9: Entering the black market, three techniques

Looking at the information on the panel, Chen Cuo felt a sense of accomplishment.

By the time the closed-door Cultivation ended, it was already early the next morning.

Chen Cuo got up, feeling refreshed.

After changing into clean clothes, washing his face, and brushing his teeth, he picked up the ledger from his bedside and began to study it carefully.

“Ever since Jingshui Street and Qingshui Street underwent reforms, I’ve been receiving about fifty thousand taels of silver monthly. To get the old man on my side, I handed over half of the silver and used some to win over certain people, but it still caused dissatisfaction among some important figures in the gang, who demanded that I hand over the production methods for several special products.”

“They’re dreaming! They want to get something for nothing without giving me a good enough price? Dream on.”

The monthly payments Chen Cuo collected had already become a once-a-month affair.

The reason Chen Cuo was so frantically refining his skin was to quickly achieve Perfection in the Iron Body Skill so he could begin bone refining.

The perfected Iron Body Skill could refine every inch of his skin, making his Skin Refining perfect.

His skin was like refined iron, like Yao Beast hide; ordinary swords and blades could no longer harm him. Coupled with his newly awakened talent, he was already considered a master in Wei City.

However, facing external threats, it was still insufficient, so he could only continue to grow stronger.

The talent of Basic Medicinal Herb Knowledge allowed him to grasp the medicinal properties of many herbs, and combined with Chef God, the medicinal cuisine he prepared was very helpful for Cultivation.

That’s why the proficiency of his Iron Body Skill grew so quickly.

The Secret Manual of the Iron Body Skill itself also contained a medicinal soup recipe called “Boiling Body Soup.”

However, after studying it, he found that not only was its effect not as good as the medicinal cuisine he researched, but it was also extremely painful to use. It required the medicine prepared according to the recipe to be put into water and boiled into scalding hot water, and then the Physical Body would jump in to boil and absorb the medicinal power.

“I wonder if the old man used this method to Cultivate before?”

Chen Cuo teased a couple of times, then went to find the fat man. To strengthen his power, he naturally needed to find a Cultivation Technique for bone refining, but Fan Wufeng’s side was temporarily out of the question.

Although the old man was once at the Viscera Refining Stage, he certainly had a Cultivation Technique that led directly to the Viscera Refining Stage. Not to mention that this was a Cultivation Technique the old man passed on to his Personal Disciple, even Fan Ming didn't get it. Secondly, Chen Cuo had only had the Iron Body Skill for two months, so telling the old man he wanted to refine bones would expose his Cultivation speed, wouldn't it?

So Chen Cuo decided to ask the fat man to see if he had any ideas.

Arriving at the fat man’s room, Gu Pang was Cultivating the Iron Sand Palm. The old man had a rule that as long as his subordinates could enter the Skin Refining Stage, they could Cultivate the Iron Sand Palm, so Chen Cuo passed the Cultivation Technique to Gu Pang and Hong Feng.

Ding Xiang was not suitable for Cultivating this Cultivation Technique, so he didn't pass it on to her. He had promised to find suitable Cultivation Techniques for all three of them, and he planned to do that while he was here with the fat man.

“What? Boss, you’re looking for Cultivation Techniques for bone refining to viscera refining and beyond? Why don’t you ask the Big Boss?” Gu Pang asked Chen Cuo with a surprised look, truly not expecting Chen Cuo to ask him such a question.

“What do you think?” Chen Cuo showed a hint of displeasure on his face.

“Alright, alright! If Boss really wants to find a Cultivation Technique through unofficial channels, he can basically only go to the black market.”

“Black market? Where is it?” The Cultivation Techniques that ordinary businesses could sell were basically those that could be widely circulated, without any rare treasures. But the black market was different; as long as you had enough silver.

From Skin Refining to Viscera Refining, and even Cultivation Techniques for the Acquired Realm, everything was available, including divine Cultivation Techniques, but the prices were very high.

“It’s on Xishan Mountain next to State City. There are many good things there, all kinds of rare treasures, Cultivation resources, things for eating, drinking, and entertainment, even women from the desert.” The fat man recalled the scene of the black market, his face full of excitement. He had visited it once, hoping to find some good things, but unfortunately, he had too little money and only went to gain some experience.

“So you’ve been there to play, huh! How come I didn’t know!” Chen Cuo lightly patted the fat man twice, teasingly.

“Hehe! That was a long time ago, I went with Hong Feng back then.” The fat man replied with a cheeky grin.

“Alright, stop messing around. When does it open? Take me there.”

“It’s always open! I heard that the shops inside are invested by the major powers of State City, and even the government has shares, so no one dares to cause trouble.”

