Chapter 155: To think there is someone even more cautious than Shen in this world!

Big Black was furious.

It grabbed a crimson pincer with its two large claws and shoved it straight into its mouth, chewing it to pieces.

"Master, I will definitely hunt it down."

To kill my kind and plunder my master's ores—such an egregious offense deserved the worst of punishments.

After searching the spot, Shen Lian found nothing much left behind. Like the black-horned ants, the crimson crystal fire ants were a common ant species in the cultivation world.

Relocating slightly, he reconstructed the ant nest and led Big Black toward the next one.

"Master, the crimson crystal fire ants have gone too far in bullying the black ants."

Shen Lian glanced at Big Black in surprise. Having advanced to the second rank, Big Black's spiritual intelligence had grown considerably; it could even use slightly complex vocabulary now.

Ever since discovering the first destroyed ant nest, he had successively found over a dozen ruined black-horned ant nests, most bearing the traces of crimson crystal fire ants.

Unless one possessed an extremely powerful divine sense and carefully circumvented every single restrictive spell...

Not only that, but the door frames, window frames, and roof beams of the pavilion were hung with tiny little bells. The moment a restriction was disturbed, it would inevitably trigger the bells.

"It has been a long time since I last forged a magical instrument. I was a senior second-rank artifact refiner many years ago; I cannot simply stay stagnant. This time, I primarily wish to gather some ores and see if I can forge a rudimentary embryo of a magical treasure."

"For the True Person to invite the likes of us, it is truly our good fortune."

Shen Lian nodded, casually selecting a pavilion built into the cliffside. His divine sense perceived that the valley was embedded with a vast number of restrictive arrays.

"Lu Shan, hunting monsters in the mountains, happened to pass by the market and wished to take a look."

The mountain wilderness possessed a dense, desolate atmosphere, with the muffled roars of demonic beasts echoing occasionally.

He had wanted to split a wisp of divine sense to attach to a fire ant, but when the fire ant passed through the outer restrictions of the spiritual vein, it would trigger the sensory arrays.

Shen Lian's method was also very simple: reconstruct the ant nest and wait for these fellows to show up again.

"Extreme Fire Heavenly Thunder Array."

There was a minor fire vein within this valley, occupied by a pseudo-core formation master named Huo Qian. He had constructed a defensive array, attracting a small fraction of cultivators to practice and refine artifacts here.

True Person Huo Qian was an artifact refiner who cultivated under the backing of the mineral city. He had collected quite a few fine treasures and frequently hosted private trading assemblies.

Two days later, Gong Zhongze came to invite Shen Lian. The two of them flew out toward the large pavilion in the center of the market.

Compared to cities established by major sects, privately established markets were somewhat lacking in safety, but their freedom was vastly greater, allowing even illicit goods to be transacted.

"I shall rely on the True Person's kind care in the future."

Moreover, True Person Huo Qian had most likely not reached that realm.

After observing for a moment, Shen Lian controlled his spiritual puppet to plunge deep into the earth to reconnoiter.

"No need for formalities. I am just like everyone else... no, I am even inferior to you all."

One could tell how cautious and prudent the cultivator who established this market was; they had anticipated every possible means of prying and taken precautions in advance.

He would go inside and take a look first. If the host truly proved formidable, he would simply concede... and treat this as a journey of learning.

Within the fiery mist, a crimson cave dwelling pressed down upon the lake of spiritual veins.

"Not bad," Shen Lian nodded. "I went out of the city to hunt demonic beasts, and seeing a market from afar, I wished to stop by and rest."

Due to their low intelligence, the ants could not perceive much and could only follow from afar all the way to Fire Valley Market.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am Gong Zhongze, manager of Fire Valley Market."

Gong Zhongze extended a withered palm and made a polite, welcoming gesture.

However, this method of deploying restrictions was unsuitable for Shen Lian at present. If he were to set up restrictive arrays outside his own hiding cave, wouldn't it be tantamount to blatantly telling others that he was hiding nearby?

"My master said to wait two more days. If no other suitable fellow daoists arrive, the trading assembly will commence directly."

