The very next morning, the serene quietude of Xiaozhu Peak was shattered by an intensely focused, slightly breathless individual.
"Lord Pig!"
Zeng Shushu—the young disciple from Feng Hui Peak and the Grandmaster of all things sneaky—burst onto the scene, practically radiating excitement. He had not slept a wink, the image of the rumored item and the smell of forbidden silk keeping him awake in a feverish state of anticipation.
"This brat is here already. Lord Pig, go handle the vulgar masses for me," Lord Pig muttered, opening one lazy eye. He effortlessly executed a perfect leap out of Shuiyue's warm embrace and trotted out of the room, his golden fur gleaming in the dawn light.
At the foot of the mountain, Zeng Shushu's eyes sparkled with frantic hope the moment he saw his golden savior appear. He rushed forward, his face a mask of fawning eagerness. "Lord Pig, I have secured the elixirs! I raided my reserves—200, exactly as requested. How about the... item?"
"When Lord Pig takes action, success is guaranteed! Unlike your current attire, this piece is absolutely authentic," Lord Pig declared with a theatrical flourish of his paw. He reached into his space ring and, with the practiced elegance of a master counterfeiter, pulled out a single, delicately folded garment. He tossed it—the first Cloud Catcher—to Zeng Shushu.
The disciple caught it as if it were a falling star. He immediately held the soft silk to his nose and inhaled deeply.
"Ah… it smells so celestial! It is filled with the pure, fragrant essence of Qingyun!" Zeng Shushu cried, his eyes rolling back in an expression of pure, blissful perversion.
Lord Pig watched the disciple's dramatic reaction with absolute disdain. "Look at your pitiful display of vulgarity. Where is Lord Pig's mountain of spiritual medicine?"
The garment, of course, was not one of Lu Xueqi's own. It was one of the five hundred bulk items purchased from Jin Ping'er yesterday. However, to ensure the necessary "aura," Lord Pig had performed a meticulous process: he had rolled it a few times in the dirt to simulate "wear," and then applied a judicious spritz of an expensive, forbidden flower perfume he had secretly acquired in Yudu City. Scent is everything in this market.
"Grandmaster Uncle, here is the entire collection of elixirs, my life savings!" Zeng Shushu handed over a bag containing two hundred spiritual herbs.
"Little Zeng Zeng," Lord Pig said, patting Zeng Shushu's shoulder with a look of profound, entrepreneurial mentorship. "You are a lively boy, and clearly, a man of great connections. Find more buyers for me. If you introduce more customers, I shall offer you a broker's discount in the future. The more customers you bring, the deeper the discount. What say you?"
"Truly?!" Zeng Shushu's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. This was brilliant! He had exhausted his own savings, but he could easily act as a middleman. He could charge a small agency fee—a few spiritual herbs per client—and the desperate fools would happily pay it for an introduction to this high-status, secure black market dealer.
"Of course! Who is Lord Pig? Do I look like I would lie to a subordinate?" Lord Pig patted his massive, round chest.
"Done, Lord Pig! I shall depart immediately to expand the Lord Pig's Spiritual Silk Emporium!"
Zeng Shushu departed, clutching the silk like a priceless talisman, ready to turn the Qingyun Sect into his personal, profitable den of iniquity.
"Lord Pig is a true genius of finance!"
Lord Pig gazed at the two hundred spiritual herbs before him, imagining the potential haul from the full five hundred pieces. This is better than owning a spirit mine! He promptly sealed the first batch of elixirs into his spatial ring and ambled back toward the comfort of Xiaozhu Peak.
Zeng Shushu's first target was close to home, on Feng Hui Peak. He spotted Junior Brother Wang, a disciple known for his quiet, long-suffering admiration for a certain junior sister on Xiaozhu Peak.
"Junior Brother Wang, wait up!" Zeng Shushu called out, jogging to catch him.
"Senior Brother Zeng, is there something you require?" Junior Brother Wang asked nervously.
"Junior Brother Wang, I hear you've been secretly nursing feelings for a certain sister on Xiaozhu Peak for quite some time now. Am I correct?" Zeng Shushu plunged straight into the forbidden topic.
Junior Brother Wang's face turned a spectacular shade of pink. "N-no, Senior Brother Zeng! You must be mistaken!"
"Stop pretending! Your Senior Brother knows your heart, and you know I have a similar devotion to Xueqi! Come, look at this!" Zeng Shushu pulled out his hard-won prize with a mysterious, leering expression.
Junior Brother Wang looked at the item and gasped. "Brother… did you sneak onto Xiaozhu Peak and steal Senior Sister Lu's undergarments?"
"Hush! Am I Zeng Shushu that kind of low-life criminal? And even if I were, Xiaozhu Peak is protected by an Array of Ultimate Virtue! No male disciple could breach it!" Zeng Shushu hissed, feigning outrage. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I procured this through a channel of absolute security and spiritual legitimacy. It cost me two hundred of my finest spiritual herbs. It came directly from Xueqi herself—and smell this! It's intoxicating!"
Junior Brother Wang looked envious, his mind racing. He wanted to ask where Zeng Shushu had bought it, but the terrifying thought of punishment under the iron fist of Cangsong gave him pause.
Zeng Shushu saw the internal struggle and pounced.
"Junior Brother Wang, calm your nerves. The seller is Lord Pig. The goods are Genuine. The transaction is Protected. I guarantee there will be no issues, provided we maintain absolute secrecy. You know who Lord Pig is, correct? He is our Grandmaster Uncle! Even Cangsong wouldn't dare to publicly offend him!"
