Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 282 The Hidden Wizard Black Market

"Go take a look, be careful."

""

Luo Lin lowered his voice.

Ellie nodded, leaving the trailer behind the boulder, and with Rowling's help, the two quietly approached the crevice.

The entrance to the crevice was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass sideways. It was pitch black inside, with only a faint glow emanating from the depths.

The smell of sulfur mixed with metal became even more pronounced here.

Luo Lin stood at the mouth of the crevice and carefully sensed it for a moment.

There were no obvious traps or warning arrays, and the energy fluctuations and life force emanating from the depths were very stable, without any hostility or aggression.

"I'll go in and check first," Rowling said to Ellie. "You wait here. If anything happens, immediately back up to the trailer."

"But your injury—" Ellie was worried.

"The space inside is cramped; the trailer can't fit. It's easier for me to move around alone." Roland stretched his limbs, which had regained some strength. "Don't worry, it's just reconnaissance."

Ellie knew she might really be a hindrance if she went in, so she could only nod in agreement, but she still clenched her fists nervously.

Luo Lin squeezed sideways into the crevice. The passage inside was narrow and winding; after walking for about ten meters, the space suddenly opened up ahead.

A natural stone cave, roughly the size of a normal living room, came into view.

Several pieces of fluorescent stone, emitting a stable white light, were embedded in the top of the cave, providing basic lighting.

On one side of the cave, a small niche-like stone platform was carved out, on which were placed some bottles and jars, as well as several books wrapped in waterproof leather.

Even more striking is that in the center of the cave, there is a circular pool about one meter in diameter, roughly constructed of dark red rocks!

The pool wasn't filled with water, but with a viscous, dark red liquid that constantly emitted tiny bubbles and smelled of sulfur and metal!

The surface of the liquid rippled slightly, emitting a faint but continuous heat and energy fluctuation, which was the source of what we had sensed earlier!

This is a rudimentary alchemy workbench?

Or an energy extraction pool?

Roland's gaze swept quickly across the stone cave.

Besides these, there were also some hay and animal hides piled up in the corner, which seemed to be a place to rest.

The stone wall is covered with some messy, illegible symbols and graffiti.

There are clearly people living here, and it seems they just left recently.

The liquid in the pool was still boiling slightly, and the animal hide in the corner still retained body heat.

"Who?!"

Just as Rowling was about to examine the bottles and books further, a hoarse and wary shout suddenly came from the crevice behind him!

Immediately afterward, a hunched and short figure, wearing a tattered gray robe and clutching a short wooden staff with a cloudy crystal inlaid at the top, stumbled in from the other end of the passage!

This was an elderly human, with sparse, white hair, a face covered in wrinkles and grime, but his eyes were unusually sharp, staring intently at Rolin, his gaze filled with vigilance, surprise, and a hint of—an imperceptible fear.

Rowling immediately raised his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."

"We were just passing through when we got lost in the swamp and were injured. We wanted to find a place to rest."

The old man remained vigilant, his gaze sweeping over Luo Lin like a knife, lingering for a moment on the bandage covering Luo Lin's face and the wounds on his body, before glancing at the empty passage behind Luo Lin.

"Lost? Injured?" The old man's voice was hoarse and unpleasant, filled with deep suspicion. "Those who can reach this Boiling Blood Stone Forest are not lost sheep."

"Who else is outside?"

"My companions are outside," Roland said frankly, while secretly adjusting his star power to prepare for any unexpected situations. "We have no ill intentions; we just want to exchange some medicine and information."

"If possible, we are willing to pay a fee."

"Reward?" A flicker of greed crossed the old man's eyes, but it was quickly masked by a deeper wariness. "Hmph, in this godforsaken place, gold coins aren't even worth as much as an edible mushroom. What do you have?"

After thinking for a moment, Luo Lin took out two high-quality energy crystals he had brought from Blackrock Town from his dimensional bag, along with a small bottle of a universal antidote that had worked well before.

"These, in exchange for some highly effective medications to treat internal injuries and promote wound healing, and also—information about this area."

.

Upon seeing the energy crystal and the obviously well-crafted antidote, the old man's eyes visibly relaxed.

He licked his chapped lips, his gaze shifting back and forth between Jing Shi and Rolin's faces.

"For treating internal injuries—I do have a kind of [Earth Vein Blood Stasis Ointment] here, it works quite well, specifically for internal injuries caused by swamp dampness and energy shocks," the old man said slowly. "As for information—that depends on what you want to know."

"There's more to this stone forest—and it's not a peaceful place."

"Then let's change the ointment first." Luo Lin placed an energy crystal and the bottle of antidote on the ground and pushed them over.

The old man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately could not resist the temptation of the crystal.

He carefully stepped forward, quickly grabbed the crystal and the medicine bottle and stuffed them into his pocket. Then he scooped out a large, flat, black paste from a jar on the stone platform, which smelled strongly of herbs and sulfur. He placed it on the ground in a piece of dirty bark.

"Apply it to your chest and lower abdomen once a day. It will accelerate the resolution of internal stagnation and dispel dampness, toxins, and cold," the old man said, then pointed to the boiling pool. "See that? The Boiling Blood Pool. It extracts and refines the turbid energy from deep within the earth's veins—"

Hehe, but good stuff can also be a huge problem.

Luo Lin picked up the ointment, which was warm to the touch, and the energy fluctuations were indeed biased towards nourishing and dispelling negative effects.

He didn't use it immediately, but continued to ask, "Besides you, is there anyone else in this area? Is there—a place where I can trade for more resources?"

The old man's eyes flickered, and he lowered his voice: "Young man, you don't seem like a lackey of those churches or holy towers—"

It's no big deal to tell you.

"Further west of this Boiling Blood Stone Forest, through the Poisonous Miasma Valley, lies the ruins of a sunken town."

"That place is the territory of the Shadow Gathering."

"The Shadow Gathering?" This was the first time Rowling had heard the name.

"A black market run by a bunch of shady characters," the old man scoffed. "Smugglers, fugitives, madmen researching forbidden topics, and scum who deal with alien races—it has all sorts of people."

"Small boats regularly come from the underground river deep in the swamp, bringing goods from outside and exchanging them for local specialties."

"If you're bold enough and have something they'd like to have, you might be able to get what you want in exchange."

black market!

It really exists!

Luo Lin's heart skipped a beat.

This was even better than he had expected.

A regularly operating black market means a more stable source of goods and information channels.

"How do I get to the Poisonous Valley? And where is the Sunken Town?" Roland pressed.

The old man shook his head: "I can only tell you the general direction."

"The specific route, and the method to get through the Poisonous Miasma Valley, will come at a price."

"My little bit of ointment isn't worth that price." A greedy glint appeared in his eyes again. "Unless—you have more good stuff, or—"

His gaze suddenly fell on the small, milky-white pebble that Luo Lin had been holding in his left palm to help stabilize his injuries and mind!

Although Luo Lin held it tightly, revealing only a corner of its warm luster, the old man's cloudy yet exceptionally sharp eyes seemed to have sensed something.

"What's that in your hand—?" The old man's voice suddenly became urgent, and his body involuntarily leaned forward. "Let me see!"