Cloud Mist Market, Ding Region, Black Market.
Under the dim crimson lantern light, a black-robed figure slowly walked through the silent streets.
The figure wore a dark mask that concealed the entire face while a Hidden Breath Technique distorted the aura around his body into something vague and unremarkable.
It was Lin Sheng.
The moment he entered the black market, he immediately noticed the strange atmosphere.
There were people everywhere.
Yet not a single sound could be heard.
No shouting.
No bargaining.
No casual conversations.
The entire place resembled a silent ghost domain hidden beneath the bustling Cloud Mist Market.
Rows of black-robed cultivators sat behind stalls quietly, their heads lowered slightly.
Eyes observing noses.
Noses observing hearts.
No one looked around carelessly.
No one acted curious.
Everyone simply waited.
Waiting for buyers.
Waiting for profit.
Or perhaps—
Waiting for prey.
Lin Sheng's gaze swept calmly across the nearby stalls.
Talismans.
Medicinal pills.
Venomous insects sealed inside spirit containers.
Yao beast bones.
Spirit ores.
Ancient cultivation manuals.
Poisons.
Broken magical artifacts.
Everything imaginable existed here.
Some objects even carried fresh dirt upon them as if they had just been dug out from graves.
Others still had traces of half-dried blood remaining on them.
Lin Sheng's eyelids twitched faintly.
"The cultivation world really is ruthless…"
This black market was practically advertising murder openly.
Clearly, some of these items had only recently changed owners through killing and treasure snatching.
Yet no one cared.
As long as profit existed—
Someone would buy.
Lin Sheng inwardly shook his head.
"I should avoid visiting this place frequently…"
Places like this were dangerous.
However—
He also understood something clearly.
If he truly planned on entering alchemy seriously, then this black market might become one of his most stable future channels.
After all—
What would happen if outsiders discovered that an Innate Martial artist was also performing high-level alchemy?
Too much attention.
Too many questions.
The black market, on the other hand, valued only profit and secrecy.
No one cared about identities here.
As long as transactions happened smoothly.
Lin Sheng slowly continued walking.
His gaze inadvertently swept across a nearby stall owner.
Dark skin was visible beneath the sleeves of the black robe.
The man's aura carried traces of dried blood.
Seeing this scene, Lin Sheng suddenly recalled a classic sentence from his previous life.
"You can doubt his character, but you cannot doubt his goods."
The thought almost made him laugh.
Stopping before one of the stalls, Lin Sheng lowered his gaze.
Rows of jade slips were arranged neatly atop black cloth.
Before he could spread his mental field toward them—
The stall owner suddenly spoke.
"You buying or just looking?"
The man revealed yellow teeth while smiling strangely.
Lin Sheng's expression remained indifferent beneath the mask.
"Alchemy."
The stall owner's eyes brightened slightly.
"Buying or selling?"
"Buying."
Hearing this, the stall owner immediately became enthusiastic.
He quickly brought out several jade slips and placed them on the stall carefully.
"These are ancient alchemy formulas inherited from the previous era."
"Rare treasures."
"Not seen since ancient times…"
The man continued speaking endlessly.
Lin Sheng remained expressionless.
He simply stared silently.
The stall owner gradually noticed that this customer clearly was not easy to fool.
His smile stiffened slightly.
Then he coughed awkwardly.
"Well… if formulas aren't enough, I also have furnaces."
"A proper alchemy furnace."
Hearing the word furnace, Lin Sheng finally became slightly interested.
Currently, his plans already included obtaining several pill formulas.
Qi Nourishing Pills.
Detoxification Pills.
Possibly even body refinement support pills.
But the true issue was not merely formulas.
He also needed materials.
Furnaces.
And eventually—
A stable sales channel.
Going openly to places like the Dan Dao Hall would attract too much attention.
He needed secrecy first.
Unfortunately, this small stall clearly possessed limited inventory.
Lin Sheng glanced calmly at the jade slips before speaking in a low voice.
"How much for everything?"
The stall owner immediately grinned.
With a wave of his hand, he brought out a bronze furnace roughly half a meter tall.
The moment it appeared—
Lin Sheng instantly recognized it.
A Rank-1 High Grade artifact.
His eyes narrowed faintly beneath the mask.
Such a furnace was definitely stolen.
Ordinary cultivators would never dare sell this openly within the regular market.
But inside the black market—
No one cared.
The stall owner rubbed his hands greedily.
"Seven hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones for the furnace."
"Five hundred for the formulas."
"Cheap already."
Lin Sheng remained completely unmoved.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Everything here is stolen."
"You should already consider yourself lucky someone's willing to buy it."
