Chapter 432: First Entry into the Underground Black Market

More than ten days later...

A common, low-slung farmhouse; irregular stones weighed down the thatch, the mud walls were mostly rotted, and stubborn weeds sprouted from the cracks.

The young man led an ox and stood before the door, accompanied by the martial artist who had escorted him home.

"Uncle, why not come inside and have a drink of water?"

The martial artist shook his head; he hadn't endured the hardship of this journey just to drink water.

If not for the scene he had witnessed in Chongguang Cheng, the young man would have been nothing more than an ordinary laborer or farmer to him.

"Now, you should complete the last thing the old immortal asked of you."

Upon hearing this, the young man realized what he meant, took out the pocket treasured against his chest, and muttered to himself, "Open pocket, open pocket."

The thin string binding the opening came undone, and the pocket suddenly expanded, rapidly growing to a hundred times its size until, as expected, it finally burst.

It was like a water bubble rising in the sunlight before popping.

Clatter, clatter—a rain fell in mid-air, and the ground was covered in 'raindrops'; looking closely, they were actually Leak Stones.

The martial artist clutched his chest; this was no illusion, absolutely not an illusion.

His eyesight was precise, and with a hurried sweep, he calculated that there were exactly 112 Leak Stones at his feet.

This number was precisely the amount of Leak Stones the young man had moved at the open-pit mine.

So, the Leak Stones that had vanished into thin air at the time had all been hidden in the pocket, carried by the young man against his body all the way back to his hometown.

But, how was this done? The martial artist suddenly realized, scrambling on the ground to search for the fragments; he understood that compared to the Leak Stones, the pocket capable of holding them was the true, priceless treasure.

If he could master such a treasure, he could become a wealthy tycoon within ten years just by doing business.

A moment later, the martial artist held a handful of fragments in his palm, his expression thoughtful.

The day had grown late, and the young man's father and mother returned from the fields; upon seeing the many Leak Stones their son had brought home and hearing the price they could fetch, they were so excited they didn't sleep all night.

Once these Leak Stones were sold, they could build three tile-roofed houses, take a wife for him, and pay off the debts his grandfather had owed...

And all of this was because the young man had a kind heart, having let an old man on the side of the road ride his ox, drink tea, and eat noodles.

"Do you know how much these Leak Stones are worth?"

The martial artist suddenly asked the young man, "One hundred taels; to me, this bit of money is nothing, but for your family, are you certain you can protect this, um, huge sum?"

The young man was stunned! This was the effect the martial artist wanted, and he spoke slowly, "You saw it yourself; bandits and wild beasts are everywhere along this road. Without my protection, you would never have been able to bring these things back."

This statement was a generalization; the young man could have easily returned home alone with the palm-sized pocket, and the martial artist's role was merely icing on the cake.

The young man's parents were also frightened; they had heard stories of people in the next village whose entire families were killed by bandits.

"This master, please, save our lives."

The martial artist said softly to the young man, "You and I are fated; how about this, I am willing to take you as my disciple and teach you fist arts, how about that?"

The young man immediately knelt and kowtowed, *bang, bang, bang! *

The martial artist thought to himself that Kaibeishou Yan Ping was not what he used to be, actually knowing how to repay kindness; he wanted to get his hands on the Storage Pocket, and this young man was the link.

By seizing the opportunity first, he could consider it a precaution.

Since he had taken the young man as his disciple, he had to be responsible to the end; first, he helped the young man safely sell the Leak Stones, then he acted as an elder to propose marriage on his behalf, allowing the young man to get his wish and marry Xiaohua.

Finally, he told the young man that if he wanted his whole family to live a good life, he had to continue selling Leak Stones.

To transport a large quantity of Leak Stones, he would have to return to Chongguang Cheng and find that old man. "Master, I feel that the old immortal will not see me again; I have realized now that when he asked me to move the Leak Stones, it was to test me."

The young man offered his own view, "It is because I am useless; if I had eaten more, perhaps I could have moved a few dozen more."

"The pocket he gave me held only the stones I was able to move; this was the old immortal reminding me that one cannot be too greedy and can only take what one is capable of holding."

The martial artist raised his palm, and after a long while, let it fall, lightly patting the young man's head, "Start practicing fist arts with me tomorrow!"

He thought to himself that he would let things take their natural course; once this disciple—who had turned a fake situation into reality—was properly trained, he would go to Chongguang Cheng again to try his luck.

In fact, even if the martial artist returned to Chongguang Cheng and turned the underground upside down, he would never find the old man again.

The stunning feat Zhou You performed at the open-pit mine had ripples that spread out in the aftermath.

Also present at the time were the martial artist's companions, as well as other nearby residents who had been gathering Leak Stones.

These people spread the matter as a rumor, gradually attracting attention from all directions.

The strange ability to store objects in the void was not something fist-martial arts could achieve, and some even began to investigate Zhou You's identity.

The goal had been achieved.

In time, the people of the Golden Immortal Dao in Chongguang Cheng would inevitably track his information, thereby exposing his identity.

Therefore, Zhou You chose to temporarily hide his second persona and wait for time to ferment.

He handed the task to Lu Zhigang, who entered Chongguang Cheng shortly after to replace Moyunzi in an active state and search for the underground black market.

The underground black market accounted for eighty percent of Chongguang Cheng's trade volume, and the daily flow of people and goods was massive.

Anything one could imagine could be bought or sold in the black market: forbidden drugs, people, and even the ownership of martial arts halls.

It was rumored that the most expensive item to ever appear at an underground auction was an entire city.

How arrogant!

Zhou You clicked his tongue in wonder at this; of course, he also knew that buying and selling was only one link—getting the item in hand wasn't the end; one still had to be able to keep it and digest the associated benefits for one's own use.

Even so, the wide variety of goods in the market still opened his eyes.

The underground black market of Chongguang Cheng was actually hidden behind seemingly ordinary shop streets and markets.

One only needed to find a referrer, reveal their identity as a martial artist, and after confirming there were no issues, be led through streets and alleys; after a turn, one would appear on a familiar yet strange street.

That was the black market! "Buying and selling intelligence, buying and selling intelligence; is the guest buying or selling?"

"The thing most sought after and with the highest price offered recently is the identity of the old man from the open-pit mine."

"Oh, it's your first time buying intelligence, isn't it? Empty words won't sell for money; you need to bring out real evidence, let's discuss it!"

Zhou You continued walking forward and saw a shop with a sign that read 'Human Resources Agency'; locked at the door was a martial artist with a fierce look, and the thick chain on his fist was actually a Blood-Qi Divine Weapon.

This place traded in slaves; the martial artist at the door was their sign, and the goods they primarily dealt in were martial artists who were in debt and could not pay, mostly those of the Force and Blood-Qi realms.

Although there are also services for martial masters, unless one is a VIP user, ordinary people cannot access them.

This underground black market is truly a dance of demons, openly trafficking people; the dignity of a martial artist is not worth mentioning here.

"Young Master, would you like to buy a copy of the Beixuan Zhou Top One Hundred Beauties List? Authoritatively produced by the Thousand Faces Hall."

Zhou You had only walked a few steps when a youth like a black monkey shoved a booklet at him and reached out for money, "One tael per copy."

They even sell smut? (End of chapter)