I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

After leaving the pawnshop through the back door, Xie An pretended to stroll leisurely along the street, but in reality, he kept his eyes peeled and ears open, constantly watching for anyone who might be following him.

Upon reaching the edge of town, Xie An looked around and, finding no one, took out a piece of black linen to cover the lower half of his face. He then quickly dashed out of town and disappeared into the boundless twilight.

"Going to the black market is dangerous; it's easy to attract unwanted attention. I have to be careful."

The black market was located at Blackblood Ridge, twenty miles outside of Crowbridge Town, bordering the vast Yin Mountain Range. Fierce beasts were known to roam the Yin Mountains, and rumors often circulated about herbalists and hunters being devoured by them.

Having lived in Crowbridge Town for thirty years, Xie An was well aware that, in addition to wild animals, bandits also resided in the Yin Mountains.

The black market, by its very nature, was a business that evaded taxes and regulations, making it a target of official resentment. Its location in a place like Blackblood Ridge actually made it safer, as the authorities were usually too lazy to bother with a large-scale operation.

The black market opened at nightfall and closed at dawn, covering five or six towns, including Crowbridge, Egret, and Water Lantern. It was large in scale, but also very chaotic. Gullible customers were often targeted, and unexpected incidents were common.

Xie An had been there a few times before with Chen Yuan, but since he hadn't bought anything valuable and hadn't flaunted any wealth, he hadn't attracted any thieves.

This time, however, was different. Xie An intended to purchase quite a few items, so he had to take precautions.

But to say he was afraid would be an exaggeration…

Xie An's Five Animal Frolics had already entered the third stage: Unity of Spirit and Form, although only two points of progress had been made. This further increased Xie An's strength and physique.

He could lift over four hundred and fifty pounds with one hand, and one punch… could definitely kill an adult man. He had few opponents below the level of a martial artist.

Crowbridge Town was, after all, just a town. There were only a few martial artists in total, most of whom worked as instructors at the Chen Family Martial Hall. Xie An wasn't worried.

Strength emboldens a man, and that was definitely true.

Walking twenty miles of mountain road was effortless for Xie An.

At the third quarter of Hai hour (around 10 PM), Xie An arrived at Blackblood Ridge.

The entrance was a small canyon, where two burly men in black, carrying broadswords, blocked the way. They looked intimidating, and upon seeing the masked Xie An, they didn't waste any words, saying directly, "The entrance fee is one tael of silver. If you want to set up a stall, there's an additional three tael stall fee."

Xie An acted like a regular customer, took out a tael of silver and handed it over, "I'm not setting up a stall."

One of the broadsword-wielding men took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and, satisfied that it was the correct weight, nodded, "No fighting or disturbances allowed inside."

"Understood."

The two broadsword-wielding men stepped aside, and Xie An skillfully entered the canyon.

Unlike the darkness outside the canyon, the inside was brightly lit, with rows of stalls neatly arranged. Men with swords patrolled back and forth, maintaining order.

Those stallholders or customers who intended to cause trouble would immediately back down and return to friendly negotiations whenever they saw the sword-wielding men approaching.

However, most of the merchants and customers, like Xie An, were masked.

Clearly, those who dared to do business here were mostly veterans, acting cautiously. Although it was safe inside the canyon, once they left… they were likely to be targeted.

As for who the mastermind behind the black market was, Xie An didn't know.

They must be very powerful.

After wandering around, Xie An found two stalls selling martial arts manuals.

One of them, run by a large, fat man, was booming with business.

"I'll take the Tiger Fury Saber Technique for fifteen taels of silver."

"I want the Lower Three Swords Technique for twelve taels of silver."

Prices of a dozen taels or more immediately deterred Xie An.

It was clear that the fat man had a good reputation, and even though the prices were higher, customers felt it was guaranteed and were willing to spend more money.

But Xie An only had twenty taels of silver in his pocket…

He couldn't afford it.

