The convoy roared down from the mountain top, and after about ten minutes, it approached the dark city gate, gradually slowing down and lining up behind the crowd, waiting quietly for the procession to enter. Standing in front of the carriage, Xiao Yan looked up at the giant black wall, his gaze sweeping over the three large characters “Black Mark City” at the center of the gate, then slowly shifting downward, finally resting on the dozen or so men in black, tight-fitting clothes standing at the entrance. They were like the city guards outside, but here, anyone entering had to pay a hefty fee.
In an environment like the Jia Ma Empire, such an entry fee would likely cause an uprising… but in the Black-Corner Region, it was quite a common occurrence.
“Get out of my way, don’t show off in front of me,” as Xiao Yan was observing this city with its unique style of the Black-Corner Region, a hoarse, angry voice suddenly rang out not far ahead. Xiao Yan shifted his gaze to see a bald, burly man, perhaps impatient, lifting up a skinny man by the scruff of his neck.
“Ah…” Just as the bald, burly man’s words faded, the skinny man twisted violently, pulling out a dagger from his sleeve, which he slashed ferociously at the bald man’s throat. Fortunately, the latter reacted quickly, jerking his neck back. The dagger missed, stabbing half an inch below the throat, causing blood to gush out and a piercing scream to ring out from the bald, burly man’s mouth.
After seriously injuring the bald, burly man, the skinny man, with a swift motion, slid out of his clothes like an eel and rolled into the nearby bushes, disappearing without a trace.
“Bastard, I’ll tear you apart!” With bloodshot eyes, the bald, burly man yanked out the dagger, lost his reason, and charged into the bushes. After a long while, a scream similar to the previous one came from the bushes, gradually fading away.
Standing on the carriage, Xiao Yan stared in shock at the bush. From the last scream, he knew that the bald, burly man’s life was in grave danger. What surprised him more was that the bald, burly man was around a Two-Star Dou Shi, while the skinny man was only a Dou Zhe. The difference in strength was significant, yet the skinny man managed to strike decisively, showing no hesitation. Such ruthlessness was truly shocking.
Indeed, those who survived in the Black-Corner Region were not ordinary. Xiao Yan now truly understood this.
“Hehe, Mr. Yao Yan, in the Black-Corner Region, never judge a person by their appearance or apparent strength. Every year, countless people die here due to this very reason, enough to fill a city with corpses,” Toma said with a low laugh.
“Mm…” Xiao Yan nodded slightly. The scene he just witnessed made him understand the rules of the Black-Corner Region.
The fight between the two earlier was like a small interlude, merely providing some entertainment for the queue, but no one really commented on it. The line slowly advanced, and after nearly half an hour, it was finally Toma’s turn. When the convoy reached the gate, he swiftly handed over a large bag of gold coins. Xiao Yan, with keen eyes, noticed that he also had a smaller bag hidden in his hand.
The indifferent-looking man in black received the gold coins, casually weighed them, his expression softening a bit. He didn’t say anything, just waved his hand and let Toma’s convoy enter the city.
“Hehe, Mr. Yao Yan, where do you plan to go next?” Entering the city, Toma stopped the convoy and asked with a smile.
“I plan to explore the city first. By the way, do you know where the most medicinal herbs can be found in Black Mark City?” Xiao Yan jumped off the carriage and asked, looking up.
“Medicinal herbs? That would be the Thousand Medicine Hall. As long as you have enough money, you can buy rare medicinal herbs there that are hard to find elsewhere,” Toma replied with a smile.
“Mm, thank you. In that case, let’s part ways here. We can catch up later,” Xiao Yan bowed to Toma, not waiting for any further pleasantries, and turned to squeeze through the crowd, disappearing quickly.
“Ah, I hope we can meet again. But in the Black-Corner Region, newbies have the highest mortality rate. Especially those capable young people, they’re impetuous and don’t know how to restrain their edge. They’re clearly short-lived, but this little guy is much better. If he can be a bit more ruthless, he might actually make a name for himself here,” Toma sighed, then waved his hand, directing the convoy down another street.
Walking slowly along the street, Xiao Yan’s gaze swept over the shops on both sides. But what left him speechless was that in this short, less than a hundred-meter stretch, he saw no fewer than ten brawls, even knife fights, before he had finished walking it.
