Chapter 157: Bai Yu

At the container entrance.

The ox-headed demon lay on a high-backed chair, wearing a security uniform, scrolling through an identity device.

Suddenly.

He sensed something, sat upright, and gazed toward a dozen meters away.

Amid interwoven black light, a slender, beautiful youth in a white robe edged with gold threads appeared.

The ox-headed demon narrowed his eyes, instinctively standing up, staring at the white-robed youth before him, and said gravely, "Ticket."

Jiang Jian stepped forward and produced his entry ticket.

The ox-headed demon examined it closely, stepped aside, and said, "Enter."

Jiang Jian remained silent and walked into the container.

The ox-headed demon turned his head, fixing his gaze on Jiang Jian's back, his eyes filled with thought.

The white-robed youth before him was clearly at the Surge Spring realm.

Yet his bone age was extremely young.

His spiritual essence was exceptionally solid.

Far stronger than ordinary beings!

"Shangzhou is small—when did such a prodigy appear?"

He recalled the prodigies from all districts of Pingtai Prefecture recently, and shook his head.

None of them matched the white-robed youth.

"He must be from another prefecture."

The ox-headed demon let go of his thoughts, lay back on the chair, opened his identity device, and resumed scrolling through videos.

Inside the container.

Jiang Jian halted, his expression slightly tense.

Before him, the ground was inscribed with intricate array patterns, emitting specks of starlight.

It was an Array Stairway.

He had seen such stairways before, during the Two Prefectures' Dao Debates.

They were imbued with spiritual essence attributes, enabling beings to move swiftly through the medium.

The Array Stairways beside Linshui were all wind-attribute.

Thus, students attending the Two Prefectures' Dao Debates could ride them, gliding on the wind.

This Array Stairway, however, was earth-attribute.

Within it, one could pass through soil and rock to reach the underground market.

On the wall was a simple slot.

Jiang Jian took his entry ticket and inserted it into the slot.

Instantly.

The Array Stairway's patterns flared brightly, and a voice chimed.

"Please enter the stairway to proceed to the underground market."

"Do not step outside the stairway during operation!"

"Special notice: This stairway is constructed with earth-attribute arrays, passing through soil and rock. Stepping outside the stairway may result in grave danger!"

As the warnings repeated, the array's glow grew blinding.

Jiang Jian brushed his sleeve lightly and stepped into the stairway.

He possessed the talent "Close Distance, Far Horizon."

Such danger was nearly nonexistent for him.

Boom!

The stairway activated!

The array's aura erupted outward, carrying Jiang Jian through soil and rock, descending downward!

All around, save for the array's glow, was dark, earthy brown.

After roughly ten seconds.

The stairway's descent slowed noticeably.

Boom!

The array halted; the patterns roared and faded.

Before him, the view opened suddenly, bright daylight flooding in!

Jiang Jian squinted, waited until his eyes adjusted, then stepped out of the spacious stairway chamber.

The stairway chamber behind him was also a container.

Around him, there were hundreds of such containers!

Clearly, the underground market had many entrances.

Jiang Jian walked out of the cluster of containers and entered the underground market.

The Pingtai Prefecture market was a vast open-air bazaar.

Thousands of stalls lined both sides.

People came and went, their clamor never ceasing.

"There are still a few hours until this market ends."

Jiang Jian checked the time, "It should be enough."

Each stall displayed a holographic screen.

It listed the vendor's goods and what they required in exchange.

Above the market was a bright artificial sky.

In the corners of buildings, numerous small guidance cannons were mounted, capable of precisely targeting beings based on their spiritual essence signatures.

Any troublemaker disrupting market order would be struck by dozens of small missiles in an instant.

Below the Divine Palace realm, ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive.

"You're lying to me!"

The ram-headed demon, dressed in a suit, held up a corn cob, eyes blazing, "This is just an ordinary corn cob—you claimed it was a Bao Gu spirit seed!"

The vendor looked innocent: "You're blind yourself—now you blame me?"

