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A sensation of weightlessness invaded Qing Xuanling's body. Her stomach churned as her vision stretched and contracted for an instant before her surroundings changed entirely.
She brought a hand to her mouth and resisted the urge to vomit. Her dark eyes cautiously swept the area. Her companions were in similar condition.
"This is several times worse than when the elders carry us over long distances!"
Qing Huayan swallowed the vomit threatening to escape her throat as she complained. The sensation of traveling inside the Immortal Market was simply too unpleasant.
"The difference between traveling long distances and crossing from one space to another is quite vast," Qing Rannuan sighed. "Besides, the elders always shield us with their Qi. It's no wonder we don't experience many unpleasant sensations with them."
Qing Huayan still had the urge to complain, but Qing Tanwei quickly interrupted her. "Sixth Sister, it's fine to act this way outside, but remember we're currently in a place full of enemies. Stop being so capricious."
An uncomfortable smile appeared on the sixth sister's face. For a moment, she had forgotten the situation they were in. She quickly apologized and changed the subject, focusing on the room they had appeared in.
The room was practically empty, with only a table in the center that held nothing.
"I don't see an exit, but I don't think Senior Sister Su lied to us..." Qing Xuanling sighed. "It must be one of her tricks. We probably can't leave until we find what she wants or in a few hours. Though it's doubtful we can complete the clan's trial if we just stay here doing nothing waiting for an exit to open up."
"That's the last thing we should do."
Qing Muyu shook his head as he headed toward the room's only door, which likely led to the market shown on the Immortal Market scroll. The rest followed closely behind.
He opened the door, revealing a wooden balcony overlooking a bustling street. Below, oil lanterns hung from the eaves, casting a warm light that projected shadows over the merchants and rogue cultivators walking the street.
The scene looked like a parade of monsters, with figures dressed entirely in black wearing sinister masks or bamboo hats that concealed their features.
Of course, there were also those who walked with nothing covering their faces, proudly displaying their identities. Though that didn't necessarily mean those were their true faces, since human-face masks existed.
Such methods weren't exactly uncommon. Especially in a dangerous place like an underground auction.
They had heard it wasn't rare for cultivators inside the auction to fight over treasures, with no one stopping them or maintaining order. Basically, the law of the jungle ruled the underground auction.
'Besides, there are more people than I initially thought... Since it was such an exclusive event protected by the Ink Sword Sect, I imagined there wouldn't be this many. But this is just one street, and there are at least over a hundred people... That's quite strange.'
Qing Xuanling brought her hand to her chin, thoughtful. It didn't take long for her to arrive at a possible cause.
'Oh... Seeing so many people, it's possible the Ink Sword Sect brought people from other cities, and perhaps the entry requirements are much lower. After all, the distance between different cities is quite vast. So they don't need to worry about someone discovering the immortal market.'
'Not to mention Ziyu City is practically in the middle of the Scarlet Forest. There are many demonic beasts in the surrounding area, so few manage to enter or leave the city. But if that's the case, the Immortal Market is...'
She didn't need to finish her sentence for the others to understand. An artifact that allowed people to enter the same pocket space from vast distances was practically divine!
The implications of this were quite significant.
"Actually, this might be the reason why entry to the underground auction from Ziyu City is so strict." Qing Rannuan's thoughts went further. "Most likely, people from other cities don't know the origin of the force behind the auction, so they don't understand the miraculous effect they're experiencing. I doubt the Ink Sword Sect would be as relaxed as it is now if the Immortal Market's effect were to be made public."
A cold smile appeared on Qing Muyu's face. "Looks like we've got one of the Ink Sword Sect's weaknesses in our hands~"
The others laughed as well. But soon, they dropped their complacency and regained their original tension.
"It's time we go down and see how the situation looks."
Qing Tanwei quickly began giving orders, splitting them into pairs. They had already seen several people passing on the street below and realized that large groups were quite rare.
Most walked alone or with just one companion. They would draw too much attention if the whole group moved together.
So after a brief deliberation, the pairs were formed. Surprisingly, Qing Xuanling was paired with Qing Xunwei.
This led to the two girls walking together through the streets, each wearing bamboo hats that concealed their faces.
