[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-eternal-green-immortal-sovereign":3,"chapter-eternal-green-immortal-sovereign-eternal-green-immortal-sovereign-chapter-73":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Eternal Green Immortal Sovereign",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2270081,4432,"Chapter 73: Black Market, Spiritual Eye Discerns Treasures","eternal-green-immortal-sovereign-chapter-73",73,"\u003Cp>“Quite a capable middleman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui watched the thin, monkey-like man’s retreating back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the black market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There exists a very special group here—both buyers and sellers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black market is a mix of good and bad, hiding many valuable treasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people use their exceptional eyesight to pick out worthwhile items from the vast array of goods, then resell them for a profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They call themselves “middlemen,” each with sharp eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buying low and selling high is a skilled trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet since they produce nothing, officials often regard them as thugs, placing them low in status and frequently looking down on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sold all his herbs in one go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old herb seller happily packed up his stall, already imagining how he’d boast to his wife back home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unbeknownst to him, the spiritual herb, worth a hundred taels, had been bought for eighty cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui never had any intention of exposing the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wealth and fortune come from heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both buyer and seller act of their own free will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone earns their bread by skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man couldn’t recognize the herb’s value, but the thin man could—so the fortune belongs to the thin man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, without that middleman, the old man would never have sold his herbs so smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui was no greenhorn fresh to the martial world, naively seeing injustice everywhere—he wouldn’t rashly play the righteous hero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept his hands behind his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued walking down the black market street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young brother, your porcelain’s nice—sell it to me cheaper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine, three hundred cash.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cheaper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two hundred fifty—take it or leave it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, alright, I’ll sell it to you—consider it a loss for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, the two buyers, each with their own motives, happily sealed the deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The porcelain was an old item; in an expert’s hands, it could fetch at least ten taels—if the young vendor knew, he’d be furious enough to spit blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another middleman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui remained just a passerby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no intention of interfering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Middlemen often misjudge too—they spend money on worthless items and lose money, so you can’t say all of them are heartless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re just earning their bread by skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some decent treasures here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he walked, he observed the goods on each vendor’s stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped before a small stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He crouched down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked with a grin: “Young brother, are your herbs genuine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A round-faced little fat boy squinted his eyes into crescents: “Master Li, I run an honest business—no cheating young or old!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui was surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat boy nodded: “Who in the black market doesn’t know Master Li?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui smiled faintly: “I’m currently cultivating and need herbs—any spiritual herbs you have, I’ll buy them all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he subtly sized up the fat boy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said this because the fat boy was a middleman—surely hiding something valuable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat boy heard this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes instantly lit up; he hesitated for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind, pulling out a dried branch from somewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is my family’s ancestral Wu Long wood—a genuine spiritual herb. Since it’s Master Li who wants it, I’ll give you an eight-eight discount—two hundred taels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two hundred taels!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did he really think Li Rui was a fool? He had the Spiritual Eye—this Wu Long wood was real, but its grade was low, its spiritual essence barely noticeable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fifty taels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat boy froze at Li Rui’s offer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d expected at most a fifty percent cut, but never such a drastic slash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat boy’s face fell:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Li, you know I’m a small operation—I can’t go lower than—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held up eight fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eighty taels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Li Rui nervously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This old man was the black market’s overseer—if he flew into a rage and seized it, he’d have no recourse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui: “Fine, eighty taels it is—come to the building for the money. By the way, I also need some Cold Dew Grass—throw those in as a bonus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fat boy was overjoyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The previous Tian Di Alliance stewards always took goods without paying—this new steward, Li, actually paid cash!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He swiftly wrapped the Wu Long wood and Cold Dew Grass in oil paper and handed them to Li Rui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cold Dew Grass was worthless anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Giving them as a bonus would earn Li Rui’s goodwill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was more than happy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was inwardly delighted: “This Wu Long wood’s been dried for years—its medicinal power is nearly gone. At the herb shop, it’d fetch at most thirty taels—I still made fifty taels profit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This new black market overseer might be old, but his eyesight was still green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t worried about offending Li Rui and being blacklisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most middlemen are rootless drifters—if they make money, they can just move to another county to eat—this deal would feed him for days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the items,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui continued strolling leisurely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint smile curled his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his left hand he held the Wu Long wood; in his right, the free Cold Dew Grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To others, the Wu Long wood was clearly the more valuable item.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in Li Rui’s Spiritual Eye, the scene was entirely different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bundle of Cold Dew Grass—so many herb collectors avoided because it was troublesome—was glowing with brilliant golden light, even outshining the Wu Long wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good. Among these Cold Dew Grasses was hidden a rare spiritual herb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its appearance was nearly identical to Cold Dew Grass—even the most experienced middlemen would miss it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This spiritual herb was of extremely high grade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worth five hundred taels!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the fat boy middleman knew he’d lost such a treasure, he’d regret it till his intestines turned green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being a middleman requires not just sharp eyesight, but also acting skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you find a treasure, you must hide it well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Middlemen have even developed three methods to conceal their intentions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One is like the thin monkey man before—buy everything at once, hiding the real treasure among countless goods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another is like the man who bought the porcelain—pretend to haggle, making the vendor feel he got the better deal, so he’s excited and eager to sell quickly, blinded by his own sense of gain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third is called “Strike East, Attack West”—if you spot a treasure, first buy another item at a high price, then get the real treasure thrown in as a bonus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Rui used the third method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In all three hundred and sixty trades, there’s always a top master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These middlemen go to great lengths just to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ask why Li Rui knows all this—because he once was a middleman himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his eyesight was poor; luckily, he quit in time, ending up neither winning nor losing, with dignity intact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he possesses the Spiritual Eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Times are no longer as they were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black market is the perfect place for him to unleash his power!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1172,"2026-06-19T22:01:09.077Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f17b56a454a5d55de06af590240b8f231c6dd15d779b98423d8c37a8adb0360d","eternal-green-immortal-sovereign-chapter-74","eternal-green-immortal-sovereign-chapter-72",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Feternal-green-immortal-sovereign-cover.jpg"]