Chapter 155: Chapter 152: Selling "Demonic Desire

Song Ciwan slipped past the soldiers of the City Patrol Department. She existed in the Otherworld; no one could see her, and no one knew she had ever been there.

It was just as the Poetry Immortal wrote: "Once the deed is done, I brush the dust from my clothes and depart, concealing all trace of my presence and my name."

’Who could possibly understand this kind of carefree, uninhibited joy?’

All sorts of formless energies still drifted through the city. Song Ciwan was like a diligent worker, chipping away here and there, her main goal to collect as much as she could to fill the Heaven and Earth Scale.

’Of course, the Heaven and Earth Scale could never truly be filled. I have a whole pile of things to trade, but only four trades left for the day. I need to plan them out and not be rash.’

And so, in her unhurried fashion, she immediately used two of her trades.

First, she sold the "demonic desire." [You have sold demonic desire. When a mortal demonizes, they become a demon among humans. A measure of shock, terror, and fear, weighing three catties and six taels. You have obtained the Basic Furnace Refining Technique, One-star Chapter.]

’An Artifact Refining method?’

This was the first time Song Ciwan had received a technique-based Dharma Gate from the Heaven and Earth Scale. Before she even had time to be surprised, a boundless torrent of information washed down from the Void!

Countless diagrams and writings, beyond description, spun and drifted from the Void, imprinting themselves upon Song Ciwan’s mind.

Song Ciwan immediately focused on memorizing everything. The Dao and Strong Character Techniques appeared on her body as faint glows, enhancing her comprehension and deepening her understanding of the principles!

An unknown amount of time passed. It felt like the blink of an eye, yet also like a great deal of time had gone by—

It truly had been a long time. When Song Ciwan emerged from the massive flow of information and looked around, she saw that the stars and moon had vanished. Above Pinglan City, the turbulent, formless energies had also begun to stabilize.

The light in the sky had dimmed considerably.

The entire world seemed to have sunk into a deep, sweet slumber. Time had pushed forward, reaching the darkest hour just before the dawn!

In the face of this darkness, Song Ciwan suddenly felt a pang of unease disrupt her calm.

The last time she had felt such unease was just before she stepped into the Hongsheng Martial Arts Hall.

’Could it be that something has happened at the Hongsheng Martial Arts Hall again?’

The hem of Song Ciwan’s robes stirred in the night wind, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

’It’s probably not coming from the Hongsheng Martial Arts Hall. The trouble there is already over. The remaining Martial Masters aren’t fools. The old master himself said he was disbanding the hall; why would they stick around?’

Song Ciwan then recalled the vision she had seen when she achieved the Divine Eye Opening—

On Wangjiang Mountain, there had been four screens of light!

’Besides the Hongsheng Martial Arts Hall, where were the other three places again?’

One was at the Yao Fang Courtyard in Bright Moon Square, another was at the Government Prison, and the last one... Song Ciwan frowned slightly.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t remember the scene shown on the light screen. At her current Cultivation Realm, a photographic memory was a fundamental ability.

Logically, she was unlikely to forget anything she had paid attention to.

The main reason she couldn’t identify the third location was simply that she didn’t recognize it.

She had been to Yao Fang Courtyard, where she had even listened to music and admired the dancers. And though she had never visited the Government Prison, its architecture was distinctive enough to be easily identified. But that third place...

At the time, the light screen had only shown a colossal figure and countless demonic hands. Beyond that, there was only a gray, hazy mist and an endless expanse of rubble and ruins.

At the time, Song Ciwan had no way of determining where it was.

She stood and pondered for a moment. ’First question: do I need to go and check out each of these places?’

’The answer is no.’

’The reason is simple. The very fact that these four light screens can be observed at any time by all the Cultivators on Wangjiang Mountain is reason enough for me not to go.’

’If I really have to go... I’ll open another blind box first. Might as well have some fun.’

Song Ciwan followed her plan and operated the Heaven and Earth Scale once more. [You have sold the damaged flesh of a mutated Demonization, Two-star Level. You have obtained a special material: five qian of Celestial Demon Bone Fragment.]

Celestial Demon Bone Fragment: A piece of Celestial Demon Bone can be extracted from any who have undergone Demonization. This item possesses an extremely powerful corrupting influence, capable of causing turmoil in the hearts of men and strengthening Demons.

Note: This item cannot be bound to a master and may cause indiscriminate corruption. Use with extreme caution.

’An interesting item, but it doesn’t seem to be of much use to me right now.’

’Does this count as a failed blind box opening?’

’Not really. Just because it’s useless now doesn’t mean it’ll be useless in the future.’ 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

’In any case, "use with extreme caution" is the main takeaway.’

Song Ciwan carefully stored the Celestial Demon Bone Fragment in the Heaven and Earth Scale. Until she found a way to prevent herself from being corrupted by it, she had no intention of taking it out again.

After stowing away the Celestial Demon Bone, Song Ciwan picked a random direction and resumed her journey of chipping away at the city’s energies.

Although the sky was dark and the floating, formless energies were diminishing, Song Ciwan wasn’t greedy. She stuck to her principle: catch what was close and easy, and let the rest go.

She casually gathered energies, occasionally righting a wrong or two, and walked beneath the pitch-black canopy of the sky toward the far reaches of the city.

After some time, the pre-dawn darkness grew even deeper. But then, Song Ciwan’s view suddenly brightened. She had emerged from a quiet, deep alley onto a street facing a grand market square ahead, ablaze with lights and clamorous with noise—a city that never slept!

Song Ciwan froze. ’Where am I?’

This was clearly Bright Moon Square!

Bright Moon Square had four gates, and Song Ciwan had only ever passed through the west gate with Xie Yunxiang.

So, in truth, even though she had been to Bright Moon Square before, she didn’t truly know this grand and prosperous hub—the most magnificent in the entire city.

That was why she was so surprised; she’d just been walking aimlessly and had somehow ended up at the North Gate of Bright Moon Square!

A crowd of people was gathered at the North Gate. Soldiers from the City Patrol Department were blocking the exit, and for some unknown reason, they weren’t allowing anyone inside to leave.

Inside, it was a surging sea of people.

Someone was shouting, "Let us out! Do you have any idea who we are, you filthy grunts?"

Another person roared in fury, "Bastards! Imbeciles! Who gave you the order to obstruct us? Do you know how many scions of great families are gathered here in Bright Moon Square? Keep this up, and you’ll all pay with your lives!"

The soldiers of the City Patrol Department remained completely unmoved. Most importantly, several masters at the Innate Second Transformation realm were silently standing guard at the gate.

Then someone else began to cry and plead, "Sirs, please have mercy! I’ve never been to the Yao Fang Courtyard, and I’ve had no contact with Princess Chunshui! I won’t be one to fall into the Demon Realm. I have an eighty-year-old mother at home, a beloved wife, and young children! I can’t be trapped in here! Please, sirs, I beg you to let me out..."

"Sirs, sirs, just let me out! I’ll erect a monument in your honor!"

Amidst the cacophony, a single, high-pitched voice suddenly rose. It was enchanting and melodious, yet so loud and clear it seemed to pierce the very heavens. It sang: "At a tender age, my feet were bound, oh... ai-yai-yai-yoh..."