The underground Black Market in Tianwu City lay beneath an abandoned mine east of the city.
It had originally been a Mysterious Iron Ore mine. After the veins ran dry, a host of shadowy forces took it over, gradually turning it into the sprawling underground marketplace it was today.
Yan Kui had changed into a loose robe and donned a bamboo hat that hid half his face, doing his best to conceal his conspicuous Pig Demon features and massive frame.
Although the name "Black Iron Tower" had made waves in the Asura Arena, he had come to the Black Market to hunt for treasures, not to fight. Keeping a low profile could only help.
The entrance to the Black Market was in the back courtyard of an ordinary-looking blacksmith shop.
Yan Kui paid ten taels of silver as an "entrance fee" before receiving a black iron token. Then he followed the dim mine tunnel downward.
Night pearls were embedded in the walls every few steps. Their light was faint, but enough to see the path beneath his feet.
The air was thick with the smell of decay and rust.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the tunnel opened up.
A vast underground cavern appeared before him.
Countless stone chambers and stalls had been carved into the cavern. It was packed with people, bustling with activity. Everyone wore masks or bamboo hats, though, and kept their voices low, giving the place an air of mystery and oppression.
"So this is the Black Market..."
Yan Kui swept his gaze over the stalls.
Their wares were a hodgepodge: rusty weapons, unidentified ores, incomplete Cultivation Technique manuals, and even Demonic Beast cubs sealed inside cages.
He didn't wander around aimlessly. Instead, he immediately activated the system's sensing function.
Anything containing a high amount of energy stood out in his perception like fireflies in the night.
"That one... that one... and that one..."
As Yan Kui walked past, his gaze kept pausing on the stalls.
Most of the wares were junk, but through the system's eyes, a few scattered points of light occasionally appeared.
He stopped in front of a stall piled high with battered antiques.
The vendor was a thin old man, dozing with his eyes half shut.
Yan Kui picked up a bronze wine goblet with a chipped corner and turned it over in his hand.
[Trace Origin Power residue detected: Ancient Bronze Wine Goblet. Can be devoured. Origin Power +0.1]
Not even worth a mosquito's leg.
He shook his head and set the goblet down, but his gaze fell on a blackened inkstone beside it.
The inkstone looked completely ordinary, and was even cracked in places. Yet in the system's perception, it radiated a rich, inky glow.
[High-energy item detected: Ink Flood Dragon Bone Inkstone (sealed). Contains Ink Flood Dragon Essence Blood. Can be devoured. Estimated Origin Power +5.0]
Five points of Origin Power!
Yan Kui was delighted, but his expression didn't change.
"Boss, how much for this inkstone?"
He picked it up and asked casually.
The old man opened his eyes and glanced at Yan Kui. Seeing how tall and broad he was, the vendor didn't dare slight him and hurriedly put on a smile. "You've got a keen eye, sir! This inkstone was used by a great scholar of the previous dynasty. It's got a few cracks, but it's still an antique. If you're really interested, you can have it for fifty taels of silver!"
"Fifty taels?"
Yan Kui frowned. "Ten taels for a broken inkstone."
"Ten taels? That's far too harsh, sir..." The old man's face twisted with pain. "This was something I got from..."
"Fifteen taels. Take it or leave it."
Yan Kui made as if to leave.
"Sold, sold! Fifteen taels it is!" The old man hurriedly grabbed him. He'd only paid a few hundred copper coins for the lousy inkstone, and it had sat there for months without a buyer. Selling it for fifteen taels was a huge profit.
Yan Kui tossed him the silver, tucked away the inkstone, and turned to leave.
Only after he'd walked a good distance away did a faint smile appear on his face.
That was the thrill of finding a hidden gem.
He didn't devour it right away. Instead, he continued browsing.
Over the next little while, he made several more purchases.
He spent a hundred taels of silver on a "tiger bone" that was actually the leg bone of a Thunder Tiger. Devouring it gave him 2.0 Origin Power.
He spent thirty taels of silver on a tattered travelogue, only to discover a "Diamond Talisman" hidden in its lining. It was nearly spent, but could still withstand a blow from someone in the Viscera Refining Realm.
In barely half an hour, he had spent less than two hundred taels of silver and come away with items worth nearly 10 points of Origin Power.
"This Black Market really is a treasure trove."
Yan Kui was in high spirits.
Just as he was about to seek out the Cultivation Technique stalls, an argument suddenly erupted up ahead.
