Buying Demon Meat at the Black Market, Accelerating Recharge

In the deep night, in a small inn south of the outer city, Li Cunxiao opened his eyes on the bed.

After he got out of bed and took out a set of dark blue, almost black, night-traveling clothes from his bundle, a waiter knocked on the door from outside and called softly:

"Guest, there are still two quarters of an hour until Hai Shi (9-11 PM)."

"Okay, I know."

After the footsteps faded, he quickly changed his clothes, put on a loose cloth robe to cover himself, and hurried downstairs.

Li Cunxiao and others like Qin Yu were just ordinary escort agency workers. They didn't have very strict restrictions when going out for business, but sneaking out in the middle of the night was obviously not allowed.

So after finishing work in the afternoon, He Bi greeted the manager and took Li Cunxiao out of the escort agency, saying they wouldn't be returning tonight.

Li Cunxiao naturally wouldn't impose by visiting, so he found an inn himself, ate, and then closed his eyes to rest.

After all, normally, the workers went to bed at Xu Shi (8-10 PM) and got up at Yin Shi (3-5 AM) to practice. He had to prepare for tonight.

Soon, footsteps could be heard from the street. Li Cunxiao looked closely and saw that He Bi had brought two guards behind him. Their palms were wide and thick, and their eyes were bright; they looked like skilled martial artists at first glance.

He thought for a moment and understood. Unlike himself, who came from a poor background, He Bi was the son of a wealthy merchant in the outer city. As the saying goes, "A noble son does not stand under a precarious hall." Since they were going to the black market, it was only reasonable to be prepared.

"Brother Li, let's go."

He Bi led the way, entering a desolate area south of the city. After many twists and turns, they arrived at the entrance of a tunnel.

Not long after entering, the scene suddenly opened up. Scattered lights outlined the shape of a huge underground market.

Every ten steps or so, people sat on the ground displaying their stalls, selling all sorts of strange goods. Some were covered in mud, as if just dug from the ground; some were stained with blood, and a fishy smell could still be detected up close. There were also naked women and children, and beautiful young boys, caged like animals.

He Bi and Li Cunxiao both frowned and quickly passed through the area with stalls. At the very back, there was a shop, but it had no signboard.

"This is the Chai Gang's business."

He Bi said softly, and Li Cunxiao immediately understood.

Cities are densely populated places, so demons are naturally rare. The countryside and deep mountains are their hunting grounds.

It was unknown what means the inner city families used to supply demon meat, but regardless, wherever there were martial artists, there were people who needed demon meat. Wherever there was a market, there were people who earned money from it.

The Chai Gang controlled the forests closest to Chuqiu County. Whether it was cutting wood, collecting herbs, or hunting, one could not bypass them.

The common people either paid to enter the mountains or had to take risks and go to the uninhabited deep mountains several miles away, where wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards made the danger self-evident.

Demon meat was, naturally, also a good business. The Chai Gang did not dare to openly confront the inner city, so they took the lead in organizing a black market.

The meat in his shop was naturally more expensive than that on the stalls outside, but the supply was more stable, and the quality after processing was also guaranteed.

"Just this little bit costs thirty taels of silver?"

A moment later, Li Cunxiao and He Bi walked out of the shop, weighing the paper package containing about a pound of meat, and couldn't help but gasp.

Thirty taels per pound meant that one tael of demon meat cost three taels of silver, which was the wages of a laborer for three months.

Three months' wages just to buy one tael of meat?

Even though someone else was paying this time, Li Cunxiao couldn't help but feel the pinch.

"Poor scholars, rich martial artists,"

He Bi couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

"Brother Li is absolutely right, but this money cannot be saved."

"Although the Chai Gang's shop is in the black market, their goods are worth every penny."

"If you buy unprocessed demon meat from those street stalls, there's too much residual malevolent energy inside, and eating it can easily make one lose their mind, become irritable and mad."

"I've even heard that some people developed strange abnormalities in their bodies after eating it."

Hearing He Bi's quiet warning, Li Cunxiao's expression became serious, indicating he had learned his lesson. Only then did He Bi feel relieved. After leaving the black market, the two parted ways.

"Although the processed demon meat is good, the price is too high. I can't keep borrowing money to buy meat."

"Relying on others is not a way to survive."

