Chapter 220: Magic in the Black Market

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Magic in the Black Market

After looking through the *Spirit Plants and Medicines Encyclopedia*, Jiang Xu still couldn’t figure anything out.

No matter how he looked, he couldn’t find any description of a Spirit Plant in the encyclopedia that matched the seed.

’Could this not be a Spirit Plant, but an animal?’ Jiang Xu wondered.

Although it was counterintuitive, the thought that this was the Cultivation World made Jiang Xu more accepting of the idea.

After all, if something like transmigration could exist, what was so strange about an animal that looked like a plant?

So, Jiang Xu began flipping through the *Demon and Spirit Beasts Encyclopedia*, trying to find some kind of Spirit Beast that resembled the seed in his hand.

But the result was the same; Jiang Xu still couldn’t find any clues.

This gave Jiang Xu a major headache.

After forming a blood contract, a Contracted Beast could maintain a mental link with its master. The master could use their Divine Sense to perceive the Contracted Beast’s emotional fluctuations and even clearly understand what it was trying to express.

When a Contracted Beast’s intelligence was high enough, it could even use human language to communicate with its master.

But as Jiang Xu looked at the seed in his hand—no bigger than a fingernail—he was filled with a mix of emotions.

’How on earth is this thing supposed to express its emotional fluctuations?’

’And do plants even have emotions?’

Jiang Xu touched the seed with his Divine Sense and was surprised to feel a peculiar sense of dependence emanating from it. He couldn’t quite describe it; it was just a very strange sensation.

He felt as if he were the sun and soil, shining upon and nurturing the seed.

’Right, I can try this!’

An idea suddenly occurred to Jiang Xu.

He tried placing the seed into his Spirit Pet Bag, and it went in with ease.

He then tried putting it into his Storage Bag, and it went in just as easily.

Ordinarily, a Spirit Pet Bag couldn’t hold plants, and a Storage Bag couldn’t hold living creatures.

Yet this seed could be put into both without any trouble. What was going on?

’Is it both an animal and a plant? Or... is it neither?’

Jiang Xu shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it for now. He simply placed it back into the Spirit Pet Bag.

’If I can’t figure it out now, I’ll just set it aside. I have more important things to do. It won’t be too late to deal with it after I’m done with everything else.’

Jiang Xu continued his search in the Black Market, hoping to find a suitable Cultivation Technique.

Another hour passed, and Jiang Xu had been searching the Black Market for a long time.

There were certainly plenty of good things here.

Since the Demon Passage ran through two prefectures and a sea, the goods available were rich and varied. Even the items on the stalls of the Cultivators here were a cut above what could be found elsewhere.

Even Jiang Xu himself had spotted several Magical Artifacts that he coveted.

But when he inquired about the price, he found they weren’t accepting Spirit Stones. Instead, they wanted specific, urgently needed items; it was barter only.

The items they wanted were either Elixirs that could increase the chances of a Realm Breakthrough for someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm, Foundation Establishment Pills, or some kind of special, rare Spirit Grass.

Jiang Xu had never even heard of some of these things, and even if he had them, he likely wouldn’t have been willing to trade them away.

As for Cultivation Techniques, Magic, and Secret Techniques, there were a few stalls selling them.

However, most were for the Qi Cultivation Realm. Although they were Tier One Upper Grade or even Top Grade, they were no longer sufficient for Jiang Xu.

He did see a few Tier Two Cultivation Techniques, but none were of the Wood Element, and their prices were outrageous. He could afford one, but then he’d be completely out of Spirit Stones.

However, if Jiang Xu didn’t practice a High Grade Cultivation Technique of the same attribute next, he wouldn’t be able to smoothly convert the Magical Power from his Cangmu Skill into that of the new technique. His only option would be a complete Scattering and Rebuilding of his cultivation.

In that scenario, while he wouldn’t drop out of the Foundation Establishment Realm, it would take at least a decade to painstakingly cultivate the new technique and recover his peak strength.

As long as there was any hope of obtaining a compatible Cultivation Technique, Jiang Xu had no intention of resorting to Scattering and Rebuilding.

He also saw some Tier Two Techniques, but most were the two he had already learned: the *Wood Spirit Acceleration Technique* and the *Innate True Flame Spell*.

The only other one was purely a Demon Dao technique called the *Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique*. It could unleash a person’s latent potential to massively increase their combat power, but the user would suffer a severe backlash afterward, resulting in a drastic decline of bodily functions or even death.

But Jiang Xu’s purpose in cultivating Magic was self-preservation, not to risk his life. Besides, this technique required a corresponding Demon Dao Cultivation Technique to be effective. Without it, the damage to the user would be just as severe, but the power it unleashed would be far from its full potential.

As he walked, Jiang Xu eventually reached the far end of the Black Market. It was a poor location, with only one or two sparse stalls set up.

Jiang Xu assumed there wouldn’t be anything valuable in such a place and was about to turn back when his eyes fell upon one of the stalls. It was covered with stacks of books and numerous Jade Scrolls.

His eyebrow rose, and he immediately walked over to the stall owner.

Getting closer, he saw that while the stall didn’t have as many items as the others, their quality was remarkably high. There were several Tier One Top Grade Magic techniques, and even three Tier Two Techniques that Jiang Xu had never seen before. The sight made his eyes burn with desire.

However, Jiang Xu still didn’t see a single High Grade, Wood Attribute Cultivation Technique.

"See anything you like?" the stall owner asked.

Jiang Xu’s gaze lingered longest on the three Tier Two Techniques, and the stall owner immediately began his introduction with a smile.

"This is the *Seven Injuries Palm*. Every palm strike can inflict direct internal damage on an enemy, even penetrating a Defensive Spiritual Artifact. It’s a Magic that can be practiced by both Body Cultivators and Magic Cultivators."

"This one is the *Fiery Flood Dragon Flying Fire Spell*. You can use Magical Power to form a fiery flood dragon to attack your enemies. Its power is considerable."

"As for the last one..."

The stall owner trailed off, pausing for a moment.

"It’s called the *Thousand-Faced Illusion Body*."

Jiang Xu picked up the thick book.

The others were all Jade Scrolls; only this one was an actual book.

"*Thousand-Faced Illusion Body*?" Jiang Xu asked, flipping through the book curiously.

He discovered it seemed to be a kind of... Disguise Technique, similar to those in mortal martial arts, but with the addition of things like Magical Power manipulation and Spiritual Power interference.

Seeing that Jiang Xu was quite interested, the stall owner explained:

"The name of this Magic says it all. It allows you to change your appearance, your body shape, and even your aura. When you master it, you can alter every one of your physical characteristics to become a completely different person, and no one will be able to tell the difference."

Jiang Xu was stunned.

’It really is a Disguise Technique!’