https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-51-Black-Market-Poison-Flying-Sword/13509913/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-53-Xuan-Fire-Raven-You-re-a-Luotian-Sect-Lackey/13509917/
Chapter 52: A Chance Encounter at Bat Tower
Chapter 52: A Chance Encounter at Bat Tower
A blood-red saber hung above the entrance to the bamboo tower—Bat Tower. Beneath it, tiny characters read: "No questions asked about origins or sources. Everything available, fair to all ages."
Xiao Chen immediately recognized Bat Tower for what it was: a black market specializing in laundering stolen goods. He happened to have two spare magic artifacts to sell—perfect.
Pushing open the door, he found a masked cultivator mid-transaction. "Drop ten spirit stones, and I’ll take both." Though the figure lowered their voice, their youth was evident. The tone even resembled Ye Fei’s.
Xiao Chen glanced curiously. The buyer was haggling over a fan-shaped magic artifact—the same cultivator whose back had reminded Xiao Chen of Ye Fei.
After the masked figure left, Xiao Chen asked the shopkeeper, "That fan looked decent. Any more like it?"
The shopkeeper shook his head. "Too late. That Yellow Wind Fan was one-of-a-kind. I’ve got other wind-attribute artifacts, though."
Wind, thunder, and ice spirit roots were rare to begin with. Among those Xiao Chen knew, only Ye Fei possessed a wind spirit root. Coupled with Su Wanning’s recent report of Ye Fei slaying a Quanzhou bandit, Xiao Chen felt certain—the masked buyer had been Ye Fei, here using a black-market token from the bandit sect.
Noting this, Xiao Chen inquired about Bat Tower’s buyback rates. The shop traded both ways—buying without asking origins, but pricing varied: 70% of market value before noon, 50% after. While selling elsewhere might yield more, hawking goods personally wasted time and risked failure.
Xiao Chen withdrew two Flying Swords, a small storage bag, a talisman brush, talisman paper, and an ink brush, keeping only his Talisman Sutra Primer.
The shopkeeper tallied: "Two Flying Swords—200 spirit stones. Storage bag—200. Talisman brush, 30; talisman paper, 2; ink brush, 11. Total market value: 443."
"Seven-tenths discount—310 spirit stones. Agreed?"
Xiao Chen nodded, pocketing the payment. He browsed the shop, then ventured outside to compare prices. Half the day passed as he scoured stalls, seeking wood-attribute techniques without luck.
Yet he stumbled upon a rare find: the Golden Earth Flight, a yellow-tier teleportation technique. Nearly Foundation-Building caliber, it filled Xiao Chen’s glaring weakness in speed. Mastering it would vastly improve his survival odds—"If you run fast enough, danger can’t catch you."
The seller, however, demanded 550 spirit stones. After fierce haggling, Xiao Chen secured it for 500. Though no wood-attribute techniques were available, acquiring a rare teleportation technique made the black-market trip worthwhile.
On his way out, a short, white-cloth-masked cultivator approached, hawking pills. Xiao Chen did a double-take—the man’s wares included a bottle of Nourishing Qi Pills Xiao Chen himself had sold yesterday at the bazaar. The date carved on the jade bottle’s base confirmed it.
Spotting Xiao Chen’s interest, the cultivator dropped his bundle. Beneath a torn magic robe lay dozens of spirit herbs, a half-empty Pei Yuan Dan, two pill-forging manuals, and—most valuable—two Qi Gathering Pills and three Nourishing Qi Pills.
One herb bore dried blood—clearly looted from a murder. But Bat Tower’s wares were rarely clean.
"Low price—100 spirit stones for all", the cultivator urged.
Xiao Chen flipped the manuals. They brimmed with notes on pill-forging—a deceased alchemist’s journals. The seller exaggerated: "Learn half the secrets here!"
In truth, the pages mostly detailed herb properties. But buried within were fragmented pill formulas, requiring careful reconstruction. If even one proved viable…
"Deal", Xiao Chen said. "But I’ll take only the pills. Name a price."
"No split sales!" the cultivator refused. "100 stones—robe included. That tear’s worth ten alone!"
After more bartering, Xiao Chen relented, handing over 100 stones.
Leaving the market, he inventoried his storage bag. After spending 100 stones, only 115 remained—scant for buying herbs. Need to save for pill-forging, he mused.
His spirit-stone flow astounded: faster than most late-stage cultivators. Even some Foundation Builders envied his rate. Yet as a fledgling alchemist, he’d squandered 800 stones on a pill-furnace, 500 on secret techniques—1,300 total.
"Never enough stones", he sighed, gazing skyward.
Three familiar figures caught his eye: black-cloaked cultivators under a distant tree, wine gourds in hand. He’d noticed them earlier. Now, still here?
He turned to leave—but Ye Fei appeared, striding directly toward them.
The trio stowed their gourds, as if ending their rest. Ye Fei quickened his pace.
Xiao Chen lingered, watching. The three followed Ye Fei’s trail. Ambush?
A cold breath escaped him. More surprises today?
He trailed the trio, curious. Opportunities beckoned—a game of mantis stalks, yellow sparrow awaits.
(End of Chapter)
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