Using himself as bait, the Sword Manual unleashed its might; slaying a True Core, reaping weighty rewards

This was a black market hidden deep within the swamps of southern Yue Kingdom.

Controlled by the Demonic Path, it nevertheless welcomed all cultivators of Yue Kingdom.

Yet after operating for over twenty years, this black market had earned a decent reputation. Few traces of the "Demonic Path's ways" showed here, and its dealings were fairly impartial.

That was a curiosity in itself, and quite a few cultivators came and went.

In particular, unusual goods unavailable in the outside market wards could often be found here. Word spread from mouth to mouth, and the black market's reputation soared, until it almost seemed ready to emerge into the open.

"Whooo-"

The night wind blew, carrying the strange stench of rotting mud. Crude wooden sheds and tents stood crookedly in a square-ring layout, connected to one another and filled with cultivators' stalls. Many vendors were hawking goods of dubious origin, spittle flying.

At least several dozen cultivators were scattered along the passageways, browsing as they walked and haggling in low voices.

It was a scene of shadowy prosperity.

At that moment, three Demonic Path garrison cultivators were making their routine patrol. Everyone's expression subtly changed upon seeing them. Smiling ingratiatingly, they stepped aside and saluted with clasped hands, leaving the three smugly pleased as they pointed here and there.

The demon cultivator leading them was a scar-faced burly man at Foundation Establishment Peak.

Suddenly, the three felt the light overhead dim.

They instinctively looked up, only to see two figures, one in blue-green and one in white, hovering above them. The blue-green-robed cultivator swept an indifferent gaze over them.

Alarm bells clanged in the scar-faced man's heart. He barked, "Who are you? Don't you know this black market forbids flight-"

"How dare you!"

"Do you know this is-"

The other two demon