Death... and me

Rean, Malaka, and Kentucky went to the place where the Profound Abyss participants were gathered.

Meanwhile, Roan walked around the stalls, looking for the Skill Manuals he hadn't seen before. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't only the disciples of the various sects selling them. There were also a lot of elders of smaller sects selling their own skills as well. 

Then again, the kind of skill didn't matter to him. Weapon-related or not, he didn't care. The important part was whether Roan liked it or not.

As he walked, he saw several different types. Of course, he couldn't browse into the skill manuals' entire content, only their introductions. Nevertheless, he still found quite a few good examples. 

"Light Blades, just 300 Rank Two Spirit Stones!"

"Fire Convergence, 450 Spirit Stones! This is a special manual that you, fire users, won't find so easily outside!"

"Come, Come! Fire, Water, and Earth manuals of different types. Get two or more, and I'll give you a discount."

Of course, Roan wasn't an idiot. First of all, those were all manuals for Core Formation Realm cultivators and above. Skill manuals that allowed Foundation Establishment cultivators to use skills were very rare. Those organizations, sects, etc., wouldn't bring them out this easily. The proof was that none of them were being sold for Rank Three Spirit Stones, only Rank Two and below.

"Let me check the Water Spirit and the Wind Lashes Manuals."

"Right away!"

Roan browsed the introduction of the manuals and nodded with a satisfied expression.

"I want both."

The seller, of course, was delighted as well.

"Both manuals would be worth 825 Rank Two Spirit Stones, but since this brother is buying two at once, I'll make them 800 for you."

Roan didn't mind and immediately took the Spirit Stones out, paying the seller. He again pretended to put the manuals on his backpack as he sent them into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm.

Roan continued to walk around the stalls as he bought more skill books, thinking in the process.

'So far, I only have skills that are dependent on weapons. I've been working on a few skills that have no use for them, but I need a few more similar skills to take reference. Finding the right meridians' path so that one can use the skill while still in Foundation Establishment is quite hard...'

Suddenly, Roan felt some kind of familiar energy.

'Hum...?'

Roan looked in a particular direction, just to see another inconspicuous stall in a corner. There wasn't anything different from this stall compared to the others. The disciples and the elder taking care of it announced their products just like everyone else. Some stopped to see the items and skill manuals they had; others didn't.

Of course, Roan could feel that the familiar energy he was feeling was coming from there.

Roan approached the stall and looked at the products for view.

The elder noticed Roan and immediately complimented him.

"Welcome, kid. Is there something you like? Buy two or more, and I'll give you a discount."

Roan nodded as his eyes landed at the bottom right corner of the table where the items were being displayed. There, he could see a piece of dark blue metal that didn't seem that useful. So much so that it was being displayed in one of the hard to see places.

"Can I take a look at that piece of metal?"

The elder nodded and looked at the item Roan was talking about. 

He then quickly fetched it for Roan so that he could take a look.

Roan held the piece of dark blue metal in his hand for a few moments while pondering.

'No doubt, this is the same Yin Energy my Death Body had before I was dragged into this place.'

Roan then looked at the elder and asked.

"What is this?"

The elder then explained.

"This is a piece of Yin Ice Ore. This kind of metal takes form in regions of extreme cold. It's quite good for those who would like to practice the skills that require this type of energy."

Roan looked at the elder with a doubtful expression.

"Is there such a thing as Yin Energy Skills?"

That was the first time Roan heard about that. So far, he had only found skills of the five main elements.

However, the elder seemed to have understood something and made a question.

"Oh! You came from one of those countryside Sects, right?"

Roan didn't deny it. Others might feel embarrassed to admit such a thing, but he didn't give a damn, so he immediately nodded.

"It's normal for you to not have heard about it since those places as too far away. Skill Manuals that use Yin or Yang Energy are rare even in a place like this, let alone there. Yin Energy skills like the one you have in this piece of metal can even allow others to control unique elements like darkness. Of course, no one is idiotic enough to use Yin Energy for something like that. What's the point in controlling an element that you have no affinity for whatsoever? That being said, water is usually the main one. There are even some evil cultivators that like to play with dead bodies and souls by using Yin Energy."

Roan was surprised to hear that. He didn't expect that other people could use the Dark Element like him.

"Are there any skills of the Dark Element then?"

The elder didn't understand why Roan would be interested in the Dark Element that no one used. Still, he did want to please Roan as a seller, so he explained nonetheless.

"Well, the only ones that usually use Yin Energy to control the Dark Element are assassins. The Dark Element is very useful for dark environments, after all. Still, skill manuals of the Dark Element are very rare. I doubt you will find even a single one in this place, let alone in the place you came from."

Roan didn't mind. He was already satisfied that there were Dark Element skill manuals in this world. 

Still, he understood that they had a different use from his own Dark Element. As mentioned before, helping someone with a rare element to cultivate is extremely hard. Rean and Roan were just doing this well thanks to the Soul Gem System. The cultivators that use these Dark Element Manuals were not Dark Element Cultivators to start with. Instead, they cultivate another mainstream element and use Yin Energy to control the Dark Element. Their cultivation progress had nothing to do with Dark Element, different from himself.

'The Empire's Capital should have some of these. I'll take a look one day if the chance presents itself.'

Still, he put those thoughts on the back of his mind and asked the elder back.

"Is that really okay to put it for selling? It seems quite rare."

"It's okay. This one in your hands is a failure. The Yin Energy inside is very concentrated but too impure at the same time. At most, you can use it for Initial Stages of Yin Energy techniques. If you keep using it for too long, it will deeply affect your body. That's why not a lot of people are interested in it. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn't put it here for sale. The real good Yin Energy materials can be sold for Rank Four Spirit Stones, just so that you can have an idea."

Suddenly, Sister Orb sent him a message.

[Roan, buy this thing and give it to me.]

'Sister Orb, can you feel it?'

[Yes. It has a good concentration of Yin Energy inside. It will be perfect to increase the level of the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Too bad we don't have any Yang Energy Material to make up for the balance. Still, I can work things around. As for the impurity he talked about, the Soul Gem System won't be affected.]

Roan pondered a bit before asking.

'What if I have a use for it?'

[You? You're basically a walking Yin Energy generator of the best quality at this point. High efficiency, with low consumption. Exactly the type everyone would want one at home to show the visitors they had money to buy. Why would you want this piece of metal?]

Roan's mouth twitched in response. Somehow, he felt like he was an expensive air conditioner.

'What will the Soul Gem Realm give me in exchange?'

[How could you ask for payment from your little Sister Orb? Don't you feel ashamed of yourself?]

Roan snorted and was just about to put the metal back on the table when Sister Orb intervened.

[Wait, wait, wait! How about this? I'll tell you what the next upgrade of any of the rewards available will give you.]

Roan had to admit that he was tempted. There were several rewards that both he and Rean would like to know about. For example, what the next Soul Gem Dimensional Realm upgrade would give them? As for the Workshop and Formations Repositories, what would they create after the upgrade? If they knew about it beforehand, it would be very convenient to decide whether they should buy that first or not. After all, Destiny Points were precious.

'Fine.'

"How much for this piece of Yin Ice Ore."

The elder smiled as he immediately offered.

"500 Rank Two Spirit Stones."

In fact, that was a little expensive, but the elder started with a high price on purpose so that they could negotiate. However, to his surprise, Roan simply nodded.

"Very well."

Of course, the elder was delighted to hear that. However, just as Roan was about to pay, a voice appeared from behind him.

"I'll give 600 Spirit Stones for it."

Roan's eyes narrowed in response after hearing that.