I Idle in the World of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 28: The Black Market and the Demonic Cultivators
The sun sank behind the mountains. The moon rose in the east, shining on the small path behind the mountain. Lin Luo walked alone. Nine Cycles Mystic Art had healed most of his internal injuries, but his meridians still felt rough and overused from pushing past their limits.
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The entrance to the black market was hidden in a dry well outside Suihuang City. There were no guards, no markings. Just a rope hanging down into the darkness.
Lin Luo grabbed the rope and climbed down.
The well was deep. By the time his feet touched the ground, the light from above was no more than a pale coin. The air smelled of damp earth, old blood, and something burning.
He walked forward. The tunnel was narrow, lit by dim spirit stones set into the walls at uneven intervals. The light flickered, making the shadows dance.
Two figures stood at the first fork. One was short and fat. The other was tall and thin. Both wore rough robes, patched and dirty. They were eating sunflower seeds, shells crunching under their teeth.
The short one looked up. "First time?"
"Yes."
"Looking for what?"
"A Bone Mending Pill. Mid-grade or higher."
The short one raised an eyebrow. He spat a seed shell on the ground. "Bone Mending Pills aren't common in the black market. Mid-grade ones are even rarer. Did you bring enough spirit stones?"
Lin Luo didn't answer. The short one looked him over from head to toe, then tilted his head. "Go in. Third tunnel, turn left. Look for the shop with a red lantern. Ask for Old Sun. He might not have it, but he's the only one in the black market who might."
The tall thin one stepped aside.
Lin Luo walked into the tunnel.
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The spirit stones in the tunnel were a little brighter than outside, but still dim. The air smelled of sulfur, blood, and burnt herbs.
At the fork of the first tunnel, a female cultivator squatted on the ground. Her face was covered in black silk. Her fingers were long and thin, stained black with medicine stains. In front of her was a torn piece of cloth with a few medicine bottles and broken swords laid out on it.
"Top-grade spirit recovery pills – cheap!" she called out.
Lin Luo didn't stop.
At the fork of the second tunnel, a group of people surrounded a rogue cultivator tied to a stone pillar. The man who had tied him up held a knife and shouted, "Pay your debt! This life of yours is worth something. Name your own price!"
Some in the crowd cheered. Some cursed. Someone threw two spirit stones.
Lin Luo went around them.
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The third tunnel, turn left.
At the end of the tunnel was an iron door. A red lantern hung above it. The light was very dim. Beside the door, an old man lay on a lounge chair. His hair was completely white, tied in a messy bun. His face was covered in wrinkles. His eyelids drooped like he was half asleep. He wore old gray robes stained with medicine, oil, and blood.
Lin Luo walked up to him and stopped.
The old man didn't open his eyes. His lips moved. "What are you buying?"
"A Bone Mending Pill. Mid-grade or higher. As high quality as possible."
The old man opened one eye. The eye was cloudy and gray, but when he looked at you, it was sharp.
"Bone Mending Pill. Who are you giving it to? Tail bone? Ribs? Leg bone?"
"Ribs. A Foundation Establishment cultivator. A piercing wound."
The corner of the old man's mouth twitched. "Piercing wound, the bone is still in. You kept her alive with a Life Extension Pill. The pill's effect will last about three days. Take the bone out first, then use a Bone and Meridian Mending Pill to heal bone, meridians, and organs together. Just taking pills isn't enough."
He reached into his robe and searched for a long time. Finally, he pulled out a palm-sized wooden box. It was dark red, carved with a ring of fine preservation runes.
"Mid-grade Bone and Meridian Mending Pill. Heals bone, meridians, and organs together. Quality is mid-grade, on the higher side. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it's more than enough."
He placed the box on his knee. He didn't open it.
"Three thousand spirit stones."
Lin Luo looked at him. After a few seconds, the old man nodded. "Good. You're not reselling it. You're saving someone."
He handed the box over. Lin Luo opened the lid and looked inside. One pill, the size of a longan fruit, dark gold, smooth on the surface. The smell of medicine was rich but not sharp. He closed the lid, took out three thousand spirit stones from the Shared Storage, and handed them over.
The old man took the cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, didn't count it, stuffed it into his robe, and lay back down. "The path to the right outside the tunnel exit has spirit herbs for sale. After your friend recovers, she'll be low on blood and energy. Buy some herbs to restore her. Only a few dozen spirit stones."
Lin Luo turned and walked back.
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He passed through the second tunnel. The rogue cultivator tied to the pillar had stopped calling out. His head hung down. Most of the crowd had gone.
He passed through the first tunnel. The black-veiled woman was still calling out. He didn't stop.
