163: First time entering the Black Snake Stream Market

Two hours later.

Led by the three demons, a low stone wall appeared before Jiang Lan.

This stone wall was much shorter than the city walls of typical human cities.

Moreover, the stones used to build the wall were of varying sizes, some black and some yellow.

It looked barely a zhang high, only about half a head taller than Jiang Lan's current height.

In the middle of the stone wall were two broken gates.

The gates were made of wood, and they weren't solid, but rather like a fence, pieced together with several horizontal and vertical wooden strips.

Presumably due to years of disrepair, these wooden fence gates were already dilapidated; Jiang Lan could even step right through them with a single stride.

Although the gates were closed, it made no difference.

Looking at the miserable sight before him, Jiang Lan fell silent.

Since it was called a market, he had thought it should at least be somewhat presentable.

But now, it seemed this place, apart from a stone wall and broken gates, was even worse than the slums in human cities.

Jiang Lan shook his head.

After all, they were demons; he shouldn't expect them to be too normal.

The bear demon, who had been walking ahead of Jiang Lan, stopped at the entrance.

"Wolf Brother, we've arrived. This is Black Snake Stream."

Jiang Lan nodded.

There's an old saying.

Since he was already here.

No matter how dilapidated this place was, he had to go in and see what was going on first.

Seeing this, the bear demon said nothing more. Instead, he walked to the gate, which was little more than a decoration, and knocked on the wood twice with a 'thump, thump'.

The sound of knocking echoed, and after a short while, a figure emerged from behind the gate.

This was also a snake demon, but seemingly not of the same species as the two next to the bear demon.

This one was not thin; in fact, its body was two sizes thicker than that of a normal adult, covered in dense black scales that shimmered with a cold light even in the dim, sunless environment.

This python demon also stood upright, but largely retained its beastly form, only having two short, black-scaled legs like a human's, but much shorter, basically forearm length.

On either side of its spine, where a normal person would have arms, this python demon also had a miniaturized version of something resembling an arm.

"Hiss..." The python demon that arrived flicked its tongue. "How many?"

The bear demon looked back at Jiang Lan and the two snake demons, seeming to ponder for a moment before responding:

"Four."

"Do you know the rules?" The python demon said, extending its miniature arm and opening its claws outside the gate.

"I do."

The bear demon grumbled, reaching into his long fur and fumbling for a moment before pulling out a small handful of pitch-black pills.

He counted out four and handed them to the python demon.

Jiang Lan narrowed his eyes, observing the entire process.

Was this black pill the currency of the demon world?

It didn't look very appetizing.

However, since it was used as currency, it must be divided into Ranks.

There couldn't be only one denomination of currency.

In that case, large transactions would be impossible.

But despite his curiosity, Jiang Lan wasn't foolish enough to step forward and ask.

Not understanding other things could be attributed to being unfamiliar with the place.

But currency was the most basic thing.

If he asked, it would be like asking someone in a human city what silver was for.

Wouldn't that be crazy?

Moreover, from Jiang Lan's observations, demons weren't stupid.

They might not have as many schemes as humans, but they were definitely not foolish.

Furthermore, if Jiang Lan really asked such a question, even a true fool would probably sense that something was amiss.

While Jiang Lan was pondering, the market gate had already been pulled open by the black snake demon.

The bear demon entered first, followed closely by the two snake demons.

As for Jiang Lan, he followed at the very end.

Entering the market.

After only a couple of steps, Jiang Lan was assailed by a foul, pungent odor, like rotten eggs left out for a month in summer, with some urine sprinkled in and two pieces of stinky tofu added.

While he had faintly smelled it outside the gate, it was nowhere near as intense as it was now.

It was almost making his eyes water.

The bear demon and the others, however, showed no signs of discomfort, their expressions relaxed and natural.

It was as if they hadn't smelled the odor within the market at all.

Jiang Lan frowned slightly, secretly circulating a wisp of True Qi to block his nostrils.

Instantly, he felt his breathing become much clearer.

Although the True Qi couldn't completely block the smell of this place, it was much better compared to before.

With the problem of his sense of smell resolved, Jiang Lan finally had time to carefully survey the market.

As far as the eye could see, there were no multi-story buildings, not even houses built of brick and stone.

Jiang Lan suspected that the only place with stones in this market was probably the outer wall.

And the places where demons could live here were all dilapidated tents, varying in size and shape.

If the streets were lined with humans, it would be a veritable slum.

Led by the bear demon, Jiang Lan made several turns and arrived at a street that was slightly more bustling than the previous area.

It was called a street, but it was actually just flat ground, only with many stalls on either side.

Behind the stalls sat many demons of various forms.

In front of them, animal hides were laid out.

On them were mostly bones, chunks of meat, and some plants and herbs that Jiang Lan didn't recognize.

Compared to a human market, this place seemed much more crude.

Hoarse, unpleasant shouts of vendors rose and fell.

"Human meat, fresh human meat! If it's not delicious, it's free!"

Jiang Lan frowned.

He had always known that demons ate humans.

However, seeing his own kind being sold as merchandise, Jiang Lan found it difficult to accept for a moment.

He wondered how these demons managed to obtain humans, considering how far this place was from Lingtian Pass.

A surge of Qi rose within him.

Jiang Lan suddenly asked, "What Realm is the market master of this market?"

The bear demon, who had been keeping an eye on Jiang Lan, promptly replied when he heard him speak:

"I don't know that, but he must at least be a Mortal Shedding Late Stage. Maybe he's even reached Demon Core. Such a big shot is not someone you or I can provoke. It's best to just browse honestly in this market and not cause trouble."

Mortal Shedding Late Stage... Let alone Mortal Shedding Late Stage, he could even fight a Core Formation Late Stage.

It seemed like flattening this market might not be impossible?

Just by walking through, Jiang Lan had already seen hundreds of various demons.

Although their strength was generally weak, they made up for it in numbers.

If he killed them all, it would also be a considerable amount of lifespan for him.

However, this thought only flashed in Jiang Lan's mind for an instant before he quickly dismissed it.

He couldn't rush.

If he disrupted his own rhythm as soon as he arrived, how would his subsequent plans proceed?