Chapter 51: Trading Zone, Alien Merchants

Luo En nodded silently; in this world where extraordinary power prevailed, even the most inconspicuous creatures might possess unexpected abilities.

"Lizard Alley, as the name suggests, was initially because many lizardman merchants gathered there."

Andre explained while leading the way:

"Lizardmen have a talent for trade; their original homeland was in the southwest swamp area, but with the expansion of human territory, some bordering alien groups were forced to migrate. Initially, a group of lizardman merchants found that the environment near the Black Fog Forest was suitable for their survival, and the management here was loose enough, so they settled down here and started small-scale trading."

He pushed aside a cluster of particularly dense mushrooms with his hand, revealing a clearer path:

"But now it has become a trading zone mixed with various races, and almost anything can be found there."

"There's one more thing." He suddenly stopped and turned to face Luo En, his expression becoming exceptionally serious:

"Merchants in Lizard Alley are known for being cunning; they especially like to play small tricks on outsiders. Using fakes to test guests like Otto did is just the most basic; there are more tricks waiting for you."

"I understand." Luo En nodded, a confident smile appearing on his face unconsciously:

"You just saw my ability to identify the authenticity of potions; you don't need to worry too much about being cheated. Plus the perception I gained after advancing to a junior apprentice, it should be enough to deal with most fraudulent tricks."

"I hope so."

Andre sighed, his expression becoming complex; he had always envied his companion's advancement and potion talent:

"However, although things here are difficult to distinguish between good and bad, real and fake, in terms of price, there is much more room for negotiation than in the school's market. Since you have such identification ability, we can buy more conventional materials to take back later."

Passing through a lifeless deadwood forest, the dry branches made fragile cracking sounds under their feet, and a decaying aura floated in the air.

A narrow stone road suddenly appeared in front, completely different from the messy path before; this road was flat and orderly.

On both sides of the road stood some strangely shaped stone pillars, each carved with a multi-headed dragon totem; some had been eroded by wind and rain until they were blurry, but the ferocious dragon heads could still be recognized.

"We're here." Andre lowered his voice: "This is the entrance to Lizard Alley."

Luo En could feel that this place was completely different from the Sunset Tavern—a more chaotic magical fluctuation permeated the air.

Various energy traces were intertwined in a disorganized manner, forming an unsettling atmosphere.

It was a mixture of multiple different extraordinary systems and alien bloodline auras, without any regularity, yet miraculously maintaining a certain fragile balance.

The moment he stepped onto the stone road, Luo En felt a slight stinging sensation coming from the soles of his feet, as if something was scanning his body.

He instinctively became alert, but Andre's expression was very calm; it seemed this was just some kind of routine check.

"Don't be nervous, it's just the defensive mechanism at the entrance confirming whether we are carrying large-scale lethal extraordinary items."

Andre explained softly: "They don't have many restrictions on personal weapons, but they don't allow powerful alchemical explosives that might endanger the entire market."

Luo En breathed a sigh of relief and continued to walk forward.

Passing through the simple archway formed by stone pillars, the scene before him was amazing.

This was no "alley"; it was clearly a narrow but extremely long street district, densely packed with various temporary stalls and crude shops on both sides.

Unlike the concealment of the Sunset Tavern, the trading here was conducted completely in the open; various hawking sounds, bargaining, arguing, and laughter and scolding were mixed together, forming a unique symphony.

Various strange creatures shuttled through the streets and alleys, including lizardmen with scale-like skin, of different sizes but all dressed in bright fabrics, with metal ornaments clinking;

There were goblins with small stature and pointed ears, their eyes rolling around constantly, seemingly confirming which were suitable targets for theft;

There were even a few trolls reaching three meters in height, hunching over to carefully avoid the low eaves, their rough skin covered in tribal tattoos.

There were also many humans, but most looked like exiles or adventurers, with ragged clothes and vigilant expressions, forming a sharp contrast with those pampered apprentices in the school.

"Pay attention to those marks." Andre pointed to special symbols hanging on some stalls:

"Red triangles represent extraordinary materials, blue circles are weapons and equipment, and yellow squares are various rare and strange items. We mainly look at those stalls with red triangles."

The two walked slowly along Lizard Alley, stopping from time to time to check those stalls with red triangle signs.

Most stalls displayed common herbs—Snake Tooth Grass, Moon-viewing Grass, Silver-light Mushroom, etc.

Occasionally, one could see some slightly rarer items, such as Dragon Whisker Grass or Fire Crystal Orchid, but those rare materials on Lady Ailan's list were hard to find.

Passing through a narrow alley, Luo En carefully avoided the garbage and unknown liquids scattered on the ground.

The air was filled with a strange aura mixed with herbs, rotten meat, and the body odor of alien races.

"Look, over there."

Andre pointed to a crude tent made of animal skin, in front of which a small green-skinned goblin was fiddling with various bottles and jars:

"This goblin is an alchemist; although his level is average, the materials he collects are very complete, especially some supplies needed for Knight cultivation."

They approached the tent, and the goblin immediately raised his head, a pair of yellowish-brown eyes flickering with shrewd light.

"Yo, rare guests, what treasures do you young brothers want?" The goblin said in a common language with a heavy accent, revealing a mouth full of sharp yellow teeth.

"We need some materials for making Blood Qi Potion."

Luo En said calmly, his eyes keenly scanning the various goods inside the tent:

"Fire Crystal Orchid rhizome, Red Iron Grass, and Dragon Blood Leaf, if you have them."

The goblin's eyes lit up: "Oh? Young bloodline practitioners? Rare to see here."

He burrowed into the depths of the tent, rummaged for a while, and then took out a few small cloth bags and glass bottles: "All here, top quality, fair price."

Luo En carefully checked these materials with the help of the 【Herb Identification】 ability.

The Fire Crystal Orchid rhizome presented a faintly glowing red, which was a sign of top quality;

The edges of the Red Iron Grass leaves had a fine serrated structure, giving one a strong sense of sharpness when touched;

And those Dragon Blood Tree leaves in small glass bottles presented a deep dark red, seemingly still retaining a trace of activity.

"Not bad, these materials are very fresh, and the quality is quite good." Luo En nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "What about the price?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 52 =====