Only at the Mahayana Stage Does the Reversal System Appear - Chapter 179

Chapter 179 Black Market Medicine

After Bu Jing fell asleep, Jiang Li and the other two discussed the future of the Universal World. They agreed not to introduce the immortal cultivation system, but to simply return people to the right path.

The Wu Kingdom’s practice was a blend of martial arts and immortality, not a pure martial art. Their cultivation depended on

spiritual energy. The Universal World’s martial arts were pure martial arts, requiring no spiritual energy. This was certainly due to the scarcity of spiritual energy, but its scarcity wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. As the three had witnessed, humans could reach extreme levels of cultivation without spiritual energy.

They wanted to see if, given sufficient time, the Universal World could produce a martial immortal comparable to those in the Tribulation Crossing Stage, or a true immortal through martial arts.

However, this presupposed that the Universal World’s martial arts manuals hadn’t been lost.

Even the current Emperor of the Universal World didn’t possess the martial arts manuals from three hundred years ago. The only ones who might have them were the Dongjing brothers.

Abu frankly admitted that he could only memorize the family martial arts manual, the “Four Pillars of Heaven-supporting Art.” He only knew the names of others, like the “Heavenly Star Art” and the “Buddha’s Iron Hand.”

Of course, a single manual of martial arts secrets wouldn’t restore the prosperity of the martial arts world. Fortunately, there was Bu Jing, who had memorized various manuals.

Although Bu Jing agreed, she still had doubts: “Even if I wrote it down, who would practice it? If the imperial court discovered me practicing unofficial manuals, I’d be doomed.”

Over a hundred years ago, Bu Jing had released a manual to test the waters. Someone who found it hid it like a treasure, secretly practicing it and avoiding combat. He avoided official inspections whenever possible, and remained undetected.

However, over time, his discovery would inevitably lead to his discovery.

He lived to be fifty.

Needless to say, he must have been practicing another manual. Upon discovery, the Qi state officials apprehended him and tortured him severely.

But he had found the manual on the roadside as a child. Even if he confessed, the Qi state couldn’t trace him back to Bu Jing.

Ultimately, the person who secretly practiced the manual perished in the Heavenly Prison, vanishing without a trace, their body nowhere to be found.

“The imperial court sent someone?” Jiang Li laughed. “That would be perfect. If you call out all the Twelve Heavenly Kings, I’ll give them both hands and see if they can cut a single hair off my head.”

Bu Jing felt relieved. He knew the powerful being who had brought his younger brother home was terrifying and incredibly powerful, but he wasn’t sure if these people would help him. After all, they had no connection; their only connection was that they owed him a favor. He couldn’t just say, “Look, you’ve brought my younger brother home, so you’re a good person and saved our world too.”

Such words were too shameless, and Bu Jing couldn’t bring himself to say them.

So he asked the three powerful beings to determine their stance: were they merely interested in the martial arts secrets he knew, or were they willing to help?

With these three powerful beings backing him up, Bu Jing felt free to act with confidence.

The Bu family leader and Bu Tian were secretly delighted to see their ancestor agree. They had long wanted to practice the martial arts secrets their ancestor possessed, but their ancestor had always believed that practicing would increase the risk of exposure and had refused to teach them.

Now, they could learn.

…

In a dark market somewhere, the silence was hushed. Visitors here would haggle quietly over the items they wanted to buy, never shouting.

All who came wore hoods, their faces hidden.

Someone, seeing something they were interested in, stopped, crouched, and asked, “How much?”

The faceless vendor pointed to a sign:

Aphrodisiac, three taels of silver per package, three packages for ten taels.

“Ten taels! That’s too expensive! Can’t you make it cheaper?”

Ten taels of silver was a considerable sum for the average person, but those who could access the black market were certainly not ordinary people. Their martial arts skills and financial resources were superior.

The vendor said emphatically, “Our medicine is made with genuine ingredients: tiger bones, tiger penises, tiger skins, deer antlers, ginseng, and more. If we could get it any cheaper, we’d still make a profit.”

