Chapter 321: Tianhui Stone
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The presence that had been outside the house had disappeared at some point. Chen Fei approached to check on Ren Zhongyang’s condition, and it was evident that he had lost his source energy, and his vitality and spirit were severely damaged.
Chen Fei frowned slightly. This night in Despair City was unexpectedly dominating. Or rather, the rules of the entire Despair City seemed like a deathtrap for outsiders.
If it were a peak-level cultivator of the Aperture Tempering realm, they might be able to resist or even gain some benefits. However, someone like Ren Zhongyang, who was in the early stages of the Aperture Tempering realm with insufficient core soul energy to break through the mist, was utterly overwhelmed.
The people who came to this secret realm this time were all warriors in the early stages of the Aperture Tempering realm, with the highest among them about to step into the mid-stage, but they were still ultimately in the early stage.
During the murky daytime, they were directionless, and even if they were fortunate enough to survive during the day, this night’s inexplicable and tyrannical absorption of their vitality and spirit in their sleep would likely take many of them.
Of the dozens of Aperture Tempering cultivators who were drawn into Despair City this time, very few were likely to survive, including the other two members of the Primordial Sword Sect.
Fortunately, Feng Xiupu and Wei Yantao couldn’t make it due to their injuries and thus escaped this ordeal.
Chen Fei glanced at the rat demon in his sleeve. Because it had been close to him, it hadn’t suffered much loss of source energy, so it could be considered fortunate.
Chen Fei turned to look at the window. The incessant footsteps echoing in his ears were gradually dissipating, and in less than a dozen breaths, they had all disappeared.
“The current time is just around midnight, and the city gate will also open at midnight two days from now!”
A thought flashed through Chen Fei’s mind. It was dangerous to stay indoors now. How would he deal with being out on the main street two nights from now?
Chen Fei’s frown deepened. Could he just cut through Despair City with brute force? It was something he considered, but unfortunately, his current strength wouldn’t allow it.
The latter half of the night passed without any further incidents.
In the early morning, Ren Zhongyang woke up with a profound sense of weakness due to the loss of his source energy. He seemed as if he could collapse at any moment.
If Ren Zhongyang could break through the mist in his sea of consciousness at this moment, it wouldn’t have been so bad with his Aperture Tempering realm strength. Unfortunately, even when he wasn’t injured, he couldn’t break through the mist. With thirty percent of his source energy now taken away, breaking through the mist was even more impossible.
“You stay here. I’ll go outside and check. I’ll be back before nightfall!” Chen Fei said in a low voice.
“Alright,” Ren Zhongyang replied weakly, leaning against the wall.
Chen Fei appeared in the main hall of the medical hall. The head of the medical hall glanced at him and didn’t see Ren Zhongyang. His expression shifted slightly, surprised that Chen Fei had left his companion alone in the medical hall.
However, the head of the medical hall immediately remembered Chen Fei’s sinister methods. As long as Chen Fei didn’t actually run into trouble, they didn’t dare to touch Ren Zhongyang. After all, no one could predict how Chen Fei might retaliate.
Looking at Chen Fei’s expression, it was clear that last night’s situation had not affected him at all. In fact, the head of the medical hall had a sense that Chen Fei’s vitality and spirit had become even more vigorous.
This person was better left alone!
Chen Fei glanced at the people around him, hoisted his shoulder pole, and walked out of the medical hall. The entire street was bustling with activity, and compared to yesterday, it remained just as vibrant.
Carriages, horses, and pedestrians filled the streets. If one didn’t pay close attention, they might subconsciously believe they were in an ordinary city. Little did they know that this was the most terrifying city of all, the Despair City.
As Chen Fei strolled down the street, there were occasional stalls on either side. Chen Fei approached and took a look. The items being sold were everyday objects, but they all exuded the aura of the source.
Earlier, when Chen Fei’s spiritual wisdom was clouded, he had a sense that the items sold by the vendors were extraordinary, likely drawn by the aura of the source.
These vendors, upon seeing Chen Fei, had a hidden greed in their eyes, but none of them made any outrageous moves.
Chen Fei tried to sell his own fruits, but no one paid him any attention. It was evident that Chen Fei’s reputation had spread throughout this street.
As he walked further down the street, Chen Fei’s footsteps slowed. He looked towards a particular shop on the side. Unlike the other stores, this shop emitted the most concentrated source aura.
Chen Fei pondered for a moment and eventually entered this shop.
“Customer, what can 1 get you?” The shopkeeper greeted Chen Fei with a warm smile.
Chen Fei was somewhat surprised as he looked at the shopkeeper. Unlike the others who had cold or even malicious expressions, this was the first one Chen Fei encountered who didn’t display any peculiar emotions.
If it weren’t for the eerie aura emanating from the shopkeeper, one might mistake them for a normal human.
Chen Fei scanned the goods in the shop, a wide array of items on display. Suddenly, his expression slightly froze as he walked up to a shelf, looking somewhat surprised at what he found there.
Tianhui Stone!
It was a top-quality, or even one could say, an exceptional spiritual material. Just by incorporating a small part of it into a spiritual weapon, it could directly enhance the weapon’s power and even its grade.
From this, one could gauge the level of rarity of Tianhui Stone. After all, there had been no news of Tianhui Stone being sold within Immortal Cloud City for so many years. Such a grade of spiritual material was unlikely to be put up for sale by anyone.
Chen Fei hadn’t expected to encounter a piece of Tianhui Stone in this eerie city. Moreover, this piece of Tianhui Stone was quite substantial in size. If he were to integrate it into the Qianyuan Sword, there was a good chance that the Qianyuan Sword could directly reach the pinnacle of mid-grade spiritual weapons.
