The entrance is hidden deep in a musty dead end, guarded by an ordinary-looking brick wall.
Lu Chen followed Liu Mingquan and watched as the latter tapped a special jade plaque on an inconspicuous brick on the wall, and the entire brick wall slid inwards silently, revealing a deep and dark hole.
A complex smell mixed with blood, herbs, low-quality powder and Demon Beast's unique stench hit his face, making Lu Chen frown imperceptibly.
"Brother Lu, don't look at the smog here." Liu Mingquan shook his folding fan, still with the warm smile on his face, and introduced sideways, "But 70% of the good things in Capital City that have never been seen are circulated here."
"The area under our feet is called Bright District. Most of the items sold are of shady origins, but they are still conventional. The real treasures, or taboo items, are located deeper in Dark District. There must be acquaintances to lead the way there, and it is not open every day."
His introduction was detailed and thoughtful, from Hundred Beasts Market who sells Demon Beast materials and elixirs, to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion who trades forbidden magic weapons and array disks, to Wind Listening Tower who specializes in selling various secret information, all of them are precious.
Lu Chen perfectly disguised himself as a borderland Banner Sergeant who had just arrived, felt novel about everything and was slightly wary.
There was just the right amount of surprise in his eyes, and he would occasionally ask one or two slightly unprofessional questions, causing Liu Mingquan to show off even more energetically.
But deep in his heart, there was a cold clarity.
Lu Chen ignored Liu Mingquan's gushing, but quietly put his hand into his sleeve, and his fingertips touched the cold and hard ebony sign inserted by the thief when he boarded the ship.
Divine Sense scanned it in an extremely subtle way, and the vague symbol carved with a very fine carving knife on the brand had a faint resonance with the parchment scroll obtained from the Archives Bureau in his arms at the spiritual level!
This made him completely sure that the previous collision was no accident.
But what's more important now is not thinking about these things.
Lu Chen's gaze stopped at an extremely edge corner of Hundred Beasts Market.
There was a stall there that was almost submerged in debris. The stall owner was an old woman with cloudy eyes and a breath as weak as a candle in the wind.
There were no shiny Demon Beast Hide hairs or Spiritual Qi's lush inner elixirs on her stall. There were only a pile of rusty old metal fragments of different shapes that no one cares about, like garbage swept from an ancient battlefield.
Lu Chen's footsteps stopped.
"Oh? What did Brother Lu have his eye on?" Liu Mingquan followed his gaze, a little bit of imperceptible surprise flashed in his eyes, but there was still an impeccable smile on his face.
Lu Chen didn't answer and walked straight forward.
He squatted down, glanced at the "scrap metal", and finally landed on an inconspicuous black metal fragment the size of a palm.
The fragment looked ordinary, covered with dark red rust and dried soil, as if it were the broken part of an abandoned weapon.
"My mother-in-law, I have an ancient artifact that was inherited from my family. It was damaged in the early years, leaving some holes in the soul that are difficult to bridge. I have been trying to find some suitable materials to repair it."
He did not directly mention the parchment scrolls or <Godslayer Slash>, but used an extremely clever excuse.
The feeling of emptiness in the soul that he described exactly fits the certain weakness left in the origin of Cultivation Method when the will to kill was too overbearing and difficult to fully control in the early days of training <Godslayer Slash>.
The old woman, who had been half asleep and indifferent to her surroundings, raised her head. Her wrinkled face looked particularly old in the dim light. Her fingers, as dry as chicken feet, groped under a pile of rags for a moment.
Finally, he accurately pinched the black fragment that Lu Chen's eyes had lingered on.
"The fragments of Extinction Iron." The old woman's voice was as hoarse as two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other, and she spoke slowly, "Legend has it that it comes from the High Antiquity battlefield. It has drank the blood of countless strong men. It can warm and nourish ferocious souls to a certain extent, and it can also carry extreme will. As for whether it can repair your ancient family artifact... it depends on your fate and destiny."
Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.
He Divine Sense condensed and carefully explored the fragment.
Immediately, he felt that deep within the seemingly dead fragments, there remained an aura of killing that had the same origin as <Godslayer Slash>, but was older, more violent, and more pure!
This aura is weak but tenacious, like a ferocious beast that has been sealed for thousands of years. Even if there are only a few remains left, it instinctively exudes a heart-stopping pressure.
This is exactly what he needs!
"How to sell this thing?" Lu Chen suppressed the excitement in his heart and maintained the calm on the surface, and asked in a deep voice.
"Three thousand taels of gold, no two prices." The old woman lazily reported a number.
