Dark Alleys and Schemes

He chose an entrance where the guards' auras were the steadiest and most of those entering and leaving were silent and wary, then walked over.

The two masked brutes at the entrance swept their gazes over him. One stretched out a hand, palm up, and made a subtle gesture.

Lan Aotian understood. With a snap of his fingers, a Gold Soul Coin worth one hundred landed in the other man's palm.

This was the "entrance fee" of the Dark Alley, and also the first threshold for screening customers.

The guard weighed the coin in his hand, then gave Lan Aotian another deep look. He stepped aside and pushed open the heavy Iron-Wrapped Wooden Door behind him.

Beyond the door was a flight of stone steps leading downward, with a dim oil lamp hanging on the wall at infrequent intervals.

After descending the equivalent of about three stories, his view suddenly opened up.

An underground space nearly half the size of a soccer field appeared before him.

It had clearly been converted from a natural cavern. Some glowing ores hung from the ceiling, providing the primary illumination.

The air was a mix of medicinal herbs, metal, leather, and the odors of various unidentified substances.

The space had been roughly divided into several areas.

Some places had street stalls, and most of the stall owners were taciturn, with all sorts of strange and unusual objects displayed before them.

There were damaged Soul Tools, unknown ores still stained with dirt, dried exotic plants, and even bizarre animal organs sealed inside jars.

Buyers crouched on the ground, carefully examining the wares while haggling in low voices.

Other areas had been divided into simple stalls with curtains or wooden boards, and muted conversations could be heard from within.

The transactions conducted there were usually of higher value or even more illicit.

Lan Aotian's arrival did not attract much attention.

Here, concealing one's identity was the norm.

He strolled slowly, sweeping his gaze over each stall. His powerful Mental Power was like the most precise scanner, sensing the energy fluctuations radiating from every item.

The main material required for the Transformation Pill was far too rare, so he had never expected to find it directly here.

His goal was possible clues, substitutes, or other valuable resources and information.

After touring more than half the area, he did see some herbs of respectable age, and even a piece of "Green Wood Marrow Core" containing a decent amount of Life Energy, but it was still far from meeting his requirements.

Just as he was considering whether to try approaching those stalls, an inconspicuous object at a small stall ahead caught his attention.

It was a palm-sized, gray, unremarkable Stone Box with its lid tightly closed. The stall owner was a gaunt old man, dozing in the corner.

Yet when Lan Aotian's Mental Power swept over the Stone Box, he faintly sensed that something within it seemed to be sealed away—a wisp of extremely elusive yet exceptionally pure... Wood Origin energy?

The aura was extremely weak and was well isolated by the Stone Box's material. If he had not possessed the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline and been exceptionally sensitive to the origin of plants, he might have overlooked it as well.

He walked over without revealing anything, crouched down, and casually picked up another object from the stall that looked like a piece of Soul Beast bone. After looking it over, he asked casually, "How much for this bone fragment?"

The old man lifted his eyelids slightly and said hoarsely, "Three hundred Gold Soul Coins. Fixed price."

"Too expensive."

"What about this broken box? It looks pretty old. It could make a nice ornament."

Lan Aotian put down the bone fragment, his gaze seemingly sweeping over the Stone Box by chance.

The old man glanced at the Stone Box, his murky eyes turning slightly. "This? One thousand."

"One thousand for an empty box?" Lan Aotian sneered. "Old sir, are you joking?"

"Buy it or don't."

The old man closed his eyes again, looking completely unconcerned.

This attitude meant either that he truly knew nothing and had named a random price, or that he knew something... and was testing him.

Lan Aotian did not haggle immediately.

He reached out, his fingertip lightly brushing over the surface of the Stone Box.

The instant he touched it, that elusive Wood Origin aura became slightly clearer, and even carried a sense of ancient Changes of Time.

This was definitely no ordinary object.

"What's inside the box?" he asked.

"Don't know. Found it. Couldn't open it." The old man did not even open his eyes.

Couldn't open it?

Lan Aotian's heart stirred slightly.

He tried seeping an extremely fine thread of Blue Silver Emperor Soul Power into the crack in the Stone Box.

The instant the Soul Power entered, it seemed to trigger some ancient restriction. The wisp of Wood Origin inside the Stone Box trembled lightly, and then several extremely dim, nearly indistinguishable Ancient Runes appeared along the edge of the lid!

Though they vanished in a flash, Lan Aotian saw them clearly.

The structure of those runes bore some resemblance to certain exceedingly ancient Plant-type Soul Beast totems from his inherited memories!

This box was probably an object from some ancient Plant-type Soul Beast, or from a ruin with extremely deep ties to plants!

Its value might not lie in what was inside, but in the box itself—or in the information contained in the runes remaining upon it!

"Five hundred." Lan Aotian spoke. "For an old box that can't even be opened, that's the absolute most it's worth."

The old man finally opened his eyes and carefully sized Lan Aotian up, as if judging his resolve. Slowly, he said, "Eight hundred. Lowest."

"Deal."

Lan Aotian straightforwardly counted out eight hundred Gold Soul Coins.

The old man looked at him in some surprise, but said nothing. He took the money and pushed the Stone Box over.

Picking up the Stone Box, which felt slightly heavy in his hand, Lan Aotian did not inspect it closely and directly placed it into his Storage Ring.

Just as he was about to rise and leave, the curtain of the stall next door was lifted, and two people walked out.

In front was a plump, middle-aged man in luxurious clothes, his large belly bulging out and a satisfied smile on his face.

Following behind was a tall, lean man with a sinister gaze and a scar across his face. He was weighing a money pouch in his hand.

There was an inconspicuous emblem on the plump man's clothes, one Lan Aotian happened to recognize.

It belonged to a certain powerful Marquis family in the Balak Kingdom.

The scar-faced man, meanwhile, carried a faint aura of Soul Power bearing the distinctive imprint of a Spirit Hall Deacon. Although he had deliberately concealed it beneath another kind of Soul Power fluctuation, it could not escape Lan Aotian's keen perception.

A noble and a disguised Spirit Hall Deacon conducting a private transaction in a Dark Alley stall...

The two walked away while speaking in low voices, and Lan Aotian's Mental Power caught fragments of their conversation.

"...Don't worry, the information has already been relayed through the 'Gray Sparrow'... regarding the rumor that the 'Blue Silver King' may have appeared in Silves... though it isn't certain, it's better to believe it than not..."

"...His Highness is very satisfied... Please also keep a closer eye on Spirit Hall's recent movements..."

"...Mutual benefit..."

Lan Aotian's gaze sharpened.

The Blue Silver King?

Were they talking about him?

Or were they referring to his former true identity?

It seemed that his brief display of strength in Häagen-Dazs City, along with the faint traces of the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline that might have leaked out unintentionally, had still attracted the attention of certain interested parties.

Moreover, the information had actually become entangled with Spirit Hall and the local nobles so quickly?

"Gray Sparrow"... seemed to be a code name or channel for transmitting intelligence.

The waters of Sylvester City were indeed very deep.