Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments-Chapter 52 - 51: Black Market, Poison, Flying Sword
This time, it was a stark contrast to how deserted it had been on the eighth.
Before Xiao Chen even got close to the tree stump he’d found last time, he saw many unfamiliar faces.
There were also numerous Cultivators, either masked or wearing Cloaks to conceal their identities.
They moved with purpose, most of them alone. Even those in small groups were silent, focused only on getting to their destination.
Xiao Chen followed the crowd. The only people he saw not moving were three Cultivators in black clothes and Conical Hats, sitting under a tree by the roadside, apparently resting.
He saw no one else loitering. Soon, he arrived at the valley entrance.
Once he got there, he saw a line had formed.
To the side, several Cultivators wearing identical Moon Hats were spread out along the perimeter, seemingly standing guard.
Another Cultivator, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, stood at the valley entrance, checking everyone’s Tokens.
He wasn’t checking their identities, however, but collecting Spirit Stones from them.
Every so often, he would shout, "You all know the rules, right? They’re carved right over there. Make sure you read them carefully before going in!"
Xiao Chen glanced over at a massive boulder someone had dragged to the side of the path. It was easily twenty feet long and wide and over eight feet tall.
Someone had used their finger as a pen to carve three rules for the Black Market into its surface.
First, each person must pay one Spirit Stone as an entrance fee.
Those unwilling to show their faces must pay an additional Spirit Stone.
Second, fighting is strictly forbidden within the Black Market. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator is overseeing the premises.
Anyone caught fighting will be immediately expelled and permanently banned.
Third, the Black Market takes no responsibility for any items traded.
All transactions are at your own risk.
Xiao Chen noticed an orange-red hue showing through from between the carved characters, and realized the boulder was a massive piece of Red Copper Ore.
’To be able to carve words into Red Copper Ore with a bare finger—and with such an elegant, Spiritual, and effortless script—suggests that a Body Cultivator might be backing this Black Market.’
The line was a single file and moved rather slowly, so Xiao Chen took the opportunity to observe his surroundings.
Seeing the extra fee, some Cultivators hesitated for a moment before removing their masks or Conical Hats.
But about sixty percent of them would rather pay the extra fee than reveal their faces.
As he watched the line, Xiao Chen suddenly noticed that the figure of a masked Cultivator ahead of him looked familiar.
The person had their face wrapped in a black-dyed Silk Scarf, but from the back, they looked remarkably like Ye Fei from the Second Division.
Xiao Chen was quite familiar with Ye Fei, as they had both broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and joined the Second Division on the same day. He had kept an eye on him ever since.
He shifted slightly to the side to get a better look and found that the resemblance was uncanny.
But the person quickly paid their Spirit Stones and entered the valley, vanishing from sight.
Xiao Chen snapped back to reality and quickly checked his Stealth Cloak.
’Good thing this Magical Artifact is so large,’ he thought. ’With its built-in Voice Changing Technique, even an acquaintance wouldn’t be able to recognize me by my silhouette or voice.’
’The Stealth Cloak really is a wonderful item.’
He paid his two Spirit Stones and entered the valley.
Rounding the first bend, he saw Cultivators clearing patches of weeds by the roadside to set up makeshift stalls.
Most had simply spread a large red cloth on the ground, arranging their various wares on top of it.
The stall owners sat on small stools to the side, either flipping through a book or busy polishing their merchandise.
They didn’t hawk their wares when people passed by, keeping to themselves unless a Cultivator stopped to browse. Only then would they offer a greeting.
Xiao Chen walked over to a small stall on the right and crouched down, examining the small porcelain bottles of various sizes before him.
Cultivators usually stored Elixirs in jade bottles to better preserve their medicinal properties.
He rarely saw them stored in porcelain bottles like these, and the simple red cloth and wooden stoppers gave them a rustic charm.
’Perhaps they’re some kind of special Elixirs?’
He reached out, picked up a bottle, and turned it over. There wasn’t a single marking on its body or base.
The stall owner began his pitch enthusiastically. "Friend, who are you looking to kill? The small bottles on the left contain Jueying Red. It’s the most effective; one breath is all it takes to kill your target."
"The large bottles on the right contain Soul-breaking Powder. Not even a typical Spiritual Fire can burn it away, which makes it perfect for drawn-out fights."
’Whoa, poison!’
It was the first time Xiao Chen had ever encountered something like this. ’No wonder they’re in porcelain bottles,’ he thought. ’The possibility never even crossed my mind.’
The sect’s *Qi Refining and Combat Guide* stated that, unlike with mortals, it was difficult to poison a Cultivator through their food or drink.
Therefore, such poisons were usually refined into a gaseous form.
To use one, you first had to take the antidote, then smash the bottle. The poisonous mist would spread, and it could be countered with a Spiritual Fire to burn it away.
Some special poisons manifested as smoke instead of mist, like the Soul-breaking Powder. These were immune to Spiritual Fire and had to be countered with the Wind Manipulation Technique.
He gently set the bottle down. He didn’t have much use for something like this.
He walked a bit further. The stalls in the central area were far more conventional, displaying various kinds of Spirit Grass, Spiritual Objects, and a few Flying Swords and other Magical Artifacts.
Xiao Chen rounded another corner and saw an incredibly familiar Flying Sword.
A Standard Flying Sword, issued to Outer Disciples of the Li Huo Sect!
Even though he had chosen the Cyan Gourd, many of his fellow disciples in the division used this exact model of Flying Sword. He couldn’t possibly be mistaken.
Xiao Chen casually crouched in front of the stall and picked up a different Magical Artifact, pretending to inspect it.
His hand slowly moved to the Flying Sword, and he discreetly checked for the secret marking on the hilt.
Although these Flying Swords were mass-produced by the sect, each was given a unique serial number that could be used to identify its owner.
All one had to do was report the number to the sect, and they could confirm which disciple the Flying Sword belonged to.
However, when he turned the Flying Sword to look at the hilt, he found the area covered in deliberate scuff marks. The number had been completely ground away.
’A Flying Sword by itself doesn’t prove anything,’ he thought. ’It could have been stolen or simply lost. Or maybe some disciple is selling off sect property to earn Spirit Stones. There’s no way to know for sure.’
’When a sect gets this big, with so many disciples, there are bound to be some audacious enough to sell anything and everything.’
The stall owner was a large, burly man with a full beard. He wasn’t wearing a mask.
He shot a look at Xiao Chen. "Are you fucking buying or not? If not, scram. Stop picking through everything and messing up my stall."
Xiao Chen looked up, memorizing the man’s face. He put the Flying Sword down and left without a word.
’The situation is too uncertain. I can’t afford to get into a confrontation with him here in the Black Market.’
’I’ll report this as soon as I get back. The sect will know how to handle it. I just hope a fellow disciple hasn’t met with some misfortune.’
He continued deeper into the market and was surprised to find a simple bamboo building at its center.
A blood-red greatsword with a broken tip hung at the building’s entrance.
Even from ten feet away, Xiao Chen could feel a bloody aura wash over him.
He stared at the greatsword, and for a moment, it seemed as if fresh bloodstains were appearing on the blade.
He blinked, and the stains vanished, as if they had been an illusion.
’There’s definitely something wrong with this greatsword!’
Xiao Chen secretly wondered, ’Could this be a Magical Artifact from some evil, heretical sect?’
