The Prodigies War

Chapter 1853: Underground Black Market

On the same evening, Jintian Xuanyue brought back two admission tickets for the auction.

“Young Master, this auction is a grand event. I heard that many experts from the major forces and clans in Qing State will also attend,” Jintian Xuanyue informed Lin Xun. “I reckon they are all there for that piece of unknown divine material.”

Lin Xun hummed in acknowledgment and asked, “Miss Xuanyue, how many dao crystals do you reckon I would need to win the bid for the Spatial Boundary Crystal?”

Jintian Xuanyue thought about it for a moment before she commented, “A piece of Spatial Boundary Crystal had showed up in White Emperor City a while ago. It was only the size of a copper coin, but it was sold for half a million dao crystals.

“The Spatial Boundary Crystal on offer in this auction is the size of a thumb. According to my estimation, it is worth about one million dao crystals.

“But the price sold at an auction is often different from the market price. If someone is determined to get a treasure, they will offer a higher bid than normal.”

Lin Xun couldn’t help but gasp.

A thumb-sized Spatial Boundary Crystal was worth one million dao crystals! If it was auctioned, the price would definitely be even higher!

What a sky-high price!

Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even Saint-Kings likely would not be able to shell out that amount.

Although Lin Xun was not short of money, it hit him hard that without sufficient dao crystals, it would be extremely difficult to rise in the Great Primordial Chaos World.

The higher his cultivation, the more that ordinary treasures could no longer satisfy his cultivation needs.

To a cultivator like Lin Xun, what were considered treasures by ordinary cultivators were of no use to him at all.

In simple terms, he needed resources that could satisfy his needs for cultivating at the Supreme Saint-King Stage!

However, those resources were extremely precious and rare. Such rare treasures that could only be acquired with sheer luck were no doubt extremely expensive, or even impossible to be bought with money.

“Miss Xuanyue, I plan to go for a walk in the city alone.” After a period of silence, Lin Xun made a decision.

A hint of imperceptible disappointment flashed across Jintian Xuanyue’s beautiful eyes, but she nodded and said, “Then I will wait for you at the inn.”

Only after Lin Xun left did she sigh to herself. Yu Xuan...clearly doesn’t trust me completely...

Lin’an City was huge. Both the streets and buildings were clearly built for cultivators and there was not a trace of ordinary people in the city.

As a port city, Lin’an was undoubtedly affluent and bustling, with merchants selling goods from all over the world everywhere.

There were also cultivators coming from all over the world to select and exchange items.

Lin Xun put his hands behind his back and wandered around the city for a quarter of an hour before coming to a stop in front of a quaint building.

Listening Wind Pavilion!

A strange glint flashed across Lin Xun’s eyes.

When he first arrived at the Great Yu World from the Tianqu World, he had visited the Listening Wind Pavilion to ask for information. He thought that Listening Wind Pavilion was just a force in the Great Yu World, but it turned out that it also had a presence in Lin’an City of the Great Primordial Chaos World!

“It seems like this force that specializes in collecting and selling information is much larger than I imagined...” Lin Xun thought as he entered the building.

“I want to find out some information.”

After stating the purpose of his visit, he was led into a secret room isolated from the outside world and welcomed by a middle-aged man in a gray robe.

“If I want to find out the way to the True Dragon World, how many dao crystals would it cost?” Lin Xun probed.

The gray-robed middle-aged man’s expression tensed for a moment before a ruminative smile curled his lips. “Fellow Daoist, in the past, many people like you have tried to find the way to the True Dragon World, and someone even offered a sky-high price of eight million dao crystals!”

Immediately, he sighed, “Unfortunately, Listening Wind Pavilion can’t provide this information.”

Lin Xun then asked, “Is there something in this world that Listening Wind Pavilion doesn’t know?”

Being questioned like this, the middle-aged man did not seem to mind and said with a smile, “The Great Primordial Chaos World is so big, and the Ancient Nebula Road is so vast. It’s naturally impossible for Listening Wind Pavilion to know everything in the world.”

Lin Xun nodded and stopped testing him. “Where is the black market in Lin’an City? And how do I get in?” He finally asked what he had come for.

The gray-robed middle-aged man’s eyes flashed, and he put up five fingers. “This information costs fifty thousand dao crystals.”

The black market was a place for underground transactions that could not be seen in the light!

“Alright.” Lin Xun paid fifty thousand dao crystals.

He walked out of Listening Wind Pavilion after finding out the name of a black market—Fog Obscured Alms!

This was an underground force with a mysterious origin and an astonishing foundation. It was said that they had a presence in many black markets in the cities across the Great Primordial Chaos World.

In the depths of a quiet alley, there was an inconspicuous and simple, unadorned courtyard.

Lin Xun looked up and walked straight into the courtyard.

Swoosh—

The courtyard rippled like it was just a curtain of light as Lin Xun disappeared into it.

Once inside, it was a different world.

It was like a small world of its own with streets criss crossing one another and lined with tall buildings. Mist shrouded the world, making everything indiscernible.