Three thousand taels of gold!
Lu Chen's face instantly turned a little ugly.
The price was far higher than he expected. All the silver he had, plus some odds and ends, amounted to only a few hundred taels.
However, he did still have some rare medicinal materials seized from the second elder Ye Family, which were extremely valuable, but taking them out was like trying to make money in the market.
Just when he quickly weighed and was about to risk taking out some of the medicinal materials as collateral, a voice with a familiar smile sounded behind him.
"Haha, it turns out they are the fragments of Extinction Iron. Granny Li, are you testing newcomers again with these ominous ancient battlefield evil objects?"
Liu Mingquan walked slowly and glanced at the fragment, but the flash of light deep in his eyes revealed his ambition to win.
He turned to Lu Chen, his smile looked particularly "sincere": "Brother Lu, don't be fooled by the appearance of this thing. This iron is the result of the collapse of High Antiquity's fierce soldiers, and its inner content is Sha Qi is extremely heavy. If an ordinary monk holds it for a long time, it will inevitably suffer backlash. At the least, the soul will be damaged, and at worst, the character will change drastically and fall into the devil. How about if you don't give it to me, I will give you 6,000 taels of gold?"
Naked beard cutting!
Not only did he recognize this object, but he also suppressed Lu Chen, forcing him to retreat despite lack of financial resources.
Lu Chen's eyes instantly turned cold, and his vigilance against Liu Mingquan was raised to the highest level.
This person may seem enthusiastic, but in reality he is calculating every step of the way.
He was about to refuse.
Granny Li, who had always been lazy, suddenly sneered sinisterly, "Young master Liu Family, the rules are the rules, first come, first served. Who I sell my things to and how I sell them are my own business. This little brother has taken a fancy to it. You stepped in because you think my old lady can't carry a knife?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
The two guards behind Liu Mingquan, who had been silent like shadows, suddenly lost their breath, like unsheathed swords, faintly shrouding both Granny Li and Lu Chen under an invisible pressure.
Around the stall, a few individual customers who originally seemed to be wandering aimlessly quietly moved their positions, with real energy fluctuations emanating from their bodies, and stared at Liu Mingquan and his group with unkind eyes.
Obviously, they are all Granny Li people.
In this black market, even an old woman who seems to be dying is anything but simple.
Lu Chen ignored Liu Mingquan, as if completely ignoring the tense atmosphere, and said directly to Granny Li: "Mother-in-law, I don't have enough cash. How about I use three bloodline grasses and add a complete Demon Core from the late Meridian Opening realm to exchange for this fragment?"
He took out some of the rare medicinal materials seized from the Ye Family and a Demon Core that was in good condition.
The actual value of these items together is close to the six thousand taels of gold quoted by Liu Mingquan.
Granny Li's cloudy eyes swept over the medicinal materials and Demon Core, flashing a trace of imperceptible satisfaction. His dry lips moved, and he was about to nod in agreement.
Right now!
"Boom--!"
A deafening loud noise suddenly came from the direction of the seemingly solid entrance of the black market!
What followed were screams, curses and panicked exclamations from the crowd!
Dozens of members of the law enforcement team wearing Demon Suppression Division standard black armor and with sharp and murderous auras, like a black tide, forcibly broke through the entrance defense and poured in brazenly!
The leader was a tall man with a cold face. He held a scroll that exuded a faint golden light. His eyes swept over the chaotic crowd like a falcon. With True Qi at his feet, he shouted loudly, "Demon Suppression Division enforce the law! We are ordered to search for the remnants of the rebel party Ghost Face! Anyone who resists or protects the party will be treated as a traitor and will be killed without mercy!"
Their goal was very clear. After entering, they briefly identified the direction and rushed straight towards the corner where Lu Chen and the others were - the stall of Granny Li!
The clanging sound of the blade being unsheathed was heard in succession, and the cold murderous intent instantly enveloped the area!
Granny Li showed a weird smile, grabbed the Extinction Iron fragment, and wanted to give it to Lu Chen, and shouted in a low voice very fast, "Run!"
However, it's too late.
The leader, Demon Suppression Division Captain Wang, had eyes like lightning, and at a glance he saw Lu Chen's hand reaching for the fragment, as well as the valuable medicinal materials and Demon Core he took out.
A cold smile appeared on his face, as if he had expected it. The long knife in his hand vibrated, and the shimmering blade was directly in front of Lu Chen's throat. The powerful Qi machine locked Lu Chen.
"Everyone gets the stolen goods!