Yue Qingqian waited in the darkness outside the Blackwind Caverns entrance, the wind whistling eerily around her. An hour felt like an eternity. She held the small communication stone, her thumb hovering over its smooth surface, resisting the urge to send the 'status check' pulse. Trusting her Senior Brother's silence was part of the plan.
Finally, the agonizing hour passed. No signal. It was time.
Taking a deep, calming breath, she adjusted her copper mask, pulled the hood of her grimy robe lower, and approached the two silent, black-clad gatekeepers. Like Lin Fan, she presented the Serpent's Eye token without a word. The same ritual occurred: a wisp of black energy verified the token, a curt nod was given, and the illusionary barrier shimmered open.
She stepped inside, and the immediate sensory assault – the howling wind, the disorienting darkness, the chaotic energy – hit her hard. Despite Lin Fan's descriptions, the reality was more unsettling. She immediately activated her own 'Direction Sense' talisman and began navigating the treacherous tunnels, following the faint markings Lin Fan had told her to look for. Her 'Breath-Concealing Pearl' and the practiced, erratic breathing technique helped her blend into the cavern's chaotic aura. She moved with the cautious, wary steps of the scavenger persona they had crafted.
After what felt like an age, the wind died down, replaced by the low hum of the hidden market. She entered the vast cavern, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim, flickering soul-fire light. The sheer number of cloaked, masked figures and the dangerous, illicit nature of the goods on display sent a shiver down her spine. This place radiated peril.
Remembering her instructions, she kept her head down, avoiding eye contact, and began slowly circling the cavern, her gaze seemingly scanning the stalls but actually searching for the rendezvous point. The oppressive atmosphere, thick with suspicion and greed, was suffocating.
Finally, she spotted it – the massive, collapsed stalactite formation near the eastern wall, casting deep shadows. She subtly altered her path, drifting towards it like a piece of flotsam caught in a current.
As she entered the shadowed alcove, a hand emerged from the deepest darkness and gently gripped her arm. She didn't flinch; she had expected it. It was Lin Fan. He gave her arm a single, quick squeeze – the pre-arranged 'all clear' signal.
He drew her deeper into the shadows, behind a jagged pillar of rock where they were almost completely concealed. He didn't speak, instead pointing towards three specific stalls scattered across the cavern floor.
Through their shared mental connection, refined through months of training, Lin Fan transmitted the information: 'Three potential targets. Frost-mist stall – rare cold-attribute materials. Hulking guard stall – unrefined, possibly newly acquired ores. Hunched figure stall – miscellaneous geological oddities.'
Yue Qingqian scanned the targets. The frost-mist stall seemed unlikely; Deep Ocean Black Iron wasn't primarily ice-attribute. The hunched figure seemed too small-time for such a rare find. Her gaze settled on the stall guarded by the silent, massive figure. Piles of rough, unrefined ores lay scattered on rough-spun cloths. It fit Old Man Chen's description of scavengers selling a difficult-to-handle haul.
She subtly tilted her head towards that stall. Lin Fan gave a barely perceptible nod in agreement. 'Most likely target. Observe first.'
They watched the stall for several minutes. The hulking guard remained motionless, his aura dense and unreadable. Few customers approached; the wares were clearly not for casual buyers. One cloaked figure did engage the guard in a brief, hushed conversation, examined a dark, fist-sized rock, shook his head, and walked away. Was that it? Impossible to tell from this distance.
Lin Fan needed more information, but a direct approach was too risky. He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating. He wasn't extending his spiritual sense broadly, which could be detected. Instead, he focused a single, incredibly fine thread of his senses, weaving it through the chaotic energies of the market like a strand of spider silk, aiming it towards the stall. He wasn't probing the guard, which would be instantly noticed. He was 'listening' to the ores themselves.
Most were inert, common spiritual iron, obsidian fragments, low-grade crystals. But then, he felt it – emanating from a small, cloth-wrapped bundle tucked away near the back of the stall, almost hidden from view. A faint, deep, energy-absorbing quality, and a subtle resonance that felt... heavy. Spatially dense. It matched the fragmented descriptions of Deep Ocean Black Iron.
He opened his eyes, giving Yue Qingqian another subtle nod. 'Target confirmed. Bundle at the back. Now, the approach.'
He transmitted the final instructions: 'You initiate. Scavenger persona. Ask about dense ores for reinforcing digging tools. Low offer. Feign disinterest if price is too high. I will observe from here. If trouble starts, abort immediately. Go.'
Yue Qingqian took another centering breath. The familiar persona of the Dao Sage evaporated, replaced by the rough, wary demeanor of a desperate Outer Sect scavenger. She adjusted her mask, hunched her shoulders slightly, and stepped out of the shadows, walking towards the stall guarded by the silent giant. The most critical phase of Operation: Market Run had begun.