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**
After five days of flight, Lin Feng noticed the sudden increase in people below and decided it was best not to use his flying Dou Technique anymore.
After finding a secluded spot, he landed and began walking toward his destination.
As he approached Black Emperor City, he noticed that the roads leading to it were becoming more and more crowded.
Compared to Black Seal City, which he had first encountered upon arriving in the Black-Corner Region, there was a stark difference.
Here, the standard strength of most individuals started at Da Dou Shi.
Except for a few young individuals, those below this level were practically nonexistent.
However, these young people were always accompanied by guards, who were at least Dou Ling, making it unlikely for them to be robbed.
After several hours of walking, a massive city silhouette gradually appeared at the horizon of Lin Feng's vision.
As he got closer, the vast city standing at the end of the great road fully emerged before his eyes.
Upon reaching the city walls, Lin Feng's gaze swept over the towering structure, and a hint of awe flashed across his face.
Black Emperor City… truly worthy of its name.
Its grand scale did not diminish the weight of the word "Emperor" in its title.
The pitch-black walls stretched endlessly into the distance, exuding a cold, oppressive aura.
Bathed in sunlight, the city walls reflected a faint sheen, almost like a mirror.
Anyone with keen eyes would immediately recognize the rare Black Mirror Stone covering the entire surface.
This material had a unique property—it could partially reflect attacks.
Using it to build a city wall was an excellent defensive measure.
But Black Mirror Stone was incredibly rare.
For the Black Emperor Sect to use it to pave an entire city wall spoke volumes about their deep reserves of wealth and power.
Perhaps in the entire Black-Corner Region, only a handful of factions could rival such financial might.
"A city guarded by a Dou Zong is far beyond the reach of those ruled by mere Dou Huangs."
Lin Feng murmured as he observed the precious Black Mirror Stone.
Then, he remembered that his Black Profound Rock Shield was beginning to lag behind his growth.
If I get the chance, I should acquire some Black Mirror Stone to craft a new shield.
That way, if he encountered another desperate situation where he had to detonate Beast Flames, he would at least have a greater chance of survival.
Speaking of which, he also needed more Beast Flames.
The only two Rank 5 Beast Flames he had before had already been used up.
I should stock up. If possible, I'll get some Rank 6 ones too…
Wait.
Rank 6 Beast Flames were still beyond his control.
If he tried to forcibly refine them, the backlash would cause the flame to rampage.
And the first person to burn to death would probably be himself.
Shaking off his stray thoughts, Lin Feng continued toward the city gate and joined the queue to enter.
After nearly an hour of waiting, he paid the entry fee and smoothly entered the city.
As soon as he stepped onto the wide streets, he was met with bustling crowds moving in all directions.
Lin Feng immediately began searching for the location of Thousand Medicine House.
Might as well try my luck and see if they have the medicinal ingredients I need.
Walking through the busy streets, he couldn't help but curl his lips in amusement.
Is Black Emperor City always this lively?
After wandering through two streets, Lin Feng suddenly stopped.
Ahead of him stood a massive, multi-story medicine pavilion.
His gaze landed on the large golden characters hanging above the entrance—
"Thousand Medicine House."
The entrance was packed with people pushing and squeezing their way inside.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Feng joined the crowd and squeezed his way in.
As soon as he entered, the noisy cursing and shouting from outside dampened significantly.
A strong medicinal fragrance, mixed with countless different herbs, immediately filled his nostrils.
The scent was so intense that Lin Feng involuntarily sneezed.
Rubbing his nose, he looked around.
The spacious main hall was filled with transparent display counters, each neatly arranged with a variety of medicinal ingredients.
At every counter, groups of people were gathered, closely inspecting the items.
The hall was divided into two sections: Herb Area and Pill Area.
And without a doubt, the Pill Area was much more crowded.
After all, in the Black-Corner Region, where people lived on the edge of a blade, a life-saving or combat-boosting pill was far more valuable than raw medicinal ingredients.
But since Lin Feng was here specifically for herbs, he naturally headed toward the Herb Area.
"Welcome, guest. My name is Xiao Yu. May I assist you in selecting any medicinal ingredients?"
A young female attendant swiftly approached and greeted him with respect.
Since most people who visited the Herb Area were alchemists, she didn't dare to be negligent.
"I'm looking for Soul Fusion Wood, Soul Nuturing Flower, and any herbs that can extend lifespan," Lin Feng stated as his gaze scanned the counters.
These were the last two main ingredients he needed to refine the Soul Mending Pill.
"Hm… The herbs you're looking for are quite rare. We don't have any that can extend lifespan… But we do have Soul Fusion Wood."
The attendant thought for a moment before answering.
Hearing that there were no life-extending herbs, Lin Feng felt disappointed.
But since he could at least obtain one of the key ingredients for the Soul Mending Pill, it wasn't a wasted trip.
"How many do you have?" he asked.
"Two portions."
"I'll take them all."
Lin Feng decided without hesitation.
Seeing this, the attendant kindly reminded him, "Guest, the price for two portions is 1.8 million gold coins."
"Bring the items over."
As Lin Feng spoke, he flicked out a purple gold coin card.
