Chapter 10: Black Water Blade, Fox Spirit

The blade was three feet three inches long, two fingers and a half wide, pitch black and oily, with only the blade part presenting a silver-blue color, and cloud patterns like waves flashing with cold light.

The guard was forged from a black metal, and the handle was covered with a layer of black-blue unknown leather. Holding it in his hand, a cool sensation came.

He raised the blade slightly, stroked the blade with his fingers, and the low trembling sound was like a battle song, as if hiding the power of a volcano.

"Good blade!"

Qin Jiang couldn't help but praise. Being able to make this level of blade in this era was truly amazing! Liu Yize also laughed upon hearing this. "Brother has a good eye! This blade is named Black Water."

"It is made of ten-refined fine iron, folded and forged by me several times, embedded with soft gold using the sandwich steel method, and then quenched with my Liu Family's secret method to become this blade! It can be said to cut hair and slice iron like mud!"

"How much?"

"With respect, fifty taels of silver!"

"Goodbye!"

"Hey, hey, hey—"

Liu Yize hurriedly grabbed Qin Jiang. "Brother, brother, don't go, don't go. It's a transaction, you have to haggle, right?"

Qin Jiang turned his head and extended a finger.

Liu Yize's eyes shone. "Ten taels? Ten taels is also... fine! It's considered my Liu Family making a friend like you!"

"One tael, I can offer at most one tael," Qin Jiang said.

Liu Yize's smile collapsed upon hearing this. "This single ten-refined iron alone is worth more than one tael. No, no, one tael is absolutely impossible."

"Then forget it. I'll pick an ordinary blade and make do."

Saying that, Qin Jiang was about to walk out.

Liu Yize grabbed his sleeve. "Don't, don't, don't. The price is negotiable, the price is negotiable. How about this: I'll charge the cost price, six taels, six taels of silver, and I'll sell it to you. It can't be any lower!"

"Brother Liu, no need to say more. I said one tael, so it's one tael. I really don't have any extra money."

For Qin Jiang, one tael was his limit. His psychological expectation was actually no more than five hundred coins.

After all, it was just for insurance, and he might not even use it.

"Fine! One tael it is!" Liu Yize shouted, his face pained.

Qin Jiang turned his head and looked at Liu Yize up and down with some surprise.

Liu Yize smiled sheepishly. "One tael is definitely one tael, no more. However, brother, you have to do something for me."

"What is it?" Qin Jiang asked directly.

If it was too difficult, he would rather not have this Black Water blade.

Liu Yize rubbed his hands. "There is a blood gold mine in that Daheishan, which was opened by my great-grandfather. It's just that there were some changes later, so it was sealed."

"My request is that I hope brother, you can go to that mine and help me take forty catties of blood gold."

"If you are willing, this Black Water will be sold to you for one tael of silver!"

Qin Jiang's gaze changed slightly upon hearing "changes." He asked slowly, "The changes you speak of, do you mean the spirits in Daheishan?"

Liu Yize was silent for a moment and nodded heavily. "Exactly, it's a fox spirit. But don't worry! That fox spirit hasn't appeared for decades; it should have left long ago."

He really had no other way. The County Lieutenant came to him a few days ago, offering three hundred taels of silver to buy a blood flame golden spear secretly passed down by his Liu Family.

He had looked for several martial artists in the city, even contacted martial arts experts in the Inner City, but not one was willing to go.

One was danger, and two was that for those martial artists, the reward he gave was too little.

And this young man looked extraordinary. Although dressed plainly, what ordinary family's child could have such smooth skin? He must be a young master from some family in the Inner City whose martial arts had achieved success, thrown out by his elders to gain experience! It could be said that this was almost his only chance!

If not, he would have to ask the County Lieutenant himself to make a trip.

But the other party was the buyer; how could he open his mouth? Wouldn't he be scolded by the ancestors of past generations in the underworld?

Qin Jiang shook his head. "Not enough."

Liu Yize pursed his lips. After a moment, he let out a long sigh. "How about this: if brother is interested, leave one tael of silver as a deposit."

