Chapter 157 - The Black Market

After listening to Su Mo, Zhou Donghuang was able to confidently confirm: The Buddha’s lifeblood that the two golden-crowned eagles had led him to was left behind by the Dharma Laws adept of the Shenguang sect.

The level of practice, the time period, and the location all matched up.

Before that early Dharma-Laws-stage adept of the Shenguang sect entered his final sleep, he chose to pass on from a dangerous cliff in a place not far from the Shenguang Empire in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.

“Master.”

Suddenly, Su Mo’s expression turned serious. “That Chen Dandan has now entered the Xuanyin sect under Zhong Ya; moreover, Zhong Ya has obtained the returning heaven grass that can produce a returning heaven core.”

“With the returning heaven core, Chen Dandan’s destroyed meridians can recover to their original state, and as she is under Zhong Ya, her future level of practice will increase at an incredible rate!”

“In the future, I fear she could be a disaster for us.”

As he said this, Su Mo’s eyes filled with dread.

After all, this time he, and by extension the Valley of the Medicine Masters, had offended Chen Dandan, and she would most probably be back for revenge.

“Chen Dandan?”

Hearing Su Mo mention that young lady who had been brought away by the forefather of the Xuanyin sect, Zhou Donghuang’s eyes narrowed as a cold gleam flashed across them.

The incident that day was something he had not foreseen.

In Zhou Donghuang’s previous life, Chen Dandan had not had this opportunity and had passed away from old age in the Valley of the Medicine Masters after attaining the Connate stage.

However, from what that Zhong Ya said, Chen Dandan had this opportunity entirely because of him.

Earlier, Zhong Ya had said that it was because he had seen Zhou Donghuang speed past riding a Great Consummation flying demon that his attention had been attracted to Zhou Donghuang.

After that, Zhong Ya had passed by the Valley of the Medicine Masters after obtaining the returning heaven grass and had detected traces of Zhou Donghuang, which was why he had come to the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

As for what had happened later on, it was well known.

“Chen Dandan, so what if your fate has changed because of me? When you were in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, I came to the Valley of the Medicine Masters to kill you. Since you have gone to the Xuanyin sect, I will go to the Xuanyin sect and kill you!” thought Zhou Donghuang.

He suddenly opened his eyes, which shone coldly. “As for that Zhong Ya, since he and the Xuanyin sect persist in contributing to this karma, I will flatten his Xuanyin sect!”

Although Zhou Donghuang muttered this to himself softly, Su Mo, who was standing nearby, nevertheless heard it clearly.

Su Mo could not help exhaling a breath of cold air, never imagining that this master that he served had such lofty ambitions.

Flattening the Xuanyin sect?

Was it even possible?

The Xuanyin sect was one of the five most powerful sects of the planet of Ziyun that stood at the peak of the hierarchy of the planet of Ziyun.

To flatten the Xuanyin sect would require a level of practice at least of the Dharma Laws stage.

Although the youth before him had a level of practice at the early Connate stage at only nineteen years of age, as the forefather of the Xuanyin sect Zhong Ya had said, there were numerous youths his age in the Xuanyin sect who had already exceeded this.

Moreover, those disciples of the Xuanyin sect might not have the chance to attain the Dharma Laws stage, never mind this youth.

Therefore, Su Mo did not take the youth’s vengeful words seriously, taking them instead as words spoken in a fit of anger.

In a moment, Zhou Donghuang’s cold glare was gone, and he looked at Su Mo. “I can probably find spirit stones in the Shenguang Empire, am I right?”

Spirit stones were special stones formed when ordinary stones accumulated a great quantity of spirit energy from the environment, storing the spirit energy within them.

Using spirit stones to practice could replace the need to absorb spirit energy from the environment, and the latter method could be used in synergy with the former to make practicing even more efficient.

Since there were many Primal Core adepts in the Shenyang Empire, it was not possible that there were no spirit stones there.

As for the five elite sects which stood at the peak of Ziyun, including the Xuanyin sect, they would not be lacking spirit stones.

Zhou Donghuang was sure that they controlled a lode of spirit stones; otherwise, they would not be able to sustain a sect of such quality.

That day, Zhong Ya of the Xuanyin sect had already said that in the Xuanyin sect, although those of similar age as he but already exceeding him in the level of practice were not numerous, there were more than a few.

Those people must be prodigies that the Xuanyin sect had raised up on piles of spirit stones.

“Spirit stones?!”

When he heard Zhou Donghuang’s words, Su Mo’s eyes widened, and he smiled bitterly as he said, “Master, you might be able to get spirit stones in the Shenyang Empire, but it is extremely difficult.”

“In the several hundred years of history of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, only the forefather who established it managed to buy a spirit stone in the Shenguang Empire, and that only at great cost after he attained the Connate stage.”

“He had planned to use the spirit stone to aid him in one great effort to attain the Primal Core stage and become a Primal Core adept.”

“However, when the spirit energy in the spirit stone had been used up, he was still unable to break through.”

“In the personal letter that he left behind at the end of his life, he said that if he’d had three spirit stones at that time, he would have been confident of attaining the Primal Core stage.”

