The team thundered down the mountain slope, and after a few minutes, they approached the dark city gate, gradually slowing down and forming a line behind the flowing crowd, quietly waiting for the procession to enter. Standing before the carriage, Xiao Yan looked up at the massive, black-walled city gate. His gaze swept over the three bold characters at the center of the gate—"Black Seal City"—and then slowly descended, finally settling on the group of about fifteen black-robed, agile men stationed at the entrance. They appeared much like the city guards from outside, though here, anyone entering had to pay a substantial entrance fee—considerable enough to spark unrest in a realm like the Jia Ma Empire. Yet, in the Black Corner Domain, such a practice seemed entirely ordinary. "Get out of my way," he said, "stop dancing around me!" As Xiao Yan was taking in the city, which bore the distinctive style of the Black Thorns Region, a sharp, irritated shout suddenly erupted nearby. Turning his gaze, he saw a bearded man, perhaps growing impatient, lifting a slender man in front of him with a single palm. "Ah—" the bearded man's words barely finished when the slender man spun around swiftly, drawing a dagger swiftly from his sleeve, the blade flashing with a cold gleam and piercing directly toward the bearded man's throat. Fortunately, the latter reacted nimbly, retreating slightly with his neck, causing the dagger to slip and strike just half an inch below his throat. Blood erupted in a gush, and a sharp, piercing cry escaped the bearded man. After landing this devastating blow, the slender man twisted his body, then slid like a eel, retracting himself from his clothes and rolling into the nearby tree grove, vanishing completely. "Scum! I'm going to rip you to pieces!" With his eyes blazing, the bald man pulled out his dagger and, losing his composure, charged headlong into the undergrowth. Eventually, a voice identical to the earlier, piercing cry emerged from within the trees, gradually fading over a long while. Standing on the frame of the vehicle, Xiao Yan stared in open amazement at the jungle, hearing the final, desperate cry—knowing that the bald man likely wouldn’t make it. What surprised him most was that the bald man’s strength was only around two-star Battle Master level, while the slender man was merely at Battle Rank. With such a significant gap between them, the slender man had acted so decisively and without hesitation when he struck—so ruthless and calculated—that it was truly astonishing. Indeed, those who survived in Black Angular Domain were no ordinary individuals. Now, Xiao Yan truly felt this firsthand. "Hmm..." Xiao Yan nodded slightly, now fully understanding the rules of Black-Angle Domain. The earlier clash between the two had been merely a minor incident, only drawing a few spectators' attention, with few expressing any admiration or astonishment. The procession moved steadily forward, and after nearly half an hour, it finally reached the turn for Doma's caravan. As they approached the city gate, Xiao Yan swiftly handed over a large bag of gold coins. He noticed clearly that, while presenting the large bag, the man also concealed a smaller one in his hand. The composed black-robed man received the coins, casually weighed them, his expression softened slightly, said nothing, and with a simple gesture, allowed Doma's merchant convoy to enter the city. "I'd like to take a walk around the city first. By the way, which shop in Blackmark City has the most variety in medicinal herbs?" Xiao Yan stepped down from the carriage and looked up, asking. "Medicinal herbs? Naturally, it's the 'Thousand Herbs Hall.' As long as you have enough money, you can find rare herbs that are hard to come by even outside the city." Domah smiled. "Thank you. Then I'll say goodbye here for now and catch up with you again later." Nodding to Domah, Xiao Yan didn't wait for any formalities, but instead stepped into the crowd and quickly disappeared into the flow of people. "Ah, I hope we do meet again. Still, among the annual deaths in Blackhorn Domain, the mortality rate among newcomers is the highest—especially among the young, capable individuals. They're full of energy, never know when to temper their ambition, clearly destined to have short lives. But this young man seems much more promising. If he only sharpened his resolve a bit more, he might just make it in Blackhorn Domain." Staring at the figure of Xiao Yan fading into the distance, Doma chuckled softly, then waved his hand, directing the convoy onto a different street. ... As he walked slowly along the street, Xiao Yan's gaze continually swept across the shops lining both sides. Yet what truly left him bewildered was the sheer chaos—within less than a hundred meters, he had already witnessed no fewer than ten altercations, several of them escalating into bloody duels. For such a city, the only word that could adequately describe it was: chaotic. After avoiding a few of the intense clashes, Xiao Yan turned down two street corners and walked for nearly twenty minutes. Finally, his scanning gaze settled on a spacious shop sign, bearing the elegant, ancient characters "Qian Yao Fang" in a soft red hue. "This must be it." Whispering softly to himself, Xiao Yan quickened his pace and stepped into this impressive apothecary. Immediately, a rich blend of over a hundred distinct herbal scents rushed toward him, making it hard to resist the urge to sneeze. Inside, the apothecary was vast, with long rows of neatly arranged crystal counters stretching across the space. Transparent counters displayed a wide variety of herbs. At this moment, numerous people paused before each counter, their lively conversations weaving through the space. As Xiao Yan slowly approached the crystal counters, his gaze swept across them, his eyes widening in astonishment. As Doma had mentioned, the herbs within this "Thousand Herbs Apothecary" were indeed hard to find outside—Xiao Yan had no idea how they managed to gather such a large and diverse collection of rare herbs. Shaking his head in astonishment, Xiao Yan glanced over the price marked beneath the herbs, only to be struck once again by surprise. Although high-tier "Wood Spirit Three-Needle Flowers" were rare outside, their usual price was around fifty thousand coins—here, however, the price had nearly tripled. "Seventeen thousand coins per plant... These people should simply go ahead and seize them." Xiao Yan shook his head silently, remaining speechless. Given his current financial standing, it seemed he couldn't even afford a single "Wood Spirit Three-Needle Flower." He sighed with a wry smile, then slowly scanned the crystal counter once more. After a while, he finally stopped at the last counter, his expression somewhat numb. Indeed, during his earlier inspection, he had found all the herbs required to craft a "Fuzi Spirit Pill." However, upon calculating the total cost, he realized that purchasing them all would require at least... around 870,000. "A real black sheep store," he murmured softly. "If Hai Lao were here, things would be much easier. As the Senior Grand Elder of the Mitel family, he would surely be able to raise such funds." As he spoke, Xiao Yan felt a growing sense of embarrassment. Previously, he had never given much thought to financial matters. Now, after entering the Black Spire Domain, he found himself struggling with money for the first time. "Master, what should we do now?" he asked himself, with a quiet sense of resignation. "Hehe, I've already told you—within the Black Corner Region, without money, you're simply stuck." The herbalist chuckled. "What else can you do? If you don't wish to barter, then forget about the Fuzi Ling Dan for now. Instead, use the remaining funds to purchase the herbs needed to prepare two batches of Sanwen Qingling Dan. Then go to the auction hall and sell the finished pills. Otherwise, you'll never manage to secure those herbs." "Ah, well, that's the only option left," sighed Xiao Yan, turning once again to search for the herbs for the Sanwen Qingling Dan. Fortunately, Sanwen Qingling Dan is only a fourth-rank pill, so the cost of its required herbs is far less than that of the Fuzi Ling Dan. "By the way, I almost forgot to mention something important—this will surely add to the strain on your already tight finances." The herbalist's delighted, somewhat pitying laughter made Xiao Yan feel a bit uneasy. "Since you've set your sights on the 'Falling Heart Flame,' you must prepare as thoroughly as you did when you first consumed the Qinglian Earth Heart Fire." The Herbal Elder smiled. "Back then, your success was greatly enhanced thanks to the Blood Lotus Pill, which protected you. However, the Falling Heart Flame ranks 14th on the List of Unique Flares—significantly stronger than the 19th-ranked Qinglian Earth Heart Fire. Therefore, your preparations this time must be even more comprehensive." "Hmm... I almost completely forgot about that." Xiao Yan blinked, then suddenly realized—hadn't his success in consuming the Qinglian Earth Heart Fire been far from certain, had it not been for the Blood Lotus Pill? "What exactly should we prepare this time?" Xiao Yan asked, his voice filled with anticipation. "Six-rank pills—specifically, the Earth Spirit Pill. As for materials, there aren't many: just four. The Earth Heart Fire Mushroom, the Dragon Hair Ice-Flame Fruit, the Qingmu Immortal Vine, and one Water-type Magmatic Core from the Sixth Stage." "Those quiet words suddenly made Xiao Yan's footsteps stiffen. His mouth slightly twitched—without even hearing the names of the three herbs, which he had never encountered before, merely the last one sent a surge of frustration through him. A sixth-stage magical core? Did he really have to fight a sixth-stage super beast capable of matching a Battle Sovereign-level warrior? Was that really the way to die?"