105: Chapter 105 Black Sand Market

Yellow sand swirled across the sky.

A massive city, shrouded by a giant earth-yellow Formation light barrier, stood in the center of the desert.

Black Sand Market.

It was the largest gathering place for Loose Cultivators in the western region of the Great Yu Cultivation World. This place was not under the jurisdiction of any major orthodox or demonic Sect; the only rules here were those of blades and Spirit Stones.

Gu Shen wore blue brocade robes, his complexion pale and sickly, his figure gaunt. He stood among the crowd queuing to enter the market, covering his mouth and coughing violently. He looked exactly like a dissolute Young Master from a noble family, his body hollowed out by wine and women.

The weak aura of his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation stood out starkly among the surrounding group of fierce-looking Loose Cultivators, drawing many scornful glances.

Gu Shen did not care in the least.

He lowered his eyelids slightly, his gaze falling upon the market entrance.

Eight Cultivators wearing blood-colored robes stood on both sides, their gazes scanning every Loose Cultivator entering the city like hawks. Above the city gate hung a bronze Magical Artifact mirror that emitted a cold, blood-red light.

"The Blood Fiend Sect really has long arms," Gu Shen sneered inwardly.

Only three days had passed since the battle at Fengxiao Gorge, yet the Blood Fiend Sect was already brazenly setting up checkpoints to seize people at the entrance of Black Sand Market.

"Name, origin." When it was Gu Shen's turn, a Blood Fiend Sect Disciple asked coldly.

Gu Shen feigned a cowardly appearance and handed over two Low-Grade Spirit Stones. One was for the entry fee, and the other was quietly slipped into the Disciple's sleeve.

"I am surnamed Lin, from Yuezhou. I came... came here to broaden my horizons." Gu Shen deliberately lowered his voice, revealing a dissolute smile that every man understood.

The Disciple weighed the Spirit Stones in his sleeve and swept his Divine Sense over Gu Shen; Qi Refining Level 3, completely harmless. He impatiently activated the blood mirror above his head to scan him.

The mirror's surface remained calm and unrippled.

The Blood Fiend Seal remained on the white bone yang key, and the yang key was currently tightly locked in a spirit-sealing jade box deep within his Storage Ring, not allowing even a trace of its aura to leak out.

"Go in. Behave yourself; the market hasn't been peaceful lately." The Disciple waved his hand, letting Gu Shen pass as if shooing away a fly.

Stepping through the Formation light barrier, the clamor of the market rushed into his ears.

Along the wide stone-paved streets, shops stood in rows. From time to time, Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators would fly past in mid-air on their Magical Artifacts, leaving behind trails of afterimages.

Gu Shen was in no rush to find Nili Lane.

In the Cultivation World, if a Loose Cultivator with no Foundation went around asking for the name of an underworld figure, they wouldn't live for three days.

He followed the street and walked into a low-class tavern named "Gathering Drunk Tower." Such places were a mixture of dragons and snakes, making them the fastest places for information to circulate.

He tossed out a crystal fragment and ordered a pot of inferior fire-burning wine. Gu Shen chose a secluded corner by the window and sat down, pretending to listen to the music with drunken, hazy eyes.

"Crab," Gu Shen thought silently.

The black iron clasp attached to his collar vibrated slightly.

"Master, the monitoring module is activated. Invalid noise has been filtered," the Crab's dry, mechanical voice entered his ears.

Gu Shen held his wine cup, maintaining his persona as a native Cultivator; he had always regarded this Crab as the artifact spirit of some ancient Spirit Treasure. Although it possessed no magical power, it was proficient in calculation and eavesdropping, truly a Sharp Weapon for assisting his path of survival.

Inside the tavern's main hall, three Middle Stage Qi Refining Loose Cultivators were whispering to each other.

"Did you hear? Something big happened at Fengxiao Gorge. A shipment of red darts belonging to the Quicksand Gang was robbed by the Blood Fiend Sect, and Deputy Gang Leader Li escaped with heavy injuries. The Blood Fiend Sect is now scouring everywhere like madmen for a Body Cultivator who uses a blade."

"A Body Cultivator who uses a blade? No wonder the city gate checks are so strict. I also heard that this matter is related to the rumors of the Myriad Insect Tomb appearing a while ago."

"Quiet! Do you have a death wish? That's meat targeted by the major Sects; we wouldn't even get to drink the soup."

