As soon as Ding Huan entered Four-direction City, he thought to himself that all the resources of Four-direction Star Land must have been used to develop Four-direction City.
After entering the city, it became even more accessible from all directions, and his Divine Will swept out, finding each street wide and bustling.
Here, big and small workshop markets, Trading Buildings, and Rest Inns were abundant, with countless languages spoken.
However, during normal conversations, most people adhered to using the common language.
Ding Huan wanted to live in a place with the most readily available information and not far from the City Lord Mansion.
He had a treasure in his hand to present as an entry token, which most likely was to be near the City Lord Mansion, as that was the center of the entire Four-direction Star Land.
In this area, Ding Huan did not intend to look for a place by himself.
It was too complicated here, and he was not familiar with it, so it would not be like searching in the Little Star Corner Market.
Ding Huan found a housing agency.
There were just too many people looking for houses here, and though there were many housing agencies similar to real estate intermediaries, there were still queues.
Ding Huan didn’t queue first. He asked about the rental prices in the area.
Five thousand purple gold coins could allow Ding Huan to purchase a small courtyard at double the price in Little Star Corner Market, but here, five thousand purple gold coins merely covered one year’s rent.
This was for nicer houses, which were pricier.
And there were houses with even higher prices, with some going for tens of thousands, or even several tens of thousands of purple gold coins a year.
Of course, most houses had rents ranging from a hundred to a thousand purple gold coins per year, and there were even those for several dozen purple gold coins.
Ding Huan didn’t need to look at houses that cost several dozen purple gold coins to know they would not meet his requirements.
"Xinyue, let’s stay at a Rest Inn first, and we’ll see in a couple of days."
Ding Huan didn’t have many purple gold coins on him. Most of the purple gold coins he obtained, aside from those used for purchasing materials, had been given to Li Deting.
Li Deting had helped him a great deal; otherwise, he would not have been qualified to enter Four-direction City.
Finding a Rest Inn was somewhat easier, especially since it wasn’t any major trading period.
Every year, Four-direction Star Land had a big trading period, during which people from all different Star Lands would flock here, and finding a Rest Inn would be very difficult.
Ding Huan simply looked for an ordinary Rest Inn, where even a basic stay for three people for one night cost thirty purple gold coins.
It could be said that in Four-direction City, purple gold coins were the quickest to be spent.
"Be careful."
Qi Xinyue, knowing what Ding Huan was about to do, gave him an anxious reminder.
"Don’t worry, I know."
Ding Huan gestured to Qi Xinyue not to worry.
After wandering the universe for a hundred or two hundred years, he already knew what to do in places like this.
If he thought the money storage tokens from Tou Jie and Jin were anonymous and he could just withdraw money carelessly, he would be seeking his own death.
Ding Huan had three money storage tokens, and with these three tokens, he could withdraw money from any bank.
But he had no intention of going to these banks to withdraw money.
He planned to go to the black market.
Ding Huan wasn’t worried about whether there was a black market here.
In any place, as long as there was a demand, there would be a market.
This was an iron law, not subject to change by human will.
Ding Huan left the Rest Inn in disguise, and upon leaving, he first found a small workshop market.
Markets like these were countless in Four-direction City, as many as one might need.
There was never a shortage of people in any market in Four-direction City.
Ding Huan wandered around the workshop market and was surprised to find that even in this small market, near-Magic Artifacts were for sale.
Did that mean that the real big Trading Buildings definitely had Magic Artifacts for sale?
This discovery greatly pleased Ding Huan; once he had the money, he would certainly buy a Magic Flying Sword.
"How much is this?"
Ding Huan walked up to a stall selling ore materials, picked up a piece of Star Jade, and asked.
He had bought a lot of this type of Star Jade in the Little Star Corner Market, mainly for crafting talismans.
"Five purple gold coins," said the stall owner indifferently.
Ding Huan couldn’t be bothered to bargain; the price of Star Jade varied according to quality, and the quality of the piece in his hand was quite good.
"I haven’t been here long and would like to ask my friend. How many black markets are there around here, and where exactly?"
Ding Huan casually asked as he picked up the Star Jade.
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The existence of black markets was common knowledge, and Ding Huan’s direct question did not seem out of place.
Newcomers to Four-direction Star Land often did not know about the black market, while every day countless new people arrived in Four-direction Star Land.
"Three of them: Thorny Alley Black Market, Old Field Black Market, and Ye Baxing Black Market. Just go there around midnight, and it’s easy to find. Thorny Alley Black Market is the largest."
Seeing that Ding Huan was interested in buying his Star Jade, the stall owner replied straightforwardly.
To those in the workshop markets, the black market was common knowledge, with nothing worth hiding.
"I’ll take this one." Ding Huan threw out five purple gold coins, took the Star Jade, and quickly left.
Ding Huan did not return to the Rest Inn but went to another workshop market, where he continued to purchase materials for making talismans while gathering information about the black market.
By nightfall, Ding Huan had a clear understanding of the specific locations of the three black markets.
He did not choose the largest one, Thorny Alley Black Market, nor the smallest, Old Field Black Market, but settled on Ye Baxing Black Market.
According to the information he had gathered, Ye Baxing Black Market had the most complex crowd of people coming and going.
The boss of the black market was named Ye Baxing, an incredibly strong individual whom even the major families rarely offended.
When he felt it was about the right time, Ding Huan arrived at Ye Baxing Black Market.
Although it was an average-sized black market, it was just as bustling as the most vibrant commercial district.
