Chapter 478 - 12: Buying Meat

There are several places in Taiyuan Prefecture where Demon Blood Flesh is sold publicly.

Places like the Demon-Slaying Hall, the Government Office butcher shop... even the Qingyi Gang has stalls selling Demon Blood Flesh.

However, these officially sanctioned shops sell at relatively high prices, which ordinary Martial Artists tend to avoid.

Where there’s demand, there’s business.

Certain Demon Catchers and butchers have their own channels to sell Demon Blood Flesh privately.

Their prices are comparatively more reasonable.

「West City.」

Low-slung buildings stood in dense rows, the roads were muddy, and a pungent, strange smell hung perpetually in the air. It was a slum in every sense of the word.

At 12:30 AM, the dew was heavy and the wind was cold.

Dressed in a long black robe with a wooden mask over his face, Zhu Ju appeared in a narrow alley in West City. After scanning his surroundings, he ambled into a dark street.

「A short while later.」

「Before the Zhao Family Butcher Shop.」

"Zhao Fusheng? Boss Zhao?"

"That’s me."

Sucking on a dry pipe, the skinny old man opened his eyes at the sound of the voice, his gaze scrutinous.

"I’m here to buy meat."

Zhu Ju handed over a simple wooden plaque. The man took it, weighed it in his hand, and returned it with a smile.

"Ah, a new friend, referred by an acquaintance. Come on in!"

He turned and pushed open the wooden door to an inner room, revealing a stall of over a hundred square meters from which a cold air emanated.

On a long table, pieces of frozen Demon Blood Flesh were neatly arranged.

’The Profound Ice Curse!’

It was a Low-Tier Magic used to freeze flesh and blood, ensuring its Essence wouldn’t dissipate.

"Tier One Rat Demon, three taels of silver per pound. Tier Two Beast Demon, five to ten taels of silver depending on the cut. Tier Three Demon Blood Flesh, twenty taels of silver per pound."

Zhao Fusheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, the ember in his pipe glowing and dimming. The smoke he exhaled transformed into a long dragon, dancing in the air.

’This man is strong!’

Zhu Ju’s heart stirred.

Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the Formless Divine Light reflected the man’s image. His seemingly skinny body appeared to conceal a terrifying Fierce Beast, his strength likely at the Seventh Grade. No wonder he could—and dared to—run a business selling Demon Blood Flesh.

"The price went up?"

He had inquired about the prices before coming.

The original owner of his body’s father had been a regular customer here, and two months ago, the Demon Blood Flesh was nowhere near this expensive.

"It’s been too chaotic outside recently, so very little stock has been able to get in. Naturally, the prices have to be raised a bit." Zhao Fusheng shrugged.

"My prices might not be the lowest in the city, but they’re at least thirty percent cheaper than the official channels, and I never pass off inferior goods as high quality."

"You were referred by someone, so you must have heard about my reputation."

"Mm," Zhu Ju nodded. As far as he knew, the official price for Tier Three Demon Blood Flesh was thirty taels per pound.

The crucial part was that there were purchasing limits.

After a moment of thought, he spoke slowly.

"Fifty pounds of each. Bag it up for me."

"Oh!" Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow.

"Your way of buying is truly rare."

When it came to Demon Blood Flesh, higher-tier wasn’t always better. If one’s Cultivation was insufficient, consuming High-Tier Demon Blood Flesh wouldn’t aid their Cultivation; on the contrary, it would be toxic.

Of course, some factions possessed special methods to process High-Tier Demon Blood Flesh, making it directly consumable.

But such a faction definitely didn’t exist in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Therefore, customers buying Demon Blood Flesh mostly purchased a single tier; it was rare for someone to buy from every tier.

Despite his words, Zhao Fusheng’s hands moved without stopping. After weighing the meat, he packed it into three bags.

"That’s one thousand six hundred and fifty taels in total. You can just give me one thousand six hundred."

’This isn’t cheap!’

Beneath his mask, a muscle in Zhu Ju’s cheek twitched.

The body’s original owner had come from a wealthy family and didn’t have a strong concept of money, but even he knew that a typical family of four in the city spent only about thirty taels a year.

