Chapter 96: Those Years I Forged Magic Artifacts in the Ghost Market

Ren Qing laid the Poison Toad Skin on the tabletop, then used a small knife to cut out an arm-sized area, not discarding the leftover scraps either, as they would be just right for future repairs.

Next was grinding the flesh-stone, but he was in no rush. Instead, he began researching the issue of activating the Poison Toad Skin.

According to the books, the simplest method of material activation was blood refining.

Ren Qing took out the beast blood he had prepared in advance and poured some onto the Poison Toad Skin.

The Poison Toad Skin showed signs of absorption, but it was far from the desired effect.

He then gradually increased the amount of beast blood and even added some fresh flesh and bone. The entire piece of skin began to squirm slightly.

"At this rate, it'll take at least five days..."

Ren Qing pinched his temples. He couldn't afford to spend too much time on forging and had to find another way.

His main body first went to consult Great Dream True Person, but the latter still gave no response.

Seeing this, he had no choice but to list out all the toxic materials from the Great Dream Pavilion and selected a few related to Poison Toad Skin, ultimately spending seventeen dou of blood stone.

His main body walked out of the Great Dream Pavilion holding the materials and approached the Great Dream Forging shop.

When he was within a few meters of the shop, the materials in his hand instantly vanished, appearing in front of the split soul.

Ren Qing ground a material called "poisonwood" together with the flesh-stone into powder, then evenly spread it over the surface of the Poison Toad Skin.

Activation suddenly sped up, and the Poison Toad Skin looked as bloody as if it had just been freshly skinned.

The next step was extremely crucial, requiring the use of low-temperature flames to slowly roast, absolutely no distractions allowed.

If it had been any other cultivator, it might have been difficult to summon flames through a technique, and even fewer could precisely control them.

But Ren Qing was different. Under the blessing of the dream-realm Ghost Market, the illusions of Mirror-Faced became extremely close to reality.

Blue-purple flames wrapped the Poison Toad Skin, soon producing sizzling sounds.

The flesh-stone powder seeped into the Poison Toad Skin, and the material truly gave the illusion of coming alive.

Ren Qing calmed his mind and adjusted the flames according to the changes in the material, utilizing Double Pupils to the fullest.

Twin Nightmare Ghosts within the Ghost Market's dream realm could be described as like a fish in water, this kind of artifact forging would likely be far more difficult in the real world.

The flames slowly roasted the Poison Toad Skin, expressing exquisite detail to the utmost. One could see that, aided by his various techniques, Ren Qing did indeed have talent in artifact forging.

After several hours, the surface of the Poison Toad Skin had become indistinguishable from human skin.

After checking multiple times that the artifact was complete, Ren Qing exited the inner room.

As for the second batch of materials, he stored them in Prison Within the Abdomen.

At this rate, even reselling used materials could bring in a full pot of profit.

Zhang Mu walked nervously around the shop and saw Ren Qing's figure approaching. His expression was tense, not knowing what to say.

Ren Qing handed the Poison Toad Skin to Zhang Mu, then continued to remain silent.

Zhang Mu stroked the Poison Toad Skin, hesitated for a few breaths, then tried placing it on his right arm. Immediately, the Poison Toad Skin quickly wrapped around his skin.

Once the Poison Toad Skin vanished, the skin of his right arm appeared slightly blue-purple, covered in bumps of various sizes.

Other than that, there was no difference.

Zhang Mu could clearly feel the Poison Toad Skin integrating with his body. The poisonous gas seeping from his right arm was completely absorbed by the artifact.

In this way, the artifact and the technique formed an alternative symbiotic relationship.

By leveraging the poison from Black Arm Method, the Poison Toad Skin would become more and more tenacious, with a faint capacity for growth.

Although the Poison Toad Skin couldn't become a life-bound artifact like Dragon-Snake Spine, it was more than enough to make up for his weaknesses.

Zhang Mu's face was filled with joy. He repeatedly thanked Ren Qing and then left the shop.

The Restraint Officers waiting outside noticed the difference in Zhang Mu's arm and immediately realized the artifact had been successfully forged.

It was completed far faster than expected, worthy of the perfected Yin Runner Realm Great Dream True Person.

Ren Qing hesitated for a moment and didn't immediately open the shop's wooden door. Instead, he used his main body to scan the reserves outside, looking for cultivators with obvious technique-related flaws.

Also, the artifact to be forged couldn't be too troublesome.

Ren Qing used Twin Nightmare Ghosts to subtly bring those targets into the shop.

Many Restraint Officers exchanged glances, never expecting that the Great Dream Forging shop would only serve one person at a time and that customers were chosen directly by Great Dream True Person.

Seeing that the Ghost Market was about to close, they no longer held out hope. The crowd at the shop's entrance thinned by more than half.

The second artifact Ren Qing forged was aimed at beast-transformation techniques, resembling a headband, allowing the cultivator to remain conscious.

It wasn't a difficult item, just required flame to temper the materials, though it inevitably consumed more time.

The key to stabilizing the cultivator's mind was the inclusion of moonlight stone, which constantly emitted a chilling aura.

This time, Ren Qing charged a full five stones as payment.

Even so, that reserve cultivator still thought it was cheap.

After handling two deals, the Ghost Market was about to end. The Restraint Officers on the street had become sparse.

Ren Qing's split soul returned to his main body, only to find Zhang Mu still waiting at the entrance to the Great Dream Pavilion, his face full of guilt.

This honest man felt a bit sorry for not letting Ren Qing do the forging, completely unaware that the latter had already made a handsome profit.

After leaving Restraint Officers' Hall together, Ren Qing casually recorded his insights into artifact forging.

He discovered that forging artifacts sharpened both Twin Nightmare Ghosts and Mirror-Faced, he had unknowingly grown quite a bit.

Ren Qing became even more convinced of the importance of running the shop well.

As long as he refined his forging skills, the more deals he closed each Ghost Market, the more lifespan he'd earn.

If in the future he could control more split souls, he might even multitask.

Ren Qing continued refining his techniques, occasionally visiting Qinghe Examination Hall to check the situation, as the Sanxiang City civil examination was approaching.

Qinghe Examination Hall covered a large area and was divided into four exam halls: east, south, west, and north, and would gather all candidates from Xiangxiang.

Whether because of Clerk Zhao or Song Zongwu, since he had agreed to both sides, he naturally had a duty to ensure nothing went wrong during the exam.

Now, the western part of the city was full of scholars. Inns were packed, and in the early mornings, the sound of recitation could be faintly heard from all directions.

Ren Qing noticed that some scholars' attire clearly wasn't from Sanxiang City, they were likely from smaller towns in Xiangxiang.

He planned to go to the examination hall to investigate, but suddenly received a task from Restraint Officers' Hall.

A Nether Crow cried above his head.

According to the task slip, in the town of Annan to the south of Xiangxiang, over a dozen examinees had set out for Sanxiang City half a month ago.

They were escorted by soldiers, took official roads, and logically should've been quite safe, yet had vanished without a trace mid-journey.

Restraint Officers' Hall had already sent several Restraint Officers to investigate along the route.

As a reserve, the task requirements for Ren Qing were minimal, just search the vicinity of Sanxiang City for any traces.

The reward would vary depending on the quality of the information provided.