Black Market

After leaving Star Mansion Pavilion, Fang Xiao planned to first visit Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Given the scale of the Myriad Treasures Merchant Association, its branch within the immortal city was surely beyond comparison with those in the Market.

Even at his current walking speed, it took him half an hour to arrive before Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

From the outside, this Myriad Treasures Pavilion followed the standard pavilion design, yet its scale was even grander than Star Mansion Pavilion's, and cultivators flowed in and out without end.

Fang Xiao entered the pavilion. Its goods dazzled the eye—magic tools, talismans, pills, spirit materials, and more, all arranged neatly according to category. Though there were countless items, there was not the slightest sense of disorder.

Before he could step forward, an attendant came up to greet him.

"Honored guest, what would you like to purchase? Our pavilion has everything one could possibly need."

"Honored guest, you must be joking. How could a scarce spirit pill like the Foundation Establishment Pill, one in such overwhelming demand, be sold within the pavilion? However, our Myriad Treasures Merchant Association's upcoming Qi Condensation auction will feature Foundation Establishment spirit pills. If you are interested, please keep a close eye on it."

"There are Foundation Establishment Pills? It seems this auction will have quite a few good things. Fine, take me to the pill section. I need to buy some Meridian Protection Pills."

On the way here, he had also asked Xiao Yan about Meridian Protection Pills. However, Xiao Yan had yet to try refining this sort of pill. Even if he could refine them, they would only be ordinary Meridian Protection Pills, incapable of meeting Fang Xiao's needs.

"This way, honored guest. Besides Meridian Protection Pills that temporarily protect the meridians, we also have Meridian Washing Pills that strengthen the meridians, as well as Meridian Nourishing Pills that repair meridian injuries."

"Then what kind of pill is the Purple Qi Meridian Protection Pill?"

"The Purple Qi Meridian Protection Pill is a compound pill that combines the effects of Meridian Protection and Meridian Washing Pills. Its effects are remarkable. Although the three pills I just introduced each have only a single effect, every one of them possesses potent medicinal power and cannot be compared to ordinary goods on the market. In terms of targeted effects, each surpasses any single effect of the Purple Qi Meridian Protection Pill."

The attendant took out three square crystal boxes. Through them, pills of purple, green, and white lay separately within.

"The green ones are the Meridian Protection Pills you need, honored guest—four hundred Spirit Stones each. The purple Meridian Washing Pills and white Meridian Nourishing Pills are slightly more expensive, at five hundred Spirit Stones each."

"Then I'll take five Meridian Protection Pills, ten Meridian Washing Pills, and two Meridian Nourishing Pills. After that, let's take a look at the magic tools."

"Certainly, honored guest. Please come this way. I will have someone deliver the pills to the counter."

Logically speaking, if he were careful, he would have no need for Meridian Nourishing Pills. Still, he bought two—better to be prepared than caught unawares.

Furthermore, his High-grade magic tool Jade Boat could no longer keep up with his pace. Fang Xiao intended to replace it with a Top-grade magic tool.

The magic tool section likewise had every kind of magic tool imaginable. In the end, under the attendant's recommendation, Fang Xiao purchased three Top-grade magic tools: the Gold attribute flying sword Qingjin Sword, the flying magic tool Wind Riding Boat, and a magic tool called the Five Spirits Plate.

The Great White Sword Pellet would bear his personal mark from now on. This Supreme Flying Sword, the Qingjin Sword, was prepared for occasions when it was inconvenient for him to reveal his identity.

The Wind Riding Boat was a rare Wind Attribute flying magic tool. As the saying went, "A spark of mighty spirit, a Thousand Mile Joyful Wind." Thousand Mile Joyful Wind was an exceedingly rare Wind Attribute divine ability, said to possess a speed few divine abilities could rival. This Wind Riding Boat had been refined in imitation of that Wind Attribute divine ability. Though it could not compare to even one ten-thousandth of the original, it was still among the very best flying magic tools of its rank.

As for the final item, the Five Spirits Plate, it was a magic tool refined by the Five Elements Sect. Though its power was ordinary, no matter what kind of attribute spiritual power was infused into it, it could be converted into five-element spiritual power. It could also cast any five-element spell without the slightest obstruction. Fang Xiao had already planned to investigate the matter of improving spirit roots in the region controlled by the Five Elements Sect, so purchasing this Five Spirits Plate could be considered a way to gain some preliminary understanding of the Five Elements Sect. Of course, he could also use it to deal with matters that Gold attribute spiritual power could not resolve.

As for the Spirit Bewildering Bell and Light Condensing Mirror, given their quality, there would be no issue using them until before Core Formation.

Fang Xiao then asked the attendant about high-grade spirit materials. After all, the Essence of Five Metals and the like were not things Qi Condensation Stage cultivators could come into contact with.

Unfortunately, even for the most ordinary spirit materials he mentioned, he would have to go to the second floor of Myriad Treasures Pavilion to ask whether they were in stock. Yet only cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Realm were qualified to go to the second floor. With his Qi Condensation Stage cultivation, he was not qualified.

"Honored guest, your total comes to eleven thousand Spirit Stones."

Fang Xiao paid the Spirit Stones, then left Myriad Treasures Pavilion with the pills and magic tools. He planned to return to Wangshu Pavilion first. According to Xu Kun, a Black Market would open tonight, and he would go take a look later.

Now that he had obtained the Meridian Protection Pills, breaking through at this time was not a good choice with the auction approaching. He planned to wait until the auction ended and he had returned to the Outer Court before making his breakthrough.

