My Fairy Growth System

Chapter 78: Venturing into the Black Market for a Clear Understanding

By the time I got home, it was already midday.

Yu Qingtan changed into a set of black clothes and put on a Disguising Mask.

After casting the Invisibility Technique and the Breath-Concealing Technique, she left the house.

There were some things that needed to be done.

With the fully mastered Invisibility Technique and Breath-Concealing Technique, Yu Qingtan estimated that even Golden Core Cultivators would not notice her unless they examined carefully with their Divine Sense.

"If I had this divine skill in my previous life, wouldn’t I have been able to do this and that? What a pity!"

As she let her thoughts wander, Yu Qingtan took various shortcuts and quickly arrived at her destination.

A small, uninhabited house on the southern side of the Immortal City.

It was indeed one of the entrances to the black market of Suichuan Immortal City.

Having been here before, Yu Qingtan made her way to the spacious underground space where the black market was located.

Before entering, Yu Qingtan put on a black veil hat, wore a wide black robe, and dispelled the Invisibility Technique.

At this moment, the black market was not lively, with the number of stalls and cultivators being less than half of what there was during her last visit.

Yu Qingtan walked down the path between the stalls, heading towards the innermost shop.

Suddenly, she halted in front of a stall, her gaze landing on an item displayed there.

"Fellow Daoist, are you interested in buying this art booklet of Qing Tan? I’ve worked overtime to draw it, which includes the latest attire of Qing Tan. It’s 100 Spirit Stones per booklet. Would you like one?"

The stall owner, dressed as a scholarly young cultivator with the refined looks of a scholar, held a booklet featuring a girl in a purple backless dress with considerably less fabric on the cover, which caused Yu Qingtan internally to label him as a "cultured rogue."

In this Cultivation World, there were indeed gentlemen, and such unscrupulous ones at that. Although his drawings were vivid and colorful, charging 100 Spirit Stones for a single booklet was outrageous.

"Have you considered taking a cut for yourself? Drawing it so revealingly, isn’t it essentially adult material inside?"

Feeling a shiver at the thought, Yu Qingtan cast a displeased glance at the stall owner and decided to continue with her own business.

"Eh, fellow Daoist, don’t leave! Seeing that you must be a devoted fan of Qing Tan, don’t you want to own such a booklet of Qing Tan? The price is negotiable. How about 80 Spirit Stones? Even 50 Spirit Stones could be discussed... Alright, you win, 10 Spirit Stones, that’s the rock-bottom price."

Listening to her own value plummet, Yu Qingtan eventually stopped, walked back to the stall, and threw out 10 Spirit Stones.

The scholarly-looking stall owner didn’t mind the low price, eagerly picking up an art booklet and handing it to Yu Qingtan.

"Fellow Daoist, selling it to you for so cheap means I am taking a big loss, alas, who am I to resist? I too am a loyal admirer of Qing Tan, and seeing you, I feel a kindred spirit..."

Taking the art booklet, Yu Qingtan had no interest in his rambling and quickened her pace to leave.

She entered the innermost shop of the black market.

"Fellow Daoist, are you looking to buy dry goods or wet goods?" the same sly-looking young shop assistant as before came up to ask.

"How much for wet goods of a True Spiritual Root?" Yu Qingtan asked in a different middle-aged male voice than last time.

Possibly because cultivators found it easier to control their own bodies, changing one’s voice was not difficult for them, but making it completely unrecognizable was harder.

At least Yu Qingtan hadn’t mastered that yet, but it was no big deal.

"Starts at 1000 Spirit Stones, and the final price depends on the quality," the assistant said.

"Is this Single or Superior Spirit Root? So expensive!"

"Hey, there’s no such stock of those Spirit Roots here, only Quintuple and Quadruple Spirit Roots. Are you buying or not?" the assistant was getting impatient.

"Fine, pick out one with better water energy and Spirit Root for me to see."

"This, according to the shop rules, you must pay a deposit of 500 Spirit Stones before you can see the goods!"

"Such a bother, are you really afraid that this lord can’t afford the Spirit Stones?"

