28: Chapter 28 Black Market Transactions

"Are you saying the Cultivator we sent out has fallen?" Deacon Su Changhe looked at Su Yan, his expression extremely grim.

"It is this Junior's failure in handling the matter. Su Li was not worth using; he was always idle and lazy." Su Yan's face turned pale, and she dared not offer any further excuses.

"Forget it. That boy is indeed problematic. Let the tracking end here. However, after so much time has passed, the success rate should have improved by now."

Deacon Su Changhe's face twitched slightly, his expression dark.

After Chen Fan successfully returned to the Qin Family, he continued to refine Medicinal Pills and focus on his Cultivation as usual.

Over the next few months, at the request of the Su Family, he had to raise his success rate to fifty percent, continuing to travel back and forth between the Su Family and the Treasure Pavilion.

By buying low and selling high on both sides, he earned a large amount of Spirit Stones and high-grade Medicinal Pills.

Meanwhile, Shen Yueyao became increasingly enamored with Chen Fan, and on several occasions, she took the initiative to display her charms.

However, Chen Fan remained unmoved; though the beauty was delectable, he could only play along.

According to the Qin Family rules, outside Cultivators are not permitted to bring female Cultivators without blood relations into the Family.

Furthermore, if he were to have children with her, they would only be able to grow up in the extremely dangerous market, which would be unfair to the children.

Therefore, regarding such female Cultivators, he could occasionally provide some benefits in the form of Medicinal Pills, but he absolutely must not overstep his boundaries.

Through a period of interaction, he unexpectedly learned from her that there was a black market trading venue not far from the market.

The world of Cultivation is full of deceit, and some Cultivation resources that are inconvenient to sell openly are often sold in the black market.

Coupled with the low prices, it attracted many Loose Cultivators.

As for whether one can buy good items, it depends entirely on the Cultivator's discernment; if one suffers a loss, one can blame no one else.

After hearing this, Chen Fan had an idea.

In fact, this black market was not a trading circle formed spontaneously by Cultivators, but rather established by a Foundation Establishment Family.

The Qin Family and the Su Family had been fighting incessantly for these past few years, and both their strengths had declined, which allowed the Wang Family of Black Stone Fort to see an opportunity.

Relying on their powerful Family strength, they specialized in running the black market business.

The black market was located in a mountain hollow not far from the market, and the surroundings had long been set with special Restrictions by the Wang Family.

All Cultivators entering it could not use their magic power at all; besides this, there were patrol teams inside responsible for maintaining order.

As a result, under these two layers of protection, the black market trading became increasingly prosperous, and acts of robbery rarely occurred.

The Cultivators who came all wore black robes to conceal their presence, and they only needed to pay two Spirit Stones to enter.

Chen Fan walked in slowly. After looking around, he simply found an empty spot and began to sell his excess Magical Artifacts.

These were naturally the items from Qin Chuan, Qin Xiao, and the fallen Su Family Cultivator, which had been difficult to sell until now, but he had finally found a suitable opportunity.

Because the prices were extremely low, they were sold out very quickly.

However, when he tried to sell Medicinal Pills, he suddenly met with a cold reception. Although the prices were relatively low, these Loose Cultivators seemed to have been cheated too many times and showed no interest at all.

Seeing this, Chen Fan could only helplessly put away the Medicinal Pills and curiously began to check out other stalls.

After looking around for a while, his gaze fell upon a Cultivator selling Talismans.

"Fellow Daoist, these Talismans are of superior quality. If you are genuinely interested, the price can be negotiated," the Cultivator wearing a bamboo hat said slowly in a hoarse voice.

"Is that so?" After examining them carefully, a strange expression appeared on Chen Fan's face.

He discovered that the quality of the Talismans this person was selling was no worse than those in the shops, but because the prices were quite high, few Cultivators showed interest.

While he was examining them closely, he could smell a faint fragrance.

"So it's a female Cultivator." Chen Fan had seen countless women and could naturally recognize it as high-grade rouge.

With a slight smile, he whispered, "I want all of these Fireball Talismans, Lightning Strike Talismans, and Fire Snake Talismans."

"Really?" The female stall owner's eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed.

"However, I can only pay you in Medicinal Pills."

Once these words were spoken, the female stall owner was greatly disappointed and said displeasedly, "Fellow Daoist, Medicinal Pills in the black market are highly unreliable; this will not do."

After saying this, her expression turned cold, and she slowly looked into the distance.

"You should take a look at these Medicinal Pills first. If you find them useful, we can continue trading next time."

Seeing that she had no interest and unsure of her Cultivation level, Chen Fan could only take out three huntian pills with four patterns.

The female stall owner examined them slightly and was quite hesitant, but in the end, she waved her long sleeve and tucked them away.

"I won't take your things for free either. Take these Talismans; even if they are fake, I will accept it."

Chen Fan was only skilled in Alchemy, and seeing her take out several high-grade Talismans, he was overjoyed.

"Many thanks."

The transaction completed, he immediately left the black market.

Along the way, he kept examining the Talismans in his hand, able to see that the level of craftsmanship of these Talismans was extremely high.

"Could this woman be a Talisman Master?" Chen Fan was secretly astonished, his interest greatly increased.

...

At the Alchemy Hall, Guest Alchemist Xu Daoran watched as Chen Fan's Alchemy skills and Realm strength continued to grow, becoming increasingly restless.

His Spiritual Root Aptitude far exceeded the other's, but having been immersed in Alchemy for years, he had instead neglected his Cultivation.

As a result, he failed in both aspects, and in the end, he had not yet entered Late-stage Qi Refining, giving people a sense of being neither here nor there.

"This boy only has a fake Spiritual Root, yet he was able to advance to the 7th Layer of Qi Refining. There must be something strange about this."

The more Guest Alchemist Xu Daoran thought about it, the more wrong it felt. After several months of observation, he discovered that the other party frequently traveled to Qingyang Market, and he formed a plan in his mind.

"Alchemist Chen, heading to the market again?" The Qin Family Cultivator piloting the flying boat greeted him warmly.

"Just going out for a stroll to take care of some small matters," Chen Fan replied with a gentle attitude, always wearing a warm smile when interacting with others.

Just at this moment, he noticed a tall, thin clansman looking over from time to time.

"Who is this person?" Chen Fan couldn't recall for a moment, but he didn't take it to heart.

Once enough people had gathered, the Family's flying boat began to rise slowly, emitting a huge sound as it pierced through the air toward the horizon.

After successfully arriving at the market, he continued to conceal his presence and appearance, taking a winding path around before finally arriving at the Su Family Shop.

Deacon Su Changhe did not blame him for the fallen Family Cultivator; instead, he valued him even more.

Then, he went to the Treasure Pavilion and obtained the Medicinal Pills he wanted, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

After a period of accumulation, these Medicinal Pills were enough to break through the shackles again, and by then, he would be a genuine 8th Layer of Qi Refining Cultivator.

Just as he was secretly pleased, he discovered that the clansman had been secretly following him, and even more strangely, there was an old man wearing a heavy bamboo hat behind him.

"Just two 8th Layer of Qi Refining Cultivators." Chen Fan smiled coldly, his gaze icy. For Cultivators who were blind to the situation, he had always been ruthless.

However, this time he was not in a hurry to deal with these two; instead, he headed toward the black market not far from the market.

After walking around inside, he slowly came to the female stall owner.

"You've come?" The female stall owner smiled faintly, her eyes filled with surprise and curiosity.