A few minutes after He Bi left, Li Cunxiao turned around and re-entered the black market, quickly coming to a stall he had noticed earlier.

"How much is demon meat?"

The stall owner looked up and saw someone covered in a cloak, saying expressionlessly:

"Three taels of silver per pound."

Li Cunxiao's eyes lit up.

Three qian of silver per tael of meat, although still expensive, was acceptable compared to the price in the shop.

"Cut a piece for me to try."

The stall owner then showed surprise, took out a knife, and stingily cut off a tiny piece the size of a fingernail, saying mockingly:

"Eat it if you're not afraid of going crazy."

Seeing the boss's attitude, Li Cunxiao became even more certain that the other party was selling genuine goods.

Indeed, after swallowing the meat, which was like dried jerky, a warmth spread through him, and an inexplicable sense of irritation arose in his mind. But as the Vajra Scepter emitted a faint glow, his mind instantly cleared.

It was the real deal.

"Give me two jin,"

Hearing that Li Cunxiao's tone was normal, the boss finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quietly moved his right hand away from the hilt of the knife at his waist—there had been customers who went mad and attacked people after tasting the product before.

After taking the money and quickly packing it, Li Cunxiao left without any further words.

Fifteen minutes later, he returned to the inn without incident.

Li Cunxiao first opened the bag bought from the Chai Gang shop. There were ten pieces of jerky, each weighing one liang. They were dark red in color and clearly had spices added, judging by the smell.

"Three liang a piece."

The jerky tasted salty with a hint of spiciness. Li Cunxiao chewed it vigorously, his throat bobbing.

Gulp.

As the heat dispersed, Li Cunxiao immediately began practicing the Tiger Form Eight Styles in his room. The pure nutrients replenished his blood essence, and at the same time, a stronger sense of irritability than before washed over him, causing the Vajra Scepter to flash repeatedly.

To put it in a comparison, if Zhang Yuelu's jerky felt like accidentally swallowing a fly when it caused irritability, then the Chai Gang's jerky felt like someone forcefully feeding you a mouthful of feces.

Fifteen minutes later, the medicinal effect disappeared, and the irritability vanished. The Vajra Scepter was about one-twelfth charged.

"The malevolent qi is indeed more potent than in Zhang Yuelu's jerky, but the blood essence it contains is much weaker. It was depleted in just fifteen minutes."

"It seems the Chai Gang's technique for preparing demon meat is indeed inferior. While they eliminate the malevolent qi, they also strip away the essence of the flesh and blood."

Li Cunxiao took a deep breath, took out another bag of jerky, and tore off a piece weighing about one liang.

The jerky was pitch black, and its appearance was much worse. It had a strong fishy smell when put into the mouth, and it tasted like a piece of wood.

However, as the blood essence in the meat began to disperse and the malevolent qi exploded, Li Cunxiao's expression instantly changed.

So hot, so hot, so hot!

In an instant, a powerful heat spread from his chest and abdomen to his limbs, as if his body had been thrown directly into boiling water. His skin instantly turned as red as a cooked shrimp, and his veins bulged like earthworms.

At the same time, a strong desire to destroy appeared in his mind. He found the teacup on the table unbearable and wanted to smash it immediately to vent his frustration.

The couple in the next room, who had been quiet earlier, were now emitting faint moans in the dead of night.

The moment the sounds reached his ears, Li Cunxiao's eyes instantly filled with blood. It was as if he were a husband who had been cuckolded, and a murderous impulse arose in his heart.

With such intense negative emotions, if he were to consume this daily, losing his sanity would likely be only a matter of time.

Fortunately, he had the Vajra Scepter.

In the blink of an eye, clarity returned to his mind. Li Cunxiao suppressed the emotions in his heart and furiously practiced the Tiger Form Fist. The Vajra Scepter in his mind acted like a breathing light, alternating between clarity and madness with his movements, and its golden light continuously increased.

For some reason, in this state of maintaining a sliver of clarity amidst madness, practicing the Tiger Form Eight Styles was more effective than usual. He could clearly sense that with the changes in his limbs, a thumb-thick stream of blood essence was circulating within his fists and feet.

If his training efficiency were like this every day, within a month, he would be able to control blood essence, achieve minor success in his fist techniques, and break through to Controlling Qi!