Inside the room, Huan Shi picked up his teacup and took a sip before looking at the young man in white, speaking indifferently, "What, are you that concerned about losing to him?"

"I truly can't accept losing to a Qi Refining Ninth Level." The young man in white sounded aggrieved.

"In that competition, you lost fairly." Huan Shi observed the young man in white for a moment before speaking slowly.

The young man in white didn't speak, his breathing grew heavy, clearly unconvinced.

"Although your cultivation is higher than his, your experience facing an enemy is far less than his, and your overconfidence and recklessness were bound to lead to defeat," Huan Shi continued slowly.

"The lesson from Master is well taken," the young man in white responded softly, his eyes flickering.

"I know you want to challenge that man again to regain your honor, but with your current strength, it's impossible for you to be a match for that hat-wearing youngster. Moreover, with a major event imminent, do not cause conflicts over trifles. You know very well the consequences if you disrupt the Alliance Hierarch's plans!" Huan Shi furrowed his brows, his tone becoming serious.

"Master, rest assured, I understand what's important," the young man in white, upon hearing the term 'Alliance Hierarch', changed his expression and answered respectfully.

"Heh, youngsters should have some vigor, that's good. You've lost this time, so you should practice hard and strive to reclaim the upper hand the next time you meet. Brother Yuan, don't be too suppressive and snuff out Tuozhe's youthful spirit." The room's door was pushed open, and a majestic man walked in, with that white-clothed woman following by his side.

"Big brother, weren't you in secluded cultivation? Why did you come over?" Huan Shi stood up, his voice filled with surprise.

"Alliance Hierarch." The young man in white hurriedly got up to pay his respects.

"Could this be Bai Ye, the leader of the Scatter Alliance?" Yuan Ming, upon hearing this, quickly controlled the soul crow to conceal its presence, yet listened even more intently.

With the appearance of the White Night Alliance Hierarch, they would probably discuss even more confidential information, which might relate to the mission.

"Cultivation breakthroughs aren't achieved overnight. I heard from Ling'er that preparations for the task of hunting the Golden Flower Python King are nearly done; I came to ask about the situation," the majestic man spoke.

"Everything's almost ready, we—"

The soul crow listened closely to the conversation inside the room, but at that moment, the voices inside abruptly stopped, and the sound of their breathing could no longer be heard.

"Everyone is obviously still in the room, so why has it suddenly gone quiet? It seems someone used something like a soundproofing shield talisman. Bai Ye really is cautious in his actions," Yuan Ming showed a look of regret.

Those people were probably discussing even more confidential matters next, but unfortunately, the soul crow's divine skills were limited and couldn't penetrate the soundproofing shield. This reconnaissance would have to end here.

Luckily, he had already obtained quite a bit of information and had some grasp of the situation; it wasn't a wasted effort.

Yuan Ming called the soul crow back, stood up from the bed, and prepared to leave. His eyes swept over his right arm, and suddenly an idea occurred to him.

The soul crow couldn't investigate the soundproofed area, but the incense burner seemed to have no such limitation. If he could directly possess it like he had with the Emperor, maybe he could openly listen to the conversation of the few people?

With the incense burner's mystery, Bai Ye probably wouldn't detect it, and it was a good chance to test the effect of the newly prepared incense.

"Why didn't I think of using the incense burner for reconnaissance like this before? It seems I still have much to learn about utilizing the incense burner!" Yuan Ming muttered to himself, took out the incense burner, lit a newly made stick of incense, and continuously brought to mind the appearance of the young man in white from the daytime.

Gradually, darkness fell before his eyes, his consciousness plunging into darkness, quickly returning to clarity as a spacious and elegant room came into his view.

Yuan Ming stood on the right side of the room, alongside that white-clothed woman, with Huan Shi and a burly man sitting across from him on two large chairs made of yellow wood.

"It actually worked! It seems using concentrated thought to lock onto the possession target was the correct method!" Yuan Ming thought with joy, quickly sobering up.

"Is this man Bai Ye?" He anxiously looked towards the burly man opposite.

Despite his confidence in the incense burner, a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator wasn't someone to be taken lightly; they might possess some extraordinary cultivation technique that could sense his presence.

Bai Ye was looking toward Huan Shi without the slightest awareness of Yuan Ming's possession.

Yuan Ming listened to the conversation of the few people.

"...I haven't seen that person before; his face is unfamiliar. His cultivation isn't high, merely at the Qi Refining Ninth Level, but his mana is extraordinarily refined. He practices a superior cultivation technique, certainly not ordinary for a Loose Cultivator, he's very likely a core disciple from some sect." Contrary to Yuan Ming's expectations, Huan Shi was discussing him.

"Black Rock City is a famous workshop market in the North Territory. It's common for sect disciples to come here incognito to take on tasks after descending the mountain, no need to mind them," Bai Ye replied.

"The Alliance Hierarch is right. With such high rewards on offer this time, there should be more than that youngster from the sects who have signed up. With these people joining, the mission should proceed without issue," Huan Shi said.

"We only need those people to help us find the den. Give a bit more reward to the one who finds it and some compensation to the rest. Although we may be exaggerating the rewards, we haven't broken any rules. As for the Python King in the end, we will have to deal with it ourselves; those people are unreliable. Is the Obstacle Avoidance Pearl ready?" Bai Ye slowly shook his head before changing the subject.

"Poison Shadow just sent a message, saying that the Obstacle Avoidance Pearl has been refined. The transaction will happen tonight at the Ghost Market," Huan Shi answered, taking out a piece of white paper with a few lines of small characters written on it.