There were no Tianlan Sect disciples in Wangshu Pavilion, nor did he see Xu Kun. Fang Xiao returned to his room and sat in meditation to regulate his breathing.

As the sky gradually darkened and the time seemed about right, Fang Xiao rose and left Wangshu Pavilion, heading for the Black Market Xu Kun had mentioned.

According to Xu Kun, the entrance to the Black Market was hidden in a deep alley. After entering the alley, Fang Xiao found an unoccupied spot and put on his disguise mask, transforming into an ordinary-looking middle-aged cultivator. He then donned the breath-concealing cloak he had prepared beforehand, wound through several twists and turns, and arrived before a solitary door. He stepped forward and knocked.

"Who are you looking for?"

A shifty-looking middle-aged cultivator opened a crack in the door and asked warily.

"I heard there's a Black Market here. Xu Kun introduced me."

After hearing this, the man relaxed and opened the door fully, gesturing for him to enter.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to do business too? Please."

Without hesitation, Fang Xiao followed him inside. The interior was not large, but there was a gloomy tunnel leading underground. The shifty cultivator merely indicated that he should go down this way, with no intention of accompanying him.

The tunnel was dark, but it had little effect on Fang Xiao's eyesight. Before long, the path ahead gradually brightened. At the end of the tunnel was an arched entrance, with a cultivator standing on either side. Both were at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

"Beyond this is the Black Market. No troublemaking is allowed. Trade freely, payment and goods exchanged on the spot. We bear no responsibility."

Neither man stepped forward. One of them spoke to remind him.

Fang Xiao nodded and entered through the archway. The view suddenly opened up. It had to be said that although this Black Market had been built underground, its space was enormous. Night Pearls were embedded in the surrounding stone walls, keeping the place from seeming dark. For such a vast space to exist beneath the immortal city, how could the Wuji Sect not know? It seemed the people who operated this Black Market had deep backing, and the Wuji Sect was simply turning a blind eye.

People came and went throughout the Black Market. Most cultivators concealed their appearance and figure like Fang Xiao did, though a small number made no effort to hide themselves at all.

Fang Xiao followed the crowd, strolling and looking around. The stalls on both sides held every strange and bizarre thing imaginable. There were even bloodstained Storage Bags. It had to be said that this was an excellent place to dispose of stolen goods.

Most of the items were of no use to him, until Fang Xiao stopped before one particular stall.

The stall owner was dressed entirely in black, to the point that even his face could not be seen. The stall was filled with damaged magic tools, yet without exception, they were all Demonic Artifacts.

Fang Xiao occasionally picked up one or two damaged magic tools to inspect them, until he picked up a severely damaged Banner Pole.

"How much is this?"

"Five hundred Spirit Stones."

"Did I hear wrong, or did you say it wrong? Five hundred Spirit Stones? This is only a damaged magic tool."

"This isn't the same as the others. Heh heh, this is an Artifact Fragment."

"You think I can't tell? No matter what the things at your stall used to be, they've all lost their spirituality. What difference does it make whether they were magic tools or artifacts?"

"Well... even the materials extracted from it would be better than those of the others."

Having been exposed, the man grew a little anxious, yet he still stubbornly argued.

"Fifty Spirit Stones. Take it or leave it."

Seeing Fang Xiao rise as if to leave, the man immediately panicked and shouted.

"Fine, fine, fifty it is."

These ruined magic tools and artifact fragments had all been obtained from tomb raiding. They had rotted in his hands for ages, and no one wanted them.

With the Spirit Stones needed to buy such things, plus the expense and effort of finding someone to extract the materials, one might as well go directly to Myriad Treasures Pavilion and buy an intact magic tool.

Fang Xiao tossed the Spirit Stones onto the stall, put away the Banner Pole, and left at once, giving the man no chance to regret the deal.

As for why Fang Xiao bought this Banner Pole, it truly was for extracting materials. The Banner Pole had once belonged to the famous Demonic Artifact, the Myriad Souls Banner. The materials used to refine its pole would certainly include Primordial Soul Stone. This was an extremely obscure and inherently scarce material. Aside from the Myriad Souls Banner, few people used it when refining magic tools or artifacts. However, the Soul Nurturing Gourd in his sea of consciousness happened to be able to use Primordial Soul Stone. When the time came, he only needed to find a reliable Artifact Refiner to extract the Primordial Soul Stone and fuse it into the Soul Nurturing Gourd.

During the rest of his trip through the Black Market, Fang Xiao acquired only two Spirit Wine Recipes and nothing else. The recipes were merely Qi Condensation Stage recipes, and their effects overlapped considerably with the Spirit Wine he already had. At most, he could use them as references to improve his existing Spirit Wine Recipes.

This Black Market was only open tonight. Fang Xiao had already spent quite some time inside, and there were now far fewer people than when he had first arrived. Since he had not come away entirely empty-handed, he left by the same route.

After leaving the Black Market and returning to Wangshu Pavilion, he began meditating and circulating his cultivation. Although his cultivation could not be raised for the moment, he would still persist in tempering his spiritual power every day. There was reason behind the saying that deep accumulation led to sudden release.

Over the next few days, Fang Xiao went out whenever he had the time, but still found nothing. He had already made up his mind: if the auction did not have the materials he needed, then he would focus solely on the Foundation Establishment Pill. He had no intention of merely waiting for the one from the sect. If he had the chance, naturally he would get one in hand first.