Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

Three days passed in a flash, and it was sunset.

Zhou Fugan, disguised once again, arrived at the inner city gate. The area was heavily guarded; without an entry permit, no one was allowed to enter.

He looked at the tall and sturdy bluestone city wall and couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

The inner city was not built by the imperial court, but by the ancestors of the four major families within it. The ancestors of these four families were generals under the command of King Juan, who enfeoffed them here. Together, they built the inner city to protect their own wealth and prevent outsiders, even imperial officials, from settling there.

Therefore, the county government office was not located in the inner city, but in the outer city.

Later, the four major families gradually lifted the ban, allowing some vassal forces to reside in the inner city. They would also use residences in the inner city to bribe officials. For example, the former county magistrate Zhu Xinghai had a luxurious mansion in the inner city.

The four major families even considered moving the county government office into the inner city. Unfortunately, the imperial court issued a strict order forbidding this, forcing them to abandon the idea.

The inner city was safe and secure, and it was easy to make money. Serving a powerful family was enough to provide for the whole family. People from Qingshan County were all proud to settle in the inner city.

"This inner city is both a source of glory and a prison. When the Zhou family rises to power, we must take this as a warning! When a family is strong, it has no need for an inner city; when a family is weak, even an inner city cannot protect it."

Zhou Fugan thought to himself.

Then he strode toward the city gate.

"Please show your credentials," the county soldier guarding the gate shouted.

Zhou Fugan took out the auction invitation and showed it to the soldier. The soldier's eyes narrowed, and he immediately bowed respectfully, "Please, sir!"

This surprised Zhou Fugan; he hadn't expected the invitation to be so useful. He then realized that since the black market was located in the inner city, it was clearly related to the four major families, and the person holding the invitation was essentially a distinguished guest of one of them. Naturally, the county soldiers dared not neglect them.

"They were clearly county soldiers of the imperial court, yet they've been reduced to servants of powerful clans! These aristocratic families are truly too arrogant! This is their own way of inviting disaster!"

...

After entering the inner city, Zhou Fugan finally understood why people were willing to live there. It was truly a different world from the outer city.

The streets here are all paved with stone slabs, clean and tidy. The shops along the streets are arranged in a pleasing and orderly manner. The pedestrians are also well-dressed and speak politely. Soldiers can be seen patrolling from time to time, and the public order is good. Unlike the streets of the outer city, which are dirty everywhere and full of thugs.

Soon, we arrived at the City God Temple.

The temple gates were already closed, and pilgrims gradually departed. Shops along the roadside began to close, and vendors hurriedly packed up and left. Before long, the surrounding streets were deserted.

Zhou Fugan randomly found a secluded alley and hid in the darkness, waiting quietly.

As darkness fell completely, the gates of the City God Temple opened, and a group of well-trained men in black stood at the entrance.

This served as a prelude, as figures hurried in from all directions. Most of these people concealed their faces, showed what they had to the black-clad guards at the gate, and were then granted permission to enter the City God Temple.

Seeing this, Zhou Fugan also took out a face mask to cover his face, then walked over with the invitation in his hand. After checking it, the man in black let him in.

The main hall of the City God Temple was magnificently built, filled with the smoke of incense. As Zhou Fugan passed by, he glanced at the statue of the City God. The statue sat upright with its eyes lowered, its solemn appearance almost excessive, resembling a Buddha enshrined in a temple rather than a judge of the underworld.

He didn't look around much, followed the people in front of him around the back hall, passed through a door, and suddenly his eyes were opened to a bright light.

The backyard was a completely different world, surrounded by high walls on all sides, with a man in black standing guard every few steps. There were two long streets in the courtyard, lined with small shops on both sides, each with a dim yellow lantern hanging at its entrance, with a simple description of the items sold.

Many people were wandering around looking for their favorite shops, and some shops already had long queues in front of them.

Zhou Fugan glanced at the lanterns in front of the shop with curiosity. The lanterns read "precious medicine," "precious fish," and "tonics," all essential items for martial arts practitioners. No wonder so many people were gathered there.

