Chapter 314: The Black Market (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 314: The Black Market (3)
As the auction began, a rather strong-looking man carried a large jar onto the stage.
The jar, which looked like something you'd use to make kimchi in the countryside, was filled to the brim with familiar-looking pills.
'Don't tell me...'
There probably wasn't a single person here who didn't know what those were.
From the poor to the wealthy, it was a versatile food that every martial artist had likely tried at least once.
“The first item is the Grain Pill, Byeokgokdan.”
As expected, sighs erupted from all over, as if everyone had seen it coming.
Byeokgokdan is a Central Plains-style energy bar made by drying and grinding ingredients like pine pollen, pine needles, beans, carrots, cassia seeds, Solomon's seal, jujubes, chestnuts, and pine nuts, then mixing the powder with honey and rolling it into balls.
Needless to say, not many martial artists were fond of Byeokgokdan.
They called it an energy bar, but from my experience, the taste was atrocious.
It was dry, bitter, and had a nasty aftertaste.
It wasn't something you ate for the taste; it felt more like a supplement you forced down for the sake of training.
Even back on Earth, there had been an announcement in China that a few Byeokgokdan pills and a few sips of water constituted a nutritionally decent meal.
Of course, I'd never had to train while chewing on Byeokgokdan.
'If the other guys heard that, they'd probably explode with rage, calling it a humblebrag.'
They'd spend months, even years, in closed-door training, surviving on nothing but Byeokgokdan just to break through a single realm. Meanwhile, someone like me was on the verge of the peak of the Transcendent Realm after just a few months. They'd probably die of jealousy.
But what can you do?
The world was always an unfair place.
I stared intently at the jar on the stage.
The first item of an auction is crucial for building excitement.
But they were starting with mere Byeokgokdan?
The auctioneer, perhaps sensing the questions held by me and the other participants, quickly continued his explanation.
“This is no ordinary Byeokgokdan. This is the Green Food Pill, Cheongsikdan, painstakingly crafted by the nuns of the Potala Sect using their secret techniques. Consuming it helps to gradually expel the impure energy lodged in one's minor meridians.”
At the auctioneer's explanation, the crowd instantly stirred.
The Potala Sect.
The name carried significant weight.
While not one of the Nine Great Sects and One Alliance, everyone knew that the Potala Sect, along with the Emei Sect of Sichuan, was one of the most prestigious Buddhist sects.
Furthermore, the fact that the sect was composed entirely of women drew even more interest from the men.
Of course, a reaction like, 'Huh? What's so hot about a Buddhist nun?' wouldn't be unreasonable.
But, surprisingly, the Buddhist nuns of this world didn't shave their heads.
As a result, it was hard to even recognize them as nuns if they wore ordinary clothes.
In other words, it was a sect of women who looked no different from ordinary girls. On top of that, thanks to their martial arts training, they were all in great shape, and being nuns, every single member was a pure virgin.
The Emei Sect was in a similar situation, of course, but the Potala Sect's reputation as one of the most mysterious sects in the Central Plains played a large part in capturing people's interest.
The nuns of the Potala Sect, located on the far eastern edge of the continent, rarely appeared in the Central Plains, so rumors about them naturally became exaggerated.
Rumors spread that every member of the Potala Sect was a peerless beauty, that one could marry a Potala nun by completing a pilgrimage across the Central Plains to their temple, or that the sect had long abandoned Buddhist teachings and was now kidnapping men from nearby villages to continue its lineage, and so on.
Absurd rumors ran rampant—the kind that would make the nuns break their precept against killing if they ever heard them.
Well, not anymore.
'Was it thirty years ago?'
A nun from the Potala Sect had participated in the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament held at the time.
After winning the tournament and earning the title 'Sword Phoenix,' she was said to have traveled the Central Plains with her master and senior martial sisters, punishing those who tarnished the sect's name with false rumors.
Of course, she didn't break the precept against killing.
She just crippled them.
After that, the malicious rumors about the Potala Sect vanished.
However, the rumor that the sect was filled with peerless beauties persisted. That was because the Sword Phoenix, her master, and her senior sisters were just that beautiful.
And the nun known as the Sword Phoenix thirty years ago was now said to be the current Sect Leader of the Potala Sect.
“A year's supply of the Potala Sect's Green Food Pills! We'll start the bidding at 40 silver nyang.”
“Fifty nyang!”
“Fifty-five!”
“Sixty!”
Thanks to the Potala Sect's guarantee, the price shot up quickly, finally selling for 72 silver nyang.
