LRAB Chapter 172 Sincere Transaction
Chapter 172 Sincere Transaction
Chapter 172 Sincere Transaction (6.4k words, bonus chapter for Guardian Pig Chan)
After obtaining the broken wooden plaque, Chen Yi did not rush to the black market to inquire.
Instead, he returned to Qin Chengcheng's cave to study and comprehend the complete text of the [Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealing Technique] given to him by the old tortoise.
He already possessed the foundation of a third-tier, low-grade Breath Concealment Technique.
In addition, the black tortoise shell obtained from Ning Bu'er also contained the same concealment rune as the old tortoise.
Chen Yi began to absorb the spiritual energy on the black tortoise shell to accelerate his comprehension of the [Mysterious Tortoise Concealing Breath Technique].
Two days,
Chen Yi has already mastered the orthodox [Mysterious Tortoise Breath Concealing Technique] and upgraded his own Breath Concealing Illusion Technique.
Five more days passed, and Chen Yi absorbed nearly 30% of the spiritual energy from the black tortoise shell, advancing the [Mysterious Tortoise Concealing Breath Technique] to the second level.
Reaching the level of mid-grade third rank,
Nowadays, a normal mid-stage Core Formation cultivator's divine sense cannot see through Chen Yi's disguise, except for those with supernatural abilities like Ji Wuchen's spiritual eyes.
Chen Yi felt that it was about time. Advancing the [Mysterious Turtle Breath Concealing Technique] to the third level, to the point of being able to withstand the divine sense probing of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, would require too much time and effort, and it wasn't necessary at the moment.
A small black market selling near-Tier 3 resources shouldn't have any late-stage Core Formation cultivators, or even mid-stage Core Formation cultivators.
Furthermore, Chen Yi estimated that even a True Core cultivator might find it difficult to personally guard the black market. Having a Fake Core cultivator guarding the black market and maintaining contact with the True Core cultivator's backer would be sufficient.
However, just to be on the safe side, Chen Yi decided to test the waters first.
that night,
Chen Yi disguised himself as a gaunt old man, maintaining his magical power fluctuations at the late Foundation Establishment stage, without overtly concealing it.
However, Chen Yi deliberately made his magical power slightly murky, pretending to be an ordinary rogue cultivator with poor spiritual roots and low-level cultivation techniques.
In addition, his physical strength was perfectly concealed by the Breath Concealment Technique, making it undetectable even to those in the mid-stage of Core Formation.
Crossing the inner city for hundreds of miles,
Chen Yi arrived at a location close to the outer city and the outskirts.
This area contains a mixture of first- and second-tier spiritual veins, as well as underground rivers.
Chen Yi circled the area several times, using his divine sense to get a general feel for the terrain and memorizing a few passages.
Then, release the treasure-hunting rat to go underground and explore possible escape routes or secret passages.
Finally, Chen Yi took out the broken wooden plaque and entered the black market trading area that the shopkeeper had told him about.
It was an uninhabited shantytown.
As Chen Yi approached, the tattered wooden plaque in his hand would resonate with the surrounding willow trees, wellhead, stone piers, and other features, forming a protective array.
Then a faint aura of spatial spiritual energy naturally appeared, guiding the broken wooden sign forward.
Chen Yi wandered through the shantytown, eventually being led by a broken wooden sign to a dilapidated farm.
Upon entering the farm, Chen Yi sensed ripples from an array and scanned his cultivation aura.
Chen Yi pretended not to know and continued forward.
Inside, there were dozens of vendors with stalls, and more than a hundred cultivators strolling around.
However, the cultivators here all wear masks to prevent divine sense from detecting them.
Chen Yi also brought one, which he bought at the entrance for a high price of one hundred spirit stones.
He didn't need it at all, but to avoid attracting too much attention, he spent the small amount of money.
That evening, Chen Yi wandered around for a long time, looking at everything on the stalls, and found that very few materials reached the near-third tier.
