novelraw Chapter 578 - 577: A Chance Encounter at Golden Chicken River Market
Chapter 578 - 577: A Chance Encounter at Golden Chicken River Market
"Did you hear? A new seductress from the Hehuan Sect has come to Wanhong House, and she’s said to be stunningly beautiful!"
"The Hehuan Sect is indeed impressive, able to serve other cultivators while enhancing their own strength through dual cultivation. What other sect can compare to the popularity of the Hehuan Sect?"
"It’s really strange, the underground auction hasn’t opened for three consecutive sessions. Perhaps something has happened?"
"Lord Xu from the Demon Realm Alliance said that demon cultivator activities have become more frequent, even spreading to the human world. If this continues, the situation will become even more chaotic! If you have the means, quickly store some immortal jade, and run if things look dire..."
......
As Jiang Yuan barely pushed open the window of the miscellaneous store at the Golden Chicken River Market, the bustling sounds flowed in.
He glanced secretly and saw that next door was a teahouse. Many cultivators lounged under the veranda with spirit tea, chatting idly—some sighed deeply, others discussed major affairs of the cultivation realm—it was a good place to overhear gossip.
However, it was unexpected that the underground auction hadn’t opened. He had even rummaged around to bring the VIP waist plaque he seized from Shen Lao Liu’s storage bag, planning to inquire about the location and take a stroll around later.
"Did it cost a lot to open this shop?" Jiang Yuan had just pushed the door open when a curious demon cultivator who sensed someone coming out smiled and said, "The shop next to Spring Teahouse had been abandoned for quite a while. Opening a grocery store here now, when will it officially open?"
"It’ll take a few more days, I’m not fully prepared yet." He casually replied, then glanced around, tutted! Advanced monster! The health bar above its head was astonishingly long!
According to the complete map of the Wilderness World he obtained, the Golden Chicken River Market is at least ten thousand miles away from the Wo Hu Temple Market.
This place is a bustling hub for demon cultivators, and there’s always an advanced monster with an exceptionally long health bar in the market. Their conversation topics mostly revolve around power centers, clearly indicating a much higher status than the Wo Hu Temple Market.
"This summer has a lot of rain, the Golden Chicken Seal almost turned into a lake. I noticed many cultivators try their luck wishing to catch one or two azure-scaled demonic fish, anyone succeeded?" The curious advanced monster, a social menace, shifted the topic after chatting with Jiang Yuan, asking a nearby demon cultivator.
The other party shook his head with a smile, "How could they? The azure-scaled demonic fish have long been extinct! Since the Demon Realm Alliance announced a bounty over a decade ago, countless cultivators sought one or two to earn the reward.
And whoever is spouting nonsense, there are indeed fools who believe the Golden Chicken Seal turning into a lake means azure-scaled demonic fish will appear."
"Those words aren’t baseless! The Golden Chicken Seal is the last footprint left by the Golden Chicken Immortal before ascension, and the Golden Chicken River was formed when the immortal shed mortal form and ascended.
The Demon Realm Alliance chose this place to establish a market because they valued this blessed land of the immortal’s ascension. It’s an array hub, don’t you understand? Where there’s a treasure, there’s bound to be azure-scaled demonic fish!"
"Right, right, I’ve also heard seniors say the same. I’ve also heard that the purpose of the Demon Realm Alliance’s high bounty for finding azure-scaled demonic fish is to use them as clues to search for the immortal’s leftover treasures!"
"Treasure my foot! Every year there’s a rumor that the Golden Chicken Seal has treasures, and every year fools believe it, and the result? Ha..."
......
The topic came and went quickly. Jiang Yuan listened to a few lines and felt the name "azure-scaled demonic fish" sounded familiar. Upon thinking, the fish pond in his courtyard housed some special variety spirit fish rewarded by the system, wasn’t it the same name!
As long as the fish feed is sufficiently supplied, every few days, a special spirit fish suitable for medicine or cooking can be harvested. The Azure Bird loves the steamed fish made from azure-scaled demonic fish, and in the cultivation realm of the Wilderness World, is it really an extinct rarity?
Why is the Demon Realm Alliance offering high bounties for fish?
Jiang Yuan was very curious, but no side quest was triggered; the demon cultivators casually shifted their chat to spirit tea types and flavors, so he bypassed the people tasting tea and admiring the rain, heading towards the nearby corridor.
The market was set on the supposed body left behind by the Golden Chicken Immortal, and the Cloud Grocery Store is located at the center of the entire market. He deliberately climbed up a few levels, staring at the rolling terrain for a long time, and still couldn’t figure out any resemblance to a chicken.
Instead, the valley surrounded by mountains not far away does resemble a chicken claw from a bird’s-eye view, and he saw several fishing lights flickering on the water from afar, likely cultivators trying their luck to catch azure-scaled demonic fish for profit.
[Qu Luming: Xuanyu Mountain’s misty moon porcupine demon, Void Refinement Realm (super advanced monster) demon cultivator, demon realm alliance Vice Alliance Hierarch Du Li’s avatar. By chance became a Soul Refining Realm (advanced monster) ghost cultivator, cultivating "Ghost Immortal Scripture." In the Netherworld Fengdu serving as "Leopard Tail," assisting in managing beast souls.
Due to the Demon Realm Alliance’s covert investigations of dormant demon cultivators, Qu Luming was recalled from the Netherworld by the main body. His Ghost Messenger status allows for preliminary screening of suspicious persons before using the Half-step Divine Artifact Profound Light Instrument for detailed identification.]
Jiang Yuan finally tracked down the location of the underground auction house and wanted to investigate further.
