I become stronger by sacrificing my lifespan, becoming invincible in the world.

Two nights later, the night was dark and windy.

Lin Chen followed Zhao Tiegu through a collapsed ruin in the southwest corner of Ghost Cry Pass. This was once a brick kiln area, but now only ruins and mounds of earth overgrown with weeds remain.

"Stay close." Zhao Tiegu lowered his voice and walked very lightly. "Night patrols often pass by here at night. If you get caught trespassing into the black market, you'll definitely get a beating."

Lin Chen nodded and wrapped the fur vest he had stripped from the dead demon warrior around himself tighter—this was Zhao Tiegu's suggestion; in the black market, covering one's face and concealing one's identity was the bare minimum.

The two walked around a half-collapsed kiln, and suddenly a faint light appeared in front of them.

As they approached, they realized it was the entrance to a semi-underground cave dwelling, half-covered by tattered wooden planks. Two burly men squatted on either side of the entrance, knives in their arms, their eyes fierce.

Seeing Zhao Tiegu and Lin Chen approach, the bearded man on the left raised his eyelids and said, "Old Zhao? Here again?"

"Let me show this newcomer the ropes." Zhao Tiegu took out two copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the man's hand. "Brother Ma Zi, please do me a favor."

The man nicknamed "Pockmarked" weighed the copper coin in his hand, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Go in. You know the rules, don't cause trouble."

He lifted the wooden board.

A strange odor, a mixture of sweat, blood, cheap alcohol, and some kind of herbal smell, hit me.

The cave dwellings were deeper than I had imagined.

After descending a dozen or so earthen steps, the view suddenly opened up. It was a huge, hollowed-out cavern, roughly half the size of a drill ground. A few dim oil lamps hung from the ceiling, barely illuminating the area below.

There were many people inside, probably over a hundred.

There were border soldiers in tattered uniforms, hunters wrapped in animal skins, convicts with shifty eyes, and even a few barbarians with painted faces and bone ornaments covering their bodies. Everyone spoke in hushed tones, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

On either side of the cave dwelling were some simple stalls: dried animal limbs, strangely glowing ores, rusty swords, and various bottles and jars of herbs were laid out on animal hides. Some stalls were more secluded, displaying only one or two items, with the stall owners squatting in the shadows, their faces obscured.

"It's really a mess," Lin Chen said in a low voice.

"Chaos creates opportunity." Zhao Tiegu led him deeper into the cave. "See that over there?"

In the direction he pointed, at the very back of the cave dwelling, were several broken wooden tables. Seven or eight men sat around them, talking in hushed tones. They were clearly much better equipped, with heavy leather armor, standard-issue swords hanging at their waists, and several powerful crossbows on the tables.

The leader was a wiry man in his thirties with a fresh scar on his face, running diagonally from the corner of his left eye to his chin. He had his back to them and was talking to the person next to him, but Lin Chen immediately noticed the blood-dripping knife token at his waist.

Blood Blade Gang.

"That's Han Li, the second-in-command of the Blood Blade Gang," Zhao Tiegu introduced in a low voice. "He's ruthless, but he follows the rules. When doing business with him, as long as the money is right, he generally won't double-cross you—unless you have something he wants even more."

As they were talking, Han Li seemed to notice something and turned around.

Scarface looked particularly ferocious under the oil lamp, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp, sweeping over Zhao Tiegu like an eagle before finally settling on Lin Chen.

He raised an eyebrow, seemingly interested in Lin Chen's attire and his deliberately lowered expression.

"Old Zhao," Han Li said, his voice hoarse, "brought a new friend?"

Zhao Tiegu quickly stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting: "Master Han, this is Brother Lin. He hasn't been in Guanli for long and is looking for suitable business opportunities."

Han Li sized Lin Chen up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on the pair of wolf-claw daggers at his waist: "Brother Lin? You look unfamiliar. Where are you making your fortune?"

"Scout battalion, just trying to make a living." Lin Chen's voice was calm, deliberately low.

