Chapter 542: Living Furnace |
"Master, that bastard tricked us!"
Pill Spirit reacted, cursing.
"No."
Ning Qi communicated telepathically with Pill Spirit, "Don't you think this is actually the Qilin Armor?"
"What we had before was incomplete. With his piece, our Qilin Armor becomes a fully comprehensive defensive armor set!"
"Huh? You're right!"
Upon hearing Ning Qi's words, Pill Spirit instantly understood the situation and continued excitedly, "Then our ten million spirit stones were really worth it!"
"Exactly!"
Ning Qi smiled, then said, "This way, our Qilin Armor becomes a complete suit of armor!"
"Yes, Master. So that guy actually did us a favor!"
Pill Spirit even started praising him, dancing around joyfully.
"Hey, we agreed: payment on delivery!"
"You can't back out! Otherwise, this black market won't tolerate you!"
Seeing Ning Qi fall silent, the Black-robed Man grew worried, revealing a vigilant expression as he reminded him.
"Don't worry, I won't settle scores with you."
Only then did Ning Qi snap back to reality and continue, "Do you have any other treasures? Bring them all out."
"Compensate me for my loss."
"No, our transactions are for willing participants only!"
"You have no right to demand extras from me!"
The Black-robed Man looked at Ning Qi and shook his head, "If you want to cause trouble, I advise you to tread carefully. We've all paid protection fees. If you dare make trouble, plenty of people will deal with you!"
"I'm not threatening you; I want you to keep showing your treasures!"
"If I'm interested, you have to give me a twenty percent discount!"
"After all, you tricked me with this useless thing."
Ning Qi looked at the Black-robed Man, putting on an aggrieved expression.
"Oh? That's what you said. I do have a few things to show you!"
"But, don't come back to settle accounts with me. Here, it's all about willing participants!"
Seeing Ning Qi still unwilling to give up, wanting to gain something from him, the Black-robed Man immediately became interested.
So, speaking, he took out a few more items from his storage bag, all contained in brocade boxes.
After taking them out, he said to Ning Qi, "These also contain supreme treasures. See for yourself if you're lucky."
"Choose for yourself. Whether you pick the right one depends on your skill!"
"Oh? You're making me guess?"
Looking at these brocade boxes, Ning Qi couldn't help but smile.
Others couldn't tell, but he could.
The restrictions on them were all illusions meant to deceive people.
However, he had already mastered restrictions to perfection. Seeing through what was inside was effortless for him.
"Correct, choose!"
The Black-robed Man nodded with a smile, showing a very confident expression.
He was confident he could trick Ning Qi once more.
"Fine! Let me take a look!"
After agreeing, Ning Qi immediately activated his water-wave pattern Dao method, combining it with his restriction Dao Rhyme to observe what was inside the brocade boxes.
Under the exploration of the water-wave pattern, he instantly saw through what each contained.
One of them was empty, containing nothing.
Another was filled with useless miraculous spiritual pills.
Others contained some medicinal herbs rich in spiritual energy.
All useless things.
However, inside the last, inconspicuous brocade box was an ancient bronze mirror.
This bronze mirror also had many inscriptions carved on it.
And Ning Qi recognized this bronze mirror; he had one himself.
He never expected this bronze mirror to also be part of a pair.
Thinking this, Ning Qi couldn't help but smile inwardly.
"So, have you chosen?"
Seeing Ning Qi choosing carefully, the Black-robed Man smiled and interrupted to ask.
"This one will do."
Ning Qi pointed to a brocade box.
It was precisely the one containing the bronze mirror.
His own had no inscriptions; this one did.
Taking it back would allow him to study what use this bronze mirror actually had.
"Oh? Are you sure? Don't regret it again!"
Seeing Ning Qi had made another choice, the Black-robed Man smiled and reminded him, "This one costs one million spirit stones."
"It's his!"
Ning Qi nodded, then directly handed a storage bag to the Black-robed Man, saying, "He's mine now!"
"Good, deal. No regrets!"
The Black-robed Man nodded, directly putting away his storage bag and pushing the brocade box toward Ning Qi.
"Good!"
Ning Qi directly stored the brocade box, then looked at the Black-robed Man, "Any other treasures?"
