harleyscars 520. Sudden Peak
520. Sudden Peak
Looking at the eighteen medicinal herbs in his hand, Xiao Yan was satisfied but also somewhat helpless: In the past ten days or so, he had collected a lot of various medicinal materials, but he had not encountered any that could truly serve as the core of an eighth-grade pill, not even once!
He had also basically discovered some clues: the truly important high-grade medicinal herbs must have been concentrated or even hidden by the Pill Tower in a special way. And given the current situation, he hadn't heard any rumors, indicating that, most likely, no one had yet discovered how to obtain them.
However, the people at the Pill Gathering were all clever, and soon someone started an exchange activity according to the requirements of the gathering. This involved everyone bartering their harvested medicinal herbs with other participants. There were numerous low- to mid-grade auxiliary materials within this small world, and anyone with decent strength possessed a considerable amount of materials.
However, most people remained highly wary of others, and the vast majority seemed to want to find a safe place to gather a group before conducting the transaction. Xiao Yan couldn't help but recall his days in the Myriad Beasts Space, except that the transactions at this Pill Gathering were purely a result of the recent rule change and were far less mature and organized than those within the Myriad Beasts Space.
Xiao Yan has initially selected several Rank 8 pills that he might be able to refine. Which one he will ultimately choose depends on which rare and precious materials he can acquire as the core ingredients. He now has a general idea of his needs for auxiliary materials, and there are many that he doesn't have or doesn't have enough of, so he will indeed need to trade for them.
For Xiao Yan, the most important thing right now is not finding these medicinal herbs, but rather confirming where his junior sister Yao Qingyu is. He is really worried about Yao Lao's only bloodline.
"Hopefully there will be news about my junior sister there," Xiao Yan murmured to himself, before heading towards the place where the most people were gathered.
Before long, Xiao Yan spotted a grassy area, which appeared to be a temporary trading place. A group of about thirty people had gathered, huddled together in twos and threes, occasionally exchanging pleasantries and haggling. Although everyone was an alchemist, disagreements still inevitably arose over certain details.
Xiao Yan had become the absolute star of the Pill Gathering. As soon as he arrived, the previous noise immediately ceased. Many people stared at Xiao Yan with some worry, fearing that he would unreasonably snatch everything they had.
Their strongest members here are only four Dou Zong, so if Xiao Yan, with his Dou Zun strength, really wanted to take them all, it wouldn't be difficult at all. Several people, while keeping a close eye on Xiao Yan, were already slowly moving backward, wanting to leave first.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan felt helpless. He couldn't possibly explain to them in a nice tone that he was a reasonable person, could he?
"Everyone, I'm here to obtain the medicinal herbs I need. If any of you have them, we can trade fairly." Then, Xiao Yan activated his Dou Qi, and characters formed from Dou Qi appeared in the air, listing the medicinal herbs he needed.
Xiao Yan then released another list, clearly marking the number of plants and seeds of several herbs: "These are the medicinal materials I obtained, for barter."
Upon hearing this, everyone stopped what they were doing. It seemed that Xiao Yan only wanted to make a deal. They were here to trade, so if Xiao Yan joined in and didn't use his strength to maliciously lower the price, it would be a good thing for them.
A fifth-grade alchemist with the strength of a Dou Huang also mustered up his courage and took the initiative to ask Xiao Yan, "I have the two Dragon Blood Vines you want, and I would like to exchange them for your Wind Essence Fruit."
Xiao Yan didn't consider it for long and nodded, saying, "Okay, but the two Dragon Blood Vines are much more valuable. You can choose one of them instead."
Upon hearing this, the Douhuang alchemist was also delighted. He carefully selected another item of equal value from the list provided by Xiao Yan, and the transaction ended just like that.
The others were also secretly pleased; Xiao Yan had truly come to make an honest deal! They were naturally happy to see him, and Xiao Yan genuinely had no intention of taking advantage of their strength. If they could become acquainted with this Dou Zun powerhouse, it would be a sure win. So, several people approached Xiao Yan and began chatting.
Half an hour later, Xiao Yan had finally exchanged most of the medicinal herbs he could. He had also basically scanned the area and his guess was confirmed: most people had not yet come into contact with the top-grade medicinal herbs in this small world.
The alchemists around the fifth rank didn't seem to have any particular feeling, but one of the sixth-rank peak alchemists with the strength of a Dou Zong tried to get information out of Xiao Yan, which confirmed Xiao Yan's doubts.
Meanwhile, the mainstream transactions within the market are still exchanges of medicinal herbs obtained from smaller worlds. Many people are unwilling to bring out their own items, and the reason is quite simple: no one knows the rules behind the Pill Tower. If they bring out their own items to trade for medicinal herbs from the Pill Tower's smaller worlds, and something goes wrong later, it would be a huge loss. The medicinal herbs in the Pill Tower are all marked, and no one can remove or imitate them, so no one tries to cheat with counterfeit goods.
……
Not long after Xiao Yan left the trading market, a muffled sound, like the awakening of an ancient behemoth, suddenly came from the ground beneath his feet.
Dozens of miles away, the entire sky twisted into a vortex without warning, the clouds torn into flakes by an invisible giant hand. A majestic mountain suddenly appeared from the invisible space, then crashed to the ground. The earth and rocks it stirred up rippled, and the falling mountain was surrounded by rings of clouds.
The sheer size of the flying peak was breathtaking. Many alchemists nearby, after regaining their composure, immediately flew towards it. Seeing this, Xiao Yan felt that the secret of the missing medicinal herbs lay within this mountain, and he, not wanting to be left behind, also rushed towards it.
Meanwhile, in another part of the small space within the Pill Tower, Ling Zhuo stood with his hands behind his back as a mountain peak descended before him at a visible speed. Because he was so close, the raging winds from the falling mountain blew his robes away, and he seemed to have known all along that this was about to happen.
The crystal beside Ling Zhuo emitted a striking light. He smiled slightly and said to the two Dou Zun level experts behind him, "Ling Luo, Ling Yu, come with me into the mountain!"