Helpless, Xie An went to another stall selling martial arts manuals. The stallholder was a middle-aged old man, sitting on a rock behind the stall, fiddling with a pipe. Seeing that no one was visiting his stall, a look of sorrow appeared on his face.

He hadn't sold this Five Animal Frolics manual in two months. If this continued, his family wouldn't be able to make ends meet.

However, the old man with the pipe wasn't one to be trifled with. He feigned composure and glared at Xie An, "There are still people who like health cultivation these days. How much silver are you willing to offer?"

Xie An, with sharp eyes, saw that the old man was eager to sell, and slowly said, "I won't lie to you. I've practiced the Five Animal Frolics for over a decade, but the handwritten copy at home was lost. I've forgotten some of the later content. That's why I wanted to buy a copy to look at the content. If it's too expensive, forget it."

After speaking, Xie An expertly performed two stances of the Five Animal Frolics in front of the old man with the pipe, with an expression that said, "See, I'm not lying to you."

The old man with the pipe had naturally also studied health cultivation. Seeing Xie An's practiced movements, he believed Xie An's words and immediately became even more apprehensive, "Alright, then four taels."

Xie An still frowned and remained silent.

He was so easy to talk to?

He felt he could still lower the price a bit…

Maintaining silence can sometimes bring immense pressure.

When the old man with the pipe was clearly about to lose his composure, Xie An finally spoke, "Actually, I only forgot the last few sentences. It's not worth buying a copy for four taels. How about this, you let me flip through the back of the Five Animal Frolics, it won't affect you continuing to sell it. I'll buy some other martial arts manuals from you. How about it?"

The old man with the pipe was very disappointed, but hadn't given up, "That depends on how much stuff you buy."

Seeing that there was a chance, Xie An suppressed the excitement in his heart and pretended to be indifferent as he asked about the other manuals.

After some investigation, Xie An roughly understood why this old man with the water pipe had no business.

They were all common martial arts techniques, not to mention copied, but also incomplete.

The most taboo thing in practicing martial arts is an incomplete manual, which can easily lead to Qi deviation.

Who would dare to buy it?

However, one technique, the Fetal Breathing Exercise, caught Xie An's attention. Tang Qingfeng had introduced this health-preserving exercise before. It was a type of breathing method.

After some haggling, the old man with the water pipe wanted to sell it for at least eight taels of silver, but Xie An was only willing to pay four taels, and kept emphasizing that no one wanted to spend money on health-preserving exercises these days.

In the end, the old man with the water pipe agreed to sell it for six taels, and also allowed Xie An to look at the Five Animal Frolics.

"Deal."

Xie An put on a pained expression and reluctantly agreed.

Money was exchanged for goods.

Xie An picked up the Five Animal Frolics and began to read.

The Five Animal Frolics that Chen Yuan gave him earlier was only the first half, and Xie An had already finished practicing the content on it. He had reached the peak of embodying both spirit and form. That's why he rushed to the black market to buy the second half of the Five Animal Frolics.

Unexpectedly, he met the old man with the water pipe and got a free copy of the Five Animal Frolics.

The Five Animal Frolics didn't have many words, only a thousand words for half a copy. Plus, Xie An had the foundation of the first half, so he quickly memorized the content of the second half.

'The latter Five Animal Frolics encompasses two realms: strengthening the five internal organs and guiding Qi with intention. The Qi sensation that Tang Qingfeng mentioned should be referring to guiding Qi with intention. As long as I complete the guiding Qi with intention, I should be able to cultivate a Qi sensation. At that time, I can also go to the Tang Family Fort in the county town to seek an opportunity?'

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'With the longevity fate, as long as I persevere for a long time, I will definitely be able to cultivate a Qi sensation.'

"Old brother, you've been looking at it for almost half an hour..." The old man with the water pipe muttered, clearly displeased. He had a feeling of being scammed...

Xie An then came back to his senses and handed the Five Animal Frolics back to the old man with the water pipe, "I'm old, my memory is not good. Please forgive me, old brother."