However, Chen Yi also purchased some top-tier second-tier items.
At the same time, he also purchased some lower-end items, but which were rarely seen within the Jade Dragon Sect's sphere of influence.
For example, there are spiritual fruits and herbs used to brew spiritual wine, as well as materials for making low-level puppets, etc.
He will practice brewing and puppetry later if he has time.
After browsing around, Chen Yi's buying and selling activities were also noted by the black market's management.
This unfamiliar face was first described by the management as follows: late-stage Foundation Establishment, approximately 150 years old, a first-tier brewer and puppeteer, with a decent net worth, and his true purpose has not yet been revealed.
At the very end of the stalls were several shops. Chen Yi went inside and discovered that they indeed had some truly good stuff.
For example, in shops selling spiritual herbs, there's a near-third-grade Cold Heart Grass on display, which is one of the important auxiliary materials for refining Crystal Condensation Pills.
They are rarely sold in shops outside; whenever they appear, they are either pre-ordered or appear at large auctions.
"How much is this *Heartbreak Grass*?"
Chen Yi inquired about the price.
"5000 spirit stones, no bargaining."
It's 20% higher than outside, which is normal.
Chen Yi knew what was going on.
But he wasn't in a hurry to buy it. Qin Chengcheng had one of the main ingredients for the Crystal Condensation Pill, a mid-grade third-tier Mystic Ice Crystal Condensation Fruit. If the royal family gifted her a Crystal Condensation Pill this time, then her Crystal Condensation Fruit would probably just sit idle.
Chen Yi planned to acquire it through a trade for his future use in refining Crystal Condensation Pills.
For now, he can accumulate some other materials for refining Crystallization Pills.
Chen Yi nodded slightly and did not make a purchase.
He inquired about several other spiritual herbs, most of which were at the peak of the second tier or near the third tier, and the other party quoted very high prices for them.
Later, at the shops selling rare items and spirit ores, Chen Yi also inquired about the prices.
Finally, he took out a piece of lightning crystal array material from Malong and asked the other party what price they would pay for it.
The man's pupils contracted slightly after he received it.
"Fellow Daoist, if I am not mistaken, this item is part of the materials for a third-tier array artifact, right?"
If you have all the materials, we can buy them at a premium, depending on their quality, but the price will definitely not be less than 2 spirit stones.
"I don't have that many, just this one. I don't know the price?"
"Then I can only offer 800 spirit stones."
"How about bartering? I want this near-third-grade fire crystal ore," Chen Yi said, pointing to a piece of ore.
Fire crystal ore has a wide range of uses. It can be used as a material to refine magical artifacts, and even as fuel for crafting weapons and alchemy, improving quality and success rates.
"You can exchange it for a piece the size of a fist."
Chen Yi nodded slightly and eventually exchanged it for another piece.
That evening, Chen Yi left, having bought items worth about 2000 spirit stones in total, as a small trial.
After leaving, Chen Yi did not put away the tattered wooden plaque, but secretly sensed the fluctuations on it.
Sure enough, three fluctuations lit up one by one.
Moreover, Chen Yi sensed from afar that there were two "tails" following him several miles behind.
"They're just two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they don't seem to be making a move. Forget it, it's pointless."
Chen Yi shook his head, ignored him, and sped away.
A few more days passed,
at night,
Chen Yi went to the black market for the second time.
This time, he went directly to the last two shops and bought the near-third-tier Cold Heart Grass for 5000 spirit stones.
"Please accept this as a token of our appreciation. Welcome back anytime!"
With a broad smile, the shopkeeper placed the Heart-Cold Grass into a jade box and handed it to Chen Yi.
Chen Yi calmly nodded and put it away.
