Underground Black Market

Tianyin City.

A county town with a population of seventy to eighty thousand.

There were many pedestrians coming and going, possessing a peace and worldly atmosphere that the cultivation world lacked, making Wen Jiu feel it was more real.

Mortals worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.

There were small vendors.

There were cries of hawkers.

And children playing in the streets.

There were also people performing on the street, doing acrobatics.

Soon.

Wen Jiu arrived at the North City according to the information recorded in the Three Fiends Corpse Raising Method.

The North City was filled with gambling dens, brothels, and the underworld. As Wen Jiu stepped into it, he felt like someone was watching him from the shadows.

A sweep of his Spiritual Sense told him they were just mortals, so Wen Jiu couldn't be bothered. He turned and entered a deserted alley. It was quiet at first, but the deeper he went, the wider the alley became. Before long, he could see Wicked Heretics coming and going.

There were Ghost Cultivators, Corpse Nurturers, and evil cultivators, etc., who often brushed past Wen Jiu. The sinister aura emanating from them was far more malevolent than the Wicked Heretics in the sects.

Compared to them, the Wicked Heretics in the sects were not Wicked Heretics at all, as they only paid lip service to such practices.

Soon.

Wen Jiu encountered a middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator at Qi Refining Layer One. Although only at Qi Refining Layer One, the Death Qi on him was extremely dense.

It was obvious.

He had killed many people.

The Death Qi was entwined and could not be shaken off.

Wen Jiu immediately stopped him, his tone cold, "Fellow Daoist, how many Spirit Stones do you need to lead me to the trading ground?"

The middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator sized Wen Jiu up, a little wary, and took two steps back. Even without any movement, his eyes held a murderous intent. Only when his Spiritual Sense detected the Black Zombie did his wariness lessen slightly.

"Ten!"

The middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator made an exorbitant demand.

Wen Jiu's expression tightened, displeased, "One!"

"No, one is too little."

The middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator quickly shook his head.

Wen Jiu was too lazy to waste words, not wanting to add even a single grain of spirit sand. If he wanted to pretend to be a true Wicked Heretic, how could he be so easy to talk to? "If you don't want to, then forget it... If you don't want to, others will."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Seeing Wen Jiu about to leave, the middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator hurried forward.

Wen Jiu didn't waste any more words. He took out a Low-grade Spirit Stone and threw it over.

Seeing this, the middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator grinned, caught it, and then led Wen Jiu deeper into the alley. Wen Jiu constantly monitored his surroundings with his Spiritual Sense, guarding against sneak attacks, ready to use Blood Corpse Escape at any time.

Soon.

Wen Jiu was brought before a black wall.

"Go in." As he spoke, the Qi Refining Layer One Wicked Heretic cultivator took out a wooden token and stepped into the black wall.

Four words immediately flashed in Wen Jiu's mind—Concealment Formation.

After one step.

The world in front of him changed drastically.

Behind the wall was actually a marketplace, an underground marketplace.

All the cultivators coming and going were Wicked Heretics. As soon as he entered, Wen Jiu saw that quite a few young women were kept in cages like commodities, being chosen by others as if they were goods. There were mortals and rogue cultivators.

Wen Jiu only glanced at them and then withdrew his gaze, his understanding of Wicked Heretics becoming clearer.

"Here, take this Black Street Token. You can come and go freely from now on." The middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator threw the black wooden spirit token in his hand over.

Wen Jiu caught it and scanned it carefully with his Spiritual Sense. After confirming there were no problems, he put it away.

After the middle-aged Wicked Heretic cultivator left, Wen Jiu continued to walk forward along the underground market and discovered that there were many stalls selling people.

There were family cultivators.

There were even toddlers and newborn infants.

"No wonder they have to hide."

"If this wasn't hidden in a mortal city, it would be wiped out by the disciples of Corpse Peak before long."

Wen Jiu withdrew his gaze.

He didn't want to deal with such matters.

And he couldn't.

Continuing onward, Wen Jiu saw quite a few stalls selling heavenly materials and earthly treasures. The stall owners were all rather unusual. Even after staying in the Dead Corpse Land for so long, Wen Jiu felt his skin crawl under their stares.

