Marketplace Encounter

Night.

Mo Xue came to the Ancient Scripture Library again.

She came here almost every two or three days.

Her hair streamed in the wind, her skin was as white and delicate as snow, and her waist was slender. Beneath the split flesh-colored gauze skirt, a pair of long, fair legs was revealed.

"Shuang Lang, you're also from a demonic sect, aren't you?"

Mo Xue stroked the robust muscles of the man before her and suddenly asked.

"So what if I am? And what if I'm not?"

Lin Fan's gaze flickered as he spoke.

Mo Xue smiled sweetly. "Don't worry. Whether you are or not, I'll only acknowledge you as my Shuang Lang."

As soon as she finished speaking, her soft, warm body pressed tightly against him.

Lin Fan naturally did not refuse, making the woman experience both pain and pleasure.

Over the next half a month, the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples found another one or two demonic sect disciples in Ask Heaven City.

Even though those demonic sect disciples had hidden themselves extremely discreetly and kept a low profile, they were still found one by one and then killed without mercy.

Lin Fan watched coldly from the sidelines. In the current chaos, being able to protect himself was already good enough. As for those fellow disciples of the demonic sect, whether they lived or died would depend on their own fortunes.

He continued staying in the Ancient Scripture Library. Unless something important happened, he practically never took a single step outside.

Every day, Lin Fan could gain several decades of additional lifespan by copying various books and martial arts manuals.

Aside from copying books, Lin Fan also took time to make talismans, advancing his attainments in talisman crafting.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.

Early winter had arrived. Snow fell that day, and the biting wind cut to the bone.

In a courtyard, Lin Fan was lounging comfortably in a recliner. Glowing-red charcoal burned beneath his feet, while four pretty and gorgeous female martial artists diligently massaged his limbs.

The four women were Mo Xue's personal martial artists. Because they worshipped Lin Fan's unfathomable martial prowess, they had fawned over him in hopes that he would offer them more guidance.

As he enjoyed the four women's massages, Lin Fan was not stingy either. After a quarter of an hour, he instructed each of them in their martial arts.

Lin Fan had never cultivated martial arts, but one must not forget that when he had cultivated demonic arts, he had attained grandmaster-level mastery in swordsmanship, fist techniques, leg techniques, and even palm techniques, surpassing many of the top martial artists in the mortal world.

Thus, guiding the women was as easy as flipping his hand.

At that moment, a charming figure walked in.

Mo Xue rolled her eyes, then waved for the four women to leave. She then looked at the half-reclining man and said softly, "The trading market you asked me to search for has already been found."

Lin Fan's expression shifted slightly. "Where is it?"

Not long ago, Lin Fan's talisman materials, including demonic beast blood, had all been used up. To obtain more, he had asked Mo Xue to use the Sacred Dragon Book Pavilion's influence to search for possible cultivator trading markets nearby.

Lin Fan had not held out much hope, but unexpectedly, Mo Xue had actually found one.

It seemed that even the spiritually barren Eastern Region had quite a few cultivators active within it.

"It isn't very far. It's at Mount Tiancong, two hundred li away."

"The Cold Spear Sect in the city once sent people there to do business. It's said to be a mixed bag, and the risks are extremely high."

"I suggest you don't act rashly yet. Wait until I send people to investigate it personally."

Mo Xue thought for a moment before speaking.

"You've become more and more meticulous."

Lin Fan smiled.

"That's only natural. The Sacred Dragon Book Pavilion's influence is growing stronger by the day. If I were still as careless as before, the slightest mistake could bring disaster."

Mo Xue rolled her eyes. Her manner was as adorable as that of a little woman.

In outsiders' eyes, she was the dignified and imposing master of the Sacred Dragon Book Pavilion. Only before Lin Fan did she become a charming and alluring young woman.

"Mm."

Lin Fan nodded. "I should go back."

He rarely left the Ancient Scripture Library. This time, he had come out only because of the trading market, so it was a rare trip for him.

Mo Xue suddenly sat down and said softly, "It's so late. Don't go back tonight."

Looking at the heat in her eyes, Lin Fan coughed dryly. "That wouldn't be very good."

Mo Xue rolled her eyes and shouted outside, "Xiaoqing, you and the others, lock the doors. Without my permission, no one is allowed in."

The main door shut at once.

Lin Fan subconsciously rubbed his kidneys.

Mo Xue, however, spoke with tender affection. "You're a man, and I'm a woman. I look down on all the others. Only you can make me lose myself."

As soon as she finished speaking, before Lin Fan could react, she eagerly stepped forward and began undressing him.

A real man couldn't possibly say no at a time like this, right?

After a month of investigation, the trading market did not seem to have any major problems.

Before Lin Fan even set out, he already had a rough understanding of the market's situation.

That day, Lin Fan changed his appearance and disguised himself as an old wandering cultivator before arriving at the trading market.

After briefly revealing his identity as a wandering cultivator, he entered smoothly.

Compared with the low-level market beneath the Blood Demon Sect's mountain, this market was even smaller.

After all, the entire Eastern Region was spiritually barren and had few cultivators. Having a trading market at all was already quite good.

Transactions in the market did not use Contribution Points. They mainly involved silver or barter.

Lin Fan's goals were very clear. First, he wanted to purchase all kinds of demonic beast blood and Talisman Materials. Second, he wanted to dispose of the "stolen goods" on his person.

The third goal was the most important: he wanted to try his luck and see whether he could obtain a stronger cultivation method related to the Blood Demon Sect.

As early as a year ago, he had consumed lifespan to advance Advanced Demonic Arts to the perfected level, and his cultivation had naturally entered the sixth grade of the Meridian Condensing Realm.

However, because he could not obtain a higher-level cultivation method, his cultivation had remained stuck, unable to advance even an inch.

This was a major problem. If he did not resolve it in time, he would remain treading water.

Of course, this trading market was not large. Lin Fan could only come and try his luck; he was not even sure whether it had the few things he wanted.

Lin Fan walked on, stopping from time to time to inspect the nearby stalls.

Soon, he stopped before one of them.

Several glass bottles were displayed on the stall, filled with vivid demonic blood. Even through the containers, they still radiated an intensely vicious, baleful aura.

"Black Scale Leopard blood, Seven-Colored Python blood, Two-Headed Bird blood..."

Lin Fan's pupils contracted.

The Black Scale Leopard and Seven-Colored Python were naturally inferior to the Two-Headed Bird, but they were still demonic beasts at the Spirit Opening Realm level. Moreover, he had mastered the Blood Demonic Runes of those two demonic beasts; all he lacked was their blood.

He looked ahead. The stall keeper was a middle-aged, obese man who was snoring loudly. His relaxed, carefree appearance showed that he was not afraid someone would snatch the goods and run.

As if sensing Lin Fan's gaze, the obese man opened his eyes, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and asked lazily, "What do you want to buy?"

"How much for these bottles of demonic beast blood?"

The obese man sized Lin Fan up, pondered for a moment, and said, "No gold or silver. If you want to trade, Mysterious Jade would be best. Of course, other valuable things will do as well."

Lin Fan was taken aback, then quickly thought of something. He asked tentatively, "How about talismans?"

"Talismans are good stuff. The Eastern Region is spiritually barren, so cultivators can't cast spells. Talismans are even more valuable here."

The obese man's eyes burned with eagerness as he hurriedly asked, "What kind of talismans? Take them out and let me have a look."

Lin Fan did not waste words. He directly took out several talismans, all basic Fire Spirit Talismans.

"The value of these Fire Spirit Talismans is only enough to exchange for one bottle of demonic beast blood."

The obese man glanced at them and spoke.

Lin Fan thought for a moment, then took out three more Wind Blade Talismans. These were First-Grade Talismans, and were more valuable than Fire Spirit Talismans.

"If you add these three talismans, I'll give you two bottles of demonic beast blood."

The obese man's eyes lit up.

With no other choice, Lin Fan pulled out a stack of Golden Thunder Talismans.

"Whoa, Golden Thunder Talismans are pretty good. Take all five bottles of demonic beast blood." The obese man pushed the five bottles of Demonic Beast Blood Essence toward Lin Fan.

"Deal!"

Lin Fan did not waste words and completed the transaction with him directly.

Afterward, Lin Fan found another stall selling Talisman Paper and Cinnabar, exchanging a certain amount of silver for Talisman Materials.

With his first goal achieved, Lin Fan continued deeper into the trading market.

He was relatively cautious and careful. He had quite a few "stolen goods" on him, all spoils obtained from people he had killed before, including several flying swords left behind by Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples.

If these "stolen goods" were not handled properly, they could easily bring unnecessary trouble.

After walking around once, Lin Fan chose a stall that purchased weapons.

The stall keeper wore a black face veil and had a tall, burly build. He specialized in buying weapons and seemed to have some special use for them.

Seeing Lin Fan approach, he glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Old man, got something to sell?"

Lin Fan nodded. "I'm only worried you won't be able to take it."

"What a joke. No matter what it is, as long as the price is right, I dare take it."

"You should ask around and find out who I, Huang Lao San, am. Even expensive magical artifacts are within my purchasing range."

The stall keeper spoke arrogantly.

Without some strength, would anyone dare run a weapon-buying business in a trading market? It was dirty work, and the slightest carelessness could lead to disaster.

"Then keep your eyes open."

Lin Fan did not bother with pleasantries. He immediately took out several flying swords and some other "stolen goods."

"This is... a flying sword..."

"And it belongs to a Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciple..."

"And these others are..."

The stall keeper jolted, nearly jumping in fright.

He stared at the wandering cultivator old man Lin Fan had transformed into, his eyes filled with astonishment. What was the old man's background? He actually had even the flying swords of Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples.

One had to know that the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect primarily cultivated the sword path. Their flying swords were their life-bound objects, and unless they fell and died, their flying swords could never leave their side.

This was a ruthless man. It seemed he had killed quite a few Flowing Cloud Sword Sect disciples!

"Don't dare take them?"

Lin Fan asked with a smile.

"Hmph, I'll take them all the same. At market price, I'll give you two Spirit Jades."

The stall keeper thought for a moment before speaking.

Normally, the value of just the several flying swords exceeded three Spirit Jades. Adding the other items, they were worth at least nearly six Spirit Jades. However, those things were difficult to sell, so the purchasing price had to be lower.

"Fine."

Lin Fan did not refuse and agreed directly.

Keeping those things on him was useless anyway. They might even leave behind evidence, so disposing of them quickly was the wisest choice.

With two Spirit Jades in hand, Lin Fan left without looking back.

Moreover, to avoid being followed, he circled around the trading market several times. He even changed his appearance once more, altered his aura, and disguised himself as a handsome young wandering cultivator.

This time, Lin Fan noticed a stall selling all kinds of cultivation methods and secret manuals—several dozen in total.

It was rather unusual for such a small trading market to have a stall selling cultivation methods on such a scale.