138: Black market auction! I want this pile of scrap metal!

The Jidao Black Market, a massive underground palace buried deep beneath the slums of the northern city.

The air here was so thick it was suffocating. Besides the various strange medicinal herb scents, it was mixed with a perennial smell of rust and blood. Gu Yang (now disguised as a scarred-faced burly man) kept his head down, treading on the damp stone pavement. The black market merchants around him, shrouded in oversized cloaks, looked like ghosts, their occasional gazes gloomy and filled with scrutiny.

In a place like the Central Continent, Laws were meant to restrict the weak. In the black market, fists and Mid-grade Spirit Crystals were the hard currency.

Gu Yang felt a slight tremor on his shoulder; it was Er Gou squirming excitedly in his arms. This little money-grubber had clearly sniffed out some 'high-end ingredients'.

"Don't be in a hurry; the water is deep here. Don't ruin my 'business'." Gu Yang lowered his voice, which became raspy and magnetic, the perfect image of a mercenary who had licked blood for years on the fringes of the Central Continent.

Following the guidance of the Spirit Stone's vibration, he passed a row of bizarre stalls selling "Void Refinement Stage Yao Beast eyeballs" and "nameless fingers soaked in venom," finally stopping before a domed building constructed from countless white bone fragments.

Above the building's lintel hung a rust-stained iron plaque engraved with three flamboyant characters: "Wan Zhen Pavilion."

This was the largest auction house here and the core of the northern city's black market... "Halt. Entry fee: one thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals."

Two burly Minotaur-like aliens, their auras reaching the Nascent Soul Mid-Stage, blocked the way. Their giant axes were crossed, with dark red spiritual light flowing over the blades, showing these two weapons were at least Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts.

In the Central Continent, a thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals were enough for a small ordinary Sect's annual expenses. Gu Yang cursed "black shop" in his heart, but his face remained expressionless as he tossed over a cloth bag.

This was the salary he had just "borrowed" from the Tian Xu Holy Son.

The Minotaur guard took the bag, scanned it with his Divine Sense, and his stiff expression softened slightly. They stepped aside and said in a booming voice, "Second floor, Seat Ding. Don't cause trouble, or you'll be thrown into the sea to feed the fish."

Gu Yang gave a cold snort and swaggered in, carrying the bundle on his back (which contained the myriad poison star shattering hammer)... Inside the auction house, the lighting was dim.

Hundreds of seats surrounded the central circular platform in a semi-circle. The gravity Formation here had clearly been strengthened; an ordinary person sitting here would probably find it difficult even to breathe. But for Gu Yang, it felt like wearing a slightly heavy weighted vest, making his somewhat "overloaded" blood and Qi feel a sense of relief instead.

He sat in a corner on the second floor, looking down coldly at the scene below.

The auction had already begun.

"Next item: a piece of Profound Ice Iron Mother tempered by the 'Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation'. Starting price: fifty thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals!" On the stage, a Fox Clan woman wearing a gauzy dress as thin as a cicada's wing, revealing a section of her fair waist, was hard-selling the item.

This kind of material would be enough to trigger a fight among Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators outside, but in the Central Continent's black market, it could only be placed in the first half of the auction.

Gu Yang had no interest in this; his gaze remained locked on the backstage passage behind the Fox Clan woman. That vibration that made his spine tingle slightly was coming from there.

"Ding!"

With a crisp chime of the bell, the Fox Clan woman's expression became much more serious. She clapped her hands, and four burly men laboriously carried out a tray covered in red silk.

Those four burly men were all Early Spirit Transformation Stage Body Cultivators, yet their steps were exceptionally heavy. With every step, the sturdy bluestone platform would crack.

"Everyone, the next item was retrieved three months ago from the depths of the 'Undercurrent Burial Pit' in the Endless Sea by our Wan Zhen Pavilion."

The woman pulled back the red silk, revealing a semi-circular, dark gray metal fragment.

This metal fragment was about the size of a washbasin, its surface covered in dense cracks. It looked like a piece of rusted scrap metal pried from under a stove, with no spiritual energy fluctuations or even a hint of the aura of Laws.

The Cultivators in the audience, who had been expectant, immediately erupted in boos.

"What the hell? Bringing a piece of scrap metal onto the stage?" "This thing doesn't even have a Formation; it's probably too brittle to even make a pot out of, right?"

The Fox Clan woman smiled awkwardly and cleared her throat to explain, "Fellow Daoists, please look. Although this appears to be scrap metal, it weighs three million catties! Furthermore, even the true fire of an Old Ancestor-level figure cannot melt it in the slightest. More miraculously, it possesses extremely powerful 'Magic-Repelling' properties; any Spell that hits its surface will be instantly dissolved."

"Unfortunately, it cannot be refined by Divine Sense, nor can spiritual energy be infused into it. Therefore... the starting price is one hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals. If any Fellow Daoist wants to take it back to use as a pot-pressing stone, it would be excellent."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

In the Central Continent, Mid-grade Spirit Crystals were used to buy lives and cultivation Realms. Spending one hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals on a "pot-pressing stone"? Unless one's head had been kicked by a donkey.

