Black Market Intel

The night was cool and quiet, moonlight casting a pale glow on the empty streets.

Yu Xiaogang and Flender, both wearing black masks, walked through the moonlit streets and entered a bar in the market town.

In stark contrast to the quiet outside, the bar was bustling with noise. The strong smell of alcohol and tobacco filled their nostrils, causing Yu Xiaogang and Flender to frown.

In the center of the bar was a large cage, surrounded by a frenzied crowd. As Yu Xiaogang and Flender approached, they saw two ten-year Soul Beasts tearing at each other inside the cage, the scene extremely bloody.

Yu Xiaogang immediately recognized the two Soul Beasts in the cage: both were Lin Wolves, common in the Sunset Forest, now captured by Soul Masters for gambling fights.

"Still the same old trick," Flender muttered to Yu Xiaogang, finding the beast fight uninteresting.

Yu Xiaogang nodded in agreement. Twenty years ago, when the Golden Iron Triangle roamed the continent, they had visited the Sunset Forest. This bar was already using beast fights for entertainment then. Twenty years later, nothing had changed.

But this was normal. With the Imperial Capital so close, the Imperial Family's authority easily extended here, and a certain decorum had to be maintained.

In the taverns of border towns they had visited, the entertainment was far darker than these beast fights.

Yu Xiaogang and Flender averted their gaze after a brief look and walked further inside, heading towards the bar counter.

A provocatively dressed woman greeted them with a smile, her sweet voice emerging from her red lips.

"What can I get for you two handsome gentlemen? Some fine wine, or...?"

The woman tossed her hair, her chest thrusting forward, revealing two rounded papayas. Coupled with her low-cut dress, a large expanse of white was exposed. A faint scent of perfume wafted out, perfectly showcasing the softness and allure of a mature woman's body.

Yu Xiaogang and Flender were unfazed by the enchantress. After exchanging a glance, Flender took a Gold Soul Coin from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

"Take us to the Black Market," Flender said calmly.

The woman's smile, which had been beaming when she saw the Gold Soul Coin, faltered slightly upon hearing "Black Market." She sized up Flender and Yu Xiaogang before taking the coin and saying, "Please follow me."

Yu Xiaogang and Flender rose and followed the woman behind the bar into the Private Room Area.

Sensual Music emanated from behind the doors of the private rooms. The woman ignored it and led Yu Xiaogang and Flender further in, to the leftmost private room.

Two men in black stood inside the room. The woman whispered something to them, and they nodded. One of them went to the fireplace and turned a mechanism on it.

With a mechanical whirring sound, the fireplace slowly descended, revealing an opening in the wall behind it.

"Please," the woman gestured towards the opening and walked in first.

Yu Xiaogang and Flender followed, and the three of them proceeded down the tunnel behind the opening.

Torches were placed along the tunnel for illumination. After walking down about seven or eight meters with the woman, Yu Xiaogang and Flender finally reached the exit.

Before them was a natural underground cave, vast and open, about the size of a football field.

After leading them to the Black Market, the woman turned and walked back towards the surface. Yu Xiaogang and Flender, however, walked straight ahead, passing through a crowd of stalls and arriving at a Black Hut in the innermost area.

The hut was lit by a single oil lamp. Behind the counter, a hunched-over old man with white hair was organizing notes on the table. Seeing someone enter, he immediately put down his work and looked up.

A subtle Soul Power Flow circulated in his narrow eyes. After sizing up the newcomers, a smile suddenly appeared on the old man's wrinkled face.

"Aren't these the 'Flying Horn' Flender and the 'Wisdom Horn' Yu Xiaogang of the Golden Iron Triangle? What rare guests, it must have been over twenty years since we last met."

Yu Xiaogang and Flender exchanged a look, their eyes filled with a hint of helplessness.

The old man before them was nicknamed 'Old Ghost'. Legend had it that he possessed photographic memory; no person or event he had witnessed could escape his eyes.

"Old Ghost, we've come to inquire about information on a few Soul Beasts: the Thousand-Year Moonlight Wood, the Thousand-Year Thunder Leopard, and the Thousand-Year Thunder Fire Bird."

Yu Xiaogang asked. Upon hearing the names of these three Soul Beasts, Old Ghost first furrowed his brow slightly, pondered for a long time before relaxing, then said with a smile, "It's not easy being a Teacher. You've truly gone to great lengths to choose Soul Rings for your students."

Old Ghost slowly stood up from his seat, then walked to the cabinet behind him, pulled out a drawer, and began to search.

After a while, he closed the drawer, returned to the counter, and looked at Yu Xiaogang, smiling as he said, "Only you would think of these three Soul Beasts. They've been here for quite some time. Go and try your luck."

With that, he placed three notes on the counter.

"How much?" Yu Xiaogang asked.

"It's not much. One hundred Gold Soul Coins per note, so three hundred Gold Soul Coins in total."

Yu Xiaogang and Flender exchanged a glance, then stepped forward a few paces to the counter.

As Flender was about to retrieve the money, Old Ghost suddenly spoke, "If you can give me one piece of information, I can give you these three notes for free."

Old Ghost leaned forward slightly, his eyes gleaming with cunning.

"You should have already visited Dugu Bo's Villa in the Sunset Forest, right? Tell me its location, how about it?"

Flender ignored him and took out three bags of Gold Soul Coins from his Soul Tool, placing them on the counter.

Yu Xiaogang immediately collected the three notes. Without any hesitation, the two turned and left the hut.

Seeing this, Old Ghost could only put the three bags of Gold Soul Coins under the counter, then sighed, "One by one, they all keep their information so tightly guarded. Business is going to be harder and harder in the future."

The next morning, the Shrek Group left the hotel and entered the Sunset Forest.

According to the information provided by Old Ghost, they chose the nearest location and headed towards a valley in the southwest.

By noon, they began to enter the valley. They walked along the valley floor, and after about ten minutes, they reached the deepest part of the valley.

The land here was scorched black, with not a blade of grass growing. Only in the center stood a jet-black Oil Wood.

The Oil Wood was as thick as two people could embrace, its outer bark long since dried and fallen off. The exposed trunk displayed an extremely lustrous sheen, appearing like jade.

The Oil Wood was about four to five meters tall, with a greatly expanded crown that had been constructed into a bird's nest.

From within the nest, a Strange Bird covered in golden-red feathers suddenly flew out. It was only about 1.5 meters in size, appearing petite but exuding immense power. A red light surged within its eyes, giving it a rather fierce appearance.

This bird was one of the Soul Beasts the group had come to find: the Thunder Fire Bird.