Immortal Cage - Chapter 48: Not Dark in the Black Street
In the stone house, after meticulous contemplation, Yu Lie roughly understood the effect of the bronze wine cup on spirit stones. His face showed a mix of joy and disappointment!
Once the spirit stones entered the bronze wine cup, they indeed underwent purification similar to that of a fierce beast's flesh, being refined and purified. However, this purification process could not continue indefinitely.
Because the spiritual energy in the wine cup would eventually reach a certain level of refinement, just like flesh and blood, it would stop changing. Yu Lie extracted this spiritual energy and carefully sensed it, realizing that compared to the original spiritual energy, it had only ascended to a higher level.
Yu Lie speculated that after the impure spirit stones underwent purification in the wine cup, they could at most reach the level of low-grade spirit stones, unable to reach medium-grade or high-grade.
Of course, this was just Yu Lie's speculation. After all, his knowledge was limited at the moment, having never come into contact with true medium-grade spirit stones, let alone high-grade ones.
It was even possible that after undergoing a transformation, the spirit stones might only be equivalent to low-grade, without substantial improvement.
Furthermore, during this process, the size and weight of the spirit stones also decreased significantly. Yu Lie was unsure whether soaking the spirit stones would result in profit or loss.
Contemplating, Yu Lie thought to himself, "It seems that using the bronze wine cup to purify inferior spirit stones step by step into high-grade or even top-grade, and becoming rich overnight, is impossible. At most, it can only elevate inferior stones to low-grade."
He also considered that the spirit stones in the Mountain and Sea Realm were products of meticulous cutting. Even the spirit stones given by Da Tou Wa were larger than those in Heishui Town, with smooth and unique cutting patterns.
According to what Yu Lie learned during his studies, good cutting techniques could slow down the dissipation of spiritual energy in the spirit stones, even absorbing spiritual energy from the air, making the spirit stones more refined over time.
Therefore, the cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm, except for very few exceptions, rarely traded broken spirit stones, aiming for completeness.
After the purification in the bronze wine cup, the appearance of the spirit stones would change unpredictably, the patterns would disappear, each piece would be different, and with significant shrinkage, it would be easy for others to notice something amiss.
In other words, if Yu Lie were to sell the spirit stones, buying inferior ones and selling low-grade ones, he risked being exposed by the trading partners or money lenders, inviting great trouble.
Thinking carefully, Yu Lie inwardly said, "I must not engage in such foolish speculation and profiteering."
Walking around the room, he pondered and realized that the safest way to sell spirit stones might be to start with raw spirit stone ore. Since the ore was large and needed further cutting, even if its form changed, others might not notice.
However, accessing spirit stone ore required either owning a mine or working as a miner, which Yu Lie was not capable of at the moment.
After organizing his thoughts, Yu Lie finally let out a sigh, suppressing his disappointment. He looked at the bronze wine cup and the spirit stones on the table, his eyes gradually showing more joy.
Yu Lie picked up a piece of purified inferior spirit stone fragment from the table, thinking to himself, "Selling spirit stones might have some obstacles, but using the wine cup to purify spirit stones for cultivation is no problem!"
After the recent experiment, Yu Lie had figured out how to improve the quality of the spirit stones without turning them into liquid.
The spiritual stone remnants in his hand, including the various sizes of fragments on the table, were all like this!
If these purified spirit stones were used for consumption and transformation, it would undoubtedly increase Yu Lie's transformation success rate or the power after transformation, similar to the wolf demon's organs from before!
Yu Lie was delighted. He bent down, collected the spirit stone fragments on the table one by one, wrapped them in oil paper, ready for grinding and consumption later.
However, after collecting them, Yu Lie realized a problem. He had nowhere to hide the spirit stones. With almost half of the spirit stones refined by the wine cup, their quality had improved, and the spiritual energy inside had become purer. Wouldn't this increase the risk of being exposed and targeted by others?
Frowning tightly, Yu Lie looked at the intact inferior spirit stone on the table and thought, "It seems I must purchase a storage item. If I can't buy one, at least I should get some talismans or boxes for sealing and concealing spiritual energy."
This matter couldn't be delayed. Yu Lie glanced at the sky outside and realized it was already past midnight. Now was the time when the Black Street in Heishui Town was bustling and the black market was open!
Yu Lie tucked two spirit stones into his pocket, clenched his fists, and was about to step out to buy things. However, just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back, took a small scale, placed the intact spirit stone on it, and ruthlessly cut off a small piece.
As a poor Daoist, Yu Lie didn't want to use a whole spirit stone for just a small amount of money. After weighing it repeatedly, he found that it was likely not Da Tou Wa's spirit stone that was larger, but the spirit stones in Heishui Town were smaller!
Da Tou Wa's spirit stone happened to be one liang, while the spirit stones given to the Daoists in Heishui Town were all eight liang. Yu Lie had mistakenly thought the spirit stone was eight liang.
What a deception to the Daoists!
After making preparations, Yu Lie wrapped himself in a black robe, put on a cloak, and finally arrived at a corner of the Black Street in Heishui Town.
Compared to the fish-selling street, this corner was much quieter. However, as soon as Yu Lie looked up, he would see that every Daoist passing through this corner covered their faces, behaving discreetly. Their aura and physique were far from ordinary Daoists.
The Black Street, the black market of Heishui Town, was not accessible without money!
It was a place where all sorts of people mingled, from thieves selling stolen goods to powerful Daoists selling their products, and even merchants from out of town engaging in illegal activities right under the town's nose.
Yu Lie had bought his talismans in the Black Street before.
Entering the corner, at the end was a dead end. On the walls on both sides hung fierce beast heads, mouths open, looking dirty and ominous. The ground was foul-smelling, giving Yu Lie the feeling of a urinal from a past life.
Entering the Black Street was simple. Yu Lie approached one of the beast heads, deliberately choosing one a bit further away from others, about three or four pit spots apart. Then, he took out his money pouch and shook it.
Next to Yu Lie, another Daoist in a black robe also shook his money pouch vigorously. The coins inside clinked loudly, but unfortunately, the other person's money was too little or of low quality, with more black coins than red ones, making no sound when shaken.
The beast head in front of the other person was awake but lazily yawning, refusing to open.
The actions of the black-robed Daoist attracted some attention, and Yu Lie couldn't help but glance over. The other person couldn't hold back, muttering, "Damn it, I could get in yesterday, but today you find my money insufficient?!"
However, before Yu Lie could take another look, his spirit stones were presented, making no sound and causing no delay.
With a snort, the beast head made a snorting sound and bit towards the money in Yu Lie's hand.
Yu Lie grabbed the money pouch and didn't let go. With a swift motion, he was dragged into a dim scene.
In the next moment, a charming voice sounded, "Hehe! Welcome, guests."
Paper figures with lightly drawn features and flushed cheeks entered Yu Lie's sight. They walked in a line, their feet not touching the ground, holding up signs that read, "Ancient shop, unique items, new store opening, high quality and low prices!"
There were also bizarre parrots squatting at a stall, squawking loudly, "Bankruptcy, bankruptcy, the scoundrel and the seductive demoness have run away, selling off their belongings, bulk discounts available!"
The Black Street was not dark but rather lively and filled with spiritual light. As Yu Lie entered, his eyes sparkled with colorful spiritual lights, and he smelled the strong scent of people. It felt like he had stepped into a vibrant night market from a previous life.