The tunnel exit was ahead. Two dark red points of light flickered in the distance.
The short fat man was still eating sunflower seeds. When he saw Lin Luo come out, he spat shells on the ground. "Did you get it?"
"Yes."
"Then get out quick. The black market closes at dawn. When it closes, they clear the place. They don't care if you're a buyer or a seller. Everyone gets cleared out."
Lin Luo looked at him. The short man smiled again, showing his yellow teeth. "Don't look at me like that. I told you this because if you get out alive, you'll come back and ask me for directions again. Now go."
Lin Luo walked out of the tunnel. Moonlight fell on his face, cool. He put the wooden box into the Shared Storage and walked toward the city gate.
After about two hundred steps, he stopped.
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Five people stood on the road ahead.
They stood scattered, but their positions were coordinated. Black robes – no sect markings. Not a uniform. Self-made, altered. Some sleeves were frayed. Some collars had been torn and re-sewn.
Demonic cultivators. Cultivators who had left the Demon Sect.
Lin Luo's Spirit Eye Technique swept over them.
The leader was Foundation Establishment Layer 9, standing in the middle of the road. A Foundation Establishment Layer 7 was crouched in the dry grass. A Golden Core Layer 1 was standing on a pile of broken stones. A Foundation Establishment Layer 8, the youngest, was leaning against a dead tree. He held a short blade. The tip was shaking – not from fear, but from excitement.
The youngest spoke first. He sniffed the air.
"The smell of a Bone Mending Pill. Mid-grade or higher. Dark gold. Wooden box." He laughed, a sharp laugh. "Hand it over."
Lin Luo's hand went to the Greenwind Sword's hilt.
"That medicine is mine." The Golden Core Layer 1 jumped down from the pile of stones. He landed lightly. A scar ran from his brow to his chin.
"I brought you here." The youngest turned his head and glared at him.
"I found it first." The Foundation Establishment Layer 7 in the dry grass pushed back his hood, revealing a mouth full of rotten teeth. "You were waiting up there. I came down and smelled it."
"I have the most strength." The Golden Core Layer 1 turned his face toward the others. The scar glowed pale silver in the moonlight. "It's all mine. I'll sell it and split the stones with you."
The five laughed at the same time.
Lin Luo pulled out his phone and tapped Auto-Battle.
[Predicted win rate: 41%.]
He tucked his phone back into his sleeve. Forty-one percent was much higher than three percent.
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The leader at Foundation Establishment Layer 9 moved first.
He charged from the front. Dark green spiritual energy wrapped around his palms – a poison skill. The air smelled of bitter almonds. Lin Luo sidestepped the palm strike and swept the Greenwind Sword upward, cutting open the man's sleeve. The cloth fell away, revealing a pale arm covered in needle marks and scars.
Devil poison. It needed the owner's blood to grow. Each time, another needle. There were at least a thousand needle marks on that arm.
While Lin Luo's sword cut the sleeve, the man's palm struck Lin Luo's chest. Nine Cycles Mystic Art blocked the poison's corrosion. A faint green handprint appeared on Lin Luo's chest, but it didn't go deeper. Lin Luo stepped back half a step and slashed back with his sword, cutting a line across the man's arm. The Foundation Establishment Layer 9 grunted and backed off.
The Golden Core Layer 1 charged. His weapon finally showed – a sickle. Rusty, with missing chunks in its blade. On each missing chunk, a dark red scab of dried blood was crusted.
The sickle swept sideways, aiming for Lin Luo's throat.
Lin Luo jumped back. The blade passed just in front of his neck, the wind from it leaving a sharp ringing in his ears. As he jumped back, he pulled out the Black Iron Axe. Axe in his left hand, sword in his right.
The Golden Core Layer 1 didn't pull his sickle back. He used the momentum to spin around and strike down again. This strike was faster, heavier.
Lin Luo raised his axe to block. The sickle struck the flat of the axe head. Sparks flew. His arms went numb. The stones under his feet cracked. He gritted his teeth, and the golden light of Nine Cycles Mystic Art burst from his arms, pushing the force of the sickle back. The Golden Core Layer 1 stepped back once. Surprise crossed his scarred face.
"He has a defensive technique!"
The Foundation Establishment Layer 7 in the dry grass lunged from the side. He had a dagger in his hand, coated with black poison. He circled behind Lin Luo and stabbed him in the lower back. The tip hit his skin. The skin didn't break, but the poison burned a black mark on it. Nine Cycles Mystic Art stopped the blade but not the poison's seepage. A burning pain spread across his lower back.
