Illicit goods, contraband, and items that cannot be openly traded must have a legitimate channel to be converted into spirit stones, elixirs, and other usable resources.
Humans are driven by profit. Facing immense hidden gains, several grey cultivation sects joined forces to establish a lawless zone within the Qingzhou domain: the "Dark Market."
The Dark Market was incredibly bustling. Not only orthodox cultivators but also demonic cultivators frequented it, along with many rogue cultivators from other regions.
The treasures sold at the Dark Market stalls, such as ores, damaged artifacts, spirit herbs, and elixirs, were mostly of unknown origin.
They were either spoils of robbery, treasures found in ruins, or unearthed from tombs. Some even went to great lengths to disguise trash as valuable items.
Regardless, no one knew the true power, performance, utility, or quality of these treasures. They were haphazardly piled on stalls, leaving everything to individual discernment and luck.
With good fortune, one could select an exceedingly rare treasure at a low cost and make a fortune.
Conversely, bad luck could lead to ruin and a complete loss of investment.
This was gambling.
Nine out of ten gamblers lose, ending up worse off than pigs!
Wu Tao had traveled a great distance to this Dark Market, hoping to test his luck among these stall vendors for some useful items.
"Thirty-six pieces of a complete set of ancient Xuanyuan Blood Jade, a damaged artifact from the primeval era. Only one hundred and five spirit stones! Only one hundred and five spirit stones! Don't miss out, come and see!"
"Eight-Treasure Purple Qi Immortal Elixir. Refined using four kinds of spirit herbs as a base, aided by four kinds of spirit water. A single Eight-Treasure Purple Qi Immortal Elixir costs only three hundred spirit stones. While supplies last, don't hesitate, take action!"
"Come and see! Cultivation technique from the tomb of a Nascent Soul stage great cultivator, the Everlasting Immortality Technique. Take it for just fifty spirit stones! Just fifty spirit stones!"
The Dark Market was a melting pot of all sorts. Although the stall owners loudly advertised many valuable items, purchasing genuine goods depended on discernment, luck, and experience.
"Hey, little brother, don't leave! What are you looking for? I, Ban Laoliu, have traveled far and wide, I have good character and a sincere heart, and my stall is filled with more good items than you can count. Want to take a look?"
A burly man with a rough appearance and a weathered face greeted Wu Tao. In front of him was a collapsible stall of a low-grade magic artifact, displaying a variety of items like a杂货摊 (general store). The items had different uses and looked quite cluttered.
This burly man's cultivation level was the same as Wu Tao's, at the thirteenth layer of Qi Condensation.
"Good character, sincere heart..."
Wu Tao sneered at the words.
He knew that even ghosts wouldn't believe such claims.
In this cannibalistic world, honest and trustworthy stall owners would have long since been devoured.
The stall owners who managed to establish themselves here were cunning and ruthless individuals, showing one face in public and another behind closed doors.
However, taking a look wouldn't hurt. Wu Tao turned, glanced at his stall, and shook his head, preparing to leave.
Seeing this, Ban Laoliu, the burly man, quickly stopped Wu Tao and said, "Little brother, don't leave! Whatever you want, just say it, and I, Ban Laoliu, can find it for you!"
Wu Tao curled his lips. This guy had a big mouth; he wasn't afraid of his tongue getting twisted by the wind. However, for certain reasons, Wu Tao didn't expose him immediately.
Amused, Wu Tao picked up a deep red broken sword from the stall that resembled one from ancient times and asked, "How much for this short sword?"
The burly man's eyes lit up. He cleared his throat and explained, "Little brother, you have good eyes! This Four Flame Crimson Crystal Sword is a treasure found in the ruins of an ancient battlefield. Although it's a bit damaged, it's a genuine damaged artifact. How about this? Since it's your first time buying from me, Ban Laoliu, I'll give you a sixty percent discount. Take it for eight hundred spirit stones!"
Wu Tao weighed the deep red broken sword in his hand and examined it carefully, nodding. It did indeed appear to be an ancient damaged artifact that had existed for a very long time.
Seeing Wu Tao's reaction, the burly man chuckled smugly, "How is it, little brother? It's truly excellent, isn't it? Eight hundred spirit stones are not expensive."
Wu Tao's expression suddenly changed. He snorted disdainfully and pulled hard with both hands. The deep red broken sword easily bent into an arc, looking as if it was about to break.
Ban Laoliu, the burly man, was clearly an experienced rogue. He immediately fell silent.
Wu Tao threw the deep red broken sword back onto the stall and said coldly, "The blade is fragile, the tip is not sharp. I wouldn't even use it to kill a chicken; it's too dull. This thing can truly exist for over a hundred thousand years? However, the craftsmanship of aging this sword is quite good. Clearly, you have some skill. Is this your work?"
At this moment, Ban Laoliu looked at Wu Tao as if he had seen a ghost. Everything Wu Tao said bore a striking resemblance to the actual condition of his deep red broken sword.
