“First, let’s see if Meng Yan and Red Carp can help me trade for the Essence of the Spirit Vein! If not, I’ll consider the black market!”
Meng Yan’s identity is that of a disciple of the Qingyuan Sect. The Ningshan Family that Ning Hongli belongs to is actually even a bit more powerful than the Qingyuan Sect, and the network of influence behind them far surpasses that of the Qingyuan Sect.
If these two people can’t help Qi Ping obtain the Essence of the Spirit Vein, then the only channel Qi Ping can think of right now might be the black market.
“But the black market…”
Just the thought of this organization’s existence still left Qi Ping with quite a few concerns in his heart.
This mysterious black market was an organization that Meng Yan had introduced to Qi Ping.
It’s one of the most mysterious organizations in the cultivation world. It doesn’t even have a name; “Mysterious Black Market” is a name that cultivators came up with themselves.
Its members range from the Qi Condensation stage all the way to mighty Mahayana stage experts, yet no one knows its true face or who leads it.
Moreover, the Mysterious Black Market is less like a trading organization and more like a mysterious force built under the guise of trade.
Because although this Mysterious Black Market claims to be able to trade anything in the cultivation world, you can’t simply buy things with just spirit stones.
To purchase something from the Mysterious Black Market, you not only have to pay eighty percent of the market price, or even more than the market price, but you also have to complete black market tasks to earn corresponding black market points.
Especially for rare items within the black market, they can only be obtained using black market points.
Yet, despite such demanding requirements, it still attracts countless people, especially rogue cultivators who struggle to obtain cultivation techniques and rare resources.
This is simply because whether it’s a secret inheritance-level technique, a saintess from a major sect, or certain rare spiritual herbs, you can place an order for them from the black market. It’s just that the difficulty of obtaining them is very high.
There has always been a rumor in the cultivation world that the Mysterious Black Market is orchestrating an unprecedented conspiracy, but after hundreds of thousands of years, the Mysterious Black Market has yet to stir up any major turmoil.
Over these hundreds of thousands of years, the Mysterious Black Market has been suppressed and boycotted by countless orthodox and unorthodox sects, simply because it infringed upon their interests.
But no matter how many times the Mysterious Black Market was suppressed, it never faded away.
Because in a situation where class barriers are distinct, and cultivation resources and techniques are controlled by the upper echelons, everyone, except for the very top tier, is, to some extent, oppressed.
When you reach the limit of your class, you become shackled by it.
The Mysterious Black Market is like a key that breaks these class shackles. Although obtaining precious resources requires completing arduous tasks, and might even incur the wrath of many major sects in the cultivation world, for those constrained by class, it is the only way.
This is the soil and root cause for the Mysterious Black Market’s existence and enduring prosperity for hundreds of thousands of years!
“An organization has been operating across the entire cultivation world for hundreds of thousands of years. Every major force knows this organization is definitely planning something, yet no one knows what it wants to do or when it will act…”
“But if the class structure in the cultivation world isn’t dismantled, the Mysterious Black Market won’t die…”
“Only upon truly understanding do you realize that beneath the seemingly thriving cultivation world, turbulent undercurrents have long been surging!”
“For ordinary people, it’s possible to lie low and survive quietly, but for those who want to break free from class shackles, the dangers of the cultivation world are everywhere, with several invisible giant hands controlling the direction of the entire cultivation world…”
Originally, Qi Ping had no intention of joining this Mysterious Black Market organization at all.
After all, while such an organization could solve his trading channel problem, the risks involved were just too great.
But now, Qi Ping could use his [Nature’s Perception] talent to seek good fortune and avoid disaster. As long as he predicted good or bad luck before carrying out tasks or making transactions, he could ensure his basic safety.
Under these circumstances, Qi Ping felt it was worth a try.
His main issue was that he didn’t have any other options.
So, after waiting for about a few days, Qi Ping finally received replies from Meng Yan and Ning Hongli.
Nothing!
Both of them had nothing!
There hadn’t been any Essence of the Spirit Vein appearing on the market in the past few years.
This is because extracting the Essence of the Spirit Vein is a “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs” approach. It causes immense damage to the spirit vein, rendering the extracted value less than a tenth of the original vein’s worth. It’s very difficult to cultivate it again, and this method is only used in rare circumstances.
Take the recent intense battles between the Qingyuan Sect and other sects, for example. Even then, no one touched the Qingyuan Sect’s spirit vein. If they did, it would be like destroying the sect’s very foundation, essentially signaling the start of an all-out war at the Core Formation and Nascent Soul levels. The risks far outweigh the benefits.
“It seems I ultimately have no choice but to take the path of the Mysterious Black Market!”
Qi Ping sighed, finally making the decision to join the Mysterious Black Market.
Although he didn’t like doing risky things, when it came to his own path of cultivation, Qi Ping would absolutely not compromise.
“Fortunately, I have Nature’s Perception and my swarm. They can double as my scouts. I might not even need to show myself. As long as I complete the tasks, that’s fine.”
Thinking this, a slight smile appeared on Qi Ping’s face.
It wouldn’t be so easy for anyone trying to scheme against him!
Once he had made up his mind, Qi Ping no longer had any hesitation, and his eyes were filled with determination.
Next, Qi Ping spent a full ten days simulating and thinking through countermeasures for various situations and risk preventions. Only when he was fully confident did he begin the process of joining the Mysterious Black Market.
Qi Ping first went to the battlefield where Meng Yan was stationed and obtained an introduction token through him.
This introduction token wasn’t cheap; it cost two thousand spirit stones.
Then, Qi Ping chose a place far from the Misty Mountains and crushed the token. After that, he had his swarm wait there.
After about a day or so, a special box-shaped puppet appeared at Qi Ping’s designated location.
Seeing that no one was at the spot where the token was crushed, the puppet wasn’t in a hurry and simply waited there.
“It’s just as Brother Meng said. The puppet will wait for people, giving those who want to join the Mysterious Black Market enough time to observe.”
After using his swarm and Nature’s Perception skill to confirm there was no danger, Qi Ping appeared before the box puppet in the guise of a middle-aged man.
“Please select your membership level. Qi Condensation: one thousand spirit stones, Foundation Establishment: ten thousand spirit stones, Core Formation: one hundred thousand spirit stones…” A mechanical, emotionless voice came from the box puppet.
“Foundation Establishment level!” Qi Ping responded.
Then, feeling a bit pained, he took out ten thousand spirit stones and handed them to the box puppet.
The box puppet swallowed Qi Ping’s spirit stones in one go, then produced a pure white, specially made token and spoke mechanically:
“Please choose your codename!”
“Bee Daoist!”
