Chapter 13 Xiao Ming's Daily Life of Intercepting Others

On the other side, at the foot of Heartless Peak, the marketplace remained bustling.

Xiao Ming restrained his aura to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, appearing completely unremarkable.

You Li, meanwhile, remained in a state of complete etherealization, following him like a shadow.

He wove through various herb shops, his gaze sharp, utilizing the hundred thousand years of Alchemy and herb identification experience he had just acquired to precisely select the Materials he needed.

"These aren't bad... the quality is passable, and the price is fair. I'll take them."

"And I need these for the next level of my Cultivation Technique... yes, I must prepare these as well."

"And the Materials needed to refine my Physical Body..."

His purchasing goals were clear; he mainly wanted to quickly consolidate his Early Stage Golden Core cultivation and lay a solid foundation for his subsequent Cultivation.

However, when he tallied up what he needed, his brows furrowed slightly.

The original owner's wealth was meager; although he had recently come into a "windfall," if he wanted to purchase an Alchemy cauldron capable of withstanding the refinement of high-grade Medicinal Pill and of decent quality later on, his Spirit Stone would still be stretched thin.

"Ahem! It seems I need to find some more 'extra income'."

Xiao Ming sneered inwardly, his gaze sweeping across the bustling crowd in the marketplace once more as the System scan operated silently.

Just as he was calculating who the next "lucky one" would be, the stunning, peerless face of Luo Li suddenly appeared in his mind, and he thought of how her cultivation had completely recovered, and that he was now proficient in this art of Alchemy.

"Revered Master is now at the Peak Nascent Soul Stage... only one step away from Soul Transformation."

Xiao Ming's eyes flickered.

"If I can refine a 'realm breaking pill' to help her achieve a Breakthrough to Soul Transformation, I wonder how that silly woman will thank me. It would also make things more secure for me in the Sect in the future..."

The realm breaking pill was a top-tier Earth Rank Medicinal Pill, extremely difficult to refine, and the Materials required were exceptionally precious.

Several of the main ingredients were priced shockingly high.

"The Spirit Stone is still not enough..." Xiao Ming rubbed his temples, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes, but it was replaced by a hunter-like excitement.

"Fine, let's see which other 'fated people' are in this marketplace who need this Seat to help them 'digest' their Opportunity."

He hesitated no longer, opening his System vision fully.

Like the most precise compass, it scanned the Luck light beams and information above the heads of every passing Cultivator.

Meanwhile, You Li, hidden in the shadows with her aura blended into the darkness, took in everything Xiao Ming did.

Within her usually cold and waveless ghost eyes, ripples of emotion surged uncontrollably, eventually turning into deep shock and disbelief.

'Revered Master... how does he do it... who exactly is he?'

You Li whispered in her heart.

She could not see the System panel, so naturally, she did not know what kind of Heaven-Defying object Xiao Ming possessed.

In her pair of beautiful purple eyes, Xiao Ming was merely sweeping across the stalls quite casually.

Yet, it was this casual behavior that always led to things that left a ghost stunned:

In a corner piled with broken Magical Artifacts that no one cared about, Xiao Ming casually picked up a rusted broken sword with almost depleted Spiritual Qi.

He decisively spent five Low-Grade Spirit Stones to buy it.

Xiao Ming wiped his fingertip across the sword's body and scraped off an unremarkable piece of grime.

Beneath the grime, a faint, ancient, and profound rune was revealed!

The broken sword trembled imperceptibly; although it was extremely weak, You Li keenly sensed that it was a wisp of treasure light sealed away by time!

At a stall selling Low Grade herbs, Xiao Ming ignored several herbs brimming with Spiritual Qi and instead bought an herb with withered, split leaves that looked like it was on the verge of death.

The stall owner thought he had cleared out stagnant stock and happily accepted ten Spirit Stones, never expecting that Xiao Ming would turn around and sell it for a net profit of over a thousand Spirit Stones.

What made You Li's pupils shrink the most was when Xiao Ming stopped in front of a "scam" stall that specialized in fakes and passing off inferior goods as superior.

The stall owner spoke eloquently, boasting about a red Ore "containing a Dragon Soul" that radiated intense Spiritual Qi.

