Chapter 110: The Cavernous Demon Thief and the Theory of Sorcery

“Better?” Lu Qian’s interest was piqued.

Floating in midair, the mouth suddenly opened and spat out a small booklet.

Several intricate characters were inscribed on its cover.

Lu Qian recognized this script; its strokes were relatively complex, sharp and precise as if carved with a blade.

The writing system in this world was not entirely uniform, but since they shared the same origin, it was still fairly recognizable.

“Stone-Carved Guardian General.”

Flipping through a few pages, Lu Qian found it described a type of sentinel soldier—ordinarily a stone statue, but once danger arose or an intruder trespassed, it would immediately attack. Price: two hundred spirit coins.

“No need.” Lu Qian glanced briefly and set it aside. Since he already had paper-man spirit weapons, there was no need to place several large stones at home.

“Do you have any pill recipes related to personality spirit condensation or methods for such condensation?”

“No recipes for the condensation pill, but I do have theoretical texts on the condensation techniques.”

With that, the mouth spat out two more booklets.

“The Principle of Spirit Condensation for Soul Protection by Master Cold Mirror” and “The Soul Nourishing Chant of the Nine Ancestors.”

“These came from the southern regions. They aren’t cultivation manuals, just some theory. Both together, one hundred spirit coins.”

Curious, Lu Qian took them up. The booklets were somewhat aged and missing several pages, but they were still readable.

They explained the classifications of earthly spirits, precautions for spirit condensation, specifying the optimal times to perform it, and which types of medicinal substances to pair with different condensed spirits.

The second booklet contained a chant that was somewhat obscure and difficult to understand.

“Do not blame the scarcity of news from the Jade Pool, for mortal affairs obscure celestial secrets.

If one seeks the fire within the water, a Yellow Youth ascends to the Supreme Realm...”

The chant was lengthy, several hundred characters long, resembling more a cultivation method yet also seeming like a few lines of cryptic poetry.

“I’ll buy them. Do you know where I might find similar cultivation methods for sale?” Lu Qian inquired.

“There might be some in the cave around the corner, but the owner has a strange temper. If he doesn’t like you, he won’t sell.”

The eye above the mouth glanced toward the depths of the market.

Lu Qian promptly paid and left.

The variety of items on both sides was dazzling, even more so than what he had seen at the ghost market in the Hidden Hollow Temple.

What surprised Lu Qian the most were the theoretical texts from the prosperous southern region.

They had actually circulated all the way here.

Although these were not divine or secret arts, offering no direct cultivation value, they were genuinely inspiring—better than blindly practicing a cultivation manual.

Lu Qian admired the southern atmosphere; masters there were willing to share their understanding openly.

Here, everything was seized by force, filled with intrigue and treachery.

Once his affairs here were settled, he resolved to visit the south.

Within a dark cave, a figure clad in black, his face obscured, was dozing.

There were no items displayed at the stall, so no one lingered.

“Fellow Daoist!” Lu Qian whispered.

The stall owner immediately awoke. Beneath his hood shone a pair of eerie green eyes.

“What do you want?” The green eyes bore a trace of impatience.

“I wish to purchase a pill recipe for personality spirit condensation.”

“Pill recipe?” The owner pondered briefly, then said, “I have a Lingxing Hidden Spirit Pill. One thousand eight hundred spirit coins, fixed price.”

“Impossible, too expensive.” Lu Qian refused; the price was truly unacceptable.

Recipes for condensation pills were rare, but their price should not be so high.

“One thousand five hundred. The pill’s spiritual ingredients are supplied in abundance only by me.”

From within the cave came a sinister chuckle.

A dark green translucent orb flew before Lu Qian.

“What is this...” Holding the orb, a chill ran through him.

Inside the transparent sphere floated a faint green radiance, subtly forming a distorted human face with twisted pupils.

It resembled a human soul, but mortal souls did not possess such strong power.

“Made from the divine souls of cultivators at Qi Refining stage or above. Five souls are condensed to form one Lingxing orb,” came a low, hoarse laugh from the cave.

A murderous intent swept over.

The surrounding air instantly turned much colder.

“I see. I’ll buy it, and I want five more Lingxing orbs.” Lu Qian smiled.

He understood who these people were.

This person was likely a bandit from Wanxiang Island, specializing in murder and treasure theft.

Wanxiang Island was a chaotic place; not all cultivators kept low profiles or sought refuge under guilds.

Some specialized in raiding the dockside warehouses of guild markets.

Hence, they came here to fence stolen goods.

“Five orbs, five hundred each. Four thousand total.” The stall owner said.

This sum could buy a fine cave residence—enough to support a soul-nourishing cultivator’s training for a year.

“Do you accept trades?” Lu Qian suddenly asked.

“Of course,” came the reply.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Qian emptied a large pile from his Sky-Contained Cloth Bag.

The gourd and cloth bag belonging to the red-haired Taoist, the righteous party’s confiscated magical items, medicinal herbs, ritual robes, and even Niu Xing’s collection.

Except for necessary medicines and meat from earthly spirit beasts, the rest were of little use to Lu Qian.

“Hm?” The stall owner was surprised, his eerie green pupils fixed on Lu Qian meaningfully.

“So you’re a fellow practitioner.”

“In total, five thousand five hundred spirit coins. One thousand five to you. Come by often. By the way, be careful outside; this place is not like other ghost markets.”

The stall owner glanced at the faint, watchful eyes lurking nearby.

Their transaction had clearly caught the attention of those with ill intent.

“No matter!” Lu Qian smiled coldly. Anyone plotting against him dared to try.

A deadly aura radiated from him, like needles on one’s back.

The stall owner shuddered, feeling as if an ancient colossal beast had locked its gaze upon him.

“This humble one takes his leave first.”

The stall’s items vanished.

Lu Qian’s figure flickered and disappeared.

Passing through the dark cave entrance, a damp, unpleasant smell filled the air.

Boom!

Before the mountain’s belly, eerie green ghost mist spread, and a figure blocked the cave entrance.

A towering skeleton nearly nine feet tall, its bone spikes like sharp daggers a foot long, with an orb of ghostly flame burning in its hollow eye sockets.

“Hand over all your belongings, and I’ll spare your life,” the hoarse voice of the skeleton commanded.

The ghost mist thickened, enveloping Lu Qian.

“What if I refuse?” Lu Qian smiled.

“Die!”

The skeletal demon exhaled ghostly smoke.

“Zha!”

Lu Qian reacted faster, opening his mouth to spit out a sword qi from his Xuánjīn Sword Pouch, which grew from small to large.

Sss!

Golden energy like smoke, sharp and radiant, illuminated the entire gloomy cave.

Like a swimming dragon, it did not fly toward the skeletal demon but instead toward the upper right cave wall.

No one stood there.

The golden energy shifted slightly; a sound of bubbles bursting arose, and a masked figure in black appeared.

“Sword qi? It actually pierced through my Xuányīn protective body. No, please spare me, senior! Spare me... ah!”

The golden light gleamed brilliantly as the sword pouch retracted, leaving only dust on the spot.

The initial display of the sword pouch’s power was indeed the strongest and most rigid golden energy.

With the Taoist’s death, the skeletal demon vanished as well.

Lu Qian remained silent, stepping forward to take the man’s cloth bag.

There were always those who clung to luck, stubbornly forcing themselves beyond their capabilities.