare but was in high demand.

Its petals, ground into powder, could be used to refine Indigo Fire Powder, which, when combined with fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques, could slightly accelerate Cultivation progress.

Although the improvement wasn’t significant, the advantage was that it could be used continuously.

Song Yan, however, was pondering that if Indigo Fire Flowers worked, similar Spiritual Materials should also be effective.

"Alright."

Shao Sichao stood up, preparing to leave.

"You’ve asked your five questions. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

"Wait."

Song Yan suddenly spoke, stopping Shao Sichao.

"How should I address you, Senior Brother?"

Old Shao chuckled, "That’s also a question."

"However, to prevent you, my young friend, from being unable to find me for business in the future, I shall tell you."

"I, Shao Sichao, do not change my name or surname."

"..."

He truly didn’t change his name.

Song Yan looked at him, pondering something in his heart, and slowly asked aloud:

"Senior Brother Shao, throughout this Sect...",

"Do you truly know everything?"

Old Shao scoffed, "Naturally, I have my own methods."

"..."

Song Yan nodded, expressing admiration.

"Then I’ll add another thirty Spirit Stones, just for one question."

"How about it?"

Shao Sichao’s brow furrowed slightly.

Logically speaking, the person in front of him no longer had an opportunity.

Once the five questions were asked, no matter how much more money was offered, one would have to honestly rejoin the queue.

However, his rules were his rules.

He was in a good mood today and wanted to hear what kind of question could be worth thirty Spirit Stones.

He sat back down, adding with interest, "I will not disclose anything concerning Elders or higher."

After hearing his words, Song Yan’s heart tightened once more.

He wouldn’t disclose it.

That meant he also knew it.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Don’t worry, it’s not about an Elder."

"On the contrary, it’s only about an Outer Sect Junior Brother."

"Oh?"

Shao Sichao was intrigued, still maintaining his fearless demeanor.

He also wanted to know what kind of question about an Outer Sect Disciple would make this person spend thirty Spirit Stones.

He sat back opposite Song Yan: "Tell me."

After a moment of deliberation, the person in front of him slowly began, "Among the Outer Sect, there is a Junior Brother named Song Yan."

"Song Yesheng."

Beneath the human skin mask, his expression was calm.

Shao Sichao still maintained his original cynical demeanor, but a subtle change could still be clearly felt.

He stared at Shao Sichao: "The question I want to ask is..."

"Senior Brother Shao, do you know from which Dao scripture he learned the Sword Control technique he Cultivates?"

Shao Sichao looked into the person’s eyes, remaining silent.

A bag of Spirit Stones was placed in the middle of the table.

"If Senior Brother can tell me, then this bag of Spirit Stones..."

Song Yan looked up at Shao Sichao: "...Senior Brother can take it."

"..."

Shao Sichao remained silent, but that uncomfortable feeling only appeared for an instant before vanishing without a trace.

He stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Song Yan waited quietly for his reply.

A moment later.

Shao Sichao reached out a hand and touched the bag of Spirit Stones in the center of the table.

"You’re talking about Junior Brother Song Yan..."

His hand rested on it, patting it lightly.

"..."

After a pause, he pushed it back towards Song Yan.

"Then I don’t know."

"You really stumped me, kid..."

Shao Sichao still maintained that ’I’m the greatest in heaven and earth’ attitude.

He didn’t feel the slightest bit of shame for being an intelligence worker who couldn’t answer a question.

"Originally, if someone asked a question and I couldn’t answer, I could refund all the Spirit Stones."

"But unfortunately, your question was not within the scope of today’s meeting."

"So, sorry, I can’t refund the previous Spirit Stones to you."

Shao Sichao stood up to leave, smiling.

"Thank you for your patronage, Junior Brother."

...Watching Shao Sichao’s retreating back, Song Yan in the room made no special movements.

He simply quietly put the bag of Spirit Stones into his qiankun bag.

Stepping out of the room.

Leaving Xianxin Pavilion.

This was the first time he had spent so many Spirit Stones on something intangible, yet Song Yan didn’t feel particularly reluctant.

After all, everything was for achieving that ultimate goal.

"Counting the days, the New Year is almost here."

When he was in Shiliang Town at the foot of the mountain, his grandfather had told him many customs about the New Year.

For example, before the New Year, one should clean their residence.

It symbolized sweeping away the bad luck from the house, not leaving it for the next year.

Stepping into the Cultivation World, he also maintained this good habit.

So... he didn’t plan to leave Dan Zifeng’s life until after the New Year.

"..."

Song Yan walked through the Market, surrounded by Cultivators coming and going.

He didn’t know why, but the stronger the urge to kill Dan Zifeng became, the calmer and more serene his heart felt.

It was hard to explain why he was so fixated on this matter.

After Senior Brother Sun told him the truth, he didn’t even consider any other legitimate avenues.

It was as if a thought had been planted and taken root in his heart.

He gradually left the core area of the Market and arrived at the edge of Lingyuan Marsh.

He removed his human skin mask and stepped into the Relief Grocery Store.

However, strangely, Qin Xijun was not in the shop this time.

On the ancient counter, a Jade Slip was placed.

In two days, it would be the Lingyuan Ze Night Market.

This was the list of auction items for this Night Market auction, which he had asked Granny Qin to get for him.