A man over two meters tall, with extremely pale skin and a silver hairpin holding his long hair, dressed in blue scholar’s robes, approached. The strikingly long health bar above his head caught Jiang Yuan’s attention, prompting him to take a closer look, and he realized this was the "undercover great demon" mentioned in the gossip by the little fox!
Interesting, how an ultra-advanced monster demon cultivator practices low-level personas to become a ghost cultivator and even reaches an advanced monster level to hold a prominent position in Fengdu Underworld, doesn’t that mean Vice Alliance Hierarch Du Li holds power on both fronts?
It’s just unclear if his avatar has any conflicts with the main body, for instance, an underworld official being pulled over by the main body to work overtime, isn’t there a fierce ghost that escaped the Eighteen Layers of Hell? This man doesn’t seem to be involved; otherwise, he wouldn’t have time to help investigate the demon cultivators.
Still wondering how Du Yiyun and Pavilion Master Cang will respond, as Qu Luming’s health bar is too long, with his current strength, he dares not confront him directly...
"Hmm? Is that a human cultivator?" When Jiang Yuan saw Qu Luming, the other party happened to catch his attention in the bustling crowd.
Squinting slightly, Qu Luming took a step forward.
His tall and thin figure moved subtly, leaving a ghostly afterimage as he appeared about two meters behind the strange human, unnoticed by the surrounding demon cultivators.
"Strange... Definitely a living person, the scent of Yang Energy is strong." From a high position, he sniffed, confirming the other party was not a puppet, but a living person.
As a Leopard Tail, he was not like Ma Hongtu who needed the Official Hat to probe for details; otherwise, his body would not have sent him here.
Though cultivators are different from ordinary people, throughout the journey, whether human cultivators, demon cultivators, or demon cultivators, at least ninety percent of their name and origin could be identified. Even if some used magical treasures to conceal, some information could still be perceived.
Yet this person was most peculiar, blank and untraceable, standing out among the crowd like a crane in a flock, hard to ignore.
"Could they possess a Divine Artifact or Holy Artifact to evade the Ghost Messenger’s inspection?" Qu Luming followed the person closely yet unobtrusively, though not the hidden demon cultivator the body was searching for, his curiosity was piqued.
The Human World was full of ants not qualified to enter the Golden Chicken River Market, so the person must be an outsider or a wandering disciple from one of the ancient top ten sects.
Which family is so generous to bring out a Divine Artifact?
"Buzz~"
Qu Luming mused, his thoughts activating the Profound Light Instrument.
In his pitch-black right eye, a small dual-ringed rotating magical treasure appeared, locking the target in a halo of light, with the dual rings rotating around Jiang Yuan, continuously "scanning."
After a moment, the light dissipated, and Qu Luming tilted his head with confusion and slight shock— under the dual investigation of a half-step Divine Artifact and his own cultivation technique, it was still blank!
"Truly curious! Do I need to use the Book of Life and Death to check?" The thought unexpectedly flashed through his mind.
He reasoned that no Divine Artifact or Holy Artifact had ever blocked dual investigations, so either the person possessed an even more powerful protective treasure, or the person was an Immortal visiting the mortal world!
Faced with two unlikely options, Qu Luming leaned towards the former.
Perhaps a direct disciple of a major sect from the Otherworld, with illustrious background or a protective master, specifically strengthened with a Divine Artifact he had never seen before.
Convincing himself to accept this answer, he walked a few more steps increasingly curious, for no matter how many thousands of years his body or clones cultivated, never had he met anyone so strange; he must seize the chance to befriend him!
"Indeed, they’re closed, and there’s no information on when they will open." Jiang Yuan walked to the bottom level auction house, only to find the door tightly shut with a simple notice stating closed for some time due to reasons, with no date given.
It gave the impression that it might never open again.
He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, as he originally planned to find more Flood Dragon Bloodline Power for Xiaobai to consume, now even his token was useless.
"At least it won’t open this month." Qu Luming seized the opportunity to step forward and engage in conversation: "Because this auction house blatantly violated the rules set by the Demon Realm Alliance, allowing a demon cultivator disguised as a demon cultivator to be the Chief Steward."
After being discovered, the entire staff was imprisoned, pending investigation and confirmation of no relation to the Demon Realm before possible release.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan turned and saw the elusive investigative Ghost Messenger, thinking it was likely you who discovered this, right?
However, considering the vastness of the Golden Chicken River Market, with limited shops involved, and according to the demon cultivators’ gossip, the auction house had been closed for almost a month. Still lingering here, haven’t they completed the investigation?
"Demon cultivator?" He pretended ignorance and asked with a smile: "If they haven’t done anything bad, but just came to do some business and make a living, why does the Demon Realm Alliance have to be so strict?"
Qu Luming thought he sounded like a naive son of a landlord, how do you not understand this?
"Your words are not quite correct, fellow cultivator. Demon cultivators are not suited to Spiritual Energy and staying in this world has many inconveniences. The demon cultivators who overcame numerous difficulties to traverse the World’s Barrier are engaged in activities that cannot see the light.
Previously it was just that the Demon Realm Alliance had no time to deal with them, turning a blind eye. Now that thorough investigations are underway, naturally, the entire market must be filtered for your safety."
Jiang Yuan checked the time, as he still needed to go to Cloud City to pick up Yun Shu for a holiday break, and since no side quest could be triggered, he had no interest in continuing the discussion, so he replied flatly, "I see, I’ve learned something today."
"I am Qu Luming, and I feel an instant rapport with you, fellow Daoist. May I ask your honorable surname?" Seeing him about to leave, Qu Luming snapped his fingers and handed over his name card, while imprinting Jiang Yuan’s appearance into his mind during their brief eye contact.
Once back in the Netherworld, borrowing the Book of Life and Death will reveal his origins!