125: Chapter 125 A Second Visit to Wanbao Pavilion to Explore Treasures, Sensing the Imminent Movement

Early the next morning, Ye Qing left Yuelai Inn and arrived once again at Wanbao Pavilion in the East Market.

The East Market was already bustling in the early morning.

Various cries of hawkers and sounds of bargaining rose and fell, and the air was filled with the mixed scent of Spirit Medicine, Medicinal Pill, and various Yao Beast Materials.

As Ye Qing stepped through the doors of Wanbao Pavilion, the Foundation Establishment Stage clerk who had served him last time immediately spotted him and hurried over, his face wreathed in a professional smile.

"Oh! Senior! You have come! Please, come in, come in! What would you like to see this time? Our shop has just received a new batch of goods, and the quality is absolutely top-notch!"

Ye Qing waved his hand. "I'm just looking around; you go ahead and attend to your business."

"Understood! Senior, please feel free! If you need anything, just call me!"

The clerk tactfully retreated to the side, but his gaze still lingered on Ye Qing's movements, whether intentionally or not.

Ye Qing strolled slowly through the shop, his gaze sweeping across the rows of shelves.

The selection of goods at Wanbao Pavilion was indeed rich, with everything from low-grade Spiritual Plant and Ore to high-grade Magical Artifact and Medicinal Pill.

There were even some expensive and mysterious "ancient artifacts" displayed separately in crystal cabinets for appraisal.

He walked and stopped, appearing aimless, but in reality, his Divine Sense had already quietly extended like invisible tentacles, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations emanating from every item.

He was now a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and the acuity of his Divine Sense far exceeded that of the Golden Core Stage, allowing him to capture subtle auras that ordinary people would find difficult to detect.

He walked to a shelf displaying various Ore and his gaze landed on a fist-sized, pitch-black stone covered in natural golden patterns.

This Ore was casually placed among a pile of ordinary iron Ore and priced at only a few dozen Low-Grade Spirit Stone, clearly mistaken by the shop clerk for some kind of common iron Ore.

However, Ye Qing's Divine Sense captured a trace of extremely faint yet exceptionally pure metal-attribute energy fluctuation from within the Ore.

"This is... 'Golden-Veined Profound Iron'? And judging by these patterns and luster, the quality seems quite high."

His heart stirred, but his face remained impassive. He casually picked up the Ore, weighed it in his hand a few times, then put it back. He then picked up a piece of "Red Flame Copper" next to it, which had a better appearance and a higher price, and examined it carefully.

This action of his did not attract the clerk's attention.

Ye Qing made another round of the shop and, using the same method, successively discovered several items whose value had been underestimated.

An apparently ordinary grey stone contained a fragment of void stone inside.

A "Soul-Condensing Grass" that had been dried and sold as an ordinary herb was actually over three hundred years old and full of medicinal power.

There was also a rusted, seemingly discarded bronze dagger, and the inconspicuous green gemstone embedded in the scabbard turned out to be a high-quality "Wood Spirit Bead".

"Tsk tsk, this Wanbao Pavilion really is a good place to 'treasure hunt'. It's a pity these treasures are covered in dust; a pearl cast into darkness."

He sighed inwardly but remained impassive on the surface.

He walked to the counter, pointed to the items he had taken a fancy to, and said to the clerk, "I want these things. Help me calculate how much they cost."

The clerk looked in the direction he was pointing and discovered that they were all inexpensive "cheap goods" that had been gathering dust in the corner.

He couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and hurriedly replied, "Understood! Senior has a unique eye! Although these items are inconspicuous, they are old objects with some history, and they are extremely cost-effective!"

As he spoke, he deftly took out the items and calculated the price. "Senior, it is a total of three hundred and seventy Low-Grade Spirit Stone."

Ye Qing did not bargain, paid the Spirit Stone, and put the items into his Storage Pouch.

"Go slowly, Senior! Welcome again next time!" The clerk enthusiastically saw him out of the shop door.

Leaving Wanbao Pavilion, Ye Qing was in a rather pleasant mood.

"The void stone fragments can be used to reinforce the spatial barrier of the Cave Heaven World; the Soul-Condensing Grass can be used to refine Medicinal Pill to nourish the Divine Soul; the Wood Spirit Bead can enhance the wood-attribute Origin of the Cave Heaven World. And that piece of Golden-Veined Profound Iron can be used to upgrade my Flying Sword."

He took stock of today's gains and felt that this trip was very worthwhile.

"However, relying solely on treasure hunting is still too slow. If I want to quickly improve my strength, I still need to find higher-quality resources."

He walked on the road back to the inn, calculating his next plan in his mind.

Just then, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from ahead, accompanied by hurried footsteps and shouts.

"Make way! Quickly make way! Urgent report from the City Lord's Mansion!"

Several messengers riding Dragon-scaled Horses were galloping along the street, and Cultivators along the way retreated one after another.

Ye Qing stepped to the side of the road, his gaze falling on the messengers.

They all carried the aura of having traveled a long distance, and their faces bore grave expressions, clearly having rushed back from afar.

"It seems there is new news from the front line."

He thought to himself and quickened his pace, returning to Yuelai Inn.

Just as he walked into the inn's lobby, he heard a group of Cultivators gathered together, discussing animatedly.

"...Have you heard? The Yao Race army has already advanced to the east of Black Wind Ridge! It is less than five hundred miles away from our Zhenbei City!"

"So fast?! Didn't they say they were still gathering troops?"

"Gathering, my foot! That 'Iron-Winged Eagle King' is very cunning! On the surface, they were gathering troops, but in secret, they had long since dispatched elite units to bypass our defensive lines and strike directly into the hinterland!"

"Then what do we do? Does the City Lord's Mansion have any countermeasures?"

"I heard that Ancestor Jiang has already personally taken action to go to the front line to block the Yao Race army! But it is said that the 'Iron-Winged Eagle King' has also come, and the two may have already started fighting!"

"Hiss! Ancestor Jiang and the Iron-Winged Eagle King have fought?! This is a major event!"

Ye Qing stood on the periphery of the crowd, silently listening to these discussions, his brows raising imperceptibly.

"The Iron-Winged Eagle King... has already advanced to the east of Black Wind Ridge? The movements are quite fast. It seems that my 'decapitation operation' that day only slightly delayed their offensive rhythm and did not fundamentally change the war situation."

"Ancestor Jiang has personally taken action... I don't know if the old man can block the number one fierce general under that 'Patrol Inspector Lietian' Patrol Envoy."

He pondered in his heart and turned back to his own private courtyard.

Closing the courtyard door and setting up a sound-insulation Restriction, the relaxed expression on his face gradually faded.

"The situation is even more severe than I imagined. The Yao Race army's speed of advancement is too fast. I am afraid that Zhenbei City really cannot hold on for much longer."

"My plan must also be brought forward. I must find a safe retreat route before the city falls and improve my strength as much as possible."

He walked to the stone bench in the courtyard, sat down, looked up at the three faintly visible moons of different colors in the sky, and fell into deep thought.

"It seems it is time to go to the Black Miasma Swamp again."