"Demons and devils?"
The moon hung high in the sky.
Fang Xi held the black market wooden token in his hand, still somewhat puzzled.
According to Mu Canglong, demons probably referred to certain physically powerful Magic Beasts. But devils? That seemed rather strange. They were not the Magic Beasts or devil cultivators of the Cultivation World...
"Still, am I finally going to come into contact with the higher-grade resources of this world?"
He gazed at the bridge ahead, a hint of excitement on his face.
According to Mu Canglong's introduction, the black market in Black Stone City was located at Moon Bridge. On the first and fifteenth of every month... anyone carrying a wooden token as proof could board a boat waiting by the bridge and enter the true black market!
By now, Fang Xi had naturally changed into a set of night clothes. Combined with his bamboo hat, they made it impossible for anyone to see his figure or face clearly.
When he reached Moon Bridge, he indeed saw a covered boat waiting by the shore.
"Who goes there?"
An old man poling the boat asked.
"Someone going to the black market."
Fang Xi replied.
"Do you have proof?"
"Here!"
He tossed over the wooden token. After examining it a few times, the old man respectfully returned it and let Fang Xi board.
There were several other men in black on the boat. They kept a certain distance from one another and remained silent.
After waiting another three incense sticks' worth of time, the old man pushed off with his pole, and the covered boat drifted away beneath the moonlight.
A thin mist rose, and the surrounding buildings became indistinct shadows.
No one knew how much time had passed before the small boat docked at a riverbank.
"We're here."
The old man's voice came from ahead.
Fang Xi stepped off the boat, his feet sinking into a patch of damp mud.
Looking around, he seemed to have arrived at a lake island. Quite a few people were there, setting up stalls and hawking their wares.
The only buildings were a few wooden huts, which looked incredibly crude.
This black market... is completely different from what I imagined.
It's far too shabby.
The corner of Fang Xi's mouth twitched slightly as he blended into the crowd.
"Brother, want to learn martial arts? The Iron Sword Sect's secret eighteen forms of the Iron Cutting Sword Technique, complete with the Divine Intent Diagram!"
At one stall, a masked vendor was loudly hawking his goods.
Fang Xi glanced at the stack of manuals and shook his head before leaving.
He knew without looking that the Divine Intent Diagram could not be copied so easily.
There was an eighty percent chance that the one here was a fake.
"Come and have a look! Fine slaves... Look at this skin, these teeth... Clearly from a wealthy household. Raise her for a few years and she'll definitely become a great beauty!"
At another stall, they were actually selling people!
Fang Xi swept his gaze over them and saw several terrified boys and girls. He immediately recalled the rumors from the past few days about children disappearing from wealthy households in the city, and his heart chilled.
It seemed that the Great Liang court's control and deterrence were quite limited after all!
The black market really is dark enough.
What a pity. I don't yet possess the power to do whatever I please.
After grumbling inwardly, he followed Mu Canglong's directions to a wooden hut.
The wooden hut was extremely crude. Fang Xi twitched his nose and smelled a rich scent of blood.
White bones could vaguely be seen amid the grass around the hut.
"Is this the channel for demon meat between Mu Canglong and the White Cloud Martial Arts School?"
Fang Xi muttered inwardly and walked in.
The light inside the hut was very dim. An oil lamp burned there, but the flame on its wick was actually emerald green.
As the lamp oil burned, a strange fragrance spread through the surroundings.
Fang Xi swallowed, suddenly feeling somewhat hungry.
There's something wrong with this lamp oil.
As he pondered this, a deep voice suddenly rang out. "You're here to buy meat?"
Fang Xi looked over and could not help drawing in a sharp breath. He was genuinely a little frightened.
On one side of the room sat a Meat Mountain!
It was a true mountain of flesh, roughly two or three meters tall. Layers of pale, fatty meat were piled together, while grease covered the loose, sagging skin.
This was an unimaginably enormous fat man!
He weighs at least five hundred kilograms!
Fang Xi lowered his voice. "I heard... demon meat is sold here? Don't worry, I know the rules!"
As he spoke, he tossed over the wooden token.
The Meat Mountain caught the token and gave it a casual glance before laughing. "So you were introduced by a regular customer... Don't worry, the meat here is the finest quality!"
As he spoke, he spread open a fan-sized hand and reached behind himself.
Smack!
A pale, ghastly chunk of meat was flung in front of Fang Xi.
That lump of meat weighed at least five or six pounds. There was not a trace of red blood in it, and it seemed to have no patterns of muscle, tendons, or bones either.
This feels very similar to the lamp oil?
Fang Xi swept it with his gaze and reached a conclusion inwardly.
"One pound of meat costs one hundred taels of silver here," the Meat Mountain continued, quoting the price.
"Fine!"
Fang Xi nodded and took out a golden leaf. He had exchanged these specifically for transactions.
After all, carrying too much silver around was rather inconvenient.
"I have a hundred golden leaves on me, totaling one hundred taels of gold. At the official exchange rate of ten taels of silver to one tael of gold, that's equivalent to one thousand taels of silver. Give me ten pounds of meat to start with."
After Fang Xi finished speaking and brought out the golden leaves, even the Meat Mountain across from him seemed stunned.