Next, he went next door and sold five new horse cage materials. This time he asked for 900 spirit stones each and sold them for 4500 spirit stones. He also bought four fist-sized fire crystal ores.
then,
Chen Yi quickly left, and after getting out of the black market's array coverage area, he flew towards the outside of the city at the speed of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Boss, this old man is very cautious. He only traded for 10,000 spirit stones the second time. I saw in his storage bag that he should still have at least ten pieces of lightning array materials."
Should we make a move?
After Chen Yi left, a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator in the black market management team asked with some interest.
"You and Xiao San follow them, and take Lao Wu and Lao Liu with you. The four of you should be careful. If there's no opportunity, it's better not to make a move."
"That's what the fake alchemist wearing a mask said."
Watching the second, third, fifth, and sixth brothers chase after him, the pseudo-core cultivator felt uneasy, sensing something was wrong.
He's done this kind of "big fish eat little fish" thing many times before. By now, if he encounters someone he can't afford to offend, that True Immortal in the Imperial City has already sent him a message.
With four subordinates—two at the peak of Foundation Establishment and two at the late stage of Foundation Establishment—encircling and attacking one person, the outcome was roughly equivalent to him, a pseudo-Core Formation cultivator, personally taking action.
Logically speaking, eating a slightly wealthy late-stage Foundation Establishment old man shouldn't be a problem.
But he always felt that something was wrong.
After thinking for a moment, the leader hurriedly took out a spiritual fruit that could extend lifespan by five years from the warehouse and quickly crossed the underground passage behind the black market.
Arriving at a dark room, I knocked urgently on the door.
"Master Liu, the cost of the fish today is quite high. Could you please perform a divination?"
The eldest brother handed over a piece of scrap material from the horse cage that Chen Yi had sold, and explained the circumstances of Chen Yi's two visits.
Upon hearing this, Master Liu asked directly before even beginning the divination:
"An old man in the late Foundation Establishment stage, a rogue cultivator, whose magical power is impure."
The first attempt, the second transaction involving tens of thousands of spirit stones, and still no trace of the five different levels of second-tier tracking marks on the spirit wood token?
They bought the Cold Heart Grass, an auxiliary ingredient for Condensing Crystal Pills, and five Fire Crystal Ore to increase the success rate of refining Condensing Crystal Pills.
Could there be multiple such magical artifact components inside the storage bag?
Do you think he's naive? He has tens of thousands of spirit stones, yet he's a complete fool who single-handedly ventured into the black market, spending money recklessly, and doesn't even know how to track people?
Under what circumstances do you think such easy targets would exist in this world?
A rogue cultivator with impure magical power might purchase materials for the Crystallization Pill to attempt to form a core.
"A cultivator who has reached the late Foundation Establishment stage wouldn't even be able to detect the simplest second-tier mid-grade tracking mark?"
The eldest brother was speechless after being questioned by Master Liu. After thinking for a long time, he finally came to a conclusion:
"Is it possible that this guy is a foolish second-generation cultivator, all money and no brains?"
"Could he be an old man? Have you ever seen a man who lives to be over a hundred years old and is that stupid?"
The eldest brother couldn't answer, his face flushed. "What should we do then?"
"Alright, let me calculate it for you."
Then, Master Liu, hidden in the black robe, took the fragment of the horse bridle and began to perform divination.
Then, in no more than ten breaths,
He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His expression changed drastically:
"It is impossible to deduce. This person possesses a third-level or higher anti-divination item, or he himself is a third-level divination master!"
"Quick, bring them back! We can't afford to mess with them!"
Upon hearing this, the eldest brother's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly took out a communication jade pendant, frantically poured his magic power into it, and activated the emergency evacuation signal.
Outside the city, Chen Yi flew away at the normal speed of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Several miles behind, two peak Foundation Establishment stage cultivators' escape lights rapidly approached, followed by two more escape lights, slightly faster than Chen Yi's but slightly slower.
Just as Chen Yi entered a valley, the moonlight overhead was blocked by dark clouds.
suddenly,
The pursuers behind them paused in mid-air.