Many cultivators were scurrying down the streets, some in bamboo hats, some wearing masks, and some covered in black robes...

Some cultivators had set up stalls on the streets and offered items for sale.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the outside world, this foggy, dim world was eerily quiet.

Even during transactions, buyers and sellers communicated via voice transmission.

This was the black market in Lin’an City!

It was a territory under the control of the mysterious force, Fog Obscured Alms.

Lin Xun scanned the area and immediately concluded that almost all the cultivators who entered the black market were in disguise to conceal their identities.

“I am called Xie San, Fellow Daoist, is there anything I can help you with?”

A slender man came over. He was in all black, with a totem surrounded by misty clouds embroidered on his left shoulder.

This meant that the other party was from Fog Obscured Alms.

“I have some treasures to sell,” Lin Xun stated.

“Fellow Daoist, there are two ways of trading here. The first is that you sell the treasure to our Fog Obscured Alms, but the price offered will be lower than the market price.” Xie San swiftly explained, “For example, a treasure that can be sold for one hundred dao crystals in the outside world will only be offered at most seventy dao crystals.”

“Thirty percent reduction?”

“Correct.”

“What if I have a large quantity of treasures to sell?” asked Lin Xun.

Xie San’s eyes lit up. “It depends on how many you have. We will definitely give you an offer that you are satisfied with when the time comes.”

“I’m worried it will be too much for you,” Lin Xun said indifferently.

Xie San was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled. “Fellow Daoist, I am not bragging, but nothing in Lin’an City is too much for our Fog Obscured Alms.”

Lin Xun did not take it seriously and asked another question, “What is the other way of trading?”

Xie San pointed to the stalls on both sides of the street. “You can put up your own stall and sell the items yourself, but I will charge you a stall setup fee.”

Lin Xun immediately gave up the idea of ??setting up a stall. He had too many treasures on him and it could be a while before he could sell them on.

“Let’s go, take me to your Fog Obscured Alms to have a look,” Lin Xun ordered.

Xie San’s spirits were immediately lifted. “Fellow Daoist, please come this way.”

At first glance, the customer looked quite ordinary and mediocre, yet it was impossible for him to see the depths of his strength. However, his mannerisms and actions exuded an imposing bearing.

Customers like him often had items that were very welcomed at Fog Obscured Alms

Xie San guided Lin Xun along the street.

Along the way, Lin Xun saw all kinds of cultivators and also many stalls set up, but none of the items for sale caught Lin Xun’s eye.

Unfortunately, halfway there, a quarrel suddenly broke out.

At the stall ahead, a woman in black snarled, “You still won’t admit to it? The items sold here are all treasures of my late father!”

“Miss, I bought them all from someone. I don’t know your father.”

The stall owner was a wrinkly old man in a gray robe. “If you continue to disrupt my business, then I will have to resort to violence,” he warned in a cold voice.

The woman in black was so angry her body was shaking all over and her eyes almost spitted fire. “Half a month ago, my father died suddenly, and all the treasures on him disappeared. But those treasures happened to be here. If it wasn’t you who did it, then who?”

Many cultivators nearby looked entertained like they were watching a show.

This was a black market. The majority of the treasures sold at each stall had complicated origins and could not be seen in public.

Otherwise, it would not be sold on the black market.

Evidently, the girl in black came to seek revenge. She recognized her father’s belongings and suspected the stall owner to be the murderer of her father.

The gray-robed old man said in a deep voice, “Miss, this is a black market. Believe it or not, even if I kill you now, no one will care.”

Boom!

Suddenly, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the woman by her neck, lifting her into the air. Her fair skin turned red as she wheezed. She could not even struggle at all in his clutches.

The spectators couldn’t help but shake their heads.

That woman is rather stupid. She came to the black market to get revenge, but she’s so weak. Is she not just seeking death?

“There’s a dispute over there, is Fog-Obscured Alms not going to interfere?” asked Lin Xun.

Xie San stated, “We are only responsible for providing a trading venue and maintaining normal trading order. Incidents like that happen almost every day. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“What if I want to interfere?”

Xie San looked stumped, then he said with a smile, “Fellow Daoist, please don’t joke around. This matter has nothing to do with you. You can just ignore it.”

Lin Xun said, “What about standing up to injustice?”

Only then did Xie San realize that Lin Xun might be serious, and he could not help but stutter, “Fellow Daoist, what if you interfere in this matter and get yourself into trouble?”

“That depends if they have the ability.” Lin Xun’s expression was unfathomable.

Did he want to be a hero rescuing a beautiful woman?

Not quite.

He was not someone who liked to try to be a good person. He just felt that if he didn’t do anything after what he saw, he would feel very uncomfortable.

Ever since he started cultivating, he had been ruthless and merciless to his enemies and had killed countless people. Therefore, he could not be considered a good person in the strictest sense.

But no matter what or when, he would never let himself become a selfish and cold-blooded person!