Master Tamer, Dragon Taming Reins (5800)

The female undead was selling a motley collection of items, totaling over a dozen.

The most valuable among them was that cursed spearhead.

Just like her identity, being undead, the items she sold were also ominous objects.

But Cao Xing was very interested.

After all, this was a Legendary-quality item!

"May I take a look at your goods first?"

Upon hearing this, the female undead chuckled, "Of course you may."

After saying this, she drifted away from the counter.

Cao Xing swept his gaze over.

The attributes of each item appeared before him.

[Tier 4 Soul Shock Magic Scroll]

[Item Effect: After injecting a small amount of mana, you can directly cast the Tier 4 undead magic, Soul Shock, dealing 178% mental damage to the enemy and causing them to fall into a state of confusion for 1–3 seconds.]

[Tier 4 Ghost Summoning Magic Scroll]

[Item Effect: After injecting a small amount of mana, you can summon two ghosts with the strength of Level 35 Elites to assist in battle; the ghosts last for 120 seconds.]

[Ghost Potion]

[Potion Effect: After use, you can enter a ghostly state, freely passing through walls and other structures, and become immune to 30% of physical attacks. During this period, you cannot launch attacks. The effect lasts for 5 minutes.]

[Evil Spirit Eyeball: Special Material]

[Item Effect: An eyeball possessing an evil aura; it seems to be a key material for crafting a certain alchemical potion.]

Cao Xing scanned them one by one.

He found these items quite interesting.

Finally, he rested his gaze on the most expensive item in the entire shop.

It was a spearhead emitting a dark aura.

It was covered in rust and looked extremely old, yet it brought a stinging sensation to Cao Xing.

This piqued Cao Xing's interest.

He glanced at its attributes.

[Cursed Spearhead (Legendary)]

[Item Effect: Enemies hit by this spearhead will be afflicted with the 'Soul-Severing Curse' effect.]

[Soul-Severing Curse: Reduces the target's armor by 5% and causes them to lose 5% of their HP over 60 seconds. This effect can be applied to creatures below the Legendary rank.]

(Note: Originally the spearhead of the Legendary weapon—Soul Taker Spear, but because the divine power on the weapon has completely dissipated, it has lost the possibility of restoration.)

Cao Xing thought to himself, "As expected."

Although this thing was a Legendary-quality item, because the divine power had dissipated, it could no longer be restored.

In this black market, it was indeed not easy to find a bargain.

But regardless, the effect of this spearhead was still quite good.

It even had a percentage-based HP drain effect, which was very powerful!

Therefore, he said directly, "Give me all the magic scrolls of both types, plus two bottles of Ghost Potion, and this spearhead—I want them all."

Cao Xing could be described as wealthy and imposing; he bought whatever he took a liking to right away!

Hearing this, the female undead across from him grinned with an exaggerated smile.

For her, it seemed she hadn't encountered such a generous customer in a long time.

The female undead spoke, "No problem, generous customer."

Then, both parties conducted the transaction.

[Transaction successful: You obtained [Ghost Potion] * 2, you obtained [Cursed Spearhead] * 1, you obtained…, you lost [crowns] * 1,126,000…]

He spent over a million crowns directly, obtaining a total of 5 undead magic scrolls, 2 potions, and a Legendary weapon fragment.

But considering the nearly 60 million in massive funds in Cao Xing's backpack, it was nothing at all.

The female undead asked again in a hoarse voice, "Customer… is there anything else you need?"

Cao Xing shook his head, "Nothing else."

Then, he left the shop, with the female undead's farewell sounding from behind him.

"Customer, please walk slowly…"

After the door closed, a smile hung on the corner of Cao Xing's mouth.

"The black market does have some good things; I was even able to find a fragment of a Legendary weapon."

"After I go back, I'll have Harold make a new spear shaft for this, and it'll be another powerful weapon!"

Cao Xing thought happily.

This made him look forward even more to what good things he could buy later.

Therefore, he continued strolling around the first floor of the ancient castle, pushing open door after door.

However, what disappointed him was that after pushing open the doors of three more shops, the items sold inside were quite ordinary.

And the identities of these shopkeepers were quite strange.

Cao Xing encountered werewolves, kobolds, and halflings, but he just didn't encounter any humans.

The entire ancient castle was like a dance of demons; it seemed all kinds of monsters hiding in human society had come out.

This also opened his eyes.

Soon, Cao Xing had used up his five door-opening opportunities on the first floor.

This ancient castle seemed to have a special identification mechanism.

When he wanted to open the sixth door, there was absolutely no reaction.

Cao Xing thought to himself, "The opportunities for the first floor are used up; now, let's go to the second floor and take a look."