However, in the shadows of Seat Ding on the second floor.

The moment the metal fragment appeared, Gu Yang's pupils snapped to the size of needlepoints.

He felt the Divine Demon blood and Qi within him roar like they had seen their long-lost father. Every cell was frantically transmitting a message of desire: Eat it! Eat it quickly!

In his Jidao vision, deep within the cracks of that scrap metal, a layer of dark gold, seemingly eternal glimmer flickered faintly.

That was... the remnants of the will of an ancient Jidao Divine Demon!

"One hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals."

A raspy and dull voice abruptly broke the silence of the auction house.

Gu Yang slowly raised his hand, the scar on his face looking particularly hideous in the dim light.

The Fox Clan woman was stunned for a moment, then became overjoyed. "The Fellow Daoist at Seat Ding on the second floor bids one hundred thousand! Is there anyone else?"

The Cultivators in the audience turned their heads one after another, their eyes filled with pity and mockery. "Where did this fool come from? He's actually buying that scrap metal?" "Probably a Body Cultivator barbarian from some remote mountain area who thinks heavy things are treasures, haha."

However, before Gu Yang could breathe a sigh of relief.

"One hundred and ten thousand."

A cold and unquestionably domineering female voice came from a private booth in the front row of the first floor.

The curtain of the booth was slightly lifted, revealing a profile that was heroic even behind a veil. On her forehead, there was a faint golden character for "War."

A hidden ancient clan—the Zhan Clan!

The entire audience gasped.

"Is that 'Zhan Linger' of the Zhan Clan? Rumor has it the Zhan Clan possesses an ancient Divine War Bloodline and their Physical Body is incredibly strong. Could this scrap metal really contain something special?"

Gu Yang frowned slightly. He didn't know any Zhan Linger; he only knew that someone was stealing his "dinner."

"Two hundred thousand." Gu Yang raised his hand again without hesitation. The Mid-grade Spirit Crystals he had accumulated were enough for him to be a spendthrift for a while.

Zhan Linger turned her head slightly to look at Gu Yang on the second floor, a flash of scrutiny and cold arrogance in her eyes. In the eyes of the Zhan Clan, most external Body Cultivators were crude and inferior, but the composure the other party showed when bidding just now piqued her curiosity.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand." Zhan Linger calmly raised the price. As the little princess of the Zhan Clan, she didn't lack this bit of pocket money. She was buying this fragment purely out of an instinctive resonance—the Zhan Clan Bloodline had a natural sensitivity to heavy metals.

Gu Yang grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"Five hundred thousand. My old man said I need a heavy enough pot-pressing stone when I get married, and this one is just right."

A wave of violent coughing erupted in the auction house; many people were choked by Gu Yang's bizarre reason.

Five hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals! To buy a pot-pressing stone?!

Zhan Linger's face darkened. Although she was wealthy, it didn't mean she was a fool. In the Central Continent, five hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals could already buy a decent Medium Grade ancient treasure.

She gave Gu Yang a long, deep look, finally gave a cold snort, and lowered her jade plaque.

"Sold! Congratulations to the Fellow Daoist at Seat Ding on the second floor!" The Fox Clan woman's voice even cracked with excitement... A moment later, Gu Yang settled the payment backstage.

When his calloused hands finally touched the dark gray fragment...

Buzz—!

A primal aura heavy enough to crush the Void Realm instantly surged through his fingertips into his internal organs. Gu Yang felt as if he wasn't holding a piece of iron, but an entire fallen star core!

[Detected Divine Demon-grade evolution patch: Jidao Heart-Protecting Mirror Fragment!] [Detected Ancient War God's Will... Match rate: 98%!] [Warning: The Fusion process is extremely painful; it is recommended to find a place with a stable gravity field!]

"Good stuff... it really is good stuff!" Gu Yang felt the greedy desire emanating from the fragment, his heart pounding.

He didn't linger backstage but quickly stored the fragment in his Storage Pouch.

Just as he stepped out of the Wan Zhen Pavilion's main gate.

Er Gou suddenly tugged at his pant leg, his emerald eyes looking toward the shadows at the end of the street.

"Old Man Lei's nose is still sharper than I expected."

Gu Yang patted Er Gou in his arms, a cruel arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Since they want to 'give me money' so badly, I'll make one last bit of travel fare before fusing with this treasure."

He looked at the faint purple lightning appearing in the distant sky, and his entire being turned into a shadow, vanishing into the maze-like alleys of the black market.

The first true storm of the Central Continent was about to explode over the ruins of this black market.

[Current Cultivation: Divine Demon Golden Body · Initial Stage (Second Revolution Perfection)] [Evolution Progress: 30% (Fragment awaiting Fusion)] [Combat Power Estimate: After successful Fusion, can sweep through Early Void Refining Stage.]