211: Nine Heavens Demon-Attracting Array

Lin Feng paused at an open-air stall and picked up a pinch of gravel with a faint silver glow to examine it.

This was the mystic silver sand he had been searching for for many days, but the quality was mediocre, far from enough to refine a Flying Sword.

The stall owner was a man with a shrewd face. Seeing that Lin Feng was not satisfied with the mystic silver sand, he leaned in closer and lowered his voice:

"Fellow Daoist, are you looking for true High Grade goods? To be honest, the stuff currently on the market doesn't even catch the eye of a true expert."

He paused, "I have a distant cousin who was running goods with a major Family caravan a while ago. He managed to pry some information out of a manager from the Blood Fiend Sect. Deep in the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss, where underground fiend-Qi and the power of extraterrestrial meteorites intersect, a top-tier mystic silver sand is indeed being nurtured. That is the real treasure for Artifact Refining."

Lin Feng's gaze tightened as he looked at the stall owner: "The Blood Fiend Sect? Would their people reveal such information?"

"Hehe, who knows?" The man chuckled, "Maybe that manager was bragging, or maybe they intentionally let the news slip?

Anyway, I heard that many Families and Sects with connections have been secretly collecting route maps and anti-miasma Medicinal Pills to enter the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss, and the prices have multiplied several times over!

They all say that although it is dangerous inside, the Opportunity is even greater. Besides the mystic silver sand, there are also rumors of something called 'yin marrow jade'... However,"

He paused and shook his head, "Small fry like us can only listen. I heard that place is extremely chaotic now. The Blood Fiend Sect and Heavenly Demon Palace forces are frequently appearing there, with constant killing. It's not something a Loose Cultivator can get involved in."

Lin Feng did not reply. He put down the mediocre quality mystic silver sand and stood up, merging into the bustling crowd of the market.

He lingered in Flowing Cloud City for a few more days.

That afternoon, he sat by the window on the second floor of a teahouse facing the street, taking in the activity of the market below.

At the street corner, a few Xuandan Pavilion Disciples walked by in a hurry, their faces solemn, whispering words like "miasma poison" and "shortage of antidote pills."

Not far away, a team of travel-worn Cultivators landed on uniform flying shuttles. The hem of the leader's robe was embroidered with a pattern of crossed hammers and chisels, which was the mark of the Tian Gong Workshop. As soon as they got off the flying shuttles, they walked straight to the largest Artifact Refining Materials firm in the city, clearly on urgent business.

Even more eye-catching was that the several shops in the city specializing in protective Talismans and Formation Plates had been exceptionally busy these past few days. Many Cultivators were scrambling to buy High Grade Talismans, and the prices had quietly risen by more than 30%.

These fragmented signs, like scattered puzzle pieces, gradually pieced together a silhouette in Lin Feng's mind.

The Xuandan Pavilion was purchasing large quantities of antidote herbs, the elite of the Tian Gong Workshop were all dispatched, and the Loose Cultivators were strengthening their own defenses... All of this pointed vaguely to that restricted area in the west.

An unusual change must have occurred there, causing various forces to stir.

Lin Feng unconsciously rubbed the star tears he had obtained from Xu Miaoyin with his fingertips. To refine a metal-attribute natal Flying Sword, the star tears were the core, and top-tier mystic silver sand was the indispensable sword bone, which could greatly enhance the sharpness of the Flying Sword.

The ordinary mystic silver sand in the market was simply not good enough.

And deep in the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss, that top-tier mystic silver sand was almost the only known material that met the strict requirements of the Heart Refining Method.

To go, or not to go?

The Ten Thousand Demon Abyss had now become the center of a vortex, with the Blood Fiend Sect and Heavenly Demon Palace entrenched within, and forces like the Tian Gong Workshop and Xuandan Pavilion intervening. It was dangerously unpredictable.

However, refining a natal Flying Sword concerned the Foundation of his Dao path and could not be compromised.

The path of cultivation was originally like sailing against the current, fighting for life against the heavens.

If he retreated because of difficulty, his sword heart would be dusted. How could he climb to higher peaks in the future?

He had confidence in his concealment techniques, his premonition of danger, and his newly refined dou su sword and xingxiu sword.