It seemed a bit pricey, but it wasn't easy to expel impure energy from the minor meridians even with qi circulation.
Considering that, it wasn't a bad price at all.
“The second item is the Pure Yin Pill.”
“Pure Yin Pill?”
Hearing of an elixir I'd never encountered before, I nudged the buck-toothed man sitting next to me.
“Th-the Pure Yin Pill is an elixir of extreme yin, crafted from the virgin blood of fifty maidens.”
“...What?”
The moment I heard that explanation, my face instinctively contorted into a scowl.
Since this was a market for the Black Path, I had expected some dirty and despicable items to show up.
But if this kind of crap was coming out at the beginning, I didn't even want to imagine what would appear later.
There's supposed to be a line in this world, a proper way of doing things.
But they'd kill fifty virgins just to make one elixir?
Grind—
The demonic energy that had been resting quietly in my dantian began to boil.
Just as I was overcome with the urge to destroy the auction house...
“G-Great Hero! I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but please, calm down!”
“A misunderstanding?”
The buck-toothed man, who had been watching me nervously the whole time, hurriedly tried to stop me.
“Yes! The virgin blood used for the Pure Yin Pill refers to the blood from a maiden's monthly cycle!”
“...?”
Wiping away a cold sweat, the man quickly continued his explanation.
“Even if we're of the Black Path, we're not the Blood Yin Cult. Do you really think we'd craft an elixir with the lives of fifty virgins?”
“You're saying they don't?”
“...Well, there might be some who do, but at least the Pure Yin Pill sold here isn't that kind of elixir. Besides, unless you've mastered the demonic arts of the Blood Yin Cult, you wouldn't even get the proper effects from a pill made that way, right?”
He had a point. Indiscriminately making pills from the essence and blood of virgins and children didn't necessarily lead to an increase in internal energy.
Without mastering the corresponding great arts and heart methods, one would only accumulate a massive amount of impure energy.
Only after they confirmed I had calmed down did the intensified gazes of surveillance die down.
The Black Market's swift response was quite surprising, but what was even more astonishing was that most of the auction participants showed no reaction at all.
“It happens often when a martial artist from the Orthodox Faction visits the Black Market for the first time. The market usually calms them down before things get out of hand, so everyone just lets it be. Of course, I've never seen anyone radiate such a murderous aura as you, Big Brother. I bet a few guys pissed their pants, even if they didn't show it.”
“I see.”
Smack!
I smacked the back of the buck-toothed man's head and focused on the auction again.
The guy looked like he was well over forty. Who was he calling Big Brother?
*
As the auction continued, a flood of elixirs and spirit herbs I'd never even heard of poured out.
One after another, the participants raised their paddles to bid, and the atmosphere in the auction house grew increasingly heated.
“Two silver ingots!”
“I'll add twenty silver nyang to that!”
“Fuck it, four silver ingots!”
Their eyes crazed by the elixirs and spirit herbs, the participants were emptying their entire fortunes.
But I didn't bid a single time.
Some decent elixirs came up now and then, but they were all like chicken ribs—not quite worth spending a fortune on.
'As I thought, are there no elixirs containing demonic energy?'
I had some hopes since this was a Black Market auction, but...
Unsurprisingly, I couldn't see any elixirs suitable for Cheon Yeo-hwa.
Just as my anticipation was turning to disappointment...
...an item appeared that finally made me raise my paddle.
“The next item is a 300-year-old snow ginseng discovered in the northern Liaoning region. Not only can it grant twenty years' worth of internal energy upon consumption, but its outstanding vitality-restoring effects have earned it the name 'panacea' among non-martial artists. The bidding starts at five silver ingots...”
“Fifteen silver ingots.”
I raised my paddle for the first time.
I didn't bother with the hassle of raising the bid incrementally.
That was mine.
To be precise, it was a precious ginseng I would give to Iris.
'Her condition already looked poor because of the restraints. If she brews and drinks this, she should feel a little better.'
Iris is an 8th Circle Archmage.
Her immense magic is bound by restraints comparable to a holy relic.
Just as even the ocean will slowly rot if its waters stagnate, Iris didn't have much time left.
Ten years at most, probably.
Ten years might sound like a long time, but for a high elf who lives for near-eternity, it would feel like a fleeting moment.
“...Fifteen silver ingots. Sold.”
I paid a deposit of seven silver ingots and twenty-five silver nyang.
“Next is a 400-year-old ginseng from a land far to the east. It can grant twenty-five years of internal energy and has the effect of correcting imbalances in the mind and body. It is a spirit herb that any martial artist who has learned multiple martial arts must acquire. The bidding will start at seven silver ingots—”
“Twenty silver ingots.”
