Chapter 272 - 258: Agreement Reached

Chapter 272: Chapter 258: Agreement Reached

Collapsed mountains, shattered trees, and the reek of burning and blood were everywhere.

Taking in the scene, Chu Mu was at a loss for words.

Of the three Black Markets, besides the one at the bottom of the lake to the rear, the other two had been destroyed by the war, just like this one.

Judging by the remnants, it was clear that an incredibly fierce battle had taken place here.

’Could the Sun Family have been annihilated...?’

Chu Mu gazed into the distance. As far as he knew, this battlefront, once held by the East Lake Xie Family, had previously been deep within the Sun Family’s territory.

Later, following the Vast Sea Chen Family’s betrayal, the Righteous Alliance was forced to retreat to East Lake.

Naturally, the Sun Family’s former territory was completely overrun by the Longevity Sect.

And this Black Market, as far as he knew, was backed by... the Sun Family.

"You, come here!"

Chu Mu spotted several Cultivators rummaging through the nearby ruins and sent a telepathic command.

Upon receiving the message, the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer Cultivator’s face went pale. He struggled to lift his head and look at Chu Mu, who was standing on a nearby peak.

The man looked hesitant, but under the intimidating pressure of a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation, he obediently made his way toward Chu Mu.

"This junior, Niu He, greets you, Senior."

The man approached as if walking to his own execution, trembling with fear.

Chu Mu asked, "Where is the nearest Black Market?"

The man blinked, then seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "Reporting to you, Senior, there’s an underground Black Market over in that direction, on Ghost Tomb Mountain. It’s not far at all, very close..."

"Lead the way."

Chu Mu casually tossed a small bag of Spirit Stones into the man’s arms, his words terse.

"This way, Senior!"

With the bag of Spirit Stones in hand, the man’s face lit up. He respectfully led Chu Mu toward the so-called underground Black Market.

In less than fifteen minutes, a mountain peak shaped like a large burial mound came into view.

The peak resembled a tomb, shrouded in a thin mist.

Up close, the trees and boulders on the mountain were bizarrely shaped, giving off an unnatural chill.

It looked quite sinister at a glance.

Ghost Tomb Mountain certainly lived up to its name.

"Senior, it’s right over there. I’ll lead the way."

The man pointed ahead and eagerly led on.

Just like the Fengming Mountain Black Market, this Ghost Tomb Black Market was also located inside the mountain.

The scene inside was no different from the old Fengming Mountain Black Market, with numerous Puppets maintaining order.

"Who... is behind this Black Market?"

Surveying the scene, which was almost identical to Fengming Mountain, a slightly surprised Chu Mu turned to Niu He and asked his question.

"I’m afraid I don’t know."

Niu He shook his head. "This Black Market was only set up a few dozen days ago. This junior has only been here a few times himself..."

Chu Mu nodded and waved a hand, dismissing Niu He.

Niu He bowed respectfully and departed.

Chu Mu paused, glancing at a Human-shaped Puppet nearby. After studying it for a moment, he turned his attention to the Black Market proper.

After a moment’s thought, he took out a dozen or so Spirit Stones and handed them to a Puppet to rent a stall. With that done, he began to walk through the Black Market.

Just as Niu He had said, this Black Market hadn’t been around for long.

But its foot traffic was surprisingly heavy.

The reason wasn’t hard to figure out.

It was located near the front lines, and with the surrounding Black Markets wiped out and nearby Marketplaces ravaged by war, the Ghost Tomb Black Market had become one of the few remaining options, so naturally, it was bustling.

After making a lap around the Ghost Tomb Black Market and spending a fair number of Spirit Stones to restock on various items, he returned to his rented stall.

The Magical Artifacts he had seized, along with the various ones he had refined himself, filled an entire Storage Talisman.

If converted into Spirit Stones, their value would likely approach 100,000!

He selected a few and placed a dozen or so Magical Artifacts on display.

From what he had seen and heard, in these wartorn times, the price of Spiritual Materials had skyrocketed. Consequently, powerful tools for self-defense and Battle like Magical Artifacts had also seen their prices soar, becoming a hard currency just like Spirit Stones.

He then took up a brush and dashed off a few lines on a sheet of white paper. With a mere thought, the paper floated up to hang in front of his stall.

The gist of it was that all Magical Artifacts at the stall were for trade only, not for sale.

They could only be exchanged for Spiritual Materials of equivalent value.

After all, he didn’t have much need for Spirit Stones at the moment.

Many of the items he needed could no longer be bought with Spirit Stones anyway. And if he wanted to earn Spirit Stones, it was a simple matter—refining a single Magical Artifact could easily fetch him hundreds or thousands.

There weren’t many Magical Artifacts on his stall, but without exception, every single one was of exceptional quality.

There were Puppets, puppet-like Battle Armor, various other Magical Artifacts, and even single-use special items like Spiritual Bombs.

Each one was an item rarely seen in the outside world.

And here they were, casually displayed at a stall in this Black Market.

As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush. Such a collection of rare Magical Artifacts quickly attracted the attention of passing Cultivators.

A steady stream of people came to inquire about the prices.

