Chapter 51: Flood Dragon Vine
Chapter 51: Flood Dragon Vine
Lu Chen quickly bowed his head, avoiding eye contact with the black paper kite. The sinister thought that had brushed past him soon vanished.
"What an eerie thing," he muttered to himself, becoming even more cautious of the power behind the black market.
The fact that they could deploy a dozen or so of these bizarre kites to patrol the black market was a testament to the formidable force backing them.
As he walked slowly, he remained vigilant, keeping a close eye on his surroundings.
"There seem to be more cultivators entering the black market than I expected. With an entrance fee of three spirit stones per person, that's at least six hundred spirit stones for two hundred people. This is quite a lucrative business!"
"The concentration of spiritual energy here in the black market is denser than in the peripheral markets. I wonder how long three spirit stones will allow me to stay. If there's no time limit, I might as well stay here and cultivate, absorbing as much spiritual energy as I can."
The thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed the idea of testing it out. After all, he had no idea what consequences such an action might bring.
The force behind the black market was in the business of profiting from spirit stones, and it made no sense for them to allow cultivators to turn the tables and exploit them instead.
The management of the black market was relatively lax. Cultivators were free to set up stalls as they pleased, as long as they didn't infringe on others' spaces or cause any disturbances. The administrators only intervened if conflicts arose.
Lu Chen carefully scanned the items on display at each stall.
His primary goal for this trip was to find rare or unknown spirit herbs, seedlings, young demonic beasts, or eggs of demonic birds and beasts.
Secondly, he wanted to look for a defensive array formation that was more robust than the one currently protecting his courtyard. The existing formation had been left by the previous owners of the yard, and he only had temporary rights to use it. As the number and quality of spirit herbs in his spirit fields increased, the current formation seemed increasingly inadequate.
Additionally, he hoped to find a suitable cultivation technique. Thus far, he hadn't obtained any cultivation techniques from the white light groups as rewards, despite not having cultivated for a long time. If he could find an advanced technique, Lu Chen thought it would be worth acquiring.
Lastly, he was on the lookout for defensive magical artifacts. Whether it was the Silver Splitter, the Fire-Away Sword, or the Thunderfire Bead, they were all offensive in nature. Lu Chen felt the need to address his shortcomings in defense.
However, with the foundation laid by the white lights and the four Red Cloud Pine Cones soon to mature, he didn't feel an urgent need for magical artifacts.
The first item he planned to sell was the top-grade flying sword he had obtained from Qin Ming, which had been taking up space in his storage bag for a long time. Being in the black market, Lu Chen had no qualms about selling it.
If the price was right, he would also consider selling the Red Cloud Pine Cones and perhaps even the Fire-Away Sword, a second-grade artifact. The function of the latter conflicted somewhat with the Silver Splitter, which was only first-grade but could split into numerous fragments, making it useful for surprise attacks. Lu Chen actually found it more handy.
The goods on display at the stalls were varied and bizarre. At one stall, Lu Chen even spotted several sinister-looking paper figures.
Their bodies were made of pale paper, with bright red blushes on their cheeks and eerie smiles curved at the corners of their mouths.
The stall owner was just as peculiar—thin as a rail, barely thicker than the paper figures, and dressed in a loose red and green robe that gave him a frighteningly sinister appearance.
The stall also displayed a variety of strange materials, parts of demonic beasts and evil creatures, and other unidentifiable objects.
There was a giant eyeball that could move on its own, a twin-bodied demonic beast, and a fluffy ball that resembled seaweed, with countless slender tentacles swaying gently in the breeze...
"Hmm?"
Lu Chen's footsteps paused as he passed by a particular stall.
On display were several female cultivators with alluring figures. They were at the first and second layers of Qi Refining, and each was bound tightly with black ropes, accentuating their curves and invoking a cruel urge in onlookers, as if they wanted to trample and ravage them.