Upon seeing the card—something only Dou Wang experts could possess—the attendant didn't dare to say anything more and quickly excused herself.
"Guest, here are your items."
Not long after, the attendant returned and placed two jade boxes on the counter.
Lin Feng inspected them briefly. After confirming there were no issues, he stored them away.
The attendant then deducted the corresponding amount of gold coins from the purple gold card before returning it to him.
—
Sigh… I still couldn't find any heavenly treasure that extends lifespan. Should I take the Life Devouring Pill?
Walking out of Thousand Medicine House, Lin Feng once again found himself in a dilemma.
Wait—Black Emperor City has an auction house, right? Maybe I can try my luck there.
With that thought, he searched for a while before grabbing a passerby who was weaker than him.
After a friendly conversation, he obtained the location of the auction house.
—
After some time, Lin Feng finally arrived at the city's central district.
In front of him stood a colossal structure occupying a vast area—Black Emperor Auction House.
As he approached the entrance, he noticed a wall plastered with numerous red announcements.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to squeeze into the crowd to take a closer look.
Upon reaching the front, he was immediately surprised.
"Oh? My luck's not bad. I just arrived, and there's already an auction happening in two months?"
His gaze swept across the notice until it stopped at a particular line at the end—
"Holders of Purple Gold Cards may visit the auction house's counter to receive a catalog of auction items."
"Heh, I have to thank Hai Bodong for this Purple Gold Card."
With a chuckle, Lin Feng headed inside.
Before long, he had a book in his hand.
Storing it in his storage ring, he left the auction house to find an inn.
After casually renting a room, Lin Feng locked the door behind him.
Then, unable to suppress his excitement, he eagerly flipped through the auction catalog.
—
"Whoa, the first auction item is a Mid-Grade Black Class Cultivation Technique? Looks like Black Emperor Sect is putting a lot of effort into this auction."
Opening the first page, Lin Feng saw the introduction of a Black Class technique.
But since he already had no shortage of such techniques, he wasn't interested and continued flipping.
Most of the following items were other Black Class cultivation techniques, Dou Techniques, Sixth-Tier pills, weapons, and armor.
He didn't care much about most of them.
Until—
"Longevity King Pulp!"
Seeing a medicinal ingredient he urgently needed, Lin Feng couldn't help but exclaim.
This Longevity King Pulp was an incredibly rare heavenly treasure.
It grew deep within the earth, absorbing the nutrients of countless precious herbs' roots to strengthen itself.
Over countless years of refinement within the earth, the absorbed medicinal energies were continuously purified.
As a result, Longevity King Pulp possessed the ability to extend one's lifespan.
Additionally, it had a close "brother" known as Core Quenching Body Milk.
Though they grew in similar environments, their effects were entirely different.
The former focused on lifespan extension, while the latter specialized in talent enhancement.
Running his fingers over the image of the item, Lin Feng made up his mind—
No matter what, I must get this Longevity King Pulp!
If he consumed it, he could potentially extend his lifespan by two to three years.
That way, even if he had to take the Life Devouring Pill, he'd still have five to six years to break through to Dou Huang.
Moreover, in the coming years, he might be able to find other lifespan-extending heavenly treasures.
Calculating it like this… it's worth the gamble.
Letting out a deep breath, Lin Feng, with an excited heart, turned to the next page.
—
"Rank 7 Beast Flame!"
Upon reaching the second-to-last item in the catalog, he was once again shocked.
He had no idea where Black Emperor Sect had obtained such a high-rank Beast Flame.
Still, he was definitely interested.
Finally, he turned to the last page.
What greeted his eyes were a few bold words—
"Mid-Grade Earth Class Cultivation Technique."
—
"This auction is bound to be a bloody storm."
Looking at all these tempting treasures, Lin Feng couldn't help but bitterly smile and shake his head.
Black Emperor Sect wasn't being subtle at all.
They were practically shouting—
"We have what you want! Hurry up and prepare your money!"
And the more people they enticed into preparing money, the more profit the sect would reap.
However, not everyone preferred the lawful route.
Many would take a "free" path—murder and robbery!
By killing the winning bidder, one could still obtain the treasure without paying a single coin.
But this route was risky.
Without enough strength, one could end up being the one offering their life instead.
Not only would they fail to obtain anything, but even their own wealth would be taken.
Thinking of the kind of people lurking in the Black-Corner Region, Lin Feng felt he needed to take the Life Devouring Pill as soon as possible.
Otherwise, even if he won the auction, he could still be robbed afterward.
After all, Longevity King Pulp was a treasure that almost no one would refuse.
Of course—if he didn't win it, he wouldn't mind playing the role of a robber himself.
"Kill and loot… huh?"
With Xiao Cai having been nurtured for so long, once it finished absorbing all the energy from the Core-Fire Lotus Seed, its strength should reach the peak of Dou Wang.
And if Lin Feng took the Life Devouring Pill to advance to Dou Wang and used Skyfire Three Mysterious Change—
With their combined power, even an early-stage Dou Huang wouldn't be too hard to handle.
That should be enough to deal with most situations.
With that thought, Lin Feng got up and left Black Emperor City, heading toward the distant mountains.
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