The Zhu Mansion employed the Eighth-Grade Nursing Director Zhang for an annual salary of only a thousand taels of silver, and now, that amount of money had only bought three bags of meat.

And that included the Low-Tier Demon Flesh and Blood.

’In a world where individual power is so immense, the gap between rich and poor is simply terrifying. Relying on elixirs for Cultivation is something that even a minor wealthy family like the Zhu Family cannot possibly afford.’

With a soft sigh, he took out the silver notes and handed them over.

*

*

*

With the three bags tied together and slung over his shoulder, Zhu Ju walked along the road for a moment before stopping abruptly.

"Who’s there?"

Zhu Ju stared toward the mouth of the alley, his voice muffled.

"Come out!"

"Tsk tsk..." A figure emerged from the alley mouth, fiddling with a Flying Saber in his hand.

"Such sharp senses."

"Kid, you’ve never been here before, have you?"

"What is it?" Zhu Ju frowned, his gaze shifting to the walls on either side, where two more figures had appeared.

The three of them formed a triangle to block his path, and a faint killing intent settled upon him.

"Leave your things behind, and you can go."

The leader grinned.

"Otherwise..."

"Don’t blame us three brothers for being impolite!"

"So, you’re robbers," Zhu Ju said with a nod.

"But you’ve got some nerve. Do you really think the people from the Government Office and the Qingyi Gang are just pushovers?"

It was true that West City was chaotic, but it was also the Qingyi Gang’s territory. Robberies like this rarely happened.

If one did occur, it was a challenge to the Qingyi Gang’s authority, and the consequences were extremely severe.

"To hell with the Qingyi Gang! Others may fear them, but we don’t," one of the men on the wall said in a low voice.

"Kid!"

"Just obediently leave your things. We brothers saw you come out of the Zhao Family Butcher Shop, so you must have plenty of valuable stuff on you."

"Forget it." The last man shook his head.

"Why waste time talking to him? The Qingyi Gang’s men are out of the city suppressing bandits. The real business is for us to make a few more scores."

Before his words had even faded, he lunged down, brandishing a blade.

The long blade, coated in charcoal powder, was nearly invisible in the night, with only a sharp gust of wind rushing toward his face.

Zhu Ju tilted his head slightly.

SWISH!

A dagger flew past, grazing his cheek.

’A sneak attack!’

It was clear these three never intended to let him go. Even if he left his things behind, it would still have been a dead end for him.

WHOOSH—

A fierce wind rushed at his face.

Zhu Ju took a step back, and the black long blade sliced down, missing him by a hair’s breadth.

It looked incredibly perilous.

In reality, under the illumination of the Formless Divine Light, he perceived every single move the three of them made.

His powerful Primordial Spirit made everything in Zhu Ju’s vision seem to move in slow motion.

The Hidden Weapon glinting with a cold light, the long blade whipping up a fierce wind, and the Longsword that was as swift as an arrow.

’Ninth-Grade Martial Artists!’

These three were all shockingly Grade Entering Martial Artists, and the one with the long blade had reached the upper Ninth Grade of Cultivation.

No wonder they dared to pull off a job like this in the Qingyi Gang’s territory.

’Perfect!’

’Time to test my own strength.’

With a flicker of his body, Zhu Ju weaved past the incoming blades and closed in on his opponent, whipping his arm out to throw a punch.

The man with the blade was startled. With no time to retract his blade to block, he quickly raised his left arm and bent his elbow to meet the blow.

His reaction was undeniably fast, and his strength was ferocious.

BANG!

Powerful Qi collided.

Both figures retreated in unison.

"Upper Ninth Grade!"

The large, blade-wielding man shouted in a low voice, "Be careful, he’s a tough one!"

Zhu Ju flexed his wrist. He hadn’t used any Fist Technique in that strike, relying entirely on the Power of his Physical Body.

’In other words...’

’Is the strength of my Physical Body now comparable to the upper Ninth Grade?’

But in reality, his Cultivation was merely at the initial Ninth Grade, the lower Ninth Grade, to be exact.

’Then...’

’What will happen when I use a Fist Technique?’