Chapter 30: Monsters' Trap

After receiving Jiang Yan's permission, Ning Ning led the way, quickly arriving at the entrance to the Inner Market.

On both sides stood guards clad in heavy armor, their visors fearsome, revealing only pairs of eyes burning with ghostly flames, radiating the aura of the Foundation Realm.

She explained to Jiang Yan, "Big Brother, official staff of the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly can bring three outsiders into the Inner Market at half price every month, and staff members themselves get in free twice; staff family members can use this benefit too."

You are the first one today; the six-thousand entrance fee only requires three thousand, saving you half the money directly, plus you get me, your smart and clever guide."

Having finished speaking, Xu Ning Ning waved and greeted, "Uncle, I'm here again!"

Then she took out a wooden token carved with the seal of the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly and handed it to the guards.

The two guards looked at Ning Ning and Jiang Yan behind her, their gazes helpless.

One of the guards spoke, "Ning Ning, you really don't take a break every month, coming on time to fleece the Dharma Assembly's wool; have you finished your homework?"

Ning Ning said with a grin, "Of course, if you don't believe me, go ask my dad. Besides, Uncle, what you said is wrong; this is staff welfare given by the Dharma Assembly, meant for us to use."

After all, some guests are quite thrifty; perhaps they think the entrance fee is too expensive and don't go to the Inner Market. Now that it's cheaper, they come in to look; seeing many good things might lead to impulsive spending!"

"Just you, girl, with so many twisted arguments." The two guards laughed and scolded, then cleared the way.

"Hehe, thank you, Uncle!"

Ning Ning led Jiang Yan into the Inner Market; although the stalls inside were not as numerous as those on the Central Street, the quality had increased several times over.

Foundation Realm Transcendent Artifacts began to appear, along with pills, magical artifacts, secret manuals, and so on.

But prices rose accordingly; most accepted only barter. If exchanged for money, it would easily cost hundreds of thousands, exceeding Jiang Yan's budget.

"The shop we are going to isn't here; we must go further inside."

Ning Ning hopped along ahead, sighing as she walked:

"Big Brother, did you know? The first time I learned the Transcendent World could use Tianxia Alliance currency, I was very surprised; it felt like the mystery had diminished."

But thinking about it, it's quite normal; the mortal world has no Spirit Stone veins, making it impossible to construct a Transcendent currency system."

Our Tianxia Alliance is a top-tier great power of the current age; the currency is stable. Many History Walkers, before becoming Transcendent, had average living conditions and needed money to improve them, so it is quite convenient."

Jiang Yan nodded; actually, what Ning Ning said was not comprehensive enough.

Because Ba Lie had told him that even with sufficient conditions, the Tianxia Alliance and other nations would not establish a Transcendent currency system.

Because coins themselves are a kind of anchor; as long as History Walkers use them frequently, they won't feel different from ordinary people, thus anchoring their humanity and preventing corruption."

Some say, can the wealthy do whatever they want?"

Not quite."

Because low-grade Transcendent Artifacts can still be measured in money, but most mid-to-high-grade Transcendent materials are exchanged via barter or other forms of value."

Even if converted to money, the figures are astronomical."

Moreover, anyone who isn't a fool would understand..."

With strength, you need not fear having no money!"

Jiang Yan followed Ning Ning, turning left and right, entering a corner of an alley.

Ning Ning pointed to a shop at the very deepest part and said:

"This is the place!"

Jiang Yan glanced back at the path they had come; without her guidance, an ordinary person would truly not find this spot.

The shop was not large, consisting of two stories with a backyard; the wooden structure looked like an ancient medical clinic, but the shelves inside held many tools and pill bottles, indicating it was a general store.

Hanging above was a plaque bearing the shop's name.

【Monsters' Trap】

Jiang Yan said softly, "Taking the meaning of drawing all heroes of the world into my trap, collecting monsters from across the land; the ambition is great."

Ning Ning smiled and said, "Of course; after all, Grandpa Chu is a master of the Refining Dao, skilled in refining pills and forging artifacts using creatures from the Sickness Domain."

"This must be very expensive, right?"

Jiang Yan hesitated; a man without money indeed lacks confidence in his speech.

"Of course it's expensive!"

Ning Ning nodded and said, "But this time we aren't here to buy finished products. Because many History Walkers, to forge weapons or pills suitable for themselves, bring various monster carcasses to ask Grandpa Chu for help; they must pay money, and after successful refinement, the remaining monsters also serve as part of the reward."

But with too many accumulated carcasses, plus the Transcendent organs already used and their internal balance broken, if one continues to forge artifacts or refine pills, the failure rate is extremely high."

Rather than letting them be destroyed in hand, it is better to process and sell them, so the price is much cheaper than normal, but unless one is an acquaintance of Grandpa Chu, no one knows this news."

Hearing this, Jiang Yan couldn't help but feel a bit more expectation.

What is poison to one is honey to another."

With the Demon God Embryo present, what others see as defective products are his best nourishment."

At this moment, Ning Ning looked around, confirming the owner was not present, then said mysteriously:

"Don't think that because the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly has many people, most are History Walkers from near Jiangnan Province, because the Sickness Domain anchors to specific regions; truly good things won't be sold at stalls, so the materials come back and forth are always the same old few."

But here, there are materials obtained from the Sickness Domain by History Walkers from all corners of the land; it will absolutely satisfy your needs."

Most importantly, located in the Inner Market, you pay to enter; for every transaction, the Five Fierce Dharma Assembly takes a commission and pays taxes."

