Chapter 73: Dragon and Snake Spine
Ren Qing walked up to the phantom of Great Dream True Man and said, "Elder Daming, do you have any materials for forging?"
Great Dream True Man raised his hand, and the shop’s interior changed once more. A wide variety of ores appeared on the counter.
Among them were jade and a substance resembling mercury. Seemingly ordinary iron ore, on the other hand, was rather scarce.
A look of delight crossed Ren Qing’s face. He quickly reached out and touched a gold-and-red colored stone.
[Fifty-three Dou]
[Taotie Technique: Inscribed on the stomach of the Exotic Beast Taotie and obtained by the Wine and Meat Daoist. Cultivating this technique requires eating vast quantities of food until the stomach expands to more than six times its original size, at which point the technique is mastered.]
’To think this ore was formed from the Taotie Technique. It must be related to the Food Eater, and was probably excavated from the Hill Spirit’s body.’
But the price was truly steep. Five Stones could only buy a fist-sized piece of ore. Forging an entire Weapon would require at least a Hundred Stones.
Ren Qing quickly examined the other materials and found that most cost around One Stone, with some of the more expensive ones even reaching More Than Ten Stones.
He realized the price was likely inflated because ore production was low and the demand from Forbidden Guards was high.
Of course, there were cheaper materials—those refined from ordinary iron ore—but they were completely inadequate for Ren Qing’s needs. A Magical Artifact forged from them would only be slightly better than a Great Miao Blade.
Ren Qing pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on. He was planning to find a chance to ask Song Zongwu about it when a sudden thought struck him.
’Why get hung up on ore? It would actually be better to choose some of the less popular materials.’
"Elder Daming, spines."
In a blur, the items on the counter changed.
Rows of spines from beasts or Cultivators were laid out neatly. Some were even still dripping blood, their original owners unknown.
In Ren Qing’s mind,
his Lifebound Spiritual Artifact should be something like a chain, able to work in concert with his Abdominal Prison.
In a way, there wasn’t much difference between a chain and a spine.
Ren Qing carefully selected a spine, trying to find one with a high degree of mutation, which would in turn indicate that its original Forbidden Guard owner had a high level of Cultivation.
It also couldn’t have the slightest damage, lest it affect the quality of the Lifebound Spiritual Artifact.
And sure enough, he found something.
[Dragon and Snake Spine: Created by the Dragon and Snake Daoist. To cultivate it, one must first pull out their own spine, then implant it into the body of an Exotic Beast Dragon and Snake. Only when it is retrieved after three years can the technique be mastered.]
The bone of the Dragon and Snake Spine was a silvery-white color. It was long and slender, bearing some resemblance to a snake’s, and had clearly been in the Great Dream Pavilion for a long time.
The other spines were somewhat lacking, or completely unsuited for something like a chain.
The Dragon and Snake Spine only cost ten Stones of Blood Crystals, but it was indeed very suitable for a Spine User.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough Blood Crystals to buy it.
’I have to find a way to make some money.’
Ren Qing rubbed his chin and asked tentatively, "Elder Daming, how do you collect payment for these materials?"
Upon hearing this, Great Dream True Man’s phantom became even more distorted, as if it were scrutinizing Ren Qing.
"Three zhang of human skin... seven Dou..."
"One sheng of Beast Blood... two Dou..."
Ren Qing couldn’t help but sigh. Even if he sold himself piece by piece, he still wouldn’t have enough Blood Crystals. He had no choice but to give up.
He gave up on the spine and instead spent six Dou of Blood Crystals to buy twenty Stone Eyes. Nearly half of his fifteen-Dou salary was gone in an instant.
Ren Qing sighed again.
The Ghost Market only lasted for Twenty-four Hours, and you only had one chance to enter and exit. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been hard to borrow ten Stones of Blood Crystals from Song Zongwu.
As for Huang Ziwang, he’d better not. Their relationship wasn’t that close yet, and making such a request could easily sour things between them.
Just as Ren Qing was about to leave the shop, Great Dream True Man’s voice suddenly sounded, tinged with a laziness as if he had just awoken from a long slumber.
"One eyeball... a Hundred Stones..."
Ren Qing was stunned. Why was Great Dream True Man so interested in his Double Pupils? Logically speaking, the No-Eyes Technique was only at the Half-Corpse Realm.