The two tidied up. Chen Cuo brought bank notes. Qingshui Street and Jingshui Street had an income of one hundred thousand taels of silver in two months, basically half of which had to be handed over. After deducting necessary expenses and adding the remaining funds from the New Year month, Chen Cuo had sixty thousand taels of funds.

Enough to buy some good things at the black market.

To avoid revealing their identities, they donned black robes, wore bamboo hats, and covered their faces with black gauze.

Walking along the way to Xishan Mountain, Chen Cuo had been Transmigrated for a year, and for the sake of Cultivating the Unnamed Cultivation Method, he had never even left Wei City. In these chaotic times, the external environment was not optimistic. Outside Wei City, even on official roads, one could see displaced people and beggars everywhere, and the sanitation was even more squalid.

The black market was on Xishan Mountain, covering an entire mountain. It must be said that the management inside was very well done.

The people within, whether they were Martial Artists with extraordinary skills or heroes carrying weapons, strictly adhered to the rules of the black market, and there was no chaotic situation.

Scattered vendors simply set up makeshift shelters and displayed their goods in front of them for people to choose from.

The continuous cries of hawkers and the sounds of haggling rose and fell.

Such scattered stalls simply couldn't find anything good, the chances of finding a bargain were extremely rare, and it was even easier to buy fakes. So Chen Cuo set his sights on the few prominent shops in the black market.

“Wanbao Pavilion, what a grand name! Let’s go, let’s take a look inside.”

Chen Cuo looked at the few shops and favored the one with the loudest name, calling the fat man to go in with him.

Upon entering, Chen Cuo looked around at the exquisite decor inside. Immediately, a young attendant dressed in green came forward to greet the two.

“Greetings, honored guests. I am Xiao Liu from Wanbao Pavilion. May I ask what you two wish to purchase? I can introduce them to you.” The attendant was a doorman in the shop, responsible for welcoming and sending off guests. Seeing the two in black clothes with their true faces hidden, he didn't find it strange, as many people in the black market were like this.

Chen Cuo pondered for a moment, then deliberately rasped, “I need a set of Cultivation Techniques from Skin Refining to Viscera Refining. If it can reach the Acquired Realm, even better.”

“You two honored guests must be here for the first time, right? We have everything here. Please wait a moment, I will call the Shopkeeper to personally attend to you.”

Xiao Liu hurried away, muttering as he went, “A big business worth tens of thousands of taels, my commission is going to be huge this time.”

Not long after, a plump Shopkeeper, whose clothes were embroidered with money patterns, came before the two.

“My surname is Wang, and I am the Manager Wang of this shop. Are you two honored guests the ones who wish to purchase a Cultivation Technique that can Cultivate to the Acquired Realm?”

“Indeed!”

“That won’t be cheap!” Manager Wang sized up the two from head to toe.

“Don’t worry, we have enough silver!” Chen Cuo replied confidently.

“Good, honored guests, please come upstairs to discuss.” Xiao Liu, bring two cups of good tea.”

Chen Cuo followed the Shopkeeper upstairs. After Manager Wang understood Chen Cuo's needs, he immediately had someone bring out three Secret Manuals. All three Secret Manuals had a True Qi Seal applied to them, allowing only the first half to be viewed.

“These three, Great Boundless Ocean Skill, Seven-Colored Treasure Bottle True Force, and Spirit Demon Five Animal Play, all perfectly meet your requirements, honored guest. The first two are Profound Rank Medium Grade, and the Five Animal Play is Profound Rank High Grade. Among them, I highly recommend the Spirit Demon Five Animal Play. This Cultivation Technique can be Cultivated by both men and women and can lead directly to the Acquired Realm, but the price is higher, at twenty thousand taels. All three Cultivation Techniques come from legitimate sources and will not have the slightest hidden danger.”

“Legitimate sources? No one would believe that!” Saying such a thing in the black market, it would be truly ghostly to believe it.

Muttering a few words to himself, Chen Cuo briefly flipped through them. The Great Boundless Ocean Skill was a water-element Cultivation Technique that could Cultivate boundless True Qi. The True Qi had a vast volume and recovered faster.

The Seven-Colored Treasure Bottle True Force could Cultivate a seven-colored True Qi in the Acquired Realm. This True Qi could infinitely compress and purify the True Qi within the body, winning by quality.

The Spirit Demon Five Animal Play was the most special, divided into five types of fist techniques: tiger, crane, snake, monkey, and mantis.

The five types of fist techniques progressed in layers, from Skin Refining to Viscera Refining, and even to the Peak of the Acquired Realm, this method was sufficient.

“How much are the Great Boundless Ocean Skill and the Seven-Colored Treasure Bottle True Force?”

“Hmm, both Cultivation Techniques are fifteen thousand taels. Honored guest, which one would you like?”

“Can I say I want both?” Chen Cuo looked at the fat Manager Wang and replied.