The next moment, they fled rapidly in the direction they had gone back.
Chen Yi possessed powerful divine sense, capable of perceiving a range of nearly ten miles. Upon seeing this, he sighed softly:
"pity."
The two Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators fled back at breakneck speed. The fifth and sixth brothers, completely unaware of the situation, also followed suit.
The four had just escaped back to the black market headquarters.
The fifth brother asked anxiously, "Second brother, why are you running away? The big fish is about to be caught, why did you escape?"
"Fall into your mother's net, that's a fucking fishing scheme!"
Look, can you still sense the location of the spirit wood tablet?!
The fifth brother examined the face and his expression changed: "We really can't find that person's location. Was he just faking it all along?"
"Yes, let's go, quick, back to find the boss!"
Soon, the four met the fake leader of the Dan Sect in a hidden room within a complex underground passageway.
"Boss, thank goodness you found out in time and called us back, otherwise we would have been in big trouble tonight."
The second son was fortunate to be authentic.
"Don't be too happy yet. Be careful. Notify the higher-ups to close early tonight to avoid them coming after us."
correct,
Can you still sense the other person's location?
"We can't sense him anymore. After he realized we were gone, we couldn't sense where he was."
"This is bad. Let's go see Master Liu."
The next moment, the four of them emerged from the tunnel and rushed to Master Liu's place. They had just knocked on the door and entered when…
They found Master Liu sitting there frozen, motionless, his expression blank.
Beside him, an old man wearing a mask was playing with Master Liu's divination tool, the tortoise shell, and turning over Master Liu's divination heritage animal skin.
"This item is nice; it's mine. Consider it compensation for your malicious divination and scheme against me. Do you have a problem with that?"
The old man said in a hoarse voice.
The second-tier peak diviner shook his head: "Senior, please take it. This junior dares not have any objections."
"it is good."
Chen Yi turned to look at the people who had entered.
"You're all here, please have a seat."
Chen Yi gestured for the others to sit down.
The four Foundation Establishment cultivators looked grim, hesitant to step forward, and seemed ready to retreat at any moment.
The fake leader pretended to do it, but a black needle quickly appeared in his hand. Its light was dim and its magical power fluctuations were obscure, but it was very powerful, reaching the standard of a quasi-third-tier magic weapon!
however,
Just as he was about to aim the object at Chen Yi,
next moment,
Chen Yi flashed and appeared beside the fake Dan leader.
With a snap, a hand crushed the fake pill leader's wrist.
He took the long black needle engraved with runes, flicked it a few times with his fingers, and it made a series of stinging sounds.
The array runes on the long black needle dimmed and disappeared almost instantly.
"A third-tier body cultivator?!"
To be able to damage his quasi-magic weapon-level Black Fiend Needle with bare hands, one must at least be at the third level of body refinement!
The fake leader's pupils widened in shock, his face changing drastically, yet he didn't dare utter a single cry of pain.
"A powerful figure who's already reached the third level of Body Refinement is actually disguising himself as a Foundation Establishment cultivator! He's trying to rob my black market!"
He dared not make any further movements, only cold sweat streaming down his face.
"Okay. Please sit down this time."
"Senior, we are just from a small place. You are a third-level senior, there is no need for you to stoop to our level. Please let us go."
The fake cultivator finally uttered a plea for mercy, but he never dared to look up at Chen Yi again.
He knew he had met his match today.
Even the jade token hidden in his sleeve, which allowed him to contact the royal family at any time, was not activated.
He often walks at night and knows the style of these ruthless people very well; they usually only use their hands and don't like to talk.
If he dares to make any more moves, his head will be the next thing to be snapped off.
Even if he is a fake Core Formation cultivator, he would be killed before he could even use his magic power against a third-tier Body Cultivator at this distance.
"I was trying to make a deal in good faith, but you two have harbored malicious intentions and followed me twice with malicious intent. So don't blame me for making you pay the price."
