Wei Lin slowly got to his feet, examining his hands as if seeing them for the first time. "Not exactly," he replied, his voice growing stronger with each word. "He tried to devour my cultivation using something called the Hungry Shadow Scripture. But my Merchant's Path has a fundamental advantage when it comes to energy exchange."

He looked down at the dead cultivator, his expression a complex mix of relief, disgust, and fascination. "He said his method denies the concept of exchange, that it only takes, never gives. But that's exactly why it failed against me. The Merchant's Path understands that all exchanges have two directions. When he tried to create a one-way channel into my inner world, my method instinctively established the return channel."

"So, you reversed his technique?" I asked, impressed despite my confusion.

"More than that," Wei Lin said, a hint of wonder in his voice. "His shadow energy catalyzed the formation of a new stall, what I'm calling the Black Market."

I frowned, something not adding up. "But I thought your Merchant's Path was only an Earth-rank cultivation method? How could it counter and reverse an Eighth Stage cultivator's technique so effectively?"

Wei Lin glanced around nervously, as if checking for eavesdroppers, before meeting my gaze directly. "It's not Earth-rank," he admitted quietly. "The Merchant's Path is actually a Beyond Heaven-rank method, like your World Tree Sutra."

My eyes widened. That explained a lot about Wei Lin's unusually rapid advancement and his ability to manipulate multiple energy types simultaneously. The principles I'd observed in his cultivation had always seemed remarkably versatile, too versatile for a mere Earth-rank method.

"Why hide it?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer.

Wei Lin sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "The same reason anyone with a complete Beyond Heaven-rank method keeps it secret. Those who cultivate such methods become targets. My father acquired it through... let's just say complicated means. The Wei Clan has gone to great lengths to present it publicly as a respectable but unremarkable Earth-rank method."

I nodded understanding. It was a familiar strategy in the cultivation world: hide your true strength until you have enough power to defend it.

In a way, I was fortunate that the World Tree Sutra was known to be incomplete and had such a notorious mortality rate. Had it been a complete method without such deadly drawbacks, I would have certainly become a target for every sect and power-hungry cultivator looking to acquire a Beyond Heaven method.

Sometimes, a dangerous reputation provided the best protection.

"I should have told you sooner," Wei Lin added, looking a little guilty. "But even within my own clan, only a handful of people know the truth. It wasn't about trusting you; it was about habit."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I understand better than most the value of keeping certain things private." After all, I was hardly in a position to criticize someone for keeping secrets about their cultivation.

Wei Lin smiled gratefully. "So, what brings you to the Blackfang Mountains, anyway? Not that I'm complaining about the timing."

I hesitated, deciding against revealing my true purpose, hunting for demonic blood to use in Ke Jun's Nexus connection ritual. "I had a bad feeling," I said instead, which wasn't entirely untrue. "After you and Lin Mei left, I couldn't shake the sense that something was wrong. I thought I'd check on you both, maybe get some battle practice in the process."

"Well, I'm glad you followed that feeling," Wei Lin laughed, though the sound held a slight edge of hysteria. "Had you arrived a few seconds later, I'd be missing my head right now."

We both turned our attention to the corpse of the demonic cultivator, its skin already beginning to gray and shrivel as the corrupted energy that had sustained it dissipated.

"His name was Zhao Xun, of the Crimson Vein Sect," Wei Lin explained. "A demonic cultivator who specialized in devouring other cultivators. He mentioned hunting disciples from righteous sects as a regular practice."

"Charming," I remarked dryly. "What about his belongings? Any useful treasures?"

Wei Lin nodded, kneeling to search the body. He retrieved a black medallion from inside Zhao Xun's robes, holding it up for my inspection.

"He called this the Void Eater's Seal," Wei Lin explained. "It can nullify other treasures, even extremely powerful ones like my Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl. You should take it."

"Me?" I asked, surprised by the offer.

"You saved my life," Wei Lin insisted, pressing the disk into my palm. "Had you not interfered, this wouldn't have made any difference. I'd be dead, and he'd have consumed my cultivation instead of the other way around. Consider it proper compensation."

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As my fingers closed around the medallion, information about its capabilities flowed into my mind.

The Void Eater's Seal could indeed nullify treasures from the Qi Condensation realm all the way up to the Stellar Realm, rendering them temporarily inert. However, it had clear limitations: it could only target one treasure at a time, and its effective range was limited to about twenty feet. Still, the ability to neutralize even a Stellar Realm artifact, if only temporarily, made it an invaluable defensive tool.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, slipping the medallion into my storage ring.

Wei Lin nodded in response before continuing to search the body, his expression growing increasingly disappointed as he checked Zhao Xun's pockets and robes. Finally, he removed a simple iron storage ring from the demonic cultivator's right hand.

"Let's see if there's anything about his cultivation method in here," Wei Lin murmured, channeling a bit of qi into the ring to inventory its contents. "Understanding more about the Hungry Shadow Scripture might help me better comprehend my new Black Market stall."