As long as his strategy was sound and he did not covet success or advance recklessly, there might be an Opportunity to gain something in the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss.

"The way of the sword Formation requires one to advance without retreating." A flash of determination crossed Lin Feng's eyes.

He must get his hands on the mystic silver sand.

Even if this Ten Thousand Demon Abyss was a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, he had to charge in!

At dawn the next day, Lin Feng quietly left Flowing Cloud City.

He used the Form Transformation Art to turn into an ordinary-looking gray-clad Loose Cultivator, driving an inconspicuous Escaping Light, and resolutely headed toward the world covered in black clouds to the west.

Deep in the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss, the terrain was complex and intricate. One of the huge branch canyons was Lie Feng Gorge.

At the entrance, a dark red light curtain Formation sealed the canyon tightly, with runes flowing on the light curtain.

In front of the light curtain, two teams of people stood guard, clearly demarcated.

The group on the left was dressed in uniform dark blood robes; they were the Blood Fiend Sect Disciples Lin Feng had dealt with before. Those on the right, dressed in profound black attire, were the people from the Heavenly Demon Palace.

Together, there were about fifteen or sixteen people, and their cultivation levels were basically at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, with only the leaders on both sides being Early Core Formation Cultivators.

Lin Feng felt a chill in his heart. The fact that the Blood Fiend Sect and Heavenly Demon Palace people appeared here together and were even joining forces to set up defenses meant this matter was definitely not simple.

Just then, a gust of cold wind howled by, kicking up sand and stones on the ground, which hit the light curtain with a dense pattering sound.

The Blood Fiend Sect leader surnamed Wang, who was at the Early Core Formation Stage, seemed to be irritated by the sound of the wind. Finally unable to hold back, he turned his head to the Heavenly Demon Palace Cultivator surnamed Zhao, who was also at the Early Core Formation Stage, and lowered his voice, but could not hide the long-accumulated irritability:

"Brother Zhao, how long do we have to guard this ghostly errand?"

The Cultivator surnamed Zhao glanced at him without immediately replying, his gaze still vigilantly scanning the dim canyon outside the light curtain.

Seeing that he did not speak, the Cultivator surnamed Wang's tone became even more anxious: "Wasting time in this ghostly place year after year, when have our two Sects ever been so like-minded?"

At this moment, the runes on a certain part of the light curtain suddenly flickered, and a slight ripple spread out.

The two Cultivators tightened their expressions simultaneously and immediately urged their magic power to stabilize the Formation, while several Disciples also quickly stepped forward to check.

After the fluctuation subsided, the Cultivator surnamed Wang breathed a sigh of relief and continued to complain, his voice even lower:

"Every Night of the Dark Moon, we are running around like headless chickens, but what is the result? The things that run out are all substandard! The best one was just a barely passable Soul-Devouring Beast! But this is still too far from what the higher-ups want!"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, and the scars on his face even turned red: "If we continue to waste time like this, the brothers below will be filled with resentment, and I will hardly be able to suppress them! This ghostly place, with miasma invading the body, is not a place to stay for long!"

"Watch your words!"

The Cultivator surnamed Zhao finally interrupted coldly, his eyes squinted, and his sharp gaze pinned to the Cultivator surnamed Wang's face, carrying an undisguised warning.

"Do I need to remind you of the principle that trouble comes from the mouth?" He paused, his tone softening slightly, "Can the goal of our superiors be small, to let our two Sects put aside past prejudices and manage this place together for so many years?"

He raised his hand and pointed at the stabilized light curtain, where a rune was emitting spatial fluctuations: "Is that 'Nine Heavens Fiend-Drawing Formation' child's play? Communicating with other worlds is inherently unpredictable in terms of fortune and misfortune."

Then, his tone changed with a touch of certainty: "But think about it, how did the Black Water City nearby disappear a while ago? Wasn't it that 'Magma Earth Dragon' that slipped out from a crack in the Formation? Isn't this clear evidence that the power of the Formation is increasing day by day?"

He finally looked at the Cultivator surnamed Wang, his voice lowered even further: "Be patient. The next Night of the Dark Moon is not far away. Perhaps... the turning point is right before our eyes."