"None for now. You can go to other stalls!"
The Black-robed Man shook his head, smiling, "And no settling accounts later. These were all your voluntary choices!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person!"
Ning Qi shook his head, then left directly.
Watching Ning Qi leave, the Black-robed Man grinned and said, "Ha, got fooled again."
"Big Brother, he even chose that broken mirror. He didn't take any of the Natural Treasures inside the others!"
"What an idiot!"
A person nearby walked over, grinning as he spoke.
"That armor piece is somewhat useful. We probably made half the price back!"
"And that brocade box, he lost on that."
"Even for ten thousand spirit stones, I wouldn't want a broken mirror."
The Black-robed Man chuckled, then continued, "You take over selling now. I'm going to go have some fun!"
"If someone looks for me, be smart about it."
"Don't worry, Big Brother. I know what to say!"
"We don't know each other!"
That person nodded with a smile, then sat down and started laying out some armor pieces and weapons.
Clearly, the two were professionals in this kind of swindling business.
By now, Ning Qi had already left that place.
Walking forward a bit more, he was again attracted by items on another stall.
"Young Master, is there anything you want?"
This stall was run by a young girl.
Seeing Ning Qi approach, she greeted him with a smile.
"What's the use of this fan?"
Ning Qi looked at the iron fan placed before her and asked curiously.
"This is the Ruyi Iron Fan. It can grow larger or smaller!"
Seeing Ning Qi was interested, the young girl directly picked up the iron fan, manipulating it to grow larger one moment and shrink a bit the next.
"Oh?"
"What's it useful for?"
Ning Qi looked at the iron fan in her hand, curious.
"I don't know. I only have a secret manual here for using the iron fan."
"It's just a shame I don't recognize the characters inside!"
"I can only grasp some basic methods!"
The young girl shook her head, looking at Ning Qi, "If you like it, I'll give you both the fan and the manual!"
"Master, take it!"
"This is the Qiankun Fan, not some Ruyi Fan."
Pill Spirit clearly recognized these characters, "It can stir up all realms, but you need to be strong enough to do it."
"With your current ability, controlling it, you could fan away a mountain without a problem!"
"Oh? It's that useful?"
Hearing Pill Spirit's words, Ning Qi was overjoyed.
Here, there really were treasures to buy.
This was much better than an auction.
"Yes, I recognize all these characters!"
Pill Spirit agreed and said to Ning Qi, "Buy it. I'll help you translate!"
"Okay!"
Ning Qi agreed.
"So, Young Master, do you need it?"
The young girl looked at Ning Qi, asking curiously.
"I don't recognize these characters either."
"Buying it wouldn't be of much use."
Ning Qi began playing hard to get, seriously considering for a moment before saying, "Alright then. I quite like this iron fan. Taking it back to play with is fine too."
"How many spirit stones do you want for it?"
"Young Master, this costs three million spirit stones!"
"If you like it, I'll give you the manual too."
The young girl looked at Ning Qi, smiling.
Clearly, she was very happy Ning Qi had taken a liking to her iron fan.
"Oh? Little girl, is it that cheap?"
"I'll give you five million spirit stones, so no one can say I took advantage."
Hearing her quoted price, Ning Qi felt somewhat bad.
If it was truly as Pill Spirit said, worth tens of millions, then giving her five million was only fair.
"Ah? That's not necessary. It's too much!"
The young girl shook her head, refusing Ning Qi's offer.
"Consider it a tip for you."
Ning Qi wouldn't take no for an answer, directly handing the storage bag to the young girl, "This is mine now."
Saying this, he took both the Qiankun Fan and the manual, directly storing them away.
"Okay, alright then!"
The young girl had no choice but to agree.
"Good! Thank you for parting with it!"
Ning Qi stored everything away, not forgetting to thank her.
"Young Master, you were actually tricked by that person you bought from earlier."
"Those brocade boxes all contained useless things."
"And that armor piece is worth five million at most."
Seeing Ning Qi was a good person, the young girl reminded him.
"I know, but I like it, so it's fine."
"Thank you for the reminder!"
Ning Qi nodded, then prepared to leave.
"Young Master, you really shouldn't wander around here anymore. It's all scams."
