Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 117 Trip to the Black Market
Two days later, Lao He sent He Yu with a message that the matter had been settled.

That evening, Fang Jingxuan arrived at a secluded riverbank outside the market. This time, Fang Jingxuan did not bring Tuoyuan with him to the black market. It was too big and its features were too obvious, so it was not suitable for doing such sneaky things.

Without Tuoyuan, Fang Jingxuan felt somewhat insecure. He made up his mind that this time he must buy an extra-large spirit-controlling bag and take Tuoyuan with him wherever he went.

And so, Fang Jingxuan waited silently until midnight before a small awning boat sailed in from afar.

"Please wear this Ghost Cloak to conceal your presence. This item can block the spiritual senses of both inside and outside the body, preventing others from spying on you. Of course, you must also not use your divine sense."

The newcomer was a cultivator, also wearing a ghostly cloak that completely enveloped his body.

Now, Fang Jingxuan couldn't tell the other party's cultivation level, or even whether the other party was male or female. Even the other party's voice had been altered.

Before coming, Fang Jingxuan had put on his own cloak, but now they were to change into the one provided by the other party, which clearly showed that they did not trust Fang Jingxuan's side.

Having no other choice, Fang Jingxuan had to put on the Ghost Cloak and put his own into his storage bag.

After Fang Jingxuan changed, the other party gestured for him to board the ship and sit in the cabin, telling him not to move around.

The two remained silent for the rest of the journey. The other rowed the boat into the rising mist in the river, turning back and forth more than ten times before finally stopping.

At this moment, Fang Jingxuan was already somewhat dizzy and disoriented. He couldn't tell east from west in the cabin, and the strange way the mist rose didn't seem to be naturally generated, but rather the effect of some kind of high-level formation.

"Please come this way, sir. We have a small auction tonight, held every two weeks. You can go to the auction hall and see if there's anything that catches your eye. If you don't find anything suitable, you can also place an order with us."

This is your identification document; we use a number to identify people here.

Fang Jingxuan took a jade token with the words "Bingmu Seven" written on it. He held it in his hand and looked around. He felt as if he were in a cave with some array patterns around him. He didn't know if he was inside a mountain or deep underground.

Not far away, there were several open hillsides where people were talking in hushed tones. Some obviously forbidden items were laid out on the ground, and the scene was somewhat bloody.

Fang Jingxuan knew that this was the rumored black market.

Everyone was wearing the same ghost cloak; in this place, even acquaintances might not recognize each other even face to face.

The black market cultivator led Fang Jingxuan into the hall and then withdrew. After thinking for a moment, Fang Jingxuan went to look around at the stalls on the side.

There were only seven or eight cultivators setting up stalls here, and magical artifacts were piled up like miscellaneous items on their stalls.

These ritual implements vary in shape and have no unified style, so they were clearly not obtained through legitimate means.

Fang Jingxuan squatted down and went over to examine it, and also asked about the price.

The other cultivator's voice was somewhat cold, but Fang Jingxuan didn't care. After finding out the price, he knew roughly how many spirit stones he could sell his magical artifacts and ginseng for.

Here, the prices of religious artifacts are generally about 30% lower than outside.

Although the price is low, it is easy to sell and there is no need to worry about after-sales service, making it suitable for cultivators who have many magical artifacts.

Fang Jingxuan currently has seven magical artifacts in his storage bag. To avoid any unforeseen complications, he has not sold them on the market for over a year.

Now that he's come to the black market, Fang Jingxuan plans to sell all his magical artifacts and fellow practitioners for spirit stones and then buy what he needs.

He just didn't know if selling these magical artifacts would be enough to buy him a Breakthrough Pill. Half an hour later, Fang Jingxuan found a cultivator in the black market and offered to sell his magical artifacts.

Afterwards, Fang Jingxuan was taken to a secret room. On the other side of the partition was another cultivator wearing a ghost cloak.

This is the black market's own appraiser, responsible for valuing the ritual implements.

Fang Jingxuan didn't want to set up a stall and sell them one by one, as that would take too much time. Besides, the magical artifacts he had weren't anything special and didn't have any premium value.

I decided to pack everything up and clear out all the related items on the black market.

A moment later, Fang Jingxuan emerged from the secret chamber, his storage bag now containing fifty-four mid-grade spirit stones.

It was a bit lower than I expected, but still acceptable. Adding the nine hundred low-grade spirit stones I still had, I could now use a total of six thousand three hundred low-grade spirit stones.

With such a large sum of money in his hands, Fang Jingxuan felt more confident. He walked into the auction hall with his head held high and began to browse the information above.

This auction uses a blind auction format, meaning anyone can place a bid below an item, and the highest bidder wins at the end of the allotted time.

Compared to other bustling auction models, this bidding method is more suitable for the black market.

Inside the auction hall, several cultivators were secretly watching over the visitors, closely observing their every move.

After Fang Jingxuan entered, he went straight to the place where the pills were being auctioned.

After overlooking the other pills, Fang Jingxuan's gaze was fixed on a Breakthrough Pill.

He checked the starting price; the cultivator selling the pill clearly stated that the starting price was 1,500 low-grade spirit stones.

As a special type of first-grade high-quality pill, a Breakthrough Pill is indeed worth this price. Moreover, 1,500 is just the starting price. If it is lower than this price, it will not be sold. However, how much higher it can be to get it depends on how much other cultivators urgently need this item.

Fang Jingxuan touched his storage bag and decided to take out two thousand low-grade spirit stones to try it out first.

Although the Breakthrough Pill is rare, it can appear from time to time on the black market, so there is no need to pay too high a premium.

Moreover, even one Breakthrough Pill cannot guarantee breaking through the bottleneck. To be on the safe side, it is best to prepare three.

Fang Jingxuan planned to buy three pills. If taking one of them would allow him to break through his bottleneck, he would be very happy and could then sell the remaining two.

Fang Jingxuan calculated his current spirit stones: two thousand low-grade ones, which was his target price. If he couldn't buy them, he would add more later. For now, he would just test the waters.

After thinking it through, Fang Jingxuan took out his number plate, stuck it to the magic circle above, and then grabbed a pen and paper from the side to write down his bid.

With more than an hour left before the auction ended, Fang Jingxuan took the opportunity to wander around the area.

He later discovered that this black market seemed to be just a temporary location, with many of the decorations showing signs of being hastily made.

Just as Fang Jingxuan was waiting for the results, someone suddenly pushed out an iron cage from the platform at the front of the auction house, attracting everyone's attention.

"A new, excellent cultivation vessel has arrived. The cultivator is at the seventh stage of Qi Refining, has an exceptionally beautiful appearance, and is still a virgin. She is the perfect candidate to break through bottlenecks and aid in cultivation. The starting price is three thousand low-grade spirit stones, with each bid increasing by no less than one hundred. The highest bidder wins!"

(End of this chapter)