I Built A Family Of Immortal Cultivators

Chapter 43: Exploring the Black Market (Part 1)

Lin Qing looked at the first-grade superior talisman in Che Yun's hand and was somewhat surprised. It was definitely not cheap. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Fire Cloud talisman used for attack, which was a top-notch talisman among first-grade superior talismans. When used, it could deliver a strike comparable to someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining. For someone at the Qi Refining stage, it could be considered a powerful weapon. In the market, this kind of talisman would cost at least ten spirit stones, and the key issue was that it was often out of stock.

"Yun'er, where did you get this talisman from?" Lin Qing couldn't help but ask.

Che Yun looked at Lin Qing and whispered, "It was left to me by my family. Originally, there were three, but I've already used two."

Lin Qing nodded and hugged Che Yun tightly without saying anything more.

After a few days, on the third day of the lunar month, Lin Qing prepared himself and set off. He first took a carriage outside and changed his appearance. Then he changed carriages again and used a Breath-Holding Pill to lower his cultivation to the mid-stage of Qi Refining. For his first visit to the black market, Lin Qing naturally wouldn't reveal his true strength right from the start.

The carriage left the mortal town and headed north. Within less than ten miles, it entered a dense forest. However, there were already paths in the forest that carriages had passed through, so the journey was relatively smooth.

The mortal driver who was driving the carriage had picked up Lin Qing from the mortal market and didn't know that Lin Qing was a cultivator. He spoke, "Sir, this route is quite remote. I've been driving for two years, but it's my first time taking this road."

Lin Qing didn't say anything. At this moment, another carriage came from behind.

The driver of the second carriage was at the first level of Qi Refining, and the aura inside the carriage indicated that the person was a cultivator, and moreover, an openly cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining.

The mortal driver who was currently driving the carriage also noticed the arrival of the second carriage and said, "Oh, how strange. Why is there another carriage?"

"Hey, make way for the one in front." The driver of the second carriage said.

Upon hearing this, the mortal driver who was driving Lin Qing became somewhat angry. There were rules in the carriage driving profession. In a road where only one carriage could pass, it was always first come, first served. As long as the one in front wasn't intentionally going slow, no matter how many carriages were behind, they had to wait. As long as one was a carriage driver, they had to abide by this rule. It was an industry practice.

The driver looked at the driver of the carriage behind them and took a glance, but didn't recognize him. At this moment, Lin Qing spoke, "Let him pass."

"This..." Lin Qing's words calmed down the driver who was still angry. After all, he was serving a customer. Since the customer wanted to let the other carriage pass, the driver had nothing to say. After giving way, he only stared at the carriage that passed them with a fierce gaze.

"Sir, you're being too polite. With someone like him, we could have easily pressed on. He's not carrying any immortal, and even if he were, he should still abide by the rules." The driver said again.

Lin Qing didn't say anything. This driver hadn't been in the profession for long, and he looked strong, but he seemed a bit reckless. If he were driving in a mortal city, it would be fine, but he was driving outside Xuan Yu City. If he didn't change this character, he would probably suffer. Rules were rules, but for cultivators, they didn't care about rules, only strength. Those who could drive for cultivators were probably at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining.

Next, the driver harbored resentment and drove the carriage faster than before. Lin Qing didn't mind.

This road to the north was winding but straight in direction. After driving for nearly twenty miles, mist appeared ahead. As soon as the carriage entered the line of sight, it was compressed within ten steps. Lin Qing quickly had the driver back out of it.

Looking at the mist, Lin Qing suspected that it was some kind of maze.

After paying the fare and having the driver return the same way, Lin Qing walked into the mist.

Lin Qing entered the mist, but the coachman looked around in confusion. He had been driving fast to catch up with the carriage that had overtaken them, but instead of catching up, the carriage had disappeared. Looking at the fog ahead and the dense forest surrounding them, the coachman was startled. Could the carriage that had overtaken them really be a celestial being?

The coachman broke out in a cold sweat. He usually drove around Xuan Yu Lane, but he mostly transported ordinary people. It was rare to transport celestial beings, as they rarely mingled with mortals, or so he had heard from his colleagues. Wiping away his sweat, the coachman turned the carriage around and had not gone far when he felt a shiver.

If the missing carriage was indeed carrying a celestial being, then who was the person who had entered the mist just now?

Meanwhile, Lin Qing walked into the mist and saw that the surroundings were obscured. He had a thought and activated his spiritual energy in his eyes. When he looked again, the fog immediately disappeared.

This was the most basic use of spiritual energy, mentioned in any cultivation technique. Even a Qi Refining cultivator at the first level would know about it.

Normally, this method allowed one to see farther and clearer, but now it had become a means to distinguish between mortals and cultivators. If Lin Qing was not mistaken, this formation would cause mortals to lose their way and eventually return to their starting point, while only cultivators could see through the fog and move forward.

The road outside had not actually disappeared; it still extended inside. However, Lin Qing could only walk forward. He did not have the cultivation level of a Qi Refining first-level coachman.

But after walking for less than two miles, Lin Qing saw a small house ahead. He walked in and found only one person inside.

It was a Qi Refining seventh-level cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to attend the gathering? Please pay a spirit stone and receive a mask and robe to enter," the cultivator said when he saw Lin Qing.

Lin Qing nodded and took out a spirit stone, accepting the mask and a black robe from the cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, go forward another five hundred steps, and you will be able to enter," the cultivator directed Lin Qing.

Lin Qing looked ahead and realized that the entrance was not here. The cultivator running the black market was indeed cautious.

As Lin Qing walked forward, the cultivator in the small house watched his back for a while and muttered to himself, "He's a new cultivator. His appearance should have been disguised, and his cultivation level is a bit strange. He doesn't seem like a Qi Refining mid-level cultivator."

Unbeknownst to Lin Qing, only first-time participants would enter the small house. Others who had attended before would go directly to the entrance. Lin Qing had inadvertently revealed that it was his first time.

After walking about five hundred steps, Lin Qing saw an underground entrance and walked straight in.

As for the mask and robe, he had already put them on.

Inside was a single passage illuminated by oil lamps. Lin Qing walked for dozens of steps until he reached an underground hall of about two hundred square meters. The hall was lit up as bright as day by the flames. At this moment, dozens of cultivators were sitting cross-legged, setting up stalls.

Lin Qing calmly looked around and felt somewhat disappointed.

This black market, rather than selling things that couldn't be found in Xuan Yu Lane, seemed to be selling forbidden items in the cultivation world.

(End of this chapter)