Innate Immortal Seed

Chapter 542: Chapter 507: Evil Fate Sect

Next to the Celestial Listening Shop was a store flying a banner with a bloody sword and saber. It was the most famous assassination organization in the Black Market.

They claimed that for the right price, they would even assassinate a Nascent Soul True Monarch for you.

Further on was the Paradise Pavilion, which specialized in the human trafficking business. They sold male and female Furnace Cauldrons, physical bodies of various aptitudes and Spiritual Roots, Cultivators bound by slave contracts, and meticulously trained Death Warriors.

The Paradise Pavilion was clearly the most frequented establishment.

This line of business was considered the most taboo and notorious even within the Black Market.

It had once been a legitimate Nascent Soul Major Sect, but they committed too many heinous acts that enraged both gods and men—abducting Immortal Seedlings, kidnapping other sects’ disciples, and more. Eventually, a Great True Monarch from the Moral Sect could no longer stand by and branded the Paradise Pavilion a demonic faction, exterminating its upper echelon.

However, the Paradise Pavilion had many Hidden Veins in hiding, and a few hundred years later, it rose from the ashes, its business as popular as ever.

Imagine this: an Immortal Seedling with an Abnormal Spiritual Root is discovered by a passing Immortal Master. He takes you to an Immortal Cave Mansion and bestows upon you a Longevity Technique.

He raises you from childhood, providing you with a stable and balanced foundation, carefully nurturing you until you reach Qi Refining Great Perfection.

Just when you believe your future is limitless, the sect elders you regarded as fathers and brothers capture you, place a Restriction on you, and shatter a piece of your soul.

Then, you are sealed inside a Soul-Scattering Coffin made of thousand-year-old Yin Wood, waiting to be chosen by a buyer and possessed by some Nascent Soul True Monarch.

A meticulously cultivated body like this could drastically shorten the recovery time after possession, allowing one to return to their peak in just a dozen years.

If they found an eager buyer, the price would be measured in Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

It was an incredibly profitable business with astronomical returns. ℴ

They also hunted handsome men and beautiful women of all kinds according to client requests, forcing them to practice Dual Cultivation Techniques. This made their Magical Power gentle and mellow, making it exceptionally easy for others to absorb and convert into their own Cultivation.

’It is easy to defeat others, but difficult to defeat oneself... Everyone has selfish greed and a dark heart. They may have an air of immortal-like grace and lofty aspirations on a normal day, but when their own interests are at stake, even sects that pride themselves on being the orthodox Daoist Sects might not be able to resist such a temptation.’

The Cultivators entering and leaving the Paradise Pavilion were not all from the Demon Path. Many of them radiated Pure Qi, and the aura of their True Essence clearly indicated they followed the Righteous Dao.

Bai Zichen let out an imperceptible sigh. How many people in this world could truly practice self-restraint and maintain integrity when unwatched?

The other shops all sold various Demon Path Magical Treasures, which were clearly forbidden items.

The resentful energy was thick enough to be tangible, and the stench of blood could be smelled from far away. They were undoubtedly Demon Treasures refined from countless living beings, and a moment of carelessness with one could attract the wrath of Righteous Dao Cultivators.

However, their refining methods were simple, and they were much easier to upgrade to the Spiritual Treasure level than other Magical Treasures.

As long as one continued to slaughter living beings and offer their flesh and blood as sacrifice, the power of a Demon Treasure could be endlessly enhanced, unrestricted by refining techniques or its own inherent quality.

As for the negative effects of using a Demon Treasure—the deeper the refinement, the easier it was to be influenced by the Artifact Spirit and have one’s sanity corrupted by violent emotions—Demon Path Cultivators paid them no mind.

Bai Zichen wouldn’t give an ordinary Demon Treasure a second glance, let alone a Spirit Treasure Level one.

After a stroll around, he was about to leave the Black Market when a Sound Transmission echoed directly in his mind.

”Fellow Daoist, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time at the Black Market? I am Shan Zhi of Evil Fate Mountain. I invite you to come upstairs for a chat.”

Bai Zichen’s heart skipped a beat. He looked toward a shop at the very end of the street. The Banner Flag hanging there was completely blank, with no pattern to signify its identity.

For someone to be able to send a Divine Sense transmission directly into his mind meant two things. First, the person bore no ill will, as his Celestial Might Star Bone had not been triggered to defend him.

Second, the other party’s Divine Sense was no weaker than his own; otherwise, it would have been automatically blocked.

’It’s a Cultivator from the Evil Fate Sect! The Evil Fate Sect of causeless, predetermined fate!’

His shock stemmed more from the man’s self-introduction.

The Evil Fate Sect was one of the most secretive sects in the Cultivation Realm, renowned throughout the world for its Divine Inference.

When he had studied the Copper Plate Divine Calculation, he had become very interested in sects that mastered such divination techniques and had specifically researched them.

The vast majority of Divine Calculation was just fortune-telling and divination, with results based on a mix of deduction and pure guesswork.

Only the Evil Fate Sect was considered the most likely to touch upon the All-Knowing Path of fate. The various deeds of its disciples throughout history proved this point.

But the cultivators of this Sect seemed to be cursed by the heavens. Every hundred years, a natural or man-made disaster would befall them, and even Nascent Soul True Monarchs could easily meet a violent end.

Therefore, the Evil Fate Sect’s cultivators all lived in seclusion within a Grotto Heaven, having almost no contact with the outside world.

By not getting involved in worldly affairs, they could avoid the calamities and live a normal life.

’There’s actually a successor of the Evil Fate Sect in the Black Market? Is he the real deal or just an impostor... His Divine Sense is no weaker than mine. Could he be a Great True Monarch?!’

Bai Zichen’s Divine Sense was powerful enough to rival that of Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators. If this Shan Zhi was on par with him, he would be terrifyingly formidable.

He didn’t hesitate for long. He walked up the bamboo staircase, each step producing a grating creak.

At this point, trying to hide or avoid the meeting was pointless.

Even if the man really was a Great True Monarch, it wasn’t as if Bai Zichen lacked the strength to fight him.

Besides, he was truly curious about the Evil Fate Sect and wanted to see what they were all about.

”I apologize for the presumptuous invitation, Fellow Daoist. Please do not take offense... It is just that in a hundred years, I have never seen such a miraculous Destiny Plate. I simply could not stop myself from speaking out.”

By the second-floor window sat a black-robed cultivator wearing a triangular black hat.

His face looked both young and old, and his eyes were weary and drained. He was seated on an armchair formed from a mass of dark clouds.

When Bai Zichen looked at him, the man seemed to be veiled in mystery. He couldn’t even discern his Cultivation level.

However, based on his feeling, the man’s Cultivation should be similar to his own, still far from the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm.