Chapter 959: Superior World?!

Even though he didn’t obtain the Moonlight Stone in the end, Shang Xia understood a lot more about the spirit of the moon from Zhou Mingdao.

He managed to get his hands on three taels of Origin Yang Mysterious Copper and a bunch of Nayuan Spirit Nourishing Stone. With that, he spent a total of 16 high-grade essence crystals. Adding the crystals he took out to activate the spatial tunnel, he basically used up the high-grade essence crystals he brought with him from the Spirit Luxuriant World.

One had to know that those high-grade essence crystals didn’t really belong to him. They belonged to the institution and he was supposed to hold on to them for the time being... However, Shang Xia had no choice but to spend them after seeing the treasures on sale.

When he left the Starry Pavilion, Shang Xia was holding 2 invitations in his hand. One of them was meant for him, and the other was supposed to be given to Kou Chongxue. More accurately, the Starry Pavilion was giving it to the Martial Void Realm True Immortal of the Tongyou Institution.

The invitation was for an auction held once a year by the Starry Pavilion. They would gather high-level treasures from the various worlds for the auction. Those who could attend the event were definitely high-level experts or important powers.

...

Not too long after Shang Xia left... Zhouy Mingdao stood on the highest floor of the Starry Pavilion as he watched the departing figure. No one knew what he was thinking about.

However, a second later, he seemed to discover strange fluctuations around him and he turned his head violently. An elder clad in a long white robe with a head full of silver hair stood silently behind him.

“Pavilion Master!” Zhou Mingdao bowed the moment he noticed the figure.

The silver-haired elder nodded slightly before strolling over with his hands clasped behind his back. He eventually stood beside Zhou Mingdao and stared at the street below. He asked casually, “What do you think?”

“He’s pretty shrewd, and he has the ability to restrain himself. He seems extremely knowledgeable about some things, completely unlike someone who has been living in an isolated world. He is definitely hiding some secret on him, and I feel like he didn’t take a loss at all when he made those trades earlier... I seemed to be the one at a disadvantage... I just don’t understand how it happened...” Zhou Mingdao muttered in a low voice.

The silver-haired elder mumbled softly, “To be given the task of establishing the spatial tunnel between our Star Origin City and his world means that he wouldn’t be a fool. He’s pretty impressive for someone of his age. Like you said, he’s pretty shrewd. However, what is truly impressive is his ability to restrain himself. He was able to keep his calm when seeing so many high-level treasures. Also... Any world that managed to resist the Spirit Abundance World’s invasion twice is definitely no ordinary world. The Spirit Luxuriant World might seem isolated on the surface, but they should be pretty different from other worlds. I managed to gain some information about the Spirit Luxuriant World before its formation. They were once the Azure Ascension World, and they were created after the fusion of 2 Azure Worlds.”

“As for him hiding some sort of secret... Is there any high-level expert out here who reached their current cultivation level based on pure hard work without keeping any secrets? Heh... As for the loss you suffered from the trades. It happened because both of you knew different things. He managed to bait a bit of information regarding his cultivation out of you. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. After all, our Starry Pavilion could be said to have done him a favor by doing so. Everything you told him was for the sake of forming a better relationship with the Spirit Luxuriant World.” The silver-haired elder concluded.

Zhou Mingdao didn’t expect the Pavilion Master to say so much, but he seemed to become a little curious about something the elder brought up. He couldn't help but ask, “Pavilion Master, was the Azure World that ascended to the Spirit Luxuriant World really created by the fusion of 2 Azure Worlds?”

Glancing at Zhou Mingdao from the corner of his eye, the silver-haired elder chuckled, “What’s the matter? Do you not believe me?”

“Of course not!” Zhou Mingdao replied with no hesitation. “I just find it a little weird. How would 2 Azure Worlds collide and fuse in the vast sea of stars with no reason?”

A sigh escaped the elder’s lips. “Yeah... It’s something I never heard of either. Unless there’s a hidden reason none of us know...”

With his eyes widening in shock, Zhou Mingdao gasped, “Could it be... Did someone cause their worlds to meet in the vast sea of stars?”

As the words left his lips, he couldn’t quite believe what he was saying.

Those were 2 different worlds they were talking about! Even if they were merely Azure Worlds, it would be near impossible for anyone to move them together! If someone was truly able to do something like that... How strong would they have to be?!

The silver-haired elder continued suddenly, “Zhuge Xiang passed down news after the exchange between the 10 Martial Void Realm experts... Throughout the entire process, he was sure that there was someone else paying attention to the battle...”

“Is it someone from a Superior World?” Zhou Mingdao gasped. “What exactly is the Spirit Luxuriant World? What secret do they hold for them to attract the attention of the monstrous Superior World that hadn’t shown their face in hundreds of years?”

Even though there were 2 spatial tunnels connected to Superior Worlds from the Star Relay and a Void Hall was specially built for them, Zhou Mingdao had never once seen them being activated even when he was still a Star Origin Guard.

With how long those spatial tunnels remained unopened, there were even rumors going about that the Star Origin City wasn’t actually connected to any Superior Worlds. They were merely rumors intentionally created by the city to make themselves seem more credible.

As more time passed and those spatial tunnels remained unopened, even the experts of the Star Origin Guards were starting to ignore their presence.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Who would have thought that news of their possible arrival would appear suddenly?!

