164: Chapter 165: Setting up a stall

Lu Ming entered the cave and after walking dozens of steps, the scenery before his eyes suddenly changed.

At the end of his vision, he could see a series of stone grottoes, seemingly independent but actually interconnected, spreading throughout the entire cave space like an ant's nest.

The entire black market space was also formed by hollowing out the mountain peak.

Such a feat would likely require an enormous amount of manpower and resources.

However, it was most likely the work of Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

During this period, he had frequently visited various black markets, greatly expanding his horizons.

This was not the first time Lu Ming had seen such an underground black market.

But one of such a massive scale was truly a first.

The reason he went to the black market was to attend the so-called Demonic Cultivator Trading Meet.

However, in this process, moonlighting as a fisherman was also quite good.

After a period of Cultivation, Lu Ming had essentially exhausted all the Qi Refining Cultivators on the golden book.

The remaining few Foundation Establishment Cultivators were inconvenient to use, and wasting them on Lifespan consumption was truly too wasteful.

Furthermore, as an Immortal City Guest Elder, he had a duty to uphold the Immortal City and couldn't cause too much of a stir there.

Out of helplessness, Lu Ming could only come out to set up his bait.

The black market was a mixed bag of Cultivators; merely revealing a bit of wealth could attract a large number of Cultivators to sign up.

Although their Cultivation was not high, their sheer quantity was a definite advantage!

Relying on those Cultivators, he had already initially Cultivated the ‘Flourishing and Wither Calamity Crossing Scripture’.

He had now begun to condense Divine Ability Dharma Seals.

But even so, he had already consumed nearly two hundred years of Lifespan.

Correspondingly, a hundred or so Qi Refining Cultivators had their Lifespan exhausted and died from the five declines of heaven and man.

The reason so many Cultivators were consumed was that the Origin of life that constituted the Cultivation Realm of Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining differed greatly.

Lu Ming first consumed his own Lifespan, then transferred the backlash outwards; with this back and forth, the exchange rate could not be one-to-one.

According to Lu Ming's experiments, the ratio reached approximately 1:100.

Simply put, the combined Origin of life of one hundred Qi Refining Cultivators was equivalent to that of one Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Of course, this was not rigorous.

Different Qi Refining levels also corresponded to different life levels.

It was merely a qualitative change brought about by a quantitative change.

And to be able to gather the Lifespan of a hundred Cultivators for his own use, perhaps only Lu Ming could achieve it.

However, this was still not enough; to condense a Divine Ability Dharma Seal, Lu Ming estimated he would need another three hundred or so Qi Refining Cultivators, or three Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

And they had to be Cultivators with ample Lifespan and rich life Origin!

If they were Cultivators whose Lifespan was nearing its end, the effect would be greatly diminished.

And this time, Lu Ming came to the black market with the same intention.

He even hoped to lure out the Foundation Establishment Cultivator behind the black market.

If that happened, the ‘Transcending Calamity Dark Light’ would also be nearly condensed.

“If only I could get the subsequent parts of the Cultivation Technique.”

Cultivating this Cultivation Technique came at too great a cost; Lu Ming did not believe this Cultivation Technique was originally like this.

Although the threshold for this method was inherently high, it was reasonable for those not in the Golden Core Stage to pay a higher price for Cultivation.

But at this rate of consumption, even a Golden Core Cultivator might not be willing to expend Lifespan to condense the ‘Transcending Calamity Dark Light.’

If Lu Ming didn't have the golden book, he wouldn't touch this Cultivation Technique at all.

It looked incredibly powerful, but in reality, this Cultivation Technique was a mere trifle!

Although it consumed the lives of others, Lu Ming still felt a pang of sadness.

So much resources, yet only Lifespan was seized.

The remaining essence of flesh and blood, and the Divine Soul essence, were all wasted!

“Sigh, the sunk cost is too high, buddy, I can’t stop now, everyone, Fellow Daoists, just hold on a little longer!”

Lu Ming sighed to himself and walked to a junction of a main thoroughfare.

Various stalls were set up here, and the adjacent stone grottoes also housed shops run by Cultivators.

However, most of the items sold were illicit goods.

Lu Ming didn't browse; his goal was very clear: to flaunt his wealth!

He found a place with heavy foot traffic,

spread out a black cloth on the ground, and displayed the items he intended to sell.

Then he took out a wooden sign and planted it in the ground.

“Clearance sale, all kinds of top-grade Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts are being sold at low prices!”

Finally, he took out a small folding stool, sat down beside his stall, and dozed off.

Before long, many Cultivators were attracted.

Mainly, Lu Ming's stall was too eye-catching; it was hard not to attract people.

Just look at what was displayed!

First-grade top-tier Magical Artifacts, top-grade Medicinal Pills, top-grade Talismans.

Lu Ming even feared it wasn't enough to attract Foundation Establishment Cultivators, so he displayed a second-grade Talisman as a ‘stall- trấn treasure’.

This created a stark contrast with the crooked gourds and cracked dates sold at the neighboring stalls.

“May I ask, Fellow Daoist, are you sure you want to sell these!?”

Several people gathered around, and one of them couldn't help but ask.

“Pick whatever you like!”

Lu Ming's eyelids drooped; he didn't even lift his head.

He had an attitude of ‘buy if you want, if not, get lost’.

But this posture not only failed to deter the crowd; instead, their eyes all became fervent.

This was somewhat unbelievable!

For these Loose Cultivators, they might never have seen what a top-grade Talisman looked like in their entire Cultivation lives.

Let alone top-grade Medicinal Pills and top-grade Magical Artifacts!

They only knew that these could only be found in large markets or major shops in Immortal Cities.

Did they choose the black market because they wanted to?

No!

It was because they were not worthy to enter those large shops!

But now, someone was actually selling these good things at a low price; it was unprecedented.

However, the person who spoke first still had doubts in his heart.

He felt it was somewhat unreal.

He squatted down, first picked up several Talismans to examine, then opened the Medicinal Pill jade bottle to inspect it, followed by the Magical Artifact.

The gazes of the surrounding crowd also converged.

The smooth lines of the Talismans, the abundant spiritual charm.

The ethereal fragrance of the Medicinal Pills, the rich medicinal power.

The aura emanating from the Magical Artifact, exuding sharp energy.

The more they looked, the more shocked they became; without exception, these were all real!

It wasn't a gimmick; inside, they were indeed all top-grade spiritual items.

How was this possible!

Such top-grade resources, let alone being placed in the black market, would be snatched up even if taken to a market or Immortal City.

And even if the price was slightly higher than the market price, there would be no trouble selling them!

But this person was actually selling them at a low price!

Everyone felt there was something wrong here, but they couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Could this person be a rogue Cultivator who didn't care about their value?

It seemed only this explanation made sense.

The Cultivators watching nearby had the same thought.

But without exception, they all subconsciously ignored this incongruity.

Cultivators are driven by profit; buying it means earning it.

Regardless of this person's motive, getting it in hand was what truly mattered!

Immediately, some Cultivators began to inquire about the price of the Talismans, wanting to purchase them.

Lu Ming pointed to the price marked on the wooden sign, saying nothing more.

And when the first transaction was completed, the entire place erupted again.

A first-grade top-tier spiritual Talisman was actually two-tenths cheaper than the market price! And it really sold!