Chu Mu patiently handled each inquiry. With every Magical Artifact he traded, several high-quality Spiritual Materials went into his Storage Talisman.

His requirements for the materials were simple: for Tier One Spiritual Materials, they had to have special properties or be rare. For anything above Tier One, he had no requirements and would accept all offers.

Over the next few days, the nearly thirty Magical Artifacts he put out were all traded away.

His Storage Ring now held a large new pile of rare Spiritual Materials, while the Artifact Creations that had once filled an entire Storage Talisman had been completely depleted.

He made one more lap around the Black Market, gathering some common, basic Spiritual Materials for future use, before leaving the Ghost Tomb Black Market and heading for Water Heaven Workshop.

His Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation was undoubtedly a powerful safeguard.

There were none of the usual prying eyes, and in a sense, he was now above the law of the jungle that reigned outside the Black Market.

After all, in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, anyone who managed to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm—even disciples from Clans or Sects—had to have overcome countless hardships to get there.

The sort of thing that happened in the Qi Cultivation Realm—countless deaths and injuries over trivial profits—was unheard of among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

A streak of fiery red light flashed across the sky. By the time he arrived at Water Heaven Workshop, it was precisely the tenth day.

Inside the shop, a restless-looking Xie Hui breathed a sigh of relief the moment Chu Mu appeared. He hurried forward to greet him, bowing deeply.

"Senior, these are the Spiritual Materials you requested."

As he spoke, he handed over a Storage Talisman.

Chu Mu accepted the Storage Talisman and swept his Divine Sense inside. All sorts of Spiritual Materials clearly appeared in his perception.

At the Black Market, he had traded that Storage Talisman full of Magical Artifacts for a huge batch of various Spiritual Materials—some useful for his current projects, some not.

But useful or not, their Tier Two quality alone meant that if he designed an artifact around them, it would be a Top Grade Magical Artifact at a minimum. If he added a few other Second Grade Spiritual Materials, he could even reach the Spiritual Artifact Grade.

For an Artifact Refiner like him, there was no such thing as a useless Spiritual Material.

With the materials he had just acquired, plus these Tier Two Spiritual Materials from Xie Hui...

’It seems I finally have all the Spiritual Materials needed for a few of my designs.’

Realizing this, his mood lifted considerably. With a flick of his hand, the Storage Talisman vanished. Only then did he turn to the expectant Xie Hui.

He considered for a moment before speaking slowly.

"I require no salary. I have only one request: collect all the Tier Two and higher Spiritual Materials you can for me. Purchase them at market price."

As he spoke, he produced a bag of Spirit Stones and a Sound Transmission Order he had refined himself, which allowed for communication within a two-thousand-li radius. He handed both to Xie Hui.

"If you need me, use this to contact me. I’ll come by within the month."

"Also, don’t bother me with requests for Low Tier Magical Artifacts."

Xie Hui was a bit stunned. This was not what he had expected at all, but he didn’t dare say more and simply nodded in agreement.

Finally, he worked up the courage to ask, "If I may be so bold, Senior... what is your rank as an Artifact Refiner?"

"By your Clan’s standards, I should... count as a Tier Two Upper Grade Refiner..."

He then added, "I can refine anything below the level of a Magical Treasure. You have no need to worry."

"If a refining attempt fails, I will cover the cost in Spirit Stones."

"Tier Two... Upper Grade?"

Xie Hui’s eyes were wide with disbelief, and he began to stammer.

’Good heavens, he had just been hoping to find a new avenue for his business. Finding someone who could refine Upper Grade Magical Artifacts would have been cause enough to burn incense and thank the ancestors... But now, he had somehow managed to land a true titan, a master beyond his wildest dreams...’

"Senior, can you truly refine Spiritual Artifacts? Even Top Grade Spiritual Artifacts?"

"Let’s see if you can bring me any business first."

Chu Mu waved a hand, not bothering to explain, and headed for the door.

"No, no, Senior, I misspoke! I misspoke..."

Xie Hui explained profusely, terrified of angering the titan he had just met.

Pausing at the door, Chu Mu pointed to the Sound Transmission Order in Xie Hui’s hand. "I’ll be staying around Water Heaven Workshop for the next few months. If you need anything, just use that to contact me."

With that said, Chu Mu walked out of the shop without waiting for Xie Hui’s reaction.

’This partnership was just a convenient arrangement he’d happened upon. After all, as an Artifact Refiner—and an unconventional one at that, with a complete and vast system of knowledge to draw from... he would inevitably need a massive amount of Spiritual Materials to practice with and accumulate sufficient Artifact Refining experience. If Xie Hui could prove useful, this partnership would be a win-win.’

"A Tier Two Upper Grade Refiner..."

Chu Mu had already disappeared into the crowd, leaving Xie Hui standing stunned at the shop entrance, muttering to himself, still unable to process what had just happened.

After a long while, he finally seemed to snap out of it, his face breaking into an unconcealable grin.

"I’m gonna be rich! My fortune is about to take off!"

He rubbed his hands together, unable to contain his excitement.

That was a Tier Two Upper Grade Refiner!

A titan like that had actually decided to set up shop in his humble little place.

If he couldn’t make it big with this opportunity, who could?

...