The ram-headed demon's eyes turned red, his body trembling: "You swapped this stick for my Surge Spring Spirit Core! That was my entire fortune!"

"Get lost!" The vendor snatched back the Spirit Core, his face impatient, "The deal is done—no refunds!"

"If you shout again, I'll report you to Market Management!"

As he spoke, he raised his identity device, waving it threateningly.

Hearing the words "Market Management,"

the ram-headed demon shuddered, fear flashing in his eyes.

Though furious, he dared not say more.

He turned and stomped away, teeth clenched.

Jiang Jian's expression remained calm as he passed the ram-headed demon, gaining deeper understanding of the market's rules.

All transactions were voluntary.

But once completed, they were irrevocable.

Otherwise, "Market Management" would intervene.

From the ram-headed demon's expression, Market Management was clearly not to be trifled with.

"I have twenty-three Surge Spring Spirit Cores."

"All collected from Zhou Princess Qingyue."

"They're highly valuable."

Jiang Jian took a wooden box from his sleeve and made a quick estimate.

He immediately knew.

His purchasing power here was strong.

After walking several dozen meters, Jiang Jian stopped and looked at the stall ahead.

The stall was cluttered with various weapons, many kinds.

The holographic screen beside it displayed simple information.

"Goods: Various Divine-Gifted Weapons."

"Required: Surge Spring Origin, Surge Spring Spirit Cores."

Jiang Jian remained silent, picked up a short sword at random, and examined it closely.

The vendor said nothing, still scrolling his identity device, only glancing at Jiang Jian from the corner of his eye.

"This short sword is likely a Level 3 Divine-Gifted Weapon."

Having formed his judgment, Jiang Jian put the sword down.

Each weapon bore an array sealing its spiritual aura.

Though the arrays were crude.

At a glance, their true rank was impossible to discern.

Jiang Jian had reached the peak of his Divine Palace cultivation and was exquisitely sensitive to subtle fluctuations in spiritual energy.

This sealing array was virtually useless against him.

The short sword was of fine quality, its light patterns shifting, its aura sharp and keen—undoubtedly a Level 3 Divine Gift weapon.

"This short sword is a rare treasure."

The vendor suddenly spoke up, "Only four Surge Spring Origins, and you can take this Spirit-Infused Treasure!"

Jiang Jian's expression turned strange: "This short sword is a Spirit-Infused Treasure?"

The vendor nodded seriously: "Yes."

Jiang Jian ignored him and turned to leave.

Four Surge Spring Origins? That's at least tens of millions of Alliance Credits.

A Level 3 Divine Gift weapon's market price is only a few million Alliance Credits.

The vendor here was utterly shameless—asking ten times the price, clearly treating Jiang Jian like a fool.

"Don't go!"

Seeing Jiang Jian leave, the vendor hurriedly called out, "I really do have a Spirit-Infused Treasure here!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a hair ribbon and waved it toward Jiang Jian.

Jiang Jian indeed stopped and walked back to the stall.

"Is this really a Spirit-Infused Treasure?"

Jiang Jian took the ribbon, his face filled with suspicion.

"Yes, it is!"

The vendor's expression didn't change: "Ten Surge Spring Origins, and the Spirit-Infused Treasure is yours!"

Jiang Jian smiled, studying the ribbon closely.

This was certainly not a Spirit-Infused Treasure.

But it was a genuine Level 4 Divine Gift weapon.

The white jade hair ribbon felt cold to the touch.

Even with the sealing array in place, faint glimmers of light could still be seen.

"Probably a defensive or control-type Divine Gift weapon."

Jiang Jian set the ribbon down, making his judgment: "If the price is right, I'll buy it to replace the Qing Frost Sword Array."

Right now, he had two Divine Gift weapons bound to himself.

Level 4 Divine Gift weapon: Xuanshan Seal.

Level 3 Divine Gift weapon: Qing Frost Sword Array.

