Chapter 537: Trading Ground
"How were the effects of the Jade Nectar? Pretty good, right?"
Lan Jiao saw the smile on Lin Feng's lips and was also quite pleased. After all, Lin Feng's breakthrough could be partially credited to her efforts.
"Taking nine flasks of Jade Nectar all at once was quite potent." Lin Feng nodded. Without the Jade Nectar, reaching his current realm would have likely taken him some more time, and right now, time was undoubtedly what he needed most.
"I still have nine more flasks of the same Jade Nectar, but unfortunately, the effect of stacking them diminishes. Otherwise, I could give them all to you." Lan Jiao laughed. This Jade Nectar was brewed from medicinal pills, and each time it was consumed, its effects weakened. Especially since Lin Feng had drunk nine flasks at once, the efficacy of any subsequent doses would be greatly reduced.
If she were to give them to Lin Feng now, it would be a waste of a precious treasure.
"No need to give them to me. You need to break through your own cultivation realm as well. You should take these nine flasks of Jade Nectar yourself. If you want to take them now, I can stand guard for you." Lin Feng shook his head. He was not a greedy person. Having obtained nine flasks of Jade Nectar to aid his breakthrough was already an unexpected blessing. He certainly wouldn't covet more.
"No need. I'll keep them for now and use them when the opportunity arises." Lan Jiao shook her head and said, "By the way, didn't you say you wanted me to take you somewhere? Where do you want to go? I can take you there now."
"Take me to the trading grounds." Lin Feng replied.
"The Star Dream Pavilion controls the largest trading grounds in Heavenly Dragon City. I'll take you there now." Lan Jiao nodded.
Thus, the two of them left the palace together and headed toward the trading grounds.
The Star Trading Grounds were the largest trading area in Heavenly Dragon City. The methods of trading there were diverse, including free trade and auction trading.
When Lin Feng arrived, he found that this largest trading ground in Heavenly Dragon City was not the trading hall he had imagined. Instead, it was a vast area, like a bustling marketplace, filled with the clamor of voices and crowds of people seeking transactions.
The entire street was packed with people. Some had laid out a dazzling array of items for trade on the ground, while others had fixed stalls for their own independent transactions.
"In these Star Trading Grounds, where can I find more valuable items?" Lin Feng looked at the vast expanse of stalls and booths ahead and asked Lan Jiao.
"It depends on luck. If you want to engage in free trade, you can browse around here. It's not that the items laid out on the ground are all worthless. Sometimes, you might stumble upon extremely precious treasures, or perhaps you'll find exactly what you need. This is called 'treasure hunting.'"
Lan Jiao explained to Lin Feng. He nodded. In such a trading ground, getting what you wanted indeed relied heavily on luck.
"Of course, if you want to be more targeted, you'll have to go to the auction grounds. When you encounter treasures you need, you can make a bid."
Lan Jiao added another comment. Lin Feng was, of course, familiar with auctions. However, one downside of auctions was that if a good item appeared, many people would compete for it. At that point, it became a contest of wealth, and the bidding price would skyrocket, often exceeding the item's actual value. Still, it depended on personal need. If you truly needed something, you might not care about the high price.
"Let's take a walk and see."
Lin Feng said softly, stepping into the bustling trading street. Lan Jiao followed behind him. But just then, a figure flickered and appeared in front of Lin Feng.
Lin Feng examined the newcomer. It was a middle-aged woman. She also swept her gaze over Lin Feng a few times before turning her eyes to Lan Jiao, who was behind him.
"Have you had enough fun?"
The woman said coldly, causing Lan Jiao's expression to stiffen. She timidly stepped out from behind Lin Feng and looked at the woman, calling out, "Master."
"Master?"
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. This woman was actually Lan Jiao's master.
"Come back with me." The middle-aged woman scolded, then turned around and began to walk away.
Lan Jiao stood there without moving, but the middle-aged woman stopped and turned back, saying, "Are you going to disobey my words?"
"Master, your disciple wouldn't dare."
Lan Jiao lowered her head, then looked at Lin Feng and said, "I'll find you another time."
