Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

"You have a Fist Technique, don’t you? Trade it to me. As long as you promise never to trade it with anyone else, this Pure Yang Grass and the Thirty-year-old Ginseng are all yours."

Liu Qing chuckled, his mind audibly whirring with calculations.

For a single stalk of Pure Yang Grass and an old ginseng root, he wanted to take Xu Yang’s Wind-Breaking Fist for himself and buy out the exclusive rights.

"It seems you aren’t being very sincere, Senior Brother. At an auction house, the exclusive rights to a Gang Qi Martial Technique would cost four or five thousand taels at the very least."

Xu Yang refused outright.

"Then by all means, take it to an auction house," Liu Qing said with a chuckle.

It wasn’t as if he had to sell these items to Xu Yang. Plenty of Pill Masters on Medicine King Peak needed Pure Yang Grass and thirty-year-old ginseng.

’I’m still missing the Pure Yang Grass!’

The trade meet ended quickly. Apart from Cao Jin, Liu Qing, and their associate, who all left loaded with goods, most of the attendees looked thoroughly displeased.

They had been forced to buy the items they wanted from the trio at exorbitant prices.

"If you needed ginseng, why didn’t you say so earlier?" Zhang Yong sighed.

"I didn’t know you’d have what I needed," Xu Yang said in resignation.

He had asked, but Lu Ren had shown up and interrupted them, and he’d forgotten all about it afterward.

Something he could have gotten just by letting Zhang Yong practice the Wind-Breaking Fist ended up costing him twenty-five contribution points to get from someone else.

"From now on, if any of us need to trade for something, let’s give each other a heads-up first," Sun Tao said.

Zhang Yong nodded. "Let’s go. This Qingyuan Association is no good. We should avoid coming here from now on."

Like Xu Yang, he was deeply disappointed with the Qingyuan Association.

It was merely a place for Inner Sect Disciples like Cao Jin and Liu Qing to extort resources from others.

"Junior Brother Xu, I’m planning to team up with Junior Brother Zhang Yong and Senior Brother Jiang Ping to venture into the Yunling Mountain Range. Are you sure you won’t join us?"

The next day, Sun Tao found Xu Yang to try and persuade him.

He still hoped Xu Yang would venture into the Yunling Mountain Range with them.

With three cultivators at Gang Qi Minor Achievement, plus Jiang Ping, their safety would be more or less guaranteed.

The main thing was, most disciples were heading into the Yunling Mountain Range to search for treasures. If Xu Yang kept holing up in the Purple Sun Sect, he would be left in the dust sooner or later.

Even a half-cripple like Jiang Ping dared to go back out and risk it all. How could Xu Yang be so content with mediocrity?

After all, Xu Yang’s talent was no less than Lu Ren’s. Yet, Lu Ren had already boasted he could reach Gang Qi Great Success in two or three months, while Xu Yang still needed about a year.

Xu Yang shook his head. "I won’t be going. You all should be careful, Senior Brother."

「Three days later.」

To avoid being ambushed and killed by Li Qiang, Sun Tao, Jiang Ping, and Zhang Yong secretly left the Purple Sun Sect and slipped into the Yunling Mountain Range to hunt for treasure.

Xu Yang didn’t go into the city to concoct the Gathering Essence Pill either.

He was still missing one ingredient: Pure Yang Grass. If he couldn’t buy it at the black market in a few days, he would then go into the city to search for it.

In the blink of an eye, the twentieth arrived—the day the black market opened.

As night fell, Xu Yang took his silver coins and arrived at the black market early.

"Brother, did you bring the three stalks of Tiger Bone Vine?" he asked, having easily found the stall owner from their previous meeting.

The stall owner’s voice was hoarse. "Brother, you are indeed a man of your word. I brought them all."

As he spoke, he bent down, rummaged through a wooden box on the ground, and pulled out three stalks of Tiger Bone Vine to hand to Xu Yang.

’The items are all fine.’

After a quick inspection, Xu Yang confirmed they were all genuine. He immediately pulled out a silver banknote to pay, then began searching the black market for Pure Yang Grass.

But after making a full circuit of the market, he found no one selling Pure Yang Grass. He did, however, manage to buy another Thirty-year-old Ginseng.

He decided to take matters into his own hands, setting up a sign at the black market’s entrance that read: "Buying Pure Yang Grass at a high price."

"Brother, you’re looking for Pure Yang Grass? Why didn’t you say so sooner? I have some, I just didn’t bring it with me."

Xu Yang had only been standing there for a moment when someone approached him. It was, surprisingly, the same monkey-faced stall owner who had sold him the Tiger Bone Vine.

"If you’re in a hurry, you can follow me to get it now," the monkey-faced stall owner offered.

Xu Yang shook his head. "I’m not in a rush. If you have it, Brother, just bring it next time."

"Alright!"

The monkey-faced stall owner nodded and returned to his stall.