Lin Luo swung his sword backhanded. The Greenwind Sword sank into the Foundation Establishment Layer 7's abdomen. Not a vital spot, but deep. The man screamed and pulled back, the dagger falling from his hand.
"Worthless!" The Foundation Establishment Layer 9 leader charged again. The dark green glow on his palms was thicker than before.
Lin Luo held his breath. He waited. When the poison palm was less than a foot from his chest, he suddenly stepped sideways and swung his axe from below – not at the arm, but at the dantian.
The flat of the axe struck the man's dantian. He grunted. Blood trickled from his lips. He bent forward and backed away. His poison palm hit Lin Luo's ribs. The force passed through, and blood also appeared at the corner of Lin Luo's mouth. Both of them stepped back at the same time.
"He won't last much longer," the Golden Core Layer 1 said. "The poison is already in his blood. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, his defense will collapse on its own."
Lin Luo knew he wasn't bluffing. The burning in his back was getting stronger, spreading from the skin deep into his muscles. He needed to end this quickly.
He charged. His target was not the Golden Core Layer 1, but the youngest – the Foundation Establishment Layer 8 who had been shaking his blade by the dead tree. He hadn't joined the close fight. His eyesight was the worst of them all.
Lin Luo ran into his blind spot and struck down with his sword on the wrist holding the blade. The flat of the blade. The sound of bone breaking came from the wrist. The short blade flew out. The Foundation Establishment Layer 8 screamed and crouched down, clutching his wrist. Lin Luo hit the back of his head with the flat of his axe. The scream cut off in the middle. His face pressed into the stones. He didn't move.
"Fourth!" The Foundation Establishment Layer 7 in the dry grass shouted.
No one answered him.
Lin Luo turned around. Blood from his mouth had already reached his chin. He looked at the remaining four. They looked at him.
"I saw that pill," Lin Luo said. His voice wasn't loud, but in the empty wilderness, it was very clear. "Bone and Meridian Mending Pill. Mid-grade, on the higher side. From Old Sun in the black market. Just one. Three thousand spirit stones."
The four looked at each other. Not anger. A new calculation. With one person gone, each could get more.
"Three thousand spirit stones. Split four ways. Seven hundred fifty each. If you take it from me and sell it – still three thousand. What can you buy with seven hundred fifty each? A few top-grade spirit recovery pills? A halfway decent sword?" He smiled, a faint smile. "Seven hundred fifty spirit stones. Is that worth dying for?"
Silence for three breaths.
"Shut up!" The Foundation Establishment Layer 9 leader charged.
The Golden Core Layer 1's sickle followed. The Foundation Establishment Layer 7 in the dry grass, clutching his stomach wound, circled to the side, his fingers glowing with dark green poison light. The Foundation Establishment Layer 6 by the dead tree was slowest, but he also followed with a short sword.
Lin Luo stopped holding back.
He charged the Golden Core Layer 1 first. Not head-on. He stepped sideways into the inner range of the sickle's swing – the most dangerous spot, but also the hardest spot for the sickle to pull back. The Greenwind Sword slid up along the sickle's handle, cutting open the Golden Core Layer 1's wrist. The sickle fell. The Golden Core Layer 1's eyes went wide. Before he could scream, the Black Iron Axe hit his shoulder. The sound of his collarbone breaking was crisp in the night air. The right side of his body collapsed. He fell sideways and crashed to the ground.
Lin Luo didn't look back. He threw the axe. It hit the Foundation Establishment Layer 7 in the chest. The flat of the blade. The sound of ribs breaking was dull. The man hit the pile of broken stones and slid down, clutching his chest.
The Foundation Establishment Layer 9 leader's poison palm struck Lin Luo's back. Finally, it broke through his defense. The poison had spread too far in his blood. The skin on his lower back had lost the protection of Nine Cycles Mystic Art. The palm entered his body. A large mouthful of blood burst from Lin Luo's lips.
But he didn't fall.
He turned, grabbed the man's wrist with his left hand, and punched his face with his right fist. Not a spiritual energy punch. The most basic punch of a body cultivator. His knuckles hit the bridge of the nose. The nasal bone cracked. Another punch. The cheekbone. A third punch. The jaw. The Foundation Establishment Layer 9's face was covered in blood. The back of his head hit the ground with a dull thud. He didn't move.
The Foundation Establishment Layer 6 stood five steps away. The short sword in his hand was shaking. His eyes swept across the ground – the Golden Core Layer 1's right side collapsed, the Foundation Establishment Layer 7 had broken ribs, the Foundation Establishment Layer 9's face was no longer recognizable. And Fourth was down.
