Black Market's Mysterious Shop

Ji Xun was briefly taken aback. Was she asking him?

Apparently, she was.

He was puzzled and wary, but he replied, "Yeah. Just asking."

Ji Xun was certain they had never crossed paths.

In Sinless City, one could never let their guard down when approached by strangers.

This woman's intuition was sharp. It was as though she had seen through his thoughts, yet she did not care in the slightest.

Anyone without even this much vigilance in Sinless City would have grass three meters high growing over their grave by now.

In an indifferent tone, she said directly, "If you really need it, go take a look at the Silver Star Mysterious Shop in the Black Market on Dark Rain Street. Just say Dong Qi sent you."

Ah, she really did know?

Ji Xun had no idea why this woman, whom he had never met, would kindly give him a recommendation.

Did she have some ulterior motive?

It did not seem like it.

Was she one of Fourth Young Master Cao's people?

That did not seem likely either.

If she had really recognized him, she would have called people over and attacked him directly. There was no need to beat around the bush and set some kind of trap.

Ji Xun could not figure it out, nor did he think asking further would accomplish anything.

"Thanks."

He offered a polite reply and walked straight out of the shop.

The woman in the leather jacket did not care at all. Her gaze remained on the ancient book photographs, and she barely even looked up.

It was as though she had casually handed a piece of bread to someone who needed it.

There was nothing particularly meaningful about it.

As Ji Xun left the shop, he kept thinking about what had just happened.

He still could not understand why a stranger he had never met would give him a hint.

Could she be a shill for that Silver Star shop?

Someone with top-tier Mechanical Equipment did not seem likely to be one.

As he walked, that thought grew increasingly strong, and he ultimately decided to go take a look.

What if they really had it?

"So there's a Black Market on Dark Rain Street?"

Ji Xun was a little lost.

He had thought the place he had been wandering around was already Sinless City's Black Market.

After all, the whole city was a city of crime. No marketplace here was exactly legitimate.

But from what that woman had said, Sinless City seemed to have a special Black Market of its own?

Naturally, Ji Xun wanted to take a look.

But... where exactly was Dark Rain Street?

Two hours later.

Ji Xun arrived at the intersection between the Mud District of the North City and the Copper Tower District.

According to the information he had gathered earlier, this should have been Dark Rain Street.

"It really was hard to find."

Ji Xun muttered as he looked at the dim street before him.

He was unfamiliar with the city and had no map. In the end, he had exhausted every means and asked around everywhere before finally finding this place.

There were no large factories near the Mud District. With fewer people around, vast stretches of the ruins had retained their original appearance, creating a fantastical sense of decay.

There was little difference between the morning and afternoon street view in the Underground City. There were no streetlights, and the surrounding light was dim, like dusk on the verge of nightfall.

A pungent smell filled the air. It was waste gas discharged by Alchemical Potion factories. Such heavily polluting factories were usually located in sparsely populated areas.

Ji Xun walked onward. Rusted iron fences lined the streets, and even residents rarely chose to live in a district where they had to wear Gas Masks at all times.

As he headed deeper toward the lights, the streets grew narrower and narrower. Dim lamps illuminated rows of low red-brick houses that looked like haunted houses, while white steam hissed from every alley. Damaged steam pipes were everywhere, making for a thoroughly desolate street view.

As he walked, he suddenly heard the whistle of a train. It sounded as if an intercity train had passed through the buildings, and a thick white mist rose from the ground before him.

Yet there was no sign of a train.

Ji Xun walked over and realized the train was still twenty meters below. He was standing on a covered bridge.

An underground market appeared before him.

All kinds of steel-framed structures had been assembled into small buildings, each one a shop.

There were far fewer pedestrians here than in the hunter market on Glow Street, yet it did not feel deserted at all. Instead, it was filled with mystery.

Ji Xun listened closely and actually heard rushing water.

Looking carefully, he saw that a surging Underground Dark River seemed to be hidden in the mist-shrouded depths beside the market.

"There really is a Black Market."

