Chapter 553: Bianhu City
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Haihu Domain, Bianhu City.
In the entire Thousand Feathers Alliance, it’s considered a rather remote maritime region, and Bianhu City is nestled in a corner of the Haihu Domain, nearly bordering the outer defense line of the Thousand Feathers Alliance.
The spiritual energy here is somewhat sluggish compared to other places, reminiscent of the initial settlement of the Primordial Sword Sect on Primordial Water Island.
Normally, such places would have spa.r.s.e population due to insufficient spiritual energy, resulting in limited production of various spiritual materials and a low likelihood of encountering hidden realms.
Even if they do exist, they are mostly first or second-tier hidden realms, which are somewhat beneficial to cultivation sects in the Aperture Tempering realm, but hardly attractive to forces beyond that level to settle here.
However, the reality is that there are quite a few cultivators in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm within the Haihu Domain, and they can be seen from time to time. Cultivators in the Aperture Tempering realm are even more abundant, with a high frequency of entering and exiting Bianhu City.
Because Bianhu City is the most famous marketplace within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, unlike other marketplaces, they only care about the goods, not their origins.
As long as your goods are good enough, they don’t care where you got them from; they have their own channels to sell them.
If the characteristics of the goods are too obvious, Bianhu City even has its own craftsmen who can give them a makeover to ensure it won’t affect their business with customers.
Because of this reason, the number of people coming to and from Bianhu City daily is actually quite high. Among them, there are no ordinary people; the lowest are cultivators in the Aperture Tempering realm or above.
Only cultivators of this level have items to sell but are concerned about attracting certain troubles.
Even under the scorching sun, there are shadows, and naturally, there is a dark side within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, which is almost impossible to eliminate.
So the att.i.tude of the Thousand Feathers Alliance towards Bianhu City has always been ambiguous, and it has been so for many years.
Because destroying one Bianhu City would only lead to the emergence of another similar place. On the contrary, having Bianhu City here, visible and tangible, sometimes makes it easier to manage.
Chen Fei descended from the sky and landed in front of the gate of Bianhu City.
As soon as he landed, Chen Fei felt his own aura starting to blur, many of its characteristics disappearing.
The Mix Spirit Jade, a treasure of Bianhu City, when paired with a special formation, can alter the auras of cultivators within a certain range.
In other words, once you enter the city, it becomes extremely difficult for others to recognize you based on your aura.
It’s precisely because of this Mix Spirit Jade that business in Bianhu City thrives.
However, this Mix Spirit Jade must be completely integrated with the terrain and supplemented by the formation to exert such an effect. Otherwise, such a rare treasure would likely have been s.n.a.t.c.hed up by a group of people long ago.
The gate of Bianhu City was shrouded in a black mist as Chen Fei stepped into it, his figure actively changing, while at the same time, he pulled out a black cloak to cover himself.
With this, even if there were people tracking him before, they would not be able to discern who he was.
When it comes to protecting client information, Bianhu City has certainly put in a lot of effort.
Chen Fei stepped out of the black mist and truly entered into Bianhu City.
Stalls lined the streets on both sides, while behind them were various shops, with the mixed aura of various spiritual tools and treasures creating a lively atmosphere.
Chen Fei glanced at the items on the stalls on both sides but didn’t find anything useful to him.
He generally didn’t have the idea of scavenging at stalls; those who could sell things here were almost all astute individuals. Even if there was something the stall owner didn’t understand, they would still sell it at an exorbitant price.
They would rather not sell it than cheapen it for others.
Especially for items found in ancient ruins or caves, the prices were absurdly high.
Chen Fei’s Heavenly Eye was well-suited for scavenging. If there were truly astonishing treasures, even if the stall owner priced them at what they thought was a high price, Chen Fei would still buy them.
However, items that Chen Fei considered treasures would generally not appear on these cultivators in the Aperture Tempering realm.
Chen Fei took a stroll and entered the largest shop in Bianhu City.
“Guest, what can I do for you?” The shopkeeper saw Chen Fei enter and discreetly sized him up before warmly asking.
“Do you buy magical treasures?” Chen Fei glanced around; there were many spiritual tools, and even some top-grade ones, but there was no trace of magical treasures.
They probably weren’t displayed, considering that every magical treasure, even the lowest-grade ones, cost at least a hundred middle-grade elemental stones.
“We do! Please follow me, sir.” The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up slightly.
The value of magical treasures was immense. Selling one could bring in much more profit than selling spiritual tools. However, the trade of magical treasures was also rare.
Given Bianhu City’s position as a marketplace within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, it was common for several days to pa.s.s without any transactions involving magical treasures.
The shopkeeper led Chen Fei to a private room where the fragrance of tea filled the air. Another person followed the shopkeeper into the room.
“Are you selling a magical treasure, sir?” Lin Guanlan glanced at Chen Fei, smiling.
In the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, but due to the concealment of Bianhu City’s formation, Lin Guanlan couldn’t quite determine his specific realm.
“A middle-grade magical treasure!” Chen Fei replied, taking out the short dagger belonging to Kou Yuanheng.
As soon as the short dagger appeared, the surrounding spiritual energy trembled slightly, and a sharp aura filled the entire room.
The shopkeeper felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on his body involuntarily stood on end. Being only in the Aperture Tempering realm, facing such a high-level magical treasure felt like encountering a natural enemy.