After breaking through to the Surge Spring realm, he used Qianque spiritual energy to activate the Xuanshan Seal and Surge Spring spiritual energy to activate the Qing Frost Sword Array.

The risk of mixed spiritual energy had vanished completely.

The Qing Frost Sword Array, while still potent,

as his cultivation advanced,

its weaknesses were gradually becoming apparent.

As a wide-area destruction technique,

its concentrated offensive power was somewhat lacking.

Previously, whether clearing debris in Surge Spring star rings or fighting Zhou Princess Qingyue in the underground palace,

the Qing Frost Sword Array had performed poorly.

"Do you want it or not? I'm not lying—you really are getting a Spirit-Infused Treasure!"

The vendor spoke again, swearing earnestly.

Jiang Jian internally sneered, but smiled outwardly and asked, "I don't have Surge Spring Origins, but I have Surge Spring Spirit Cores."

Upon hearing the first half, the vendor's face darkened.

But when he heard "Surge Spring Spirit Cores,"

he immediately stood up, his eyes brightening: "Fifteen Surge Spring Spirit Cores, and it's yours!"

Jiang Jian's eyes flickered with obvious disappointment.

After a few seconds, he sighed: "Too bad—I don't have that many."

Jiang Jian turned to leave.

Behind him, the vendor watched his expression and cried out urgently: "How many do you have?"

"I only have five."

Jiang Jian blurted it out.

Only after speaking did regret cross his face—he muttered to himself, "Damn it, why did I reveal my hand?"

Saying this, he walked straight out.

The vendor stared at Jiang Jian's back, the ribbon clutched in his hand, hesitating.

Five Surge Spring Spirit Cores were valuable,

but this white jade hair ribbon was a top-tier Level 4 Divine Gift weapon.

Its value was at least seventy million Alliance Credits!

Surge Spring Spirit Cores were expensive precisely because they were rare and had many uses.

Thus, in the marketplace, they were always hard currency.

"Wait!"

After a moment's hesitation, the vendor called out to stop Jiang Jian.

Jiang Jian turned back, puzzled: "What do you want? I can't afford your goods."

The vendor sighed, his face twisted in pain: "Fine—I feel a connection with you. Give me five Surge Spring Spirit Cores and eight million Alliance Credits, and I'll sell you the Spirit-Infused Treasure."

Jiang Jian waved his hand, helplessly: "I only have two million Alliance Credits."

The vendor gritted his teeth, grabbing Jiang Jian's robe sleeve as if making a great concession: "Give me the Spirit Cores! Transfer the money right now!"

"Alright."

Jiang Jian carefully pulled out five Surge Spring Spirit Cores and transferred two million Alliance Credits.

Only then did he take the ribbon in hand.

The instant the transaction completed, the sealing array collapsed.

The white jade hair ribbon shimmered with spiritual light, revealing its true form.

A Level 4 Divine Gift weapon of control and defense.

Its quality was excellent—already at the peak standard!

Even better than the Xuanshan Seal!

The vendor, meanwhile, counted the Spirit Cores, secretly pleased.

Surge Spring Spirit Cores themselves were worth slightly less than Surge Spring Origins.

But their market price was slightly higher.

Because they were hard to obtain, difficult to collect, and extremely scarce.

Moreover, Surge Spring Spirit Cores were core materials for technological arrays.

If not in urgent need of cash, putting them up for auction

could fetch around fifteen million Alliance Credits per core.

This transaction was a small profit for the vendor.

But Jiang Jian wasn't at a loss.

Because a top-tier Level 4 Divine Gift weapon like the white jade hair ribbon simply wasn't available for purchase elsewhere.

Though its price was fixed at around seventy million Alliance Credits,

such Divine Gift weapons circulated rarely.

You couldn't just buy them whenever you wanted.

"Talent Light Cluster?"

Jiang Jian stopped before a stall.

"Item: Level 4 Talent Light Cluster."

"Requirement: Discuss in detail."

(End of Chapter)