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Translated by: La0o9
Edited by: Dr.Lock
Proofreader: Arya
The black market.
Shannu turned back into her sword form and hid in the void of space behind Gu Qing Shan’s back.
Gu Qing Shan once again took Wang Cheng’s form as he quickly walked through the streets.
Weapon shops, item appraisal shops, auction house, bars, restaurants, arenas, armor shops, technology central stores, slave market, recruitment central square, Drifting Sand world real estate center, unknown lifeform and event registration office, Black market Security office, Professionist Salon, Bounty hunter Association, Thieves’ Guild, skill shops, and so on and so forth… Gu Qing Shan was walking by all sorts of buildings and structures.
According to Gu Qing Shan’s original plans, he would have had to visit many of these places.
For example, the item appraisal shop—— he needed to know what the black branch’s abilities were and its uses, under a controlled environment.
The weapon shop, the bar, Professionist Salon, skill shops, and others, he would’ve loved to visit any of these places.
Originally, Gu Qing Shan even thought about going to the Thieves’ Guild to see if they could open the black-clothed man’s item bag.
But now, Gu Qing Shan gave up the idea and only wanted to leave this world as soon as possible.
An unprecedented shroud of darkness was lingering on his mind.
While Gu Qing Shan quickly walked forward, his breathing was becoming a bit heavy.
——not due to fatigue, but rather because his body felt tense unlike never before.
He quickly scanned his surroundings.
Within the black market, with constant patrolling by the guards, living beings of different races were obediently adhering to the rules, moving along peacefully and orderly.
But Gu Qing Shan was still feeling uneasy.
For some unknown reason, he found himself in a battle-ready state, as if he was prepared to risk his life at any moment!
“Karmic adversity…”
He lightly muttered.
That was right, without any warnings, his final and most dangerous karmic adversity was silently creeping closer.
This was an unclear and indescribable feeling as if the fork road of life and death was already right in front waiting for him.
Damn it!
This is not a good feeling.
At this point, Gu Qing Shan was feeling nostalgic of the Lightning Tribulation, because in comparison, the pressure that a karmic adversity gave was nowhere on the same level.
He forced himself to maintain clarity of mind and continued forward.
A few moments later, he reached the end of the road.
——-the floating port.
This place was at the border of the black market, where various flying transits were moving in and out of the dock.
This was where one must go so that they could leave from this world!
Gu Qing Shan quickly walked in.
“Welcome, sir, how may I help you?”
A staff member took notice of Gu Qing Shan and slowly walked over.
“I need to board the next ship that’ll go off-world” Gu Qing Shan answered.
“Where would you like to go?” the staff member asked.
Gu Qing Shan’s gaze quickly scanned through the various signs near the dock.
“Nine Stars Empire” he replied.
Besides this one, the rest of the ships were marked red—– which meant they were already full.
According to the sign in the center, the ship heading for Nine Stars Empire would leave in about 10 minutes.
This was only a small ship, but at least there were still seats, and it would be the quickest method to leave.
So this was his best choice.
Gu Qing Shan didn’t want to remain in this world for even a moment longer.
The staff replied: “Let me check the seating… Ah, yes, there are still four seats left, would you like to reserve one of them?”
“Yes”
“How would you like to pay sir? Although this is only a small ship, we don’t accept #8 coins or below”
“I’ll pay with #10 coins”
Gu Qing Shan took out a coin out of a small bag and showed it to the staff member.
The ‘head’ side of the coin depicted a creature with various sharp, spinous, sawtooth-like long limbs, together with a description: [Void Render, likes to eat their prey alive, its body is sharp and poisonous]
The ‘tail’ side was carved with a single number [10]
This was a #10 coin, and also what Gu Qing Shan received from the guard captain as payment for his information.
Seeing #10 coins, the staff member’s attitude instantly became a lot better.
He spoke: “27 pieces of #10 coin will be enough”
Gu Qing Shan then counted 27 coins and gave it to him.
The staff member quickly arranged everything.
“Please come this way, I’ll lead you onto your ship, dear customer” he respectfully spoke.
“Yes, thank you” Gu Qing Shan replied.
When they had just taken a few steps, a female voice came from behind:
“Wait, there are still 3 seats left? Then we also want to board”
The two of them looked back.
A beautiful mature woman was heading towards them, behind her was a rough-looking man with black-stained skin, leading a 6-7 years old boy.
Gu Qing Shan was stunned.
This woman was very familiar to him because they had just fought not too long ago.
The Demon Scorpion Empress!
She took human form to come here!
“It’s you?” Gu Qing Shan couldn’t help but exclaimed.
“I am, I’ll buy the seats first, then we’ll talk” the Demon Scorpion Empress waved her hand at him dismissively.
The staff member spoke: “This lady, there are three seats left, are you going—–”
“I want all of them” the Demon Scorpion Empress answered.
“Ah, yes, I’ll do it right away” the staff member replied.
He then quickly tapped various points on the void of space, apparently operating something.
Behind her, the black-skinned man waved to Gu Qing Shan and smiled.
Gu Qing Shan didn’t really understand why, but he reluctantly smiled back.
The black-skinned man thought briefly and put up one finger.
An endless green glow flowed out from his finger.
Gu Qing Shan immediately recognized this green glow.
——this is the same presence I felt from that tree in the desert.
Gu Qing Shan then glanced at the boy next to the man.
The boy was staring at him, constantly gulping.
After a bit of thinking, Gu Qing Shan chuckled bitterly and understood.
So this boy was that little black scorpion, and this black-skinned man must be the Demon Scorpion Empress’ husband.
Which means he wasn’t a tree at all—– it’s very clear what his true form is.
“What a coincidence, I didn’t think I’d run into you here” Gu Qing Shan said.
“That goes both ways. I knew your battle abilities were impressive, but I didn’t think your instincts would be this good as well” the black-skinned man replied.
Instinct?
What does he mean?
While Gu Qing Shan was thinking that, the staff member had already finished their registration.
The Demon Scorpion Empress scowled and reluctantly took out some money to pay for it.
“Please follow me, all four of you” he smiled.
The group stopped talking and followed the staff member through a large waiting area before arriving at a small-sized ship.
It was a literal ship, very similar to the kind that the Spire Keeper Association provided.
“A magic-type ship, hm, very nice, should be a bit better than a technology-type one” the Demon Scorpion Empress nodded in satisfaction.
The four people boarded the ship.
The ship was arranged so that a cabin contained four passengers each.
The staff member led them to the final room and lightly pulled back the sliding door.
There wasn’t anyone inside, but there was a table, four armchairs, and more than enough room for a human passenger to stretch their legs.
Various fruits and snacks were laid out on the table as well as four cups of steaming hot tea.
A large glass wall was installed to allow passengers a full view of the scenery outside from inside the ship.
After bringing them here, the staff member smiled: “We will be setting sail in a few minutes, I wish you all a comfortable trip”
As he was about to bow, he stopped.
The Demon Scorpion Empress, her husband, the child as well as Gu Qing Shan all braced themselves.
The very next second.
Boom!
Deep underground, a huge sound of an impact was heard.
Although the black market was in the sky, the shockwaves that traveled through the air allowed them to estimate the magnitude of the quake.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
Gu Qing Shan wiped the cold sweat off his forehead—— he knew what was actually going on.
The family of demon scorpion exchanged worried glances.
“It’s coming out, papa, that thing is coming out!” the little boy hugged the man’s arm and spoke fearfully.
