He walked slowly along the black market street. Everywhere he looked, there were people, yet not the slightest sound escaped them.
It was like a silent realm of ghosts.
Lin Changheng swept his gaze over the stalls on either side. The stallholders all concealed their faces, eyes lowered to their noses and minds turned inward. They neither hawked their wares nor looked around, merely watching their stalls and waiting for customers.
Talismans, pills, poisons, venomous insects, ores and spiritual materials, old cultivation manuals...
If you could imagine it, some stall had it.
Some items still bore fresh soil, as though they had just been dug out of old graves; others were even flecked with blood that had only just dried.
He sucked in a breath...
Lin Changheng's eyelids twitched repeatedly. The cultivation world truly had danger lurking on every side, and the black market really was brazen!
These had clearly been taken in a murder and robbery not long ago. They had not even been properly cleaned before being put up for sale?
He immediately told himself that he ought to visit places like this less often.
His gaze passed with seeming nonchalance over the black-robed stallholder and the dark skin exposed beneath his sleeves, and a classic remark from his previous life sprang to mind.
You can doubt his character, but you can't doubt his merchandise.
With that thought in mind, his steps quickened considerably. Not long after passing that stall, however, he stopped again.
The stall before him held all manner of miscellaneous goods, but nearly all of them were used.
Among them, a dark gray, low-grade flying blade Magic Artifact caught Lin Changheng's attention.
Though it bore plenty of signs of use, its quality did not appear to have suffered much wear or damage.
A wooden sign stood beside the stall, bearing the words "Personal equipment being replaced. Absolutely no risk."
"Heh..."
Lin Changheng glanced at the stallholder, likewise swathed entirely in a loose gray robe, and did not believe the sign.
But this flying blade Magic Artifact was a design found everywhere in the cultivation world, with no distinguishing marks. Even if it had been stolen through murder, there would be no harm in buying it.
After turning it over swiftly in his mind, Lin Changheng made his decision. He crouched, picked up the flying blade Magic Artifact, and examined it briefly before asking in a very low voice, "How much for this flying blade Magic Artifact?"
Only then did the stallholder look up. He glanced at Lin Changheng and quoted his price in an equally low voice. "Sixty low-grade Spirit Stones."
"Do you take me for a three-year-old, fellow cultivator? At that price, I could buy a brand-new low-grade Magic Artifact in the Market Ward."
Lin Changheng smiled faintly and called him out.
"Hehe, you know the market too, fellow cultivator. Then let's speak plainly. Fifty Spirit Stones, and it's yours. Take it!"
"Look here, fellow cultivator. This flying blade shows far too much wear. It might break after a prolonged fight. Forty is the most I can offer."
Lin Changheng continued picking faults, forcing out reasons to drive down the price.
"Forty is too low, too low. No, no."
The stallholder refused quietly, shaking his head again and again.
"Sorry to have bothered you."
With an apology, Lin Changheng walked away, sighing.
"Fellow cultivator, wait! Wait! Your price, then. Take it."
Seeing that his customer really intended to leave without looking back, the stallholder hurriedly called after him.
Only then did Lin Changheng leisurely take out a cloth pouch, count its contents, and hand it over, pouch and all.
"That's right."
The stallholder finished counting and found nothing amiss. Seeing Lin Changheng take the flying blade and put it away, he said mournfully, "This [Wasp Blade] has been with me for many years. Please treat it well, fellow cultivator. If I weren't strapped for money, how could I bear to sell it..."
The corner of Lin Changheng's mouth twitched. Without replying, he turned and slipped into the crowd, disappearing from sight.
He browsed a little longer afterward, but found no other Magic Artifacts worth buying, so he simply returned to their original meeting place to wait for Su Shuangjiang.
Still, he was quite pleased with the gains from this trip. Buying a low-grade Magic Artifact whose quality had suffered only slightly for forty Spirit Stones counted as a bargain.
Although more than a hundred Spirit Stones still lay quietly in his Storage Bag, what part of cultivation did not cost money? Demonic beast blood essence in particular was a voracious gold-devourer. Without alchemy supporting him, he would probably have run out of funds long ago.
So he saved wherever he could.
When it came to controlling Magic Artifacts, however, the strength of both spiritual sense and magical power at Early Qi Refining could only sustain control of a single low-grade Magic Artifact.
At Mid-Qi Refining, one could control at most two low-grade Magic Artifacts simultaneously, or one mid-grade Magic Artifact.
Any more, and even the cleverest cook could not make a meal without rice. Instead, none of the artifacts would be controlled properly, and the cultivator's meridians and spiritual sense might even suffer harm.
Before long, the two met up and left the Market Ward.
They walked side by side, a delicate fragrance filling his nose.
Throughout the journey, Lin Changheng remained exceptionally vigilant. His right hand hung beneath his sleeve, ready to form hand seals and cast a spell at any moment. According to the conventions of novels from his previous life, returning from a black market meant a very high chance of being followed by robber cultivators.
The atmosphere grew tense. Unconsciously affected by him, Su Shuangjiang also tensed slightly, quietly taking hold of her mid-grade Magic Artifact.
"Huh, there really weren't any?"
Only after they entered the Market Ward gates without incident did Lin Changheng begin to relax.
He could not help reflecting that having a Mid-Qi Refining neighbor beside him really was nice. It made things much safer.
But when he turned his eyes toward her, they met Su Shuangjiang's lovely peach-blossom eyes, which were already watching him.
Lin Changheng spread his hands, admitting that he had been overly nervous.
At this, Su Shuangjiang's red lips curved slightly, a teasing smile flickering in her eyes. After glancing at the pedestrians on either side, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Brother Lin, seeing enemies in every blade of grass and tree like that, you look more like a robber cultivator who just came back from plundering the black market~"
At the same time, she turned her fingertips, and her mid-grade Magic Artifact slipped deftly into her sleeve, leaving only a faint flash of cold light.
Her teasing warmed the tips of Lin Changheng's ears, but he was not annoyed. Instead, he followed her lead with a smile. "You're right, Fairy Su. It seems I've read too many storybooks and ended up frightening myself."
She immediately covered her mouth and laughed softly.
The sound rang in his ears like bells.
Lin Changheng almost felt he could see the female cultivator's charming smile through her veiled hat.
After they parted, Lin Changheng immediately began refining the [Wasp Blade], erasing the previous owner's lingering imprint and placing his own magical power brand upon the Magic Artifact.
Half an hour later.
Only then did he let out a long breath, a hint of excitement showing as he controlled the [Wasp Blade], sending it darting back and forth through the room, rising and falling in slashing attacks.
"Whew, so this is a Magic Artifact used in battle? The means of immortals! My own Magic Artifact!"
After playing with it for a long while, Lin Changheng felt that he had consumed too much magical power and finally brought it slowly to a halt.
"They say only third-tier magical treasures can be taken into the body, linked to a cultivator's will and nurtured day and night. First-tier Magic Artifacts can only be kept in a Storage Bag..."
He idly controlled the [Wasp Blade], sending it in and out of his Storage Bag.
Lin Changheng grew increasingly adept, his skill gradually deepening. When needed, he could deploy it against an enemy in an instant and surely send them sprawling, men and horses alike.
That morning, one cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining and three Mid-Qi Refining cultivators suddenly arrived at the Xu Family Alchemy Shop.
They had all come from the clan.
Master Mo immediately summoned Lin Changheng and Shopkeeper Xu Qianyou. The seven discussed matters in detail face-to-face and decided to leave at noon.
In fact, everyone had prepared well in advance and had already packed nearly all their important belongings.
They could set off at any time.