Chapter 497 - 496- Black Market

As Grey watched the figure of the wolf girl quickly fade into the darkness, he calmly retracted his gaze before lowering his head and glancing at his forearm.

There was a small black patch on his skin.

It was creeping outward at an extremely slow pace, spreading like a stain across his flesh.

A faint pain suddenly emerged from within Grey’s body. His naturally poison-resistant physique had instinctively begun fighting against the foreign substance that had entered his body.

Grey did not immediately urge the purple crystal to take action.

Instead, he quietly observed the black patch.

He wanted to determine just how potent the poison used by the young girl was and whether it possessed enough power to cause any significant impact on his body.

Several minutes passed.

Yet the black patch did not grow any larger.

It remained confined to the same small area of skin, seemingly restrained by Grey’s powerful physique as his natural defenses continuously fought against the foreign substance.

Grey shook his head slightly.

It seemed that the poison was not nearly as potent as he had initially expected.

Still, he wasn’t disappointed.

With a small wave of his hand, the purple intent belonging to the purple crystal was released from his heart. It instantly erupted through his body like a silent tide, spreading toward every corner of his flesh.

The moment the foreign substance was detected, the suppressive intent surged toward it.

The poison barely had any opportunity to resist before the purple intent enveloped it and began forcefully suppressing its effects.

In less than a few breaths, the poison was completely eradicated. The black patch on Grey’s forearm gradually faded, and the skin that had been affected quickly returned to its original condition.

"Her use of poison isn’t bad," Grey muttered under his breath. "The ingredients are relatively easy to deduce, but the potency is enough to debilitate an unaware foe."

After taking one last glance at his perfectly normal forearm, Grey turned around and walked toward the edge of the tall building.

He stepped off without hesitation. His body descended toward the ground.

Yet just before he reached the street, Grey’s body became as light as a feather. His descent slowed considerably before his feet landed silently on the ground.

Fortunately, no one noticed him.

By this point, the sun above the city had long disappeared beneath the horizon. Darkness had completely enveloped the surroundings, with only the faint, brilliant radiance of the moon illuminating the night.

And above everything else was the ever-oppressive silhouette of God’s Hand. Its enormous shape hung in the distant sky like a terrible omen, casting an indescribable pressure over the world beneath it.

Grey briefly raised his head and glanced at it before retracting his gaze. At this hour, the main gate of the city was already being locked.

This was to prevent wild animals and mutated beasts that usually wandered about during the night from approaching the city and entering through the gates.

If someone wanted to enter the city at this time, they would have to undergo a much more thorough security inspection and pay twice the usual entrance fee.

Of course, there were always people willing to take advantage of the darkness. Illegal operators frequently used the night as an opportunity to continue their activities. As long as they had enough connections and were willing to pay the guards sufficiently, they could still enter or leave the city without too much trouble.

The guards were well tipped. And as long as the operators did not reveal anything too dangerous or carry particularly bizarre substances, the guards would usually turn a blind eye and allow them to pass.

Grey had no interest in involving himself in such matters. He wanted to leave the city as quickly as possible.

He was becoming increasingly aware of the trouble Violet had caused for him within the sect. The longer he delayed, the greater the possibility that she would create some kind of social disaster that he would eventually have to clean up.

More importantly, Grey wanted to find a secluded location where he could break through the last two Spirit Perforations in his sea of consciousness.

Once that was accomplished, he would be able to manifest his Third Ball of Spirit Fire. That was something he couldn’t afford to delay for too long.

The teleportation array area was still operating even at night. However, the number of users had clearly decreased compared to the daytime.

Grey and Iria continued through the streets. The streets were illuminated by faint streetlights that burned with a dull orange glow, their light spreading across the sidewalks and casting elongated shadows behind the pedestrians.

Despite the late hour, the city was far from completely silent.

In fact, the deeper they traveled into the inner districts, the more lively the surroundings became. In less than two hours, Grey and Iria arrived at the inner district where the teleportation arrays were located.

Unlike the outer portions of the city, nocturnal activity here was not at a minimum. If anything, it was almost as lively as it would normally be during the daytime.

Many hooded figures could be seen standing beside dimly lit stalls. They whispered quietly with the shopkeepers, who would occasionally bring out bags containing strange and suspicious-looking items.

The atmosphere carried a faint sense of secrecy. It was obvious that many of the people here did not want others to know what they were buying.