Ji Xun looked at the shops. Their signs were all inconspicuous, and they looked like little workshops, but the atmosphere alone made it feel as though this place had good stuff.

He looked around, then walked over.

The card shops, mechanical shops, material shops, and gun shops made the place feel like an enormous bazaar of contraband.

On closer inspection, the things being sold were much wilder too!

Ji Xun only gave them a casual glance, but the samples hanging outside those mechanical shops were all kinds of retired military equipment that hunters claimed was hard to get. The displays in the gun shops featured all sorts of extravagantly designed heavy firearms!

There were also things like Plague Bullets, Aberrant Bullets, and Annihilation Bullets. These were banned munitions that were dangerous not only to enemies, but also to the user and the environment due to their severe pollution.

These were contraband items that other shops would never sell, yet the shops here openly displayed them for sale?

And in the potion shops were all kinds of highly lethal Rage Potions, Hallucinogenic Potions, and Alchemical Poisons.

Ji Xun's eyes were truly opened.

How should he describe the feeling? Ordinary shops outside sold goods like hand grenades, while this place sold missiles!

So Sinless City was no different. Rules had never applied to everyone; they only applied to ordinary people who could not exercise privilege.

He suddenly began looking forward to it.

It seemed he really could find genuinely good things here.

"What a great place."

Ji Xun's eyes burned as he looked around. He wanted to get his hands on practically every item here.

But when he looked at the prices, that burning desire was instantly doused with a bucket of cold water.

As expected, good things came with prices that made one's heart pound.

Ji Xun walked on, observing his surroundings as he went.

Not only were the shops here unusual, but the customers passing by were mysterious as well.

Most hid their faces beneath trench coat collars and hats, or wore cloaks. In any case, very few showed their true faces.

Ji Xun also walked down the street in a Gas Mask, completely inconspicuous.

Soon, he stopped.

Turning his head, he saw a small shop with "Silver Star Mysterious Materials Shop" casually written in Black Charcoal on a wooden board by the entrance.

If he had not looked carefully, he would have nearly missed it.

This was it?

It did not look particularly high-end.

Ji Xun examined the shop, then walked inside with a doubtful attitude.

The room was tiny, only a dozen square meters or so.

Several rows of cabinets occupied most of the already cramped shop, and even the ceiling was hung with the bones of some unknown monster.

But strangely, although the shop looked packed to the brim, it had almost no items that could be considered merchandise on display.

It looked more like a miscellaneous storage room.

Behind the counter, a thin middle-aged man with glasses was intently grinding some unknown black powder, paying no attention whatsoever to the customer who had entered.

Ji Xun asked, "Hello, boss. May I ask whether you have—"

But before he could finish, the middle-aged man cut him off in an aloof tone. "No."

Huh... that was not the right opening.

He would not do business?

Ji Xun did not know that the Black Market had its own rules.

Nearly every shop here had its own secret supply channels and sales network. Without an acquaintance to make the introduction, shop owners would not sell goods to unfamiliar customers at all.

Ji Xun quickly realized he might have asked the wrong way.

But he truly did not know the rules of the Black Market.

Thinking of the woman in the leather jacket he had met earlier, he said uncertainly, "I was... introduced by Dong Qi."

"Dong Qi?"

When he heard that name spoken so directly, the thin middle-aged man with glasses twitched at the corner of his eye.

He set down the grinder in his hand and carefully looked Ji Xun over from head to toe.

There were not many people who could address her by that name directly.

Who was this guy?

At the same time, Ji Xun was studying the shop owner. Seeing that sudden scrutiny, he nodded. "Yeah."

His intuition told him there might be something unusual about that name.

But he had not lied. That was exactly what she had told him to say.

Hearing this, a strange look flashed through the shop owner's eyes. He had clearly judged that Ji Xun was telling the truth.

He seemed unable to understand who would dare call Dong Qi by name, but he still took the initiative to ask, "What did you say you wanted just now?"

"I wanted to ask whether you have any Breathing Techniques."

Seeing the change in the shop owner's attitude, Ji Xun guessed that Dong Qi's name had probably done the trick.

