This was an abandoned warehouse in the South City. Its walls were mottled, and rotten wooden crates were piled in the corners.
"Brother Qin, this is the place."
Tang Xiaoman lowered his voice. The playful grin had vanished from his face, replaced by caution. He pointed to an inconspicuous corner at the very back of the warehouse. "The entrance to Wuming Workshop is in the cellar beneath it."
Qin Jue nodded and calmly swept his gaze across the area.
Qin Jue could sense at least three concealed presences lurking in the ruins, watching everyone who came near.
"This place is heavily guarded," Qin Jue thought. It seemed the Four Seas Pavilion manager had been right. Wuming Workshop was no safe place.
Tang Xiaoman had clearly noticed them too. He pursed his lips and muttered, "A bunch of shady characters, making everything so mysterious. The first time I came here, I nearly pissed myself at all this. But don't worry, Brother Qin. As long as you pay and follow the rules inside, they usually won't give you trouble."
The two of them reached the cellar entrance, a heavy stone door carved with ancient, indistinct runes.
A tall, one-eyed brute sat in front of it. Bare-chested, with a huge axe hanging at his waist, he radiated a savage air.
He was actually a formidable cultivator at the Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer.
The one-eyed brute raised his only remaining eye and looked them over with its murky gaze. "Going into Wuming Workshop? Know the rules?"
"I do," Tang Xiaoman replied with practiced ease. "Don't ask where things come from, settle every trade in full, and no fighting."
"Mm." The one-eyed brute nodded and held out a hand as broad as a fan. "The entrance fee is ten Gold Notes per person. Put on your masks once you're inside, and don't cause trouble. Break the workshop's rules, and you'll leave your heads here to serve as chamber pots."
Qin Jue didn't so much as blink. He took twenty Gold Notes from his robe and handed them over.
The brute accepted the notes, then moved aside to clear the way down into the cellar.
The two of them followed the cold, damp stone steps downward. The walls were slick with moss. The farther they went, the dimmer the light grew, and the thinner the air became.
After an unknown length of time, the passage opened up, and an indescribable stench hit them.
Even Qin Jue, whose composure was as steady as a rock, felt his heart stir at the sight before him.
It was an enormous natural cavern, dozens of zhang high and so wide its far end was out of sight. Countless oddly shaped stalactites hung from the ceiling. The ground was uneven, and an underground river of unknown origin burbled past nearby. Not a single lamp lit the space. Only the fluorescent moss growing on the rock walls gave off a ghostly green glow, bathing this subterranean world in an eerie, mysterious light.
Inside the cavern stood stall after stall, thrown together from crude planks or blocks of stone. Countless traders moved among them, every one of them hiding their faces beneath cloaks or masks. Their auras varied: some were as savage as beasts fresh out of their cages, others as cold as vipers. Some had reined in their auras so completely that they seemed to blend into the surrounding darkness, their depths impossible to fathom.
"Good heavens... This place has some real bite." Tang Xiaoman was shaken by the sight too. Lowering his voice, he spoke into Qin Jue's ear. "Brother Qin, this is Wuming Workshop. Be careful. They've got all sorts here: cast-off heirs from noble houses, desperate killers, mysterious Rogue Cultivators. It's a filthy cesspool, a place where every kind of scum gathers. We'd better put on our masks too."
Qin Jue nodded, took out the iron mask he had prepared earlier, and put it on. Tang Xiaoman changed into a comical smiling mask as well.
They joined the crowd and began searching this bizarre underground world for the target of their trip—the Purple Haze Dragon Vein Grass.
They passed stall after stall, and what they saw was truly an eye-opener.
An old man of slight build had a stall piled with the bones and Demon Cores of all kinds of Fierce Beasts. One Demon Core, as large as a dragon's eye and glowing faintly red, drew a crowd. Tang Xiaoman quietly explained, "Brother Qin, look. That's the Demon Core of a Blood-Eyed Demon Wolf. The beast had just broken through from a high-tier Savage Species, so its core hasn't fully formed yet. If you took it to the Four Seas Pavilion, you could still sell it for five or six thousand Gold Notes."
Qin Jue glanced at the Demon Core and thought, It really is a fine thing. Too bad I have no use for it right now.
They asked at more than a dozen stalls, but found no trace of the Purple Haze Dragon Vein Grass. They couldn't help feeling disappointed.
"Looks like we made the trip for nothing today," Tang Xiaoman sighed. "Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures like this are truly found by chance, not sought. Why don't we head back and try our luck again in a few days?"
Qin Jue fell silent. Just as he was about to give up too, a hoarse laugh suddenly came from beside them.
"Heh heh... Young men, are you looking for Purple Haze Dragon Vein Grass?"
Qin Jue and Tang Xiaoman jolted and spun around.
At some point, a hunched, wretched old man had appeared behind them. His hair was white, and three vicious knife scars marred his face. One even slashed across his left eye, turning it a strange grayish white. He wore a tattered, oil-stained robe and grinned at them, revealing a row of yellow teeth.
