Episode 13: The Precious Store
At noon, a huge wall stretching east-west and seemingly without end, towering about a hundred feet high, appeared before everyone. A towering city tower rose into the clouds, with a city gate several hundred feet wide and over ten feet high. In front of the city gate stood a row of about a hundred guards, inspecting the people entering and leaving the city. From time to time, groups of merchants numbering about a hundred would enter and exit the city, and the entire city gate was bustling with activity.
The wild wolf walked up to Yang Mofeng and Duan Tianyi, saying, "This is the largest city within a thousand miles. It is said to have been built by a great power from ancient times. The city has four such large city gates. According to the quadruple element array, they are respectively the East Gate, Qinglongmen, the West Gate, Baihuren Gate, the South Gate, Zhujue Gate, and the North Gate, Xuanwu Gate."
In the world of Yang Mofeng and Duan Tianyi, they had never seen such a magnificent building. They were stunned by the imposing city tower before them.
The wild wolf reminded the two, "The city of Shaman is quite different from other cities. The tax for entering the city is more expensive than that of any other city in Yunmeng Kingdom. Each person needs to pay 20 Yuanstones, while ordinary cities usually only require 5 Yuanstones."
Both were surprised. They had to pay tax to enter the city. This had already made them unable to understand. The tax for entering the city of Shaman was four times that of other cities. This left them completely puzzled.
Seeing that the two seemed not to understand very well, the wild wolf explained, "Because the city of Shaman is the closest and safest city adjacent to the Yunding Desert. Once you enter the city, you will receive security guarantees. Even if you offend a high-level Yuanshi, you won't have any problems in the city. If anyone kills innocent people in the city, they will be attacked by all the Yuanshi in the city. Even a great Yuanshi won't be able to deal with it. As long as the quadruple element array is activated, even a Yuanwang-level Yuanshi won't be able to leave. Once there was a great master of the Yuan grade who killed someone in the city, he was trapped by the great array. Yunmeng Kingdom directly sent a Yuanwang-level Yuanshi to kill him."
"It's so powerful. So, it seems that charging such a high tax for entering the city is quite reasonable."
"In fact, the main reason is not this. It is because the city of Shaman is close to the Yunding Desert. Many Yuanshi from the Western Mo Luo Empire and other Western small countries come to the east. The management is rather chaotic, and there is no absolutely powerful force in the city. Therefore, the various forces discussed and decided to increase the tax for entering the city."
The wild wolf continued to introduce, "The city of Shaman is also a gathering place for goods from all countries. The Western Moro Empire and many Western small countries will come to the east. They must pass through the Yunding Desert. And the city of Shaman is one of the three largest cities near the Yunding Desert. The other two are the city of Sang in the west of the Tianyuan Empire, which is a hundred miles north of Shaman City, and the Misty City of your country, which is a hundred miles south of Shaman City. All three cities are old cities left over from ancient times."
"Brother Wild Wolf, after entering the city, we want to first explore. We'll go to the trading house tomorrow night."
"No problem. Everything is up to you. Just leave it to us. Then we'll go back."
The cities in the Tianyuan world have a unique flavor. The buildings all have pointed roofs, and they are incredibly tall. Some are even several kilometers high, reaching into the clouds. However, the two were not surprised. After all, the average person in this world is stronger than an aikong-level martial artist.
"Yufeng, I'm completely confused. This city of Shaman is really huge. Let's take a look at the map there first."
"Also, we still need to buy a lot of things. If we wander around like this, we will waste a lot of time. Look, there is a store over there. It seems to be written 'Treasure Store' on it? Such a place should have it."
The characters in the Tianyuan world are similar to ancient Chinese. Many are pictographic. The two were extremely intelligent people and had learned some characters from the merchant caravan of the Shen family for a while, so they had learned quite a few characters.
"Welcome." A beautiful female waiter walked up to them. She wore a black tight uniform, exposing nearly half of her white chest. "Unexpectedly, an ordinary waiter could look so handsome! Although he can't compare with Shen Biaoyao, he still has a unique charm." The two people were slightly amazed.
Yang Mufeng smiled slightly, "Your shop is called the Treasure Shop. What treasures do you have for sale?"
"Items such as talismans, martial arts techniques, magic crystal stones, various gems for cultivation, etc. are all available. I wonder what you two want?"
"Actually, we don't have anything particularly special that we want to buy. How about you bring your list of treasures to me and I'll see if there are any items we need."
The female waiter looked uneasy. Yang Mufeng casually threw a main yuan stone to the waiter. The waiter immediately happily accepted it. This half main yuan stone was equivalent to her monthly income. This gesture was definitely the style of the elite disciples from big families and powerful forces. The waiter immediately changed her expression.
"My name is Xiaowei. I noticed that you two gentlemen look familiar. May I know your names?"
"I'm Yang Feng. This is my brother, Duan Tian."
"Actually, we don't have anything particularly special that we want to buy. How about you bring your list of treasures to me and I'll see if there are any items we need."
"Actually, we haven't been to this city before. This is the introduction of the Shaman City and the list of our main treasures. Please take a look, gentlemen."
The two people received two jade cards and let a bit of true qi flow into them. Immediately, a powerful stream of information flooded into their minds. A grand map appeared in their minds, the map of the Shaman City, as well as the history, features, and power distribution of the city. It was very detailed. Although this treasure shop seemed small, the quality of its goods ranked among the top ten in the city's similar shops and was a member of the Yunmeng Merchant Association.