"A scout camp?" Han Li laughed, Scarface wriggling in response. "That's a death trap. To come back alive from Black Wind Forest, with a pair of King-level demon wolf claws... Brother Lin, you're quite something."

Lin Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

Han Li has a sharp eye. He recognized the origin of the wolf claw at a glance and even guessed that he had just returned from the Black Wind Forest.

"I was lucky," Lin Chen replied briefly.

"Luck is also a skill." Han Li picked up the rough earthenware bowl on the table, took a sip of wine, and said, "So, what do you want to buy, or what do you want to sell?"

Lin Chen took out a small cloth bag from his pocket and spread it out on the table.

Inside were several complete wolf fangs, a palm-sized, hard wolf skin, and the bone spear seized from the demon warriors.

Han Li glanced at them, picked up a fang, and examined it under the oil lamp: "A common wolf's tooth, decent quality. The wolf skin... is a bit damaged. The bone spear is intact, but the craftsmanship is rough, it's not worth much."

He quoted a price: "Five taels of silver in total."

Lin Chen didn't speak, but took out a small cloth bag and poured out a few dark red beads the size of pigeon eggs.

Those were the eyes of a King-rank demon wolf—he had dug out two, handed one over, and kept one for himself. A few more were pried from the eye sockets of ordinary demon wolves; though less valuable, they were still good materials.

Han Li's eyes lit up.

He picked up the king-grade wolf eye, examined it closely, and then brought it to his nose to smell it: "Fresh, the demonic energy hasn't dissipated yet. A good item."

He fiddled with the wolf's eye, looking at Lin Chen: "This one, if sold alone, I can offer fifteen taels. The remaining smaller ones, add up to three taels. Total... twenty-three taels. Including the ones from before, twenty-eight taels. Brother Lin, this price is fair."

Twenty-eight taels.

It was more than ten times more than the reward money that Wang Scarface had deducted.

But Lin Chen didn't rush to agree.

"Master Han," he said, "I don't want any money."

"Oh?" Han Li raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want?"

"I want a good knife." Lin Chen looked directly at him, "A knife that can truly kill demons and doesn't dull when it draws blood. I also need ten armor-piercing arrows and a bottle of the finest wound medicine."

Han Li laughed: "Quite the appetite. A good knife would cost at least twenty taels. Armor-piercing arrows are controlled within the pass, and on the black market, they cost five qian of silver each. Wound medicine... a truly effective one costs three taels a bottle. All in all, that's about thirty taels. What you have isn't enough."

"What's not enough," Lin Chen said calmly, "I'll make up for it in other ways."

"In what way?"

"I need to do something for Master Han." Lin Chen paused, "Something... something that Master Han can't do personally."

The cave dwelling fell silent for a moment.

Several men from the Blood Blade Gang nearby looked over with hostile expressions.

Han Li's smile slowly faded, and his eagle eyes stared at Lin Chen for a long time.

Then, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"Interesting!" Han Li slammed his hand on the table. "Brother Lin, you've got guts. You dare to talk to me about 'doing business' on our first meeting?"

"Master Han needs men to do his bidding, and I need swords, arrows, and medicine," Lin Chen said, his tone unchanged. "Each gets what they need."

Han Li's smile faded, he leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "How did you know I needed someone to do something?"

"Just guessing," Lin Chen said. "The Blood Blade Gang's dozen or so elite members entered the pass in the dead of night; they're not here to do small business. And Master Han isn't waiting for an ordinary customer either."

Han Li's eyes flickered.

After a while, he slowly leaned back in his chair and waved his hand.

The men from the Blood Blade Gang understood and spread out, guarding the corner of the cave and preventing others from getting close.

"Brother Lin is a smart man." Han Li lowered his voice even further. "I do have a side job. There's a small demon mining camp about thirty miles to the north, with about twenty demon laborers and five or six guards. They have a batch of freshly mined 'black iron ore' in the camp, and I want that batch."

"A demon camp?" Lin Chen frowned.

"Don't worry, we're not forcing our way in." Han Li pulled a simple animal hide map from his pocket and spread it on the table. "We have an inside man who will open the side gate of the camp at midnight. All you need to do is go in, take care of the guards, load the ore onto the carts, and haul it out. The whole process must take no more than half an hour."

