Ding Region, Black Market.
Night had descended completely over Cloud Mist Market.
Yet unlike the peaceful silence found within ordinary mortal cities, the Ding Region only became more active after dark.
Cold mist drifted through the narrow streets endlessly.
Spirit lamps hanging beneath old rooftops flickered dimly with pale green flames, illuminating cracked stone roads stained faintly with dried blood.
The deeper one entered the region—
The quieter it became.
Not peaceful quiet.
But the kind of silence filled with hidden danger.
Black-robed cultivators moved through the streets like wandering ghosts.
Some concealed their faces with masks.
Others wore bamboo hats or illusion artifacts.
Nobody spoke loudly.
Nobody revealed identities.
In this place—
Trust was worthless.
Only spirit stones mattered.
Rows of hidden stalls lined both sides of the streets.
Ancient jade slips.
Poisons.
Demonic cultivation manuals.
Stolen magical artifacts.
Fresh yao beast corpses.
Even damaged spirit treasures stained with blood were displayed openly beneath dim lantern light.
Certain stalls even emitted faint corpse qi.
Clearly selling items freshly dug from ancient graves.
The black market did not care where goods originated from.
As long as profit existed—
Business existed.
At this moment—
A man wearing a plain white mask slowly walked through the market.
His black robes concealed his body completely.
His footsteps remained steady and calm.
Several stall owners glanced toward him briefly before withdrawing their gazes indifferently.
New customers arrived every day.
Some survived.
Some disappeared forever.
Nobody cared.
The masked man continued deeper into the market without hesitation.
Clearly—
He was familiar with this place.
Passing through several dark alleys, he soon arrived before a familiar establishment hidden beneath a faded spirit lantern.
Louxu Shop.
One of the larger underground trading shops within the Ding Region.
Unlike ordinary stalls, Louxu Shop specialized in sensitive transactions and confidential exchanges.
Most customers entering here either possessed valuable goods—
Or troublesome identities.
The masked man entered quietly.
Inside, the environment immediately changed.
Soft incense drifted through the air.
Several hidden soundproof formations glowed faintly beneath the floor.
Assistants dressed in dark robes moved silently throughout the building.
The masked man walked toward a particular corner before calmly taking a seat.
Then—
He waited.
Several minutes later, a female assistant approached respectfully.
Her cultivation aura rested around Qi Refinement Third Layer.
Yet her eyes remained extremely sharp.
"Esteemed guest."
She bowed slightly.
"The room is prepared."
The masked man nodded calmly before following behind her.
Soon—
Both entered a private room.
The moment the door closed, the assistant activated the sound isolation formation immediately.
Hum—
The surrounding noise vanished entirely.
Only after confirming privacy did the masked man wave his hand.
Several rows of talismans appeared atop the table instantly.
The assistant's pupils contracted slightly.
Dense lightning fluctuations spread throughout the room.
The talisman lines were smooth and stable.
Clearly crafted by someone highly skilled.
"Thunderclap Exploding Talismans…"
And not ordinary quality either.
These were high-grade products.
The assistant quickly estimated their value mentally.
With enough of these talismans—
Even Rank-1 High Grade yao beasts could suffer severe injuries.
If used properly during ambushes, even Qi Refinement Late Stage cultivators might die instantly.
The masked man remained silent.
The assistant smiled professionally.
"Esteemed guest truly possesses impressive goods."
"What price do you seek?"
The masked man finally spoke.
His voice sounded calm and distorted intentionally.
"Highest market value."
The assistant almost rolled her eyes inwardly.
'Another troublesome negotiator.'
Still—
She maintained her smile.
After nearly fifteen minutes of bargaining, both sides finally reached an agreement.
The assistant handed over a storage pouch respectfully.
The masked man inspected the contents briefly before nodding.
Without another word—
He turned and left the room calmly.
…
Elsewhere within the black market—
Lin Sheng walked quietly through another section of the Ding Region.
His Hidden Breath Technique circulated silently throughout his body.
Combined with the black robes and mask concealing his identity, his presence became extremely ordinary.
Tonight, his purpose differed from before.
This time—
He came to sell pills.
Within Cloud Mist Market, the Dan Dao Alliance monopolized nearly all official medicinal pill transactions.
Any medicinal pill sold through normal channels required inspection and approval markings from the alliance itself.
This allowed them to maintain authority over the pill market completely.
Naturally—
Many cultivators disliked such control.
Especially rogue cultivators.
Tribulation cultivators.
Or unofficial alchemists wishing to avoid attention.
Thus the black market became the perfect location for illegal pill transactions.
Lin Sheng soon stopped before a hidden stall covered with dark cloth.
The stall owner appeared old and lazy.
At first glance, he looked half asleep.
Without wasting time, Lin Sheng directly placed several pill containers atop the table.
The old man casually opened one.
Then immediately froze slightly.
Inside the container rested several Golden Grain Pills.
Dense medicinal fragrance drifted outward instantly.
The old man's sleepy expression disappeared completely.
He quickly picked up one pill for inspection.
The pill surface was smooth.
The medicinal essence stable.
Most importantly—
The quality was high.
The old man narrowed his eyes carefully.
"These pills…"
"Where did you obtain them?"
Lin Sheng replied calmly.
"Do you want to buy them or not?"
