The Demon with Holy Radiance Chapter 38

The heavy stone door slowly opened. Several Glue Insect Children stood respectfully outside, waiting for Yang An to emerge.

At first, Yang An could still keep track of the time, but after he started cultivating, he gradually lost his sense of it.

"How long was I in there? What hour is it now?"

Yang An asked the Glue Insect Child before him. Since Mother Divination True Master had said he could command these creatures as he pleased, he wasn’t about to be polite.

Yang An didn’t know where the Glue Insect Child’s vocal organs were. He saw no change in it, yet a voice reached him.

"You have been in the Quiet Chamber for five hours. It is now Noon."

"Noon?"

Noon was the period between eleven and one in the afternoon, the height of midday.

Yang An remembered it had been dark outside when he arrived here with Pan Shi and his sister. He hadn’t expected it to already be noon the next day.

He had been in the stone room for so long. ’Looks like once you start cultivating, your sense of time really does start to fade,’ he thought.

’I wonder if Pan Shi and the others are looking everywhere for me after I suddenly disappeared.’

After giving an order to the Glue Insect Child, Yang An was quickly led toward the upper levels of the island.

After another series of twists and turns, he emerged from beneath the earth and passed through an exit heavily guarded by numerous Children. Outside, the sky was still bright as day.

It was as if this place existed in a state of eternal, unchanging daylight.

The island was still bustling with the clamor of voices and surging crowds as cultivators attended the Great Feast, enjoying themselves immensely.

Yang An’s appearance attracted the attention of some cultivators. Seeing him emerge from a heavily guarded, important area, they were clearly curious about his identity.

He glanced at the few Glue Insect Children guarding him, sticking to his side like glue.

Yang An thought for a moment and immediately ordered the creatures to keep their distance, leaving only one Glue Insect Child by his side to run errands. He didn’t want to be the constant subject of stares and whispers.

The Glue Insect Children obediently moved further away but still maintained a protective formation. Only then did Yang An relax and merge into the crowd.

’Nothing bad is likely to happen on Mother Divination True Master’s territory, so Pan Shi and the others probably won’t worry even if they can’t find me,’ Yang An reasoned, deciding to wander around on his own for a while.

After all, Mother Divination True Master had told him to take whatever he fancied. Though Yang An’s pockets were empty, his confidence was soaring.

Soon, Yang An arrived at a stall surrounded by a large group of cultivators. It seemed some treasure had caught their attention.

Without needing an order from Yang An, the Glue Insect Child immediately cleared a path for him, allowing him to easily reach the front.

"I want this Magical Artifact! I’ll offer ten Spirit Phoenix Pills!"

"Ten Spirit Phoenix Pills? Heh, I’ll offer three Top-Grade Spiritual Objects!"

"Fellow Daoist, why not sell this item to me? I’ll trade a Middle-grade Magical Artifact of the same level for it. I guarantee you won’t get the short end of the stick!"

Yang An slipped into the crowd and saw that many cultivators were frantically outbidding one another, apparently vying for a Magical Artifact.

Yang An’s interest was piqued. Although a Magical Artifact wasn’t on his list of needs, it couldn’t hurt to take a look.

The cultivator behind the stall was holding something that looked like a rock. Its surface was uneven, and it looked quite ordinary—not at all like a Magical Artifact should.

"Fellow Daoist, may I have a look?"

Yang An asked. The cultivator hesitated for a moment but then nodded. After all, another bidder was to his advantage, so he handed the item to Yang An.

[Stone Egg Armor: From the Jade Refining Workshop, crafted from the egg of an Earth Worm. As the Earth Worm’s egg is extremely hard, the resulting Magical Artifact perfectly inherits this property. Infusing it with Mana binds it to the user’s body to form Armor.

Cost of Use: As this armor is crafted from a living egg, there is a fifty percent chance the Earth Worm inside will be activated upon first binding. The user’s body will then be devoured and possessed.

Status: Purification possible!]

The moment he took the item, a prompt appeared before Yang An’s eyes. He immediately noticed the name "Jade Refining Workshop."

He recalled the Forbidden Child Talisman, a Magical Artifact that Pan Yu had acquired through a trade, had also come from the Jade Refining Workshop.

’This Jade Refining Workshop must be a very famous place for Artifact Refining.’

However, after reading the Magical Artifact’s information, Yang An was a little confused.

The cost of using this Magical Artifact was a full fifty percent—such a high probability of having your body devoured and possessed by an Earth Worm. Why were so many people fighting over it?

’Is this Magical Artifact really that powerful?’

He voiced his confusion, only to be met with immediate scorn from the other cultivators.

"Where did this Junior Cultivator come from? If you know about the Stone Egg Armor, don’t you also know that even if the Earth Worm in the egg awakens, you can suppress it as long as your Cultivation Level is high enough?"

"You don’t know anything. I suggest you just quietly walk away and stop holding up our transaction."

A few bursts of laughter came from the side, making Yang An seem rather ignorant for asking such a question.

Hearing the others’ explanation, Yang An finally understood.

So, it wasn’t that the Magical Artifact itself was incredibly powerful, but that it was a rare type of artifact whose cost of use could be forcibly suppressed with a high enough Cultivation Level!

No wonder so many people were fighting over it.

Even an ordinary item would be highly sought after by many cultivators as long as its cost of use was low enough.

He hadn’t been particularly interested in Magical Artifacts and was just joining in on the fun. But on second thought, having a defensive Magical Artifact wouldn’t be a bad idea.

’Laughing?’

He swept his gaze over the people still laughing at him. Their eyes were filled with unconcealed contempt, as if they thought the effects of the Illusion Mimic Insect Corpse would hide their expressions from others.

’You like to laugh, do you?’

’It’s mine now!’

A grin spread across Yang An’s face as he instantly stored the Magical Artifact in the stomach of his Meat Burial Talisman.

Seeing the Stone Egg Armor vanish from Yang An’s hand in an instant, he turned and walked away.

Now, not only was the seller anxious, but the onlookers were even more so, flying into a rage.

"Where did you come from, you rogue cultivator? How dare you just snatch it? You’re courting death!"

"Hand over the Magical Artifact, or we’ll seize you and drag you before Mother Divination True Master for severe punishment!"

"Fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist, wait! How can you just steal something?! Are you trying to break the rules of the Great Feast?!"

Hearing the string of angry curses and accusations behind him, Yang An just smiled faintly. He couldn’t be bothered with them. Without a backward glance, he quickly pushed through the crowd and swaggered off.

’Mother Divination True Master was the one who said I could take whatever I wanted. If you have a problem, go battle it out with her!’

The Glue Insect Children were still following him. With Mother Divination True Master’s orders, they would surely step in to handle this for him. He could just leave the aftermath to them.

Besides, he didn’t have to pay for it himself. Mother Divination True Master would foot the bill.

Sure enough, just as the group of cultivators was about to make a move to stop Yang An and teach him a good lesson...

The next moment, several Children appeared in unison, blocking them all.

After a brief exchange with the Glue Insect Children, the cultivators watched Yang An’s departing back, all with expressions of shock.

’This person is an honored guest of Mother Divination True Master? Good heavens!’

"Please proceed to Yishui Pavilion later. Our Celestial River Dragon Mansion will cover the cost of the item the guest has taken!"

"...Alright."

Meanwhile, Yang An quickly blended back into the crowd and soon arrived at another stall.

"Huh? What’s this? The Great Light Seal Fist Technique? It’s a Boxing Manual!

’Great stuff! I’ll take it!’"

Yang An’s eyes lit up. He pocketed the item without a word and turned to leave.

"You audacious thief! How dare you rob someone in broad daylight!"

The cultivator behind the stall flew into a rage and immediately lunged forward, but at that exact moment, several Children appeared and blocked his path...

A few breaths later, Yang An arrived at yet another stall.

The cultivator behind this stall was introducing his wares to others:

"There are ten Dao Birth Pills here in total. A single elixir is equivalent to ten days of cultivation for someone in the Middle Stage of the Fake Food Realm..."

Again, Yang An’s eyes lit up.

Two breaths later, after tossing the entire bottle of elixirs into his Meat Burial Talisman, Yang An turned and left.

The cultivator behind the stall could only stare, completely bewildered, at the Children who had suddenly appeared.

A short while later, Yang An’s figure appeared at another new stall...

And the Great Feast became even more lively.

At this very moment, in a remote corner not far away...

A cultivator suddenly looked up, immediately drawing the attention of the two people beside him.

"Senior Brother Guang Du! That person’s aura has appeared!"