### Chapter 138: The Fat Sheep  

A person who could easily kill two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators was likely at least a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator—and a seasoned one at that.

If He Song could effortlessly kill two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, then killing the stall owner would be just as easy.

Facing such a dangerous individual, even though the stall owner had powerful backers, he still felt immense pressure. 

Under He Song's gaze, the stall owner swallowed hard and began inspecting the items with a serious expression.

He checked the storage pouches, examined the quality of the magical tools, opened the jade bottles to inspect the pills, and sorted through the miscellaneous items to calculate their value.

After a while, when everything had been appraised, the stall owner was sweating profusely, and his gaze toward He Song now carried a hint of fear. 

These items clearly belonged to two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators—cultivators who had been relatively well-off.

Yet now, all of it was in He Song's hands.

It wasn't hard to imagine what had happened.

Facing such a dangerous figure, the stall owner feared that if he offered too low a price, it might cost him his life.

But He Song was staring at him, and he had no choice but to speak. 

"Esteemed senior, the total comes to eight hundred spirit stones. Does that sound acceptable to you?" The stall owner's voice trembled slightly, and he was prepared to raise the price if necessary.

Right now, all he wanted was to save his own life. 

Four storage pouches would normally sell for around four hundred spirit stones.

Four low-grade magical tools would also fetch about four hundred spirit stones.

The pills, talismans, and other miscellaneous items Chen Zhong had prepared likely had significant value as well.

However, since these were stolen goods being sold in the Black Market, the price would naturally be discounted.

Based on He Song's own calculations, getting seven hundred spirit stones for these items would have been a good deal.

To his surprise, he was getting an extra hundred spirit stones.

A look of satisfaction flashed in He Song's eyes. 

Seeing no issue with the price, He Song nodded and agreed to the transaction.

The stall owner was overjoyed and quickly handed over the spirit stones.

Once the exchange was complete, He Song left the teahouse and headed straight for an inn in the Ten Thousand Blossoms Immortal Market. 

The last time He Song had been at the Spirit Rabbit Immortal Market, he had left from an inn without alerting anyone or being followed.

From the moment he left until he returned to the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, no one had intercepted him.

Thus, using the same method to leave the Ten Thousand Blossoms Immortal Market became He Song's preferred choice. 

As He Song made his way to the inn, the stall owner who had just traded with him ran into trouble outside the teahouse. 

"Stop! What did that person just sell you?" A figure clad in a black robe blocked the stall owner's path.

The aura of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator briefly emanated from the figure, causing the stall owner's expression to change drastically. 

In a small immortal market like this, late-stage Qi Refining cultivators weren't common.

Even as a Black Market stall owner, the man was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

While he had powerful backers, it was uncertain whether they would intervene for someone as insignificant as him. 

"Esteemed senior, everything that person sold me is here. If you want it... consider it a humble offering from me," the stall owner said, his voice trembling.

In the short span of time, he had encountered two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

He felt like he was having the worst luck today.

To save his life, he reluctantly handed over the items he had just acquired from He Song, hoping to avoid disaster. 

At the same time, he discreetly observed the black-robed figure before him.

A bold thought crossed his mind: Could this person be the same one who had just sold him the items, now trying to take them back without paying?

A true case of getting something for nothing?

However, he quickly dismissed the idea.

The figure before him, though also clad in black, had a different build from He Song. 

The black-robed figure, who was none other than Fang He, the steward of the Spirit Medicine Pavilion in the Ten Thousand Blossoms Immortal Market, took the bundle without hesitation.

After He Song had left the pavilion, Fang He had followed him and witnessed the transaction with the stall owner.

Curious, he had stopped the stall owner to see what He Song had sold. 

However, when Fang He saw the contents of the bundle, his expression changed dramatically. 

Inside were four storage pouches, four magical tools, several pills and talismans, and various other miscellaneous items.

The sheer volume and variety of the items made it clear that they were all stolen goods.

As for their origin... perhaps they had been taken from people like himself who had tried to target He Song. 

For a moment, Fang He broke out in a cold sweat.

He had thought he was targeting a fat sheep, but it turned out the sheep was actually a wolf in disguise.

The ease with which He Song had produced these items suggested that his strength was far from ordinary.

Moreover, if He Song were truly a fat sheep, how would he know about the existence of the Black Market in the immortal market?

If he were truly a fat sheep, how could a rogue cultivator reach the late-stage Qi Refining level? 

The more Fang He thought about it, the more he felt a sense of dread.

If he hadn't been cautious and stopped the stall owner to inspect the items, he might have followed He Song with the intention of ambushing him.

In that case, given He Song's ability to disguise his true strength, Fang He might have ended up losing everything to him. 

The thought sent a chill down Fang He's spine, instantly clearing his mind of any greed.

In its place was only a deep sense of relief.

How could an ordinary person casually produce so much spirit rice?

Ten thousand spirit stones' worth of spirit rice was an astronomical amount for an average cultivator.

Could it be that He Song had obtained all of it by killing other cultivators and looting their possessions? 

The more Fang He thought about it, the more he felt he had narrowly avoided disaster. If he hadn't been careful... 

"Get lost," Fang He said coldly, then vanished in an instant, taking the bundle the stall owner had just bought for eight hundred spirit stones with him. 

Left behind, the stall owner felt like he had the worst luck today.

The two people who had humiliated him were both late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Though he wished he could kill them, his lack of strength forced him to swallow his anger and endure the loss. 

After looking around and confirming no one else was going to stop him, the stall owner stumbled away, his mood far from pleasant.

In this line of work, while the profits were great, so were the risks.

The Black Market was a place where shady dealings were common, and being cheated was far from unusual. 

Meanwhile, He Song, now in his inn room, was completely unaware of what had happened after he left.

He activated the room's formation to conceal his aura, burned the black robe he had been wearing, and used spiritual energy to cleanse himself and his storage pouches, ensuring no tracking marks remained.

After changing into a new black robe, he sank into the ground and swiftly left the Ten Thousand Blossoms Immortal Market. 

Traveling underground, He Song quickly and quietly left the market, heading far away.

He had no idea that his casual disposal of stolen goods had inadvertently scared off a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who had been targeting him. 

However, after traveling several hundred miles from the Ten Thousand Blossoms Immortal Market and confirming no one was following him, He Song changed direction.

Instead of returning to the Earth Sect, he headed toward the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market. 

(End of Chapter) 

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