Chapter 2116: The Underground Black Market

"Thank you, Elder..." Seeing that he was allowed to leave, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, took a few steps forward with the others, then suddenly stopped and turned back: "Oh, by the way, since Nightmare City advocates fairness and does not allow cheating, then... does someone selling their calculated numbers for profit and taking a cut count as a violation of the rules?"

"It is a violation!" Elder Fu Yuan nodded.

Ticket scalping is illegal, let alone such deceptive behavior.

"This Senior Yao Shan is selling the numbers he deduced. If you don't believe me, you can ask around!" Smiling faintly, Zhang Xuan pointed at Yao Shan on the side and cupped his fists again: "Farewell!"

With that, regardless of the other's reaction, he turned and left.

This fellow had lost money and let it go; he couldn't be bothered. But deliberately causing trouble earlier and not letting him leave—did he, Zhang Xuan, allow himself to be bullied?

As for how to find out he was selling numbers, it was simple: when he had bet with him earlier, several newcomers had been fooled, and it wasn't hard to get them to expose him.

"Elder Fu Yuan, I..." Never dreaming that this man would hold such a grudge, Yao Shan was startled and hurriedly tried to explain.

Before he could finish, Elder Fu Yuan shouted: "Seize him!"

Clatter!

A group surrounded him and arrested him.

No need to think; this fellow was definitely in trouble. Before, he had only lost a toilet and a kitchen; now he probably lost his living room and dining room too.

No longer paying attention to the commotion inside, Zhang Xuan and the others mounted their horses, left the Ghost Hall, and quickly galloped toward their residence. After bypassing several streets and making sure no one was following or watching, they stopped. He instructed everyone: "You all go back and cultivate, preparing for tomorrow's trip to the Divine Mountain. Strive to break through to the Divine Spirit realm there!"

Everyone nodded.

Without further ado, Zhang Xuan spurred his horse in a different direction and soon disappeared at the end of the street.

Without saying much, the others quickly rushed back.

Only by becoming Divine Spirits could they avoid being a burden; they had to speed up their cultivation.

After leaving the others, Zhang Xuan rode forward and soon arrived before a building of modest height.

This building looked no different from others, with nothing special about it. It resembled a residence, very inconspicuous, with its door tightly shut and no one around outside.

Approaching, he pressed his fingers together and knocked on the wooden door six times—four long and two short.

Creak!

The door opened, and a blind man came out: "Please."

Without a word, Zhang Xuan stepped inside.

The room was somewhat dim. He followed the blind man to the innermost room.

Stopping, the blind man extended his palm.

Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist and handed over a token.

The other took it, felt it for a moment, then nodded and pressed his hand against the wall.

Hum!

With a soft chime, as if a formation had activated, the wall instantly turned transparent. The blind man stepped forward and walked through, with Zhang Xuan close behind.

It was a staircase descending downward, pitch black, with no way to see what lay below. Only stones carved with special runes were visible, making it hard to detect the place's existence.

With eyes half-closed, Zhang Xuan said nothing and soon reached the end of the stairs, where a small boat floated on an underground river.

Boarding the boat, they traveled through the dark underground passage, unable to see their hands in front of them. Even the Eye of Insight seemed ineffective, unable to distinguish direction.

After about half an hour, the boat lightly bumped against a rock that looked extremely hard, sank into it, swayed twice, and stopped.

Following the blind man, he walked up another similar staircase for a while, emerged from the wall again, and found himself in a spacious marketplace filled with the clamor of countless people.

"Wait here. I'll come out after my transaction," Zhang Xuan instructed, then walked toward the crowd.

This place... was precisely the underground black market of Nightmare City!

Where there are rules, naturally there are places without them.

This black market was exactly that.

The bandit named One Inch Ash, who had often sold stolen treasures here, had a book in his storage ring that detailed how to enter. After reading it, Zhang Xuan understood completely.

Here, one could buy anything desired and sell any treasure one wished to part with, though the prices were not so friendly.

The manager of the black market was a somewhat seductive woman, around thirty years old, with a strong, pungent perfume. On her neck was tattooed a crimson rose, its thorns sharp.

"This young master looks unfamiliar..." She leaned in, her seductive eyes like silk.

"Does unfamiliarity mean no business?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" The seductive woman twisted her snake-like waist, stepped out from behind the counter, and smiled lightly: "I wonder... what kind of business does this young master want to do? Here, you can buy anything... including me."

With that, she deliberately blew a breath on Zhang Xuan's face.