Oh.

So it was only this.

Before Ji Xun could finish, the shop owner said briskly, "Black Iron Breathing Methods are one hundred and eighty thousand. Give me a name, and I'll find it for you. I'm not picky. Silver Breathing Methods are one and a half million. Right now, the shop only has the Storm Breathing Method, Thunder Secret Cultivation, and Fire Breathing. If you want something else, you'll need to place an order. The price depends on how difficult it is to acquire. Delivery within a month."

His tone was casual, as though these were ordinary goods.

"..."

Ji Xun had just been doubting whether this shop was legitimate, but the string of Breathing Technique names the shop owner rattled off left him a little dazed.

He could name any Black Iron Breathing Method he wanted?

And also...

The Storm... Storm Breathing Method?

That Bernie "Greatsword" had sworn just this morning that the Storm Breathing Method was the Storm Hunter Group's closely guarded secret. Yet this guy could casually sell it?

Could it be a duplicate name?

Ji Xun thought about it and felt that was unlikely.

There were only a few named Silver Breathing Methods on the market. They should not share names.

So it was not that they could not be bought. He had simply not found the right channel.

And from the latter half of the man's words, it seemed other Breathing Techniques could be ordered too?

His tone made it sound as though, whatever the customer wanted, he could almost always find a way to get it. And the means of obtaining it clearly would not be legitimate.

Damn, were his connections really this wild?

What kind of shop was this?

Sometimes, when someone suddenly overturned everything one knew, it left an unreal feeling.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Ji Xun's mind in an instant.

Out of the corner of his eye, he looked over the unremarkable shop again, and an instinctive thought arose in his heart: Was this some scammer making empty promises?

Looking at the street outside, this was the Black Market.

A black shop?

Ji Xun remained calm. Thinking that he did not seem to have anything worth scamming him for, another idea came to mind: Why not inspect the goods first and test this guy's capabilities?

Seeing his expression, the shop owner took the initiative to ask, "Nothing catches your eye?"

Assuming that someone introduced by her naturally would not be looking for ordinary goods, he added, "If you're looking for a rarer Breathing Technique, it might be a little troublesome."

Something rarer?

A legendary Golden Breathing Method?

And that was only... a little troublesome.

Not impossible!

Ji Xun's impression of the shop owner was refreshed once again.

Keeping his expression neutral, he stated his requirement directly. "I need a Breathing Technique that can absorb multiple elements at the same time."

If it were still a single-element Breathing Technique, then setting aside whether he could afford it, he would find even a Silver secret method somewhat useless.

And if this shop owner was truly unreliable, Ji Xun also wanted to see just what kind of nonsense he could spin.

"???"

When the shop owner heard Ji Xun's request, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately put away his contempt.

As expected... the person she had introduced was no ordinary person.

Anyone who needed that kind of secret method was bound to have an unusual Professional Sequence.

He had no intention of prying into a customer's privacy. That was a major taboo in the Black Market. After pondering for a moment, he said directly, "I do have the kind of Breathing Technique you're talking about."

Ji Xun's gaze shifted slightly. They really had one?

The shop owner continued, "I happen to have a fragment of a Breathing Technique in my collection. I don't know what it's called, but it can absorb at least seven different elements. The price is just a bit high."

As he spoke, he held up three fingers.

Ji Xun asked tentatively, "Three million?"

If even the shopkeeper said it was a little expensive, then it naturally wasn't thirty thousand—it was three hundred thousand.

The moment he heard the price, he instantly felt it was unreliable.

The Silver Breathing Method only cost a little over a hundred thousand. What kind of Breathing Technique was this, costing over three hundred thousand?

And it was an unnamed Breathing Technique?

The more mysterious they made it sound, the less credible it became.

The shopkeeper neither confirmed nor denied it. A shrewd glint flashed through his eyes as he added, "The appraiser's conclusion was that this may be a Gold Quality Breathing Technique. Its origins may even be connected to an Old Day Demon God. Though it is only a fragment, if cultivated to the sixth rank of curse power, theoretically, its curse power value would be comparable to that of an ordinary person at the ninth rank. So this price is absolutely not high. I'm only mentioning it out of respect for the person who introduced you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought it up at all."

