The winds whistled and carved stone ridges into mountains, blowing through century old trees and carrying their leaves for thousands of miles. The night sky was devoid of a moon, casting a shadowy blanket over the mountain range.
A streak of light cut through the starless sky, leaving a trail that was a mix of azure, gold, and royal purple tones.
The light streak arced down towards one of the smaller mountains, barely noticeable among tall, rocky giants, and descending upon a large and dimly lit pavilion which barely stood out from the mountainside it was nestled in.
The light streak dimmed down slowly as a shadowy figure draped in obsidian black robes landed upon the neatly paved stone ground in absolute silence, the flutter of their robes in the wind barely noticeable in the night.
Their body was covered from head to toe, with no distinct quality that gave away their identity. A crow mask adorned their face, effectively covering the facial structure along with the eyes of the figure.
The figure stood still, fixed in the same exact spot in which they had landed. It wasn't a long wait however, as soon someone had stepped out of the pavilion, a dull orange glow emanating from the inside of the building.
It was a woman who looked to be in her late 20s, wearing a floral pattern dress which hugged her figure, contrasted against the much looser sleeves. Many gold pieces adorned her hair, and her slim face was free of any makeup, save for her deep red lips.
She smiled, her eyes curving upwards upon laying eyes on the cloaked figure. With a slight bow, she spoke in a soft voice, the sort of voice which lulls a child to sleep.
"So what brings our esteemed guest to our little nest?"
A moment of hesitation, before the cloaked figure spoke in a deep and warped voice.
"To sell"
The woman's smile widened, eyes brightening. She gestured towards the pavilion.
"Please, follow me"
The duo started for the pavilion, with the cloaked figure following behind the woman.
Naturally, the cloaked figure was Bai Hu, who had been recommended this place by Zhang Yun Guang. The young scholar had even gifted Bai Hu a set of robes to hide his identity, and a crows mask which is required to gain entry.
'Crows Nest, a fitting name for a shady establishment'
Of course, he didn't voice his thoughts out loud, for fear of angering the Gold Core cultivator walking in front of him.
Bai Hu stepped through the threshold and into the pavilion, greeted with dim lights that casted long shadows into the dark mahogany wood the building was made out of. However, he nodded in satisfaction despite the less than vibrant atmosphere.
At the entrance alone were several magical treasures, gleaming with the power of high grade magic treasures.
The display was impressive enough, not to mention the Golden Core cultivator who is escorting him. A black market needed this much at the minimum to operate within the sect.
The Golden Core cultivator led Bai Hu up a set of stairs, free of any dust despite the emptiness of life the building gave off. Soon enough, the duo entered one of the many rooms on the second floor of the pavilion.
Stepping through the threshold, Bai Hu was greeted with a relatively barren room, save for the single rectangular table at the center of the room with 2 chairs facing each other on opposite sides.
The woman took a seat on the chair farthest from the door, resting her hands gently on the wooden table.
"Please, take a seat"
Bai Hu sat down, slightly surprised by the hospitality displayed by the woman despite her much higher cultivation base. If she wished to, the woman could easily peer through Bai Hu's cover and deduce his identity, however the Golden Core cultivator's Divine Sense never once strayed near Bai Hu.
Without another word, he took out several storage pouches from under his robes, placing them on the table tentatively.
"I was hoping to sell off a few things that would be difficult to bring into regular markets"
The woman nodded, picking up one of the storage pouches and extending her Divine Sense to look inside. Her glimmering eyes widened at the contents of the storage pouch, prompting her to quickly look through the others.
76 low grade magic treasures, 33 mid grade, and 4 high grade magic treasures. Bai Hu had brought out all of the magic treasures he had gained from the Bloody Ascension Trial.
The woman set down the last storage pouch before looking back up at Bai Hu's masked face and unable to conceal the curiosity in her eyes. However, she did not question anything, and instead stood up from her seat.
"Please wait a moment"
And with that, the Golden Core cultivator left the room in a hurry, shutting the door and leaving Bai Hu alone in the empty room.
Remaining patient, the young man stayed seated as he waited a short while for the return of the Golden Core cultivator.
It wasn't a long wait, and when the woman returned, she held a storage pouch within her hands.
"We'll accept everything at market price, unless sir has any objections"
She set the pouch on the table and allowed Bai Hu to inspect its contents.
There were a little under a quarter million low grade spirit stones inside the storage pouch, a substantial amount of wealth for someone of his level. Of course, it wasn't enough to compete with all the gains from the Bloody Ascension Trial, but it was enough for Bai Hu to spend lavishly without worry.
Nodding his head, Bai Hu pocketed the pouch and allowed the woman to take away the 3 pouches containing the magic treasures of dubious origin.
Any other establishment might have questioned how he got his hands on so many magic treasures, but no questions were raised in the Crows Nest.
Right as Bai Hu was about to leave, the woman called out again.
"Would you like to take a look at what our Nest has to offer?"
After a brief moment of silence, he nodded his head.
With a smile, the Golden Core cultivator took out a Formation Plate and threw it into the air. With a burst of blue light that obscured Bai Hu's vision, a soft feathery feeling enveloped the entire room. After a brief moment, his vision cleared.
He immediately found himself in a new space completely different from the barren room he had previously been in.
The two cultivators had been relocated to a new space, seemingly on the top floor of the pavilion judging by the view outside gaps in the wooden frame. Furthermore, it was no longer dark and barren like before.
Bright lights from floating paper lanterns filled the space with a golden red hue, spotlighting a multitude of displays with various magic treasures and rare earths.
After a moment of hesitation, Bai Hu took in a breath and closed his eyes.
Weng!
His divine sense surged like a gentle wave, spreading out in all directions. Immediately, Bai Hu gained a birds eye view of the entire space.
Top grade magic treasures, high quality Formations, and rare herbs hundreds of years old. It was an impressive collection of high quality goods that trumps Bai Hu's if not for his Unrefined Gold Clay.
Even then, Bai Hu had no need for more magic treasures, unless it was a defensive one that is, and everything else simply wasn't of too much use to him.
Withdrawing his divine sense, Bai Hu turned to the Golden Core cultivator, who had merely stayed silently by his side.
"Do you perhaps have anything that matches these descriptions?"
He handed the woman a jade slip describing treasures that relate to the five elements in his spiritual root.
"Hmm..."
She placed the jade slip to her forehead, letting her divine sense read its contents. After a brief moment of silence, she looked up with a saleswoman's smile.
"We do happen to have a few treasures that fit your needs. Please, stand still for a moment"
Taking out an intricately carved ivory Formation plate, the woman infused it with her qi. A white glow flowed into the disk, and a few of the hundreds of intricate carvings on the Formation plate lit up.
Rumble!
Bai Hu felt the floor shift under his feet, creaking and twisting away to form new patterns. The displays of treasures shifted along with it, with several drawing closer towards him.
After a few moments, the rumbling and shifting stopped completely, and several displays presented themselves.
"We have several treasures of the fire, earth, and metal element, but only 3 of lightning and 2 of wind"
That was common sense, as the elements outside of the 5 origin elements were much, much rarer in comparison. Few could utilize them, and others faced heavy drawbacks due to lacking the element in their spiritual roots.