The organizer behind it is a strong one of the Dharma Seed Realm, who will guarantee that what you buy is absolutely genuine; if it's fake, you can complain and receive double compensation; it's a huge profit."

"Wait a moment, Big Brother; when you see something you like, just give me a look, and I'll help you bargain the price down..."

"Ning Ning, why do you always target me, an old man? Can't you go to another shop?"

A helpless voice came from behind the shop counter; a white-haired old man with a goatee, wearing a green robe, sat up from a reclining chair, his gaze toward the little girl filled with disdain.

"Eh, Grandpa Chu, you're awake; I'm here to make tea for you!"

Ning Ning felt no embarrassment; she darted to the table, took out a tea bowl and three disposable paper cups, and skillfully used a teapot to brew tea.

Then she handed the tea bowl to the owner, one cup to Jiang Yan, while the remaining two cups remained untouched.

The old man Chu complained, "You girl really know how to give a blow and then follow up with a sweet date."

"How so? This is clearly bringing you customers to clear your inventory!"

Ningning protested her innocence.

Old Man Chu snorted coldly, ignored her, turned to look at Jiang Yan, and asked:

"Guest, tell me your requirements."

"Fine."

Jiang Yan nodded and repeated the requirements he had told Ningning.

"You want corpses of demons with peculiar abilities, or mutated creatures related to the Corpse-Release Wang Ting, and your budget is around five hundred thousand... you really dare to ask..."

Old Man Chu took out a cloth to wipe his glasses, glanced at the eager Ningning beside him, and said helplessly:

"But since you are so lucky to have met this girl, I do indeed have what you need here."

The backyard of the Demon Hook.

Old Man Chu lit an oil lamp, reached out to pull open the large door of the storage room, and walked in slowly; Jiang Yan and Ningning followed closely behind.

The lamplight illuminated,

revealing rows upon rows of ferocious and terrifying demon corpses hanging on the walls on both sides.

However, despite the gathering of so many corpses, no Yin Qi was produced; instead, it felt somewhat warm.

The reason was a massive three-legged bronze alchemy cauldron in the center; its surface bore no patterns of cranes or cloud-thunder, but instead featured numerous water beasts and fish motifs.

Burning inside was not fire, but a white torrent of water as hot and surging as magma, constantly surging, even more scorching than fire.

An alchemy cauldron refined with water?

This was the first time Jiang Yan had seen such a special cauldron; he couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.

Seeing this, Ningning, who was following nearby, explained in a low voice:

"This is Grandpa Chu's Ren Water Alchemy Cauldron, which follows the path of Post-Heaven Ren Water refinement. Ren Water is the Yang water among the Five Elements, vast like the ocean, possessing expansive and surging power capable of shattering hard supernatural materials, while retaining water's characteristic of embracing all things, allowing for reshaping and condensation.

The cauldron is Metal; Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, and Ash serves as Earth. The Five Elements generate one another; this is the essence of the Refinement Path. Therefore, Grandpa Chu's success rate is far higher than that of ordinary refiners. Big Brother, if you have needs for refining artifacts or alchemy, remember to choose the Demon Hook."

"Impressive."

Jiang Yan was surprised; he hadn't expected Ningning to possess such knowledge.

"You are just reciting word-for-word what I told you and showing it off."

The old man's faint voice came from ahead.

"Doesn't that just mean Grandpa Chu taught you well!"

Ningning said with a smile, flattering him vigorously.

"Hmph!"

The old man still kept a stern face, but his steps quickened slightly; clearly, he was in a good mood, completely held in the palm of the little girl's hand.

Soon, he arrived at the edge of the wall to the left of the cauldron and pointed to a golden carp hanging from the top, one person tall, with an aged human face and two fleshy bumps on its head, saying:

"This is a Human-Faced Dragon Carp of the Foundation Realm. It likes to eat humans and contains a trace of dragon blood within its body. Of course, that is an exaggerated claim; in reality, it doesn't even count as Lesser Dragon blood, but it does possess the ability to summon clouds and mist.

If it stays in a lake, it can summon a large fog in a small area to conceal its form. Furthermore, the mist has a slight hallucinogenic effect, causing those who remain in the fog for a long time to experience various illusions, become lost within them, and finally perish in the fish's belly.

It was washed into the present world by the river of history and descended into a small lake in Jingchu Province. Under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult to catch it within the mist.

But the History Travelers over there went berserk, procured a large number of water pumps, and worked day and night to drain the water directly. The thick fog dissipated accordingly, allowing them to lock onto its location and finally kill it.

Since no historical artifact was extracted, I came to use its reverse scale and all its fish scales to craft a Cloud-Fog Fish-Dragon Armor for you."

This is a case of inferior techniques being crushed by technology!

Jiang Yan thought silently.

Old Man Chu continued, "If its flesh didn't possess hallucinogenic toxins, which cause illness when eaten—growing horns and fish scales, causing one to involuntarily enter the water to breathe, and finally drowning to death—I would have sold it to those wealthy people long ago.

Now, I can only extract the hallucinogenic toxin. But since it's already been used for poisoning, who would still use its hallucinogenic ability... isn't that sick? So I'll give it to you at a discount, for five hundred thousand."

Jiang Yan pondered; the Cloud-Fog ability of the Human-Faced Dragon Carp was excellent, with illusions masking perception, similar to an area-of-effect skill, and it was of the Dragon attribute.

But the drawback was also obvious: it must rely on a large amount of water, making it best suited for battles near swamps or lakes.

Otherwise, if the fog's coverage area is small, it becomes useless.

Jiang Yan asked, "Are there any others?"

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(End of this chapter)