Chapter 1297: The Spirit Jade Palace’s Distinguished Disciple

Translator: CinderTL

Pingxi City.

The gray-brown city stood alone in the vast, desolate desert.

The city wasn’t large, barely a hundred miles across.

Most of the buildings were constructed from rough-hewn stone, giving the city a crude yet simple appearance.

As the northern wind swept through, it stirred up sand, burying half the city in a yellow haze.

Song Wen conjured a mana shield to deflect the oncoming sandstorm.

He hovered above the city, extending his divine sense to scan the entire area.

To his surprise, this remote city with its thin Spiritual Qi was home to a Void Refinement Stage cultivator. There were also dozens of Divine Transformation Stage cultivators. Whether there were any cultivators of even higher cultivation, Song Wen couldn’t say.

To be safe, Song Wen had Shadow Void thoroughly investigate the city. He learned that there were only two Void Refinement Stage cultivators in total, and no Body Integration Stage cultivators were detected. Satisfied, he descended and landed outside a sizable shop.

Dressed in a blue brocade robe and holding a folding fan, Song Wen had barely stepped inside when a pretty female attendant approached him.

"Senior, what can I help you with?" she asked respectfully.

"A mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator isn’t worthy of speaking to me. Call out your steward," Song Wen barked coldly.

"Yes! Senior, please wait a moment. This junior will go report immediately."

After saying this, the maid hurried toward the back courtyard.

Song Wen raised his eyes to examine the shop.

The shop was vast, with rows of neatly arranged wooden shelves displaying a wide variety of spiritual objects.

Several maids in flowing robes moved among the shelves, introducing goods to customers.

Before long, an old man in the Nascent Soul Stage emerged from the back courtyard and strode directly toward Song Wen.

"Greetings, Senior," the old man said, bowing with clasped hands. "May I ask what brings you to our humble shop?"

Song Wen had revealed his cultivation as early-stage Void Refining, so the old man naturally addressed him as "Senior."

Hearing this, Song Wen glanced at the old man with a disdainful look.

"Do you have any Netherworld Sand in this shop?"

The old man’s expression tightened, revealing a hint of nervousness. But then a smile spread across his face. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Senior is joking. This shop is under the ownership of Venerable Wenhua. True Lord Wenhua, though a rogue cultivator, has never associated with demonic cultivators and has ties to the Myriad Swords Pavilion. How could we possibly sell such an evil substance as Netherworld Sand?"

"Oh, really?" Song Wen asked, a smile playing on his lips.

He had come to this shop because, while surveying the area from above, he had detected a trace of Yin Energy leaking from the backyard.

And this old man was no pushover.

By deliberately mentioning True Lord Wenhua and the Myriad Swords Pavilion, he was subtly warning Song Wen that he had powerful backers and shouldn’t act recklessly in his shop.

"This young master is Guan Liang, a disciple of Elder Fan Kang of the Spirit Jade Palace. I have many old acquaintances in the Myriad Swords Pavilion. I wonder what connection the Venerable Wenhua you mentioned has with the Pavilion?"

Though Song Wen’s words were casual, he hadn’t lied at all: Guan Liang was indeed Fan Kang’s disciple, his only disciple in fact.

Having developed a grudge against Fan Kang, Song Wen had deliberately sought information about him in Great Tan City. While he hadn’t found much of use, he did learn that Fan Kang had a disciple, a fact that was publicly known.

A glint flashed in the old man’s eyes, and his smile became even more obsequious.

"So it’s Young Master Guan Liang! This old man has been blind to your true identity. Please forgive my ignorance, young master."

Song Wen waved his hand dismissively, his expression one of arrogant disdain, clearly unwilling to waste more words on the matter.

"Does your shop actually have any Netherworld Sand?"

"Young master, this humble shop truly has none. However, I’ve heard rumors that Yin Misfortune Valley, ten thousand miles east of the city, is said to be rich in it. Perhaps you could try looking there," the old man said in a low voice, as if fearing the other customers might overhear.

"As if I wouldn’t know about the Netherworld Sand in Yin Misfortune Valley!" Song Wen said, his face darkening. "Call out that Venerable Wenhua. I’ll settle this with him directly."

"Young master, Venerable Wenhua isn’t in the city right now. It’s unlikely he can come and meet you anytime soon," the old man replied.

"I’ll give you one hour. If I haven’t seen Wenhua by then, I’ll tear down your shop."

With those words, Song Wen’s figure flickered, and he left the shop. He then soared into the sky, landing on a small mountain a hundred miles outside the city.

This city had Void Refinement Stage cultivators, so he needed to be cautious to avoid being trapped in a formation.

As the local power, Venerable Wenhua couldn’t possibly ignore the Netherworld Sand in Yin Misfortune Valley. It was a treasure trove of spirit stones, and no cultivator could resist such a temptation.

Using this person to search for Netherworld Sand would undoubtedly be far faster than Song Wen digging for it himself.

As for why Song Wen hadn’t directly sought out the Void Refinement Stage cultivators within the city, there were two reasons: first, he suspected they controlled a city-wide formation, and second, he didn’t want to provoke them prematurely, as he still needed these local powerhouses to do his bidding.

After waiting on the hilltop for less than half an hour, three cultivators—two men and one woman—arrived together.

All three were Void Refinement Stage cultivators, but the female cultivator was the strongest, at the mid-Void Refinement Stage. The other two men were both in the early stages of Void Refining, and Song Wen had known of their existence even before entering the city.

He hadn’t been aware of the woman’s presence before. Either she hadn’t been in the city previously, or some restriction formation had concealed her from even the Shadow Void’s perception.

"Young Master Guan Liang, your arrival in Pingxi City is a great honor. We regret that we couldn’t greet you sooner. Please forgive our tardiness," the female cultivator said.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you all. May I ask how I should address you?" Song Wen inquired.

After the introductions, Song Wen learned that the female cultivator was Venerable Wenhua, while the other two men were named Ke Feng and Di Cang.

"Young Master Guan Liang has come here solely for Netherworld Sand. Let’s cut the formalities—I assume the three of you have a considerable amount. Name your price; I’ll take it all," Song Wen said in the arrogant tone of a young master.

Venerable Wenhua replied, "As a disciple of Senior Fan Kang, Young Master Guan Liang is indeed straightforward. We do have some Netherworld Sand, but there’s no need to name a price. We don’t have much, so consider it a gift for your first visit."

As she spoke, a dense cloud of black sand materialized before Venerable Wenhua.

Each grain of sand was square, about the size of a pinky finger, and shrouded in a faint black mist that gave off an unsettling, sinister aura.

"Do you take me for a beggar on the streets?" Song Wen’s expression turned icy, his face contorted with fury. "You think a mere ten pounds of Netherworld Sand can dismiss me?"

"That’s already a considerable amount," Venerable Wenhua said with a smile, though her tone was cold, as if warning Song Wen to know when to stop and not become greedy.

(End of the Chapter)

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