The old man with the water pipe snatched the Five Animal Frolics, sat down and smoked his water pipe, the feeling in his heart became stronger:

I was scammed by this old man.

Xie An saw the old man with the water pipe looking sullen, and knew what he was thinking. But he didn't comfort him much and turned to leave.

Doing business in the black market... isn't it just you scamming me and me scamming you?

Who can you blame for this...

Xie An opened the prescription given by Tang Qingfeng, walked to the place selling medicinal materials, and began to look for the medicinal materials, haggling over various prices.

He had collected all kinds of other medicinal materials, but there was one core medicinal material that stumped Xie An.

Bear gall.

It was available for sale on the black market.

But it was too expensive.

Even though this place was close to the Da Yin Mountain, where hunting was popular, and hunters often hunted black bears. But a bear gall still cost dozens of taels of silver.

Xie An touched the only five taels of silver left in his pocket, and couldn't help but sigh that he was still too poor...

Although Xie An knew that the unique prescription given by Tang Qingfeng would definitely have miraculous effects. But... there was no way to collect it at the moment.

Cultivating a health-preserving exercise cost so much, let alone practicing martial arts...

I have to make a lot of money in the future!

"Today's harvest is not bad, let's go back and talk about it."

Seeing that the time had passed midnight, Xie An prepared to go home. As for the bear gall, he could only find a way later.

Just as Xie An passed by a stall selling sundries, his eyes suddenly lit up.

The stall owner was a young man, wearing a mask, with shifty eyes, occasionally looking around with the corner of his eyes, looking like he had a guilty conscience. On the stall were a chamber pot, a quiver containing five arrows, and a heavy bow.

The heavy bow was a bit old, it should be a one-stone bow.

According to the measurements of the Da Qian Dynasty, the pulling force of a one-stone bow was equivalent to two hundred pounds, which belonged to a heavy bow, and had armor-piercing effect, and the effective range could reach an astonishing two hundred meters. It was mostly for military use and was forbidden to be sold privately. But this was the black market... so it was normal.

Ordinary people could not possibly draw such a heavy bow, but Xie An could easily do it.

Now that Xie An's strength had increased, but he was not proficient in fighting, he felt that he needed weapons for self-defense. And the most effective weapons were knives, spears... and heavy bows.

What attracted Xie An the most was not this heavy bow, but the seemingly inconspicuous chamber pot that emitted a smell of urine.

Good stuff!

It must be hundreds of years old, and although the carvings on it were very ordinary, the carving technique was very extraordinary. It was most likely a product of the royal family of the previous dynasty. If it was taken out for sale, it would be worth two hundred taels of silver at least.

Seeing Xie An stop to watch, the young man immediately rejoiced, "Sir, do you want to buy antiques?"

Xie An directly ignored the chamber pot, pretended to pick up the heavy bow to play with, "This broken chamber pot is tattered and smells bad, I wouldn't even want it if you gave it to me. This bow is not bad, but it's a second-hand item, it's not worth much. How much are you planning to sell it for?"

The already guilty young man was criticized by Xie An, and became even more guilty, "Five taels."

An ordinary bow in Da Qian cost about five or six qian of silver on the market. Heavy bows were much more expensive, and five taels was more appropriate for a second-hand heavy bow.

Xie An showed a look of disgust, "Who can pull such a heavy bow, I'm just buying it for collection. Two taels at most."

The young man was hit in the soft spot again.

Indeed, very few people could pull a one-stone bow.

Unless they were martial artists.

But martial artists had a lofty status in the nearby area and looked down on second-hand heavy bows.

The young man gritted his teeth, "Three taels, I can't go any lower."

Xie An pretended to be in pain, and inadvertently glanced at the chamber pot on the stall, "I'm losing money at three taels, or how about you give me this chamber pot as a gift? Just consider it for this old man to pee in."

For Xie An, the bow was irrelevant, the main thing was this chamber pot...

I just don't know if I can scare this young man.