“...Twenty silver ingots. Any higher bids?”
“U-uh, twenty silver ingots and twenty silver nyang!”
“Thirty silver ingots.”
“...”
“Thirty silver ingots. Sold.”
Hmm, this would be perfect for Iris, whose depleted magic had caused an imbalance between her body and her mana circles.
After that, I won two more items: a 350-year-old Heroic Flow Herb, said to replenish vitality, and a 200-year-old Hwasincho, said to prevent minor illnesses.
In total, I spent about a hundred silver ingots, but it was a satisfying shopping trip.
The buck-toothed man watching the auction beside me stared with his jaw agape, a look of utter astonishment on his face.
“...Are you perhaps from one of the Five Great Families?”
“Perhaps.”
I tossed the buck-toothed man a silver nyang and got up from my seat.
It was for the information.
“Th-thank you, Big Brother!”
I gave a casual wave and followed an attendant backstage.
We probably wouldn't meet again.
*
After paying the remaining balance and receiving the elixirs, I immediately left the auction house and headed out of the Black Market.
I had gotten the martial arts manuals for Noel and Jeon Seoha, and the elixirs for Iris.
I had no more business in the Black Market.
Passing through the formation and back outside, I activated the Formless Electric Body and made my way toward East Lake.
I closed my eyes, feeling the cool night air wash over me.
My already sharp senses grew even more acute.
I could clearly hear the footsteps of beasts roaming the forest, and even the breathing of insects crawling through the nearby grass.
'...Is it over there?'
It went without saying that I hadn't just been casually browsing the market this whole time.
Rather than waste time on a direct investigation, I had chosen to spread my energy throughout East Lake to search for traces of Vajra Divine Monk.
Of course, sensing the entirety of East Lake—an area eleven times the size of Yeouido—was no easy task.
Especially with qi sense, not mana detection.
But to find traces of Vajra Divine Monk, I needed to spread Vajra Qi, not mana.
From the moment I arrived at East Lake until now, I had been slowly and meticulously expanding the range of my qi sense, taking my time so as not to miss even the faintest trace.
Vwooom—
'...Found it.'
Landing on a tree branch, I steadied my breathing and half-opened my eyes.
Something had been caught in the qi sense that covered the entire lake.
It was an extremely faint trace, the kind one could easily overlook.
'...What an eccentric, depraved monk.'
Does it make sense to hide a provision for future generations so thoroughly?
In the middle of East Lake, of all places?
A sigh escaped my lips unconsciously.
Looks like I'm going for a late-night dive I never signed up for.
'...If I'd known this would happen, I would have learned a water art.'
If I were skilled with the wind element, I could have created an air bubble underwater, but even that was impossible for me right now.
Just as I resigned myself to diving in and began to take off my long robe...
—!
A blatant killing intent surged toward me as a dozen figures shot up from all directions.
They surrounded me skillfully, as if they had coordinated their movements in advance.
Clang!
The tips of their swords, all pointed at me, glinted coldly in the moonlight.
But I felt no sense of danger whatsoever.
'One in the Transcendent Realm, two at the Peak, five first-rate, and six second-rate?'
I studied the faces of the men, who for some reason weren't even wearing masks.
Every one of them was someone I'd seen at the auction house.
“Hand over everything you have, and we'll spare your life.”
The ugliest one of the bunch shouted with a solemn expression.
He must have been a former bandit. Not only was he ugly, but his breath was atrocious.
“You'll have to become an item in the auction a few days from now, though.”
At the former bandit's blatant threat, the other men began to snicker in agreement.
I know you're not supposed to judge people by their looks, but damn, they were ugly.
Then again, the more I looked, the more their faces started to look comical.
“You bastard...! Do you think we're joking?!”
Seeing that I wasn't scared and was, in fact, laughing at them, the men's faces twisted in anger.
Their already ugly faces became even uglier.
“Of course not.”
Kiiiiing—
“?!”
A dark Aura had already materialized around the sword, now drawn from its sheath.
“If you tried to joke with faces like those, even the Buddha himself would hand you over to the authorities.”
Faced with my overwhelmingly fierce presence, those of lower realms began to tremble.
Just then, dark clouds and trees blocked the moonlight, plunging the forest into darkness.
“Dammit! He's in the Transcendent Realm?!”
“Don't be scared! As long as we have the elder on our side, we have the advantage in numbers!”
“Just kill him!”
I watched them charge at me, shouting to forget their fear, and swung my sword.