"Us?" Lin Chen grasped the key word.

"Yes, you guys." Han Li pointed to Zhao Tiegu. "Old Zhao has to go too. He knows the terrain in the north well, and... I need a reliable person to keep an eye on things."

Zhao Tiegu's expression changed: "Master Han, this..."

"Old Zhao," Han Li interrupted him, taking out a small silver ingot from his pocket and gently placing it on the table, "Ten taels as a deposit. Twenty taels will be given after the matter is completed. I'll charge separately for the knife, arrows, and medicine that Brother Lin requested."

Thirty taels of silver.

For Zhao Tiegu, a veteran who had endured hardship in the scout battalion, this was a huge sum of money.

Zhao Tiegu stared at the silver ingot, his Adam's apple bobbing, and finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "I'll do it."

Han Li smiled with satisfaction, then looked at Lin Chen: "Brother Lin, what about you? Knife, arrow, medicine, plus ten taels of silver after the job is done..."

Lin Chen remained silent for a moment.

The risk is very high.

Even the smallest demon camp has regular guards. Once exposed, it's certain death.

But... he needed that knife, the armor-piercing arrow, and the wound medicine.

They need more money to buy more things that can enhance their strength.

"When will we make our move?" Lin Chen asked.

"Tomorrow night at midnight." A glint of light flashed in Han Li's eyes. "You will all gather here at the beginning of Hai hour (9-11 PM). I will give you a detailed map and equipment."

"Okay." Lin Chen nodded.

"Great!" Han Li laughed, unsheathing a dagger from his waist and pushing it in front of Lin Chen. "Pay the deposit first. This dagger isn't top-of-the-line, but it's ten times better than the junk in the armory. Brother Lin, give it a try."

Lin Chen gripped the hilt of the knife and slowly pulled it out.

The blade is long and narrow, slightly curved, and gleams with a dull, cold light. The edge is extremely thin, with several fine forging marks near the back of the blade. Near the guard, a faint "Han" character is engraved on the blade.

It is indeed a fine knife.

Lin Chen swung his hand twice casually, the feel of his hand was steady and the center of gravity was just right.

"Thank you, Master Han." He then sheathed his sword.

"No need to thank me, this is what you deserve." Han Li then took out a small leather bag containing ten arrows, all black with triangular cone-shaped arrowheads. "Armor-piercing arrows, specifically for piercing leather armor and the tough hides of demonic beasts. Use them sparingly."

Finally, there was a palm-sized porcelain bottle, plugged with a red cloth stopper.

"This is top-quality wound medicine, it stops bleeding and promotes tissue regeneration, a hundred times better than the medicine given by the army doctors in the pass." Han Li pushed the things over. "Tomorrow night at 9 PM, I'll be waiting for you here. Remember—if any third party finds out about this, you know the consequences."

His tone was calm, but anyone could hear the murderous intent in his words.

"Understood." Lin Chen put away the sword, arrows, and medicine bottle.

"Then... I wish you a pleasant cooperation." Han Li picked up his wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Lin Chen and Zhao Tiegu did not linger and turned to leave the cave.

Stepping out of the black market, a cold wind swept over me.

Zhao Tiegu let out a long breath, his face showing both excitement and worry: "Kid, this deal... is too risky."

"I know," Lin Chen gripped the knife tightly, "but we need to."

"Yes..." Zhao Tiegu smiled bitterly, "If we don't take a gamble, we'll die in the scout camp sooner or later."

The two walked back in the darkness.

Lin Chen touched the new knife at his waist, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Tomorrow night, at the demon camp.

It was another life-or-death struggle.

But this time, he had a better knife, armor-piercing arrows, and wound medicine.

More importantly, he now has a channel to quickly acquire resources.

If he succeeds this time, he can gain a foothold in the black market and obtain more of the things he needs for cultivation.

With strength, you can improve faster.

In the distance, the firelight atop the Ghost Cry Pass flickered in the cold wind.

Like an eye, it coldly watches everything inside the pass.