Bedrock Iron Body Skill

"Mm."

"How is your injury recovering?"

Qin Shuang looked at Nangong Wan'er and asked.

"It will take about two more days for a full recovery."

Nangong Wan'er nodded, glanced at Qin Shuang, and cautioned, "Be extra careful if you go. Those who go to the Black Market are all ruthless individuals."

"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Nangong."

Qin Shuang cupped his fists towards Nangong Wan'er.

After cautioning Qin Shuang, Nangong Wan'er went to the third floor to continue her recuperation.

Qin Shuang, meanwhile, examined the 20 Tiger Blood Pills he had obtained from Liang Chang, took them, and absorbed their effects. Simultaneously, he studied the Tiger Roar Painting, practiced his stances, and mimicked the simplified martial arts of the Tiger Roar.

Two in the afternoon.

Qin Shuang, dressed in grey and carrying a bundle, locked the door of Fusheng Restaurant and headed towards Qingzhou City.

Traveling east from Qingzhou City for about 150 li, one would reach Gathering Moon Lake.

Gathering Moon Lake spanned an area of ten li and was surrounded by mountains on three sides. By the lake was a white stone platform spanning over 300 zhang, resembling a moon, hence its name, 'Gathering Moon Lake'.

Five in the afternoon, the setting sun bled like blood.

Qin Shuang arrived three li away from Gathering Moon Lake and hid himself in a maple forest.

He saw figures arriving one after another towards Gathering Moon Lake, sitting cross-legged on the white stone platform to wait.

These early arrivals either wore masks with symbols like 'Tiger', 'Sheep', 'Ox', 'Monkey', or black cloth hoods that only revealed their eyes, or they wore face masks with painted designs.

Qin Shuang was no exception. He took out a piece of black cloth from his bundle, covered his head with it, and cut out two holes to reveal only his eyes. He then took out the Black Market wooden token he had gotten from Liang Chang and waited silently.

The sky gradually darkened.

More and more martial artists from all directions arrived for the Black Market. The white stone platform was already crowded with five to six hundred people. Seeing that the time was almost right, Qin Shuang popped a date into his mouth, held his wooden token, and stepped into the night towards the white stone platform.

At the entrance to the white stone platform stood a man with a horse-like face, a long saber at his waist, and a powerful Qi and Blood presence. He checked the wooden token in Qin Shuang's hand and let him enter the platform without further questions.

Those without a token had to pay ten taels of silver to purchase one.

As Qin Shuang stepped onto the platform, he saw stall owners squatting or sitting, with a cloth or beast hide spread before them, displaying pills, secret manuals, antiques, swords, herbs, alchemy furnaces, and other items for sale.

Qin Shuang browsed from stall to stall, first observing how others inquired about prices.

"Hmm? Tiger Blood Pills!"

Qin Shuang arrived at a stall. The stall owner was thin and wore a goat mask. In front of him lay a black and yellow tiger hide, on which a pile of white porcelain bottles was arranged. Beside it was a board displaying prices.

Tiger Blood Pill: 12 taels of silver per pill.

Dragon Blood Pill: 120 taels of silver per pill.

"As expected of the Black Market!"

Qin Shuang clicked his tongue at the price of the Tiger Blood Pills. The pharmacy sold Tiger Blood Pills for 10 taels of silver each, but here they were 2 taels more expensive!

The Dragon Blood Pills were even more outrageous, over a hundred taels each.

"Brother, can I get a discount if I buy many Tiger Blood Pills?"

After the few customers ahead of him finished buying medicine, Qin Shuang stepped forward and asked.

Because he had a date in his mouth, Qin Shuang's voice sounded a bit muffled.

"How many do you want?"

The goat-masked stall owner looked up at Qin Shuang. His voice was deep and resonant, suggesting he was around forty years old.

"I want fifty pills."

Qin Shuang said after a moment's thought.

He wanted to buy more, but he was worried that buying too many at once might attract unwanted attention. He decided to get some Tiger Blood Pills first to advance his Tiger Roar Divine Intent Skill to the 'Proficient' level. He could always come back tomorrow to buy more.

Being cautious was always the right choice.

This was a world of martial arts, where stronger individuals always existed, and a single misstep could lead to disaster.

"If it's fifty pills, then give me 590 taels of silver!"

The goat stall owner pondered for a moment and said.

"I'll take them for 550 taels."

Qin Shuang said in a deep voice.

