Meng Zhang knew that Shi Weiming wouldn't mention the black market without a reason.
"In the black market, besides selling various unidentified items, they also act as intermediaries, providing services like espionage and assassination."
"Of course, these services are usually only offered to regular customers."
"If Sect Master Meng is interested, I am willing to vouch for you, so that he can enjoy these services."
Shi Weiming explained the details to Meng Zhang.
Meng Zhang was surprised to learn that the black market not only dealt with stolen goods and prohibited items but also offered such services. The black market was truly a vast enterprise.
At the Four Seas Building in Singing Sand City, various tasks were posted for cultivators from different factions. These tasks mainly involved guarding, exploring, and planting, among other legitimate activities.
As Taiyi Sect and Zhao Family were both vassals of Twin Success Valley, their covert conflicts were not suitable to become widely known.
Meng Zhang needed to monitor Li Shengqi discreetly, which required a high level of confidentiality.
The black market was a large and secretive operation, making it a suitable option for Meng Zhang.
After some contemplation, Meng Zhang asked Shi Weiming to act as a guarantor, allowing the black market to provide these services.
Once everything was settled, Shi Weiming and Meng Zhang left Singing Sand City and headed towards Firewell Market.
Singing Sand City was too small to accommodate the black market. Therefore, most businesses related to the black market were concentrated in Firewell Market and its surrounding areas.
During their journey, which took several days, the two of them remained silent.
Upon reaching Firewell Market, Shi Weiming led Meng Zhang through a secluded alley.
While Meng Zhang had traded in the black market before and had some contact with it, he was still largely unfamiliar with its internal workings. Every time he wanted to engage with the black market, he needed someone to guide him.
Shi Weiming seemed to be a regular visitor to the black market and led Meng Zhang directly into a nearby room before entering an underground passage.
After twisting and turning through the passage for quite some time, the two of them finally entered a spacious hall.
In the hall, there were several tables and chairs where a few elderly men were busy with paperwork.
Shi Weiming brought Meng Zhang to one of the elderly men.
"Master Li, I'm bothering you again this time," Shi Weiming said politely.
Li, who was focused on handling documents, glanced up at them.
"You're not the type to visit the Three Treasures Hall without any reason. What brings you here this time?" Li replied.
"Master Li, I want to vouch for Meng Zhang, the Sect Master of Taiyi Sect, to make him a regular customer of the black market," Shi Weiming stated directly.
Li didn't say anything but took out a book and quickly flipped through its pages.
"Taiyi Sect's Sect Master Meng Zhang had previous trading records in the black market and was considered a guest."
"With your endorsement, he can be promoted to a regular customer."
"Sect Master Meng, please hand over the token you obtained in your last transaction in the black market," Li addressed Meng Zhang.
Meng Zhang handed over the jade token he obtained during his last visit to the black market.
Subsequently, Li led Meng Zhang to several places, completing a series of procedures.
Once all the procedures were done, Li handed Meng Zhang a new jade token as proof.
With this token, Meng Zhang could enter any black market location directly.
Moreover, this new token granted Meng Zhang higher privileges compared to his previous one.
While going through the procedures, Li explained many things about the black market to Meng Zhang.
The customers in the black market were divided into several levels.
Meng Zhang's previous trading activities in the black market placed him at the lowest level, as a guest.
Once a guest completed a certain amount of transactions or was vouched for by higher-level customers, they could be promoted.
Meng Zhang's current status was that of a regular customer, one level above a guest.
Above regular customers were familiar customers like Shi Weiming.
Beyond that, there were even older customers, but Li didn't disclose whether there were higher levels beyond that.
Different customer levels in the black market offered different rights and privileges, allowing them to enjoy various levels of services.
As a guest, Meng Zhang could only buy or sell goods in the black market.
Now, as a regular customer, he could access higher-level services.
After completing the procedures and becoming a regular customer of the black market, Shi Weiming bid farewell and left.
Clearly, he was not interested in knowing Meng Zhang's next moves.
With the jade token in hand, Meng Zhang entered a hall.
In the front of the hall, there sat a plump old man. Behind him were several small rooms separated by partitions.
Meng Zhang approached the old man and greeted him respectfully.
"A half-hour costs ten low-grade spirit stones. If it's less than half an hour, it will be charged as a half-hour," the old man said.
Meng Zhang nodded, and the old man gestured, causing the door of one of the small rooms to open automatically.
Meng Zhang entered the room, which was narrow and contained only a chair with a backrest. Across from the chair was a bright screen.
Sitting on the chair, Meng Zhang faced the screen. He gently touched the screen with his finger, and it began to scroll, displaying various pieces of information.
The screen only showed the titles of the information. To view the details, one needed to touch the title again.
If someone wanted to post information, they could simply insert spirit stones into the screen and write or draw on it.
The more content they wrote, the more spirit stones they would need to spend.
Meng Zhang didn't rush to post any information. Instead, he clicked on several pieces of information and began to read them carefully.
The information was diverse and covered a wide range of subjects.
For example, one post was seeking to purchase a hundred-year-old Jade Ginseng. When Meng Zhang clicked on it, the post listed the requirements for the ginseng, such as excellent quality and intact roots.
If Meng Zhang had a hundred-year-old Jade Ginseng that matched the requirements, he could add his offer to the post.
Then, the two parties could negotiate until they reached an agreement, and the black market would act as an intermediary for the transaction.
Of course, the black market would take a certain amount of spirit stones as a fee.
Another post's title mentioned assassinating a Refining Qi Ninth Level enemy. Meng Zhang opened the post, and it provided information about the target's identity, the magic tools they commonly used, their Dual Cultivation cultivation technique, and their proficient spells.
At the end of the post was the reward: five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
If someone accepted the task after seeing this post, the information would disappear.
After completing the assassination, the person could claim their reward through the black market.
Meng Zhang read through several posts, finding a wide variety of information.
Some posts involved tracking someone, monitoring someone, causing severe injuries to someone, and even killing someone. There were quite a few of these types of posts.
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