Chapter 190 - Chapter 190: Chapter 190 Follow-up to the Demon Race Secret Realm

Chapter 190: Chapter 190 Follow-up to the Demon Race Secret Realm

After all…

Even with thorough exploration, that secret realm couldn’t possibly require as much as three months.

So…

As time grew longer,

the matter slowly began to ferment, and various rumors started to emerge within the Fang Market.

There were rumors saying…

The Qingyuan Sword Sect obtained a good number of rare Spirit Plants and a great amount of treasures in that secret realm…

The reason they’ve been sealing the entrance and blocking others from approaching is to keep their findings concealed.

Many people believed this rumor to be true.

With time, as the rumor fermented, it became increasingly intense, showing a trend that seemed almost uncontrollable.

Moreover, apart from Nanshan Market…

The news spread like it had wings, reaching the nearby cities and other markets.

A portion of the powers were completely convinced and believed the Qingyuan Sword Sect had gained advantages in the Demon Race Secret Realm.

Therefore…

they brought people to Nanshan Market, seeking an opportunity to share a piece of the pie.

Fueled by these individuals, other families and sects grew restless…

Consequently, more and more families and sects streamed toward Nanshan Market.

This small market, naturally, could not bear such a large influx of people,

and hence, the population of the market increased, making the streets crowded during the daytime…

Of course, this also brought other effects, which was another rise in market prices.

It is said…

Lin Jing even heard that the rent for the small courtyard he had in the outer market had surged to 20 Lower Grade Spirit Stones a year…

Now…

The cost of living in the market had risen considerably too.

Nevertheless, no one wanted to leave the market.

And…

The families and sects that had recently come to the market were all eyeing the entrance to the secret realm,

trying to get close from time to time, eager to see if it was as rumored, filled with treasures.

However…

Under the strict guard of Qingyuan Sword Sect, these people didn’t stand a chance.

The actions of the Qingyuan Sword Sect only reaffirmed people’s suspicions…

Being not powerful enough themselves, they dared not openly oppose Qingyuan Sword Sect.

Thus, they could only fret helplessly without any solution…

But…

This situation surely couldn’t continue indefinitely…

So, as time slowly passed and the market grew more crowded, people became increasingly anxious, fearing that Qingyuan Sword Sect would monopolize the treasures of the secret realm.

Eventually, someone couldn’t bear it anymore…

Embracing a do-or-die mentality, they widely publicized the matter of the Demon Race Secret Realm.

Most importantly…

This matter was directly communicated to Nanming Immortal Sect and Yiyun Pavilion, whose strengths were comparable to that of Qingyuan Sword Sect.

The result was…

Nanming Immortal Sect and Yiyun Pavilion both dispatched representatives to Qingyuan Sword Sect…

Claiming they wanted to negotiate with Qingyuan Sword Sect regarding the Demon Race Secret Realm, they sought to have the entrance to the secret realm opened for all to enter.

This matter, naturally, was good news for the other families and sects,

and these two major sects also earned the unanimous favor of those families and sects…

With the situation at this stage, everyone in the market was looking forward with great anticipation, waiting for the outcome of the negotiations.

And because of this, the rumors and gossip within the market diminished significantly.

Because…

Everyone was looking forward to the end of the negotiations, eager to head to the Demon Race Secret Realm to hunt for treasures.

Of course, these matters had no influence on Lin Jing.

Lin Jing still spent his days practicing alchemy and cultivation, occasionally gathering with Li Tangyu and the others…

Once the elixirs Lin Jing refined reached a certain quantity…

Lin Jing would disguise himself, adopt the identity of the Elixir Valley Heir, and head to the black market to sell some of his Pure Elixirs.

As the population within the Fang Market grew…

His reputation as the Elixir Valley Heir grew louder and louder over time.

Though he didn’t sell many elixirs, his fame skyrocketed selling only Pure Elixirs…

The Spirit Stones he earned were substantial…

In addition, Lin Jing also converted other surplus elixirs, adopting different identities, and sold them in the Fang Market and the black market.

During this period, the Fang Market had become overly crowded with people.

Some clans and sects, finding the Fang Market too congested, even found uninhabited hills nearby to establish temporary residences.

It was precisely because there were so many newcomers to the Fang Market that no one noticed when Lin Jing sold a large number of elixirs.

And each time, he only sold a small portion.

After each sale, he would switch identities, choose a different trading house, and continue to sell.

In this manner, Lin Jing sold all the elixirs he had accumulated over the past few months.

The Spirit Stones earned from these elixirs were almost on par with those he gained from selling the Pure Elixirs.

Combining the Spirit Stones obtained from selling elixirs with what he previously had on him…

The count of Medium Grade Spirit Stones he now possessed had exceeded ten thousand.

This was the first time Lin Jing had so many Spirit Stones…

However, Lin Jing wasn’t excited…

Though these Spirit Stones seemed plentiful, in the eyes of those large families, they were actually not that much.

Especially if he stumbled upon a third-rank Spirit Plant he needed, one plant could all but deplete his entire fortune.

If Lin Jing wanted to make money, he feared he would need to find a way to obtain third-rank Spirit Plants and refine third-rank elixirs.

The value of third-rank elixirs was likely at least a few hundred times that of second-rank ones.

Because third-rank Spirit Plants were exceedingly rare.

That day…

Lin Jing sat cross-legged in the System Space, preparing to break through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment.

Originally, Lin Jing could have attempted the breakthrough over a month ago.

However, during a drunken conversation with Li Tangyu, Li Tangyu mentioned the importance of Foundation Establishment and spent the whole night in a deep conversation with Lin Jing.

It was after this lengthy talk that Lin Jing decided to delay his progression, suppress his cultivation, and solidify his foundation.

Moreover, Lin Jing learned from Li Tangyu that the firmer the foundation…

The longer one’s path of cultivation would be.

Previously at the Qingyuan Sword Sect, Lin Jing was only in the Qi Refinement Realm and knew very little.

Then, upon arriving at the Fang Market, he was alone and nobody there told him these things.

Finally, after meeting Elder Yu, who treated him well and taught him much…

Lin Jing had always been concealing his true cultivation level, revealing it to be only at the seventh level of Qi Refinement.

Elder Yu thus never talked to him about matters beyond Foundation Establishment.

Fortunately, Lin Jing met Li Tangyu, the drunken chatterbox.

Otherwise, he might have hastily advanced a long time ago.

Next…

Lin Jing took out a Pure Jade Box from his Storage Bag, inside of which was a Pure Gathering Yuan Pill.

Now, the elixirs Lin Jing consumed were all Pure Elixirs; he had never taken any other elixirs, including Supreme Elixirs.

If others knew about this, they would likely be more than just envious.

They might even desire to devour his heart.