"I'll pay five hundred total."
The stall owner's mouth twitched violently.
For a moment, he almost lost control of his expression.
Black-hearted.
Too black-hearted.
The price slash was practically robbery.
Yet annoyingly—
The customer was right.
Stolen goods naturally lost most of their market value.
Still, the stall owner clearly refused to surrender immediately.
"Impossible."
"Eight hundred."
Lin Sheng turned slightly as if preparing to leave.
"Seven hundred and fifty."
"Final offer."
"And include the storage pouch."
The stall owner's expression froze.
The storage pouch alone still carried decent value.
The two stared silently at each other.
One calm.
One struggling internally.
Ten full minutes passed.
Finally—
The stall owner gritted his teeth.
"…Deal."
Lin Sheng calmly handed over the spirit stones.
The stall owner immediately passed him the furnace, jade slips, and storage pouch.
After securing everything onto his waist, Lin Sheng turned and left without another word.
Only after disappearing into the crowd did a faint smile appear beneath his mask.
He had made a profit.
A large one.
Because among the jade slips—
One contained something valuable.
The Golden Grain Pill formula.
According to the chip's analysis, the medicinal effects of this pill were remarkably useful for Body Refiners.
Especially during the early stages.
Unfortunately, several ingredients listed in the formula either no longer existed in the Yun Province or had become incredibly rare.
Still—
The chip had already begun reconstructing replacement combinations using locally available materials.
As long as suitable substitutes could be found—
The formula might still work.
And if it succeeded—
Lin Sheng's future body refinement speed would increase enormously.
Over the next two hours, Lin Sheng continued wandering throughout the black market.
He purchased medicinal ingredients quietly while bargaining aggressively at nearly every stall.
Qi Nourishing Pill ingredients.
Detoxification herbs.
Spirit grass with fire attributes.
Low-grade medicinal roots.
Everything necessary for beginner alchemy.
Fortunately, the Hidden Breath Technique combined with the black robe concealed his identity completely.
No one recognized him.
Eventually, after obtaining seven portions of materials for the Qi Nourishing Pill along with several supplementary herbs, Lin Sheng finally decided to leave.
Passing through the black market entrance once more, he stepped back into the Ding Region slums.
The streets outside remained dark and filthy.
Broken buildings lined the alleys.
The smell of blood and alcohol drifted faintly through the air.
Then—
Lin Sheng's mental field spread silently outward.
Instantly—
Several figures entered his perception.
Seven people.
Following him.
Their auras were concealed reasonably well.
But under Lin Sheng's terrifying spiritual perception, they were obvious.
He immediately understood.
Robbery.
Or perhaps revenge.
Lin Sheng continued walking calmly as if unaware.
Turning through several narrow alleys, he gradually moved deeper into the slum region.
The environment became increasingly deserted.
Eventually—
He entered a narrow dead-end corner.
Silence.
A moment later—
Seven black-robed figures appeared behind him slowly.
Blocking the exit completely.
One of them sneered coldly.
"Friend, hand over your storage pouch."
"We'll leave your corpse intact."
Lin Sheng slowly turned around.
His masked face remained emotionless.
Then—
Without warning—
His mental field erupted.
Spiral Thorn.
Seven invisible spiritual attacks shot outward instantly.
The attackers' expressions changed drastically.
But before they could react—
The attacks struck directly into their minds.
"AAAAARGH!"
Miserable screams erupted simultaneously.
The seven figures collapsed onto the ground instantly, clutching their heads painfully.
Some twitched violently.
Others foamed at the mouth.
None retained consciousness.
Lin Sheng walked forward calmly.
His expression remained indifferent.
This was the cultivation world.
Mercy toward enemies usually resulted only in future trouble.
One by one, he stripped the unconscious figures of their valuables.
Storage pouches.
Artifacts.
Spirit stones.
Masks.
Then—
As he removed one particular mask—
Lin Sheng paused slightly.
It was the stall owner from earlier.
The very man who sold him the furnace and formulas.
Clearly, the fellow regretted the transaction afterward and decided to recover his losses through robbery.
Lin Sheng's eyes turned cold.
"Greedy."
Without hesitation, he brought out a small bottle.
Corpse Dissolving Powder.
A commonly used black-market item.
Sprinkling the powder onto the bodies—
Ssssssss—
The corpses rapidly dissolved into foul-smelling liquid before disappearing completely.
Within moments—
Nothing remained.
No bodies.
No evidence.
Only the cold night wind blowing quietly through the alley.
Lin Sheng calmly adjusted his robe.
Then turned and disappeared silently into the darkness of the Ding Region streets.