Chapter 114

Lu Ren kept this matter in mind, took the contribution points, and left with Chen Chao and the others.

"Junior Brother Xu, we're planning to go have some fun in Qingyang City. Would you like to join us?"

After leaving the Mission Hall, Chen Chao and the others extended an invitation to Xu Yang.

Having worked hard for forty consecutive days, the group intended to go to Qingyang City to relax.

Xu Yang felt a slight stir in his heart, but he shook his head and said, "Many thanks for the invitation, Senior Brothers, but I won't be going."

He did have the thought of visiting Qingyang City, but he didn't want to go with Chen Chao and the others. These people were going to drink flower wine, and his relationship with them hadn't reached the point of drinking flower wine together.

After parting ways with Chen Chao and the others, he walked toward his residence.

"Fourteen contribution points can be exchanged for four Qi-Nourishing Pills," Xu Yang calculated in his mind.

The three Qi-Nourishing Pills he had previously were already fully refined, and even with these four additional pills, it wouldn't be enough for him to reach the perfection of Qi Gathering.

"However, if I go to the black market to trade, I can exchange for six Qi-Nourishing Pills. Two extra pills should be just about enough."

For those at the Marrow Cleansing realm, Qi-Nourishing Pills were of little use, so many disciples at the Marrow Cleansing realm would choose to take their Qi-Nourishing Pills to the black market to exchange for contribution points.

Therefore, exchanging Qi-Nourishing Pills on the black market was more cost-effective than doing so within the sect.

Xu Yang did a quick mental calculation; today happened to be the twentieth.

He bought a mask at a shop and waited for nightfall while cultivating.

As the sky grew dark, Xu Yang left his room, ate a meal at the canteen, and by then, the moonlight had already risen.

He hid the mask well and walked toward the mountain gate; no one stopped him.

The Purple Sun Sect did not forbid outer sect disciples from leaving; they only required an identity token to enter the mountain gate.

Quite a few people were heading to the black market. Everyone tacitly left the mountain gate and then entered a secluded spot to put on their masks before rushing to the black market's location.

"Wealth moves the heart; it's better to be careful."

After disguising himself in a secluded spot, Xu Yang headed five miles to the east.

Fellow disciples killing fellow disciples happened from time to time. Since no one knew each other's identities, no one would be able to investigate even if someone was killed.

The five-mile journey, at his pace, could be covered in less than a quarter of an hour even without using light-body techniques.

He moved through the mountains, following the people in front, and soon, noisy sounds reached his ears.

After passing through a small grove, the view suddenly opened up.

He saw a flat area in the middle of these rarely visited deep mountains, with countless people walking back and forth. In some places, oil lamps were even lit, and stalls were set up.

Xu Yang descended from the air and scanned the area, discovering that not everyone was wearing a mask. There were those with high skill and bold hearts who appeared in the black market in such an open and aboveboard manner.

Such people were generally very strong.

There were quite a few people in the black market, at least a hundred or more.

"It is said that those who come here are not just disciples of the Purple Sun Sect; some martial artists from the nearby Qingyang City also come."

He walked into the black market and found that the items sold here were a mixed bag: elixirs, medicinal herbs, weapons, and even martial arts manuals—everything a martial artist could use was being sold. Someone was even selling a leopard cub, claiming it possessed the bloodline of a strange beast.

Xu Yang couldn't tell if it had a strange beast's bloodline, but even if it were a real strange beast cub, he wouldn't buy it.

Many things could be traded with silver, but there were also those who only wanted contribution points.

"Three Qi-Nourishing Pills for only seven contribution points. First come, first served."

Xu Yang finally saw someone exchanging Qi-Nourishing Pills for contribution points. As he had heard, it was much cheaper than in the sect.

Selling them this way was actually a bit of a loss, but contribution points were hard currency in the Purple Sun Sect. If one wanted to obtain contribution points without doing missions, one had to bite the bullet.

If the price were the same as the sect's, who would risk coming here?

"May I take a look at your Qi-Nourishing Pills?" Xu Yang walked up quickly.

Things in the black market were a mix of truth and falsehood; one had to check them carefully.

"If you want them, trade; if not, get lost!" the person said coldly.

Xu Yang turned and left. With someone this defensive, there was a high probability that the goods were problematic.

He soon found the next person. This time, the person readily handed him the three Qi-Nourishing Pills to check. After confirming they were correct, he immediately took out seven contribution points and handed them to the other party.

This person also checked carefully, and after confirming the contribution points were not forged, the two completed the transaction.

Soon, Xu Yang found a second person. After some inspection, the two completed the transaction, and six Qi-Nourishing Pills were in his hands.

He did not linger, immediately walked out of the black market, channeled his true qi to his feet, and his body turned into a black shadow as he left.