After browsing for a while, Wen Jiu spotted a stall displaying items that looked very much like Blood Fiend Crystals and Heavenly Fiend Water.

The stall owner was a scarred old cultivator, reclining on his side, while a naked ghost continuously massaged his shoulders.

Seeing Wen Jiu approach, the scarred old cultivator narrowed his cloudy eyes, his voice sounding like fine sand grinding against itself.

"Young friend, what do you need?"

Wen Jiu looked at the Blood Fiend Crystals and Heavenly Fiend Water, carefully sensing their aura, then said, "I want Blood Fiend Crystals and Heavenly Fiend Water."

"Blood Fiend Crystals, twenty. Heavenly Fiend Water... one pot, fifty," the scarred old cultivator blurted out.

Wen Jiu turned and walked away.

He couldn't even be bothered to say a word.

The scarred old cultivator chuckled and quickly got up, calling out, "Fellow Daoist, you should have said if it wasn't your first time. Blood Fiend Crystals, eleven. Heavenly Fiend Water, one pot for twenty. Discounts are available for larger quantities of Heavenly Fiend Water, but you'll need at least a fifth-grade one."

Hearing the scarred old cultivator finally state a reasonable price, Wen Jiu turned back. "Blood Fiend Crystals, will you sell ten?"

"Ten? Can't sell... You know how it is, the Blood Fiend Abyss has been extremely dangerous lately. Blood Fiend Crystals aren't easy to get anymore," the scarred old cultivator shook his head.

Wen Jiu glanced at the five Blood Fiend Crystals and six pots of Heavenly Fiend Water on the stall. "I'll take all the Blood Fiend Crystals and Heavenly Fiend Water."

"Fifty-five... one hundred and twenty... one hundred and seventy will do," the scarred old cultivator said.

Wen Jiu carefully probed them again with his Spiritual Sense. Once he confirmed there were no issues, he put them into his Storage Bag and took out one hundred and seventy Low-grade Spirit Stones. He then asked, "What's going on with the Blood Fiend Abyss lately?"

"It seems you haven't been there recently... It's good you haven't, saves you from running into those scoundrels. Those people from the Blood Robe Tower, who knows what they're doing in there, making the Demonic Beasts in the Blood Fiend Abyss exceptionally violent," the scarred old cultivator said angrily.

Wen Jiu didn't press further. Instead, he continued to examine the scarred old cultivator's stall and bought a few more heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

He spent over eighty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

They were all heavenly materials and earthly treasures needed to craft a Corpse Raising Coffin.

Following that, Wen Jiu browsed for a few more rounds. To his surprise, as he wandered, he managed to gather all the materials needed to craft a Corpse Raising Coffin.

As expected.

It was faster to buy the items needed for Wicked Heretic cultivation from Wicked Heretic cultivators.

It seemed he would have to visit Tianyin City more often in the future.

However.

Just as he was about to leave.

Wen Jiu realized he was being watched again.

The person continued to follow him even after he left Tianyin City.

Wen Jiu was about to directly use Blood Corpse Escape when he suddenly received a Spiritual Sense transmission. It was from Mu Canglong.

"Kid, keep walking and lure him out of the city!"

Wen Jiu was taken aback.

Steward Mu was here.

That made sense.

If they wanted to investigate the Blood Robe Tower, this trading post was probably the best location.

Others might not know the location of this trading post, but how could the descendant of the creator of the Yin Province Corpse Raising Method not know?

Thus, Wen Jiu continued walking out of the city. After about ten li from the city, the cultivator who had been following him suddenly appeared—it was the scarred old cultivator.

As soon as he appeared, the scarred old cultivator attacked, riding his ghost.

He cackled sinisterly.

It was as if he had Wen Jiu completely cornered.

At that very moment, Mu Canglong, Liu Xiao, and a few others suddenly flew out from the dense forest on their swords. Over a dozen talismans were thrown, not only scattering the ghost but also directly stunning the scarred old cultivator.

Everything happened in an instant.

After resolving the situation, Mu Canglong immediately flew away with the scarred old cultivator and Wen Jiu. They stopped after flying for a full ten li.

"Brother Liu, Steward Mu!"

Upon stopping, Wen Jiu immediately bowed.