He went straight to the second floor.

The number of people here was much fewer than on the first floor.

In the dark corridor, heads were moving.

However, everyone was still keeping silent, just like below.

As Cao Xing pushed open door after door.

The items inside were indeed of much higher quality than those on the first floor.

Such as some purple sets, golden items, high-level life potions, and so on…

But these were not what he wanted, and the prices were very expensive.

Cao Xing himself had a Master-level Alchemist, so naturally, he didn't look down on these things.

So he didn't buy any of them, but continued searching.

Soon, his five opportunities for the second floor were also used up.

In the end, he only found one thing that moved his heart.

It was a damaged energy core, which cost him a full 1.8 million crowns to buy.

He glanced at the attributes.

[Master-level Energy Core (Repairable)]

[Status: Damaged]

[Materials required for repair: Mithril * 2500, Eternal Gold Ingot * 500, Magic Pattern Stone * 300, master-level elemental crystal * 20]

(Note: An energy core that has been damaged, but the core components remain intact and can continue to be used after repair.)

A look of joy appeared on Cao Xing's face again.

"According to the goblin Locke, the Earth Dragon Mecha can continue to be upgraded, but it requires a more advanced energy core."

"After I go back, I'll have him repair this energy core, and I can start the metamorphosis of the Earth Dragon Mecha."

"By then, I will have one more Master-level combat force."

He happily put it into his backpack.

Having found another good item in the black market, Cao Xing was in a pretty good mood.

"The ten rooms on the first and second floors were all selling some weird and strange things."

"And according to Jess, the real good stuff is on the third floor of the ancient castle."

"I hope… the black market shops on the third floor can give me a few more surprises."

His biggest goal for this trip to the black market was to find a way to tame griffins.

Whether it was a contract scroll or something else, as long as he could tame the griffins, Cao Xing was willing to pay a high price to buy it.

After all, these adult griffins were at least Tier 5 boss-level creatures, and their combat power was quite powerful.

Of course, if there really wasn't any, he would just have to think of other ways.

Thinking of this, he stepped directly onto the third floor of the ancient castle.

The third floor seemed even more eerie.

The number of people here was clearly much fewer than on the two floors below.

Walking along the corridor, Cao Xing pushed open the first door.

Inside was a room with dim lighting.

The air exuded a faint scent of herbs.

The layout was the same as the rooms below, with several cargo cabinets displaying various goods.

And sitting behind the counter was a woman in her thirties, approaching forty.

She was wearing a red dress and a red hat on her head, with her head lowered so her face couldn't be seen.

Cao Xing also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, I've encountered a normal human."

However, this seemed to be just what Cao Xing considered normal.

When this woman raised her head, a face with a touch of horror appeared.

Half of her face was disfigured, with three shocking scars on it, which seemed to be claw marks left by some terrifying creature.

"Customer, what would you like?"

The woman's slightly low voice rang out.

Cao Xing's pupils moved slightly, but he didn't show any abnormality.

He asked calmly, "What do you sell here?"

The woman with the scar on her face in front of him chuckled, "Customer, please take a look."

[Mysterious Woman: Samantha Fletcher is opening her product list to you, do you agree?]

"Yes."

In an instant, a large pile of items appeared in front of him.

[White Mist Orchid (Purple)]: Price 4000 crowns (Stock 247)

[Dragon Blood Grass (Gold)]: Price 21,000 crowns (Stock 153)

[Aurora Grass (Gold)]: Price 22,000 crowns (Stock 162)

[Keda Flower (Gold)]: Price 330,000 crowns (Stock 10)

[Blood Crystal Fruit (Gold)]: Price 1.12 million crowns (Stock 12)

[Weilun Flower (Gold)]: Price 1.07 million crowns (Stock 11)

[Dark Night Abyss Fruit (Orange)]: Price 5 million crowns (Stock 1)

Cao Xing's eyes widened slightly; there were actually so many Gold-quality herbs here.

And among them was a material he urgently needed—Keda Flower!

This thing was the main material for crafting Epic-quality secret medicine.

Cao Xing scanned the surrounding shelves.

The attributes of these herbs were immediately taken in by his eyes.

This was the convenience of the system function.

And looking like this, Cao Xing really discovered some good things.

Soon, he made his decision.

"I need all the Keda Flowers, and that Dark Night Abyss Fruit!"

As for the other herbs, such as Dragon Blood Grass, Aurora Grass, and so on, although they were all very important.

But the price was too expensive; to buy them, it would cost several million crowns.

Besides, he had a better way to obtain them, which was the trading market.

With a base of over 900,000 people in the four major districts, some lucky people would discover these herbs every day.