As a direct disciple of the Death Shadow Sect, Kou Yuanheng naturally possessed extraordinary items. After all, to some extent, the Death Shadow Sect had quite a bit of money.
With money comes the ability to provide disciples with as many good things as possible.
If it weren’t for the fact that cultivation beyond the late Aperture Tempering realm and the peak of Aperture Tempering realm couldn’t rely solely on simple resources to forcibly advance, the Death Shadow Sect’s strength would likely have expanded even further.
Among middle-grade magical treasures, this short dagger may not be considered top-notch, but it definitely ranked high.
When Chen Fei received the short dagger, he even took a look at the materials used and the forging techniques.
In terms of materials, it was undoubtedly top-notch, and the forging technique was so advanced that it could have potentially crafted a top-grade magical treasure. However, a slight mishap occurred during the forging process.
This mishap resulted in the short dagger ultimately being cla.s.sified only as a middle-grade magical treasure.
However, in the future, if there is an opportunity, this short dagger may not be incapable of ascending to the level of a top-grade magical treasure.
With Chen Fei’s discerning eye, he could easily see the characteristics of the short dagger, and Lin Guanlan, as the overseer of the shop, naturally also recognized its extraordinary nature.
Lin Guanlan inspected the short dagger in his hand, his smile growing even brighter.
He looked up at Chen Fei, signaling that it was time to negotiate the price. Given the quality of this short dagger, it was unlikely to escape a price of over two thousand middle-grade elemental stones.
After a moment, Chen Fei left the shop.
Lin Guanlan and the shopkeeper escorted Chen Fei to the door, watching his figure disappear into the crowd.
The shopkeeper turned to Lin Guanlan, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.
Bianhu City was the largest marketplace within the Thousand Feathers Alliance, and almost anything could be bought and sold here; the law had almost no effect here.
Therefore, shady dealings were quite common in Bianhu City.
The final price for this middle-grade magical treasure was set at two thousand one hundred and fifty middle-grade elemental stones. This was a quite remarkable fortune, almost impossible to acc.u.mulate with only the cultivation level of the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm.
Lin Guanlan understood the shopkeeper’s meaning but after careful consideration, he shook his head.
Although the quant.i.ty of elemental stones was tempting, anyone daring to sell a middle-grade magical treasure must have some backing. Acting rashly, if one’s strength was insufficient, it was uncertain who would end up being the loser in the end.
In the world of shady dealings, sufficient strength is indeed necessary.
Moreover, in Bianhu City, it’s not easy to track someone in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm. Even with their years of operation in Bianhu City, they couldn’t guarantee absolute success.
As Chen Fei walked along the street, he didn’t detect any surveillance. After a moment of consideration, he turned and walked into a nearby tea garden.
The tea garden was elegantly laid out, with pleasant tea fragrances wafting around. Chen Fei explained his purpose and was led to a tea room.
This was a place to buy and sell information, and while the information sold here was quite expensive, its reliability was also rea.s.suring.
“What does the guest need?” asked the tea garden proprietor as he looked at Chen Fei.
“Have there been any major events happening within the alliance recently?” Chen Fei asked in a low voice.
The Primordial Sword Sect had only recently arrived in the Thousand Feathers Alliance, and their own channels for information were actually quite limited, influenced by both their background and their current strength.
Even for the few sects like the Break Soul Sect, the information they received was somewhat delayed, and they couldn’t always know immediately what was happening in the Thousand Feathers Alliance.
“Well, if you’re talking about major events, there have indeed been a few recently. There’s been activity at the alliance’s outer defense line, the Shadow Abyss Sect, the Tiandao Sect, and some movements from the alliance leader. Which one would you like to hear about?”
When the tea garden proprietor mentioned the leader of the Thousand Feathers Alliance, he made a slight gesture of respect towards the right side. “I’ll take all of them. What’s the price?” Chen Fei’s interest was piqued by the proprietor’s words.
This tea garden was indeed a place for buying and selling information. The fact that even yesterday’s events were recorded here showed its remarkable ability to gather information, something not every faction could match.
“It’s four middle-grade elemental stones each, one piece for each piece of information,” the proprietor said, his smile growing even brighter.
Chen Fei nodded and took out four middle-grade elemental stones from his spatial grid. The price of this information was undoubtedly expensive. Four middle-grade elemental stones were equivalent to four hundred low-grade elemental stones.
With this amount of elemental stones, he could buy a high-quality middle-grade spiritual tool.
“Please wait, sir!”
The proprietor’s right hand swept across the table, and the elemental stones disappeared into his hand. After a moment, someone handed over a jade slip. The proprietor took it, inspected it, confirmed its accuracy, and handed it to Chen Fei.
Chen Fei examined the jade slip and didn’t find any issues. After taking it, he sent a trace of his consciousness into the jade slip.
In less than a cup of tea’s time, Chen Fei withdrew his consciousness from the jade slip, his expression thoughtful.
“Thank you!” Chen Fei nodded to the proprietor and stood up.
“You’re welcome, sir!” Seeing Chen Fei’s satisfaction, the proprietor also smiled.
Chen Fei left the tea garden, not in a hurry to leave Bianhu City. He entered several shops and bought some things before checking into an inn within the city..