The old man chuckled awkwardly.
"Of course."
After several minutes of inspection and negotiation, the transaction concluded smoothly.
The stall owner accepted all the pills immediately before handing Lin Sheng a storage pouch filled with spirit stones.
Lin Sheng inspected the contents briefly.
Then nodded inwardly.
The price was acceptable.
After completing the sale, he continued moving through the market.
This time, however—
His objective shifted toward gathering materials.
Materials required for a newly optimized pill formula.
The Vajra Pill.
A special medicinal formula developed through repeated chip simulations and modifications.
Unlike ordinary body refinement pills, the Vajra Pill focused entirely on enhancing the Vajra Fist Technique's Body Refining path.
Yao beast blood.
Bone essence.
Viscera.
Gallbladders.
Tendons.
Every material selected possessed strengthening properties related to physical cultivation.
The Vajra Fist Technique itself already possessed terrifying body refinement potential.
Before entering true Body Refining, practitioners first underwent Body Nourishing.
Three Qi-Blood Gates.
Then afterward—
Ten layers of true Body Refining.
At higher stages, practitioners could rival yao beasts directly through physical strength alone.
At the peak Innate Body Refining stage—
Physical force exceeding ten thousand jin became possible.
But naturally—
The cultivation cost was equally terrifying.
Fortunately, the black market contained nearly every type of questionable material imaginable.
Soon—
Lin Sheng began purchasing large quantities of ingredients.
Black Python gallbladders.
Earth Boar tendons.
Iron Bone Ape marrow.
Blood essence from various low-grade yao beasts.
Several stall owners became increasingly surprised inwardly.
This masked cultivator purchased body refinement materials like flowing water.
Clearly either rich—
Or insane.
After nearly two hours of transactions, Lin Sheng finally prepared to leave the market.
However—
The moment he stepped beyond the black market perimeter—
Boom!!
A violent lightning explosion erupted nearby.
Crack!!
Blue lightning illuminated the night sky instantly.
Several nearby cultivators shouted in alarm.
"Robber cultivators!"
"Someone's fighting outside!"
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Without moving visibly, he spread his mental field outward silently.
The nearby battlefield instantly entered his perception.
Several black-robed cultivators surrounded a lone masked figure aggressively.
Spells exploded continuously throughout the ruined street.
Fireballs.
Wind blades.
Earth spikes.
Boom!
Boom!!
Explosions shattered walls and stone roads repeatedly.
Yet despite facing multiple enemies—
The lone masked cultivator remained calm.
Blue lightning crackled violently around his body.
Crack!!
Another arc of lightning erupted from his palm instantly.
The spell moved with terrifying speed.
One robber cultivator screamed immediately as the lightning pierced directly through his shoulder.
Burnt flesh smell spread outward instantly.
The masked cultivator moved again.
Whoosh!!
His movement technique resembled flowing electricity.
Fast.
Sharp.
Violent.
Every movement carried traces of crackling lightning.
Lin Sheng observed silently from the shadows.
The masked cultivator clearly specialized heavily in a single lightning spell.
Lightning Arc.
Yet the spell's mastery was astonishingly high.
Each cast was smooth and precise.
More importantly—
The destructive power exceeded ordinary Qi Refinement techniques significantly.
Crack!!
Another lightning arc erupted outward.
A robber cultivator hurriedly activated a defensive artifact.
Hum!
A bronze shield appeared before him.
Then—
Boom!!
The lightning exploded against the shield violently.
Sparks erupted everywhere.
The shield cracked instantly.
The cultivator himself flew backward while coughing blood.
The remaining robber cultivators hesitated slightly afterward.
Clearly—
This target was much harder than expected.
Lin Sheng continued observing carefully.
Then his expression changed subtly.
'Qi Refinement Seventh Layer…'
That was the shocking part.
Mutated lightning spirit roots were extremely rare.
Cultivators possessing such talent normally received recruitment offers immediately from sects and large cultivation families.
Especially at Qi Refinement Late Stage.
Yet Lin Sheng had never heard rumors about such a person within Cloud Mist Market.
Meaning—
Either this person concealed himself extremely deeply.
Or—
His background involved major trouble.
At that moment—
One robber cultivator suddenly shouted angrily.
"Attack together!"
Several spells erupted simultaneously toward the masked lightning cultivator.
Fireballs roared through the air.
Wind blades shrieked sharply.
Earth spikes burst upward from the ground.
Yet the masked cultivator remained calm.
Crack!!
Lightning exploded around his body instantly.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished sideways like a bolt of thunder.
The incoming spells collided against empty ground instead.
Boom!!
Dust and debris exploded upward violently.
Before the robber cultivators recovered—
The masked cultivator raised his palm again.
Blue lightning condensed rapidly.
The surrounding spiritual qi became chaotic instantly.
Crack—!!
A thick arc of lightning shot forward violently.
The air itself seemed to distort from the speed.
One robber cultivator barely activated a defensive talisman.
Hum!
A light barrier appeared briefly.
Then—
Boom!!
The lightning shattered the barrier instantly before piercing through the cultivator's chest.
The corpse collapsed smoking onto the ground.
Silence briefly filled the battlefield.
The remaining robber cultivators immediately changed expressions.
Fear appeared within their eyes.
This opponent—
Was abnormal.