Underground Black Market

Beneath his feet lay rough, tamped bluestone slabs, cold and damp to the touch. The air was thick with the stench of beast blood, the bitter tang of medicinal herbs, and a faint smell of mildew, carrying the secretive aura unique to underground trade.

Lin Qing had assumed that a place hidden underground would surely be cramped, narrow, dim, and oppressive. Yet upon truly stepping inside, he realized how utterly wrong he had been.

The Underground Black Market was an unimaginably vast space, as though a corner of the city above had been forcibly transplanted beneath the earth.

Candles burned atop every supporting pillar. Though they were nowhere near as bright as sunlight, they were enough to illuminate the entire area and let those passing through see their surroundings clearly.

The space had been cleverly divided into different sections. On one side stood permanent shops arranged in uneven rows, some crudely furnished and others exquisitely decorated, with all manner of indistinct signboards hanging outside, exuding an air of mystery. On the other side, stalls of every kind lined the wall, packed densely together and stretching forward without end. Voices, haggling, and the clatter of objects intertwined, making it no less lively than the bustling markets aboveground.

"This is Azure Sun County's Underground Black Market. Keep your eyes peeled when buying things. Fish and dragons are all mixed together here, and it's easy to end up with fakes," Wang Yuan quietly reminded Lin Qing.

Lin Qing nodded slightly, his gaze swiftly sweeping over the surroundings as a plan formed in his mind. His foremost purpose in coming here was to search for Stance Arts.

After agreeing to meet again at the entrance in two hours, Lin Qing plunged straight into the bustling stall district.

The stalls displayed a dazzling assortment of goods: rust-covered weapons, herbs of unknown age, incomplete ancient books, unidentified beast bones and crystals—everything one could possibly imagine.

Lin Qing's gaze settled on the stalls displaying ancient cultivation manuals, and he inspected them one by one.

He crouched before a stall piled with worn thread-bound books and asked quietly:

"Boss, do you have any Stance Arts?"

The owner tossed him seven or eight thin booklets.

"They're all here. Look for yourself. Two taels of silver each."

Lin Qing picked up the booklets and flipped through them one by one. Their contents were scant; the thin ones had only five or six pages, while the thicker ones had barely more than ten, and some were incomplete. At a glance, they seemed about as profound as the Life-Nourishing Art. Relying on such Stance Arts, one probably could not become a Certified Martial Artist even after a lifetime.

As he flipped through them, the system directly recorded these Stance Arts and absorbed them into his instincts. Yet Lin Qing felt no changes in his body. After browsing three or four books, he lost interest.

He visited seven or eight stalls in succession without finding any cultivation art he liked, while gradually making his way deeper into the stall district.

Then, behind one of the stalls, he spotted a familiar figure. The man's body was also hidden beneath a loose black robe, but he wore only a black bear-face mask. That neat crew cut let Lin Qing recognize him at a glance.

Wasn't this Shi Jian, the master of the Bedrock Martial Academy? Looking at the stall again, he saw several identical booklets with blue covers. Four large characters were written on them: Bedrock Stance Art.

Lin Qing could only marvel. Good heavens, the man was not even pretending to hide it. Naturally, he did not go over to greet him, but Shi Jian's appearance greatly boosted his confidence. It seemed he had reached the area where the real goods were sold.

He continued weaving among the stalls in search. Sure enough, after no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he saw a booklet titled Drifting Cloud Stance Art at one stall. These booklets were far more substantial than a mere dozen pages, so there was no way to freeload them. After skimming through it and confirming it was genuine, he paid six taels of silver for it, then continued searching.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, Lin Qing stood at the entrance to the stall district, thoroughly satisfied. He now had five booklets tucked into his robes. Not only had he acquired the Drifting Cloud Stance Art, but he had also obtained the Qingyun Stance Skill and the Thunderstrike Stance as he wished. From two martial artists from out of town, he had separately purchased the Coiling Dragon Stance Art and the Mountain-Suppressing Stance Art as well.

