Chapter 249: Chapter 163: The Black Market Isn’t So Easy to Manage

When did these two people become so like-minded?

Meanwhile, the old ghost kept his head down, but his eyes never left Li Huo Palace, filled only with merciless killing intent.

He Yan took advantage of the beast tide and years of accumulation to smoothly break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, with a face full of radiant joy at the moment.

Old Jia had been worried about the future, but after a new Core Formation Cultivator appeared in Celestial Profound City, he finally felt at ease.

It can be said that with Su Miaoyin’s Core Formation, Celestial Profound City has successors, directly stabilizing the people’s hearts.

Seeing Su Miaoyin’s grace after Core Formation, Lin Chang’an also felt a sense of longing.

At the same time, during the Core Formation celebration, cultivators from the Seven Countries also saw the legendary figure of an era, when Master Lu appeared with his graying hair and aging looks.

It was regrettable, yet Master Lu wore a broad smile, showing he had successors.

…

Although the situation in Yue Kingdom remains turbulent, the fact that Master Lu has successors has brought stability to Celestial Profound City.

A large amount of demon beast materials appeared on the market, along with resources brought by major business associations from the Seven Kingdoms.

For a time, Celestial Profound City gathered resources from the Seven Kingdoms, truly an eye-opening sight.

The name of the Independent Practitioner Sacred Land spread widely and lived up to its reputation.

After the Core Formation celebration, Su Miaoyin, accompanied by a late-stage Tier Three Profound Water Turtle, went to aid the Profound Sound Pavilion front line.

A newly formed Core Formation Cultivator is not frightening; what is frightening is having a late-stage Tier Three Profound Water Turtle by her side, along with high-tier magical treasures, showcasing the wealth of this top loose cultivator.

As time passed, no matter how turbulent the situation outside, Celestial Profound City remained stable.

[Life Span: 80/248]

[Realm: Mid-stage Foundation Establishment (27/100)]

“In twilight years, mid-stage Foundation Establishment, steady progress in cultivation, not bad at all.”

At the black market, on an attic, looking through the window at the busy loose cultivators outside, Lin Chang’an nodded with satisfaction.

At his current age, to have such cultivation was a legend among loose cultivators.

Though he couldn’t compare to legends like Master Lu, his own achievements were also widely known in a small place like the Cyan Bamboo Mountain Market.

“Lin, my younger brother!”

At this moment, Old Hu walked in with an angry look.

This scene left Lin Chang’an puzzled.

“Old Hu, who has offended you? It shouldn’t be.”

Recently, after the shops were sold, everyone made a lot of money, so Old Hu had no interest in hunting demon beasts anymore.

With those resources, he could cultivate peacefully for several years.

Not to mention the business in the black market.

But today, Old Hu was angry, walked in with big steps, slammed the table angrily, with obvious anger in his eyes.

“Brother Lin, I’ve finally understood how shameless the Qin family is. I was puzzled, a family with over a hundred years of heritage shouldn’t be so foolish.

It turns out the Qin family knew they would offend us; that bastard teamed up with others to open a black market in the West District.”

As Old Hu pointed outside in anger, Lin Chang’an was at first astonished, then finally understood what was going on.

It turned out that Qin Feng, that is, the Qin family, had teamed up with others to set up a black market in the West District.

It explained why the opposition was acting so foolishly, risking offending them.

The saying goes that business rivals are enemies, and the Qin family had long been preparing for this business.

“I see.”

After understanding, Lin Chang’an shook his head; the black market business was good, so naturally it would arouse envy.

It was normal for others to imitate, though, indeed, it would take away some of their business.

“Brother Lin, am I, Old Hu, a petty person?”

At this moment, Old Hu angrily picked up the spirit tea, drank it all, and snorted:

“It’s that Qin family who is insidious and shameless; luckily, we refused to budge earlier, or else it would have benefited the Qin family.”

“Alright, Old Hu, in the end, we have all profited, and besides, think about it, the Qin family lost their foundation in Celestial Profound City; they have to quickly find a livelihood, or else how would the Qin family support all their people…”

Lin Chang’an laughed and shook his head, gesturing for the teapot to fill another cup for Old Hu.

“Besides, the black market isn’t easy to run; while we may not be marketing geniuses, we dared to take risks and seized the opportunity early.

