The Heavenly Sword Sect's Black Market.
Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan to arrive at the entrance of the black market.
Hu Nan had already disguised himself.
He was not only dressed in a pure black outfit, but also wore a black iron mask.
After dressing, he suppressed Hu Nan's cultivation level to the sixth level of Qi Refining.
Qin Changsheng knew very well that to ensure Lin Hao had no worries, he had to conceal his cultivation level.
Qin Changsheng glanced at the entrance of the black market, then controlled Hu Nan to walk inside.
After passing through a narrow corridor, the scene before them instantly became bustling.
On both sides of the street were various stalls, most of the vendors wearing masks or covering their faces with headscarves, loudly hawking their goods: low-level demon beast cores, broken magic weapons, various pills, spiritual herbs, and even forbidden scrolls.
Qin Changsheng slowed his pace, concealing himself in the crowd. His eyes warily scanned his surroundings, pretending to search for goods while secretly looking for Lin Hao.
Soon afterward, Qin Changsheng spotted Lin Hao.
Although Lin Hao was wearing a mask, Qin Changsheng recognized him immediately.
In the black market, everyone dressed in inconspicuous coarse cloth or black clothing, striving to be discreet. Only Lin Hao, despite his deliberate disguise, couldn't shake off his inherent arrogance and extravagance.
His clothing appeared to be ordinary black, but the smooth fabric subtly shimmered with a spiritual light, clearly not the common material available in the black market. It was obviously woven from high-grade spirit silkworm silk, exceptionally luxurious, and utterly out of place in the chaotic and dilapidated black market, standing out conspicuously.
More importantly, Qin Changsheng clearly saw that the man's left hand hung limply at his side, the sleeve slightly slipped down, revealing an empty section of his sleeve. Clearly, his left hand was severed.
Qin Changsheng, controlling Hu Nan, walked towards Lin Hao's stall.
Lin Hao glanced up at Hu Nan, then looked elsewhere, clearly not taking Hu Nan seriously.
"Fellow Daoist, are you buying Qi Renewal Pills?" Hu Nan asked in a low voice.
Lin Hao turned sharply, scrutinizing Hu Nan from head to toe. Seeing that the man was dressed plainly and possessed a weak aura, he was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
"Indeed, as long as you have Qi Renewal Pills, the price is negotiable," Lin Hao said.
"Please take a look, sir." With that, Hu Nan slowly took out a pill from an inconspicuous cloth pouch at his waist.
Lin Hao subconsciously looked up, his gaze falling on the Meridian Continuation Pill. He intended to glance at it casually to confirm its authenticity, but the instant his eyes touched its surface...
His pupils contracted sharply, his aura froze, and a flash of disbelief crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by intense killing intent.
This Meridian Continuation Pill—he knew it all too well!
At the bottom of the pill was an extremely fine mark, a mark he had personally carved, like a tiny "Lin" character, practically invisible without close inspection.
He had sent his men to rob it, but they had all been killed, and even the Meridian Continuation Pill had been stolen.
Lin Hao harbored deep hatred for this man.
In Lin Hao's view, if he had hands, he would never have been defeated so easily in the sect competition.
He was absolutely certain he could defeat Hu Nan and win the sect competition.
Lin Hao attributed his previous defeat entirely to the theft of the Meridian-Replenishing Pill.
However, Lin Hao quickly concealed his killing intent.
This was the sect's black market, a place teeming with all sorts of people; it wasn't advisable to fight in public.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Hao slowly raised his hand and accepted the Meridian-Replenishing Pill: "This Meridian-Replenishing Pill is of decent quality. Tell me, how many spirit stones?"
Qin Changsheng took in every change in Lin Hao's expression, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Sure enough, Lin Hao recognized the pill's mark, and killing intent surged within him.
"One thousand spirit stones."
"What?!" Lin Hao's expression instantly changed, his aura suddenly darkening, the killing intent in his eyes almost impossible to conceal.
However, Lin Hao quickly concealed his killing intent once more.
Because in Lin Hao's mind, this man was already dead.
This thousand spirit stones was merely for the black-clad man to hold temporarily.
After killing him, he would seize the spirit stones and other treasures from him.
"Here are a thousand spirit stones, please count them!" Lin Hao handed Hu Nan a storage bag.
"Fellow Daoist, you are generous." Hu Nan took the storage bag and hurriedly walked away.
Lin Hao's gaze remained fixed on Hu Nan.
"Sixth level of Qi Refining?" Lin Hao took a deep breath and decided to follow the black-clad man and kill him.
Although his father, Lin Zhentian, had always warned him not to take risks, to think carefully before acting, and not to let personal grudges cloud his judgment,
Lin Hao didn't believe he was in any danger at this moment.
After all, the black-clad man ahead was merely a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator.
With his solid foundation at the tenth level of Qi Refining and possession of a low-grade Xuan-level magic weapon, even with his left hand severed, crushing a mere sixth-level Qi Refining soldier would be effortless.
Moreover, he held many trump cards. Even if his opponent had any hidden methods, he was absolutely confident he could completely eliminate him.
Lin Zhentian's admonition was merely excessive caution.
In his view, his father, a Golden Core cultivator, had witnessed countless battles between high-level cultivators, making him increasingly wary of various risks. However, this matter was trivial.
Furthermore, the sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator possessed numerous treasures.
Killing that sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator would yield a large amount of treasures and spirit stones.
This was a perfect plan with multiple benefits.
Lin Hao took a deep breath, his figure flickering as he silently blended into the crowd, like a ghost, closely following the masked man in black.
Lin Hao maintained a safe distance from his target, neither too close nor too far, ensuring he wouldn't be noticed while also keeping his target within reach.
Furthermore, Lin Hao noticed that the Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator seemed completely unguarded, brazenly walking towards the exit of the black market even while being followed.
What surprised Lin Hao even more was that this Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator was actually heading towards Qingyun Lake.
Few people travel from the black market to Qingyun Lake, making it an ideal location for robbery.
"Hahaha, this is truly heaven's help!" Lin Hao was filled with smugness. Then, with a swift movement, he flew rapidly forward.
Fifteen minutes later, Hu Nan arrived at a secluded path.
As soon as Hu Nan stepped onto the path, a figure leaped out from behind a large tree like a ghost, landing steadily directly in front of him.
Lin Hao was still wearing that exquisite mask, which concealed most of his face, but couldn't hide the smugness and ruthlessness in his eyes.
"W-who are you? Why are you stopping me here?" Hu Nan feigned great fear the moment he saw Lin Hao.
Seeing the masked man's panicked state, Lin Hao's eyes instantly gleamed with smugness, a disdainful sneer curling his lips: "What? Surprised? Didn't expect that I, this young master, would follow you all the way here and stop you?"
His tone turned icy as he shouted sharply, "Boy, how dare you! You dare steal my Meridian Renewal Pill! If you hadn't stolen it, how could I have been in such poor condition during the sect competition, defeated by that low-grade four-elemental-root trash Hu Nan, and missed the championship?!"
Mentioning the crushing defeat in the sect competition, mentioning Hu Nan, Lin Hao's voice was filled with gritted teeth, his killing intent almost bursting forth.
He always believed that the reason he lost to Hu Nan was not because he lacked strength, but because his cultivation state was damaged by the theft of the Meridian Continuation Pill, which put him at a disadvantage. He kept this humiliation in his heart day and night, and now that he had finally caught the "real culprit", he naturally wanted to vent his anger.