Two Big Fish

Blackwater Market was the nearest Cultivation World resource trading hub to Old Ancestor Tong Hui's tribulation site.

Like the vast majority of markets in the Cultivation World, Blackwater Market remained open and welcoming to all cultivators, without so much as a concealment formation.

Thus, its entire layout was easily visible from the air.

It was a marketplace built amid marshland.

Seen from high above, this stretch of black swamp was oval-shaped, resembling a black eye.

And it was an eye oozing pus everywhere.

Lumps would occasionally bulge up from the thick black mudwater, then burst with a pop. What surged from the swollen mud was not swamp gas, but jetting black water like a fountain.

The black water spouted anywhere from several feet to several dozen feet high.

Several dozen towers and courtyards of varying architectural styles floated across the swamp like boats.

Whenever the black water erupted, transparent gray light barriers appeared around those buildings. The black water neither passed through nor splashed against the gray barriers, but silently vanished.

Immediately afterward, dozens of black strange fish would swim out from the black mud beneath the buildings.

These strange fish looked much like catfish, with long fleshy whiskers, but no eyes. Instead, each had a short, glossy black horn atop its head.

The strange fish would swim at top speed to where the black water had erupted, then draw in some of the Vital Energy produced by the eruption. After several dozen breaths, they would swiftly return to the shadows beneath the buildings and dive back into the thick mudwater.

Beyond the swamp lay a stretch of barren red earth and gravel nearly a hundred li across. Not a blade of grass grew there; only fist-sized red beetles occasionally appeared.

There were more than three hundred markets, large and small, across the entire Lesser Jade Continent. Most stood as trading grounds independent of the territories governed by the sects of Lesser Jade Continent. Besides making resources more mobile and cultivators' searches for them more convenient, the trade conducted in these markets naturally generated enormous profits.

Where there was profit, there was control, and there were those who reaped the final harvest. The greater the profit, the more tangled and complicated the relationships behind it became.

Thus, even a small market like Blackwater Market by Lesser Jade Continent standards was likely connected to powerful sects from other continents. This was also the fundamental reason True Person Baixi, despite being deeply tempted by the Yin Thunder Umbrella, had no intention whatsoever of trying his luck at Blackwater Market.

A person needed to know his own limits.

He had deliberately mentioned this line during the introductory lessons for Xianke Sect's Immortal Seedlings, so naturally, he could not forget it himself.

In his view, once a Spirit Treasure of this level entered the market, it would likely end up flowing into a powerful sect on another continent. Even the few top sects of Lesser Jade Continent might not be able to keep such a Spirit Treasure here.

Gurgle, gurgle...

More than a dozen fist-sized red beetles crawled sluggishly through the red earth and gravel outside Blackwater Market. Their shells resembled chunks of natural red stone, and when they bumped into one another, they made a peculiar sound, like water flowing through holes.

Suddenly, as the Profound Heaven Sword Qi controlled by Lü Shenliang streaked past, the gurgling sounds merged into one. Thousands upon thousands of red beetles bored out from the loose gravel, chasing that dark gold sword light like a current of water. After a short while, realizing they could not catch up, they slowed down again, and most gradually burrowed back into the loose gravel.

The dark gold sword light came to a halt before a two-story building in the central district of Blackwater Market.

As the sword light withdrew, Lü Shenliang and Wang Li landed steadily on green glazed ground.

Both the two-story building and the floating platform supporting it were made of green glaze, gleaming so brightly green amid Blackwater Market that they stood out at once.

Upon landing, Wang Li softly asked, "Senior Sister, have the two you mentioned followed us?"

Lü Shenliang glanced at him without speaking, but Wang Li understood the look in her eyes.

Those two people had already followed them.

"Daoist Wang, Daoist Lü."

A middle-aged man in snow-white robes appeared at the entrance to the building. His features were lean and refined, and he possessed an air of immortal elegance as he smiled faintly.

Yet there was a trace of visible stiffness in that smile, the helplessness of someone forced to receive guests.

"Greetings, Senior Meng." Wang Li returned the smile and saluted him, though his own smile held even more awkwardness.

This reception was far too grand.

For anyone else, even a Golden Core True Person, it would have been absolutely impossible for the Workshop Master here to personally come out and greet them, much less welcome them with such a gentle smile.

Meng Xiqiong, Workshop Master of Azure Treasure Glazed Workshop, was famous for his cold face. At Blackwater Market, he was known for his icy, shadowed gaze and an expression that kept people a thousand miles away.

But before Wang Li and Lü Shenliang, he truly could not keep a cold face.

Because the unwritten rules here simply did not work on Lü Shenliang.

The sight of Lü Shenliang's first visit here had left many people unable to forget it for the rest of their lives.

"Where is your Workshop Master?"

"Our Workshop Master does not generally receive guests."

"Mm, fine. I'll self-detonate a Golden Core."

"..."

"I am Meng Xiqiong, Workshop Master of Azure Treasure Glazed Workshop."

"Why are you pulling such a long face? I don't owe you money. Smile."

"Daoist, this..."