He was also interested in these things, but after looking at the queue at the entrance, he decided to go and see other places first and come back later.

As Zhou Fugan walked along, he saw shops selling precious weapons and medicines. There were also two shops selling martial arts manuals and prescriptions, but after checking them out, he found them all unreliable and didn't dare to buy anything.

"what?"

Suddenly, Zhou Fugan saw the words "Five Spirits Flower" clearly written on the door of the shop ahead.

"Isn't this the prized medicine that Zhang Fa mentioned appeared at the last auction? Why is it in this ordinary shop, and why does it look like nobody's interested in it?"

Zhou Fugan was surprised, but after a moment's thought, he went inside.

Inside was a person completely shrouded in a black robe, with not a single inch of skin showing.

"You wish to obtain the Five Spirit Flowers?" The voice of the man in black robes was hoarse, making it impossible to discern whether he was male, female, old, or young.

"Do you have one here? How is it different from the one at the auction?" Zhou Fugan asked directly.

"Heh, it seems you don't understand anything," the man in black robes laughed.

"Just tell me and I'll understand," Zhou Fugan replied calmly.

"Then let me tell you. There are two kinds of Five Spirit Flowers: one is the Water Five Spirit Flower, and the other is the Mountain Five Spirit Flower. They have the same effects, but the Mountain Five Spirit Flower is less toxic and can be used as a tonic to help martial artists break through their Qi and Blood barriers. The one at the auction was the Mountain Five Spirit Flower."

The Five Elements Water plants contain a bone-corroding acid that will erode a martial artist's bones and muscles, making them unsuitable for use as tonics. They can only be used to make poisons, such as Bone-Rotting Powder! Even a martial artist at the Qi and Blood Realm would suffer from weakened bones and declining cultivation if they consumed them. These few of mine are all Five Elements Water plants.”

The man in the black robe gave an explanation.

"I see, thank you for clearing up my doubts. How many of these Water Spirits do you have? What's the price? If it's reasonable, I'll take them all."

Zhou Fugan was overjoyed. He couldn't buy the Five Spirit Flowers at the auction, but there were alternatives here.

He gleaned the key point from the black-robed man's words: both had the same effect. As for the terrifying toxicity contained within the Five Elements Water, it posed no threat to him.

"Oh? I have four. The price is three thousand taels of silver per plant. You should know that the Mountain Five Spirits plant was priced at a high of thirty-seven thousand taels. Although the Water Five Spirits are more numerous, they are still extremely rare. This price is definitely not expensive."

The man in black robes was somewhat surprised to hear this, but then calmly quoted a price, though his tone was a little urgent.

Zhou Fugan sensed something was off; he was feeling guilty. So he immediately countered, "Four plants for five thousand taels. If you're willing, I'll take them; if not, forget it. I don't necessarily need the poison."

"make a deal!"

The man in black hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly nodded in agreement. He then took out a wooden box, opened it, and inside were four strange flowers and plants neatly arranged.

This water spirit has a root tuber shaped like a lotus root, from which grow five palm-sized round leaves. In the center of each leaf blooms a flower of a different color. The five flowers display five colors: black, white, red, green, and yellow.

Zhou Fugan couldn't tell the difference, so he leaned in and took a sniff. Immediately, a notification appeared on the virtual interface.

"The host absorbs a small amount of the Five Elements Water Fragrance. Effects: Nourishes the five internal organs, replenishes qi and blood, assists in cultivation and body tempering, assists in the condensation of qi and blood, and greatly increases the chance of breaking through the barriers of the internal organs."

"Price: Contains a potent acidic poison; ingestion will cause bones to dissolve and internal organs to rot, resulting in death!"

"An exemption can be activated without incurring a cost, while retaining its effectiveness."

Zhou Fugan immediately felt a slight coolness in his internal organs, as refreshing as drinking a sip of plum juice on a hot summer day.

"Haha, what a great baby!"

He was overjoyed. Just smelling it had a noticeable effect; how potent would it be if swallowed whole?

He then smelled each one to confirm they were genuine, and without saying a word, he took out five thousand taels of silver and handed them over. Then he put away the wooden box and turned to leave.