Chapter 1262: The Bedside Ancient Book

This attendant, only about thirty years old, very young, and with a cultivation level no higher than half-sage, initially paid little attention to exchanging spirit stones. But when he saw the countless items on the ground, his eyes went wide.

The black market's prices were steep, so unless in urgent need, few chose to exchange here. Usually, there were almost no customers. Now a random client had come and thrown out so many things at once—it was simply unbelievable.

"Sir, are all these for exchange?"

After a moment to recover, the attendant couldn't help asking.

"Mm," Zhang Xuan nodded.

These items, some looted from the Qingtian lineage and some extorted from the Qingyuan royal family, were supreme treasures to his former self. But now that his cultivation had reached the late stage of the Primordial Spirit realm, they were useless.

Rather than keep them taking up space, it was better to exchange them all, which would also help improve his strength.

"Alright, I'll calculate the total now..."

Knowing a big client had arrived, the attendant dared not be negligent. He hurried inside and soon returned with an old man.

After thoroughly counting everything, the old man looked over: "All your items together can be exchanged for about one hundred and thirteen top-grade Essence Spirit Stones. Here is the list..."

Zhang Xuan waved his hand: "No need, just bring the spirit stones."

He had already estimated the total while the items were being counted, and it was close to what the old man had calculated.

"Alright, go fetch the spirit stones!" the old man nodded.

The attendant went inside and soon returned, handing over a storage ring.

Taking it, Zhang Xuan checked—one hundred and thirteen spirit stones, no more, no less.

"Young Master Zhang, since you've exchanged over a hundred spirit stones, you automatically qualify as a VIP of our market. There happens to be an auction tonight exclusively for VIPs. Would you like to attend?"

The old man handed him another token representing VIP status and smiled as he looked at him.

Exchanging so many spirit stones at once made him a major client even in the black market, fully qualified to be a VIP.

"Auction?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "Not interested for now."

What he lacked now were spirit stones; everything else was irrelevant.

"Young Master, don't refuse so quickly. Hear me out, and you might change your mind," the old man said with a smile.

"Oh?"

"Among the items up for auction, there are two mid-grade saint artifacts of the Out-of-Body realm and a quasi-grade-eight pill that can restore all the power of an Out-of-Body realm expert within three breaths—the best thing for crossing the Out-of-Body tribulation!"

the old man said.

The Out-of-Body tribulation involved resisting heavenly punishment. If one's power faltered, they could easily be killed, body and soul destroyed.

To prevent accidents, many would spend a fortune to buy quasi-grade-eight pills, which could restore vitality in a short time, keeping their strength at its peak.

With such items, the success rate would increase considerably.

Of course, the price of such things was also extremely high, not something ordinary people could afford.

"Forget it..." Zhang Xuan shook his head again.

Having cultivated the Seal of the Saint, his internal energy was inexhaustible. Such pills were of little use to him. As for saint artifacts, with the Golden Origin Cauldron and numerous puppets, he didn't need others.

"If you're not interested in these, Young Master, you'll surely like the last item,"

the old man said with a light smile, continuing to look at him.

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan was curious.

"The Bedside Ancient Book."

the old man said.

"The Bedside Ancient Book?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had never heard of this name.

"It is said that when Luo Sage passed through this place, the then Hall Master Yan came to pay respects. Seeing him resting, he stood still for three days and three nights without moving, until snow covered him like a snow sculpture. Moved by his sincerity, Luo Sage, seated on the bed, gave a lecture. Flowers rained from the sky, golden lotuses sprang from the ground, primordial energy scattered, and heaven and earth trembled... This teaching was recorded by Hall Master Yan and passed down to later generations—this is the Bedside Ancient Book."

the old man explained.

"Luo Sage?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Mm, the ancestor of the Luo family of sages, Luo Tianyun."

The old man nodded: "It is said that this ancient book contains some secrets of the Luo family's techniques. Studying it carefully would greatly enhance one's understanding of space. However, for many years, no one has found it... It was only recently, by chance, that it was discovered and eventually made its way here."

Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

He wasn't particularly interested in ancient books, but anything involving the Luo family piqued his interest.

If he could understand some of the Luo family's techniques, it would certainly help him in his future search for Luo Ruoxi.

"What price is this ancient book being sold for?"

After a pause, Zhang Xuan looked at him.

Knowing the price in advance would help him figure out how to earn it.

Although he had exchanged over a hundred spirit stones, that was far from enough to buy such a precious item.

"The Bedside Ancient Book, though not written by Luo Sage himself, contains the principles he taught. Even if only ten or twenty percent remains, it is a supreme treasure for Primordial Spirit and Out-of-Body realm experts! Therefore, it is not cheap. The starting bid is over five hundred top-grade Essence Spirit Stones, and the final result will likely exceed a thousand. So... if you wish to buy it, Young Master, you should prepare the spirit stones in advance."

the old man said.