Yu Qingtan seemed to grow impatient as well, stacking a pile of Spirit Stones on the counter.

The shop assistant took the Spirit Stones and used a wooden token to disarm the Protective Array beneath the counter, selecting a Spirit Beast Pouch.

In the blink of an eye, a sleeping little loli around seven or eight years old lay flat on the counter.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think of this? Our most exquisite item, with four inferior-grade Spirit Roots, just for 2300 Spirit Stones," the shop assistant pitched.

"Are these four inferior-grade Spirit Roots genuine?" Yu Qingtan asked calmly.

"What kind of question is that? We’re not some roadside stall; could we possibly be selling you fake goods?"

"I’m asking you, are these four inferior-grade Spirit Roots genuine?" Yu Qingtan pressed.

"Are you deliberately picking a quarrel here? Are you going to buy it or not? If not, the deposit is non-refundable," the shop assistant squinted, looking at Yu Qingtan and said.

"If these Spirit Roots are genuine, I will certainly buy them. But what if they are not?"

"If they’re not real, I’ll compensate you with double the Spirit Stones, alright?"

"Then I’ll have to verify it," said Yu Qingtan, reaching for the Storage Bag at her waist.

The shop assistant didn’t care, confident that they were indeed four inferior-grade Spirit Roots.

"Pfft~"

What Yu Qingtan pulled out was naturally not a Magic Artifact for testing Spirit Roots, but a kitchen knife, which she plunged into the shop assistant’s chest with lightning speed, before he could cover his ears at the thunder’s crash.

Being only a Qi Cultivation fifth layer Cultivator, the assistant, pierced through the heart, didn’t even have time to scream before he was done.

The kitchen knife was a first-grade superior Magic Artifact from the Misty Rain Tower assassin Butcher Blade, which Yu Qingtan had put to use in making spiritual food, so she hadn’t sold it.

The indentations it bore from that battle had been forcibly hammered out by her, causing the grade of the kitchen knife to drop to middle-grade first rank.

As for the knife having stabbed people, even just used for stabbing, Yu Qingtan really didn’t mind.

Under the Cleansing Spell, it was clean and tidy, and importantly, the knife was quick.

Having absorbed the little loli into the System Space, Yu Qingtan pulled out the kitchen knife, avoiding the spurting fresh blood, leaped behind the counter, and gathered up a Storage Bag, several Spirit Beast Pouches, and also the shop assistant’s Storage Bag from around his waist.

"How dare you, die!"

It was then, a Crimson Flying Sword enveloped in scorching and sharp sword Qi, pierced swiftly towards Yu Qingtan.

"Middle stage of Foundation Establishment!"

Yu Qingtan’s eyes narrowed as she called upon the "Love’s Protection" of the wretched Luo Xiang, as Spiritual Power of the early Foundation Establishment stage instantly surged through the meridians in her body.

Then her figure vanished from the spot, having employed the Earth Escape Skill.

She raised her cultivation level to Foundation Establishment because the reaction speed at the Qi Cultivation Stage was unlikely to keep up with the attack speed of someone at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ordinary ground could not of course stop the Crimson Flying Sword, but its master lost his Divine Sense lock on Yu Qingtan.

For Yu Qingtan had simultaneously used the Spiritual Power of Foundation Establishment to employ the Breath-Concealing Technique and the Invisibility Technique as she dove underground.

The Crimson Flying Sword returned unwillingly, circling back to a purple-robed elder.

The elder had a high nose and wide forehead, his eyes cold and ruthless as he swept his gaze around.

He was the resident Cultivator safeguarding the shop, having been cultivating in secret within the backyard, only to have a Cultivator audaciously attack in his store, killing his assistant and stealing the goods.

In his perception, the assailant was no more than a Qi Cultivation seventh layer Cultivator, but he had still attacked with full force, intending to annihilate with his flying sword.

He hadn’t expected his opponent to be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator adept in Earth Escape and stealth techniques.

Even being one minor realm higher did not allow him to take the matter lightly.