"Lord Pig! Of course, I know of him!" Junior Brother Wang's eyes were filled with awe. "He fought the Spirit Master and publicly protected Aunt Shuiyue! He has strength and an unshakeable position. Even Cangsong cannot touch him!"
"Exactly! This piece came directly from my beloved Xueqi just last night! It has the aura of the Cold Moon!" Zeng Shushu said, sniffing it again.
Junior Brother Wang was torn between revulsion at Zeng Shushu's behavior and a compelling, forbidden desire. To own a keepsake of his goddess...
"Senior Brother Zeng, is Lord Pig selling anyone's... Cloud Catcher?" he finally asked, yielding to temptation.
"Of course! Lord Pig has a vast inventory! Even Martial Aunt Shuiyue's own, I hear, is available for the right price!" Zeng Shushu bragged, instantly regretted mentioning Shuiyue, and whispered, "But keep that strictly between us, or Aunt Shuiyue will turn us into minced pork!"
"I... I don't have two hundred spiritual herbs, and I don't require Senior Sister Lu's specifically, though any of the other sisters would be sufficient. Can Lord Pig accept a lesser amount?" Junior Brother Wang asked nervously.
"Hmm. I cannot speak for Lord Pig's price model, but I can introduce you to the dealer. For my services as an authorized agent and guarantor of safety, I require only five spiritual herbs."
Junior Brother Wang was ecstatic. Five herbs for access to the spiritual black market was a negligible fee. He quickly handed them over.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Zeng!"
"Wait for my message," Zeng Shushu said, feeling like a genius. Five herbs for five minutes of talking! I'm officially an entrepreneur!
The next day, Zeng Shushu triumphantly led a group of ten disciples to the agreed-upon, secretive meeting spot—a shadowy grove at the base of the mountain.
The ten disciples were nervous wrecks, hands shaking, clutching small satchels of elixirs. Lord Pig, adopting the persona of a powerful, slightly bored drug lord, listened to their desperate requests and, after a tense negotiation, set the fixed price: One hundred spiritual herbs for any disciple other than Lu Xueqi, whose price remained two hundred due to her high-profile status.
An agreement was struck. The ten disciples submitted their lists (e.g., "One Xiao Minmin" or "One Ling'er") and rushed back to their peaks to gather the medicinal capital.
Zeng Shushu, meanwhile, continued to work the peaks, his reputation soaring as the sole legitimate supplier.
Two days later, Lord Pig met the ten disciples again. He delivered ten newly prepared Cloud Catchers, complete with tiny, handwritten labels corresponding to their requested owner. He harvested one thousand spiritual herbs in a single transaction. The disciples held their purchases like sacred relics and scurried away, drunk on their forbidden acquisitions.
Witnessing the smooth, high-stakes transaction, a second wave of fifteen people—recruited by Zeng Shushu and the initial buyers—now approached Lord Pig. Their confidence was sky-high. They, too, handed over their lists and retreated to loot their respective Spiritual Medicine Storerooms.
The market had reached full velocity.
As the days turned into weeks, Lord Pig's enterprise exploded from a clandestine operation to the main concern of every male disciple under the age of forty. They spent every spare moment gathering elixirs and haggling with Zeng Shushu.
Total Transactions: Five hundred Cloud Catchers sold.
Total Revenue:35,000 spiritual herbs (accounting for the higher price for Xueqi's items and the initial price to Zeng Shushu).
Total Energy Harvested: 350,000 Energy Points.
Total Experience Gained: The continuous physical contact and dramatic encounters pushed Lord Pig's experience past 20,000.
The total energy count surpassed 400,000. Lord Pig was officially ready for his next level-up, a process which promised the acquisition of the Immortal Execution Sword itself.
Meanwhile, on the distant, austere Longshou Peak, the master of punishments, Cangsong, sat in his main hall, his expression dark and severe.
"Qi Hao, Jing Yu," Cangsong addressed the two most outstanding disciples kneeling before him. "I sense a growing rot within the inner peaks. For the past month, the supply of common Spiritual Herbs used for low-grade elixirs has plummeted across all peak treasuries."
He continued, "Furthermore, the disciples are acting strangely—meeting in secret, exhibiting an unnatural level of furtiveness, and carrying small, fragrant packages. They are up to something sinister, and it involves wanton looting of sect property. Go immediately and investigate this mysterious activity. I want to know what demon is feeding this corruption."
Qi Hao, the eldest disciple, was stoic and obedient. Lin Jingyu, the prodigy of Qingyun who was Zhang Xiaofan's contemporary, was talented but perpetually serious. Cangsong loved Jingyu for his rigid adherence to rules and his exceptional skill.
"Yes, Master. We shall obey and discover the source of this rot," Qi Hao confirmed, his voice firm.
"Disciple obeys," Lin Jingyu echoed, his gaze hardened with resolve.
The two chief disciples of Longshou Peak retreated, tasked with tracking down the culprits behind the Qingyun Sect's rapidly escalating spiritual medicine crisis. They had no idea that the "demon" they sought was a seven-pound, golden pig-bear whose entire business model was based on selling lingerie to lonely men.
The collision between the hyper-efficient, highly profitable Lord Pig Spiritual Silk Black Market and the rigid, lawful enforcement of Longshou Peak was now inevitable.