Seeing Ning Qi intended to continue browsing, the young girl hurriedly reminded him.
"Oh? All scams?"
Hearing her words, Ning Qi said curiously, "How are they scams?"
"You say that, but doesn't that mean yours is also tricking me?"
"No, mine is good!"
"But I can't vouch for others. You should go somewhere else!"
"This isn't a place for finding bargains. It's very likely you'll be cheated!"
The young girl shook her head, hesitating to speak further.
Clearly, she had difficulties she couldn't voice, unable to tell Ning Qi the truth.
"Alright, then I'll listen to you. I'll leave now!"
Truthfully, Ning Qi no longer had the heart to continue browsing.
He had already bought three treasures and was fully satisfied.
"Good, then leave quickly. The people here are all bad."
Seeing this, the young girl urged.
"Alright! Then I bid you farewell!"
Ning Qi felt quite favorably toward the young girl, cupping his fists in farewell before leaving.
"Master, this Qiankun Fan is where we really made a profit!"
Pill Spirit was still communicating telepathically with Ning Qi.
"That's all thanks to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have recognized it either."
Ning Qi smiled, then turned and left.
Soon, he and Pill Spirit left the black market together.
"Master, we're returning fully loaded this time. Should we continue?"
Pill Spirit inquired.
"Of course. With so many fun places, why not have fun?"
"Let's go down and see what's interesting!"
Ning Qi agreed, then headed straight for the direction leading to the next level.
The two soon arrived at the entrance to the next level.
Immediately, they leaped down.
They arrived at the second level below the deck.
On this level, it was still illuminated by spirit stones.
However, there were many more people on this level.
And judging by their auras, they were people with murderous intent.
Clearly, they were people who lived by the blade.
Ning Qi also saw the entrance to that pleasure house in the distance.
It was precisely the one leading to the pleasure house above.
"Strange, why are there windows down here allowing you to see inside?"
"But on the level above, everything is sealed with restrictions?"
Looking at this pleasure house, Ning Qi couldn't help but comment.
"Who knows? Maybe someone has escaped from there before!"
Pill Spirit shook his head, analyzing along.
"Let's go. Let's go in and see what's going on!"
"I'm quite curious what's so fun about it."
"Even my understanding of restrictions can't see through it. I wonder what mystery lies inside."
Looking at the pleasure house ahead, Ning Qi was instead very interested.
When he passed by earlier, he wanted to investigate the situation inside, but his spiritual sense couldn't penetrate it at all.
Even using the water-wave pattern Dao Rhyme, he couldn't comprehend it.
This was precisely why Ning Qi came down.
What interested him was what kind of restriction this was, not who was inside.
"Okay!"
Pill Spirit didn't know Ning Qi's thoughts; he was just very curious about this place.
The two were in perfect agreement. Ning Qi then led Pill Spirit forward.
Soon, they arrived outside the pleasure house.
Even from a distance, they could smell the rouge and powder fragrance wafting from inside.
These were all scents rich in spiritual energy.
"Master, I've heard many people directly use these pitiful women as living furnaces."
"Their fates are very tragic. Some are refined for a thousand years and still don't die."
"Every time they're about to die, their lives are spared."
"Once they're fattened up, and the spiritual energy and Yin energy within them are abundant, the refinement continues."
Pill Spirit thought of something and said to Ning Qi, "In the past, my master came into contact with such people. They're all scoundrels."
"Hmm, I've heard of that too!"
"But it has nothing to do with us. We don't meddle in such idle matters!"
Ning Qi nodded, then continued, "I'm just curious about the restrictions here. I want to see what's going on, how they can block my investigation!"
"Yes, this isn't our inner world. We can't stir up trouble here."
Pill Spirit deeply agreed, nodding, then looked ahead, "Then, shall we go in and see the situation?"
"Yes, let's go!"
Ning Qi nodded, then continued forward.
The two soon arrived at the entrance of the pleasure house.
Here, people came and went in an endless stream.
Upstairs, the cheerful laughter of singing girls could be clearly heard.
"Master, I can smell the scent of aphrodisiac powder!"
Pill Spirit sniffed the air a couple of times, then said to Ning Qi.
"Presumably, these people are controlled by such drugs!"
Ning Qi nodded, then said in a deep voice.