The treasure shop deserved to be ranked among the top ten. It even had several items of lower-grade divine artifacts, including a purple lightning staff, a shadow wind staff, and a set of fire cloud clothing. These items were rarely seen at auctions. Unexpectedly, there were three of them here at once, and there was also a complete set of clothing. There were also some other good things, but they didn't realize that they didn't need any higher-grade martial arts techniques.
"Miss Xiaowei, why weren't those three lower-grade divine artifacts marked with prices?"
"Like this, these three items were given to us by a big figure the other day. They entrusted us to auction them, so there were no prices. However, I can tell you the base prices of these three items. The base price of the two lower-grade divine staffs is 200,000 stones, and the set of fire cloud clothing is 800,000 stones."
Both of them were shocked. They had learned about the value of lower-grade divine artifacts from the wolves, and they weren't that high. Could there be something special about this place?
"Did you two gentlemen feel strange about it? Actually, the value of an ordinary lower-grade artifact is only about 200,000 to 300,000 stones. A complete set of robes is no more than 400,000. But these three artifacts are not ordinary. Those two staffs not only have stronger attribute attacks than those of the same level staffs, but they can also be used at a lower level. That is to say, these staffs originally require seventh-level Yuanwei to exert their maximum power, but now even second-level Yuanwei can exert their maximum power. These two artifacts are very attractive to Yuanshi who have just entered the Yuanwei level. As for that fire cloud robe, it's even more remarkable. It not only has excellent defense capabilities against fire and lightning, but can withstand the full attack of a first-level Yuanshu-level expert, and it also has a very strong fire attack power, equivalent to that of an ordinary lower-grade medium-level artifact."
The two nodded slightly.
"If you two gentlemen are interested in these three artifacts, you can participate in the largest auction held by Shen Family Trading Company this year in five days. This auction will attract all the major families and powerful forces in Yunmeng Kingdom, and there are also many excellent items."
Yang Mufeng said, "I wonder if there will be artifacts above the lower grade at the auction."
"Other things I don't know. But I heard that this auction will have several top-notch treasures. Among them, there is one that is a high-level lower-grade artifact."
"Really? Then do you know if there are any other high-level treasures?"
Xiaowei smiled seductively, "I'm just an ordinary waiter. I have no idea about those things. But if you two gentlemen want to know first, you can inquire at Shen Family Trading Company. Generally, before the auction, the organizing party will publish the list of auction items."
"Then thank you, Miss Xiaowei. We still have one thing to ask. Do you know where I can buy books introducing the Tianyuan world?"
"These books are rare. You two gentlemen are also aware of that. The Tianyuan world is so vast that its area is estimated to be over a trillion miles. It can be said to be boundless. Even Yuanwang and Yuanhuang-level experts find it difficult to traverse. It is estimated that only the legendary Yuansheng has the ability to travel throughout the entire world. Therefore, such books are generally only written by those of the Yuansheng level and few Yuansheng would be bored enough to spend a lot of time writing such things."
"That means there aren't any." There was obvious disappointment on their faces.
"Getting them might not be possible. Although there are no books introducing the entire Yuan Heavenly world, there are books introducing countries around the world. These books are all compiled by the specialized departments of the countries."
"There are such books. That's great. I wonder where I can buy them."
Yang Mufeng casually threw out more than ten dimensional stones.
The waitress Xiaowei seemed to look at the two as if they were idiots. Today was too lucky. Just in a short while, she had earned nearly 10,000 stones in income.
"These books are also sold at our Treasure Store. The prices are not expensive. Besides the two thousand stones for introducing the three major empires, the ones introducing other countries only cost fifty Yuanstones. If you two gentlemen are interested in buying them, as long as you buy the three major empires, we can give you fifty pieces of relatively well-known small countries' materials for free."
Yang Mufeng said nothing and directly took out six main Yuanstones and twenty-five dimensional stones. He received four jade cards and infused his true qi. The vast amount of information was integrated into his mind and stored. Such a large amount of information could not be absorbed in a short time. If forced, it might harm the soul of a Yuanshi.
Yang Mufeng and the other two adjusted the information of various countries from their minds and roughly understood the situation of the Tianyuan countries. These materials were very detailed, including the major forces and families of each country, the distribution of various beasts in each country, and the introduction of major Yuanshi of each country. They truly were a must-read for a Yuanshi. Yang Mufeng and the other person smiled and nodded. "We want to buy a high-level cultivation method and two high-level techniques of the Mystic Rank category. They are the 'Great Wind Technique' cultivation method, 'Mystic Wind Sword Technique' technique, and 'Mystic Wind Sword Technique' technique as listed on your list."
"OK, sir. Please wait a moment. These three cultivation methods and techniques are all in stock."
The waitress Xiaowei pressed a red button on the counter and soon a muscular servant with a tight black uniform and half-exposed breasts came out. She held a golden plate in her hand, on which were three white jade discs. The jade discs emitted a constant cold wind.
"One copy of the 'Great Wind Technique' cultivation method, 30,000 stones; one copy of the 'Mystic Wind Sword Technique' technique, 10,000 stones; one copy of the 'Mystic Wind Sword Technique' technique, 10,000 stones. In total, 50,000 stones. This is our precious goods store's VIP card. Anyone who purchases more than 30,000 stones in our precious goods store will receive this card. The VIP card offers a 10% discount on all items. So, gentlemen, you only need to pay 45,000 stones."
"Welcome back next time, gentlemen."
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