Grey’s eyes swept across the stalls.

At one point, he caught sight of a golden magic artifact that resembled a horn. His gaze lingered on it for only a moment.

Before he could get a closer look, however, the hooded figure purchasing the item quickly covered it with a piece of black cloth and cautiously glanced around.

His eyes eventually landed on Grey. The man’s expression immediately became menacing.

Grey calmly looked away as though he had merely been glancing from one stall to another. His expression remained indifferent, with a faint coldness hidden within his eyes.

Seeing that Grey had already moved his attention elsewhere, the hooded figure quietly released a sigh of relief.

He then turned back toward the shop manager, who happily received the payment for the item.

Grey continued walking. However, he made sure to memorize the aura of the other party.

The man was only in the Foundation Establishment realm. Compared to Grey, whose overall combat strength was already comparable to that of someone possessing Three Spirit Fires, such a cultivator could hardly be considered formidable.

Still, Grey did not underestimate him. The world was too vast, and strange methods were too numerous.

It was never wise to judge someone solely by their cultivation realm. After walking for some time, Grey’s gaze suddenly shifted.

He noticed a stall that primarily sold poisonous herbs and rare plants. Compared to the other stalls surrounding it, very few people stopped there to make purchases.

The stall’s owner was an old man with gray hair and a single blind eye. He sat quietly behind the stall, looking rather uninterested in the few customers that occasionally passed by.

When Grey approached, the old man raised his head. His only good eye stared directly at Grey. His gaze was cold and aloof.

"What do you want, young man?" he asked calmly.

Grey did not mind the way the old man addressed him. He simply nodded slightly.

"Do you have some Sea Lizard scales as well as Bizarro Butterfly nectar?"

His words were casual, but his eyes quietly gauged the old man’s reaction. The old man stared at him for several seconds.

There was no surprise in his expression. Instead, he simply reached underneath the wooden table and retrieved a brown sack filled with various ingredients.

He opened it and rummaged through the contents before taking out the Sea Lizard scales and the Bizarro Butterfly nectar.

He placed the two ingredients on the table.

"How much of a portion?" the old man asked without emotion.

Grey thought for a moment before stating the amount he wanted. He then paid the corresponding fee.

The old man calmly accepted the money and pushed the ingredients toward him. Grey stored them away before giving the old man a slight nod and turning around.

Iria, who had been following behind him the entire time, couldn’t help but become curious.

"What did you purchase from him, Senior Brother Grey?" she asked innocently.

Grey glanced at her but did not answer the question directly.

"There are many things being sold in this area at night," he said calmly. "It has essentially turned into a black market where you can purchase almost anything."

Iria’s eyes widened slightly. She naturally understood what he meant, completely forgetting that he had dodged her question.

Ingredients, pills, magic artifacts, banned cultivation techniques, ancient maps, strange treasures, and all sorts of other items could be found in this place.

However, there was no guarantee that any of them were genuine. Many of the goods could be fake, stolen, incomplete, or even deliberately tampered with.

No one could be certain of their authenticity. Grey had no intention of losing a large amount of money on something that might not even be real.

That was precisely why he had only purchased the two things he did. Neither ingredient was particularly valuable to him.

More importantly, purchasing something from the stall gave him a reason to stop there without drawing unnecessary attention.

He also wanted to avoid making himself and Iria appear suspicious while passing through the area. Although they were merely passing through, Grey believed that it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The black market was filled with people whose identities could not easily be determined.

Some were merchants. Some were criminals. Some were cultivators hiding their identities.

And others might simply be people looking for an opportunity to prey on unsuspecting travelers. Grey had no desire to become involved with any of them.

As they continued walking toward the teleportation array, Iria quietly glanced at Grey’s back.

’Eldest Senior Brother Grey bought something from the black market. What could it be? What does he want to use it for?’

Her brows furrowed slightly. She couldn’t understand why Grey had specifically asked for those two ingredients.

As far as she knew, neither of them appeared to be particularly useful to him. The more she thought about it, the more curious she became.

However, after hesitating for a moment, Iria ultimately decided not to ask again.

If Senior Brother Grey did not want to tell her, there was probably a reason.

She simply followed behind him quietly as the two of them continued deeper into the inner district, toward the enormous teleportation array that would soon take them away from Archon City.