Around the massive crater, many practitioners still lingered. However, fewer people were waiting for "fated" items now; instead, a small market had spontaneously formed on a relatively flat patch of ground near the rim. To put it bluntly, it was a convention for fencing stolen goods.

  Chen Gensheng found a clean rock and thrust the gleaming golden spear into the ground.

  Before long, a bald, burly man sauntered over, circling the spear once. "Kid, give me the honest truth... was the owner of this spear... dealt with by you?"

  "What are you trying to say?"

  "Nothing, nothing." The brute rubbed his hands together, the flesh on his face bunching into a heap. "This spear is a good piece, top-tier among Low-Grade artifacts. What do you want to trade it for?"

  "I want divine abilities or techniques," Gensheng’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "Preferably ones of decent grade."

  The smile on the brute’s face faltered. Divine abilities and techniques? Such things were far more precious than standardized artifacts. One could always buy a Low-Grade artifact after saving spirit stones for a few years, but a decent manual—especially one with unique applications—was usually a sect’s guarded secret, rarely leaking out. Even if one did leak, it would be snatched up by practitioners from major factions long before it reached rogue cultivators scavenging in a secret realm.

  The brute’s facial muscles twitched as his eyes darted around, calculating rapidly. He truly liked this golden spear. Its shaft was refined from century-old Gold-Iron Wood; it was heavy in the hand and allowed for smooth spiritual energy flow—at least a grade higher than the battered axe he currently used. With this spear, his confidence in Star-Fall Gorge would grow significantly.

  "Daoist, you’re making things difficult for your brother here. Where would I find a high-grade ability for you? Even the one I practice is just the common Huang-grade, Lower-tier trash issued by my sect."

  Gensheng didn't respond. He simply used his bottom two arms to pull the golden spear from the ground, weighing it in his hand as if preparing to leave.

  "Wait, wait, wait!" Seeing this, the brute hurriedly stepped forward to block him. He gritted his teeth as if making a monumental decision. After fumbling through his tattered storage bag for a long time, he finally produced a roll of yellowed beast skin. "Daoist, look at this. This is the treasure at the bottom of my trunk!"

  Gensheng took the beast-skin roll and spread it open. 《Burning Stone Escape》, Huang-grade, Lower-tier.

  This was no ordinary escape technique. It didn't consume one's own spiritual energy but used spirit stones as a catalyst. Upon activation, it could instantly incinerate all the spiritual energy within the stones, converting it into a powerful thrust to eject the practitioner. The higher the grade and quantity of the spirit stones burned, the faster the speed and the greater the distance.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  "What do you think, Daoist?" The brute leaned in, lowering his voice. "I stripped this technique from the corpse of an outer disciple of a Great Sect. It’s the real deal! Think about it—when you're fighting someone you can't beat, you just whip out a few spirit stones, slap them on the ground, and you're gone! How overbearing is that? This is a skill for trading stones for your life!"

  Gensheng stowed the beast-skin roll. "Deal." He tossed the golden spear directly to the brute.

  Overjoyed, the brute caught it and held the spear tightly in his arms, stroking it as if it were his own wife. The transaction was so quick and clean it felt surreal to him. The surrounding onlookers also wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost. Trading a top-tier Low-Grade artifact for a trashy Huang-grade, Lower-tier escape technique? Did this six-armed freak have a brain in his head? In their eyes, this deal was an absolute disaster.

  After taking two steps, Gensheng paused and looked at the gloating brute. "The owner of that spear was a Foundation-level disciple of a major sect. His techniques were fierce, and his death was not very dignified. Take care of yourself."

  The smile on the brute’s face froze. By the time he recovered, the six-armed freak had already walked far away, followed by that silent female corpse.

  Gensheng sought out another uninhabited spot and spread the Burning Stone Escape across his knees. Following the methods recorded on the skin, he sent a thread of divine sense into it, triggering the obscure runes. The spirit stone in his hand vibrated slightly before turning into a pile of dust that slipped through his fingers. Simultaneously, a gentle but irresistible thrust pushed him back half a foot.

  Just as he was about to test the effect of a mid-grade spirit stone, the jade slip given to him by Zhang Cuizhan lit up without warning. A warm, peaceful voice rang directly in his mind:

  "Daoist Chen, we’re in luck! That traitor Xiao Bai is indeed cunning; he wasn't hiding in any of the three locations on the slip, but is instead lurking atop Thunder-Echo Ridge in the central rift! I caught a glimpse of him from afar just now. His cultivation is not weak, and I fear I cannot take him down alone. Please come here quickly to rendezvous. We shall strike him down together at the foot of the cliff. Once the deed is done, the Celestial Calamity Thunder-Pool Flea shall naturally belong to you!"

  The voice cut off abruptly. Zhang Cuizhan had actually hidden a transmission function in the jade slip.

  Bait. These words explained the map's errors, gave a reason for needing a partner, and finally used the rare insect as a lure. An ordinary person would likely have believed eighty percent of it and rushed over in a hurry.

  "Simin," Gensheng called softly. Li Simin turned her head, her hollow eyes falling upon him. "Do you think that man named Zhang believes he has me completely under his thumb now?"

  Gensheng tossed the jade slip to the ground and crushed it into fragments. Zhang Cuizhan and Xiao Bai had likely joined forces long ago, setting an inescapable trap at Thunder-Echo Ridge, waiting for him—a fat insect—to walk right into the net.

  The three points on the map were a test; this transmission was an urge. The more hurried they were, the more it proved that what they plotted for was something extraordinary.

  Gensheng reached out with his top-left hand and rubbed his chin. Those two had gone to so much trouble—maps, transmissions—all to lure him to Thunder-Echo Ridge. What exactly were they after? He lightly tapped the Burning Stone Escape roll in his hand. If he burned several mid-grade stones at once, even a late-stage Foundation practitioner might not be able to catch up to that thrust.

  "Let’s go join the fun."