"Well, well," the newcomer said, his voice carrying an unpleasant resonance that made Wei Lin's teeth ache. "What have we here? An Azure Peak disciple so far from home, playing with powers he shouldn't understand."

Wei Lin straightened, keeping his expression carefully neutral despite the alarm bells ringing in his mind. The spiritual pressure emanating from this man wasn't just powerful, it was tainted, corrupted in a way that made the Shadow Fox's energy seem almost pure by comparison. But what was most concerning was the cultivation – Eighth Stage Qi Condensation.

"I'm merely passing through," Wei Lin replied evenly, gesturing to the fox corpse. "This creature attacked me, and I defended myself."

The demonic cultivator laughed. "And then you proceeded to harvest its demonic essence." He tilted his head, those unsettling eyes studying Wei Lin with disturbing intensity.

Wei Lin felt an uncomfortable sensation, as though invisible fingers were probing at his consciousness. The stranger's gaze seemed to pierce through his physical form, reaching for something deeper.

"Interesting that an Azure Peak disciple would know such techniques," the man continued. "More interesting still that you would come so deep into these mountains alone." His blood-ringed eyes narrowed slightly. "Seven stalls in your marketplace, and an eighth under construction. How... enterprising."

Wei Lin stiffened. "How could you possibly know that?"

The stranger's lips curved into a thin smile. "The Abyssal Eye technique. A little gift from my dying master before I devoured him." He tapped one finger beside his disturbing eyes. "It allows me to glimpse the structure of another cultivator's inner world. Most useful for identifying which prey is worth consuming."

"You can see my inner world?" Wei Lin asked, genuinely disturbed by the violation. The structure of one's inner world was intensely private, even trusted allies rarely shared such intimate knowledge.

"Only its general architecture," the man clarified. "Enough to recognize a marketplace of energies." He performed a mocking bow. "I am Zhao Xun of the Crimson Vein Sect, and I find it most curious to discover an Azure Peak disciple secretly cultivating demonic arts."

"You're mistaken," Wei Lin replied, shaking his head firmly. "My cultivation method isn't demonic."

Zhao Xun's laughter erupted again, harsh and mocking. "I know what demonic cultivation looks like, little merchant. It doesn't matter how righteous cultivators dress it up to appear good. That," he pointed at Wei Lin's chest, "is a demonic technique."

Wei Lin took a careful step backward, maintaining the distance between them. "I have no quarrel with you or your sect. If it's the fox you want, you're welcome to it. I'll be on my way."

"So generous," Zhao Xun's smile widened, revealing teeth filed to points. "But I'm afraid I can't let such an opportunity pass. Not only do I want that corpse and the essence you've harvested, but I'm quite interested in draining you as well. Seven different energy types, all neatly organized in one cultivator? That's a feast I rarely encounter."

Wei Lin's heart raced as he realized negotiation wasn't an option. He needed to escape immediately. Without warning, he pulled from his wind stall, channeling every bit of remaining wind essence into pure speed as he turned and bolted for the densest part of the forest.

He made it perhaps twenty yards before darkness erupted from the ground before him, coalescing into a wall of writhing shadows that blocked his path. Wei Lin skidded to halt, immediately changing direction, only to find Zhao Xun standing directly in his path.

"Running already?" Zhao Xun chided. "I expected more from someone clever enough to develop a seven-energy system."

Wei Lin backed away, his options rapidly dwindling. "I don’t want to fight you."

"Wise, but irrelevant," Zhao Xun replied, raising his hands in a peculiar formation. "Your wants ceased to matter the moment I decided to claim you."

The air between them darkened as Zhao Xun's spiritual energy manifested, not as the typical colorful qi most cultivators displayed, but as ribbons of absolute darkness that seemed to devour the twilight around them.

Left with no choice, Wei Lin dropped into a combat stance and prepared for battle.

"Hungry Shadow Scripture," Zhao Xun whispered. "First movement: Devouring Tendrils."

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The darkness around him exploded outward in dozens of whip-like appendages, each ending in a mouth-like opening filled with needle-like protrusions.

Wei Lin pulled from his fire stall, creating a barrier of flames that intercepted the tendrils.

Where fire met shadow, hissing steam erupted, filling the clearing with an acrid fog.

Using the momentary cover of steam, Wei Lin circulated his remaining qi, distributing it evenly among his seven stalls to provide maximum flexibility. Within his inner world, the marketplace became a flurry of activity as spiritual energy was traded, converted, and optimized for battle.

When the steam cleared, Zhao Xun stood exactly where he had been, looking completely unperturbed. "Interesting defense," he commented. "Most cultivators rely on a single element or perhaps two. You shift between them with unusual fluidity."

