Ten Generations Golden Cicada
As the clouds gradually dissipated beneath our feet, a colossal city suspended in an interstellar rift suddenly came into view.
Hua Qiang stared at the neon lights swirling on the city wall, his breathing suddenly quickening.
Tens of thousands of giant starships, like silver fish, lined up and shuttled through the gravitational field surrounding the city, their flowing energy patterns echoing the city's defensive matrix.
Those streamlined flying vehicles resembled a swarm of bees, their parking areas shimmering like a starry river.
"Young Master, this is Star Ferry City, one of the countless black markets in the universe, also known as the gambling city."
Yan Ruyu's voice was filled with excitement, and her fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the Storage Ring.
Below, on the open ground, liquid creatures with blue-glowing scales slowly seeped out from the transparent shuttle. Carapace Race with six compound eyes carried long bone boxes out in succession, and even clumps of energy wrapped in cloaks floated past the crowd.
People of all ethnicities lined up in long, winding queues in front of the city gate, each figure exuding a unique aura of power.
As they were being attacked, the energy shields in the guards' hands emitted a ghostly glow.
"Ten Universe Coins per person."
Just as Hua Qiang was about to speak, Yan Ruyu pulled out a gleaming gold round coin.
The coin features a floating city in relief, with the words "universe" and mysterious runes flowing under the light. It feels warm to the touch but carries the unique coldness of metal.
"Young Master, the Universe Coins is the universal currency in the universe, issued by the official authorities."
It is forged from Star Core material and contains a positioning mark.
She lowered her voice and ran her fingertips along the patterns on the coin.
"The black market exchange rate fluctuates daily and can be exchanged using Immortal Crystals."
"In a little while, we'll find a bank inside and exchange some money. It will make traveling between cities in the universe much easier in the future."
Hua Qiang nodded, having learned something new.
Upon entering Starfall City, Hua Qiang was so stunned by the sight of Jing Liao that he couldn't take his eyes off him.
Countless suspended trade routes crisscross, stretching through the air like golden ribbons.
Along the trade route, shops of all shapes and sizes stand side by side. Some shops use flowing light membranes as walls, and the strange treasures displayed there shimmer and glow in the light.
Some were encased in huge, transparent bubbles, filled with potions that emitted a mysterious glow.
The trade route was bustling with people of all races.
Elf Race with butterfly wings glided gracefully by, Merfolk Race with shimmering scales swam elegantly, and Cyborg Race with mechanical bodies made a crisp metallic clang...
The sounds of hawking and bargaining rose and fell, intertwining with the strange music playing from the shops.
The air was filled with the aroma of interstellar cuisine: the smoky scent of roasted meat, the fragrance of exotic spices, and the refreshing sweetness of energy drinks, constantly stimulating the taste buds.
Energy light trails carrying goods frequently streak across the floating trade routes, traversing every corner of the city with enormous cargo boxes, creating a scene resembling a magnificent and colorful interstellar panorama.
Looking at the crisscrossing floating trade routes within the city, Hua Qiang couldn't help but think to himself, "I really need to go out more and see more of the outside world!"
Yan Ruyu lowered her head and bowed humbly to the passing Mechanical Race merchant, her voice trailing off with a hint of timidity.
"Excuse me, may I ask where the largest money exchange in this area is located?"
The metal joints hummed as the Mechanical Race merchant extended his mechanical arm to project a holographic map, with red dots flashing among the intersecting trade routes.
Hua Qiang gazed at her graceful figure, his expression momentarily dazed.
Is this still his own maid, a native from the same starry sky as him?
He even suspected that Yan Ruyu was a seasoned veteran who had traveled to all corners of the universe!
The queue outside the money exchange stretched like Giant Python, with people of all ethnicities either pacing anxiously or hovering in mid-air with their eyes closed, seemingly trying to relax.
A buzzing sound of energy fluctuations floated in the air, and the Carapace Race at the front were tapping a counter with their chelicerae, producing a crisp clicking sound.
"The exchange rate between Universe Coins and Immortal Crystals is set at the 7th of each month."
Yan Ruyu stood on tiptoe to look around, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing against her Storage Ring.
"Today happens to be the seventh day of the lunar month, and Blackie's message says that the exchange rate for Immortal Crystals will skyrocket."
When Hua Qiang pushed the top-grade Immortal Crystals onto the counter, the silver-haired teller's six pupils contracted instantly.
Outside the transparent protective shield, gasps rose and fell – in Starfall City, those who could casually produce entire boxes of top-grade Immortal Crystals were either direct descendants of the Hidden Lineage or bloodthirsty interstellar pirates.
The energy detector emitted a bright blue light, and a long string of zeros jumped on the holographic screen, finally settling on the number "one hundred million Universe Coins".
"Young master, we're rich!"
Yan Ruyu clutched the gold-embossed prepaid card, her voice trembling with excitement.
She lowered her voice and leaned close to Hua Qiang's ear, her hair carrying the fragrance of Star Dew Grass as it brushed against his earlobe.
"The jade gambling site is located on the ninth level of the floating island. It is said that someone extracted a fragment of Time-space Hourglass from a piece of waste rock and directly broke through to the Eternal Realm."
The dome of the open-air raw stone site was cast with liquid energy, and the flowing light dyed the mountains of raw stones with an eerie purple hue.
Inside the transparent protective cover, the ice-type raw stone, priced at tens of millions, gleamed with a cold luster, while the cheap stones piled up haphazardly around it were covered with spiderweb-like cracks.
As soon as Hua Qiang stepped into the arena, he was knocked back half a step by the oncoming turbulent energy.
These seemingly ordinary stones harbor a violent force capable of tearing through space.
The ear-piercing sound of cutting came from the stone-cutting area, and the crowd suddenly erupted into a tsunami of cheers.
Hua Qiang squeezed through the crowd of onlookers and saw silver light gushing out from the black raw stone, like Milky Way hanging upside down.
The mechanical arm of the stone-cutting master trembled violently, and half of a crystal containing the trajectory of stars slowly appeared, attracting several Star Domain overlords to bid on it on the spot.
At the next stall, an elderly man with gray hair looked at the shattered stones and wept bitterly, his tears of blood seeping through his fingers.
Look at that piece!
Yan Ruyu suddenly grabbed Hua Qiang's sleeve. The surface of the brown raw stone inside the protective shield was covered with earthworm-like patterns, and under the strong light, a vortex pattern was faintly revealed.
Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly. "The patterns are extremely similar to the Space-time Rift Ore described in ancient texts, except..."
As soon as the words were spoken, three alien races rushed towards the stall, and the bidding instantly broke through the 10,000 Universe Coins mark.
Hua Qiang shook his head and secretly activated his Eye of the God-Demon, but he did it rather discreetly, with a thin layer of Chaos mist covering it.
He scanned the rough stones, sensing the various energy fluctuations within them, and then manipulated the Time-space Law to see if he could find a rough stone containing the power of time and space.
Hua Qiang's cultivation does not require energy assistance; as long as he has enough Slaughter Points and Blood Qi, he can advance in rank.
However, the understanding and control of the power of spacetime requires this external energy.
Suddenly, his expression froze, because under the observation of his Eye of the God-Demon, he discovered that inside a dull, ugly piece of raw stone, a Golden Cicada was sealed.
And it's the legendary Ten Golden Cicada!