329: The Development of the Ancient God Merchant Guild

"I'm going to Old Man You's place to buy some supplies. You wait here."

"OK."

Bai Chi left the stone house, and Tang Ping began to observe the small stone house by himself.

"This kind of rock has indeed appeared. I didn't expect it to be widely used so quickly."

Tang Ping knew a little about this grey rock; it could effectively resist contamination, especially the mental contamination from the Blood Moon.

Houses built with this grey rock could at least allow ordinary people to sleep soundly, preventing them from prolonged exposure to the Blood Moon, which would eventually lead to mental breakdown and distortion.

As for other things, well, this kid wasn't much better off than he was the first time he went to the future, but now, thanks to the strange treasure opportunity from the azure ancient wood's energy knots, he had some strength.

Tang Ping didn't continue observing but contacted Zhang Xile.

Tang Ping: "Zhang Xile, my seclusion is over."

More than ten minutes later, Zhang Xile's reply appeared.

Zhang Xile: "Brother Tang! You really are Brother Tang! My God, I thought you had died in seclusion! Do you know how long it's been? A whole year!"

Tang Ping: "I know. It's only been a year, much faster than I expected. How is Heavenly Mansion doing now?"

Zhang Xile: "Needless to say, the population living within the Heavenly Mansion barrier has already reached 300,000, which is definitely considered large among Safe Zones. Also, significant progress has been made in mutant potions and phantom beast breeding. Oh, and my Shelter has also been upgraded to level six. The remaining shelter fragments are just enough to upgrade another Shelter to level six. I'll send them to Brother Tang in a bit."

Tang Ping: "Alright, you'll have to worry more about the Safe Zone matters."

Zhang Xile: "Who told me I was your servant? I have no choice but to worry. Brother Tang, when are you coming back? Can you let me rest for two days?"

Tang Ping: "I can't go back in the short term. After all, I'm on South Sea Island, and now that a year has passed, I don't know how far it is from the mainland. By the way, have you advanced to level six yet?"

Zhang Xile: "level six? What are you thinking? That's a million experience points! experience stones are getting harder and harder to obtain now, and there are more and more high-level Talent Users. Let alone me, there are no level sixes in the whole world right now, because not only do you need to raise experience points, but you also need to comprehend your own 'potential'. Currently, I've only just touched upon a hint of it by relying on the purple light golden sun tree and the strange treasure that improved my aptitude, but to successfully comprehend it, it's probably impossible without three to five years. Others don't even need to be mentioned."

Tang Ping: "I understand that. To advance from level six to level seven, one also needs to control their own 'domain', but that's still a bit far for us. As for 'potential', everyone's 'potential' is different; it's an understanding based on one's own foundation. Don't blindly imitate, otherwise, if you go down the wrong path, the consequences will be very serious."

Zhang Xile: "Mhm, I know all this. Some people have already gone mad because of it. Brother Tang, do you have anything else? If not, I need to get busy. There are a lot more Pollution Beasts near the Great Wall now, and I'm cleaning them up with others, and feeding the Great Wall in the process."

Tang Ping: "Are there many Pollution Beasts? Do you need me to provide some support?"

Zhang Xile: "No need. It's just a lot of them, but they pose no threat to us. They can just help the flesh and blood Great Wall grow faster. The flesh and blood Great Wall is already over a thousand li long, and after this, it's estimated to reach two thousand li. The nearby bases can basically all be connected by this Great Wall."

Tang Ping: "That's good. By the way, are there any movements from other foreign races now?"

Zhang Xile: "There really are, but not here, but in other places. Nowadays, strange ethnic groups frequently appear all over the world, but most of them haunt the major forbidden zones and are rarely seen."

Tang Ping pondered for a moment: "Forbidden zones, huh? I understand. You go clear the Pollution Beasts then."

Zhang Xile: "Alright."

After he finished, the shelter fragments were sent over shortly after, and Tang Ping upgraded his hand-level to level six.

Speaking of which, he seemed to have neglected those mini-games inside for a long time.

"Perhaps I can use the time difference in Sophia's world and the power of faith from the false gods to help myself comprehend 'potential'."

Tang Ping mused, but there was no rush. Both of his Talents were already Level Five, and both were SS-rank. Even after a year, he was still among the top tier, even stronger.

"I wonder how the Ancient God Chamber of Commerce is developing, and if they've arrived on South Sea Island."

He had arranged for hundreds of Blood God Clan members on that small island. Now, after digesting the ancient bloodline, they should have mostly reached Level Five, which would be a terrifying force.

"Perhaps I can go to Yunzhou City to see. If the Ancient God Chamber of Commerce has developed here, their presence must be in these Safe Zones."

"I just don't know what stage this force has developed to now."

Tang Ping emerged from the stone house, preparing to observe this most ordinary small base.

This base was too small; with just over two hundred people, it was pitifully small even a year ago.

Soon, he noticed that many people were rushing towards one place.

Tang Ping was a bit curious and wanted to join in the fun. Buried underground for a year, he had almost become an old corpse. Now, he really wanted to interact more with these living people.

"I heard Old Man You brought back a lot of good stuff this time. There are a few more bottles of strengthening potions than before. I wonder if the money I saved is enough to buy one."

"You want to buy a strengthening potion? You go out hunting three days fishing and two days drying nets. You can forget about it in this lifetime."

"Hehe, that's not necessarily true. Look what this is?"

"What? What good stuff could you possibly have? Your family is so poor they don't even have a decent bowl... Holy crap! Bastard! Where did you get that beast crystal!"

"Hehe, I went out earlier and ran into two Pollution Beasts fighting. They both died, so I went to pick up the scraps. I didn't expect to actually find a beast crystal."

"You, you're quite secretive."

"In this day and age, if you're not secretive, you won't live long. If it weren't for Old Man You's place, I wouldn't dare to take it out."

"Mutant potion? What kind of potion is this? Holy crap, after taking it, your skin will be covered with a layer of scales? Is that even human!"

The name of the mutant potion immediately attracted the attention of groups of people, and the surroundings quieted down. Even Tang Ping's eyes flickered when he heard the name.

But when he got closer and saw Old Man You, he was stunned, especially by the wisp of red hair on the man's forehead, which stood out conspicuously among his grey hair.

"This is...? He actually has a trace of Blood God Clan bloodline? What's going on?"

"No, this bloodline isn't his own; it's externally bestowed from consuming something! And there's that merchant guild's emblem."

At this moment, Tang Ping still felt somewhat incredulous. Was this Old Man You really a member of the Ancient God Chamber of Commerce? Had the Ancient God Chamber of Commerce developed to such an extent? They even had a presence in such a remote and weak base!

This was, somewhat terrifying.

In front of a two-story stone house, compared to the other stone houses, this one was not only larger but also more refined. Even the stone material was premium grey rock, and judging by its thickness, even a Level Three Pollution Beast probably couldn't break through it!

In front of the stone house stood a small old man. Although the old man looked very ancient, he stood out remarkably among the crowd. His eyes were not at all cloudy; instead, they were extremely sharp. His complexion was rosy, and even his clothes were clean and tidy, the material seemingly made from some kind of Pollution Beast fur.

He looked like a landlord standing among a group of vagrants.

Of course, the middle-aged man next to him was also impressive, wearing a white cloud inscription badge on his chest, presumably the guardian of this small base.

The shrewd little old man stroked his beard, introducing the bottle of potion in his hand with a cheerful expression: "As for this potion, I won't say much else. Just remember, it's a Heavenly Mansion product, that's all you need to know."