Chapter 155: Liu Ming

Zhang Shou-zheng's room was Heaven-Grade Number Six, while Liu Ming's was Heaven-Grade Number Seven, separated by only a single wall.

The interior of the room was decorated quite freshly without excessive ornamentation, looking exceptionally clean. Pushing open the window and looking outside, one could see a patch of verdant greenery, with towering peaks visible not far away.

Just as Zhang Shou-zheng was about to withdraw his gaze to thank the young girl standing behind him, he suddenly noticed wisps of cooking smoke rising from a faraway place. He was slightly startled and said, "Are there still people who leave the Three Realms Market to make fire in the outer exile lands?"

"Generally, those who enter the exile lands are practitioners of the Taoist sects fleeing from their enemies. These people are unwilling to leave this space; if they were to return to the real world, they would be hunted down by their foes. Besides the Three Realms Market, there are also some indigenous people in this place, and even some shops in the city are run by these locals. Making fire outside doesn't require worrying about causing a fire hazard, because there are demons in the mountain forests, and these demons absolutely will not allow their homeland to be destroyed," little Jasmine explained from behind him.

Zhang Shou-zheng was suddenly enlightened, while also feeling somewhat astonished in his heart. He asked again, "How large is this space? The spiritual energy here is indeed much more abundant than the outside world, and there are even demons in existence."

He knew very well that any birds and beasts that had awakened their spiritual intelligence could be called demons. Demons had their own cultivation methods, which were largely similar to those of humans—both required absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth to increase their cultivation years. Since demons could exist in this world, there must surely be some powerful demonic entities, such as the humanoid-transformed demon like Tianbao.

Little Jasmine smiled slightly, seemingly not finding it tedious at all, and sighed softly. "It is vast. I don't know the exact size either; I only know that quite a few realms lead to this place. I wouldn't dare to go out, because every single entity inside the exile lands is a ruthless murderer who kills without blinking. There are also some demons that have awakened their spiritual intelligence but have not shed their beastly forms, and they are extremely cruel."

"Alright, thank you. Here is a thunder talisman, take it."

Zhang Shou-zheng pulled out a parchment scroll and handed it to little Jasmine. She took it with great excitement, gently opened it to glance at the Five Thunder Talisman drawn with silver sand ink, and immediately let out a joyful cry of surprise: "Thank you! This thunder talisman was already very precious to begin with, and it's even drawn with silver sand ink."

He untied his black robe and mask, looked at the overjoyed little Jasmine, and continued to ask, "Do you know which apothecary in the Three Realms Market has a more complete stock of goods? I want to trade for herbs like sun poria, and I'm not sure if they have any."

Little Jasmine looked Zhang Shou-zheng up and down and said, "The Medicine King Pavilion is considered the largest apothecary in the Three Realms Market. If they don't have it here, then other smaller medicine shops likely won't either—though you never know. Sun poria is not considered rare within the Three Realms Market; it's just a seasonal herb, so the large pharmacies should have stock. Even if they don't, during the night market, quite a few people set up stalls, and you should be able to find some. The pharmacies will definitely inflate the price of sun poria right now, so remember to haggle. You can slash the price by at least half."

"Alright, thank you."

Zhang Shou-zheng nodded.

After happily and carefully stowing away the thunder talisman, little Jasmine left the place in high spirits.

Before long, a knock was heard outside the door. Opening it, he saw that it was none other than Liu Ming. Liu Ming smiled slightly and said, "Shou-zheng, are you interested in going to the exile lands?"

"The exile lands? Xiao Ming, what are you going there for?"

Zhang Shou-zheng was slightly stunned.