Stalls were set up haphazardly, with anyone free to peddle their wares and anyone welcome to make purchases.
No commission is required.
However, every person who enters the black market, whether to set up a stall or to purchase items, must pay a purple gold coin.
Although a purple gold coin isn’t much for those who can make it to Four-direction City, Ding Huan could see from the traffic that this night alone would likely start at a hundred thousand purple gold coins.
Ding Huan wandered around the black market for a while and discovered that there were quite a few Money Storage Token Exchange places.
The only difference was the commissions charged for Money Storage Token transactions, with the steepest one only offering seventy cents on the coin.
That is to say, if you have a hundred thousand purple gold coins on your Money Storage Token, you could only get up to seventy thousand purple gold coins when trading here.
Ding Huan had three Money Storage Tokens on him, two of which were from Jin, totaling one million and seven hundred thousand respectively.
There was another one from Sister Tou, worth over a hundred thousand.
After some comparison, Ding Huan chose the place that gave eighty cents on the coin.
There was another one offering ninety cents, but Ding Huan knew without entering that there had to be a catch.
The black market exists to make money, so why offer ninety percent if eighty-five percent was already the highest commission rate?
Places that exchanged for eighty percent were the most numerous and definitely wouldn’t have significant problems.
"Exchange money." Even though he was wearing a Disguise Mask, Ding Huan still covered his face.
No one inside the Money Storage Token Exchange cared whether Ding Huan covered his face or not, what they cared about were the number of Money Storage Tokens he brought in.
Trading purple gold coins in this place, it would actually be strange if the Money Storage Tokens had a legitimate origin. If they were legitimate, they would have been taken to the bank to withdraw the money, not to such a black market.
"How much?" A woman who was also covering her face asked.
"One million seven hundred thousand, can you offer a bit more?"
Ding Huan’s voice was hoarse.
The woman, who was initially indifferent, subconsciously looked up at Ding Huan.
There were many Money Storage Token transactions in the black market, but there were not many who traded one million seven hundred thousand at a time.
Any master with one million seven hundred thousand on a Money Storage Token would not be simple.
And since they were not simple, it was impossible for the Money Storage Tokens to have been robbed.
"Please wait." The woman seemed to press something.
A middle-aged man quickly emerged from a door inside.
Ding Huan’s Divine Will settled on the man, and he had an idea. This guy was also a cultivator, with strength somewhere between a Level 7 gene cultivator and Level 9.
What surprised Ding Huan was that the man was not wearing a mask.
"You want to trade one million seven hundred thousand in Money Storage Tokens?"
The middle-aged man fixated his gaze on Ding Huan as soon as he approached.
"That’s right, can you offer more?"
Ding Huan’s voice remained hoarse.
"We can do eighty-three percent."
The man spoke without shifting his gaze from Ding Huan.
"Deal." Ding Huan raised his hand, took out two Money Storage Tokens, and threw them on the table.
The middle-aged man grabbed the Money Storage Tokens and scrutinized them carefully, then nodded:
"They’re genuine. Wait here while I go get the money."
As he spoke, the man turned to leave. Though his speed was extremely fast, when he reached the door, he found Ding Huan blocking his way.
"Don’t leave with the tokens; drop the Money Storage Tokens first."
"Heh, look at me, I almost forgot, sorry, sorry."
The man handed the Money Storage Tokens back to Ding Huan, while his heart churned like stormy seas.
His own speed had been very fast, one of the few that could surpass him unless faced with a Foundation Establishment powerhouse.
Yet, even so, he still hadn’t managed to comprehend how Ding Huan had ended up blocking his path.
"If sorry worked, what would be the need for laws? You committed the first offense."
Ding Huan’s voice was icy.
He had conducted too many transactions in the black market to know that you absolutely can’t show weakness here, and you can never be too forgiving.
You have to be uncompromising, otherwise, you can end up at a loss or even targeted by others.
"I’ll give you eighty-five percent," the man said apologetically.
"Ninety percent." Ding Huan’s voice grew even colder.
According to the rules of the black market, with the Money Storage Token Exchange at fault first, Ding Huan had every right to make his demands.
As long as the demands were reasonable, they were valid.
Ding Huan’s demand for ninety percent was completely reasonable. If the exchange refused, it would be a matter of whether Ding Huan was ruthless enough.
If he was ruthless, he would surely break through.
"Fine, ninety percent it is. How much do you want in purple gold notes?" The middle-aged man seemed shrewd, appearing to acknowledge his mistake, he immediately agreed to Ding Huan’s request.
"Give me one million four hundred thousand in purple gold notes; the rest in purple gold coins."
Ding Huan quickly realized that carrying one million five hundred thousand purple gold coins, even if one coin was a hundred purple gold, would not be a small volume.
After nodding in agreement, the middle-aged man left swiftly.
Ding Huan was not worried unless a Foundation Establishment Cultivator came along.
Even if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator showed up, with his Escape Technique and the complex geography of the black market, he would still be able to get away.
This time the middle-aged man did not play any tricks and brought one million four hundred thousand in purple gold notes and thirteen thousand purple gold coins.
Ding Huan handed over the two Money Storage Tokens to the man and quickly walked off with the money bag.
"Uncle Lu, is this person very strong?"
After Ding Huan left, the woman finally asked.
"Very strong, I suspect he’s a Foundation Establishment powerhouse."
The middle-aged man known as Uncle Lu watched Ding Huan’s retreating figure, feeling a lingering fear.