Wei Lin didn't waste breath responding. Instead, he pulled from his earth stall, stomping his foot to send a wave of stone spikes erupting toward Zhao Xun. Simultaneously, he converted a portion of his lightning essence to sound, releasing a disorienting pulse that distorted perception in a ten-yard radius.

Zhao Xun vanished into shadow as the stone spikes reached him, reappearing to Wei Lin's right with his hand extended. "Hungry Shadow Scripture, Second Movement: Consumption Palm."

Wei Lin barely managed to become partially intangible using void energy as Zhao Xun's hand passed through his shoulder. Even that brief, immaterial contact sent waves of cold revulsion through Wei Lin's body, as though some essential part of him had been touched by corruption.

"You're full of surprises, merchant,” Zhao Xun's eyes widened in genuine surprise before narrowing with increased interest. “Your combat ability rivals that of a regular eighth-stage cultivator."

The battle continued with increasing intensity. Wei Lin drew on every technique in his arsenal, constantly shifting between energy types to keep Zhao Xun off-balance. He conjured blades of hardened water that froze shadows on contact, created lightning chains that temporarily illuminated the darkness Zhao Xun controlled, and used sound vibrations to disrupt the demonic cultivator's concentration.

Throughout the exchange, Wei Lin began to absorb small quantities of shadow energy whenever possible, storing it in the temporary holding area within his inner marketplace. Something about this energy was different from the demonic qi he'd harvested from beasts, purer in its corruption, if such a contradiction could exist.

And to his surprise, the captured energy began to interact with his eighth stall in unexpected ways, catalyzing reactions with the demonic seed at its center. But what was most exciting was the faintest outline of what might eventually become a ninth stall developing beside the eighth stall.

For a time, the fight seemed almost even, with neither gaining a clear advantage. Zhao Xun's expression shifted from amused confidence to focused concentration as he was forced to exert genuine effort.

"You've exceeded my expectations," Zhao Xun admitted after a particularly clever combination forced him to defend rather than attack. "But as you've probably realised by now, I am not a regular eighth-stage cultivator either."

With those words, the atmosphere around them changed dramatically. The very air seemed to thicken, taking on a gelatinous quality as shadows pooled at Zhao Xun's feet, spreading outward in a widening circle.

"Hungry Shadow Scripture, Fourth Movement: Realm of the Devouring Void."

Wei Lin's eyes widened in shock as he recognized what was happening. The clearing began to transform in ways that defied normal cultivation techniques. This wasn't merely an energy projection or battle aura, Zhao Xun was creating a domain, imposing a portion of his inner world directly onto reality itself.

"Impossible," Wei Lin whispered, genuine fear creeping into his voice for the first time. "Domain manifestation at the Qi Condensation realm?"

Domain techniques were legendary abilities, typically mastered only by cultivators who had reached the Stellar Realm or beyond. There were only a handful of Elemental Realm cultivators who had achieved such feats. For someone still in Qi Condensation to manifest a domain, no matter how limited in scope, was nothing short of miraculous.

"The Hungry Shadow Scripture is no ordinary cultivation method," Zhao Xun explained. "It teaches that all boundaries are illusions—between worlds, between beings, between life and death. Most cultivators strengthen the barriers of their inner world; I learned to dissolve mine."

The ground beneath them softened, becoming membranous and pulsating, like the floor of some vast digestive tract. The trees at the edge of the clearing warped, bark peeling back to reveal pulsing, vein-like structures beneath. Even the air became heavy with the scent of iron and decay.

"My sect has sacrificed thousands to perfect this technique," Zhao Xun continued, spreading his arms wide as the transformation reached its peak. "Centuries of forbidden research, generations of cultivators who burned out their meridians attempting what I now accomplish with ease."

Wei Lin had heard whispers of such techniques, cultivation methods that allowed for precocious advancement but at terrible cost, typically involving mass sacrifice or soul corruption. He'd dismissed them as cautionary tales meant to warn disciples away from demonic paths.

"Behold the Devouring Cathedral," Zhao Xun proclaimed with perverse pride. "Within its halls, all energies are consumed, broken down, and converted to shadow. Your marketplace may trade at a loss, little merchant, but my Cathedral suffers no such inefficiency. Everything it takes, it keeps."

Wei Lin stared in horror as the transformation completed around him.

This demonic cultivator's method was the perfect counter to his own. Where the Merchant's Path celebrated exchange, accepting loss for the sake of versatility, the Hungry Shadow Scripture rejected the very concept of fair trade. It only took. It never gave.

In his inner world, Wei Lin's marketplace trembled as if recognizing an existential threat to its foundational principles.

"A cultivation method that denies the very concept of exchange," Wei Lin whispered, his voice nearly lost in the oppressive atmosphere. "How can I fight something that fundamentally negates everything I am?"