The five Stance Arts had cost him a total of thirty-six taels of silver, leaving Lin Qing with only twenty-five taels. His heart ached, yet he was satisfied. Half the purpose of this trip to the Black Market had already been achieved.

Suddenly, he caught sight of an inconspicuous little storefront. It was exceedingly narrow and seemed utterly out of place amid the lively stalls and shops around it. A pitch-black plaque hung above its entrance, engraved with three ancient, simple characters—Skyvault Pavilion.

Everyone entering or leaving wore loose black robes and hoods that concealed their faces completely. They came and went in haste, speaking to no one else.

So Lin Qing crouched before a stall, pretending to inspect its wares, then casually asked:

"Boss, what kind of business does that Skyvault Pavilion over there do? Why are all the people going in and out so sneaky?"

Hearing this, the stall owner looked up at Skyvault Pavilion, then turned back to Lin Qing with a disdainful expression.

"You don't even know Skyvault Pavilion? They call themselves Great Xia's all-knowing informants. They don't just have branches in our county's Black Market—every major city's Black Market has one. Their influence is enormous. As long as you have money, they can give you answers to anything, from the whereabouts of martial arts experts to secrets whispered in the streets."

Seeing how attentively Lin Qing listened, the stall owner continued:

"Do you know the Hidden Dragon Ranking and the Heaven Ranking? Skyvault Pavilion is the one that compiles and releases them."

Understanding dawned on Lin Qing, and he silently committed this faction to memory. He then put down the item in his hands, rose, and left, leaving the stall owner behind to curse and grumble.

After buying the Stance Arts, Lin Qing's next target was ferocious beast meat. Buying ferocious beast meat was a long-term matter, so the stalls were clearly unsuitable.

Following the thick stench of beast blood in the air, Lin Qing quickly found a shop called the Myriad Beasts Shop. Its storefront was spacious, and several fresh chunks of ferocious beast meat sat outside the entrance, dark red in color and giving off faint fluctuations of blood and vitality.

The moment he stepped inside, a sharp-looking middle-aged man approached him. Lin Qing got straight to the point and asked,

"Shopkeeper, how much is First-Tier ferocious beast meat?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, his tone brisk.

"You came at just the right time, sir! There was a great battle on Azure Sun Mountain two days ago, and quite a few ferocious beasts died. A large number of their carcasses flooded the market. Even our shop's cold storage can't hold it all, so the price of ferocious beast meat has fallen sharply lately. It's only half the usual price! For First-Tier ferocious beast meat, one tael of silver gets you two catties. It's a great bargain!"

Lin Qing was delighted. The price was far lower than he had expected, so he immediately asked again:

"How long can this ferocious beast meat usually be kept after buying it?"

The shopkeeper could tell that Lin Qing was a newcomer and patiently explained:

"Rest assured, sir. This ferocious beast meat is rich in blood and vitality, so ordinary insects and ants do not even dare approach it. Even in weather like this, it won't spoil if left out for three or four days."

He then took several exquisitely crafted sealed iron boxes from behind the counter and strongly recommended them.

"If you need long-term storage, sir, you might consider these specially made iron boxes. Put the ferocious beast meat inside, then sink it into cool water. It can be kept for ten days or even half a month without issue. One box costs only one tael of silver."

Lin Qing picked up an iron box and weighed it in his hand. The material was sturdy, and the seal was excellent. It truly was a practical item. One box could hold around ten catties of ferocious beast meat.

So Lin Qing immediately bought one box and ten catties of ferocious beast meat. An ordinary First-Tier Martial Artist consumed roughly one catty per day. Thus, Lin Qing did not dare buy too much at once, lest he arouse suspicion.

All his objectives for this trip to the Black Market had now been completed. Lin Qing was in no hurry to act further, so he simply wandered around the Black Market at leisure. Looking at the various traders around him and the strange treasures of every kind, he could not help but marvel at the splendor of the martial artist world.

Only when the appointed time was nearly upon him did Lin Qing slowly make his way toward the Black Market entrance.