Ignoring her flirtation, he tapped the table with his fingers and said calmly: "I need [Maya Beast Blood]. Can you find it here?"

He had already obtained the Green Beast Ancient Herb; now he needed Maya Beast Blood to find a way to enhance his soul power.

"Maya Beast Blood? The Maya Beast is a Lower Heavenly God level divine beast. Its blood isn't so easy to get..." The seductive woman frowned and looked at him suspiciously.

Most divine beasts at the Lower Heavenly God level had already taken human form, making them extremely difficult to capture, let alone obtain their blood.

"Then I'll look elsewhere." Standing up, Zhang Xuan turned to leave.

"Hehe, don't be in a hurry!" She quickly came over and blocked his way: "I only said it's not easy, not that it can't be found..."

"I need one liter." Zhang Xuan looked at her.

"That much?" The seductive woman was taken aback and couldn't help frowning: "You must have already inquired about the value of Heavenly God level divine beast blood. I won't waste words. One liter of blood, three thousand divine coins."

"Three thousand?" Zhang Xuan frowned: "That price doesn't seem right."

The divine coins he had obtained from One Inch Ash totaled only about six hundred, far short of three thousand.

Was Maya Beast Blood that expensive?

Though he didn't know exactly how valuable Heavenly God level divine beast blood was, she had certainly quoted a high price, far above market value.

Buying items at the black market left no trace and avoided many troubles; that was why he hadn't gone to the legitimate shops in the city.

"Heavenly God level divine beast blood isn't easy to get. Three thousand divine coins is already not high... Besides, you understand, a woman like me living in such a dark place, unable to see the light... If I don't earn a bit more, how will I ever marry?"

Circling around Zhang Xuan, the seductive woman giggled: "How about this, young master, you marry me, and I'll give you a discount?"

"Six hundred divine coins, plus a piece of advice."

Ignoring her, Zhang Xuan lifted his chin.

"Six hundred divine coins? Are you here to cause trouble?" The seductive woman's face darkened. "Clatter!" As she finished speaking, several black-clad middle-aged men emerged from all sides, each with surging aura, reaching the level of Mid-Grade Divine Spirits.

"You think too much. I'm not here to cause trouble, nor am I interested in wrecking your place." Zhang Xuan said calmly: "Because it's damp and cold underground with insufficient spiritual energy, have you been taking [Dampness-Removing Pills] to expel internal dampness and maintain your youthful appearance?"

"So what if I have?" The seductive woman sneered.

Living underground, never seeing the sun, many people took Dampness-Removing Pills; she was no exception.

"If so, others can take them, but you cannot. If I'm not mistaken, your neck and chest are covered with red blisters that you can't get rid of."

Zhang Xuan said.

"Who told you that?" Her face changed, and her eyebrows shot up.

He was right; her body was indeed covered with blisters that had an odor. That was why she doused herself in strong perfume every day and tattooed crimson roses on her exposed skin to hide the blister color.

"No one told me; I could tell at a glance."

With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan said calmly: "As a woman, you cultivate the yin-attribute technique [Tidal Cold Flow Art]. This technique requires absorbing yin power from tides and cold currents, so your body naturally has heavy dampness. Taking Dampness-Removing Pills to expel it superficially removes the hidden danger of living underground, but in reality, it also removes the essence of your cultivation. With most of the technique's power lost, combined with this environment, blisters are the mildest reaction. Over time, your muscles will fester, your cultivation will slow down, and eventually... you'll stagnate and die from qi deviation."

"Are you trying to scare me? I wasn't born yesterday!" The seductive woman's eyes narrowed.

Although much of what he said was correct, including her technique and the changes in her body, she didn't believe that merely taking Dampness-Removing Pills could cause this, especially since she had felt nothing.

"Of course you weren't born yesterday." Zhang Xuan continued: "Dampness-Removing Pills alone indeed cannot greatly affect your technique. But what if combined with the special concealing formation of this underground market? If I'm not mistaken, your residence is in the southwest direction."

The seductive woman frowned.

Ignoring her expression, Zhang Xuan went on: "The sun rises in the northeast and sets in the southwest. At sunrise, yang energy is born; at sunset, the yin gate opens. The southwest is where yin and yang alternate. In other places, all things grow and thrive without any effect, but at the yin gate, it's different."

"With any other technique, it would be fine, but you cultivate a yin-attribute technique. Under normal circumstances, your cultivation should advance rapidly. Unfortunately, Dampness-Removing Pills expel dampness but contain yang properties. Long-term use causes yin-yang chaos, and blisters are the mildest symptom."