Who has the Qin family partnered with? How many resources can they have? After years of development, we’re already stable, and a newly opened black market can’t shake our foundation.”

Lin Chang’an smiled and reassured him, and only then did Old Hu calm down, though he was still grumbling in dissatisfaction.

“It still takes you, Brother Lin, to have the right mindset, but the Qin family cannot be underestimated either; they’ve invited six Foundation Establishment loose cultivators, claiming to have ten Foundation Establishment cultivators holding the fort.

This black market has a lot of fanfare; it might indeed affect us in the future.”

In fact, the Qin family setting up a black market was no big deal as Old Hu wasn’t so tyrannical as to forbid others from setting up black markets.

It was just that Qin Feng had been so infuriating before.

Lin Chang’an shook his head with a smile, gesturing for the spirit tea to float in front of Old Hu.

“Old Hu, remember how unstable people’s hearts were in Celestial Profound City before? How much did we invest to set up this black market during that time of turmoil? Now Celestial Profound City is stable, and the value of shops has increased several times over.

You say the Qin family brought in six Foundation Establishment loose cultivators, but is the black market that easy to handle?”

Looking at Lin Chang’an’s meaningful smile, Old Hu gradually calmed down as if he had realized something, showing an expression of sudden understanding.

After gulping down some tea, Old Hu couldn’t help but give a thumbs up and said:

“Brother Lin, you sure think fast; we might not be great at business, but when the six of us invested, all of us were quite well-off.

Especially Mr. Yun and Brother Lin, both of whom put up a lot of Spirit Stones, which made others envious. I thought I’d saved a bit and felt smug, but it turns out I underestimated people.”

Listening to Old Hu’s praise, Lin Chang’an waved it off with a smile.

“Now, setting up a black market, it would need at least ten times the investment we did in order to have a chance, and after the black market opened, how did we open up the market?”

This scene brought back memories for Old Hu, making him nod:

“It was our collective effort, Old Jia and I, relying on past connections, and the hidden resources gathered by Old Ghost and He Yan, of course, with Mr. Yun and Brother Lin contributing the most.

Brother Lin, your network was broad, even contacting a Tier Two Pill Master, which attracted many Tier Two Rune Masters and Pill Masters, making our black market famous, while Mr. Yun was remarkable in even acquiring strategic resources…”

Seeing Old Hu understand, Lin Chang’an couldn’t help but smile.

The so-called attracting fellow practitioners with a Tier Two Pill Master was just his way of selling his own talismans and elixirs.

But in the eyes of outsiders, it was Elder Yao’s persona that attracted people, rapidly raising the black market’s fame.

“Old Hu, do you think the Qin family, a hundred-year-old clan, relies on what? On their preparation to leave Celestial Profound City?

I remember when the Qin family was about to leave, they tricked many old friends and connections, so now they can only find some loose cultivators for the black market.”

The two exchanged a glance and burst into smiles.

Without thinking deeply, it might not matter, but upon careful consideration, their black market had thrived with the right timing, geography, and unity.

The Qin family’s attempt was entirely opposite, lacking all three.

“So, we had the right timing, location, and people as well as a bit of luck; now, we’ll see if the Qin family has that luck.”

Old Hu couldn’t help but smile gleefully.

Having nothing, without luck, they’ve got nothing to show.

“Yeah, as you say, Old Hu, those six Foundation Establishment loose cultivators the Qin family gathered seem ordinary, just for show.

I fear this attempt has drained the Qin family; let’s see how long they can hold out.”

With Lin Chang’an’s calm tone, he observed everything quietly.

Does he really think a black market is so easy to run?

He discreetly sold some Tier Two Talismans and Elixirs under various cultivator identities, making up about eighty percent of the black market’s offerings, equivalent to a dozen cultivators with Tier Two skills.

This alone isn’t easy to replicate successfully.

“Brother Lin, we’ll just have to watch and wait; that Qin family member is troublesome indeed.”

Old Hu laughed as he raised his tea cup, feeling quite cheerful.

They aren’t saints, naturally willing to see someone who has wronged them have a hard time.

In this aspect, Lin Chang’an and Old Hu, having known each other for a long time, didn’t conceal their schadenfreude.

It’s whatever brings them comfort.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep