Please, My Precious, Turn Around

Just then, as the moon rabbit rose in the east, Su Yuan rode the clouds north under cover of night, speeding onward all the way.

The farther north he went, the more sinister his surroundings became.

Especially after leaving the Heavenly Court's boundary nodes, the astral winds grew fiercer, blowing so hard that even one's primordial spirit seemed about to freeze.

The winds of Beyond the Heavens were no trifling matter. They were the Bì Wind among the Three Calamities and Five Tribulations, most damaging to one's very foundation.

After traveling for half the night, he finally caught sight of a towering structure.

It stood like a blade amid the sea of clouds.

It was the place everyone in the Heavenly Court feared to speak of—the Immortal Execution Platform.

Two men in black were already standing solemnly before its entrance.

Su Yuan lowered his cloud, silently took out a black waist token that was neither metal nor wood, and handed it over.

After verifying it, one of them handed him a wide hooded robe made of the same material.

Su Yuan did not dare say much. He swiftly draped the robe over himself, concealing his face, then slipped inside.

It was utterly different from the grim, chilling atmosphere outside the Immortal Execution Platform.

Within the platform's barrier, two rows of stalls were arranged in perfect order.

Though the light remained dim, the place was bustling with voices and shadowy figures, forming a strange little world of its own.

At a stall on the left hung a sound-transmitting jade talisman that endlessly broadcast its sales pitch.

"Six-thousand-year seasonal Peaches of Immortality! Sweet as can be! No charge if they aren't sweet!"

Further inside, all manner of banners hung haphazardly over the stalls.

"Golden Core clearance sale! Two million for everything! Two million for everything!"

"Authentic Five Villages Abbey Ginseng Fruit! Everyone eats them—I eat two at a time!"

"Workshop bankrupt! The artifact-refining master ran off with a mortal! All magic treasures on clearance!"

Beside the stall with the longest queue stood a wooden sign.

"Moon Palace Fertility Agency: Professional services for smuggling offspring into Heaven. Milky Way Navy registration available. Fair prices! Reunite your family!"

Su Yuan had long since grown accustomed to the bizarre sights before him.

This was the black market that had emerged only within the past two thousand years.

The Heavenly Court had only three passages connected to the Three Realms.

The one outside the Southern Heavenly Gate was exclusively for official business.

The one at the Ascension Registration Office welcomed newly ascended immortals.

The last was this Immortal Execution Platform, used specifically to deal with banished immortals.

Yet someone had found a loophole.

They had turned this grim place into a treasure basin.

Su Yuan navigated the crowded stream of people with practiced ease.

Yet he was still pondering ways to make money.

There was no point looking to the project construction site.

He had already squeezed all the money there that he could for the next five hundred years.

Everyone in the project department had become dirt poor; there was no more oil to squeeze from them.

If he wanted to make a huge sum quickly, his only option was to try his luck at this black market.

Just as he was thinking, a furtive, timid figure entered his field of vision.

That person also wore a hooded robe, but his movements were awkward. He kept looking around, clearly a newcomer—a greenhorn.

Had he run into a fat sheep?

Well then, sorry about this, Immortal.

You'll just have to experience the perils of the black market.

Su Yuan's eyes flickered. He silently approached and patted the man on the shoulder.

"Ah!"

The man jolted in fright.

Su Yuan leaned closer, lowering his voice until it carried a mysterious air.

"Buddy, want some pills?"

The man paused, then instinctively asked,

"What kind of pills?"

Su Yuan glanced around, then quickly pulled a brocade pouch from his sleeve.

He poured out a pill the size of a longan, with faint cloud patterns flowing across its surface.

It was the Three-Turn Golden Elixir Venus Star Lord had given him.

"This is the real deal. A ninety-nine-percent rarity. Take a look at the quality first."

Su Yuan handed the Golden Elixir to the fat sheep, intending to sound him out.

If he truly could not recognize quality, then sorry.

Su Yuan still had several large pills refined through special methods that would turn to ash at the slightest touch.

They were perfect for staging a scam.

The man took the pill and examined it carefully beneath the bleak moonlight, occasionally lightly rubbing its surface.