"If brother can bring back the blood gold, besides returning the original silver, I will add ten taels of silver as tea money! How about that?"

Qin Jiang pondered for a moment. He had originally planned to venture deeper into the inner circle to dig for herbs.

Getting the route map from the Liu Family was actually him taking advantage.

"Fine!"

He agreed, then asked, "If I take more of this blood gold, what then?"

Take more?

Liu Yize stroked his chin. The demand for blood gold actually didn't need much, after all, not many people could afford it.

But if he didn't agree, he was afraid this person wouldn't agree.

"If you take more, then with one hundred catties as the upper limit, one catty of blood gold for one tael of silver!"

Qin Jiang's eyes brightened upon hearing this. One catty of blood gold for one tael of silver? He remembered that one catty of ten-refined fine iron couldn't even sell for one tael of silver!

One hundred catties meant that if there was enough blood gold, he could get a full sixty taels this trip! Then he could learn a few more martial arts! With the Potential Panel, he could ignore the cultivation time and directly get the cultivation results.

Although there was no stable way to increase potential points yet, there would be in the future.

By then, with several martial arts stacked on his body, how could his strength be compared to a martial artist who had only learned one martial art?

To stand firm in this chaotic world, one must have strength that surpasses others! Only by clenching his fists is there a guarantee! Daheishan, the dark clouds that never disperse cover the mountain range like a black crown.

In the slightly dim black locust forest, Qin Jiang used a small wooden knife to take down the herbs, leaving the roots behind and sprinkling some white powder.

These powders could help the herbs recover, and they could sprout new buds without waiting for the next year.

*Hoo~* Just as he was about to stand up, white mist rose around him, carrying a trace of bitter fragrance.

Seeing this, he quickly walked to a large locust tree, squatted down lightly, and placed his right hand on the Black Water blade at his waist.

A chill spread from all directions, and blurry black shadows flickered in the dim field of vision. Vaguely, he could hear shrill howls.

A moment later, the black shadows moved away, and the white mist became thin, following the black shadows as they moved away.

After adjusting his breathing for a moment, he took out the map given by Liu Yize, confirmed the direction, and continued to move toward the inner circle of Daheishan.

Walking for about ten miles, he encountered a few wild beasts along the way. After dealing with them, he had already entered the inner circle of Daheishan.

Walking in the dense forest, he compared the route map to confirm the direction.

Suddenly, a flash of red appeared in his vision.

Looking over, ten meters away, a red fruit the size of a Long An hung on a half-meter-tall small tree.

The fruit was covered with white patches, some shallow and some deep, like clouds.

Joy appeared in Qin Jiang's eyes. Cloud Pattern Fruit!

This was a rare medicinal herb! With simple processing, it could be made into a top-tier golden sore medicine! On the market, this one Cloud Pattern Fruit was worth two taels of silver! This Daheishan was truly full of treasures; there was actually a Cloud Pattern Fruit here.

Walking over, he squatted down, took a handkerchief from his bosom to support the Cloud Pattern Fruit, and then swung the wooden knife in his hand, cutting it off along with a bit of the branch.

Carefully wrapping the Cloud Pattern Fruit and placing it in his bosom, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Just as his body relaxed, everything around him suddenly went quiet. All the insect chirping disappeared, and even the wind sound vanished.

He turned his head abruptly. Unknown when, shallow mist had already curled up in the dim, dense black forest.

Two white-haired foxes the size of a person stood upright, their vertical pupils emitting a faint green light, staring fixedly at him, their mouths carrying a faint smile.

——!!!!

Qin Jiang's pupils constricted to pinpoints, a numb chill spread, and all the hair on his body stood on end! (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 12 =====

Two white-furred foxes, each as tall as a man, stood upright on their hind legs; their vertical pupils, emitting a faint, eerie green glow, stared straight at him, with a subtle, elusive smile playing on their lips.

——!!!!

Qin Jiang's pupils shrank to pinpricks, a numbing chill spread through him, and every hair on his body stood on end! (End of chapter)