noveldrama
Chapter 542: 350: The First True God
Chapter 542: 350: The First True God
Chapter 542: Chapter 350: The First True God
“This object, the elderly wants it.”
Zhao Sheng waved his hand, and a wave of invisible force swept out, pushing the jade box to the other side as he spoke indifferently.
The middle-aged man gave a hearty laugh, but shook his head and said, “Ha ha! The senior is indeed straightforward, but I’m afraid the spirit pills on the table are not enough to exchange for such a rare treasure. After all, the commerce has taken on a great deal of risk to acquire this Enfeoffment Decree for you!”
“Oh, is that so?” Zhao Sheng raised an eyebrow, his response neither affirming nor denying.
The man wasn’t lying—the Enfeoffment Decree was a treasure strictly controlled by the Heavenly Dao Sect.
If it had been a thousand years ago, the Enfeoffment Decree could never have ended up in the hands of Chu King’s Commerce.
But in the recent millennium, the people’s heart within the Heavenly Dao Sect have become disillusioned, and corruption has been rampant. The sect’s rules and teachings have nearly become decorative, to the point where even the current sect leader has been undermining his own people.
As a result, corruption spread from top to bottom. Now, even various positions within the sect are openly traded like commodities, let alone the vast treasures in the sect’s storehouse.
Every year, the number of treasures, cultivation techniques, and resources that flowed out from the “insiders” of the Heavenly Dao Sect was immeasurable.
Seeing the situation, the middle-aged man immediately cried out in a pleading manner, “Senior, if you wish to buy this rare artifact, you must have inquired about its market value beforehand! Not to overstate it, but it’s beyond price.”
Zhao Sheng nodded lightly upon hearing this.
The middle-aged man’s spirits lifted, and seizing the opportunity, he continued, “One should know that each Enfeoffment Decree is carefully documented in the Sealing God Book, and it is absolutely impossible for forgeries to appear on the market.
Moreover, there are at most 12,965 Enfeoffment Decrees. Subtracting the nearly ten thousand that have been used in the past, there’s now one fewer with every sale. The transaction price increases every year.
If we don’t sell now, the commerce could hold onto it for several decades or even a century. By then, can you imagine the astronomical price it could fetch?”
Zhao Sheng listened and laughed lightly, “Heh! But one would have to survive a hundred years for that to matter. I dare say this Enfeoffment Decree must be closing in on its last activation limit. Otherwise, why would your commerce be willing to trade it away?”
The middle-aged man heard this, and a slight smile broke on his face, without any sign of being disturbed.
“It looks like the senior is also someone who knows his business. But even so, what you’re offering still isn’t enough.”
Zhao Sheng’s gaze sharpened upon hearing this, and he said directly, “Name your price then!”
The middle-aged man’s face was all smiles as he placatingly responded, “Senior, you must be an Alchemy Master. Have you ever considered moving to Chu King City? Our Chu King’s Commerce is in desperate need of such talent—”
Zhao Sheng suddenly interrupted, “There’s no need for that. Just name your price! I’ve enjoyed the life of a wanderer long enough and don’t wish to be bound.”
The middle-aged man wanted to persuade him again, “Senior, you—”
Hm?
With a nasal hum, Zhao Sheng released and then withdrew an immense pressure, staggering the middle-aged man’s heart so much that he was unable to speak.
“All right…all right!” The middle-aged man forcefully suppressed his shock, and after composing himself, he said, “If the senior truly wishes to exchange, in addition to the spirit pills in the box, you need to add treasures worth at least a million spirit stones. That is the lowest price I can offer.”
“That’s expensive!” Zhao Sheng felt a pang of pain at the price, his heart aching.
Nevertheless, treasures had to be bought when necessary. The Five Passes God ultimately needed to emerge into the open, no longer to be mistaken for the deity of some Evil God Temple.
Zhao Sheng pondered, then reached out to take eight jade scrolls and pushed them towards the middle-aged man, “These are three top-grade cultivation techniques and five third-rank elixir recipes from the elderly. See how many spirit stones they can offset?”
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man’s eyes instantly lit up…
More than an hour later, the middle-aged man sent the green-robed elderly man to the doorway with the utmost respect and watched as Zhao Sheng floated away.
…
A short time later,
A hundred li west of the location, in Cangmo City, Zhao Sheng changed into a different attire, transforming into a fair-skinned young man, and entered the street at a vegetable market entrance.
He walked a few steps, reached a red willow tree, knocked on its trunk four times, and infused three strands of Spiritual Power.
In the blink of an eye, countless ghostly eyes opened on the red willow tree. With a flash of green, the person disappeared into thin air.
After the world spun round, Zhao Sheng opened his eyes to suddenly discover that the Ghost Market was in much more disrepair than before, and the liveliness had diminished significantly.
The cramped streets seemed much shorter than before, and the ground was littered with more craters and potholes, with no one bothering to repair them.
Shops on either side had also collapsed in several places, and amidst the ruins, traces of intense fights were everywhere.
The stalls on the street were few and far between, reduced by almost half, and the number of items related to zombies and ghostly creatures had increased significantly. Along the sides of the street, rows of zombies of various heights stood in neat lines against the walls.
At certain stalls, there were even variously colored coffins of black, red, yellow, and white brazenly displayed, and beside them were two-foot-tall Ghost Suppressing Altars, their surfaces covered in countless talismans.
Looking around, Zhao Sheng was secretly surprised as the stall owners behind the stalls seemed to have completely changed, with not a single familiar figure in sight.
“Even the Ghost Market has suffered, it seems the ghost disaster and the black plague have had a more severe impact than I thought. I hope my ‘old friends’ didn’t all disappear without a trace.”
Zhao Sheng thought to himself, then continued to walk towards the end of the street.
The items on Ghost Street were all common wares; the true treasures were all in the second layer of the Ghost Market.
Zhao Sheng walked briskly, his gaze swiftly scanning the stalls. Unless something caught his eye, he would not stop.