Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 40 Yunmeng Market, Paper Butterflies Kill

At the edge of Yunmeng Marsh, the mist had not completely dissipated, and the air was filled with the damp smell of decaying leaves and a faint stench of blood.

What was once a desolate wasteland has now suddenly become a huge temporary market.

Thousands of cultivators, like sharks drawn by the scent of blood, gathered here from all directions.

There were down-on-their-luck rogue cultivators wearing tattered Taoist robes, and also scions of noble families riding spirit beasts and surrounded by followers.

The sounds of hawking, arguing, and even the clanging of weapons mingled together, making it ten times noisier than the busiest temple fair in Changning County.

The currency here isn't copper coins, it's spirit stones; and the goods traded aren't fruits, they're human lives.

A middle-aged Taoist priest with a sallow complexion and a mustache was strolling leisurely among the stalls with his hands behind his back.

He was wearing a faded gray Taoist robe and had a tattered storage bag hanging from his waist. By all accounts, he looked like a low-level rogue cultivator who was doing extremely poorly.

This is naturally Gu Yan in disguise.

"Take a look! Top-quality Crimson Fire Scorpion venom sacs, an essential medicine for murder and robbery!"

"A broken, ancestral magic artifact, only ten spirit stones! You won't regret it!"

Gu Yan listened to these shouts and chuckled to himself.

That so-called magical artifact had a dim spiritual light and was covered in cracks; it would probably explode before it was even thrown out.

As for the poison sac, it was so shriveled that only a thin layer of skin remained.

But he didn't reveal anything, he just silently observed everything around him.

"It seems that not just anyone can enter the Ascension Ceremony."

Gu Yan paused for a moment at a stall selling information and learned that in order to enter the core area of ​​Yunmengze to participate in the assessment, one must have an Ascension Token.

These tokens are either distributed in advance by major sects to aristocratic families, or won through the "Duel Platform" in this outer market. Only a very small number end up on the black market and are sold at exorbitant prices.

"Fellow Daoist, have you taken a fancy to this piece of 'Black Iron Essence'?"

The stall owner, a one-eyed man, saw Gu Yan staring blankly at a dark ore on his stall and immediately began enthusiastically promoting it: "This is a top-grade material for refining defensive magic weapons, only fifty spirit stones."

Gu Yan shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly felt a greedy gaze fall upon him.

He continued walking forward without making a sound, turning into a relatively secluded pile of rocks.

Sure enough, two people followed behind.

One was tall and the other short, both at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Judging from their attire, they seemed to be the kind of rogue cultivators who made a living without capital on the outskirts of the market.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait."

The short cultivator blocked the way with a grin, toying with two iron gallstones in his hand: "I see you look kind, fellow Daoist, and would like to borrow some spirit stones. Not much, just leave your storage bag behind."

The tall cultivator remained silent, directly blocking Gu Yan's retreat, a green-glowing throwing knife clutched in his hand.

Gu Yan stopped, his face showing just the right amount of fear: "Gentlemen... fellow Daoists, let's talk this out. This humble Daoist... this humble Daoist doesn't have many spirit stones on him!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The short man's face darkened: "No spirit stones? Then your flesh and skin can be used to refine some corpse oil! Attack!"

Before he could finish speaking, the tall man's throwing knife shot towards Gu Yan's back with a whooshing sound.

This stab was extremely ruthless, clearly the work of a repeat offender.

However, the expected scene of blood splattering did not occur.

"puff."

With a soft thud, the throwing knife pierced Gu Yan's back, but it felt as if it had pierced a ball of cotton.

Immediately afterwards, "Gu Yan" deflated like a punctured balloon, turning into a tattered talisman that drifted to the ground.

"A substitute talisman?! Oh no! This is a dangerous situation!"

The short man was terrified and turned to run away.

But the moment he turned around, he was horrified to discover that several white butterflies had appeared in the air around him, fluttering about.

These butterflies are exquisitely beautiful, with strange runes painted on their wings, making them appear particularly eerie in this dark, rocky pile.

