217: Chapter 217 Glazed Plaza, Open-air Market

Lu Jinghan, Zhou Tianchen, and Duan Xinghe.

All three were the top Prodigies of the younger generation in the Southern Wilderness, each holding a xuanhuang key, and their current journey was for the Xuanhuang Fortress.

"Is this Huaiyang City?" Zhou Tianchen looked up at the towering city before him, his gaze lingering for a moment on the three powerful, gilded characters on the city gate. "It's much livelier than I imagined."

Lu Jinghan did not speak, only quietly extending his Divine Sense to quickly sweep over the Cultivators and auras around the city gate.

His movement was extremely subtle, completely undetectable by ordinary Cultivators, but a moment later, his brow furrowed slightly.

In just this small area near the city gate, he sensed at least three auras at or above the Body Integration Stage. Among them, a few auras had deliberately concealed their cultivation, making it impossible for even his Divine Sense to see through them completely.

Huaiyang City was indeed a major city in the southern part of the Central Plains, but ordinarily, it would never gather so many powerhouses at the same time.

"It seems the life-substitution talisman Revered Master produced at Bafang Pavilion has alarmed quite a few people." Lu Jinghan retracted his Divine Sense, his tone indifferent.

On their way to the Central Plains, Lu Jinghan and the others had also heard news of the life-substitution talisman, and from the descriptions of others, they knew it was their Revered Master's handiwork.

Holding his longsword, Duan Xinghe's cold expression rarely showed a hint of curiosity: "Did the Lord of Kunlun truly just casually take out a life-substitution talisman as a wager?"

Hearing this, the corners of Zhou Tianchen's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a proud smile, and his tone carried a hint of faint pride: "With Revered Master's temperament, he would indeed do such a thing."

Lu Jinghan did not continue the topic. He stepped toward the city gate at an unhurried pace, though his eyes remained attentive to the surroundings.

Among the auras hidden near the city gate, some came from the Five Great Sacred Lands, some from the Three Great Families, and others whose origins even he could not determine.

It seemed that after Revered Master and the Grey-robed Elder vanished into thin air that day, these forces did not give up, choosing instead to wait in Huaiyang City for their prey.

However, since these people were still lingering in the city, it meant they had not found Revered Master yet.

The moment the three of them stepped through the city gate, in the Void Realm high above Huaiyang City, three auras that were countless times more powerful than ordinary Cultivators were hidden among the clouds, maintaining a perfect distance from one another.

Elder Cangwu was still dressed in a green robe, carrying a longsword on his back, his expression as calm as still water.

Cang Song stood by his side, his gaze piercing through the clouds to land on the three young figures below at the city gate. After a moment, he turned his head to look at the Grey-robed Elder who was sitting cross-legged alone on the clouds, resting with his eyes closed not far away.

Elder Jianchi had also changed into a grey cloth Daoist robe today, with a sheathless, pitch-black longsword resting across his knees.

He seemed to sense Cang Song's gaze, opened one eyelid to glance in Cang Song's direction, and then closed it again, saying indifferently, "Fellow Daoist Cang Song, rest assured, though Xinghe is a bit cold-natured, he knows how to conduct himself with propriety."

Elder Cangwu nodded slightly, saying no more.

The three Tribulation Transcenders quietly waited in the clouds above Huaiyang City.

Lu Jinghan and the other two walked through the city gate and proceeded along the main street.

The streets of Huaiyang City were wider than those of any city in the Southern Wilderness, lined with shops on both sides, flags fluttering, and a bustling flow of people.

On the streets, Cultivators dressed in the attire of various forces hurried past from time to time, some with solemn expressions, others looking around, clearly all drawn here by the news of the life-substitution talisman.

Lu Jinghan turned a blind eye to this, walking straight toward the tallest pavilion in the center of the city.

The nine-story pavilion of Bafang Pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens in Huaiyang City's architectural complex. The bronze wind chimes on its upturned eaves chimed crisply in the afternoon breeze, visible from afar.

Lu Jinghan had been to Bafang Pavilion several times in his past life, and was well-acquainted with its rules.

He went straight to the manager behind the counter on the first floor, revealed his identity, and requested three first-class guest rooms.

That manager was one of the few who had witnessed the entire gambling match on the third floor. Hearing that they were the Personal Disciples of the Kunlun Sect Revered Master, how could he dare to be negligent? He personally led the three of them to the VIP building in the backyard and arranged three adjacent independent courtyards. The courtyards were abundant in Spiritual Qi, equipped with soundproofing Restrictions, and were quiet and elegant.

The night passed in silence. Early the next morning, as dawn broke, Zhou Tianchen knocked on the door of Lu Jinghan's courtyard.

Today, he had changed into a moon-white Daoist robe, and the golden firelight of the qiankun furnace at his waist was slightly brighter than usual, making him look full of energy.

"Senior Brother, there is a Liuli Plaza on the east side of Bafang Pavilion, which is the largest open-air market in Huaiyang City."

Zhou Tianchen said, his tone carrying a hint of eagerness to try.

"I was in a rush last time and didn't get to look around. Since we have time today, why don't we go check it out? Perhaps we can find some useful spiritual materials. It's always right to prepare more Medicinal Pills before entering the Xuanhuang Fortress."

Lu Jinghan nodded. Duan Xinghe also walked out of the neighboring courtyard clutching his longsword, still with his cold demeanor, but his eyes shifted slightly upon hearing the word "market."

The three of them walked out of Bafang Pavilion side by side and headed east along the main street.

Liuli Plaza was located on the east side of Huaiyang City, occupying a vast area, its ground paved with solid blocks of glazed tiles that gleamed with a warm luster under the morning light.

Dozens of coiling Dragon stone pillars stood around the plaza, their surfaces carved with runes that faintly formed an invisible protective grand array.

Inside the plaza, there were no fixed shops; instead, it was densely packed with temporary stalls. Stallholders either shouted loudly or introduced their wares in low voices. The rising and falling cries of hawking and bargaining intertwined, composing a lively scene of bustling market life.

The variety of goods here was far more complex than inside Bafang Pavilion.

The shelves of Bafang Pavilion displayed certified, clearly priced high-quality goods, whereas what was sold in Liuli Plaza were loose goods of various origins, hard to distinguish as real or fake.

There were fragments of unknown Magical Artifacts brought out from various Secret Realms, broken Jade Slips allegedly excavated from ancient ruins, piles upon piles of unappraised raw stones, and even people setting up stalls to sell Spirit Beast cubs—a snow-white little fox curled up in a cage, blinking pitifully at the passing Cultivators.

Just as Lu Jinghan's group stepped into the plaza, their path was blocked by a sharp-featured Loose Cultivator with a monkey-like face.

The Loose Cultivator mysteriously pulled a pitch-black stone from his robe and lowered his voice, saying, "Three Fellow Daoists, this is a crimson flame blood marrow stone that I dug up from the depths of the Flaming Mountains in the Western Regions. A Heaven Rank spiritual material, selling for only one million Spirit Stones. Miss this chance, and you won't find another!"

Zhou Tianchen looked down at the so-called crimson flame blood marrow stone, his mouth twitching.

He had read detailed records about the crimson flame blood marrow stone in the Scripture of Alchemy; the surface of a real crimson flame blood marrow stone would have dark red veins winding like blood vessels.

Yet the few lines on the stone before him were clearly drawn with some kind of red pigment, and the pigment was not even fully dry.

"No need," Zhou Tianchen waved his hand politely, bypassing the Loose Cultivator to continue forward.

The Loose Cultivator did not persist either, turning around to intercept his next target. In a place like this, if they could trick one, they would; if not, there was no loss.