Hidden in Plain Sight
As dawn broke, Li Mingqiu's wife and his concubines discovered the changes in their household, especially the disappearance of their pillar of support, the man of the house.
They immediately sent people to the Lineage to inquire, but the news from the family was that they did not know his whereabouts.
This immediately threw them into a panic.
They had also heard about the piglets' mass breakout from the Beast-Fighting Arena last night.
Moreover, they knew that Li Mingqiu was in charge of the overall situation and that the piglets were being arrested.
However, when Li Mingqiu returned home, everyone waited and waited but he didn't come. They all assumed that he had gone to his other wives and concubines to have fun, so they didn't pay too much attention to it.
Now, they feel like the sky has fallen.
Li Mingyang, as the First Elder in the family and the patriarch of the Li Family, naturally attached great importance to it and sent people everywhere to search for him.
However, after all that, he got nowhere, which made him feel uneasy. Could it be that his Third Elder had passed away?
The City Lord's Manor.
The city lord, Tuoba Xiong, dressed in brocade robes, also learned of the events that occurred at the Li Family's Beast-Fighting Arena last night.
Li Mingqiu's disappearance has made him feel that the situation is very serious.
At the Li Family Li Mingyang's request, he also dispatched the City Defense Army to search the entire city and posted notices.
The Wang Lineage in Dongcheng District burst into laughter upon hearing about the incident at the Li Family's Beast-Fighting Arena.
As the saying goes, rivals are enemies, so they were naturally happy to watch the show.
However, this also reminded them, and they immediately ordered Qi Qiang to strengthen the management of the Beast-Fighting Arena, especially to keep a close eye on their piglets, and to make sure that a situation similar to the Li Family's occurred.
That would not only harm our own interests, but more importantly, it would make us a laughing stock in the eyes of others!
Hua Qiang was unaware of all the happenings in the city. At this moment, the two were planning their future relationship.
After discussing it, the two decided to buy a house first, settle down temporarily, cultivate for a period of time to improve their cultivation level, and then venture out to explore the mountains outside.
There are many demonic beasts there, which can be used to train oneself.
Of course, for Hua Qiang, those monsters were his experience points.
As the saying goes, money talks. Hua Qiang spent a sum of money and quickly bought a slightly remote house with a yard. He hired a few people to clean and tidy it up, and the two of them officially moved in.
Then he took out a large bottle of Immortal Essence Pills and gave it to Wenren Yu, which shocked her.
Immortal Essence Pills can only appear on the Immortal Realm Continent. Pills used to increase a person's cultivation speed. How could Hua Qiang have them, and so many of them?
You should know that he was captured and imprisoned in the Beast-Fighting Arena right after ascending from the Lower Realm. He had no chance to contact the outside world, let alone buy Immortal Essence Pills.
"Brother Qiang, where did you get all these Pills?" Wenren Wen Dao, barely suppressing his excitement.
"Hehe, of course it was looted!"
"Having slaughtered so many animals over the past few days, they must all possess some cultivation resources."
"But didn't you give me all of those before?"
"Ah... really? Oh, right, the people behind me are all rich, I haven't had time to sort them out yet."
Especially that mansion we entered last night—that's the home of the Beast-Fighting Arena owner. If I killed him, wouldn't I be able to plunder a lot of resources?"
Wenren Yu nodded repeatedly, then accepted the Pills Hua Qiang gave her with a clear conscience.
"Brother Qiang, I'm going to cultivate now!"
"Okay, just focus on your cultivation. Don't worry about resources, I'll get them for you."
"Brother Qiang!"
Wenren Yu approached Hua Qiang, stood on tiptoe, and then gently kissed him on the cheek.
Yanran sweetly and turned to enter the room.
At that moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of crisis.
Because the gap between her and Hua Qiang is too big.
She is only at the Second Layer of the Human Immortal Realm, while Hua Qiang can kill people at the Earth Immortal Realm with a mere gesture, and even people at the Heavenly Immortal Realm. This shows that his cultivation level is at least at the Earth Immortal Realm, and at a high level.
This was something she couldn't understand. She didn't know how Hua Qiang cultivated. All he did every day was fight those monsters, kill them, and then get beaten up.
She couldn't understand how he could keep upgrading under these circumstances, and thought Hua Qiang was a freak.
She is now very worried that if one day she is treated as a burden or a hindrance, she may be in danger of being dumped.
No, I need to intensify my cultivation, improve my realm, and keep up with him.
Seeing Wenren Yu hurriedly entering a meditative state, Hua Qiang shook his head with amusement. Afterward, he prepared to go out for a stroll.
Having come to this Desolate City, and not yet seen its sights, he also wanted to visit the trading market to see if there were any good finds he could snag.
Of course, one must disguise oneself before going out, otherwise it will be bad if one is recognized.
Stepping into the bustling trading market, you are instantly enveloped by the noisy and lively atmosphere.
The stalls were packed tightly together, one after another, stretching as far as the eye could see.
The Medicinal Herbs area is filled with a rich aroma of herbs.
Precious thousand-year-old ginseng roots sway gracefully, and ganoderma lucidum with rich color is quietly placed. Occasionally, some rare Medicinal Herbs can be seen, but most common are still the low-quality herbs of the first and second tiers.
The vendors enthusiastically called out to passersby, introducing the medicinal effects of the Medicinal Herbs they were selling.
At the Pills stall, jade bottles were neatly arranged, the Pills inside emitting a faint light, which could either enhance cultivation or cure stubborn diseases.
The weapons section gleamed with a cold light, displaying a wide variety of sharp swords and thick-bladed battle axes, while blacksmiths demonstrated their exquisite craftsmanship.
The clothing stalls were colorful, offering both light and elegant robes for spiritual practice and sturdy and practical leather armor for adventurers.
Some ore stalls were crowded with people who carefully examined the ore, trying to find the treasures hidden inside through the rough outer skin.
The vendors and buyers were fiercely bargaining, their voices rising and falling.
Here, rare cultivation manuals and fragments of mysterious magical artifacts occasionally appear, attracting crowds to compete for them.
Every stall holds a surprise, and every transaction is a gamble, making this trading market full of life and fantasy.
Hua Qiang wandered among the crowd, his eyes searching around, examining the treasures on each stall.
Although there were many goods, a dazzling array, few of them caught his eye.
Ordinary items don't interest him; he'd rather see if he could come across some rare items to further enhance his strength.
As he walked, Hua Qiang stopped in front of a stall selling minerals, as if he vaguely felt something calling to him.
Looking closely at the pile of stones of various shapes, suddenly, a grayish-brown stone, covered in wrinkles and with a rather ugly appearance, caught his eye.
He looked up and stared at the stone, only to find that a force was blocking his view from exploring further.
Something's strange!
Hua Qiang looked at the stall owner, a middle-aged man, Wen Dao, "Boss, how much are your stones?"
The middle-aged man looked at Hua Qiang, whose hair was disheveled, with a thick beard, a slightly bleak face, and shabby clothes, and a look of disdain appeared in his eyes.
He pursed his lips and uttered a somewhat bewildered remark from Hua Qiang.