’Could it be related to the Twin Nightmare Demon?’
He had always had his suspicions about the Ghost Envoy Realm abilities of a Repeater.
Rumor had it that Nightmares were Evil Ghosts that existed in the Dream Realm. The Twin Nightmare Demon might well be connected to dreams, which would explain why it had caught Great Dream True Man’s attention.
Ren Qing was tempted to agree, but the problem was that unlike the Hundred-eyed Man, a Repeater’s eyes couldn’t be regenerated after being gouged out.
Great Dream True Man said nonchalantly, "The Magic Technique... ten Stones..."
Ren Qing’s expression was complicated upon hearing this.
’Ten Stones... that price is far too specific. It feels like he’s planning to get those Blood Crystals right back by selling me the Dragon and Snake Spine.’
Still, he had no reason to refuse. Plenty of Cultivators in Sanxiang City probably had the No-Eyes Technique anyway.
Ren Qing took the book out of his Abnormal Mouth. In an instant, the book vanished, and the Dragon and Snake Spine appeared before him.
’Seriously? He won’t even let me touch the Blood Crystals?’
Fearing Great Dream True Man would go back on his word, Ren Qing quickly put away the Dragon and Snake Spine.
’Perfect. Now I can advance to Spine User once I get back to the Firework Hall.’
"Elder Daming, a Repeater is..."
Before Ren Qing could finish his explanation, he was outside the Great Dream Pavilion in the blink of an eye, back on the bustling street of the Ghost Market.
’How could a small fry like me possibly catch the eye of Great Dream True Man?’
He gave an awkward laugh and, instead of leaving right away, began to wander around.
Ren Qing noticed that the shops in the Ghost Market weren’t much different from those in Sanxiang City, except that the largest crowds of Forbidden Guards were gathered in front of the Great Dream Pavilion and the tavern.
More than ten Forbidden Guards were dead drunk. Huang Ziwang was among them, half-lying on the ground, hugging a wine jar and snoring.
Ren Qing walked over to Huang Ziwang, who immediately opened his eyes.
Seeing who it was, Huang Ziwang relaxed and offered him the wine jar. "Younger Brother Ren, have a taste."
Ren Qing was puzzled. It was actually very difficult for someone to get drunk after advancing to the Half-Corpse Realm, let alone the Ghost Envoy Realm.
’So why was the wine in the Ghost Market an exception?’
And looking at the surrounding Forbidden Guards, it seemed they could still maintain a clear mind.
He took a tentative sip and immediately felt his consciousness drift into a daze.
Just as Ren Qing started to resist it, the feeling of drunkenness vanished as quickly as it had come. It only lasted for a few short minutes, but the aftertaste was exquisite.
"What’s this wine called?"
"Drunken Life and Dream Death."
"Ah, forget it. Give it back. It’s a waste on you. Waking up so fast is no fun."
Huang Ziwang snatched the wine jar back and took several large gulps, then immediately fell back into a drunken stupor.
Ren Qing subconsciously summoned the Information Flow and instantly discovered something strange. His Lifespan had actually decreased by an imperceptible amount.
’This means that Great Dream True Man takes a portion of your Lifespan while you’re drunk.’
"The Dream Butterfly Skill..."
Ren Qing muttered to himself. If the Forbidden Soldier Hall had this Magic Technique, he had to find a way to master it and use it for Life Extension.
’But is Great Dream True Man’s Life Extension truly without a cost?’
’Or could it be that his own Lifespan is nearing its end, so much so that he’s pinning all his hopes of advancing to the Yang God Realm on the Twin Nightmare Demon?’
Ren Qing shook his head with a bitter smile. The dwindling Lifespan of a Yin Messenger Realm Cultivator was probably still longer than his own thirty-nine years.
’Why bother worrying about that?’
Ren Qing walked into the tavern. There was another illusory figure at the counter.
After checking the price of the wine, he was shocked. Drunken Life and Dream Death actually cost One Stone of Blood Crystals—an absurdly high price.
Ren Qing quickly came to terms with it. There were plenty of Cultivators among the Forbidden Guards who had been driven mad by their Magic Techniques. Being able to get drunk and enjoy a moment of carefree bliss was probably worth it.
’This is some easy money...’