"I saw that thing first! What gives you the right to snatch it?"
"What gives me the right? Because I'm with the Blood Saber Sect! Got a problem with that?"
A crowd had gathered to watch.
Yan Kui hadn't wanted to get involved, but the system's alert suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Extremely high-energy reaction detected! Location: thirty meters ahead.]
[Estimated Origin Power: ??? (beyond measurement; suspected Fragment of an Ancient Exotic Treasure)]
"Extremely high energy? Beyond measurement?"
Yan Kui stopped dead.
Since obtaining the system, he had never heard an alert like this before. Even Zhao Wuji's Corpse Pill had only been "high-energy." But this thing was "extremely high"?
He immediately pushed through the crowd.
A ragged young boy stood there, clutching a gray-white bone fragment and glaring stubbornly at several burly men in red robes.
The fragment was only the size of his palm, with a few blurry Runes carved into it. It looked like a human bone someone had picked up from a Graveyard.
But in Yan Kui's eyes, the fragment gave off a blinding white light, and he felt a tremor deep in his soul.
"This thing..."
Yan Kui's pupils contracted.
"Kid, hand it over if you know what's good for you. I might even give you a few taels of silver for medicine. Otherwise..."
The burly leader in red sneered, tapping the boy's cheek with the ghost-headed saber in his hand. "People die in the Black Market all the time. Nobody cares."
"I won't sell it! My father left it to me!" The boy gritted his teeth, tears welling in his eyes.
"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Beat him!"
The man in red waved his hand, and his underlings moved to attack.
"Hold it."
A massive figure stepped in front of the boy.
Yan Kui took off his bamboo hat, revealing his fierce face covered in black bristles.
"I'll take it."
The man in red froze, then flew into a rage. "Where'd this wild boar spirit come from? You dare stick your nose into the Blood Saber Sect's business?"
"The Blood Saber Sect?"
Yan Kui thought for a moment.
It seemed to be a second-rate gang in Tianwu City, the sort that made a living by bullying merchants and throwing its weight around.
"Never heard of it."
He shook his head, then looked at the boy. "Name your price."
The boy stared at this man, who looked even more fearsome than the men in red, and shrank back in fright. Still, he held tightly to the bone fragment.
"I... I don't want money... I just want medicine that can save my father... He's about to die..."
"Medicine to save his life?"
Yan Kui pulled a Jade Bottle from his robe.
It contained a Rejuvenation Pill he had found in Zhao Wuji's Storage Bag. To cultivators, it was merely a low-grade healing medicine, but to mortals, it was a miraculous drug that could bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bare bones.
"Will this do?"
He gave the bottle a shake.
The boy caught the scent of medicine wafting from it. His eyes lit up, and he nodded frantically. "Yes! It's enough!"
"Then the bone fragment is mine."
Yan Kui tossed him the Jade Bottle and reached for the fragment.
"Looking to die!"
Completely ignored, the man in red flew into a rage. He roared and swung his saber at Yan Kui's back.
CLANG!!!
A grating clash of metal rang out.
Sparks flew everywhere!
Yan Kui didn't even turn his head.
The thick-backed ghost-headed saber struck his back as if it had hit tempered steel. The tremendous force rebounded along the hilt. The man in red felt a sharp pain in his thumb and forefinger as the skin on his palm split open. The saber flew from his hand, spinning through the air before embedding itself deep in a distant stone wall.
"Get lost."
Yan Kui took the fragment and turned to the man in red, spitting out a single word.
His voice crashed like thunder, making the men's eardrums ring.
"You... You're Black Iron Tower?!"
The man in red finally recognized the ruthless figure who had recently made a name for himself in the Asura Arena. His black bristles and terrifying defense made him unmistakable.
"Black Iron Tower?!"
The onlookers erupted in astonishment.
He was the ruthless man who had killed Lei Ao!
The man in red went deathly pale. Daring not say another word, he picked up his saber and fled with his underlings, tails between their legs.
Yan Kui paid no attention to the little incident.
He held the smooth, warm fragment and felt the terrifying energy within it. A storm surged through his heart.
This thing...
It had actually made the Raging Bull Fist and Iron Cloth Shirt inside him resonate fiercely at the same time!
"Now that's a treasure."
He slipped the fragment into his robe without a change in expression, then quickly left the scene.
A treasure like this was best not shown in public.
He needed to find somewhere safe and study it properly.
Before you continue