Su Yuan's heart tightened. This guy looked like an expert.

A moment later, the man gave his sharp assessment.

"The ingredients are so-so. Nothing top-tier. But this smelting method is rather interesting!"

No, bro, you really know your stuff?!

"The heat control was exquisite. It contains a trace of sharp metal qi, fierce and domineering. Though it is somewhat less effective at replenishing vital energy, it is an exceptional tool for breaking through bottlenecks and charging past barriers!"

Su Yuan listened as the man analyzed it point by point. The pill Venus Star Lord had given him had originally been meant to help him break through, so its medicinal properties were naturally more aggressive.

Then the man abruptly changed his tone and named a price.

"Five million spirit stones."

Su Yuan nearly laughed in anger.

This was a Three-Turn Golden Elixir. Even the Heavenly Court's official retail price was ten million.

How could black-market goods possibly be cheaper than market price?

Unwilling to let this rich man get away, Su Yuan crooked a finger at him and turned toward a darker corner nearby.

The man was not afraid in the slightest and swaggered after him.

The moment they reached the corner, Su Yuan said in a low voice,

"Barefoot Immortal, isn't your offer a little too outrageous?"

"You!"

The man's body went rigid. "How did you know who I am?!"

Su Yuan said nothing, merely letting his gaze slowly drift downward.

It landed at the hem of the other man's robe. That feature was simply too distinctive.

"Uh... hehe..."

Having failed to pick up a bargain and instead had his identity exposed, the man froze for a moment before giving an embarrassed dry laugh.

"My divine ability... it has its limits. Can't pull them back in. Forgive the sight, forgive the sight."

"Back to business. How many more of these pills do you have? The refining method really is interesting. This old man happens to want to buy a few and take them back to study, perhaps reverse-engineer them."

"If you have three, this old man will pay fifty million for the lot!"

"Deal!"

A plan formed in Su Yuan's mind.

The Barefoot Immortal was an old-school Golden Immortal who had been hanging around the Heavenly Court since before the Investiture of the Gods War.

He had extensive connections and a highly respected status.

Most importantly, he had no great ambitions and did not care in the least about official positions or ranks.

He had merely taken an idle post at the Jade Pool, spending every day eating, gambling, refining pills, and playing chess.

He belonged to one of the Heavenly Court's rare lie-flat factions.

But there was nothing to be done about it—he was a native of the Heavenly Court, after all, with no pressure to make a living.

Su Yuan's thoughts raced. Though his master Taibai held great power and authority,

he was too hungry for power, cautious in his actions, and often focused on protecting himself.

He could offer Su Yuan only limited help.

But if Su Yuan could make this great figure, the Barefoot Immortal, happy,

and use him to befriend more old-timers from the lie-flat faction,

that would be no bad thing.

So Su Yuan immediately struck while the iron was hot and recommended himself.

"Is this your first time here, Immortal? This place is full of all sorts, and there are many rules. Why not let this junior guide you around?"

The Barefoot Immortal clapped his hands.

"Splendid, splendid! I've been playing chess with that old Southern Pole Immortal for more than two thousand years. I've nearly been bored to death."

"Who knew there was such a fun place beneath the Heavenly Court? Hurry, show this old man around properly and broaden my horizons!"

Just as Su Yuan was about to agree, a sudden change occurred!

On the Immortal Execution Platform at the center of the black market, something suddenly emitted a soft, radiant glow.

It was the foremost murderous weapon of the Investiture of the Gods War.

Bai Li, one of the Ten Heavenly Lords of the Interception Sect; Yu Yuan, disciple of the Golden Spirit Holy Mother; Qiu Yin, great general of the Shang Dynasty; Yuan Hong, leader of the Seven Monsters of Mount Mei; and even the nine-tailed fox Daji had all died beneath it.

The greatest killing treasure beneath the Saints—the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife!

At that moment, the gourd began to shake violently.

Alarm bells blared in Su Yuan's heart. Just as he was about to flee into the air,

he felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, all the spiritual energy in his body locked down by the gourd.

A cold, indifferent voice devoid of the slightest emotion drifted over.

"Please, my precious, turn around—"