In front of each female cultivator was a black placard that read:
"Low-priced furnace cauldrons for sale. Qi Refining low-level cultivation."
"No thanks, my cultivation technique requires me to preserve my primordial yang before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage." Lu Chen quickly made up an excuse as he walked past the stall.
Frowning slightly, his thoughts drifted.
He recalled that before Wang Shan was corrupted by the evil influence, he had bought a female cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining from the black market and even boasted about it to Lu Chen.
After that, Wang Shan's cultivation progressed rapidly.
Now that he thought about it, Lu Chen realized there was something amiss. It was too good to be true that one could quickly advance their cultivation through intimate pleasures with another person. Perhaps, the evil influence that possessed Wang Shan was somehow connected to that female cultivator.
With this realization, Lu Chen unconsciously quickened his pace.
He arrived at another stall, manned by a female cultivator exuding a powerful aura. From her aura, Lu Chen could vaguely discern that she was at least a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, possibly even a late-stage one.
The items displayed on her stall were mostly spirit herbs and spirit plants, with the lowest grade being a first-rate spirit plant. Among them were several varieties that Lu Chen had never seen before.
Lu Chen pretended to browse through the items on display and eventually picked up a half-foot-long vine.
The vine was deep black, curved, and knotty at the joints, resembling a winding black snake.
"Fellow cultivator, may I ask the origin of this vine? Could you enlighten me?" Lu Chen inquired.
"This is a Flood Dragon Vine, a third-rate spirit plant. It can be used to refine whip-type or rope-type magical artifacts, or it can be ground into powder and added to certain alchemical ingredients," the female cultivator replied indifferently.
"I recall that vines can be propagated through cuttings. Would that be possible with this Flood Dragon Vine?" Lu Chen asked out of curiosity.
"Theoretically, it's possible, but I advise you not to get your hopes up. Even spirit plant cultivators from major sects would find it challenging to cultivate this successfully," she said.
"Only those vines that have undergone special treatment, coupled with unique cultivation methods, have a chance of growing into a complete vine from a cutting."
"I see, then I was indeed being a bit too ambitious," Lu Chen sighed, unable to hide his disappointment.
"I'm quite interested in this Flood Dragon Vine and plan to refine it into a rope-type magical artifact. How much do you want for it?"
"It's a third-rate spirit plant, in good condition, but slightly shorter than usual. If you truly desire it, two hundred spirit stones should suffice," the female cultivator said. Although she could tell Lu Chen's cultivation level at a glance, she didn't show any signs of disdain. After all, in the black market, one's cultivation level wasn't the most important factor.
"Two hundred spirit stones? That's too expensive," Lu Chen shook his head. With his current wealth of slightly over two hundred spirit stones, he couldn't make such a decision lightly.
He hesitated for a moment, glancing around to ensure no one was paying attention, then took out the second-rate Flying Sword of Departing Fire from his storage bag.
"Fellow cultivator, how about this second-rate flying sword? Would you trade it for your Flood Dragon Vine?" Lu Chen offered.
The female cultivator took the sword from Lu Chen, channeled a bit of spiritual power into it, and the fiery red sword instantly blazed with flames.
"The sword is indeed fine. How about this—add thirty more spirit stones, and the vine is yours," she proposed.
"Fellow cultivator, this Flood Dragon Vine is rather short, which limits its potential for refining magical artifacts, and it's not ideal for alchemy either," Lu Chen bargained.
"Moreover, materials are generally one of the cheaper commodities. My flying sword is more than enough to compensate for it."
"Twenty spirit stones."
"It's still expensive. Ten spirit stones, and I'll take it right now," Lu Chen pressed.
The female cultivator hesitated.
Indeed, due to its short length, this particular Flood Dragon Vine was less valuable, and she had kept it for quite some time.
However, she rather liked Lu Chen's second-rate flying sword, so she nodded in agreement.
"Alright."
(End of Chapter)
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