"You don't have to smile. Then would you like to see a self-detonating Golden Core?"

"..."

Other people's threats might merely be threats, but when Lü Shenliang said she would self-detonate a Golden Core, she truly meant self-detonating a Golden Core.

"May I ask why the two Daoists have come today?" Meng Xiqiong drew a deep breath and spoke as evenly as he could.

Even as he said this, he exchanged two looks with Wang Li.

The first look was to confirm whether Lü Shenliang was normal today. The second was to tell Wang Li to be extra careful, because Wang Li seemed to be the only one capable of restraining Lü Shenliang when she acted on a whim.

Self-detonating a Golden Core on a whim—just thinking about it made him feel somewhat drunk.

"We came today to sell a magic treasure and consign some magic artifact fragments." Wang Li was certain that his Senior Sister was perfectly fine today. He was merely curious what sort of two big fish Lü Shenliang was trying to catch.

"What rank are the magic treasure and its fragments? May I inspect them?" Seeing the quiet Lü Shenliang, Meng Xiqiong felt slightly reassured. If any other cultivator had come to sell or consign magic treasures, he would certainly have invited them into the glazed hall behind him first. But faced with Lü Shenliang, it seemed safer to finish negotiating quickly outside. After all, though Blackwater Market had unique arrangements, a self-detonating Golden Core would likely still cause devastating losses.

"One Yin Thunder Umbrella, a Cosmos Grade Spirit Treasure, and Fire Clam Mirror fragments." Before Wang Li had even finished speaking, light flashed in Lü Shenliang's hand as she directly produced the Yin Thunder Umbrella and the fragment of the ancient mirror.

Meng Xiqiong had repeatedly reminded himself to remain as calm as possible in both mood and tone, lest Lü Shenliang act on a whim. Yet the instant he saw the magic treasures in her hand, his expression changed abruptly. "What!"

Lü Shenliang was somewhat displeased. "Don't make a fuss. It's only a Spirit Treasure."

"You..." Meng Xiqiong forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

Treasures were not questioned for their origins. That was the rule of the markets.

No matter what rank a magic treasure was, no matter how it had come into the other party's hands, with his status, he had only two things to do at this moment. First, determine the authenticity and value of the magic treasure. Second, negotiate the price and see whether he could afford to take it.

As the owner of such a market, he naturally possessed extraordinary methods and knowledge in appraising magic treasures.

He steadied his mind. Without making any movement at all, flecks of silver light appeared within his pupils.

In but an instant, the silver light vanished, and his expression became extraordinarily grave. "Daoist Wang, Daoist Lü, what price do you wish for this Yin Thunder Umbrella?"

"One Purity Returning Spirit Pill and two million spirit sand," Wang Li said.

Meng Xiqiong glanced at Wang Li and nodded. "That price is fair."

He was somewhat surprised at how well-informed Wang Li was. The Purity Returning Spirit Pill was a spiritual pill capable of strengthening spiritual awareness and possessed miraculous effects in repairing the divine soul. Azure Treasure Glazed Workshop had obtained one only three days ago. At the time, he had indeed thought of Lü Shenliang, but he had assumed that, given the abilities of these two Profound Heaven Sect disciples, they could not afford the price of that pill.

Fairly speaking, if the Purity Returning Spirit Pill were auctioned, previous records suggested it would sell for around one and a half million spirit sand. Added to the two million spirit sand, the total came to only three and a half million spirit sand.

But though this Yin Thunder Umbrella was badly damaged, it was certainly worth more than five million spirit sand. Even if such a Spirit Treasure was a hot potato for Azure Treasure Glazed Workshop, there was undoubtedly profit to be made.

By directly saying the price was fair, he meant that he had already decided the deal could be made at that price.

"The Fire Clam Mirror fragment will also be consigned for two million spirit sand." At that moment, Lü Shenliang suddenly spoke.

"This... also two million spirit sand?" Meng Xiqiong nearly lost control of his emotions.

"Mm." Lü Shenliang nodded indifferently, then gave him a look that seemed to carry a trace of contempt. "What are you so surprised about? Is something wrong with your brain? This is a consignment sale. Even if I asked ten million spirit sand, what would it matter?"

Meng Xiqiong could not help but smile bitterly.

"Daoist Lü, you are right," he said with a bitter smile.

Fire clams had already vanished from Lesser Jade Continent for many years, but the demon crystal jade produced by these low-level demonic beasts was truly of little use. Even if the Fire Clam Mirror had been intact, it would have been worth at most around two million spirit sand. Now that it could no longer be repaired, no one would likely even care to buy its raw materials for several tens of thousands of spirit sand.

But what reason was there to argue with Lü Shenliang?

"Then please wait a moment, Daoist Wang and Daoist Lü. I will fetch the spirit sand and the Purity Returning Spirit Pill at once."

He was just about to turn around when a mass of black cloud plummeted from the sky. While it was still several dozen zhang above the ground, a clear, cold voice rang out from within it. "Wait."

Wang Li secretly glanced at Lü Shenliang, knowing that the two big fish she had been angling for had arrived.