"So beautiful."

A calm voice sounded above their heads.

The two looked up and saw Gu Yan standing on a boulder, looking down at them with an indifferent gaze, completely different from his previous timid demeanor.

"go."

Gu Yan pointed gently.

The paper butterflies accelerated instantly, transforming into streaks of white light.

"ah!!!"

The short man let out a scream.

A paper butterfly fluttered lightly across his neck; its seemingly fragile paper wings were faster than the sharpest blade.

A head rolled to the ground, the cut smooth as a mirror.

The tall man was terrified and desperately activated his protective magic shield, trying to block the strange butterflies.

But his prized magic shield was like a thin sheet of paper in front of the paper butterfly, easily torn to shreds in a moment.

In less than three breaths, the two cultivators were reduced to two corpses on the ground.

Gu Yan jumped down from the rock and waved to retrieve the paper butterfly.

Although these butterflies were stained with blood, they immediately turned white again under the shock of spiritual energy and flew back to his sleeve.

This is a new move he developed over the past three years: "Butterfly Dance Kill".

Using extremely sharp, specially made paper, combined with wind-elemental runes, it is specifically designed to target the protective aura of cultivators.

Gu Yan skillfully searched the corpses and took away the two people's storage bags.

"You poor wretch, you only have a little over a hundred spirit stones in total."

He curled his lip, casually tossed out two corpse-dissolving talismans, watched the corpse turn into a pool of yellow liquid that seeped into the ground, then straightened his robes and returned to the market as if nothing had happened.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the center of the market.

"Look! It's the celestial ship of the Flowing Cloud Sect!"

Gu Yan looked up.

In the sky, a blue flying boat, hundreds of feet long, broke through the clouds and slowly descended.

The ship's hull was carved with cloud patterns, shimmering with light and exuding a suffocating aura of power.

On the deck of the flying boat stood dozens of young men and women dressed in blue, each with an extraordinary air about them.

At the very front, a young girl was surrounded by a crowd of people, like stars around the moon.

She wore a moon-white long dress, with a long sword hanging at her waist. Her features were exquisite, and she was as aloof as a fairy from the moon palace.

It was Shen Youwei.

Three years had passed, and her aura had become even more unfathomable, clearly indicating that she had successfully established her foundation and that it was extremely solid.

Her gaze swept over the group of independent cultivators below, her eyes showing no contempt, only the indifference of someone in a superior position.

Gu Yan mingled in the crowd, looking at the girl who had once cried in his shop, now a figure above the clouds.

"This is the foundation of a major sect."

Gu Yan sighed, but had no intention of acknowledging the other party.

Right now, he's just an unknown rogue cultivator. Rushing up there would only make him look foolish and might even bring unnecessary trouble.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Shen Youwei's gaze paused slightly in the crowd before sweeping over the direction where Gu Yan was.

Gu Yan's heart tightened, and he immediately activated the "Concealing Breath Turtle and Snake Technique" to suppress his aura to the extreme. At the same time, he lowered his head, pretending that he dared not look directly at Xian Yan.

Shen Youwei frowned and looked away.

Just a moment ago, she sensed a familiar fluctuation, like the aura of the nine soul-guiding lamps.

"Junior sister, what's wrong?"

A handsome young man standing nearby asked with concern.

"It's nothing."

Shen Youwei shook her head, her gaze hardening again: "The opening of this relic is of utmost importance; we should focus on the mission."

The flying boat slowly landed in the square in the center of the market, and representatives from various sects arrived one after another.

Seeing this, Gu Yan quietly retreated to the back of the crowd.

He didn't want to be the center of attention; he just wanted to be the fisherman who made his fortune in the shadows.

Just now, the replica Holy Son Token in his arms had become slightly warm when it sensed something on the Flowing Cloud Sect's flying boat.

"It seems that the muddy waters this time are deeper than I imagined."

Gu Yan touched the token in his arms, a playful smile appearing on his lips.