If a Magical Artifact’s material or its inscribed Array Prohibition was damaged during combat, it would basically become useless.

Repairing it would also be incredibly difficult.

As he pondered, Chu Mu looked down at the Divine Wind Boots on his feet, his gaze fixed on the two tattered feathers on them.

Maintaining and repairing the other parts of the boots wasn’t too difficult, but these two Wind Spirit Goose Feathers had been damaged from the start.

If they were damaged or completely worn out one day, there was clearly no point in repairing them.

After all, a complete Wind Spirit Goose Feather—a Tier Two Spiritual Material—was far more valuable than this pair of Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact boots.

If he really had one, he might as well just refine a new pair of Divine Wind Boots.

’Perhaps I really should refine a new pair...’

Chu Mu’s eyes flickered. Compared to his other Magical Artifacts, the function of the Divine Wind Boots was undoubtedly far more specialized.

The Minghong Saber, the shield, and the Magic Robe were for offense and defense, while the Divine Wind Boots were for dodging and escaping!

In a life-or-death battle, between taking a hit head-on and dodging, dodging was obviously more useful.

In so many battles, the effectiveness of the Divine Wind Boots had been demonstrated to its fullest.

However, as his cultivation grew stronger, the Divine Wind Boots were starting to fall behind his progress.

Especially with the improvement of his Body Refining Cultivation and the repeated transformations of his physical body, his raw physical strength alone was now on par with the effect of the Divine Wind Boots.

The boots’ effect could now be described as negligible.

He now needed a pair of boots with an effect stronger than the Divine Wind Boots, and he also needed a more powerful Attacking Spiritual Artifact...

He also needed...

As his train of thought continued, Chu Mu’s head began to ache.

If his cultivation was still stagnating in the Qi Cultivation Realm, his needs wouldn’t be so great. But now that he had reached the end of the Qi Cultivation stage, a breakthrough would mean he’d be lacking everything!

Chu Mu didn’t dare to think about it further. Suppressing all these thoughts, he led Wangcai toward the faint blue barrier of light.

The entrance to the Marketplace was quite conspicuous.

With the barrier being transparent, it was hard not to see people coming and going.

Following the stream of people, he stepped onto the wet mud of the lakebed. After handing over a Spirit Stone, he stood inside the light barrier, and the ground beneath his feet changed from mud to pale white stone tiles.

Compared to the many Black Markets he had visited before, this underwater Black Market was much more refined.

Beneath the inverted dome of the faint blue light barrier, exquisite pale white cottages were arranged in an orderly fashion. Even the plaques in front of the cottages were of a uniform style. At a glance, the sight was truly pleasing to the eye.

After wandering around the Marketplace to get a clear idea of the prices in this Black Market, he familiarly rented a small cottage.

He laid out some of the Magical Artifacts he had taken as spoils of war, along with various other Magical Artifacts he had refined himself, then sat behind the counter and waited quietly.

Wangcai, who would usually be frolicking in the wild, was now lying quietly beside Chu Mu.

This time, Chu Mu didn’t bother with much of a disguise, only changing his facial features. He made no effort to conceal his formidable cultivation, letting it show freely.

With his level of cultivation, plus a Demon Beast like Wangcai by his side, he was basically broadcasting a clear message in this Black Market: ’Don’t mess with me.’

This was reflected in reality.

In the past, at times like this, hidden gazes would inevitably swarm him like flies.

But now...

Chu Mu could feel the many hidden gazes that touched him for an instant before retreating. The gloom that had perpetually shrouded him ever since he stepped onto the Immortal Path finally began to dissipate at this moment.

Parting the clouds to see the clear sky.

Right now, he felt very at ease.

Once he reached Foundation Establishment, he would feel even more secure.

One by one, the Magical Artifacts were sold. Only after selling more than half of the Magical Artifacts he had on him and earning nearly three thousand Spirit Stones did he finally close up shop.

He led Wangcai out of the cottage.

He made little effort to conceal himself.

After all, no matter how clever his disguise, Wangcai following by his side was still the best form of identification.

Of course, this might also stem from a certain unwillingness deep in his heart.

Otherwise, he could have just done as he had before: left Wangcai with Xu Yuan to be fed, or simply kept him at home instead of bringing him out.

"How many Spirit Stones for this meat?"

Stopping before a stall, Chu Mu pointed to the pile of beast flesh on display and asked.

"That’s flesh from a Tier One Middle Grade Demon Beast, the Flying Shadow Fish," the man said, glancing at Wangcai beside Chu Mu and offering a surprisingly well-intentioned reminder. "If you’re planning to feed your companion, this Demon Beast Flesh probably won’t have much of an effect."

Chu Mu asked, "Do you have any higher-grade Demon Beast Flesh then?"

"I do, but it’s quite expensive," the man replied casually.

As he spoke, the man took a palm-sized, blood-red chunk of meat from his Storage Talisman and handed it over.

"This is Tier One Upper Grade Blood Boar flesh. If you’re interested, sir, I also have the Blood Boar’s skeleton and blood..."

The man went into detail, explaining the type of Blood Boar, the effects of its flesh and blood, and finally, the steep price.

Chu Mu, meanwhile, examined the piece of Demon Beast Flesh in his hand with great interest.

A Demon Beast’s cultivation is concentrated in its physical body. Under the influence of its Demon Beast Bloodline, Demon Beast Flesh is like a Qi and Blood Pill, making it fundamentally inedible for Cultivators.

If one were to eat it, they would have to go through an extremely complex process, stripping away the negative influences contained within the Demon Beast Flesh bit by bit.

Furthermore, this was only possible with artificially raised Demon Beasts, commonly known as Spirit Beasts.

After all, if a Demon Beast was wild, it would be an indiscriminate omnivore, eating anything and everything, which would make it fundamentally impossible to remove the negative influences from its flesh.

Only by raising them in captivity and controlling their diet could one minimize the negative influences in the Demon Beast Flesh.

That was why Demon Beast Flesh was also extremely expensive in the restaurants of the Marketplace.

As for this Blood Boar, the incredibly distinct aura of chaos and violence within its flesh made it easy to see that this was no artificially raised Demon Beast.

It was a wild one...

And wild Demon Beasts were not a common sight...

A wild aquatic Demon Beast was rarer still...

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Mu asked, "Pardon my asking, but where did this Demon Beast flesh originate from?"

"No comment."

The man’s smile vanished, his earlier enthusiasm instantly disappearing.

Chu Mu just smiled, not pressing the issue. He tossed over a bag of Spirit Stones.

With business right in front of him, the man didn’t refuse. He picked up the Spirit Stone Bag, examined it for a moment, and then handed over a Storage Talisman directly.

Chu Mu didn’t ask any more questions. The man was unwilling to talk, and in a Black Market, he couldn’t force him. Prying further would just be asking for trouble.

Glancing at the man’s face, he took the Storage Talisman and continued to wander through the Black Market.

This time, his luck was unusually good. After a single tour of the market, his Storage Talisman now held several Artifact Refining Formulas and a few volumes on the fundamental knowledge of Artifact Refining.

The puzzle of his Artifact Refining Skill knowledge was, much like his cultivation, seemingly on the verge of reaching Perfection...

...