With careful nurturing for a few more years, it would definitely be possible to elevate the Qianyuan Sword into a high-grade spiritual weapon. Furthermore, because it had absorbed this piece of Tianhui Stone, the potential of the Qianyuan Sword would be enhanced, and in the future, there might be hope for it to become a top-grade spiritual weapon.
“Are you interested in this piece of Tianhui Stone? Tianhui Stone gathers the elemental forces of heaven and earth, it’s extraordinary and rarely seen in the world. This piece of Tianhui Stone, this shop obtained it by sheer chance, and there won’t be another one.”
The shopkeeper followed Chen Fei and, seeing where his gaze fell, immediately gave an enthusiastic introduction.
“How much is it?” Chen Fei turned to the shopkeeper. If there was an opportunity, such a spiritual material was indeed not to be missed.
“I’m afraid, sir, your money might not be sufficient. However, if you are willing to add a hundred years of your lifespan, you can take the Tianhui Stone.” The shopkeeper said with a beaming smile.
Chen Fei’s brow furrowed slightly, then he chuckled softly and said, “It seems that in this city, one’s lifespan is the most valuable currency.”
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Not quite, sir. Mortals may live a single lifetime, with a lifespan of only a few decades, which is not very useful. However, for a young gentleman like yourself, who has already achieved remarkable accomplishments, this kind of lifespan is the most valuable commodity,” the shopkeeper shook his head and said.
Chen Fei couldn’t help but react to this revelation about the classification of lifespans.
Regardless of the classification, Chen Fei had no intention of trading his own lifespan. No matter how good Tianhui Stone was, it couldn’t compare to his own life.
“If you’re unwilling, sir, you can also gather two thousand copper coins to purchase this piece of Tianhui Stone,” the shopkeeper said when he saw Chen Fei’s expression. He wasn’t surprised that Chen Fei declined. The shopkeeper then proposed another price.
Two thousand copper coins?
Suddenly, Chen Fei remembered that yesterday the martial hall’s director had used his entire lifespan as a bet, promising double returns. However, he had only received a few hundred coins in the end, a significantly insufficient amount.
It seemed that killing the director of the martial hall wasn’t unjust; he was completely untrustworthy!
“How much is this Starry Sea Grass?” Chen Fei pointed to the nearby shelf and asked.
Having drained the martial hall’s director, he had only received a few hundred copper coins, and now he had spent most of them. This meant that Chen Fei would need to kill at least three more individuals like the martial hall’s director, with their similarly bizarre circumstances, to accumulate enough funds to purchase the Tianhui Stone.
The difficulty of this task was quite daunting.
“Seven hundred copper coins,” the shopkeeper quoted.
Hmm, the value of a martial hall’s director! Chen Fei directly turned the martial hall’s director into a unit of measurement, which helped him maintain some clarity.
Chen Fei glanced at two shelves but decided not to continue further. It wasn’t that the items were not good, but rather, they were all excellent, and their prices were quite high. Chen Fei couldn’t afford them.
Since he couldn’t afford them, Chen Fei decided to stop looking because it wouldn’t serve much purpose.
“Do you sell information here?” Chen Fei looked at the shopkeeper and suddenly asked.
“Sir, what kind of information are you looking for? Some information can be sold, but there are also some that cannot be sold,” the shopkeeper replied in a low voice.
“At midnight, what were those things that appeared in the city?” Chen Fei asked in a solemn tone.
Tomorrow night at midnight, Chen Fei would be leaving the city, and he was bound to encounter whatever had appeared last night. Dealing with one or two of them, Chen Fei might be able to handle.
However, judging from the number of footsteps he heard last night, there were at least hundreds of them. If he ran into them abruptly, Chen Fei estimated that he would be drained instantly, and there wouldn’t even be time to use the Godslayer Sword. Moreover, facing such a large number, using it wouldn’t have much effect.
“For this information, it’s priced at twenty copper coins. Would you be interested, sir?” the shopkeeper offered after thinking for a moment.
“That’s acceptable!”
Chen Fei opened his palm, and twenty copper coins flew toward the shopkeeper, who waved his sleeve, making the coins disappear.
“After nightfall, the Despair City enforces a curfew, and anyone who violates it will be executed by the Ghost Soldiers!” The shopkeeper’s expression turned serious.
“Is there any way to bypass the Ghost Soldiers?” Chen Fei furrowed his brow. The city gate was opening at midnight, precisely when the Ghost Soldiers appeared. It was obvious they were preventing people from leaving the city, creating a deadlock.
“Money can influence the divine. Sir, I’ve said all I can!”
Money can influence the divine? Chen Fei looked at the copper coins in his hand. Indeed, money was useful everywhere in the Despair City. Was he supposed to bribe the Ghost Soldiers at midnight? But with hundreds of Ghost Soldiers, how much money would it take to bribe them all?
“Thank you for your guidance!” Chen Fei looked up, bowed slightly to the shopkeeper, and prepared to leave the shop.
“Wait, sir!” Chen Fei had just turned around when the shopkeeper’s voice sounded behind him. He turned back, looking puzzled at the shopkeeper.
“Sir, you haven’t paid in full yet. How can you leave now?”
“The money for the information has already been given, hasn’t it?” Chen Fei’s brow furrowed. Was this an attempt to increase the price at the last moment?
“You’ve paid for the information, but you haven’t settled the bill for those items you’ve looked at, sir!” The shopkeeper stared at Chen Fei. His once warm expression had vanished, replaced by a cold, eerie smile..