Immortal Martial: Pushing Through Two Worlds From Reality Chapter 48

Nodding in agreement, the two parted ways.

Qi Yuan walked towards familiar territory, while Jiang Shu began his inspection from the first stall in the plaza.

Unlike the vendor stalls in the county town, the stall owners here simply sat, not speaking unless asked.

Jiang Shu bent down to look at the small stall, which held various small bottles. Stickers on the bottles read: "Poison, Charm, Lust, Replenish, Strengthen, Fortify..."

The first three were easy enough to understand.

Jiang Shu skipped past them and asked in a low voice, "What do Replenish, Strengthen, and Fortify mean?"

The stall owner, head bowed, his face hidden by a large hat, took a few seconds before responding, "Essence Replenishment, Blood Strengthening, and Body Strengthening."

"These three bottles are all powdered medicine. Replenish is for ordinary people, Strengthen is for martial arts practitioners, and Fortify is for those in the Skin Grinding Realm. Replenish costs one tael of silver per dose. Strengthen costs five taels of silver per dose. Fortify costs twenty taels of silver per dose."

"Mm."

Nodding, Jiang Shu didn't ask further and turned to leave.

Was it even authentic, being placed alongside Poison, Charm, and Lust?

He just wanted to get a feel for the prices.

He didn't head to the second stall but walked straight ahead, only lowering himself to look at a nearby stall after confirming the first stall owner was no longer watching him.

Oddly shaped cured meats were displayed on the stall.

Before the cured meats, there were also stickers noting: "Leopard-Flower Horse, Fox Bear, Cliff-Piercing Python, Iron-Seeking Rat..."

Clearly, these were various types of beast meat.

If the animals on Xuan Star were still undergoing mutations and evolution, then in this world, animals had already evolved for countless years. These names he'd never heard before must belong to exotic beasts with all sorts of abilities.

For Skin Grinding Realm martial artists to increase their Blood Essence, they could only rely on the long-term consumption of this Exotic Beast Meat.

Difficult.

So difficult!

Who knew how old these cured meats were. Even if he bought them, how could he bring himself to eat them?

Eat, and endure the suffering.

Don't eat, and martial arts progression would be hindered.

Xuan Star was still better.

The Academy.

It was close now.

Once he reached the Academy, he would be close to becoming a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist.

Leaving aside the Heaven and Earth Precious Medicine.

He definitely wouldn't lack Exotic Beast Meat there.

Although he didn't know what kind of Exotic Beast Meat they had at the Academy.

But no matter how he thought about it, it couldn't possibly be these chunks of cured meat in the stalls, right?

Without stopping, Jiang Shu moved forward, looking as he went, witnessing the diversity of goods in the black market.

There were those selling beast meat, those selling martial arts techniques, and even those selling information.

Finally, Jiang Shu stopped.

Before his eyes, rows of weapons were displayed.

A dagger with a chilling glint caught his attention.

Whether it was quicklime or an electric baton, as his strength grew, they were becoming increasingly inadequate for him.

With his Full Body Vital Energy Circulation, the enemies he would soon face would be Skin Grinding Realm martial artists.

Perhaps, with a surprise attack, quicklime could still have some effect.

But an electric baton, while possessing sufficient deterrence against ordinary people, could be easily dodged by a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist who could simply kick his wrist at the opportune moment.

Even if struck, the damage to them might not be as severe as being heavily beaten by someone of the same realm.

Before clashing fists with Qi Yuan.

Jiang Shu also believed that if he could manage a surprise attack with quicklime against an ordinary Skin Grinding Realm practitioner, he might have a chance to fight.

But after several days of exchanging blows, Qi Yuan's power made him understand completely.

The gap between him and the Skin Grinding Realm.

It was comparable to the gap between him and an ordinary person.

Under the crushing superiority of a higher realm, any minor tricks were futile.

To overcome an opponent of a higher realm, he needed a dagger that could truly enhance his combat power, a dagger capable of piercing the skin membrane of a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist.

It was indispensable.

It was just a pity that the regulations on such knives on Xuanxing were too strict.

Especially after the promotion of Martial Arts, there were all sorts of strict inspections.

The only knives that could be bought in Xia Kingdom now were probably just fruit knives and kitchen knives.

Thinking of the power of those two types of knives, Jiang Shu couldn't help but shake his head. He looked at the dagger and said in a low voice, "How much?"

The stall owner looked up, said nothing more, and with a wave of his hand, a surge of force erupted.

He was actually a martial artist too!

He picked up the dagger and brought it close to his own arm. Instantly, a trickle of blood oozed out.

"Anything beneath the iron skin can be broken. Thirty taels of silver, no bargaining."

The price was definitely steep, but at this moment, Jiang Shu had no other choice.

Thirty taels of silver was not an astronomical sum for him at the moment.

Right now, the most important thing was to improve his strength.

The dagger was merely a temporary tool. Once he safely reached the Skin Grinding Realm, he could come to the black market on his own.

He could rent a stall and sell some of the synthetic diamonds and glass mirrors from Xuanxing in the black market.

As long as he maintained his anonymity, he could sell them at a high price and then disappear.

A hundred taels of gold, all in a single night.

Putting away the dagger, Jiang Shu mused inwardly as he unconsciously circled the plaza and rejoined Qi Yuan.

At this time, Qi Yuan had an additional package on him, bulging and hiding its contents.

"Go?"

Qi Yuan was brief. He didn't ask what Jiang Shu had seen or bought here.

"Yeah."

Jiang Shu nodded.

The black market, a place of hidden identities, was the most mixed and chaotic.

The longer they stayed, the greater the danger.

The two returned the way they came, and only when they reached the small courtyard did Qi Yuan remove his mask and take off his cloak. He let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though he was already a martial artist, and even though he had been to the black market many times.

He always maintained extreme caution towards the black market.

Qi Yuan sat on a chair, opened the wine pot on the table, and took several gulps. After a moment to compose himself, he opened the package, and a strong smell of blood immediately assaulted the senses.

Inside the package were several large, blood-stained chunks of meat. The pungent smell was overwhelming; it was unclear what kind of exotic beast meat it was.

"The meat that ordinary martial arts practitioners consume is usually common things like fish, chicken, and duck. But this kind of meat provides very limited Blood Essence for us martial artists. If we want to maintain our progress in Martial Arts, we must consume this Exotic Beast Meat for extended periods."

"We martial artists can improve our Martial Arts realm through our techniques. In this world, there are also some birds and beasts that undergo innate transformations and possess strength comparable to ours."

Qi Yuan spoke slowly.

Information like this would be mentioned by Elder Qiu once Jiang Shu became a martial artist; it wasn't considered top-secret.

His telling Jiang Shu now was simply to foster goodwill and provide him with preliminary knowledge.

"We martial artists consume Exotic Beast Meat to improve ourselves, but because each martial artist practices different martial arts and has a different physique, the improvement brought by different Exotic Beast Meats also varies."

"Compatible Exotic Beast Meat can increase your martial arts progress by roughly double. Incompatible meat might not even yield ten percent improvement. It often requires multiple attempts to determine what you truly need."

"For example, our Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School's 'Roaring Tiger Mountain Strength' primarily uses tiger and leopard meat. Of course, the piece I bought today is not tiger or leopard meat. Pingling County is too small, and consistently buying the same type of beast meat makes it too easy for people in the black market to guess my identity."

"In the black market, maintaining anonymity must be thorough from beginning to end."