Great Sun Boiling Blood Art

Sun Yu ignored the Brute on the ground, dead or alive, and stepped expressionlessly over the shattered ice before entering the black market.

The middle-aged man watched Sun Yu's retreating back, a thoughtful glint of cold light flashing through his eyes.

"Hall Master, are we really just letting him in? He broke Earth Dragon's bones. Where does that leave the face of our outer perimeter?" a trusted henchman leaned in and asked in a low, unwilling voice.

"Idiot."

The middle-aged man snorted and pulled his fiery red fox-fur cloak tighter around himself. "That brat's kick carried not only terrifying brute force from an external art, but also an incomparably domineering, frigid Internal Breath. He's at least a Late Bone Forging Realm ruthless bastard! A lone wolf like that is bound to be carrying good things. Rather than making an enemy of him at the gate, it's better to let him enter and leave his silver in our market."

Dead men were dead. What were dead men worth compared to money?

Once he entered the valley, the view suddenly opened up.

Unlike the desolate wasteland outside, where wind and snow raged without end, the interior of the black market was brightly lit. Huge windproof tents and crude wooden buildings stood in a scattered yet orderly arrangement.

The stalls on both sides were piled with demon beast materials reeking of blood, concealed weapons steeped in poison, and even slaves shackled in iron chains, their eyes numb and lifeless.

Peddlers' cries, furious curses, and haggling arguments tangled together.

Wearing a conical hat and wrapped in a bearskin coat, Sun Yu wove through the crowd.

The strength he had displayed at the entrance had made the malicious gazes around him restrain themselves considerably.

Here, the strong naturally possessed privilege.

He did not stop at the scattered outer stalls, instead heading straight for a tall stone building at the deepest point of the valley.

Hanging outside the stone building was an enormous banner, black as night with blood-red characters: Myriad Manifestations Tower.

This was the greatest gold-devouring den in the Icefall Black Market. So long as one could afford the price, it was said that even the Imperial Court's high-grade military crossbows and the core cultivation arts of great clans could be bought here.

However, Sun Yu had heard that this was merely a branch hall of the Myriad Manifestations Tower.

Sun Yu stepped into the stone building.

The first-floor hall held rows of counters forged from refined steel, displaying all manner of herbs and weapons that gave off faint halos of light.

A scantily clad, voluptuous maid came forward, shrewd mercantile calculation visible in her eyes. "Sir, you look unfamiliar. Are you looking to buy something, or do you have goods to sell?"

"I'm buying a cultivation art." Sun Yu's voice was low, his throat deliberately suppressed.

"An external art or an internal art?"

"An internal art for the Viscera Refining Realm. Preferably one focused on fierce yang energy or explosive surges of blood and vitality."

Sun Yu's Cold Toad Breath Swallowing Technique followed the path of Extreme Cold, but he could sense that if his Supreme Dao Divine Ability, [Cold Iron Demonic Body], was to reach complete mastery—or even lay a foundation for future realms—it had to be supplemented with violently fierce yang blood and vitality to balance it, reaching the point where yin and yang converged and the fleshly body became a furnace.

At those words, the maid's smile stiffened slightly before her gaze turned incomparably grave. "An internal art for the Viscera Refining Realm? Sir, this isn't a small sum. Ordinary Viscera Refining cultivation arts start at five thousand taels of silver. For the fierce-yang path you want, I'm afraid it will cost even more. Do you... have enough silver?"

Five thousand taels of silver!

In a small place like Nanqiao Town, that was equivalent to the net profits of a middling family for ten years!

Even adding together the Gold Notes and loose silver Sun Yu had looted from the Head Shopkeeper, he only had a little over two thousand taels—not nearly enough.

Yet he showed no sign of panic.

"If I don't have enough money, I'll use goods to make up the difference."

Sun Yu removed the bundle from his back and slammed it onto the refined steel counter with a bang.

The bundle fell open.

An intensely pungent bloody scent, carrying terrifying vitality, instantly spread through the hall.

Inside lay half a shriveled chunk of dark-red flesh.

Though Sun Yu had drunk half its juices, this half of the Blood Tai Sui still radiated a blood-and-vitality fluctuation that made hearts tremble.

The previously noisy hall abruptly fell silent the instant that scent reached them.