Open your storage bags, and don't do anything else unnecessary.
"That family is not one to kill indiscriminately."
Chen Yi's voice was hoarse and cold.
The fake cultivator was the first to do so, and everyone else followed suit.
Chen Yi didn't take everything; there was an unknown amount of dirty and broken stuff inside, which would leave behind endless trouble.
He only selected three spiritual herbs, including the auxiliary ingredients for the Three-Flavor Crystal Condensation Pill: Spirit Frost Root, Tranquilizing Branch, and Glowing Vine, all of which were near-third-grade.
Another item is a Tier 3 Earth-type Monster Pill, which is quite helpful for monsters breaking through to the Tier 3.
In total, it's about 30,000 spirit stones.
"These four items are the price you four paid for maliciously stalking me."
Chen Yi picked out the most valuable spiritual herb from each of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators' storage bags and took it with him. Among them, the third-tier Earth Demon Pill was a treasure of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"I've also confiscated this black needle-shaped magic weapon. Consider it payment for your malicious sneak attack on me just now."
Finally, Chen Yi addressed the fake Core cultivator.
"Well, I've temporarily destroyed this little thing of yours to prevent it from developing any malicious intentions and causing trouble for the higher-ups."
Chen Yi crushed all three communication jade tokens in the fake Core cultivator's sleeve.
"By the way, I'm curious, with your divination abilities, you shouldn't have been able to predict my fate. How did you know to notify them to stop at the crucial moment?"
Chen Yi voiced his doubts, reflecting on where he had gone wrong, as it was his first time conducting a sting operation and he was still unfamiliar with the procedures.
"There are five tracking marks on your spirit wood tablet, the weakest of which is a mid-grade second-tier mark. With your abilities, you should be able to detect it and erase it."
The fake Dan leader explained in a low voice.
"Oh, I see. I've learned something new."
Chen Yi suddenly realized that keeping all the marks wasn't an option; there was more to it than met the eye. It was truly complicated.
"Alright, let's call it a day."
You have not committed any unforgivable sins, so we will only impose a minor warning.
They know you must have powerful connections protecting you, so if you want revenge, go ahead.
The family's surname is Feng.
"Senior Feng is joking. Our elders taught us that when we encounter someone like you, we should stand at attention and never dare to have any thoughts of revenge."
"Please take care, Senior Feng."
"Um."
Chen Yi gave a faint "hmm," and the next moment, his body glowed with wind magic, allowing him to leave the place at a speed exceeding that of an ordinary early-stage True Core cultivator.
"He's actually a seasoned True Core cultivator! And a dual cultivator of body and magic! Why is such a powerful being searching our area?!"
The fake Dan leader was extremely depressed.
"Boss, should we report this to the real person now?"
"What's the point of reporting this? What if this big shot hasn't left?"
"Luckily, this big shot is a reasonable person; otherwise, if he were an evil cultivator, we would all be dead here tonight."
"Rest as usual tonight. I will go to the inner city tomorrow to report in person."
After leaving, Chen Yi put away the treasure-hunting rat, activated the Concealing Breath Technique, and quietly returned to the cave where Qin Chengcheng was located in the inner city.
He didn't actually intend to rob anyone today; his main purpose was to test the effectiveness of the concealment technique and the tortoise shell's defense against divination.
The effect was unexpectedly excellent.
Using his concealment technique, he followed the group all the way, even entering the underground passage and getting only a dozen feet away from the fake core cultivator, without the other party noticing him.
Chen Yi once again marveled at the power of the Concealing Breath Technique bestowed upon him by the old tortoise.
As for taking only these few items and not killing anyone,
Chen Yi discovered that the communication jade token hidden in the fake Dan's sleeve not only had runes pointing to the inner city's royal family, but also possessed unique communication symbols that Chen Yi had seen on the royal family's flying boat.
He speculated that this black market might be connected to a real member of the royal family.