Several shills nearby bid on it, creating a lively atmosphere.

Xiao Ming, however, sneered and pointed his finger at a black stone in the corner of the stall, covered in mud, with no Spiritual Qi fluctuations, which was being used to prop up the table.

"How much for this?"

The stall owner was stunned and said casually: "One Low-Grade Spirit Stone."

Xiao Ming threw down the Spirit Stone, picked up the black stone, and released a burst of Sword Qi from his fingertip.

The stone skin peeled away, and a breathtaking dark golden radiance instantly spilled out.

Although it flashed and vanished, quickly covered up by Xiao Ming, this incomparably pure Innate metal essence Qi made You Li's Soul tremble!

It was a top-tier material for refining high-grade swords!

Its value was enough to make Nascent Soul Cultivators fight to the death!

The stall owner and the people around were dumbfounded, and before they could react, Xiao Ming had already drifted away with the stone.

These scenes played out before her eyes repeatedly.

She had once been a daughter of the Yinji Ghost Way and had extraordinary knowledge.

She knew well how difficult it was to identify treasures in the cultivation world; even experienced Cultivators often made mistakes.

Yet her Revered Master seemed to possess a pair of divine eyes that could see through the Origin of all things!

Any disguise or appearance was nothing but a facade before him!

At this moment, she felt that having such an unfathomable Revered Master was perhaps... the greatest Opportunity of her long ghost life!

A trace of emotion—mixed with awe, submission, and relief—that she herself had not even noticed, quietly sprouted and spread in her cold lake of a heart.

Her beautiful ghost body seemed to heat up slightly due to this fluctuation of emotions.

She no longer pondered how her Revered Master could do this; she simply became more devout, tethering all her heart and mind to Xiao Ming.

In her ghost eyes, the original calm observation gradually became tinged with an indescribable focus and... a hint of extremely subtle fanaticism.

Being able to follow such an existence was her fortune.

Perhaps, one day, climbing to the supreme Peak of the ghost Dao would no longer be a distant dream.

Xiao Ming did not know that his little female ghost was already thinking about reaching the Peak of the ghost Dao.

With a thought, his gaze turned back to the crowd; a hunter is never satisfied with the harvest at hand.

[Ding! Successfully snatched the recent Opportunity of the orange Luck target, Han Fei...]

[Ding! Successfully snatched the recent Opportunity of the red Luck target...]

[Ding! ...]

The System's notification sound rang a few more times in succession.

Xiao Ming followed the same pattern, relying on the System's guidance to wander around the marketplace, precisely and quietly tucking away several small Opportunities that originally belonged to others.

You Li followed silently, watching all of this.

The shock in her heart had already subsided, transforming into a state of near-blind conviction.

Her Revered Master's ability was unfathomable, and there was no longer any need to prove it with anything else.

It was unknown how much time had passed when Xiao Ming found a reputable chamber of commerce and directly sold off some of the Materials he didn't need, keeping only a small portion that was useful to himself and You Li.

With heavy Spirit Stones in hand, his funds were now more than sufficient.

He headed straight for the largest Magic Treasure pavilion in the marketplace with a clear objective, spending a large sum to purchase a high-quality black Alchemy cauldron with flowing dark patterns.

This cauldron was sufficient to withstand the refinement of fifth-grade Medicinal Pill and would be enough for the short term.

Subsequently, he purchased all the medicinal herbs needed for refining Medicinal Pill as well as various Materials needed for his own Cultivate.

During this time, he also discovered a dark-ink-colored jade pendant at a second-hand stall.

"A soul-containing jade... not bad."

Xiao Ming fiddled with the warm, smooth jade pendant in his hand, feeling the nourishing power it had for the Soul body.

He nodded with satisfaction and then hung it around his neck.

"You Li, there are many strong experts in the Sect. If you are discovered by others, it might cause trouble. For now, just stay inside the jade pendant during the day!"

"Understood, Revered Master!"

You Li's ethereal voice carried a hint of joy.

A ghostly light flashed, and she instantly merged into the jade pendant and disappeared.

With everything ready, Xiao Ming did not linger.

His figure flashed, turning into a streak of light as he sped towards the direction of the Sect.