"..."

Though Ji Xun became suspicious upon hearing this, his expression did not change in the slightest.

He could not come up with such an enormous sum, nor was he prepared to believe it so easily.

Before Ji Xun could suspect the other party of being a swindler, the shopkeeper casually waved his hand and took out a small booklet.

He added, "And don't blame this old man for saying one more thing. The origin of this secret art is very sensitive. You should know who it involves. So even if someone learns it, they'd best not let outsiders know."

"..."

What the hell did Ji Xun know!

He also guessed that the man had assumed he really knew "Dong Qi," and therefore should understand some common knowledge from that circle.

But as he looked at the booklet handed over for inspection, he realized the shopkeeper had not been joking!

Ji Xun calmly accepted the booklet and casually flipped to a page. His pupils contracted slightly.

He had already mastered the Great Dark Breathing Method and roughly understood the principles behind Breathing Techniques.

His comprehension was exceptionally high, so he could tell at a glance that this booklet was absolutely genuine!

The breathing cultivation formula recorded within was most likely a secret art capable of simultaneously absorbing multiple elements to condense curse power.

It was actually real?

Ji Xun was genuinely surprised now.

He thought that if the other party had truly made up an entire Breathing Technique just to deceive people, then the swindler would definitely be a master of cultivation techniques!

And now, he had even generously handed it over directly.

At this moment, Ji Xun was already ninety percent convinced.

That meant not only was it genuine now, but everything the shopkeeper had said earlier had also been true!

At the same time, Ji Xun sucked in a cold breath.

Hiss~

What kind of background did this shop have, to wield such influence?

And just who was this "Dong Qi," to have such enormous clout?

He had to be some Great Figure in Sinless City.

Ji Xun thought of the woman in leather he had met at the bookshop before. Had he somehow received a stroke of goodwill for no reason?

Damn it, with the Gambler of Misfortune aura hanging over me, I thought there was a ninety-nine percent chance this was a scam. And now you're dropping a windfall on me?

Ji Xun was also puzzled. Wasn't the shopkeeper afraid that he only knew the name and had come here to bluff and swindle him?

He truly did not know that some people's names were not something anyone in the Black Market dared mention carelessly.

Otherwise, the consequences would be severe.

After flipping through two pages, Ji Xun closed the booklet.

He had a photographic memory. If the shopkeeper did not mind him flipping through a few more pages, and did not notice his little scheme, then if he shamelessly studied it carefully, he might have been able to memorize it.

But Ji Xun had no intention of taking advantage of him in that regard.

When others treated you sincerely, how could you repay them with deceit?

Ji Xun had only been allowed to see this secret art because of Dong Qi's favor. If he truly acted like a thief, he would be lowering himself.

But he really was short on money.

In that instant, he no longer doubted that the price of three million was too high.

Instead, he felt it was even lower than the market price!

The shopkeeper had only asked one and a half million for the Storm Breathing Method. Although that was the market price, it was not something one could actually buy. In theory, it should have been even more expensive.

Looking at it that way, this Golden Fragment was definitely being offered at a friendship price.

And for someone compatible with it, this Breathing Technique was absolutely priceless.

Ji Xun could already imagine his Breathing Technique efficiency increasing by several times.

But he truly had no money.

The only valuable thing on him was the Blackwater Mercenary Group card from before, but he had estimated it would only sell for a few hundred thousand at most.

The Gambler's Secondary Mutated Heart was good stuff, but taking those things out would expose his identity!

Ji Xun found himself in a difficult position for a moment.

Seeing his expression, the shopkeeper could not figure out what the guest introduced by that person was thinking.

Just as Ji Xun was considering how to raise the money, or whether to risk selling some of his belongings, his expression suddenly changed slightly.

Revelation: "Mystical Arts Exemption"

He immediately realized that someone had just used a mystical art resembling divination.

He was being watched!

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