Qin Jue's pupils contracted. He hadn't noticed the old man approach at all! Either the man was an ordinary person, or he was a master far stronger than Qin Jue.
Without giving anything away, he rested a hand on his sword hilt and asked warily, "How did you know?"
"Heh heh. I've been in Wuming Workshop for more than ten years. What could possibly escape my notice?" The old man chuckled, a sly glint flashing in his one good eye. "As luck would have it, I happen to have one."
Tang Xiaoman eyed him suspiciously. "You do? Don't make me laugh. We asked at all those stalls and nobody had any. You're the only one who does?"
The old man didn't take offense. He slowly drew a palm-sized transparent jade box from his robe. Inside lay a little purple herb. Golden patterns ran across its leaves like lifelike dragon scales, and it glimmered faintly.
"Purple Haze Dragon Vein Grass!" Qin Jue and Tang Xiaoman cried out at the same time.
"How about that? I wasn't lying, was I?" The old man smugly waved the jade box in his hand.
Qin Jue's breathing quickened. He forced down his excitement and asked in a low voice, "How many Gold Notes do you want for it, Senior?"
The old man put away the jade box and shook his head. Grinning, he said, "I don't want money."
"What?!" Qin Jue and Tang Xiaoman both froze, thinking they'd misheard. In a place like Wuming Workshop, someone was giving something away for free?
Seeing their shocked expressions, the old man's grin widened. Complicated emotions flickered in his murky eye as he slowly said, "I don't need money. But I have one condition—you owe me a favor."
Qin Jue's heart stirred. "What kind of favor?"
"The time isn't right yet." The old man shook his head. "Come find me when you break through to the Blood Melting Realm. Then I'll tell you what I need you to do to repay me."
"Why would you do this, Senior?" Qin Jue asked, puzzled. Nothing in this world was given without a reason, especially in a place like Wuming Workshop.
"Because I saw you at the Hundred Battles Martial Training Ground." The old man chuckled and pointed at Qin Jue's chest. "Ten consecutive victories, and you stood your ground against someone at the Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer. That ferocity of yours, and the flair of that sword strike... You're just like I was back in the day."
As he spoke, the old man's gaze grew distant, as though Qin Jue had taken him back to days long past.
"My body's ruined, but my eyes still work. I want to take a gamble—to bet that you'll reach the Blood Melting Realm, or even go further."
Qin Jue looked at the old man's cloudy left eye, his heart jolting.
This old man had a story.
"Very well." Qin Jue nodded solemnly. "I owe you this favor. As long as it doesn't go against my principles, I won't refuse you if you need something from me, Senior."
"Good! Good! I like that spirit of yours!" The old man nodded in satisfaction. "Remember, don't die. You have to be alive to repay a favor."
"May I ask your esteemed name, Senior? Where can I find you in the future?"
"Heh heh. A name is just a label. It doesn't matter." The old man waved a hand. "As for finding me... Don't bother. When you reach the Blood Melting Realm, I'll come to you."
Then the old man lowered his voice and warned him, "Young man, take the thing and leave. This place is full of all kinds of people, and you can't trust a soul. While you were asking around for herbs, a few hungry wolves already set their eyes on you. Don't flaunt your wealth. I shouldn't have to teach you that."
"Thank you for the warning, Senior." Qin Jue bowed deeply once more. The two didn't linger. They quickly turned and headed back the way they had come.
The old man stayed where he was, watching them disappear into the crowd. A faraway gleam passed through his murky eyes, as though Qin Jue's departing figure had shown him the person he'd been many years ago.
"Don't let me down, kid..." he murmured, then turned and melted into the shadows.
After leaving Wuming Workshop and returning to the streets of South City, Tang Xiaoman finally let out a long breath as they watched the sun sink toward the horizon. He couldn't help asking, "Brother Qin, what do you think that old man's deal was? It's unbelievable. He gave us a Heaven and Earth Treasure for free, all for some vague favor?"
Qin Jue tightened his grip on the jade box and shook his head. "I don't know. But his aura was strange. He seemed worn out, like a candle flickering in the wind, but his eyes... They were like those of a sleeping beastly overlord, unfathomable. He's no ordinary man."
"Who cares? We've still come out way ahead!" Tang Xiaoman chuckled. "Once you reach the Blood Melting Realm, Brother Qin, what's there to worry about? You can easily repay a favor."
On the path of martial cultivation, resources came first. But integrity mattered more than resources. A favor owed was a favor to be repaid. Qin Jue silently told himself. Whatever happened, I'll remember this favor. Once I reach the Blood Melting Realm, I'll repay it.
As the two of them talked, they failed to notice the several greedy eyes fixed on Qin Jue from the shadows not far behind them.
"A hundred-year-old Purple Haze Dragon Vein Grass... And that wretched old man gave it away for nothing? Heh heh, this kid must have plenty of other treasures on him!" A masked man licked his lips, cruelty glittering in his eyes.
"Follow them. Once they're out of Wuming Workshop's territory, they're dead!"
High above them, on the roof of a pavilion, another figure silently followed.
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