In his view, this young man, who could casually produce so many items for exchange, must be a wealthy公子. A few hundred or thousand Essence Spirit Stones should not be difficult.

"Alright."

After a pause, Zhang Xuan nodded: "Save me a spot. I'll go prepare first and return before the auction."

There was still some time before dark, just enough to go to the life-and-death arena and see if he could earn a thousand.

"Yes."

The old man nodded and arranged for someone to handle it.

"Let's go."

With that settled, Zhang Xuan said no more. He signaled Zhang Jiuxiao to lead the way toward the arena.

The arena was at the innermost part of the entire underground black market. Before entering, they underwent a detailed check of their strength and were given tokens indicating their level before being allowed in.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had already reached the late Primordial Spirit stage, Zhang Jiuxiao was speechless.

This guy's rate of progress was honestly driving him crazy.

When they first met, he was only at the Divine Consciousness stage. In a few days, he reached the mid Primordial Spirit stage, matching Zhang Jiuxiao. An hour ago, when fighting with Hall Master Yue and the others, his level hadn't changed, and now he had broken through...

He had always considered himself a genius, but seeing the other's progress made him realize... he fell far short.

They weren't even on the same level.

"I just broke through because I had accumulated enough..."

Seeing his dejected expression, Zhang Xuan offered a word of comfort.

"Accumulated enough..."

Hearing this, Zhang Jiuxiao felt even more crushed.

Others accumulated over ten, twenty, thirty years—in units of decades. But this guy accumulated in days or two...

No comparison.

"Forget it, he's a Heaven-recognized master teacher..."

After struggling for a while, he let it go.

If a Heaven-recognized master teacher advanced step by step like him, how could he gain the recognition of heaven?

"You two, which of you is participating in the arena match?"

Just as he was sighing, a young manager approached.

"I am..."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Alright, I'll now explain the rules and requirements of the arena match in detail. To participate, you must first pay two top-grade Essence Spirit Stones as an entry fee. During the match, weapons, hidden weapons, etc., must be provided by the arena; you are not allowed to bring your own... This is for fairness."

the young man explained.

"Mm," Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had guessed that weapons wouldn't be allowed. Otherwise, bringing a powerful weapon would make it impossible to compete—any opponent would be killed, and the so-called life-and-death bet would lose its meaning.

"Also, after five consecutive wins, betting will open. Because bets are involved, you are not allowed to voluntarily surrender unless you are half-dead or crippled. You should be mentally prepared for this."

the young man continued.

"Half-dead or crippled?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

Zhang Jiuxiao hadn't mentioned this before.

"Yes, betting involves a lot. If someone clearly could win but deliberately surrenders, it would severely damage our market's reputation. Therefore, anyone found voluntarily surrendering or intentionally losing will be severely punished."

the young man said.

"Understood."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Although he didn't entirely agree with this rule, he knew that without such regulation, everyone would fight fixed matches, and the arena would lose its purpose.

It would certainly not attract countless people to place heavy bets.

"Alright, that's all. If you want to continue the match, I'll register you now. Those not competing, please go to the stands."

Having said what needed to be said, the young man instructed.

"Mm," Zhang Xuan nodded. He took out two spirit stones from his earlier stash to pay the entry fee, then handed the entire storage ring to Zhang Jiuxiao.

"Bet for me. Each time, bet everything on me winning."

"Alright."

Zhang Jiuxiao nodded.

He knew very well how to place bets, since Zhang Xuan had come here to earn spirit stones.

After giving instructions, Zhang Jiuxiao was taken to the stands, while Zhang Xuan was led backstage to prepare.

Boom!

Passing by the stands, Zhang Xuan glanced inside. On the stage, a fight was in progress. True energy surged with violent roars, and the crowd screamed in excitement, making one's adrenaline spike.

"Tear him apart, tear him apart!"

Roars rang out.

Through the entrance, he looked at the arena and saw a middle-aged man in iron armor let out a roar as he lifted a challenger.

This middle-aged man was huge, a full two meters tall. The challenger, lifted up, looked like a chick in his grasp.

Rip!

With a roar, the man was torn in half on the spot, blood splattering all over the ground.

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows jumped, and his fists clenched.

He had fought countless battles, but this was the first time he had seen such brutality, treating human life like a game.

Earlier, seeing all kinds of goods for sale, he thought this place wasn't much different from other markets. But witnessing this scene, he realized: the black market was the black market... Human life was worthless here, unless... one had strength surpassing others.

Otherwise, sooner or later, they would die on the stage.

No wonder Zhang Jiuxiao had withdrawn after only five matches—the psychological impact was just too great.