"Brother, these are in high demand, and pharmacies outside don't even have them. Moreover, my Tiger Blood Pills are of excellent quality and absolutely worth the price. 585 taels, no less."

The goat stall owner said helplessly.

Seeing the goat stall owner's reaction, Qin Shuang took out five silver notes and eighty taels of loose silver and handed them to the elder, saying, "580 taels then. I'll come back to buy from you next time!"

"Alright."

The goat stall owner pondered for a moment, nodded, and handed five white porcelain bottles to Qin Shuang, saying, "Take a look."

"Hmm, not bad!"

Qin Shuang opened the red cloth bag, removed the wooden stoppers, and took a sniff. The medicinal fragrance was indeed that of Tiger Blood Pills, comparable to the ones Jin Qiao'er's grandfather made. Each bottle contained ten pills.

Qin Shuang immediately put the five white porcelain bottles into his embrace and continued browsing.

He wanted to see if there were any other body-refining techniques. With his simplified system, he could quickly achieve mastery, and the stronger his physical body, the better.

Just as Qin Shuang left.

Two black-clothed men with tiger masks, one fat and one thin, arrived at the pill stall. The fat tiger-masked man whispered to the goat stall owner, "How much did that person buy?"

"He bought fifty pills and is still browsing. He's a big fatty, his strength is at the Bone Forging Realm with Qi and Blood Gauze Robe."

The goat stall owner said in a low voice.

"Good, we'll wait for him outside with the 'Spirit Sniffing Rat' later." The fat tiger-masked man nodded, waved to the thin tiger-masked man beside him, and they watched Qin Shuang from a distance.

The goat stall owner, Yun Shenhai, rearranged the white porcelain bottles in front of him, his eyes flashing with brilliance.

Over the years, he had sold pills refined by his elder brother in the Black Market. When he encountered a "fatty" he could handle, he would rob them. By relying on robbery, he had made a fortune and his strength had reached the Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke realm.

On the white porcelain bottles, he had left his scent. The Spirit Sniffing Rat could accurately locate the direction, so he wasn't worried about the fatty escaping.

Qin Shuang browsed through the stalls one by one and came to a stall selling secret manuals.

The stall owner was a lean man in gray clothes wearing a bull's head mask.

On the stall were various secret manuals: [Grass on Flying], [Mandarin Duck Saber Art], [Cane Sword], [Gecko Wall-Crawling Skill], [Bronze Sand Palm], [Stone Lock Skill], [Bedrock Iron Body Skill]... and many other martial arts secret manuals.

The writing in these manuals was very new, clearly recently transcribed.

Four or five martial artists were browsing and haggling at the stall.

"Brother, what martial art are you looking for? Lightness skill, saber art, sword art, external body-hardening martial arts, I have them all!"

After the four or five martial artists bought their manuals and left, the bull-headed stall owner looked at Qin Shuang and said enthusiastically.

"Let me see."

Qin Shuang squatted down in front of the stall, his gaze falling on the Bedrock Iron Body Skill. He picked it up and flipped through it, then asked, "How much is this?"

After all, Qin Shuang already had the Blood Rage Saber Art, Fierce Tiger Fist, and Tablet Splitting Hand. For lightness skills, he had Grass on Flying and Swimming Dragon Steps, and for techniques, he had Tiger Roar Divine Intent Skill. If he could cultivate this Bedrock Iron Body Skill and make his physical body impervious to blades and spears, it would be even better.

He had the simplified system.

As long as he simplified it, he could quickly achieve mastery.

"You want an external body-hardening one?"

Seeing Qin Shuang pick up the Bedrock Iron Body Skill, the bull-headed stall owner was taken aback.

One must know.

External body-hardening martial arts were the most difficult to cultivate in the martial path. The vast majority of people, after practicing for a period, could not endure the hardship of body-refining and would eventually give up, choosing faster-progressing martial arts like saber arts, sword arts, or palm arts instead.

"Yes."

Qin Shuang nodded.

"If you want it, it's one tael of silver." The bull-headed stall owner pointed at the Bedrock Iron Body Skill, then added, "However, I suggest you also buy a sword art or saber art."

"Thanks, just pack this one for me!"

Qin Shuang took out one tael of silver, took the Bedrock Iron Body Skill, and stuffed it into his embrace. He continued to browse. His Blood Rage Saber Art was only ten pigs away from reaching the requirement to advance to Proficient. He wanted to buy a better saber.