Finally gathering his chaotic thoughts, Zhou Mingdao hastily asked, “Since someone from Superior Worlds made their appearance, how would the Star Origin Guards react? Would it affect the overall situation in our city?”

The silver-haired elder didn’t answer him directly. Instead, he threw out another bomb. “I’m afraid the Star Origin Lord is going to emerge from seclusion soon!”

...

After grabbing Luo Qi from the fifth floor and leaving the Starry Pavilion, Shang Xia prepared to head over to the Star Relay.

Since Shang Xia entered the highest floor of the Starry Pavilion to make his deal earlier, Luo Qi became extremely curious. He couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Shang, are you planning to head back to the Spirit Luxuriant World?”

“Yeah... I managed to obtain 2 treasures for the seniors of my institution and I should head back to hand them over. After all, our Spirit Luxuriant World just opened the spatial tunnel not too long ago and I can only make the trip back personally...” Shang Xia sighed helplessly.

He revealed an expression of heartache right after he spoke.

After all, the spatial tunnel might have been built between the Star Origin City and the Spirit Luxuriant World, but in order to activate the spatial tunnel, they would need 36 pieces of mid-grade essence crystals! Moreover, he would need to make a round trip, burning 72 pieces of mid-grade essence crystals!

Currently, there was a burning desire in him to meet Huang Yu again. It wasn’t for anything else, but to obtain several high-grade essence crystals! After all, the super spy of the Tongyou Institution might be a big asshole, but he was the only one Shang Xia could trust in the Star Origin City!

Luo Qi interrupted his thoughts suddenly. “Actually, Young Master Shang, if you’re not in a rush, you don’t actually have to return to the Spirit Luxuriant World. It’s possible to store your valuables with the Star Origin Guards protecting the Star Relay. Aren’t you acquainted with Captain Feng? If you leave your valuables with them, you will be able to retrieve them after you’re done with what you need to do. You can also appoint someone from the Spirit Luxuriant World to retrieve those treasures...”

“Is that really possible?!” Shang Xia couldn’t help but yelp in shock.

Luo Qi chuckled. “The Star Origin Guards will make a fortune by charging for such services. It’s another avenue to make money for themselves. Of course, they won’t charge too much to store items with them. Normally, they would charge upwards of a few dozen low-grade essence crystals. However, they might charge all the way up to a few mid-grade essence crystals depending on the treasure.”

It didn’t seem expensive to store treasures with the Star Origin Guards at all! However, one needed to take into account the sheer number of people passing through the Star Origin City. Moreover, the people who could enter the city wouldn’t possess low cultivation levels and they would definitely have a bunch of essence crystals on them.

Shang Xia thought about it for some time before making up his mind. He decided to do what Luo Qi said. He would store the treasures with the Star Origin Guards at the Star Relay for the time being. Originally, he was planning to head back to tell Kou Chongxue about everything that happened in the Star Origin City. Especially about how the various merchants had raised their prices to scam the cultivators of the Spirit Luxuriant World

However, he understood that Kou Chongxue was no fool. The patriarch wouldn’t just send him over and get him to do everything. There would definitely be experts from the institution entering the Star Origin City soon. Even if Kou Chongxue was unable to leave the Spirit Luxuriant World, the institution would send their Martial Dipper Realm experts over. They might even come with even more essence crystals to purchase all types of treasures.

He knew what he had to do. He wrote a report with everything he saw in the city before sealing it properly. Along with the Origin Yang Mysterious Copper he bought and the Nayuan Spirit Nourishing Stones, he paid the Star Origin Guards to store his treasures and to hand them over to the experts of the Tongyou Institution when they came over.

When he was finally done, he left the Star Relay. Along the way, he asked Luo Qi, “Brother Luo, is there a black market in the Star Origin City?”

“Of course, however...” Luo Qi replied hesitantly.

“Go ahead.” Shang Xia’s expression didn’t ripple as he pressed for the answer.

Luo Qi eventually mumbled, “There are 2 different types of black markets here in the Land of Star Origin. The first is located in the city, while the other is located in the wilderness.”

Shang Xia could basically guess the difference between them, and he continued, “Brother Luo, do you have a way to enter both black markets?”

Thinking for some time, Luo Qi replied, “Of course I do. However, you need to think things through. The black market in the wilderness is extremely dangerous. There are many people who are there to scam others, and cases where one was killed by the seller after purchasing the treasure are extremely high...”

Shang Xia nodded resolutely. “I understand. Brother Luo, please look for a way for me to enter the black market. However, I’m not in a rush right now. I might have to leave Star Origin City for some time, and I’ll trouble you to bring me over when I return.”

Luo Qi couldn't help but lament after hearing what Shang Xia said. “Young Master Shang, are you really going to leave?”

“Brother Luo, I know what kind of person you are, and I appreciate it. Even if I leave for now, I will still look for you in the future for help.” Shang Xia grinned.

“Young Master Shang, you can call me anytime!” Luo Qi grinned in response.

Shang Xia didn’t stop there. “There might be experts of the Tongyou Institution coming soon, and I have to trouble you to ensure they receive the item I left at the Star Relay. Also, I hope you can help them out a little when they arrive.”

A hearty chuckle left Luo Qi’s lips. “Young Master Shang, you are truly looking out for me! Please rest assured I will carry out your instructions well. Are you planning to leave now?”

“Not yet. I’m planning to look for a friend. Brother Luo, if you don’t mind, feel free to follow along!” Shang Xia smiled.