A ninth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator was seen flying out from within the market.

Should any anomaly occur, the puppet talisman paper person would wield the Tianyan Jade Talisman to execute high-end tactics against the array.

……

"Fellow Daoist arrives right on time. During the beast tide turmoil of previous days, quite a few fellow daoists came to hunt monsters and accumulated many fine treasures. My master happens to be preparing an exchange assembly; if Fellow Daoist is interested, you are welcome to join us for a small gathering."

The increase in divine sense strength was reflected not only in range but also in quality, especially with the divine sense infant sitting firmly in Shen Lian's sea of consciousness.

Viewed from the outside, this market was indeed extraordinary, following a small-circle route. The entire valley extended over ten miles, containing only a sparse fifty or sixty pavilion buildings, each established upon a spiritual vein spring.

Outside Fire Valley Market, a towering archway stood firmly, guarded at the entrance by two second-layer Qi Condensation cultivators.

"My master enjoys tranquility and established a market here merely for quiet cultivation. The cultivators passing through on ordinary days are all acquaintances, so we have been remiss in our hospitality toward Fellow Daoist."

Above the largest lake of spiritual Qi, a vast expanse of fiery mist hung suspended.

"Here?"

Sensing the divine sense falling upon him, Shen Lian unceremoniously used his own divine sense to observe the occupants within the pavilion.

"Senior, do you have a token of proof?"

As Shen Lian stepped into the pavilion, the little bells inside the room rang out in an endless chime.

Outside Fire Valley Market, Shen Lian's figure flashed into view.

Sensing the surging fiery aura in the valley, Shen Lian recognized the array guarding the place.

The tight defenses of this small market before him evoked a sense of profound familiarity.

Some cultivators poured dou-sized mineral grains into a giant cauldron, smelted them directly into liquid using earth fire, and poured them into irregular molds.

"That will also require the wholehearted support of my fellow daoists in bringing forth the fine ores and monster bones in your possession."

Inside the cave dwelling, heat billowed.

Not long after he reassembled the ant nest, he waited for the appearance of the crimson crystal fire ants.

If he couldn't figure out the situation with the crimson crystal fire ants, wouldn't his black-horned ants end up getting beaten every single day?

"A rudimentary embryo of a magical treasure! Congratulations to the True Person for further advancing your craft."

There were four people in total: three at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, and one whose aura was profound, wreathed in dense fiery energy with a flushed red face—undoubtedly True Person Huo Qian himself.

Guided by Gong Zhongze toward the interior of the market, Shen Lian listened as Gong Zhongze introduced the details of the place along the way.

"Fellow Daoist, please."

Shen Lian discovered that the arrays and restrictions deployed within the valley were exceedingly abstruse. He attempted to probe from four different directions and found that without triggering the restrictions, his divine sense utterly failed to perceive the scene within the fiery mist.

True Person Huo Qian's words were gentle, laden with a sense of amiable goodwill.

Besides, Shen Lian himself possessed a divine sense comparable to a Core Formation True Person; the pseudo-core True Person presiding over the market most likely could not match him.

"True Person, have you forged any new magical instruments recently? Pray bring them out to broaden our horizons."

The spiritual veins in the valley were intermittent, featuring a dozen or so bulges across the entire vein, resembling spiritual Qi lakes of varying sizes.

Another purpose of the early-warning restrictions deployed around the spiritual vein was to guard against cultivators approaching the area shrouded in fiery mist.

Just when that sweep of divine sense had passed earlier, Shen Lian had noticed that aside from the sensory-spying restrictions, no other combat arrays had been set up inside the pavilion.

"To disturb the True Person's quiet cultivation is this Lu's crime."

"Clink, clang..."

"Fellow Daoist, follow me. Several other fellow daoists have already arrived ahead of time."

True Person Huo Qian spoke with a vernal breeze in his tone, completely devoid of the overbearing majesty expected of a pseudo-core expert.

Naturally, those whose strength surpassed the pseudo-core stage were not invited either.

What the hell...

Ten thousand li to the northeast of Crimson Crystal Mineral City lay Fire Valley Market.