The surrounding stall owners, who had been watching the commotion, saw Ban Laoliu's expression and Wu Tao's disdain. They immediately knew that this young man had seen through his deception. They began to openly mock Ban Laoliu, but their gazes towards Wu Tao now held a sliver of respect, with less contempt.
This was precisely what Wu Tao wanted. Although Wu Tao possessed sharp eyes and could see through the fake deep red broken sword, it didn't mean his judgment was exceptionally keen.
In reality, Wu Tao's knowledge was superficial; he could only detect the most basic forms of deception. Faced with more sophisticated fakes, Wu Tao would be baffled.
If it weren't for his desire to create a preconceived impression among the other stall owners in the Dark Market, the shrewd Wu Tao would never have easily offended stall owner Ban Laoliu.
...
As Wu Tao browsed, he moved to another nearby stall. This stall displayed numerous bottled elixirs. Several bottles appeared to be from the same batch, resembling potent elixirs from the primeval, desolate, or ancient eras. A faint earthy smell still lingered on the jade bottles.
Wu Tao was currently examining a bottle of such elixir with his divine sense. However, this batch of elixirs had been buried for at least hundreds of thousands of years, having long since lost their fragrance and spiritual essence. Furthermore, opening the white jade bottles was not permitted at the stall. Thus, he could only judge based on the quality of the white jade bottle and the sealing method.
Under such difficult circumstances, even a master alchemist would find it easy to make a mistake, let alone Wu Tao!
A flicker of hesitation crossed Wu Tao's eyes. He muttered to himself, "Are these elixirs in the white jade bottles potent elixirs or duds..."
"Hehe, brother, whether the elixirs inside are potent or duds, no one knows. It's all a gamble. If it's a potent elixir, you'll earn thousands of times your investment! But if it's not, it's just a bottle of dust, worthless." The stall owner of this stall was a man in his early twenties. He explained calmly to Wu Tao.
Perhaps due to the previous lesson from Ban Laoliu, he didn't say much more.
After hesitating, Wu Tao put down the white jade bottle and picked up a purple wooden bottle, shaking it. The sound of elixirs colliding could be heard. The stall owner, in his early twenties, immediately raised his hand to stop him, indicating that Wu Tao had broken the rules by shaking it.
...
Just then, a commotion and shouting from the side attracted Wu Tao's attention.
Wu Tao looked up and saw a strikingly beautiful young couple standing side-by-side. The man was handsome and tall, and the woman was beautiful, clearly a couple deeply in love.
The man had a cultivation of the twelfth layer of Qi Condensation, while the woman was at the tenth layer of Qi Condensation.
"What's going on with your stall? I've bought hundreds of raw stones, and I haven't found anything valuable. Are you selling fake goods and deliberately ripping me off?"
"Bah! My goods are genuine, originating from the Heaven's Pit. All sorts of treasures can be cut from them. If you bought hundreds of raw stones and didn't cut anything valuable, it can only be your bad luck. What does that have to do with me?"
"I don't care, give me my spirit stones back, and I'll leave."
"Bugger off, kid! I, Jiang Jin, am not someone you can bully. Do you think you're worthy of messing with me?"
The man's face was filled with anger as he argued loudly with a hot-tempered stall owner. The young woman, being stared at by so many people, blushed slightly, appearing shy and even more alluring.
"Who is this guy? He looks so arrogant!"
"Judging by his appearance? He must be from a prominent family! Otherwise, he wouldn't be so brazen?"
"Even if he's from a prominent family, why is he saying such things?"
"Perhaps he was blinded by gambling and lost his entire fortune. After all, these hundreds of raw stones are worth a significant amount of spirit stones."
"What? How can this person be like this? Cutting raw stones relies on luck. If your luck is bad, you blame others!"
"Hush! Speak softer, don't let him hear. This guy looks like he holds a grudge. It would be terrible if he set his sights on you!"
"What are you afraid of? There are so many of us, surely we can handle him!"
"Right! A pauper who lost at gambling, what's there to be afraid of!"
"Kid, open your eyes. This is the Dark Market, not a place for you to run wild."
"Exactly. If you want to die, we'll send you to hell..."
Stall owners and passersby nearby all pointed and commented on the young man.
Seeing everyone discussing him, the young man's face darkened instantly. However, observing the subtle hostility and the unfavorable situation...
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it, maintaining his previous demeanor. Only Wu Tao, who was observing from the side, and a few other experienced individuals noticed this.
The young man ultimately endured it and, with his female companion, sheepishly left the area.
Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, Wu Tao returned to searching for bottles that might contain potent elixirs among the stalls. After much deliberation, Wu Tao finally chose five bottles of elixirs, spending two hundred and forty spirit stones. As a result, all five bottles turned out to be duds.
This time, Wu Tao lost even his initial investment. He sighed, accepting his fate. Who could he blame but his own lack of discernment?
Wu Tao left the Dark Market with a heartbroken expression.
...
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