Matthew reached out and took the pale gold glass bottle back from the youth. His expression remained unchanged, but his heart stirred slightly.
“Potent...”
He pondered. This pungent odor faintly echoed the scorching aura that Brody had unleashed when using the Fiery Lion Breathing Technique.
Combined with the youth's mention of "top-tier ingredients" and "goldspine grass," although Matthew didn't know much about goldspine grass, it clearly indicated that this was no ordinary item.
A guess gradually formed in his mind: Could this be a companion potion for the Fiery Lion Breathing Technique?
During his previous casual chats with Instructor Calm, he had learned that high-end breathing techniques were often paired with specialized auxiliary potions.
These potions generally served two purposes:
First, they were used during daily cultivation to nourish the internal organs, strengthen the qi and blood, and help the cultivator accumulate the foundation of the breathing technique more quickly.
Second, they provided extra energy support when breaking through bottlenecks or running the breathing technique for extended periods, reducing the physical burden on the body and avoiding hidden injuries.
Simply put, it was a pay-to-win method to shorten the time required.
Furthermore, Calm had mentioned that certain special potions could even forcibly stimulate the latent power of a breathing technique at critical moments, allowing someone to temporarily burst with power far exceeding their normal state. However, this often came with severe side effects, with damage to one's foundation being the least of them.
But... Matthew pulled his thoughts back.
When Brody faced him, he hadn't shown any sign of wanting to use the potion.
It seems this potion is indeed a companion potion for the Fiery Lion Breathing Technique...
Matthew had come to a decision, but this realization brought him no joy. Instead, his brow furrowed slightly.
Because this thing was completely useless to him, and selling it carried a risk!
He didn't know the Fiery Lion Breathing Technique, nor did he understand its cultivation system, so he naturally couldn't use it.
The tricky part was that even the stall owner in the black market, who dealt with various potions year-round, couldn't identify it. No one in the regular market would dare to take it.
If the potion was truly bound to a specific breathing technique, its value would depend heavily on specific cultivators. To anyone else, it was no different from a bottle of pungent, useless liquid.
Matthew stuffed the bottle back into the depths of his backpack and shook his head secretly. His expectation of scoring a bargain had fallen through; instead, this unexpected item had turned into a hot potato.
Useless to keep, yet a pity to discard.
...
Matthew walked among the stalls of the black market. Most of his previous gloom had been dispelled by the new potions added to the backpack at his waist.
At the scrawny youth's stall earlier, after making his inquiries, he had also bought a few potions on a whim.
Among them was one he had never heard of—"Erosion Solvent."
This was a potion specifically used for the maintenance and preliminary processing of metal weapons. It could gently erode away rust, dried blood, and other impurities on the blade's surface caused by battle or storage.
It restored the blade's sharpness while causing minimal damage to the weapon itself.
For someone like him who needed to maintain his weapons frequently, it was highly practical.
In addition, he had selected some other auxiliary potions, such as "Bone-Dissolving Water." Its specific use was to dissolve corpses in the wild to prevent the scent of blood from spreading.
All of these potions combined cost less than a single silver coin, making them truly high-quality and inexpensive.
With these thoughts in mind, Matthew now stood in front of a weapon stall, his hand touching the weapons one by one as illusory black writing constantly appeared before his eyes...
A series of identification prompts flashed by, but none of them showed Green quality.
Matthew shook his head and sighed in his heart. It was difficult to find truly valuable weapons in a place like this, so he had to give up on the idea of scoring a bargain.
The stall owner was a middle-aged man of about forty. Seeing Matthew shake his head, he glanced at Matthew's attire—not luxurious, but the longsword at his waist looked quite good, and he was quite young...
“Young man,” the man lowered his voice, “not satisfied with any of these? I still have a few top-tier goods hidden away that aren't on display. How about... you take a look?”
Hearing this, Matthew shook his head directly and left the stall without saying a word.
His figure blended into the sparse crowd between the black market stalls.
This kid... The stall owner cursed inwardly, sullenly retracting his hand with a rather displeased expression.
Meanwhile, Matthew had already taken a few quick steps, leaving the weapon stall far behind.
Hidden top-tier goods? Heh.
We're already in the black market, and he's still talking about 'hidden goods.' The origin of those weapons must be highly problematic. Can't buy, absolutely can't buy.
Secondly, even if what the stall owner mentioned were Blue quality weapons, he couldn't afford them anyway. Out of sight, out of mind.
Most importantly, Matthew didn't lack weapons; he already had both a sword and a bow sorted out.
“I need to speed up. I still have to return to the tavern to ask about Old Joel. He wouldn't have run off with the money, right...”
Matthew no longer lingered in front of the weapon stalls. Instead, he began to pay attention to the stalls selling minerals and miscellaneous goods.
He inquired at several stalls and finally, at a remote stall with a quiet owner, sold all the ores he had obtained from the goblin nest. Although the price was only two silver coins, it was still some money.
...
Having completed his purchases, the sun had already begun to sink westward.
Matthew walked on the road back to the tavern. Reflecting on his experience in the black market just now, he had a clearer understanding of this place.
The guild was more like a place to earn money. Although one could spend money there, the items were few and the prices were high.
The black market was the place to spend money. From weapons and potions to ores and stolen goods, as long as you have money, you can always find what you need.
But Matthew still felt a bit of regret.
It's a pity there is still no food specially prepared for Class holders.
While wandering around the black market, he had paid special attention to this.
Although there were many strange things on the stalls, and even silver jewelry of unknown origin... from beginning to end, he hadn't seen anything resembling high-energy food.
It seemed that whether it was the relatively formal guild or the chaotic black market, in a remote place like Anda Town...
High-end resources specifically used for Class holders to quickly replenish energy and assist in cultivation were indeed extremely scarce, or perhaps there were simply no channels for them to circulate.
This made him realize even more the resource limitations of his current environment.
To obtain better cultivation conditions, he might really have to wait until he went to a larger, more prosperous place.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast a warm golden border over the houses of Anda Town.
When Matthew walked to the street corner where the tavern was located, he saw Uncle Delank and the young boys gathered around the donkey cart outside the tavern from a distance.
They seemed to have just finished their afternoon shopping and were counting and binding their newly purchased goods—several large bundles of coarse cloth, some blocks of coarse salt wrapped in oil paper, bundled iron tool parts, and other miscellaneous items.
The boys were busy, while Uncle Delank stood by with a list, nodding from time to time.
Matthew quickened his pace and walked over.
Rate on N.U.