"Second Sister, tell me if you find anything strange or spot the mortal children we're looking for. I'll be talking to passersby to gather some information about the underground auction."
Although Qing Xuanling didn't know if Qing Xunwei was one of those lucky people born with special or heavenly eyes, she was aware that her vision went beyond the ordinary. She just didn't know to what extent.
Qing Xunwei nodded but continued to look around distractedly.
That didn't bother Qing Xuanling at all and even put her at ease. She trusted that Qing Xunwei would be able to spot anything unusual. Though taciturn and quite odd, this second sister was somewhat reliable.
With that said, Qing Xuanling began approaching some wooden stalls on the sides of the street, casually inspecting their wares while asking various questions about the underground auction.
She discovered several interesting things after enduring several insults from merchants for wasting their time. Because, clearly, she didn't buy anything.
Among the various facts she learned, the most vital was that an auction would be held at the center of the market, which is why this event, occurring every few months, got the name "underground auction," finally resolving Qing Xuanling's doubt as to why something that clearly looked more like a black market was called an auction.
At this auction, various Supreme Grade Tier 1 items and several Tier 2 items would be auctioned, catching the attention of any rogue cultivator and many cultivators from forces at the Qi Refinement level.
Members of forces with Foundation Establishment power did not participate. Firstly, because the Ink Sword Sect didn't invite them, and secondly, because most forces at that level wouldn't bother showing up if there weren't any high-grade Tier 2 items.
Something that clearly wasn't happening at the underground auction.
But what really mattered to Qing Xuanling was that she finally discovered where she could find the mortal children she had to rescue. Though the news was somewhat bittersweet.
Apparently, those mortal children had no spiritual roots, but they weren't ordinary mortals either. These children were actually the result of experiments by some demonic force, so their bodies, besides being stronger than ordinary mortals, had forcibly fused beast lineages in their blood.
So even though they couldn't enter the world of immortal cultivation, the probability of their descendants being born with special talents, physiques, and lineages was extremely high.
Naturally, such children held high value, especially for clans. It was basically ensuring excellent offspring for the next generation.
Children this special wouldn't normally be auctioned off, but apparently, one who found them first was a rogue cultivator found the children by chance in an abandoned cave. Since the children weren't of much use to him as a rogue cultivator, he decided to sell them to get at least a few hundred thousand spirit stones.
The corner of Qing Xuanling's lip twitched when she heard all that. Originally, she had thought the children she had to rescue weren't anything special, but now...
'Now that I think about it, the Young Master never said the children weren't special... Argh, he totally tricked us!'
Qing Xuanling gritted her teeth. All that talk about whether saving mortals was worthwhile seemed meaningless now. But then she calmed down.
Regardless of whether the clan was saving these children for a hidden motive or not, she believed the children would live better in the Qing clan. At least she would make sure of that.
She let out a sigh and began looking for Qing Xunwei. Although the market was crowded and the oil lanterns didn't provide much light, she managed to find Qing Xunwei very quickly. After all, she hadn't moved much from where she had initially left her.
She was standing in front of a wooden stall displaying various items of dubious origin. There were everything from pills with a purity level below 10% to gray stones that seemed to have nothing special about them.
But for some reason, Qing Xunwei was in a heated discussion with the stall owner over a small bluish stone.
"Brat, I risked my life getting this blue spirit stone in an underground river! I'm telling you, it was a river over a hundred meters wide and hundreds of meters deep! This stone must be a once-in-a-lifetime treasure! I'm only selling it because I urgently need spirit stones!"
The stall owner was a middle-aged man with several scars on his face and a missing arm, something quite common among rogue cultivators. Saliva flew from his mouth as he tried to drive up the price of the bluish stone as much as possible.
But Qing Xunwei was not an easy opponent to beat, despite her usual indifference.
"Old man, only you believe that story about a hundred-meter-wide river and who-knows-how-deep. This stone is just a river stone that managed to absorb some spirituality. At best, it's useful for calming the mind. The ten spirit stones I'm offering you are already above the stone's value."
The stall owner desperately tried to raise the price, spouting as much nonsense as his brain could muster. But a single action from Qing Xunwei ruined everything.
"Fine, I'm leaving since you don't want to sell it. Wait and see if you find a fool willing to actually buy a useless stone for twenty spirit stones." Qing Xunwei turned around after saying that.
Panic filled the vendor's eyes. "Wait, girl, here you go! I'll sell it to you for ten spirit stones."
Qing Xunwei returned to the vendor indifferently, paid, and took the bluish stone. Qing Xuanling approached her side and looked at her purchase with curiosity.
"Is this stone special in any way? No matter how I look at it, it just seems like a river stone with an unusual color."
Qing Xuanling didn't believe Qing Xunwei was foolish or liked wasting money, so she assumed there was a reason she bought the stone.
However, she received an unexpected answer.
"I don't know. I just saw that it looked unique and bought it." She shrugged indifferently. "I've always had a good eye for spotting unique things, and this stone might be one of the most valuable things I've ever bought."
"The story about the stone coming from a hundred-meter-wide river hundreds of meters deep might not be entirely false, which explains why this stone is special. Spending only ten spirit stones for something like this can no longer be described as just a bargain. It's just a pity this stone doesn't seem destined for me..."
Qing Xuanling looked at Qing Xunwei in surprise. It was one of the few times she had seen her talking so much. The look in her eyes as she watched the bluish stone changed. She was inclined to believe what Qing Xunwei said.
After all, she had already discovered that her eyes seemed quite special.
Qing Xunwei dropped the subject as she stored the bluish stone in her storage bag. "Did you find anything, little ninth? I tried to spot some suspicious people, but I got distracted buying the blue stone..."
A small sigh escaped Qing Xuanling's mouth. She had tried several times to get Qing Xunwei to stop calling her "little ninth," but the girl was as stubborn as a mule. In the end, she had no choice but to give up.
"The children are currently in the establishment where the largest auction of this underground event will be held. The auction is in four hours, so we don't have much time..."
Qing Xuanling's face was somewhat tense. She really didn't know what she could do to save those children at this point. From what she had investigated, the place where the auction would be held had dozens of cultivators at the peak stage guarding it.
Their team stood no chance against them. Attempting to rescue the children would be impossible with their current strength.
So that forced Qing Xuanling to think creatively.
Her gaze drifted toward the rogue cultivators around her, who hid their greed and desires behind masks. A smile suddenly appeared on her face.
"Second Sister, let's return to the secret room. I have an idea." Qing Xuanling turned back the way they came. "I think I already know how we can complete the university's mission and Senior Sister Su's request!"
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Qing Xuanling's team members regrouped in the room they had arrived at upon entering the Immortal Market painting.
By then, Qing Xuanling had taken out her alchemy furnace and had several spiritual herbs she had found along the way laid out in front of her.
"So, if I understand correctly, your plan is to make the rogue cultivators riot to steal the auction and take advantage of the chaos to rescue the children and get the reports or whatever it is Senior Sister Su wants us to find...?" Qing Tanwei brought her hand to her mouth. "Little ninth, you're much more sinister than I thought!"
Qing Xuanling smiled sheepishly. "It's just something that popped into my head. It's not that complicated to think of something like this, it's just that most people don't have the means to do something like this, so they don't usually think of it."
"And you have the means to cause a massive riot of hundreds of people?" Qing Wentian smiled bitterly. "I think that's much scarier than the idea itself."
"I'm an alchemist, idiot." Qing Xuanling rolled her eyes. "It's true not many can do something like this, but if there's anyone who can, it's undoubtedly an alchemist. Although it's rare, it's not difficult to slightly manipulate people's minds through spiritual herbs."
"It would have been a problem if I hadn't had the necessary spiritual herbs, but fitting for an underground auction where all sorts of things are sold like in a black market, I found dozens of herbs that affect the mind."
A smile spread across everyone's faces.
"Alright, since that's the case, let's start planning how we'll do this. Rescuing the children in the middle of a riot's chaos won't be easy, not to mention someone will have to go find the reports Senior Sister Su wants." Qing Muyu smiled bitterly. "I already went to investigate, and it seems the reports are in the building where the underground auction will be held..."
"That could either benefit us or worsen the entire situation." Qing Tanwei sighed. "We can only hope the guards there scatter due to the riot. If the opposite happens and security increases, the person looking for those reports will have a hard time."
There were many things to plan, so the team soon dove headfirst into planning their "master" plan.