It was the early hours of the morning. In the distance, the forest looked densely packed and a bit eerie, as if hiding endless darkness within.

On the surrounding leaves, after a night's rest, dewdrops had formed, glistening. As they fell, they made a 'plop, plop' sound.

A figure in a blue robe emerged among them, a youth about seventeen or eighteen years old. His face was resolute, exuding a maturity rare among his peers. A closer look revealed a faint murderous aura on him, and his eyes were deep and profound, like stars.

Strangely, a small yellow snake was coiled on the young man's shoulder, its little head raised, looking around constantly.

This person was Li Lin. He had left Flying Spirit Gate early in the morning, planning to visit a nearby large town to see if there were any demonic beasts for sale. He wanted to test whether he had truly mastered the Blood Soul Mark, which was crucial for him.

Tianxing Town was the largest town near Flying Spirit Gate known to Li Lin, a three-day journey away. However, if one rode hard, it could be reached in a day.

In Tianxing Town, demonic beasts captured by mercenaries from the Wudu Mountain Range were sold. Naturally, these beasts were quite expensive.

Flying Spirit Gate was indeed very poor, so much so that they didn't even have a horse. Li Lin had to spend a dozen gold coins just outside Flying Spirit Mountain to buy an unremarkable horse and then set off for Tianxing Town.

He left in the morning, riding hard. It was his first time riding a horse, and Li Lin felt a sense of excitement. He nearly fell off several times but managed to stay agile.

The journey was uneventful, as the roads were mostly clear and less chaotic. By the afternoon, Li Lin had arrived at Tianxing Town.

The area of Tianxing Town was even larger than Qingyun Town and was more bustling. However, with the bustle came more chaos. Unlike Qingyun Town, which was maintained by five major families, Tianxing Town had a more complex environment, being a gathering place for people of various backgrounds, which made it harder to manage.

In the afternoon, the streets were especially busy. People were coming and going, and the shouts of vendors were constant, creating a lively atmosphere. Li Lin led his horse, now drenched in sweat, into Tianxing Town.

He went straight to an inn in the town. The ground floor of the inn was a tavern, and the rooms were on the second floor. Since he couldn't return to Flying Spirit Gate that day, Li Lin rented a superior room, stabled his horse at the inn, and ordered some food. Then he sat by a window on the first floor.

Looking out the window at the busy scene, it was still afternoon, but already, many young women in revealing clothes were starting to earn their living. This type of flesh trade seemed to exist everywhere. In this chaotic ancient realm, women who were neither martial artists nor spiritual practitioners had few options other than this kind of work.

When Li Lin entered the tavern, many people sized him up. After all, Li Lin was still a youth, but he had an intangible aura about him that made many take a second look.

Li Lin had already scrutinized these people. All of them were martial artists, mostly at the warrior level, with a few martial disciples and masters. There were dozens of people in the tavern.

After a while, the waiter brought up a lot of food, and Li Lin ate heartily, having been very hungry from the ride.

A few minutes after finishing his meal, Li Lin left the tavern to take a walk on the streets. Among the bustling crowd, several heavily made-up, scantily clad young women with exposed shoulders and cleavages quickly surrounded him.

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"Little brother, come with me, I'll keep you company for half a gold coin," one said.

"If you like, two of us together for just one gold coin. We'll make you feel heavenly," another offered.

Amid the young women's pulling and tugging, their exposed cleavages rubbed against Li Lin, causing him to feel uncomfortable.

"Sorry, ladies, I'll come back later," Li Lin hastily excused himself and fled. He wasn't ready to give up his virginity to these women.

"Useless kid," the scantily clad women muttered, glaring at Li Lin as he left. But at that moment, several men approached them, each hugging one of the young women and crudely groping their bodies, deforming their cleavages.

"Naughty girls, that little kid doesn't know better. Let us big guys take care of you. If you please us, you'll be rewarded."

"Big brother is the best," the scantily clad women said, swaying their hips and smiling with their eyes and brows, displaying a myriad of seductive expressions. They led the burly men into a somewhat dim alley nearby.

Li Lin ran a good distance before he stopped, almost losing his composure. He needed to carefully maintain his virginity.

"This lord, it's your first time in Tianxing Town, right? If you need any help, just ask me. A little tip will do." Just then, a short, thin young man with shrewd eyes suddenly approached Li Lin and said.

Li Lin sized up the youth. He was wearing a semi-worn long robe and seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. However, his sly, rat-like gaze reminded Li Lin somewhat of Li Xiaobai.

"My lord, my name is Liu Yishou. I'm not a bad person, nor a robber, just a local 'snake' in Tianxing Town, a jack-of-all-trades. It's your first time here, if you need anything, just ask me. I'm just trying to make a living, you can trust me completely," the youth said, patting his skinny chest.

"Liu Yishou, that's a pretty unique name," Li Lin said mildly, noticing that the youth only had the strength of a martial disciple.

"The name was given by my parents, I had no choice," Liu Yishou said with a smile, scratching his head, then added, "Lord, you must be new to Tianxing Town. I saw you got scared off by those prostitutes just now. If you need any help, just say it."

"Scared off by prostitutes?" Li Lin glanced at Liu Yishou, "That's called being chaste, understand?"

"Is there a place here selling demonic beasts? Take me there. If I'm satisfied, I'll reward you," Li Lin said. In such places, getting help from local 'snakes' can save a lot of time.

"A place selling demonic beasts? Lord, you've found the right person. I can't promise much, but I know a junior supervisor in the underground market of Tianxing Town. He's the son of a friend of my mother's cousin. We grew up playing together. If you like a demonic beast, I can even get you a discount," Liu Yishou's eyes lit up, leading Li Lin forward.

Li Lin smiled slightly; this youth was quite a talker.

Following Liu Yishou, Li Lin passed through several streets and then entered an underground passage at the end of one street. According to Liu Yishou, the liveliest part of Tianxing Town wasn't above ground, but this underground market. It was the busiest place, even attracting rich merchants and young masters from nearby areas.

The underground market had everything, both legal and illegal: demonic beasts, pills, martial techniques, herbs, and even demon pills, spiritual pills, and spiritual beasts. However, these latter items weren't just for anyone to see. Without sufficient strength, one couldn't just visit those sections; such items were rarely seen outside.

Additionally, there was a slave trade in the underground market. What excited people the most was that often there were naked female slaves for sale. With luck, one might find a slave with a great figure and beautiful face, so many people frequented the underground market just to look around.

Arriving at the underground market with Liu Yishou, Li Lin couldn't help but marvel. This underground world was huge, covering tens of thousands of square meters. It was bustling with people, yet the flow was smooth, and the ventilation system was excellent.

The underground market truly had an underground feel, with ear-deafening shouts and numerous items like pills, herbs, and weapons displayed.

"How about it, lively, isn't it?" Liu Yishou shouted to Li Lin. In this place, one had to speak loudly to be heard.

"Take me to see the demonic beasts," Li Lin said. He didn't lack pills and herbs at the moment; his only target was demonic beasts.

"No problem, follow me," Liu Yishou replied.

Walking through the bustling underground market, Li Lin even sensed the presence of several spiritualists.

"New slaves arrived today, healthy and young. Men start at five gold coins, women at eight gold coins."

"There are also some young female slaves. Look at this development, and these firm and perky buttocks. These start at fifteen gold coins." On a stone platform, a middle-aged man looking like an employee of the underground market loudly hawked, roughly handling the breasts and buttocks of several naked young women tied to the railing. In his eyes, these people were no different from animals, devoid of any sympathy.

Li Lin sighed inwardly. The world was like this: without strength, you were nothing. Everything in this world spoke through strength.