Chapter 18

The bustling food street was filled with a mix of people, and the toilet environment was extremely poor, with a stench permeating the air. Li Yao pinched his nose, opened a stall, and indeed found dozens of messages densely packed on the back of the stall door.

"Do you feel lonely? Do you yearn for something? Do long nights leave you tossing and turning? Quickly contact Spirit Crane Messenger number 3877134! Demon Sect enchantresses, Buddhist sect holy maidens, beautiful sword cultivators... dozens of beauties for you to choose from, making long nights no longer unbearable!"

"Specializing in various second-hand high-end flying shuttles, top condition, low prices, no accident vehicles. Spirit Crane Messenger number 893764."

"7734982, over a hundred retired special forces soldiers, more than a dozen Qi Condensation cultivators, specialized in solving any 'troubles'!" The word 'troubles' was written in red ink, followed by a skull, making it look quite serious.

Li Yao skimmed through the messages, quickly finding the information he needed.

"Specializing in various enhancement potions, affordable prices, stable effects, minimal side effects. Scan the spirit talisman for details."

Behind this message was a complex and mysterious spirit talisman made of silver threads.

Li Yao took out a mini portable crystal brain from his pocket, activated the scanning function, and a blue light swept over the talisman. A page appeared on the crystal brain's screen, which turned out to be a post from the local Foguo City forum's "Free Exchange Zone."

The post listed over a hundred different enhancement potions, detailing their prices, effects, side effects, and usage methods.

"Enhancement potions" was a general term. Essentially, each sect and even every cultivator with some knowledge of alchemy would try to create their own unique enhancement potions.

Depending on the ingredients and the alchemy method, each enhancement potion had different effects.

Some could increase the development of spirit roots and strengthen the body; some could instantly burn life force to boost combat power; some could nourish cells, maintain vitality, and extend life; and some could enhance male virility, making one invincible in bed and capable of handling multiple women in a night.

After hundreds of years of development, major sects had introduced tens of thousands of relatively safe, stable, and effective enhancement potions. However, their prices were very high, and the average civilian could not afford to use them long-term.

This was an incredibly large market, and naturally, some people wanted to produce counterfeit enhancement potions.

After over a hundred years of continuous experimentation, a small town called "Qiu Long Mountain Village" on the southern border of the Federation finally produced the first counterfeit enhancement potion.

This was a matter of cutting off someone's livelihood, so the counterfeiters did not dare to openly name their products. Instead, they labeled them as "Qiu Long Mountain Village" products!

As Qiu Long Mountain Village expanded from a border town to a city with tens of millions of residents, known as the "lawless land," the term "Qiu Long" became synonymous with counterfeit goods.

Li Yao was preparing to buy a counterfeit version of a well-known enhancement potion for high school entrance exams.

These counterfeit potions were mostly illegally produced in small workshops, with very unstable quality. It was essential to find a reliable seller.

Li Yao did not rush to check the details of the potion. Instead, he scrolled to the bottom of the post and read the comments.

He found that the comments about the potion supplier were generally positive, and it did not seem like self-promotion. Moreover, the address provided by the seller was a legitimate one with a street number.

The credibility of a stationary merchant was much higher than that of a mobile vendor who changed locations frequently.

He also searched the address on "Wanxiang Search" and found no negative news.

Feeling reassured, he looked for the variety he needed and quickly found the relevant information.

To his surprise, the price offered by this shop was about 5% higher than the average counterfeit goods. However, the owner claimed that he used the same raw materials as the genuine product and followed a very strict alchemy process, resulting in highly pure enhancement potions with minimal side effects.

After some consideration, Li Yao contacted the owner via Spirit Crane Messenger: "I need a hundred 'Path of the Heavenly Pride' enhancement potions for high school entrance exams. Do you have any in stock?"

"Yes, I'm in the shop and can make the transaction anytime." The owner responded quickly, as this was a significant deal.

"Great, I'll be right over."

Li Yao closed the crystal brain, thought for a moment, and then took out a pen. He squeezed a message into the crooked spaces between the other messages.

"Retired senior alchemy master from Chixiao Sect, continuing to contribute, along with over a dozen elite disciples, specializes in repairing all kinds of flying swords, magical treasures, and flying shuttles. Affordable prices, on-site repair services available."

He left his work-specific Spirit Crane number at the end, thinking that if any customers came, he could have Old Wang pretend to be the "retired senior alchemy master from Chixiao Sect" and make a good profit.

Satisfied, he patted his hands and walked out of the public toilet.

The address left by the shop owner was four zones away from the food street, about five miles. Li Yao quickened his pace.

As he passed through two zones, he noticed an "automatic spirit talisman vending machine" at a street corner.

This was a common public convenience facility, storing hundreds of relatively cheap and commonly used spirit talismans for self-service, making life easier for citizens.

Li Yao had an idea and took out three coins from his pocket, inserted them into the vending machine, and selected a "facial pattern talisman."

The vending machine vibrated rapidly for two seconds, and a light object dropped from the "dispensing slot" below.

He tore open the packaging to reveal a sticky face mask with dozens of intricate runes etched on it, forming a beautiful pattern.

Sticking the mask on his face, he heard a "sucking" sound. His facial muscles tightened and stretched. Looking in the glass window of a nearby shop, he saw that his face was covered with spider-like patterns. Even his close friend Meng Jiang would probably not recognize him.

The underground ghost city was a mix of all sorts of people, and this was Li Yao's first time dealing with the potion supplier. Not knowing the supplier's background, he had to be cautious and change his appearance.

This way, if any conflicts arose, he could simply leave without leaving any traces.

This "facial pattern talisman" created unique patterns on the face, which could last for about ten hours depending on the environment. It was a popular item in the underground ghost market, especially for gray market transactions, where almost everyone had one. Therefore, Li Yao was not worried that the potion supplier would be suspicious.

Zone 63 was the spirit energy supply area of the underground ghost market, responsible for providing a continuous flow of spirit energy to the ventilation ducts and infrastructure of the entire underground fortress.

There were few people here, and the corridors were narrow, with large, crisscrossing pipes like thousands of metal snakes. Due to years of neglect, many pipes were rusted, and steam hissed from the seams.

The dim metal corridors had half of their crystal spirit lamps broken, and the remaining ones flickered on and off, casting intermittent light.

At the deepest part of the corridor, a narrow iron door was half-open. A fierce black wolf with a blood-stained military dagger through its head was imprinted on the door. Above the door, four square characters were welded with iron bars:

"Killing Wolves on the Military Path!"

From inside, came shouts, the sound of punches, the smell of rust, and a strong odor of male sweat.

This was a training hall.