At this, Su Mo hesitated some time before continuing, “Spirit stones are extremely valuable. Even if the Valley of the Medicine Masters gathered everything of value in this valley, it might not be enough to buy one from the black market in the Shenguang Empire.”

“The black market in the Shenguang Empire?”

Zhou Donghuang’s eyes gleamed, and he asked brusquely, “Can the black market in the Shenguang Empire guarantee the privacy of the negotiating parties?”

“Master, you can be assured on this,” Su Mo said.

“Operating as a middleman, the black market in the Shenguang Empire does business based on trust. That year, the forefather of the Valley of the Medicine Masters chose to buy the spirit stone from the black market of the Shenguang Empire at great cost precisely because buying the spirit stone there guaranteed his personal safety one hundred percent.”

“If he had chosen another option, the price he forked out to buy that single spirit stone on the black market might even have been able to get him two spirit stones.”

“Although he might have been able to get two spirit stones with other options, it was very possible that he would have been killed by someone else once he received the spirit stones,” Su Mo concluded in one breath.

“Mm.”

Zhou Donghuang nodded. “In one month’s time, you’ll come with me to the Shenguang Empire. I want to take a look at the black market.”

“Yes, Master,” Su Mo acknowledged respectfully.

“Also, for this period of time, you may stay here and practice with me.”

At first, Su Mo did not take the youth’s words seriously but felt it was improper to refuse, so he planned to make a gesture of staying several days to practice before finding an excuse to return to his accommodation.

However, shortly after he had sat down and begun to practice a golden light reached out from the wooden house and touched him, and he felt the efficiency of his practice increase greatly.

His rate of practice was more than double what it previously was!

This master of mine… what kind of person is he? What kind of technique is this? He can help me increase my rate of practice by an incredible degree!

Su Mo was surprised and shocked.

It must be stated that when he had previously used the Connate elixir formulated by the youth, he had already felt his rate of practice increase dramatically, which gave him the hope of attaining the Primal Core stage.

Now, under the glow of the golden light that reached out from inside the wooden house, his rate of practice was further increased: more than a hundred percent faster than his original base rate!

If I keep using the Connate elixir formulated by my master to aid my practice while practicing by his side, I will definitely attain the Primal Core stage in ten years at the most!

Su Mo’s eyes shone with irrepressible excitement.

Right at that moment, Su Mo’s respect for his master, that youth who was inside the wooden house, increased further, because his dreams of the Primal Core stage were tightly bound together with his master.

What Su Mo did not know at this time was that although Zhou Donghuang had granted him the aid of his Buddha’s lifeblood to practice, the strength of it was not even one-tenth of what he had given to the golden-crowned eagle, Big Gold.

Zhou Donghuang was intentionally holding back.

Su Mo had yet to win his complete approval. And, he wanted to leave enough strength in his Buddha’s lifeblood for himself to attain the Primal Core stage.

If Zhou Donghuang had lent the full strength of the Buddha’s lifeblood to aid Su Mo in his practice, Su Mo would be able to attain the Primal Core stage in two years at most, given his current level of practice and his martial talent

“When I attain the middle Connate stage, I will make a trip to the black market in the Shenguang empire to buy a spirit stone. If I have a spirit stone to practice with, my level of practice will be further boosted,” Zhou Donghuang thought.

In the wooden house, Zhou Donghuang, who had been practicing, suddenly opened his eyes with a burning gaze. “If I can get enough spirit stones to aid my practice in addition to the Buddha’s lifeblood, I can attain the Primal Core stage in less than a year!”

“Two years ago, I set the goal of attaining the Primal Core stage within five years.”

“Now, if I have enough spirit stones, I can attain the Primal Core stage within a year, achieving the target I set with two years to spare!

Even though Zhou Donghuang had a thousand years of memories from his previous life, the thought of this made deep waves in his heart.

Attaining the Primal Core stage and becoming a Primal Core adept implied that he could enable his essential core to fly through the air and physically cross the stars.

At that time, he would be able to leave the planet of Ziyun and move on to other planets.

…

One month was not very short, but neither was it long.

It passed in the blink of an eye.

In the month that passed, everything in the Valley of the Medicine Masters had returned to its peaceful state, and fewer and fewer people brought up the incident that had occurred the month before at the training grounds.

Time was able to wipe everything clean.

Of course, even though fewer and fewer people brought up the incident, what had taken place that day was seared into the memories of those who had been present.

A Primal Core adept.

And the youthful master of Su Mo, their Valley Lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

Swoosh!!

A giant black eagle with a wingspan of over ten meters sped away like a bolt of black lightning from the valley where the Valley of the Medicine Masters was located.

This giant black eagle had eyes that seemed to spark with electricity, and the golden crown of feathers on its head was like the fierce burning of a roaring fire.

“Master, your … your golden-crowned eagle has attained the Connate stage already?”

On the back of the giant eagle, a middle-aged man in elegant gray clothes with a refined face turned his shocked look away from the giant eagle and looked at the youth dressed in clothes whiter than snow whose back was facing him.