After a few moments, he sighed with clear disappointment. "Nothing useful. Just a few hundred spirit stones and some basic supplies. No manuals, no technique scrolls, not even notes."

That made sense.

Demonic cultivators typically traveled light, carrying only essentials. They either consumed resources immediately upon acquisition, converting everything into cultivation advancement on the spot, or they secured their prized possessions in hidden caches far from their hunting grounds. Every day was a struggle for survival in their world; carrying valuable treasures only made them targets for other predators.

I couldn't tell which approach Zhao Xun had preferred, but with the tournament rapidly approaching, I had no time to scour the Blackfang Mountains for potential hiding places. Besides, the corpse itself was prize enough for my purposes.

"Keep the spirit stones," I suggested. "Consider them additional compensation for what you went through."

Wei Lin nodded gratefully as he slipped the storage ring onto his finger. After a moment, his gaze returned to Zhao Xun's body lying on the forest floor.

"What do we do with the rest of him?" I asked, studying the corpse.

"You want the actual body?" Wei Lin asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

I nodded. "It might be useful for…research purposes.”

Wei Lin looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sure, but let me drain the remaining demonic qi first. That's what I came all this way for, after all."

He knelt beside Zhao Xun's body and produced a specialized jade container from his storage ring. He traced a complex pattern over the corpse, his fingers glowing with a faint green light.

"Merchant's Collection," he murmured, pressing both palms against the dead cultivator's chest.

I watched with fascination as streams of dark, oily energy began to rise from the corpse like smoke, swirling in the air before being drawn into Wei Lin's jade container. The effect was mesmerizing, tendrils of shadow essence coiling and twisting as they were extracted, occasionally flashing with crimson highlights reminiscent of those blood-red rings that had encircled Zhao Xun's irises.

"The energy feels... different," Wei Lin observed, his voice distant with concentration. "More refined than what I've been collecting from beasts. Purer, in a twisted sort of way."

The extraction continued for nearly a minute, the flow of dark energy gradually diminishing until only wisps remained. Wei Lin captured these final traces before sealing the jade container with a satisfied nod.

"This should be more than enough to complete my final stall," he said, returning the container to his storage ring.

I noticed that as the demonic qi was drained, Zhao Xun's body seemed to age rapidly, the skin tightening against the bones as if decades were passing in moments. By the time Wei Lin finished, the once-imposing demonic cultivator looked more like a corpse centuries old rather than someone recently deceased.

"All yours," Wei Lin said, gesturing to the withered remains. "Though I'm not sure how much use it will be now. The demonic essence was what made it special."

I tried not to look too eager as I stored the corpse in my storage ring. Even drained of its demonic qi, the body still contained demonic blood, more than enough for Ke Jun's ritual.

"Every piece of information helps," I said vaguely.

Wei Lin looked mildly skeptical but shrugged. "If you say so. I got what I needed."

He stretched his arms overhead, wincing slightly as the movement pulled at some hidden injury. I noticed several rips in his robes were edged with dried blood. Despite his newfound strength, the fight had clearly taken its toll.

After a moment of surveying the battlefield, broken branches, scorched earth, and the faint lingering aura of demonic energy, Wei Lin sighed and bent to retrieve a small jade token that had fallen during the confrontation.

"We should head back to town," he suggested, pocketing the token and dusting off his torn robes. "Lin Mei is probably worried sick by now."

As we began the journey back toward the small town at the mountain's edge, I found myself considering the implications of what I'd witnessed.

Wei Lin's cultivation method seemed to walk a dangerous line between righteous and demonic paths, not entirely unlike my own situation with the blood statue in my inner world and my plans to use blood arts for accessing the Celestial Trade Nexus.

Perhaps that was the true nature of Beyond Heaven techniques, they transcended conventional morality, operating according to principles that existed above the typical righteous/demonic dichotomy.

After all, the most potent cultivation methods often involved reaching beyond established limits.

"You're awfully quiet," Wei Lin observed as we picked our way through a particularly tangled stretch of forest.

"Just thinking," I replied. "Today has been... educational."

Wei Lin laughed. "That's one way to put it. Wait until Lin Mei hears about this. She's going to be furious I went beyond our agreed hunting grounds."

"Probably," I agreed with a smile. "But I suspect she'll be too relieved to see you alive to stay angry for long."

As the corrupted forest began to thin, giving way to more natural growth, I cast one last glance over my shoulder at the darkened peaks of the Blackfang Mountains.

Somewhere in those depths, Zhao Xun had established himself as a predator, hunting disciples for their cultivation until he'd made the mistake of targeting someone with a Beyond Heaven method.

It was a sobering reminder that in the cultivation world, appearances were often deceiving.

A seemingly ordinary merchant's son might harbor one of the most powerful cultivation methods in existence.

A simple trading technique could counter and defeat a specialized devouring art.

And a quiet disciple with a tree growing in his inner world might just drive a demonic cultivator insane simply by being perceived.