Xu Yang waited for a full hour. During that time, several others approached him, all claiming to have Pure Yang Grass that they hadn’t brought with them, asking him to follow them to retrieve it.

Xu Yang refused them all, knowing that most of them harbored ill intentions.

After another quarter of an hour, the black market began to wind down, but still no Pure Yang Grass had appeared.

’Looks like I’ll have to search in the city after all.’

Tossing the sign aside, Xu Yang left the black market.

SWOOSH!

About two kilometers from the black market, a piercing whistle suddenly cut through the night. A great spear tore through the air and slammed into the ground thirty feet in front of Xu Yang, its shaft quivering with a low hum.

Xu Yang stopped in his tracks.

In the distance, a figure soared through the air like a great bird, landing steadily on the spear’s shaft. "Hand over your money and the Tiger Bone Vine, and you can leave in one piece."

"Brother, we’re only after your valuables. We don’t kill."

A gust of wind rose behind him. A second figure drifted in like a phantom, joining the man on the spear to surround Xu Yang from both front and back.

"Selling something only to rob it back... isn’t that a bit dishonorable?" Xu Yang said, turning to look at the stall owner in the monkey mask behind him.

The monkey-faced stall owner said, "The world is a cruel place. We’re just trying to survive. For the sake of our past dealings, hand over your valuables, and we promise not to harm you."

Xu Yang asked, curious. "So you don’t actually have any Pure Yang Grass?"

The man in the monkey mask shook his head. "None."

"If you don’t have it, then you can die."

Great Success Level—Stepping on Gang and Chasing Wind!

The full power of his Great Success in Gang Qi Cultivation erupted. Xu Yang’s legs were coated in a layer of faint golden Gang Qi, and his body vanished from sight like a phantom.

At Gang Qi Great Success, his speed was more terrifying than ever. Such was his velocity that he carved a long trench in the ground as he moved.

In the flash of a shadow, he appeared ten feet away from the stall owner in the monkey mask.

His Gang Qi surged, his frame thrumming with power. As the great dragon of his spine seemed to roar, his fist tore through the air and shot forward.

BOOM!

With a muffled bang, four fist-gleams, indistinguishable from one another as real or illusory, shot out in unison, streaking like meteors across the sky.

Phantom Star Gang Fist!

CRACK!

Before the fist even landed, the sheer force of its approach shattered the monkey mask on the man’s face, revealing a young man’s features.

Xu Yang found the face vaguely familiar. He must be a Purple Sun Sect disciple he had seen somewhere before.

But at a time like this, he couldn’t show mercy, even to an acquaintance.

BAM! BAM...!

As the four fist-gleams landed, the man’s hastily erected Protective Gang Qi shattered instantly. He only had time to throw up his arms before Xu Yang’s real fist slammed into him.

The man’s eyes were sharp; he’d managed to spot the true fist hidden among the illusions. But it did him little good.

The domineering Golden Gang Qi invaded with overwhelming force. With a sickening CRACK, his arms were instantly shattered by the terrifying power. He screamed and flew backward, spitting mouthfuls of blood in midair, his arms twisted like pretzels.

"You dare!"

The spear-wielder was already upon him, roaring as his great spear lunged like a dragon toward Xu Yang’s back.

Xu Yang felt a vicious dragon roaring at his back, Vigorous Energy surging like a tide amid a series of piercing shrieks.

’An expert!’

The man’s Spear Technique was utterly domineering. They were both at the Great Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he gripped the empty air. A faint golden Sword Gang instantly formed in his hand, and with a backhanded stroke, he unleashed the Rising Sun.

CLANG!

The blade and spear collided with the crisp ring of metal on metal. The long spear was knocked high into the air, its tip grazing past his head.

Fiery Sun Gang Saber!

Scorching heat radiated through the woods. Moisture in the air evaporated, and a white mist quickly rose around them.

The faint golden Sword Gang seemed tangible, incredibly conspicuous in the dark of night.

"The Blazing Blade?" the spearman exclaimed, his arms still trembling from the impact.

This was a fearsome figure. Even Ma Jun, a Hall Master of the Dawn Association, was rumored to have died by his hand. The spearman had never imagined the man they were trying to rob was this notorious killer.

BOOM!

A faint golden Sword Qi tore through the air, slashing out as if to annihilate everything in its path.

The Sword Intent was so condensed it seemed tangible. It slashed down like a crescent moon, striking the nearly foot-thick Protective Gang Qi. With a loud BANG, the spearman’s chest exploded into a bloody pulp, and he was sent flying backward with a scream.

’Such terrifying Sword Qi... I have to run!’

The stall owner in the monkey mask, who had just struggled to his feet, was scared witless by the sight. He ignored his twisted arms, turned, and fled.

’The Blazing Blade!’

The man they had provoked was the Blazing Blade, a veritable god of death!