Before entering the pavilion, Shen Lian originally intended to use his divine sense to gauge True Person Huo Qian's strength, but he had not expected the restrictions inside this main pavilion to be so densely packed.

It was similar to how he applied divine sense talismans to himself to sense external divine sense.

Even though this array was augmented by the underground spiritual vein, under the continuous bombardment of several puppet talisman paper persons, blasting open a large breach was entirely feasible.

Within the valley, heat rose in waves, accompanied occasionally by the sounds of clinking metal.

"Proof?"

"Senior, it is like this. My True Person Huo Qian..."

Combining inside and outside, breaking through from the center.

Shall I leave then?

"Fellow Daoist, hold on."

The cultivators in the hall chimed in with flattering remarks. No matter what, a pseudo-core True Person still bore the word "Core"; since the man was amiable, they naturally had to indulge him.

Even so, while a spiritual vein remained stationary in place, its overall spiritual essence was fluid.

At least this area was devoid of those annoying restrictions.

After lingering in conversation, Shen Lian silently observed the surrounding cultivators, attempting to approach True Person Huo Qian with his divine sense.

When his divine sense remained a zhang away, True Person Huo Qian showed no reaction.

Throughout the grand hall, stone tables and chairs were arranged in two orderly rows, laden with spiritual fruits and tea.

At this moment, the spiritual vein beneath Fire Valley was pinned down, pierced from front to back by dozens of copper pillars covered in barbed wolf-teeth spikes.

A giant cauldron was erected over the earth fire, beneath which a specially crafted vent channeled the spiritual power from below into flames that continuously scorched the cauldron.

Before the metal liquid cooled, it was carried away into another stone chamber.

This True Person Huo Qian was truly a master of playing safe!

Everyone else laughed heartily as well. It could be said that the atmosphere of this exchange assembly was exceptionally pleasant.

Even without a third-rank array, it was considered normal; the mineral region lacked neither ores nor demonic beasts, but in order to control the wandering rogue cultivators gathered outside, the major sects restricted the influx of third-rank arrays.

This method looked clumsy, but its effectiveness was remarkable.

However, once his divine sense extended a thousand zhang outward, Shen Lian pulled it back. The restrictions were simply too dense; whether it was the surface cliff sides, the ground, or underground, countless restrictions had been laid down.

Every single barb flashed with restrictive spiritual light, piercing deep into the body of the spiritual vein to create a bonding state that hampered the flow of the vein.

"Immobilizing the fire spiritual vein, masking peeping auras, raising crimson crystal fire ants to gather mineral fragments—this is clearly a complete, streamlined operation."

After colliding within the giant cauldron, these re-smelted ores developed cracks and fractures on their surfaces, stained with a earthy patina.

...

To say the least, the mere deployment of these restrictions must have consumed an immense amount of time.

"Greetings, Senior."

Descending into the pavilion, Shen Lian bowed with cupped hands toward True Person Huo Qian, and then similarly saluted the other cultivators present.

Getting beaten was a minor issue; how else was he supposed to collect mineral grains?

Shen Lian smiled as he spoke. Having circled the market earlier, he had failed to discover where the crimson crystal fire ant nest was located.

Taking advantage of the others' conversations, Shen Lian silently sized up the nearby cultivators, attempting to approach True Person Huo Qian with his divine sense.

When his divine sense reached a distance of three chi, True Person Huo Qian finally reacted, though he merely cast a casual glance around without harboring excessive suspicion.

"If the True Person can forge rudimentary magical treasure embryos, then Cloud-shrouded Main Mineral City will certainly reserve a place for him."

"Then let us congratulate the True Person in advance on a successful forging."

Naturally, Shen Lian was not blindly rushing inward either; his spiritual puppet and puppet talisman paper persons stood guard just outside the market.

This gave Shen Lian a clearer gauge, confirming that True Person Huo Qian's sea of consciousness definitely had not spawned a divine sense infant.

His preliminary estimation of True Person Huo Qian's divine sense strength was somewhere between one and a half to two times that of True Person Qian Shi.

It appeared this old fellow had refined a demonic core of no ordinary quality.