Chapter 371

Chapter 371: Pursuing Evil (Part 1)

Wang Chen stayed in Wailing City for seven days.

During these seven days, he gained a deeper understanding of this grand immortal city.

Wailing City was undoubtedly the most magnificent city Wang Chen had ever seen.

The buildings here were ancient and majestic, the streets wide and bustling, and cultivators were as numerous as clouds, with the Purple Palace found everywhere.

It felt like the capital of a vast empire—noble, prosperous, wealthy, and peaceful.

However, the prices in the city were also very high. Wang Chen learned that even the most ordinary white corn cost two to three times as much as in Yunyang City, and a single room in a typical inn cost over ten spirit stones for one night.

As for cultivating caves, even a basic Purple Palace one cost hundreds of spirit stones per day!

After several days of staying there, Wang Chen felt a sense of urgency.

Although he didn’t know how expenses were in the inner sect of the West Sea Sect, compared to the standards of Wailing City, even a million spirit stones wouldn’t last long if he squandered them. He would have to find ways to increase his income and save expenses.

Not to mention, just to complete his entry assessment task, he had already paid a deposit of fifty thousand spirit stones at Dongming Residence!

On the morning of the eighth day after arriving in Wailing City, Wang Chen received a message via a flying sword.

He immediately rushed to Dongming Residence.

Dongming Residence was tucked away in a quiet alley in the eastern part of Wailing City, making its location quite hidden.

When he knocked on the door and showed his token to the guard, he was quickly led to a side room.

A middle-aged cultivator handed him a scroll. "All the information you wanted is here."

Wang Chen opened it and scanned its contents with his divine sense, which instantly filled his Sea of Consciousness.

When he left Dongming Residence, his storage bag was fifty thousand spirit stones lighter.

One hundred thousand spirit stones bought him just a few hundred words of information.

However, without this intel, Wang Chen would be like a headless fly, relying on the scant information he had to pursue his target, and whether he would stumble upon his target would depend entirely on luck.

Now, with the target locked in on a much smaller range, he felt relieved.

Time was of the essence, and to avoid any delays, Wang Chen immediately exited Wailing City.

He summoned the Wind and Thunder Sword, controlling the flying sword as it sped toward his destination.

While the Wind and Thunder Sword wasn’t specifically designed for flight, it was much faster than the flying artifacts Wang Chen possessed.

The downside was that it consumed his dantian’s power at a much higher rate.

But after spending a full one hundred thousand spirit stones, Wang Chen couldn’t hold back on additional expenses at this critical moment.

Whenever his dantian’s power ran low, Wang Chen extracted spiritual energy from the Heavenly Net for Exorcising Evil to replenish it.

The spiritual energy stored in the Exorcising Net was pure and free of impurities, making the conversion of power highly efficient.

It was more than enough to keep him going.

He didn’t hesitate to consume energy; the flying sword sped through the air quickly, guided by the artifact map provided by Dongming Residence.

Thus, by the next midday, he was nearing his destination.

Wang Chen landed on a flat expanse of land.

Wang Chen sheathed his flying sword and once again unrolled the scroll he had received from Dongming Residence.

It indicated that he was still about twenty to thirty miles away from Shangyang Village.

The intelligence provided by Dongming Residence suggested that the evil cultivator Zhou Shenzhi was likely hiding in this village.

Wang Chen wasn’t foolish enough to barge directly into the village to search for his target; doing so would risk alerting Zhou Shenzhi. If Zhou Shenzhi escaped, the one hundred thousand spirit stones Wang Chen had paid would be wasted.

A cultivator who could be targeted by the West Sea Sect was no ordinary foe!

Wang Chen extended his divine sense and scanned the surroundings, confirming that no one else was nearby.

He then retrieved the Thousand Transformations from his storage bag and placed it over his face, donning a rough cloth outfit and shouldering the traveling merchant’s load he had purchased in Wailing City.

Now, he appeared as an ordinary traveling merchant, his face weathered and unremarkable.

Wang Chen’s disguise was modeled after the traveling merchants he had observed in Wailing City, and he also activated the Spirit Concealment Technique, suppressing his cultivation level to the Qi Training seventh level.

After ensuring there were no obvious flaws in his disguise, he made his way toward Shangyang Village.

Carrying his load, he moved swiftly and soon arrived at his destination.

Shangyang Village was nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with dense forests stretching across the hills—a perfect hiding spot.

As he approached the spirit fields and farmhouses in the distance, Wang Chen slowed his pace and began to shake his bronze skin drum.

Boom boom boom!

In a hoarse voice, he called out, “Herbs for rice candy! Elixirs and talismans available!”

These calls were learned from the traveling merchants, along with the prices for item exchanges.

He had paid spirit stones to master this skill, so he delivered the lines convincingly.

The sound of the drum quickly drew a group of children from the village, while the farmers working in the fields cast friendly glances at Wang Chen and inquired about the rice prices in the city.

The villagers in the countryside were generally welcoming toward traveling merchants, as they brought much-needed convenience to their lives.

Especially in remote villages, where traveling to the city was difficult and required paying an entry fee, trading with traveling merchants was far simpler and more accessible.

Just past the village entrance, a string of “tails” began to follow Wang Chen.

Some children hurried home to fetch the herbs they had collected, eager to exchange them for rice candy and toys.

Wang Chen did not venture into the village itself but instead set up his stall near the entrance.

It was a common rule for traveling merchants to avoid entering villages, as some bandits disguised themselves as merchants to scout the area.

Wang Chen chose a spot beneath a towering tree to set up his stall.

Many village entrances had such large trees, where elders and children gathered to enjoy the shade, chat, and play.

For the villagers, who toiled from dawn to dusk, the arrival of a traveling merchant brought a welcome break from their monotonous routines.

Soon, a crowd gathered around Wang Chen’s small stall.

He laid out the rice candy, pastries, toys, powders, talismans, and other items he had prepared, arranging them into an enticing display.

The rice candy he had purchased in Wailing City was of excellent quality. Once unwrapped, the sweet aroma of osmanthus honey filled the air, making the children’s mouths water as they craned their necks for a closer look.

Wang Chen smiled and used a spatula to cut a piece of rice candy into finger-sized morsels.

He handed them out to the children, saying, “Come and give it a try.”

His generosity immediately won the children’s favor, and after tasting the delicious rice candy, they were reluctant to leave.

In no time, Wang Chen’s stall was surrounded by layers of eager onlookers.

Villagers who had heard the commotion brought dried herbs they had gathered to exchange for daily necessities like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

To Wang Chen’s surprise, his business was thriving.

Some wealthier villagers even exchanged for powders and talismans.

The Exorcism Talismans were particularly popular, with twenty to thirty pieces traded away in an instant!

As Wang Chen interacted with the villagers, he discreetly activated the Cave Truth Technique to observe his surroundings.