Record of a Demon’s Cultivation

 

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Song Wen left his small courtyard and closed the gate, glancing at Sun Daxiong, who was sitting and kneeling at the gate of the neighboring courtyard.

 

The sudden disappearance of his daughter had completely devastated this man, who was usually spirited and full of energy.

 

With a detached expression, Song Wen walked past Sun Daxiong and headed towards the district.

 

Two quarters of an hour later, Song Wen, in disguise, entered a spirit beast shop.

 

The shop not only sold spirit beasts and spirit insects but also provided the pills and spiritual herbs needed to care for them.

 

Since arriving in Eastern Huafang District, Song Wen had visited several spirit beast shops and had bought beginner's manuals for raising spirit insects, but they had not been of much help in nurturing his own insects.

 

Though spirit insects and Gu insects differ by only one character in Chinese, their cultivation methods are worlds apart.

 

Cultivating spirit insects is similar to raising spirit beasts, involving the signing of a soul contract to establish a spiritual connection between the cultivator and the creature. This creates a mutually beneficial and equal relationship.

 

Cultivators usually focus on fostering emotional bonds with their spirit beasts and insects to enhance their synergy.

 

Gu insects, however, are different. They are forcefully refined by cultivators, leading to spiritual enslavement, which is why Gu insects sometimes rebel against their masters.

 

The cultivation of Gu insects is also more brutal. Gu masters often make the insects devour each other to produce stronger individuals.

 

Song Wen came to the spirit beast shop to buy spirit beast pills.

 

Spirit beast pills help enhance the bloodline of spirit beasts and increase their strength.

 

He planned to use these pills to improve the bloodline of his Black Armored Gu.

 

Previously, Song Wen had purchased two bottles of first-grade superior spirit beast pills. After using them on the strongest of his Black Armored Gu for an extended period, the insect's aura had become somewhat stronger, but there were no signs of advancement yet.

 

Having used up the previous pills, Song Wen intended to buy two more bottles.

 

"Do you have any second-grade spirit beast pills for sale?" Song Wen asked a shop assistant.

 

The effects of first-grade superior spirit beast pills were minimal, so Song Wen wanted to go for something stronger.

 

The assistant replied with a smile, "Sorry, senior, but second-grade and above spirit beast pills are only available from the Beastmaster Sect. None of the shops in the district carry them."

 

Song Wen nodded, understanding that this was another way for large sects to suppress loose cultivators.

 

"Then give me two bottles of first-grade superior spirit beast pills."

 

After paying one hundred spirit stones, Song Wen received two bottles of spirit beast pills, totaling twenty pills.

 

Exiting the shop, Song Wen headed towards the vendor district to buy some spiritual herbs needed for refining blood qi pills.

 

As he scanned the various stalls, looking for the herbs he needed, something caught his eye.

 

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

 

A short-statured vendor discreetly handed three jade bottles, each inscribed with sealing runes, to a scholarly-looking rogue cultivator.

 

The vendor then received a bag of spirit stones from the cultivator and slipped the jade bottles into his waist pouch.

 

The entire exchange happened in a flash, but Song Wen caught it out of the corner of his eye.

 

Song Wen immediately recognized that the sealing runes on the jade bottles were meant to store blood essence.

 

The two individuals had just exchanged blood essence, specifically human blood essence. If it were beast blood, such caution would not be necessary.

 

Song Wen detected no traces of demonic cultivator energy from either person, suggesting that the blood essence in the jade bottles was not refined by the vendor himself, and the buyer had not consumed it but was merely running an errand for someone else.

 

After receiving the blood essence, the scholarly cultivator turned and left, brushing past Song Wen and quickly disappearing around a corner.

 

The vendor watched the scholarly cultivator vanish with a hint of greed in his eyes.

 

This was not the first time the scholarly cultivator had bought blood essence from him, but it was the first time he had purchased three bottles at once, worth a total of over a hundred spirit stones. The cultivator had paid without batting an eye, indicating he was quite wealthy.

 

The vendor took out a communication jade slip and sent a message.

 

---

 

In the evening.

 

The dark clouds in the distant sky swallowed the last bit of twilight.

 

As the sky grew darker, the short vendor began to pack up his stall, deciding it was best to leave the district early since it wasn’t very safe after dark.

 

Moreover, he often provided information to the rogue cultivators he worked with, so it was likely that they had already succeeded in their mission. He needed to go and collect his share of the spoils.

 

He quickly packed up his stall and hurried out of the market.

 

After leaving the market and traveling several miles along a forest path, he used the dim light to check his surroundings. Once he confirmed he was not being followed, he used a flight technique to soar into the air and speed towards the distance.

 

A quarter of an hour later, the flight technique expired, and he had traveled over thirty miles.

 

The vendor did not continue flying but descended and moved through the increasingly dark forest.

 

Suddenly, a figure cloaked entirely in black blocked his path.

 

The vendor’s face changed dramatically. Despite his caution, he had still been followed.

 

Fixing his gaze on the dark figure ahead, he suppressed his panic and said in a deep voice:

 

“Fellow cultivator, if you’ve stopped me, what is it that you need?”

 

The shadowy figure spoke in a harsh, gravelly voice:

 

“If you dare move your hand towards your waist pouch, I will sever it.”

 

Seeing his small movement detected, the vendor’s face grew even uglier. He stopped his hand from moving towards his waist pouch and slowly raised both hands.

 

“Fellow cultivator, please calm down. Whatever you need, just say so. I will certainly comply.”

 

Song Wen asked, “Where did you obtain the human blood essence you have?”

 

The vendor immediately replied, “I bought it in the Ghost Market.”

 

“Ghost Market?” Song Wen murmured.

 

He had tracked the vendor because he recognized him as someone who frequented the gray areas and hoped to learn about the underground black market in Eastern Huafang District through him.

 

Based on previous experiences in the Corpse Demon Sect’s market, many items that could not be sold in the market were available in the black market.

 

“Where is the Ghost Market?” Song Wen asked coldly.

 

“It’s four hundred miles east of Eastern Huafang District, in a mist-covered ravine.”

 

“Are there any requirements to enter the Ghost Market?”

 

“There are no special requirements. Just pay two spirit stones to gain entry.”

 

Song Wen nodded, slowly backing away until he was completely hidden in the darkness, disappearing from sight.

 

Seeing that the figure had completely vanished, the vendor sighed in relief, his previously tense heart finally settling.

 

The vendor had not sensed any energy fluctuations from the cloaked figure, indicating that the figure's strength far surpassed his own.

 

Just as the vendor prepared to use his movement technique to leave, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head.

 

It was as if something had crushed his skull and pulverized his brain.

 

His consciousness began to fade as his body fell straight down.

 

In the darkness, a figure swiftly emerged, grabbing the vendor’s shattered head.

 

It was Song Wen, who had returned.

 

Soul Searching Technique!

 

Song Wen was fortunate. The incomplete memories obtained through the soul search provided some information about the Ghost Market.

 

The vendor had not lied about the location and entry requirements of the Ghost Market.

 

What the short vendor did not mention was that the Ghost Market was only open at night. Moreover, the mist surrounding the Ghost Market interfered with cultivators' spiritual and sensory detection, making it easy for those unfamiliar with the area to get lost in the fog.

 

The vendor’s memories also included details about colluding with rogue cultivators to rob customers. Since these details were irrelevant to Song Wen, he did not examine them closely.

 

After devouring the vendor’s soul and blood and disposing of the body, Song Wen applied a Haste Talisman and set off towards the Ghost Market.

 

(End of the Chapter)

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