Only after a moment did he burst into loud laughter. "Good... refreshing! I, Fatty Han, like straightforward people like you!"
As he spoke, he grabbed another chunk of Demon Meat and tossed it down. It weighed a full five or six pounds.
"With this chunk and the previous one, it's definitely more than ten pounds. I'll count the extra as a gift..." The Meat Mountain laughed. "Life is short. Eating meat is the greatest pleasure in the world... But remember, don't eat too much and stuff yourself to death, hahaha..."
Fatty Han continued laughing loudly, making even the wooden hut tremble.
Fang Xi cupped his fists, wrapped the ten pounds of meat in cloth, slung it over his back, and took his leave.
After buying the item he wanted, he did not choose to remain in the black market. Instead, he left directly.
The return journey naturally involved taking the boat first, then disembarking beneath Moon Bridge.
When Fang Xi had taken several winding turns and entered an alley, he suddenly sighed. "Your Excellency has been following me for so long. What exactly do you want?"
At the end of the alley, a man in black had appeared at some point.
He answered with a cold laugh. "You little brat, your skills aren't bad... You were able to take so much meat from Fatty Han, so you're clearly quite wealthy. Hand it over to this old man!"
As he spoke, the man was still standing at the end of the alley. Yet when the final word fell, he had already arrived before Fang Xi and launched a vicious punch, its momentum like a rolling boulder.
"Rolling Stone Fist?!"
Fang Xi smiled faintly. This man was also using a martial arts school technique. He had seen people from the Boulder Martial Arts School use it while learning martial arts.
Now that he was facing it, he remained completely unflustered. He turned his palm slightly, causing his palm to become pitch-black, and struck forward with the motion.
Bang!
Fist and palm collided. Two surging waves of Blood Qi Power crashed together, producing a muffled boom.
The man in black grunted and retreated several steps, crying out in shock, "Three Changes of Qi and Blood? How is that possible?"
He had long since heard of the young experts in the city!
This time, he had chosen to launch his ambush only after hearing that his opponent's voice was not old.
He had never expected to run into such a hard target!
"You're also a great expert of the Three Changes of Qi and Blood, and you're from the Boulder Martial Arts School!"
Fang Xi nodded, then shook his head. "Why come looking for death?"
"Hmph! The White Cloud Palm may be vicious, but it may not be enough to take me down." The man in black shouted, his twin fists striking like thunderclaps, his imposing aura overwhelming.
Although the Rolling Stone Fist had an unimpressive name, its punches truly were like rolling stones. Once its momentum began and its chained attacks continued, it could build up power like a snowball, unleashing a heaven-shattering blow.
The longer it lasted, the greater its might!
Fang Xi was just about to focus and meet it head-on when the corner of his mouth suddenly twitched.
The man in black shouted loudly, then turned and ran... He actually ran...
Damn it, why would I fight to the death with another Martial Artist of the Three Changes of Qi and Blood when I've already eaten my fill?
The man in black turned and fled, feeling deeply irritated.
A closer look showed black marks already left on his fists. Clearly, the poisonous palm had not failed to harm him.
"An expert from the White Cloud Martial Arts School? This grudge is carved into my heart..."
Just as he was about to throw out some more vicious words, his vision suddenly blurred, and he saw Fang Xi!
With the Red Snake Leg improving his movement technique, Fang Xi was actually very fast as well!
Seeing this, despair surfaced in the man in black's heart. "You... you really intend to wipe me out completely?"
"Not at all, not at all..."
Fang Xi smiled faintly. "You're an expert of the Three Changes of Qi and Blood, right? I only wanted to ask you to help me conduct an experiment..."
With that, Fang Xi calmed his mind and concentrated, muttering an incantation.
A spell was swiftly chanted, and the magic power within his body began circulating, flowing into the fingers of his right hand.
Immediately afterward, he gently raised his hand, and several Sword Qi surged forth.
The Green Bamboo Mountain Spirit Farmer's weed-clearing spell—Geng Metal Grass Sword!
While the man in black was still wondering what was happening, several terrifying wounds suddenly appeared on his body, spraying blood outward!
"What... what kind of martial art is this?"
He half-knelt on the ground, his face beneath the veil filled with disbelief.
"Innate Formless Sword Qi!"
Fang Xi stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the bearing of a great master.
At the same time, he recorded the contents of this experiment in his heart.
A Minor Spell from the early Qi Refining stage still has considerable killing power against a Martial Artist of the Three Changes of Qi and Blood...
"I..." The man in black wanted to curse, but he could not draw another breath.
This is a martial art?!
Even the Martial Hall Masters—no, even the great experts of Yuan He Mountain—might not be able to accomplish something as absurd as injuring someone with force released beyond the body!
Unfortunately, before he could curse aloud, a green sword shadow flashed.
The headless corpse of the man in black collapsed, blood rapidly spilling across the ground.
"With a Low-grade Magic Tool, it would be even easier—like chopping vegetables and melons..."
Fang Xi sighed and raised his hand to retrieve the Green Grain Sword, somewhat dissatisfied. "Next time... I'll find a Martial Hall Master to test the sword on."
Before you continue