"Good, with the Obstacle Avoidance Pearl, the Poison Miasma of Snake King Valley is nothing to worry about. The Ghost Market is complex. Just to be safe, Brother Yuan, you should personally go tonight to make sure this matter is well taken care of," Bai Ye nodded, then instructed.

"That might be problematic. That Poison Shadow is very cautious. He specifically mentioned in his message that the transaction must be made with a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator," Huan Shi said as he presented the note with several rows of small characters.

Bai Ye took the paper, which outlined the method of transaction. It required a Qi Refining disciple to come to a certain place in the Ghost Market for a meeting, after which they would verify the secret signal before trading the goods.

"Hehe, this Poison Shadow is indeed as cunning and cautious as the rumors say. Since that's the case, let Tuozhe make a trip for this matter," Bai Ye chuckled and passed the paper to the young man in white.

"Yes." The young man in white accepted the paper, and Yuan Ming also saw the content written on it.

At that moment, his vision quickly turned pitch black; the time for possession had reached its limit.

...

In the inn, Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes.

This time, the duration of possession had lasted for roughly over twenty breaths, which was twice as long as before, proving the effectiveness of the incense made with spirit wood ground into powder and mixed with incense ashes.

"Overall there doesn't seem to be any issues with this task, at least the White Night Alliance has no schemes to harm anyone. The reward, as expected, is just a gimmick, but when it comes to finding dens, with the soul crow on my side, I don't have too much to worry about. If I can make a profit in spirit stones just like this, it wouldn't be a loss," Yuan Ming stroked his chin, pondering inwardly.

After sitting quietly in the room for a while, his expression changing unpredictably, he rose to his feet once again and left the inn.

An hour later, sitting opposite Gu Yue in a secluded room of a teahouse in the West Market, Yuan Ming spoke.

"I apologize for calling Brother Gu Yue out so late," Yuan Ming said.

"Brother Yuan, why say such things? I am grateful for your patronage of my business, and am far from placing any blame. If there's anything you need, just speak freely. I will do my utmost to assist," Gu Yue hastened to say.

"I wish to inquire with Brother Gu about this so-called Ghost Market," Yuan Ming asked, getting straight to the point.

When Bai Ye and Huan Shi mentioned the Ghost Market, their tone was clearly different; this place must be extraordinary.

"Where did Brother Yuan hear about the Ghost Market?" Gu Yue asked, visibly surprised.

"I heard people mention it while I was strolling this afternoon. Brother Gu mentioned during the day that Black Rock City has East, West, South, and North Markets, so where does this Ghost Market come from?" Yuan Ming asked half-truthfully.

"How to explain it? The Ghost Market is also considered a trading market, but it only opens after midnight. It is the covert counterpart to the open daylight workshops, thus it's called the Ghost Market. However, the items traded there are mostly things that cannot be circulated openly, such as stolen loot from murder and theft, forbidden items of the Cultivation World, and so on. These transactions are too conspicuous in daylight; therefore, they're held at midnight," Gu Yue said, scratching his head.

"From what you're saying, there must be plenty of good items in the Ghost Market, and the prices shouldn't be too high," Yuan Ming, not averse to such business, asked with interest.

"The Ghost Market has all kinds of Magic Tools Talismans elixirs; it's just that most of the goods come from dubious sources, so their prices are relatively low. But it's a place with a dangerous mix of characters, and the waters are too deep. I also can't say it's without risks, so those of us in the middlemen trade don't easily get involved with the Ghost Market," Gu Yue admitted candidly.

Yuan Ming nodded slowly, weighing his thoughts.

"If I wanted to visit the Ghost Market, how would I get there?" Yuan Ming asked, sensing the other's reluctance to go to the Ghost Market.

Gu Yue told him an address and warned him of the precautions to take once inside.

"The matters of the Ghost Market involve wide-ranging consequences. Some have scored great finds and made a fortune, while others have paid with their lives for selling or buying things they shouldn't have. Brother Yuan, if you do trade there, please be extremely careful," Gu Yue cautioned.

Yuan Ming gave his acknowledgment and tried to offer Gu Yue compensation, but Gu Yue declined this time, and Yuan Ming did not persist.

"The market opens at midnight, and it's about time now." Yuan Ming hastened his steps, soon arriving at a small alley where the common folk of Black Rock City lived in the northwest.

The night was exceptionally dark here; even things just a few metres away were hard to see, and the air seemed to stir with a swirling Black Mist.

Sensing fluctuations of mana from within the black fog, Yuan Ming knew he hadn't found the wrong place. He continued forward, the darkness growing thicker until he could barely see his hand in front of him.

He activated his Divine Sense to explore and moved unhindered.

A few more steps forward, and a high, thick stone wall appeared, completely blocking the path ahead.

"I wish to enter the Ghost Market," Yuan Ming said, not attempting to scale the wall but instead addressing a seemingly unremarkable shadow on the right side of the stone wall in a deep voice.

As his voice fell, a black silhouette emerged from the shadow, showing no breath or life sign, resembling a ghostly shadow.

"Fellow Daoist, do you want to hang a lantern or seek a fire?" the shadowy figure scrutinized Yuan Ming and asked in a hoarse voice.

This was the secret code of the Ghost Market: "hanging a lantern" meant setting up a stall, while "seeking a fire" referred to buying things.

"Seeking a fire," Yuan Ming responded.

The shadow did not speak but waved its hand over the wall.

From within the thick wall came clicking sounds of gears turning, and a crack formed in the center, gradually widening until it became a three-foot-wide passage.

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