“Give me a package!”

He felt that, in a sense, buying a package was a good deal.

Of course, he couldn’t tell the vendor this thought.

The vendor neatly wrapped the aphrodisiac in oil paper and handed it to the man.

The vendor chuckled inwardly, another one feeling he’d gotten a bargain.

“You’re such a stingy vendor! Three taels of silver for medicine, and you didn’t even give me a bottle, you just wrapped it in paper.”

The vendor grinned, “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely feel it was worth it once you’ve used it.”

The man, returning home from his purchase, saw his wife lying in bed. He was eager to try, so he unwrapped the medicine package and, just as he was about to swallow the pill, froze.

The wife wondered why this villain, always rushing to bed, hadn’t done it this time.

Curious, she crawled over to see what her husband was doing. In the candlelight, she saw the paper wrapping the medicine and cried out in surprise.

Her husband quickly covered her mouth, “Keep your voice down! Are you trying to call the authorities?”

“But, but this is a banned book!”

The paper containing the medicine contained a simple martial arts manual. Even so, they could tell it was very different from the manuals issued by the Twelve Heavenly Kings.

“Should we report it to the police?”

“Report it? Should I tell them I went to the black market, or tell them I bought aphrodisiacs?”

The wife remained silent. No matter which one she chose, it was difficult to speak.

“The drug seller calculated that we wouldn’t tell anyone about this.” The man gritted his teeth, but in his heart he felt an urge to practice in secret.

Although the teachers said that the martial arts secrets destroyed by the Heavenly Kings were dregs and a disaster that would shorten lifespan and should not be practiced, his martial arts intuition told him that the martial arts secrets on this piece of paper could help him live longer.

Moreover, as a person obsessed with martial arts, the martial arts methods issued by the Heavenly Kings were really boring. After several versions were repeated, the meaning was basically the same.

He wanted to try something new.

…

“Do you have any more medicine?”

Someone else came to the vendor and asked in a low voice.

“Look, aren’t these all medicine?” the vendor pointed at the aphrodisiacs displayed before him.

“I’m asking, are there any other kinds of medicine wrapped in other papers?”

The vendor nodded sharply, “Yes, of course.”

“Here’s ten taels of silver.”

The vendor handed over three packets of aphrodisiacs, instructing, “These three packets contain different contents and must be taken consecutively.”

The customer understood the vendor’s meaning. Only when these three packets of medicine were connected together could they constitute a martial arts manual, clearly different from the one he’d bought for three taels of silver.

“Disobeying the will of the Twelve Heavenly Kings is truly treasonous. Aren’t you afraid of being investigated?”

The vendor laughed, “Even if they are investigated, there’s someone higher up to take responsibility, and the will of the Heavenly Kings is absolute. To tell you the truth, my ancestor practiced the martial arts manual in these pages and lived for over three hundred years!”

The customer’s pupils shrank, shocked by this news.

Of course, the customer wouldn’t believe the vendor outright. He decided to wait until he got home and read what was written on the three pieces of paper before making a decision.

His belief in the Twelve Heavenly Kings as saviors had been slightly shattered.

After the black market ended, the vendor sneaked back to the Bu family, and many people came back with him.

The vendor lifted his hood, and it was none other than Butian.

They used aphrodisiacs and pornographic comics as bait, and gave away many martial arts secrets.

“Three gentlemen, all the medicines have been sold.”

“Yes, I see.”

In fact, there was no need for Butian to report. Jiang Li and the other two had a spiritual awareness covering more than a dozen surrounding cities. They knew better than Butian himself how much Butian and his team had sold and how effective it was.

Martial arts secrets cannot be forced upon people, and the belief in the Twelve Heavenly Kings is deeply rooted in the Universal World. Even if Jiang Li and his team used force to overthrow the court, people would only think that Jiang Li and his team were invaders and would not believe what they said.

Ideological problems cannot be solved overnight. Jiang Li and his team planned to proceed step by step, starting with the dark areas like the black market, and letting those with weak beliefs and money practice first.

(End of this chapter)