Previously, he had heard Granny Qin say that at this most recent auction, someone would be selling a batch of Qi Replenishing Pills.

Qi Replenishing Pills did not have the effect of Cultivating Spiritual power, but they had a special effect: they could quickly restore the Spiritual power consumed by Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators.

Cultivators often engaged in battles where they exhausted their Spiritual power.

With Qi Replenishing Pills, one could mitigate some of the risks of being ambushed or having their spoils stolen.

Considering various uncertainties, Song Yan naturally wanted to try and bid for some.

Since he was going to participate in the auction, he simply asked Granny Qin to get him a list of auction items as well.

Such things were not originally secrets; it was just that Granny Qin obviously had acquaintances among the auctioneers, making it easier to obtain.

Regardless, Song Yan’s current Qi Refining Stage 6 Realm made it as difficult as ascending to heaven to Breakthrough in a short period.

He could only do his utmost to prepare for battle.

His Divine Sense swept over it casually, and indeed, there were many items he could use.

"Hmm?"

One set of auction items caught his attention.

"Talisman: Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman, First-Grade High Grade Talisman."

Song Yan looked at the name, feeling a sense of familiarity.

He frowned, then remembered.

During the incident at Jiran Valley, he and Wan Songran had killed Wang Xi in the Secret Realm. The greatest contributor, truthfully, was a Talisman called the Yi Wood Spirit Severing Talisman.

Wan Songran hadn’t shown him that Talisman beforehand, but with his current knowledge, he could guess it with high accuracy.

It likely involved setting up a wood-elemental field to suppress the earth-elemental Spiritual Qi within it.

This Ren Water Spirit Transformation Talisman seemed somewhat similar in name to that Yi Wood Spirit Severing Talisman.

"..."

Song Yan pondered for a moment, then left the Night Market with the Jade Slip.

At dusk, lanterns began to light up around the Lingyuanze Market, illuminating the entire Market as if it were daytime.

Song Yan put on his human skin mask again and donned a bamboo conical hat.

Although Granny Qin had informed him in advance of the details he needed to pay attention to, it was his first time attending an auction, so it was better to be careful.

He looked up at the ancient pavilion before him.

"Rare goods are valuable."

This was where the auction house, marked in the Jade Slip, was located.

He remembered this place; the original auction house was set up here.

The main entrance was still a normally operating hall, but the small side door, usually closed, was now open.

A Cultivator stood at the door, wearing a black cat mask that only covered the upper half of his face.

Song Yan walked forward and handed over the Jade Slip in his hand.

The Cultivator flipped the Jade Slip over, his eyes narrowing: "Hmm..."

The auction admission Jade Talisman wasn’t valuable.

Qin Xijun had also told him this.

At the beginning of each month, the opening dates for the Night Market of that month would be announced, and a batch of auction admission Jade Talismans would be released.

Those interested in participating could collect one directly without any cost.

It was only used for counting attendees, interested items, or consignment proof.

Jade Talismans could be transferred between people. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

This one Song Yan had was given to him by Granny Qin.

The Cultivator then nodded, making way for him.

"Fellow Daoist, if you have anything you wish to consign, you can register it with me first."

It seemed the Cultivator had noticed him looking for a seat, realizing he was a first-timer, and offered a few reminders.

"If not, you can turn left at the end of the alley to go upstairs."

"For seating, you can take your seat according to the number on your admission Jade Talisman."

"If you wish to enter a private room, you need to book in advance; there are none available now."

Song Yan nodded: "Thank you."

Following the direction indicated by the cat-faced Cultivator, he went up to the second floor.

The walls here were slightly slanted, and upon closer inspection, there were neatly arranged patterns.

A large door stood under the dim light.

Unattended, he pushed the door open.

"This..."

What greeted his eyes was a spacious hall. Looking as far as he could, he could roughly make out the shape of the hall.

This auction house... seemed to be set within a giant, open clam-shell-shaped Spiritual Artifact.

More and more Cultivators gathered around, and Song Yan finally found the spot marked on his Jade Talisman and sat down.

A moment later.

"Dong——"

A sound like an object dropping into water echoed.

The surrounding entrance doors were locked one by one.

On the main stage of the auction, a circle of inky ripples appeared, from which emerged a young-faced, slender male Cultivator.

"It’s quite lively tonight; many thanks to all Fellow Daoists for coming to support us."

"I am Luo Sheng, the host of tonight’s auction."

He bowed and slowly began.

"The rules, I believe everyone understands..."

"Then let’s cut the small talk. Tonight’s auction officially begins."

The rules he spoke of were all written in the auction admission Jade Talisman, which Song Yan had already read beforehand.

Luo Sheng held a small jade hammer in his hand and lightly tapped the podium.

"Today’s first auction item is a High Grade Spiritual Artifact."

"Replica · Zhenshan Seal."

An graceful female Cultivator, with a graceful figure and elegant attire, walked in, and on the jade plate in her hand was a small golden seal.

Song Yan frowned, staring at the small seal for a long time.

"Zhenshan Seal..."

He vaguely remembered that the Spiritual Artifact Wang Xi used to wield before his death was a similar small seal, also named Zhenshan Seal.

Of course, what Wang Xi used was definitely also a replica.

But the more he looked, the stranger it seemed: "This seal, how does it look..."

"It’s the one Wang Xi used before..."