About a kilometer away from the black market, with no one chasing him from behind, his vigilant heart finally relaxed.

"Kid, leave behind what you have on you, and I'll let you leave. Don't force me to kill."

A black shadow suddenly drifted down from a tree ahead, blocking his path.

Xu Yang's heart sank. There was no one behind him, but the real enemy had been hiding in front, waiting for him.

This person was none other than the one who had scolded him earlier. This guy was likely not selling fake goods, but rather looking for a target.

While he was trading with others, this person had run here to wait for him.

"Fine, come and take it!" Xu Yang stood his ground.

The black shadow let out a soft laugh: "It seems you are not resigned. Since that's the case, I'll kindly send you on your way."

A powerful aura radiated from him. He lightly tapped his toes on the ground, the ground exploded, and his figure, wrapped in a wild wind, suddenly disappeared from where he stood.

The wind surged, fallen leaves flew, and in the blink of an eye, the person crossed a distance of two zhang and struck out a palm capable of splitting stone monuments.

Qi Gathering perfection!

Before the palm arrived, the powerful true qi had already blasted through the air, hitting the air with a muffled sound, carrying a suffocating pressure.

This was a palm technique that struck through the air, extremely exquisite. After the true qi left his body, there was no sign of it dissipating; it even became more condensed and focused.

Xu Yang had thought he was a Marrow Cleansing expert, but he didn't expect this person to be at the perfection of Qi Gathering. It was likely that because he hadn't spoken back when the person scolded him at the black market, and because he had exchanged for Qi-Nourishing Pills, the other party thought he was easy to handle.

"Good palm technique!"

A sharp light burst from his eyes. One could kill enemies with true qi leaving the body at the small success stage of Qi Gathering, but most people rarely did this because once the true qi left the body, its power would be greatly reduced.

If the distance were a bit further, the true qi might dissipate completely before hitting the enemy.

But the palm technique this person used showed no sign of the true qi dissipating at all. In just a flash, the palm force crossed a distance of one zhang and arrived right before him.

Xu Yang did not choose to dodge. With this person's speed and palm technique, dodging would only put him at a disadvantage.

In an instant, a series of crisp cracking sounds erupted from his body, his large tendons roared, his spine's "great dragon" came alive, and the force surged upward from his tailbone.

"Quick battle, quick decision!"

He had no intention of slowly learning this exquisite palm technique. The Diamond Art roared into operation, his true qi turned into a large net covering his entire body, and his skin took on a faint silver color.

Powerful strength roared within his body, surging and gathering in his fist.

Surging Waves Fist, force stacking!

"Bang, bang..."

In an instant, the force stacked to eight layers.

Xu Yang had already managed to stack nine layers of force with the Surging Waves Fist, but during practice, he couldn't yet complete the nine-layer stack in an instant during combat.

"Boom!"

The wind whistled sharply, his fist thrust out like a great spear, instantly shattering the incoming palm force.

With a loud boom, countless fallen leaves in the surroundings were shattered into powder by the force in an instant, kicking up a cloud of dust that reached the sky.

The true qi at the soles of his feet suddenly exploded, Xu Yang's body suddenly disappeared from where he stood, like an arrow leaving the string, breaking through the dust and smoke, his fist striking straight toward the palm that was slapping down.

"Not good!"

The violent aura, like a surging tide, shocked the black shadow, who realized he had provoked an expert.

This newcomer who looked like he was visiting the black market for the first time was not a weakling at all, but a dormant beast.

Those eight consecutive crisp sounds were clearly the Surging Waves Fist, known as the strongest fist technique of the Purple Sun Sect's outer sect, which the person before him had cultivated to the realm of stacking eight layers of force in an instant.

He wanted to dodge, but it was already too late; he could only pour all his life's true qi into his hand in the split second he had.

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

Fist and palm collided. This was arguably Xu Yang's peak punch, and its lethality was terrifying.

The first sound was the collision of fist and palm, the sound of the force dissipating.

The second sound was the sound of bones shattering.

The black shadow only felt an irresistible, powerful force coming from the opposite fist, tearing through the palm force he had condensed with his life's true qi like a hot knife through butter. The overbearing and pure true qi tore through his protective true qi like a blade, blasting into his meridians.

The hardness of the opponent's fist felt as if it were cast from refined iron, like a body of diamond that could not be destroyed. The palm force he had condensed with his life's true qi couldn't shake it in the slightest; it was like striking an iron arm. Even without that irresistible, terrifying force, he felt he wouldn't have been able to hurt the other party at all.

He hadn't even had time to feel the pain before the terrifying true qi exploded within his meridians, blowing his palm apart, with fingers and blood splattering everywhere.