Thunder Valley is a well-known location in Qingzhou.
This place is covered with Thunder Branches, and during certain seasons, this celestial herb, which contains the power of thunder, will release thunder due to external environmental influences.
A few instances of thunder power are nothing to worry about; Qi Refining cultivators can easily handle them. However, if hundreds of branches release their power simultaneously, the impact can rival that of lightning from the sky.
This celestial herb also has some practical value, which is why there are scattered makeshift markets around the edge of Thunder Valley.
“The letter from Seventh Elder mentioned that the last place she saw Su Ling was right here in this market,” Tang Xin said to the person next to her at the entrance of the market.
They had hurried along the way without wasting any time and finally arrived in the Thunder Valley area.
The Earth Dragon carriage was left outside the market, and the Saintess had changed out of her golden robe, sending several attendants to gather information.
The safety of Su Ling was no trivial matter.
That said, Tang Xin didn’t really believe Su Ling would encounter any real danger; after all, that guy was the protagonist.
When the protagonist faces peril, what happens next is probably well-known to everyone…
“Then let’s go gather some information too,” Xu Lexian said eagerly. “By the way, what does Su Ling look like?”
“Flat-chested, hot-tempered, with a ponytail, carrying a spirit sword at her waist, flat-chested…”
Tang Xin listed off the details.
“Got it, very vivid. I can already picture it in my mind.”
The three of them dispersed, each using their own methods to investigate in the market.
After a while.
“Right now is the season for Thunder Branches to mature, so the flow of people coming in and out is much larger than usual,” Shui Qiu said, shaking her head, indicating she hadn’t found any useful clues.
“This makeshift market has no management, so it’s hard to get any useful information,” Tang Xin shrugged.
“I did hear a piece of news,” Xu Lexian spoke up. “A few days ago, someone saw a flat-chested girl with a sword, following a group of cultivators who also carried spirit swords, leaving the market and heading into Thunder Valley.”
“How did you find that out?”
The people here were mostly loose cultivators, and they were tight-lipped, making it difficult to extract useful information.
“I offered a reward; I didn’t even have to lift a finger, and soon someone was eager to bring the information to me.”
Xu Lexian glanced at them.
“Didn’t your sect teach you? If you can solve a problem with money, then do so as much as possible.”
Only Sacred Immortal Mountain would educate like that…
I wonder how much the Saintess spent, but this information is quite crucial.
Passersby deduced from the lingering aura of that group of sword cultivators that they must have gone to Thunder River in Thunder Valley, where the highest quality Thunder Branches grow. However, it is also extremely dangerous; if one is not careful, they could be severely injured by the thunder power.
【Main quest has been triggered】
【Head to Thunder River to investigate the traces related to Su Ling’s disappearance.】
【Quest reward: Meow Meow Fist · Lightning Special Edition.】
“Those guys have been to Thunder River, and Su Ling might have followed them later,” Tang Xin said. “Let’s rest for a day and set off tomorrow to take a look.”
After all, Thunder Valley is a dangerous area. Although the group didn’t take much time to travel, it’s best to enter in peak condition.
Moreover, with these two beside her, she hadn’t really rested in the car…
The Saintess probably doesn’t come out often, and she seemed quite curious about this informal market, so she started browsing.
“Most of it is junk,” Xu Lexian commented. “The rest is waste; I haven’t seen anything interesting.”
Tang Xin knew her standards were high, so she didn’t bother to respond.
“Aw—”
The little fox’s head poked out from Tang Xin’s collar.
When she left, she had brought the little creature along. With the enhanced master-servant contract, as long as it didn’t randomly absorb people’s essence, there was no fear of exposing its identity as a magical pet.
This little one was becoming more and more sensible; when its master was being attacked from both sides in the car, it found a corner to sleep soundly. When they got out of the car, it snuggled into its master’s arms, hardly needing to walk at all.
“Little Fox!”
Shui Qiu opened her arms, letting the little fox jump into her embrace, stroking its head and smiling.
“Did you wake up? Are you hungry? Do you want me to find something for you to eat?”
She held the snow-white fox and took a deep sniff.
“Mm, it smells just like my senior sister…”
The little fox wagged its tail, not resisting Shui Qiu’s petting, then called out twice, indicating a certain direction.
“Are you saying there’s a strange aura over there?”
Tang Xin glanced over and noticed it was pointing to an area enclosed by a wall, with only one entrance.
“The sensitivity of spirit beasts to auras is usually sharper than that of human cultivators,” Shui Qiu said. “Shall we go take a look?”
Entering the enclosed area, the cultivators here were noticeably different from those outside.
Whether guests or stall owners, everyone had a grim expression, weapons at hand, looking ready to fight at any moment, making them seem quite formidable…
The items for sale at the stalls were also varied.
“Spirit bones, poisons, and soul-binding beads,” the Saintess said, intrigued by what she saw. “Now this fits the style of an illegal market.”
Spirit bones refer to the remains left behind by beings that reached the Golden Core stage or above in life; they are a high-quality material.
Generally, the bones circulating in the market are from spirit beasts, and the quality of spirit bones is directly related to the species and bloodline of the spirit beast.
However, there is a type of being that, upon reaching a certain level, naturally has spirit bones of a higher quality than ordinary spirit beasts.
“How much for this Nascent Soul cultivator’s skull?” the Saintess asked, looking down from in front of the stall. “I’ll buy it and turn it into a hidden weapon to play with.”
As for the Soul Binding Pearl mentioned by the Saintess, it is a semi-demonic item that contains a portion of soul energy.
“Woo woo!”
The little fox sniffed around, guiding Tang Xin and the others to a stall piled with stones and ironware, wagging its tail to signal them.
Tang Xin carefully scanned the area.
“Let me take a look,” the Saintess tossed a skull back and forth, joining in the excitement. “It looks like an ancient artifact, but I don’t seem to find anything useful…”
Even the Saintess couldn’t sense anything?
Tang Xin frowned slightly.
When she did her first scan, she had already noticed the strange item the little fox was pointing at.
It was a stone key, seemingly aged for a very long time, with a surface that was pitted and uneven, just like the other stone items displayed nearby, as if it had long lost its function.
But when Tang Xin focused her gaze on it, a flash of light suddenly flickered in her mind.
“Fragment of the Demon Desire Heart Sutra”!
It was the mysterious technique she had obtained earlier in the Demon Cultivator’s cave in the Hundred Poisons Mountain Range!
The fragment seemed to be reminding her that this key had some kind of mysterious connection to herself!
