Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 1285: Chapter 689: Marketplace

Li Yuanba handed over the ’Resting Soil’ to Li Shiming, then parted ways with him.

He had to complete the mission of slaying, and for a long time to come, he would spend his days in constant battle.

As for the ’Ten Thousand Sword Peak’, it would stay with Li Shiming for now, allowing him to enhance its quality.

With Li Yuanba’s current combat power, the ’Ten Thousand Sword Peak’ wasn’t much of a help to him anymore.

He took out a Fourth-Grade Lower Stage Flying Boat, sat cross-legged inside the cabin, feeling the changes in the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ while on his way.

After devouring the Purple Flame Earth Fire, the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ had advanced significantly, and he regretted it a bit as the ’Purple Flame Earth Fire’ should have been left for Li Shiming to absorb.

Since Li Yuanba rarely engaged in alchemy or artifact refining, and even if he did, he wasn’t as skilled as Li Shiming.

In alchemy, Li Yuanba couldn’t achieve the 100% success rate of the ’Hundred One-point Pill Technique’. Truly precious Spirit Pills were better refined by Li Shiming, ensuring both yield and quality.

In artifact refining, Li Shiming had a unique mastery of 1-nanometer control in the chamber space, granting him unparalleled refining techniques.

If Li Shiming’s ’Red Sun Spirit Fire’ had absorbed the ’Purple Flame Earth Fire’, then both his alchemy and artifact refining time could be reduced.

However, since it had already been devoured, the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ had already been upgraded, and even if Li Yuanba wanted to spit it out, he couldn’t.

The improvement of the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ shortened the time for refining Great Cultivator Spirit Pills, and controlling the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ became more adept.

Anyway, it was all in the family pot, so he didn’t have to worry too much.

Feeling the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’, he sensed an imbalance within him and frowned slightly, speculating in his mind.

Without hesitation, he transformed from a human state to a corpse refining state. Once in corp refining state, he discovered the ’Xuanyin Ghost Fire’ inside the golden corpse was absorbing energy from the void, rapidly improving its quality.

Sure enough, the Yin Yang balance of the Taiji Dao Body allowed for automatic balancing when transitioning between human and corpse refining states if there was any imbalance related to Yin Yang energy.

Since Li Yuanba hadn’t cultivated any fire-based cultivation methods, the energy of his ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ couldn’t be quickly replenished once used, requiring him to switch to the corpse refining state to indirectly restore the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ energy through absorbing Yin Cold Energy with the ’Xuanyin Ghost Fire’.

Feeling the balance within his body, he restored to his human state again.

In human state, the energy of the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ was somewhat depleted, but it wasn’t a problem. When he had time, by switching to the corpse refining state, replenishing the ’Xuanyin Ghost Fire’s energy would automatically restore the ’Six Yang Spirit Fire’ energy.

While on his journey, short-term state conversions were fine and wouldn’t attract attention, but if he traveled long-term in corpse refining state, it would likely be mistaken by Righteous Path cultivators as a Devil Cultivator, which was undesirable.

Even normal Devil Cultivators would conceal their aura instead of openly exposing it like this.

Li Yuanba arrived at the first suspected hiding place of Huang Ming provided by the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion Intelligence Department, which was a market place.

When he saw the market’s insignia, he knew its background wasn’t simple as it was backed by the Central State Commerce.

Such markets, marked openly with the Central State Commerce insignia, are either operated by Central State Commerce itself or run by affiliates.

Such affiliates are usually Central State Commerce’s core members using its channels to amass wealth outside. Central State Commerce, being a commercial force, doesn’t oppose its members conducting business activities.

But only core members can do business in the name of Central State Commerce and display its insignia.

"Huang Ming sure has many friends to be able to hide here. Without ties to the market’s background, who would believe this?" thought Li Yuanba.

Huang Ming was a Cultivator from the White Emperor Sect, and the conflict between the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion and the White Emperor Sect was well known to the forces across the Central State Continent.

Even though it was uncertain whether Huang Ming was hiding here, since the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion Intelligence Department provided this intel, it indicated at least a past concealment by Huang Ming in this area.

Upon thinking this, Li Yuanba scanned himself with his Divine Sense and changed into an unmarked robe, erasing his distinct Sword Cultivator aura and replacing it with that of an ordinary cultivator.

He entered the market, immediately spotting several Nascent Soul Cultivators upon stepping inside due to the high standards of the market.

The slaying mission had outlined Huang Ming’s aura and appearance, so as Li Yuanba walked and sensed, he felt confident that if Huang Ming was in the market, he’d have left some trace of aura.

Leveraging the IBMz15’s analytical capability, Li Yuanba could determine if even the slightest hint of aura belonged to Huang Ming.

As he observed the market, Huang Ming was also observing Li Yuanba discreetly through the windows on the fourth floor of a shop.

The shop had a protective formation isolating Huang Ming’s aura, and since Huang Ming purposely watched Li Yuanba through the corner of his eye without emanating any killing intent, Li Yuanba didn’t notice him.

Just before, Huang Ming had received a notification from the White Emperor Sect that Li Yuanba had been listed as a key capture target.

The reward for this mission was extremely lucrative, tempting even any Nascent Soul Middle Stage Practitioner.

Huang Ming identified Li Yuanba not by his aura but by his appearance.