Lin Luo turned to look at him. His mouth was covered in blood. The handprint on his chest had turned from green to black. He took one step forward.
The Foundation Establishment Layer 6 turned and ran.
He ran fast.
Lin Luo watched his back disappear in the moonlight. Then he walked over, picked up his axe from the Foundation Establishment Layer 7's chest, and put it back into his storage pouch. He pulled the Greenwind Sword out of the crack between stones.
He walked to a place where the moonlight didn't reach, leaned against a dead tree, bent over, and coughed up blood. Dark red blood, carrying the bitter almond taste of the poison. The golden light of Nine Cycles Mystic Art slowly moved through his meridians, pushing the remaining poison out layer by layer. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, stood up, and felt inside his robe for the wooden box with the Bone Mending Pill. Still there.
Then he walked out of the wilderness.
Ahead was the road back to the city. He didn't walk fast, but his steps were steady. The moonlight stretched his shadow long. He walked alone through the empty land.
In the distance, at the city gate, several people were sweeping the day's trash.
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(End of Chapter 28)
Current Status
Main Account · Lin Luo
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 3 (Displayed: Qi Refining Layer 1)
Nine Cycles Mystic Art: Second Cycle
Lightning Prison Indestructible Body: First Layer (idling)
Defense: 650 (partial defense lost from poison)
Attack: ~380
HP: ~700 → ~400 (new injuries: poison palm, poison blade, multiple internal injuries)
Spiritual Energy: ~15% → ~8% (after battle, not yet recovered)
Spirit Stones: ~7750 → ~4750 (Bone Mending Pill cost 3000)
Possessions: Spirit Recovery Pill ×4, Life Extension Pill ×0, Bone Mending Pill ×1 (mid-grade), Antidote Pill ×3, Light Talisman ×4, Mountain Pass Token ×1, Drunken Immortal Residence VIP card, Myriad Treasures Pavilion VIP card, Realm-Breaking Talisman (authentic), half a broken sword, pale green jade slip, beast-hide map, Spirit Vein Heart, Secret Realm Core Spirit Stone
Skill: Spirit Eye Technique
Disciple: Yue Long
Status: Moderately poisoned (poison palm + poison blade), multiple internal injuries, blood at mouth, rough meridians
Negative status: Residual poison (Nine Cycles Mystic Art detoxifying, time needed)
Alt Account · Bone One
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 9
Status: Skeleton cracked over 40% – recommended return to base for repair
Alt Account · Blood One
Cultivation: Qi Gathering, Layer 7
Status: Hidden – Demon Abyss second layer
Alt Account · Rat One
Cultivation: Spirit Gathering, Layer 5
Status: On Lin Luo's shoulder (not injured in battle)
Sect · Idle Sect
Sect Leader: Lin Luo
Formal Disciple: Yue Long
Members: Bone One, Rat One, Blood One
Guest Elder (temporarily at the mine): Su Xiaoxiao (unconscious, tail bone impalement, shoulder sword wound, breathing slightly steadier after Life Extension Pill)
Level: 2
Idle Bonus: +15%
Special facilities: Sect Gathering Array, High-grade shield formation (set by Yue Long, covering Su Xiaoxiao's chamber)
Idle Sect Disciple · Yue Long
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer 2
Status: Guarding the mine, caring for Su Xiaoxiao (watching inside the shield)
Four-Cultivation Body: demonic, Buddhist, human, beast
Possessions: disciple-dedicated phone, low-grade storage pouch, Zixiao Sect inheritance token, Greenwind Sword (badly chipped)
Diamond Body: shield shattered in battle – needs time to recover
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Appendix: Special Cultivation Systems for Lin Luo and His Alt Accounts
Immortal Cultivation (Main Account · Lin Luo):
Qi Refining → Foundation Establishment → Core Opening → Fusion → Heart Movement → Golden Core → Nascent Soul → Soul Departure → Spirit Separation → Body Integration → Cave Void → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Demon Cultivation (Alt Accounts · Bone One, Blood One):
Qi Gathering → Body Refining → Core Condensation → Desire Embodiment → Devouring → Demon Infant → Soul Departure → Sense Separation → Body Fusion → Void Break → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Beast Cultivation (Alt Account · Rat One):
Spirit Gathering → Intelligence Awakening → Body Tempering → Bone Refining → Beast Core → Transformation → Soul Condensation → Spirit Roaming → Body Purification → Void Training → Great Ascension → Tribulation Transcendence
Note: The above are the exclusive cultivation systems for Lin Luo and his alt accounts. Everyone else (side characters, enemies, etc.) uses the traditional system: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Training, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Tribulation Transcendence.
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(End of Chapter 28)