"In three more days, my second Life Spirit Puppet should arrive at the Void Black Market," Li Qi mused, sitting alone in his small courtyard.
Four days had passed since Xu Tianzong returned with a contingent of cultivators from the minor derivative regions. During this time, Li Qi had remained within his courtyard, attending to no particular matters and venturing out rarely. Concurrently, he used this respite to estimate the current market price for Heaven's Will of the Dao Integration stage.
A complete Heaven's Will of the first level of Dao Integration was priced at ten million spirit stones. For each subsequent level, the price would increase by five million spirit stones. Consequently, a Heaven's Will of the ninth level of Dao Integration would command a staggering fifty million spirit stones. However, this was a theoretical price, as such items were often unavailable. It was anticipated that during the upcoming Azure Glow Auction, the Heaven's Will of the Dao Integration stage would fetch significantly higher prices than their standard market value.
This thought caused Li Qi to frown slightly. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he produced a spatial ring. A trace of his divine sense delved into the ring, revealing an endless expanse of pure spirit stones, their sheer quantity capable of igniting greed in any observer.
Li Qi had not touched the Heaven's Will. However, he had brought all his accumulated spirit stone resources with him precisely for the purpose of acquiring Heaven's Will of the Dao Integration stage.
"I wonder how many strands of Heaven's Will of the Dao Integration stage will be auctioned at the Azure Glow Auction, and at what levels," Li Qi murmured. Unfortunately, beyond the knowledge that Heaven's Will of the Dao Integration stage would be among the auction items, he knew nothing more.
"Never mind, the auction is only about half a month away, it will be here soon," Li Qi stretched lazily, preparing to retire to his room for some rest.
However, just as he was halfway through his stretch, his eyes suddenly sharpened, fixing on the periphery of the Void Black Market.
"Boom boom boom…"
Violent explosions erupted. Outside the Void Black Market, two figures, one in pursuit and the other fleeing, drew the attention of countless cultivators within.
Simultaneously, on a desolate, lifeless meteorite somewhere outside the Void Black Market, the eyes of the first Life Spirit Puppet snapped open. With a slight flick of its hand, it produced a perfectly round, jet-black stone. Upon making contact with the stone, a panicked telepathic message flooded its consciousness.
"Fellow Daoist, Daoist, save me! I am Huang Anchang. The Crimson Flame Medicine Pavilion has dispatched a cultivator at the seventh level of Dao Integration to pursue me."
"...Huang Anchang is in trouble!" Li Qi observed the two figures engaged in a desperate chase outside the Void Black Market. He had never encountered the aura of the pursuer before, but the terrifying presence of a seventh-level Dao Integration cultivator was discernible even within the Void Black Market. The aura of the fleeing figure, however, was all too familiar. It was none other than his old associate, Huang Anchang.
At present, Huang Anchang was clearly in a precarious state. With his cultivation at the second level of Dao Integration, being relentlessly pursued by a seventh-level Dao Integration cultivator meant his chances of survival, even in a desperate flight, were slim. Even a suicidal counter-attack would likely inflict minimal damage on his pursuer, given the five-level disparity in their realms. Furthermore, the fact that the Crimson Flame Medicine Pavilion had deployed a seventh-level Dao Integration cultivator indicated their serious intent to once again target those who sold counterfeit elixirs.
"This won't do, Huang Anchang cannot be allowed to fall," Li Qi's gaze became grave. Setting aside the risk of Huang Anchang exposing him if captured, the past and future assistance Huang Anchang had provided were sufficient reasons for Li Qi to prevent his demise. With a flash, Li Qi vanished from the courtyard.
Outside the Void Black Market, Huang Anchang unleashed his spiritual power to its fullest extent, his speed pushed to its absolute limit. Despite this, a look of panic still contorted his face as he glanced back. A vast and terrifying aura bore down upon him from behind. The figure of the seventh-level Dao Integration expert was drawing ever closer. A cold voice echoed from behind.
"Stop running. Your struggles are futile given your strength."
With that, Fang Qingpei, who was in hot pursuit, raised his hand. In the void, a colossal hand formed from spiritual energy materialized, descending directly upon Huang Anchang. Feeling the terrifying pressure, Huang Anchang was overwhelmed, his entire being locked down. Breaking free seemed an insurmountable task given the vast gulf in their power.
However, the next moment, Huang Anchang's expression hardened, as if he had made a decision. He conjured several elixirs, which appeared in his hand. These were life-saving pills he had recently acquired, and he hadn't expected to need them so soon. The side effects were a secondary concern; survival was paramount to capture. With this thought, Huang Anchang prepared to swallow the pills.
But then, suddenly. From a certain direction, a figure, entirely cloaked in black, its features obscured, moved with terrifying speed towards Huang Anchang, positioning itself before him. Clenching his fist, the surrounding space began to tremble. With a thunderous swing, a fearsome fist energy erupted, colliding head-on with the spiritual energy hand.
"Boom!"
The violent explosion startled every cultivator in the Void Black Market. Simultaneously, Huang Anchang, who had been about to take the pills, froze.