"I won't keep it from you, Shou-zheng, especially since you saved my life. Inside this Three Realms Market, there is an elder from our Wind-Fire Sect who also sent us a message saying that spiritual fruits have ripened in the Cold Snow Valley of the exile lands. That's why I seized this opportunity to enter the Three Realms Market. I only just broke through to the early stage of the Breath-Consuming realm, and my foundation is not yet very stable. That senior of my sect said that as long as I consume this spiritual fruit, I can increase my magical power. However, the Cold Snow Valley carries a certain degree of minor danger, which is why I came to look for you, Shou-zheng. But rest assured, Shou-zheng, my sect's elder was afraid I would run into trouble, so he bestowed upon me the sect's supreme treasure, the Wind-Fire Fan. The Wind-Fire Fan restrains ice and snow, so I imagine the problems won't be too severe. As long as you come with me, Shou-zheng, I promise we will split the spiritual fruit fifty-fifty. How about it?"

Liu Ming walked inside, lowering his voice for fear that walls have ears and someone might overhear.

Zhang Shou-zheng was slightly startled, suddenly recalling the nameless fruit that Kong Kong had once given him to eat long ago. That fruit must have been a spiritual fruit as well; although it was difficult to find such spiritual fruit in the outside world, it had allowed him to greatly enhance his magical power. In this space, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was obviously much stronger than that of the outside world, and the spiritual fruit condensed here might be of even greater help to him. Or rather, eating a spiritual fruit might very well allow him to advance from the early stage of the Daily-Walk realm to the middle stage, or even the late stage. Therefore, his heart was tempted.

However, no sooner had he been teleported in than he was attacked by that couple. If he went to the exile lands, or even ventured deep into them, he would certainly encounter even more people. If he met individuals whose strength surpassed his own, the gains might not outweigh the losses.

"Xiao Ming, your position in the Wind-Fire Sect must be quite extraordinary. Since this magical artifact is your sect's supreme treasure, how could they easily hand it to you?"

Zhang Shou-zheng asked with a peculiar expression.

Liu Ming gave an awkward smile and said, "The current Sect Master is my father. Our Wind-Fire Sect has been declining day by day, and there aren't many things left that can be brought out. Furthermore, there are only a handful of people left within the sect. Otherwise, my father wouldn't have been at ease letting me come here alone."

"When do you plan to set off? We don't have much time left, after all, because in three days, the Three Realms Market will close."

Zhang Shou-zheng stroked his chin and spoke. If the Three Realms Market closed and he wanted to leave, he would have to wait for quite some time again.

Liu Ming thought for a moment and said, "I plan to head to the Cold Snow Valley tonight. An elder of my sect runs a spirit-beast shop in the Three Realms Market; he will lend us a forest deer. If we also use divine mobility talismans, we should be able to reach the Cold Snow Valley in a few hours."

Zhang Shou-zheng nodded. "It's just that I also have a companion. If you don't mind, could she come along?"

Liu Ming looked at Zhang Shou-zheng with a wry smile and nodded, hoping only that Zhang Shou-zheng's companion was not weak in strength. After all, having one more person meant having one more fraction of strength.

After chatting idly for a few more moments, the two of them respectively donned their black robes and masks and went out. He was not worried that Jiu'er and Gansheng wouldn't be able to find him, because Gansheng wielded great influence here; furthermore, Jiu'er only needed to stimulate her zombie power to perceive his presence.

After stepping out of the inn, he headed straight for the Medicine King Pavilion. The Medicine King Pavilion was located on the bustling main street and was very easy to find; he located it almost immediately.

Moreover, when he stepped inside, there were already quite a few people in the apothecary. At this moment, a young fellow walked over and asked, "What kind of medicinal herbs do you need to exchange for? If you have talismans, that is naturally best of all. If not, you can also use beast bones from the exile lands to trade."

"Do you have sun poria here?"

Zhang Shou-zheng asked in a deep voice.

"Sun poria? Ah, yes, we do. However, the harvesting season for sun poria has already passed, so these herbs are preserved stock, making the price somewhat more expensive than usual. You should know that transactions in the Three Realms Market are conducted using talismans, and a single stalk of sun poria requires one hundred yellow talismans, or five parchment talismans."

The young man explained very patiently, looking at Zhang Shou-zheng with a smile.