One of the lecherous-looking Loose Cultivators changed the subject, whispering mysteriously: "However, the more chaotic the situation, the more prosperous the underground business becomes. Tomorrow night, deep in Nili Lane, there will be a black market auction. I heard there are many good items stripped from dead people, and even a few incomplete scrolls of ancient mechanism techniques."

"An auction? Is Old Ghost Mo leading it?"

"Besides him, who else in Nili Lane has such Face?" The lecherous Loose Cultivator chuckled, "Unfortunately, entry credentials are extremely hard to get; you need an introduction from an acquaintance. We don't stand a chance."

The conversation gradually turned to which brothel's female Cultivator was the most attractive.

Gu Shen tilted his head back and finished the inferior wine in his cup, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Old Ghost Mo, black market auction, ancient mechanism technique scrolls."

It was exactly what he was looking for.

He had been worrying about where to find this Old Ghost Mo. If he went directly to his doorstep, not only would he be unable to explain how he knew about the Blood Fiend Seal, but he might even be killed and robbed by the other party directly.

But if he made contact openly through this black market auction, not only could he discuss the trade logically, but he might also be able to find some parts to repair those fifteen Puppets.

After paying for the wine, Gu Shen stood up and left the tavern.

The sun set behind the western mountains.

In the southwest corner of the Outer City of the market lay an abandoned, dried-up riverbed. This place never saw sunlight year-round, filled with miasma, with all sorts of dilapidated shacks and stone caves clinging to both sides of the riverbed like a honeycomb.

This was Nili Lane. The place where the dregs of Black Sand Market hid their filth.

Gu Shen carried a Spirit Stone lamp emitting a faint white light, walking on the uneven, muddy path. The air was filled with a strange odor of rot mixed with inferior Medicinal Pills.

In the darkness, who knew how many greedy eyes were staring at his luxurious brocade robes. If not for the suppression of the Law Enforcement Squad's patrol rules in this place, he would have long since been knocked unconscious and robbed.

"Crab, scout the hidden sentries ahead."

"Master, fifty zhang ahead, there is a high-energy heat source lurking in the stone cave on the left. In the abandoned well on the right, there are two fluctuations of spiritual power, with an intensity of Qi Refining Stage 4. Determined to be a warning network."

Gu Shen did not stop his pace, but as he passed the abandoned well, he deliberately coughed violently a few times, "accidentally" letting a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones slide from his sleeve and fall into the muddy water.

He pretended not to notice and continued walking forward.

A sound of extremely faint, arrested breathing came from the well, and then two gazes filled with greed locked tightly onto those few Spirit Stones, no longer paying any attention to Gu Shen's whereabouts.

Spending a little money to get things done. Gu Shen had the inferior nature of Loose Cultivators firmly grasped.

Passing through several intricate, dark alleys, a dilapidated black stone tower appeared at the end of his vision.

At the entrance of the tower hung two ghost lamps emitting a green light. An emaciated old man with one blind eye was lying on a rocking chair at the entrance.

This was the largest pawnshop in Nili Lane, and also the property of the Old Ghost Mo that the Loose Cultivators spoke of.

Gu Shen walked to the front of the rocking chair without speaking.

The blind old man did not open his eyes either, only letting out a cold snort from his nose: "If you want to pawn something, take it out. You know the rules, right? We only recognize the goods, not the source."

Gu Shen reached into his robes.

He did not take out the scorching hot white bone yang key.

Instead, he pulled out the Rank 2 shadow cat bone spike he had obtained in the spiritless ruins.

Clap.

The bone spike was thrown onto the wooden table beside the old man. The hidden armor-piercing Evil Qi instantly caused the surrounding temperature to drop by three degrees.

The blind old man's only remaining eye snapped open, staring fixedly at the bone spike, a terrifyingly sharp glint bursting from his cloudy eye.

"Such heavy Evil Qi! A Rank 2 demon bone, and without a single impurity... Good stuff!"

The old man sat up straight abruptly, looking up and down at Gu Shen's dissolute Young Master exterior, grinning to reveal a few yellow teeth: "Young Master, how much do you want to pawn this for?"

"I'm not pawning it for Spirit Stones."

Gu Shen looked down at him, his tone revealing an impatient, noble-family demeanor, "This Young Master only wants one thing. The entry wooden plaque for tomorrow night's black market auction. Is this demon bone enough as a stepping stone?"