With that, she lifted her feet and followed the middle-aged woman as they disappeared into the crowd. In just a few moments, they were completely out of Lin Feng's sight.
Lin Feng watched the disappearing figures, feeling a bit frustrated. He had just arrived in Heavenly Dragon City of the Dragon Mountain Empire and was very unfamiliar with the place. Lan Jiao had been the perfect person to help him get acquainted, but she had been taken away by her master so quickly. It seemed he would have to rely on himself to explore.
Lifting his feet, Lin Feng stepped into the trading street and walked slowly. His eyes scanned around, and if he saw something of interest, he would pause for a moment.
Lin Feng had several goals for coming to this trading ground. First, he hoped to obtain some treasures that could aid his cultivation. Right now, Lin Feng was extremely eager to quickly improve his strength.
The second reason was that Lin Feng needed a specific pill formula—the formula for refining the Luo Shen Pill.
This Luo Shen Pill was extremely precious. In the Snow Moon Kingdom, Lin Feng had no chance to obtain the formula. He only knew from his memories that the main ingredient for refining the Luo Shen Pill was Nine Sun Grass, which he already had. Now that he had arrived in the Dragon Mountain Empire, it was time to gather the formula and the other required medicinal herbs. Otherwise, that girl Yun Xi would never wake up and would remain frozen until she was gradually forgotten.
Since he wanted to obtain the pill formula, Lin Feng paid special attention to stalls selling scrolls. Perhaps some ancient scrolls might contain the method for refining the Luo Shen Pill, even if the possibility was almost nonexistent.
But at least there was some hope. And even if he didn't find the Luo Shen Pill formula, he might still stumble upon other good things.
"What is that?"
Just then, Lin Feng stopped in his tracks and walked over to a stall.
The person running the stall was a thin old man, like a monkey, but his eyes were constantly darting around, seeming very shrewd.
"Is that... a Memory Jade?" Lin Feng pointed at a piece of jade on the ground and asked. The jade was very thin, somewhat resembling the Memory Jade he had seen before, but it seemed too thin—just a jade slip.
"Young master has good eyes. This jade slip is indeed made from Memory Jade. It stores some fragmentary information. So, is the young master interested?"
"What is stored in the jade slip?"
Lin Feng asked. If the stored memory fragments were useless to him, what would be the point?
"A secret technique. It can conceal your cultivation level, making your cultivation appear one or even several realms lower than it actually is."
The thin old man said slowly, causing Lin Feng's eyes to narrow. A secret technique to conceal one's cultivation.
In Heavenly Dragon City, many people had cultivated the Heavenly Eye Technique, allowing them to see others' cultivation levels. This jade slip contained the opposite—a method to hide one's cultivation.
"How do I trade for it?" Lin Feng asked.
"Five high-grade Origin Stones." The thin old man replied, making Lin Feng's eyes narrow. "Just this jade slip is worth five high-grade Origin Stones?"
"The value of a jade slip isn't determined by the jade itself, but by what's recorded inside it. My jade slip contains a secret technique. It's not expensive at five high-grade Origin Stones."
The thin old man insisted on trading for five high-grade Origin Stones.
Lin Feng was silent for a moment. Concealing one's cultivation could be useful or useless, depending on the situation. But Lin Feng was somewhat interested in the art of hiding one's aura.
"How do I know what you're saying is true? It's not certain that this jade slip actually stores a memory secret technique for hiding one's aura. What if it's fake?"
Lin Feng asked further.
"You can check its authenticity first. However, if you find it's real, you must buy it." The thin old man said with a smile.
"Five high-grade Origin Stones, plus this jade slip, and also a set of Heavenly Eye Techniques. How about that?"
Lin Feng added. Now that he was in the Dragon Mountain Empire, others knew the Heavenly Eye Technique, but he didn't. That wouldn't do; it would put him at a disadvantage. Others would know his cultivation level, but he wouldn't know theirs.
The reason Lin Feng was interested in the secret technique to hide his aura was precisely because of this. It could catch opponents off guard in battle.
PS: Damn, these past few days have been miserable... Tomorrow, I'll have a burst of updates. Crying out for motivation, begging for the motivation to have a big burst.