For a city like this, only one word could describe it: chaos!
Avoiding the fights, Xiao Yan turned two corners and, after walking for about twenty minutes, his gaze finally settled on a broad shop sign. On the light red sign were the three ancient characters “Thousand Medicine Hall.”
“Should be here, right?” Xiao Yan muttered, quickening his pace and stepping into the impressive medicine hall.
Instantly, a pungent mix of hundreds of medicinal scents wafted towards him, making him want to sneeze. Inside the medicine hall, the space was vast, with neatly arranged crystal counters stretching in all directions. Inside the transparent counters, various medicinal herbs were displayed. At these counters, many people were browsing, chatting noisily.
Xiao Yan slowly walked toward the crystal counters, his gaze sweeping over them, a hint of surprise in his eyes. As Toma had said, the medicinal herbs in the “Thousand Medicine Hall” were indeed hard to find elsewhere. It was a mystery how they managed to get such a large quantity of rare herbs.
Shaking his head in amazement, Xiao Yan’s gaze swept over the prices marked under the herbs, and he couldn’t help but feel shocked. A high-grade “Wood Spirit Three-Needle Flower” was rare, but at most, it sold for around 50,000 gold coins. Here, the price was almost tripled.
“170,000 for one… these guys might as well rob directly.” Xiao Yan shook his head, feeling a bit helpless. With his current wealth, he couldn’t even afford one “Wood Spirit Three-Needle Flower.”
Smiling bitterly, Xiao Yan’s gaze once again swept over the crystal counters. After a while, he stood at the last counter, his face numb. In his previous observation, he had indeed found all the ingredients needed to refine a “Purple Spirit Pill.” However, according to his calculations, if he bought all the herbs, it would cost at least 870,000…
“Black-hearted shop… If Hai Lao were here, being the Grand Elder of the Mi Te Er family, getting this amount of money wouldn’t be a problem.” Xiao Yan murmured, feeling a bit embarrassed. He had never paid attention to money matters before, but now, in the Black-Corner Region, he was troubled by the lack of funds.
“Teacher, what should I do now?” Reluctantly, Xiao Yan asked, smiling bitterly in his heart.
“Hehe, I told you, in the Black-Corner Region, without money, you can’t take a step,” Yao Lao said playfully. “What can you do? If you don’t want to barter, then give up on the Purple Spirit Pill for now. Use the remaining money to buy the ingredients for the ‘Three-Line Blue Spirit Pill’ and then auction off the pills you make. Otherwise, you won’t get those ingredients.”
“Ah, I guess that’s the only way,” Xiao Yan sighed, turning back to look for the ingredients for the Three-Line Blue Spirit Pill. Fortunately, the Three-Line Blue Spirit Pill was only a fourth-grade pill, so the required herbs were much cheaper than those for the Purple Spirit Pill.
“By the way, I almost forgot to tell you something important, though it will make your already tight financial situation even worse,” Yao Lao’s gleeful laughter made Xiao Yan uneasy.
“If you want to obtain the ‘Falling Heart Flame,’ you need to prepare as thoroughly as you did when swallowing the Earth Heart Lotus Flame.”
Yao Lao smiled and continued, “You succeeded in swallowing the Earth Heart Lotus Flame thanks to the Blood Lotus Pill. But the Falling Heart Flame, ranked 14th on the Flame List, is much stronger than the Earth Heart Lotus Flame, ranked 19th. So, your preparations this time must be even more thorough.”
“Uh… I almost forgot about that,” Xiao Yan was taken aback, then realized. Last time, if it weren’t for the Blood Lotus Pill, he might not have succeeded in swallowing the Earth Heart Lotus Flame.
“What do we need to prepare this time?” Xiao Yan asked anxiously.
“A sixth-grade pill, Earth Spirit Pill… the materials are not many, just four: Earth Heart Fire Fungus, Dragon Mustache Ice Fire Fruit, Blue Wood Immortal Vine, and… one sixth-grade water attribute magic core.”
Xiao Yan’s footsteps suddenly stiffened, his lips twitching slightly. Not only did the names of the three herbs sound unfamiliar, but the last item alone made him feel frustrated. A sixth-grade magic core? Did he need to kill a sixth-grade super monster that could match a Battle Emperor? That was suicide, wasn’t it?
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