By then, it would be more cost-effective to use the items in his hand to trade with Survivors.

The woman in the red hood heard this, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Very well, 10 Keda Flowers, that's a total of 3.3 million crowns."

"The Abyssal Night Fruit is 5 million crowns, so 8.3 million crowns in total will suffice."

Cao Xing paid the crowns readily and completed the transaction.

[Transaction successful, you have obtained [Keda Flower (Gold)] * 10, you have obtained [Abyssal Night Fruit (Orange)] * 1, you have lost 8.3 million coins…]

With the items in hand, Cao Xing let out a sigh of relief.

The woman looked at him and continued to ask, "This guest, is there anything else you want?"

Cao Xing shook his head. "No, that's all."

After saying this, he turned and walked towards the door.

"Clang!"

After the door closed.

Cao Xing glanced at his backpack.

When he first entered, he had 53 million crowns.

Upon coming out, only 45 million crowns remained.

In the blink of an eye, 8.3 million crowns had been spent.

But clearly, this money was well spent—very well spent!

Aside from the Keda Flowers, there was also this other orange fruit, which had quite good effects.

He glanced at the attributes.

[Abyssal Night Fruit (Orange)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: After consumption, immediately increases Dark Night Affinity by 20%, and increases skill intensity and casting speed by 20% for creatures with the Dark Night attribute]

(Note: Skill intensity includes stealth, damage, attack range, etc.)

…

"A 20% increase in Dark Night Affinity; it truly lives up to its Epic quality!"

Cao Xing held the strange-looking fruit, which was constantly emitting wisps of dark smoke, in his hands and marveled at it.

"Not bad, not bad. I've managed to find another good item in this black market."

"As expected, the items on the third floor are of much higher quality."

Thus, with a sense of anticipation, Cao Xing pushed open the second door.

The shopkeeper inside appeared to be a human as well.

They were selling some special weapons.

Among them were many golden staves, armor, and so on.

Cao Xing glanced at the prices and found that the weapons here were all too expensive.

He then left with little interest.

Next, he pushed open the third room.

He discovered that they were selling information—intelligence about various kingdoms, nobles, and some reclusive powerhouses.

It was of no use to Cao Xing.

He shook his head and walked out.

Cao Xing thought to himself: "There are only two chances left."

"I hope I can buy something to tame a griffin."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing walked straight ahead and pushed open the fourth door.

The room was dimly lit.

A man wearing a gray wolf-skin coat and a leather cap was leaning back on a rocking chair, resting with his eyes closed.

He looked to be in his forties, with a sturdy and brawny build, and exuded a unique aura.

Several wooden shelves were placed in the room, with some miscellaneous items scattered on them.

This caused a trace of disappointment to appear in Cao Xing's eyes.

But when his gaze landed on the shopkeeper, his pupils instantly constricted.

[Beast Tamer: Miles Gray]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 56 (Tier 6 Commander-level creature)]

[HP: 2,418,235 / 2,418,235]

[Attack: 13,581 ~ 14,231]

[Armor: 1,811 ~ 1,872]

[Skills: Master-level Battle Axe Mastery, Evisceration…]

[Life Skills: Master-level Beast Taming Mastery, Advanced Animal Language Mastery, Intermediate Survival Mastery]

[Talent: Animal Friend (Born to be loved by animals, increases Beast Taming success rate by 20%)]

(Note: As a child who grew up in the forest, Miles lived with various wild beasts from a young age. It wasn't until he was 27 that he first walked out of the forest and came into contact with human society…)

…

Good heavens! A Master-level Beast Tamer!

This seemingly ordinary middle-aged man was truly hiding his true capabilities!

You have to know, Count Winston only said that Merlind City had an Expert-level Beast Tamer.

It's likely that even he didn't know that a Master-level Beast Tamer was hidden inside this black market.

And this caused a glimmer of hope to rise in Cao Xing's heart.

"Guest, is there anything you need?" the burly man in the room asked somewhat lazily.

Cao Xing didn't waste any words, "Let me see the goods first."

The man nodded.

"No problem."

[Miles Gray is opening his goods list to you. Do you accept.]

"Yes."

Whoosh!

A large list of goods appeared before his eyes again.

[Advanced Pet Contract (Purple)]: Price 150,000 crowns (Stock 20)

[Special Pet Ration (Purple)]: Price 70,000 crowns (Stock 30)

[Book: Animal Language Introduction]: Price 330,000 crowns (Stock 1)

[Pet Collar (Gold)]: Price 1,000,000 crowns (Stock 2)

[Dragon Taming Reins (Orange)]: Price 100,000,000 crowns (Stock 1)

[Land-runner Egg]: Price 50,000 crowns (Stock 20)

[Master-level Pet Contract]: Price 2,000,000 (Stock 2)

…

This Master-level Beast Tamer sold many items.