Several Masked Guests selecting weapons, along with several old men seated in the corner with their eyes closed in meditation, opened their eyes almost at the same time and stared fixedly at the half-chunk of flesh on the counter.

"Th-this is..."

The maid was clearly someone who knew her goods. She sucked in a cold breath, her voice trembling slightly. "Blood Tai Sui?"

"Though part of its essence has been lost, this remaining half is still a great blood-and-vitality medicine that could drive any martial school or great clan mad!"

The maid took a deep breath. Her attitude instantly became exceedingly respectful, even carrying a trace of fawning flattery. "Sir, this item is far too precious. This humble servant cannot make the decision. Please move to a private room on the second floor, where our Tower Lord will discuss it with you personally."

"Lead the way."

Sun Yu tied the bundle back up and lifted it one-handed.

The surrounding gazes, tangled with greed and killing intent, stabbed into his back as though tangible. Yet he did not even turn his head, following the maid straight up to the second floor.

The private room on the second floor was decorated with extravagant luxury.

Thick fox fur carpeted the floor, while premium sandalwood incense that soothed the mind and stabilized the breath burned nearby.

An old man with two thin whiskers above his lip and exceptionally sharp eyes had long been waiting beside the table.

He gave Sun Yu a glance, his gaze lingering briefly on Sun Yu's bulging temples and steady stride. Inwardly, he was alarmed.

"This old man is the shopkeeper of Myriad Manifestations Tower. My surname is Zhou. May I ask your honored surname, friend?" The old man cupped his hands slightly.

"My surname is Xu." Sun Yu was concise.

"Brother Xu, you're a straightforward man. I've already inspected your goods," Shopkeeper Zhou said, rubbing his hands together.

"Though this half piece of Blood Tai Sui is somewhat damaged in quality, it remains a rare treasure beyond compare. If you wish to exchange it for silver, Myriad Manifestations Tower can offer you ten thousand taels outright."

Ten thousand taels.

That sum was enough for Sun Yu to live out the rest of his life in this world without ever worrying about food or clothing.

But Sun Yu did not take the teacup Shopkeeper Zhou offered him. He merely looked at him coldly. "I believe I already stated my condition."

"This..." Shopkeeper Zhou's face showed his difficulty, and he hesitated.

"Brother Xu may not know this, but Viscera Refining Realm cultivation arts are things tightly monopolized by the great clans and noble houses of major cities, as well as the foremost martial academies. Very few ever make their way into the black market—let alone the exceedingly domineering, pure yang art you're asking for..."

Shopkeeper Zhou gritted his teeth, seeming to make up his mind. "Fine! Since Brother Xu possesses such a rare treasure as Blood Tai Sui, Myriad Manifestations Tower cannot be stingy either. We do have one manual—but it's a fragmentary volume, and a wicked thing besides."

"Bring it out." Sun Yu's eyes lit up.

As long as it made it onto the panel, no matter how wicked the cultivation art was, he could grind it until it blossomed!

Shopkeeper Zhou turned and walked to a hidden compartment behind the bookshelf, carefully taking out an iron box covered in dust.

When he opened it, inside lay an ancient crimson book, neither silk nor paper, seemingly tanned from the hide of some unknown demonic beast.

"Great Sun Boiling Blood Art."

Shopkeeper Zhou pushed the ancient book before Sun Yu, his tone exceedingly grave. "Legend says this cultivation art was created by a madman of the demonic path a century ago. Once mastered, one's blood and qi become as scorching as the great sun itself, and its explosive power is said to be invincible among those of the same realm!"

"But its flaw is utterly fatal! Because it is a fragmentary volume, it lacks the most crucial blood-locking method.

"Once this art is circulated, the blood and qi within the body become like boiling magma, impossible to control, directly burning through the martial artist's internal organs!

"Over the past ten years, three Bone Forging Realm experts who thought themselves extraordinary bought it. In the end, every last one was burned alive by his own blood and qi, reduced to a charred husk!"

Shopkeeper Zhou stared fixedly at Sun Yu. "If you dare to cultivate it, then this manual is yours."

Without a word, Sun Yu tucked the ancient book into his robe, then pushed the half piece of Blood Tai Sui from his bundle directly toward Shopkeeper Zhou.

"Deal."

Sun Yu did not linger for even a moment. Turning around, he strode out of the private room.