The items he took out, including the horse cage parts, might lead some to suspect that they belonged to Xu Jiu.
Therefore, he didn't go too far, so that if someone from the royal family came to question him in the future, there would still be room for maneuver.
Of course, Chen Yi wouldn't admit to something without evidence.
Chen Yi had almost prepared all these items, especially the key auxiliary materials for refining the Crystal Condensation Pill. The remaining auxiliary materials could be purchased from the merchant guild outside.
Alternatively, you can go to an alchemist, add a few spirit stones, and they will provide them.
All that's left for Chen Yi is to wait for a Crystallization Fruit before he's qualified to refine Crystallization Pills.
As for the third-tier earth-type demon beast's core, it was an unexpected bonus.
If the Treasure-Hunting Rat has the opportunity to cultivate to the peak of the second tier, it can be given to the Treasure-Hunting Rat to try and break through to the third tier.
If it doesn't have a chance, Chen Yi can trade it for other treasures or use it for body refinement.
The next day, in the inner city, in a secluded room of a magnificent Jurchen royal residence...
"Master Hanyan, your subordinate is incompetent."
The fake leader recounted what happened last night.
The Jurchen woman, her face veiled and her skin as white as snow, narrowed her eyes upon hearing this:
"You've run into a brick wall, haven't you? I warned you before: follow the rules, keep an eye on your men, and stop doing shady things."
Aren't the normal black market prices enough for you to make a profit?
I understand this matter. Regardless of whether that person is Feng Xiansheng or not, since he gave me face, let's not pursue it any further.
Remember, the one who comes to reprimand you today may be a True Immortal, and in the future, it may be a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
"You're all courting death, don't cause me any trouble."
Feng Xiansheng is Feng Qingjun's father and one of the current Core Formation cultivators in the Feng family.
His speed is unparalleled, and his ability to conceal his aura is comparable to that of a mid-to-late stage Core Formation cultivator.
Unexpectedly, he also cultivated his body.
"Yes, it's a real person."
"You can stockpile some war supplies recently. There may be a major change in the cultivation world. All life-saving spiritual items, including pills, talismans, magic tools, and magic treasures, may increase in price in the future."
Especially treasures that have a restraining effect on demonic cultivators, blood cultivators, ghost cultivators, and demonic beasts—buy them on sight, no matter how high the price.
"yes!"
The pseudo-core cultivator was shocked. "Master, is the demonic path about to unleash its power?"
"Yes, a major incident has occurred in the Monster Beast Mountain Range."
"Chen Lang, you're back."
The royal alchemist has agreed to start refining the Crystallization Pill for me next month, and the royal family has already prepared the materials.
If I manage to obtain my Crystal Condensation Pill, then you may accept this mid-grade, third-tier Mystic Ice Crystal Condensation Fruit. See if you can gather enough materials for a complete set of Crystal Condensation Pills. While at the royal court, ask a master alchemist to refine a Crystal Condensation Pill for you as well.
Otherwise, who knows how long it will take to find a third-tier alchemist like this again.
Qin Chengcheng said to Chen Yi.
"Alright. Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. This Crystallization Fruit is worth over ten thousand spirit stones, and I will compensate you."
"Chen Lang, do you really have to be so calculating with me?"
Qin Chengcheng felt somewhat resentful. The more clearly Chen Yi calculated, the angrier she became, because Chen Yi didn't consider her his Daoist partner.
Of course, now that things have come to this, Qin Chengcheng understands that Chen Yi is simply a prodigal son and probably has no intention of marrying a Daoist partner.
"Alas, so be it. Just as you said, Chen Lang, the world of cultivation is ever-changing. Even if we both reach the Core Formation stage, we can't be sure we'll survive to the end."
Let's cherish the present moment. Whether we're a couple or not doesn't matter. As long as you're by my side, I'm content.
Qin Chengcheng hugged Chen Yi tightly and said softly.
(End of this chapter)