From pet eggs to rations, as well as contracts and so on.

And what surprised Cao Xing the most was that Epic-quality Dragon Taming Reins.

Although Cao Xing hadn't seen the specific attributes of these reins yet, he knew just from the name that they must be extremely terrifying!

After all, it was related to dragons.

Cao Xing asked: "Can you let me see the effects of these goods of yours?"

Hearing this, the Master-level Beast Tamer said very casually.

"Sure."

Cao Xing, filled with anticipation, checked the item attributes.

[Book: Animal Language Introduction]

[Book Effect: Records the vocalizations of over a dozen common animals. After learning, one can communicate simply with some animals]

[Time required to read: 178 hours 34 minutes…]

…

[Pet Collar (Gold)]

[Quality: Rare]

[Item Effect: When worn by a pet, you can use it to sense the pet's location, with a maximum distance of 1,500 kilometers]

…

[Land-runner Egg]

[Item Type: Pet Egg]

[Item Effect: Can hatch a Common-quality Land-runner to serve as your pet or mount]

…

[Dragon Taming Reins (Orange)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Item Effect: Can be used on a dragon-type creature to force it to submit and become your pet]

(Note: The dragon-type creature's level cannot be higher than 50)

…

Seeing the prompt, Cao Xing was immediately shocked.

"It can actually force a dragon-type creature to submit and become a pet!"

"What a good item!"

However, creatures like dragons are at least Level 30 or higher the moment they hatch from their shells.

This [Dragon Taming Reins] is limited to Level 50 and below, which means it can only be effective on those young dragons.

But that doesn't matter; raising a young dragon allows for a deeper bond!

Cao Xing really wanted to buy the Dragon Taming Reins, but unfortunately, his pockets were empty.

He sighed.

He had thought that carrying tens of millions of crowns made him wealthy, but now he realized he still couldn't afford these precious items.

The Master-level Beast Tamer still had a faint smile on his face and asked: "Guest, is there anything you would like to buy?"

Cao Xing nodded. "Yes."

"But before that, I would like to ask you a question."

"I can pay for this consultation."

Hearing this, the other party pondered for a moment and replied: "Ask away."

Cao Xing said: "I want to know, do you have anything here that can quickly make a griffin submit?"

The middle-aged man listened, glanced at Cao Xing, and seemed to understand something.

He chuckled: "Creatures like griffins have immense strength and are also highly mobile; many people want to tame a griffin as their mount."

"However, these creatures are unruly. In general, even if you capture a griffin, they would rather die than submit."

Cao Xing nodded. "Yes, I have tried using Pet Contract Scrolls, but they had no effect on them."

The person opposite him listened, and a look of contemplation appeared in his eyes.

After a moment, he said: "Perhaps you could use Soul-Sedating Incense to calm these griffins down. If you then use the Contract Scroll, it will increase the success rate significantly."

Cao Xing's eyes instantly lit up. As expected of a Master-level Beast Tamer, he really did have a method.

"Then, may I ask, do you have Soul-Sedating Incense for sale?"

Hearing this, the Beast Tamer pondered for a moment. "I'll go look for it."

"Look for it?"

Cao Xing was bewildered.

The other party didn't offer any explanation but turned around and went to a corner to start rummaging through a pile of miscellaneous items.

Cao Xing's mouth twitched.

A moment later, the Beast Tamer appeared with half a stick of incense in his hand, covered in dust.

"Found it, but only half remains. It should last for about 20 more minutes. Do you still want it, guest?"

Cao Xing nodded quickly. "Of course!"

"But I would like to ask, can this Soul-Sedating Incense work on a Griffin King?"

When the man heard "Griffin King," he looked at Cao Xing with an intrigued gaze.

He seemed somewhat surprised that he was actually aiming for a Griffin King.

The Beast Tamer nodded. "Theoretically, it is possible, but taming a Griffin King is not easy."

"Even with the Soul-Sedating Incense, because the Griffin King's life level is too high, it cannot guarantee a 100% success rate for the contract."

"Those Advanced or Expert-level Pet Scrolls basically won't have any effect; you might need a Master-level Pet Contract Scroll."

Cao Xing pondered for a moment; he happened to see that this person's shop had such an item for sale.

"Then I will take your Master-level Pet Scroll, as well as the Pet Collar and 30 Pet Rations."

Hearing this, the Master-level Beast Tamer's smile became even brighter.

"You are straightforward, guest. Since that is the case, I will throw in this half-stick of Soul-Sedating Incense for free."