He walked slowly through the streets of the Black Market. It was crowded, yet utterly silent.
It was like a silent, ghostly domain.
Lin Changheng's gaze swept over the stalls on both sides. The owners all had their faces concealed. With downcast eyes, they neither hawked their wares nor looked around, simply staring at their own stalls and waiting for customers to approach.
Talismans, Elixirs, Poisons, Poisonous Insects, Ore Spiritual Materials, Ancient Cultivation Manuals...
There was nothing you couldn't find, only things you had yet to imagine.
Some items were still caked in fresh dirt, as if just dug out of an old tomb. Others were stained with specks of blood that had only just dried.
He drew a sharp breath.
Lin Changheng's eyelid twitched. 'The Cultivation Realm really is fraught with peril, and the Black Market is so blatant about it!'
'They must have just killed someone for their treasures. They didn't even bother to clean the items before putting them up for sale?'
He immediately thought to himself, 'I should stay away from places like this.'
His gaze casually swept over the black-robed owner behind the stall, noting the dark skin peeking out from beneath the robe's sleeves. A classic saying from his past life popped into his head.
'You can doubt his character, but you can't doubt his goods.'
With this thought in mind, his pace quickened. He passed the stall, but it wasn't long before he stopped again.
The stall before him was covered in all sorts of miscellaneous items, most of them secondhand.
Among the items, a dark gray Lower Grade Flying Knife Spiritual Artifact caught Lin Changheng's eye.
Although it showed many signs of use, its quality didn't seem to be significantly worn or damaged.
Beside the stall stood a wooden sign with the words, "Personal item for trade. Guaranteed risk-free."
Heh...
Lin Changheng glanced at the stall owner, who was also completely wrapped in a wide, gray robe, and didn't believe a word on the sign.
'But this Flying Knife Spiritual Artifact is a common design in the Cultivation Realm, with no distinguishing marks. Even if it was acquired through murder and theft, there'd be no trouble in buying it.'
After a moment of deliberation, Lin Changheng made his decision. He crouched down, picked up the Flying Knife Spiritual Artifact to inspect it, then asked in a very low voice, "How much for this Flying Knife Spiritual Artifact?"
The stall owner finally looked up, glanced at him, and quoted in an equally low voice, "Sixty Lower Grade Spirit Stones."
"Fellow Daoist, do you take me for a three-year-old child? At that price, I could buy a brand-new Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact in the Marketplace."
Lin Changheng countered with a faint smile.
"Hehe, so you know the market, Fellow Daoist. In that case, let's be frank. Fifty Spirit Stones, and it's yours!"
"Look here, Fellow Daoist. This Flying Knife is too heavily used. It might break after a few rounds of Magical Combat. The most I can offer is forty."
Lin Changheng continued to nitpick, looking for any reason to drive the price down.
"Forty is too low, way too low. No can do."
The stall owner refused in a low voice, shaking his head again and again.
"My apologies, then."
With that, Lin Changheng turned and walked away, sighing dramatically.
"Fellow Daoist, hold on! Hold on! Your price it is. Just take it."
Seeing that his customer was actually leaving with no intention of looking back, the stall owner hurriedly called out to him.
Only then did Lin Changheng unhurriedly take out a small cloth pouch. After counting the contents, he handed it over.
"Correct."
After confirming the count was correct, the owner watched Lin Changheng put away the Flying Knife and said with a sudden, sorrowful air, "That Wandering Bee Blade has been with me for many years. You must treat it well, Fellow Daoist. If I weren't so short on funds, I would never have parted with it..."
The corner of Lin Changheng's mouth twitched. Without a word, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
He browsed for a while longer but didn't find any other Magical Artifacts worth buying. He decided to simply return to their meeting spot and wait for Su Shuangjiang.
Still, he was quite satisfied with his purchase. Forty Spirit Stones for a Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact that was only slightly worn was a definite bargain.
He still had over a hundred Spirit Stones lying quietly in his Storage Bag, but was there any part of Cultivation that didn't cost money? Demon Beast Essence Blood in particular was a massive expense. If not for the income from his Alchemy Skill, his funds would have dried up long ago.
So, every stone saved was a stone earned.
However, when it came to controlling Magical Artifacts, the strength of both the Divine Thought and Magical Power of someone at the Early Stage Qi Cultivation could only support a single Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact.
A cultivator at the Middle Stage Qi Cultivation, however, could control two Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts at once, or a single Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact.
Any more than that and they would be spreading their power too thin. Not only would they fail to control each artifact properly, but they could even suffer backlash to their meridians and Divine Thought.
...
Before long, the two met up and left the Black Market.
As they walked side-by-side, a delicate fragrance filled his nose.
Lin Changheng remained extra vigilant the entire way. His right hand hung hidden in his sleeve, ready to form hand seals and cast a spell at a moment's notice. According to the tropes from the novels of his past life, leaving the Black Market made it highly likely one would be tailed by Tribulation Cultivators.
The atmosphere grew tense. Influenced by his mood, Su Shuangjiang also tensed up, her hand quietly closing around her Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact.
'Huh? No one's following us?'
Only when they had passed through the main gate of the Marketplace without incident did Lin Changheng finally begin to relax.
He reflected on how nice it was to have a neighbor in the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation traveling with him. It certainly made things much safer.
As he turned his head, his eyes met Su Shuangjiang's enchanting ones, which were already watching him.
Lin Changheng gave a small shrug, as if to admit he had been overly tense.
Seeing this, a teasing smile flashed in Su Shuangjiang's eyes and the corners of her lips curved up. She glanced at the pedestrians on either side, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Brother Lin, you're so jumpy, you look more like a Tribulation Cultivator on his way back from robbing the Black Market~"
As she spoke, she deftly flipped her hand, and the Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact vanished back into her sleeve, leaving only the faintest glint of cold light in its wake.
Teased like this, Lin Changheng felt his ears grow warm, but he wasn't annoyed. He played along with a smile, "Fairy Su is right. It seems I've been reading too many novels and started scaring myself."
She covered her mouth and let out a light laugh.
It sounded like the chiming of bells.
Lin Changheng felt as if he could see her charming smile even through her veiled hat.
...
After they parted ways, Lin Changheng immediately began refining the Wandering Bee Blade. He erased the previous owner's residual mark and stamped the Magical Artifact with his own Magical Power Brand.
「An hour later.」
He let out a long breath, a hint of excitement in his eyes as he controlled the Wandering Bee Blade, making it dart back and forth across the room in a series of rising and falling strikes.
'So this is a Magical Artifact used for Magical Combat? These are the methods of the immortals! My very own Magical Artifact!'
After playing with it for a long time, Lin Changheng felt his Magical Power draining rapidly and slowly brought it to a halt.
'It's said that only a Tier Three Magical Treasure can be absorbed into the body, where it can connect with the Cultivator's mind and be nurtured day and night. A Tier One Spiritual Artifact, on the other hand, can only be kept in a Storage Bag...'
He unconsciously practiced moving the Wandering Bee Blade in and out of his Storage Bag. Lin Changheng became more and more adept, his skill deepening. When the time came, he was confident he could summon it in an instant to catch an enemy completely off guard.
...
That morning, a cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation and three Middle Stage Qi Cultivation cultivators suddenly arrived at the Xu Family's Alchemy Shop.
They were all from the main family.
Ink Master immediately summoned Lin Changheng and Shopkeeper Xu Qianyou. The seven of them discussed the matter in detail and decided to leave at noon.
In truth, everyone was already prepared and had more or less packed all their important belongings.
They were ready to depart at a moment's notice.