Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid

Heaven-Sealing City is an ancient city with a long history, yet it is far from prosperous; instead, it feels rather desolate, a state largely dictated by its geographical location.

Today, Heaven-Sealing City sits near the Great Wilderness, where ferocious beasts frequently arrive to flaunt their power and assert their dominance, ensuring that the area can never truly flourish.

Were it not for the emergence of the Mist Mountains, this ancient city would likely be just like Void-Breaking City—bustling only during specific periods and indistinguishable from a ghost town at all other times.

Su Ye rode a large black dog into Heaven-Sealing City, drawing many gazes; after all, riding a dog appeared rather unconventional and bizarre to onlookers.

Black Emperor sensed those strange stares and whispered a suggestion: "Look, everyone is looking at you with such odd expressions. This is very bad. Why don't you try doing what they do? Then no one will stare."

It did not want to be ridden, as it felt it severely damaged its dignity, but it could not refuse directly, so it hoped to use the surrounding strange gazes to make the other party stop riding it.

"Stop spouting nonsense and just keep walking."

Su Ye's expression remained calm, completely indifferent to the strange looks from those around him. His eyes were bright and lively, filled with curiosity as he observed his surroundings.

Along the sides of the street, there were a few scattered stalls, most of which displayed nothing but stones, leaving him quite puzzled.

Most of these stones looked entirely ordinary, not rare ores of any kind, yet they were piled up in large quantities on the stalls.

When something is abnormal, there must be a demon at play.

Su Ye jumped down from Black Emperor and approached one of the stalls, asking, "Old man, are these stones some kind of rare ore?"

The stall owner was an old man who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, his face etched with the weariness of time, though his eyes remained sharp and spirited. He looked at Su Ye and said with a smile, "Little brother, it seems this is your first time here. These aren't ordinary stones; they are stones from the Mist Mountains."

"Is there a difference?"

Su Ye looked at the stones on the stall with a puzzled expression. Are stones from the Mist Mountains not still stones?

Deep within his pupils, runes flickered as he attempted to see through the stones, but he could discern nothing. He reached out and picked one up; it felt somewhat heavy, but that was all.

"Stones from the Mist Mountains—could it be that they contain Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid?"

Black Emperor's large dog head leaned in, his eyes burning with greed as he stared at the seemingly ordinary stones on the stall, his mouth nearly watering.

"Treasure Liquid? The Treasure Liquid is inside the stones?"

Su Ye asked, confused.

"Yes, and no," the old man replied. "The Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid in the Mist Mountains is not entirely hidden within the stones, though some of it is located inside them. Of course, not every stone contains the liquid; whether it does or not can only be known once it is broken open."

"So, this is just Source Stone."

Su Ye understood immediately; this was gambling on stones, or at least the prototype of it.

"Source Stone?"

The old man looked confused, not understanding what that was, and continued, "The Mist Mountains are an ancient battlefield. The soil and stones there were stained with the blood of ancient gods. The blood of gods contains extremely dense divine essence. Over endless years, these stones stained with divine blood have gradually internalized that divinity, concentrating the essence into Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid. Little brother, would you like to try your luck?"

"I don't have any spirit coins on me. Can I trade with this?"

Su Ye took out a piece of bone fragment that shone like jade from his robe. It was the precious bone of a ferocious beast, though it was shattered; after all, before a beast is killed, it will shatter its own precious bone to prevent it from falling into the hands of its enemies.

Although the precious bone was broken and its original runes could no longer be studied, that did not mean the fragments were worthless.

"A precious bone fragment."

The old man looked at the jade-like shard in Su Ye's hand, surprised that such a young boy possessed such a valuable item. "Yes, this size can be traded for three stones."

Even though the precious bone was shattered, it remained incredibly hard. By carving runes onto it, one could craft low-level magical artifacts or talisman treasures. Such items were priceless and in high demand, easily sold for spirit coins.

"These three."

Su Ye chose three stones at random, not fully activating his Samsara Eye, as the commotion caused by its full power would invite unnecessary trouble.

"Crack."

Su Ye crushed the stone in his hand directly. Although the stone was infused with divine power and was incredibly hard, under his strength of one hundred thousand jin, it was no different from tofu.

"Hiss..."

Seeing Su Ye crush the stone with his bare hands, the old man gasped. That stone was sturdy enough to withstand thirty thousand jin of force, yet it had been crushed by this little fellow's bare hands. How great was his physical strength?

"Nothing."

Su Ye ground the stone in his hand into powder; there was nothing inside. He picked up the second stone, and with a "crack," it split open.

Hum.

The moment the stone shattered, a brilliant light erupted from within. Mist-like rays of light swirled, gorgeous and radiant, while a faint, refreshing fragrance drifted out.

Runes flickered on Su Ye's palm, turning the stone shards into dust that drifted away with the wind, leaving only an amber-colored liquid the size of a thumb in his hand, radiating auspicious light.

"Is this the so-called Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid?"

Su Ye looked at the large drop of liquid in his palm, sensing the dense power within it. Looking at its size, he said with a hint of disdain, "This amount is too little. It wouldn't even be enough for an ant to take a bath in."

"Take a bath?"

The old man's mouth twitched upon hearing this. This item was worth a fortune; even disciples of major sects struggled to obtain it, and if they were lucky enough to get some, they would only consume it at a critical moment. And here was this boy, wanting to use it for a bath.

"Eh? Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid."

At that moment, a voice of surprise rang out, and a figure walked over, snatching the drop of Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid from Su Ye's hand with great arrogance.

Su Ye's expression remained calm, showing neither joy nor anger as he looked at the person who had snatched his treasure. The man was dressed in a gorgeous robe made of silk, clearly indicating he came from a powerful background.

"This Divine Marrow Treasure Liquid is mine; take this as a reward."

A flash of light appeared in the flamboyant youth's hand, revealing a crystal the size of a fist, which he tossed directly toward Su Ye. From start to finish, he never once looked at Su Ye, turning to leave immediately.

"Take it back."

Su Ye spoke indifferently. Without looking at the flamboyant youth, he waved his hand, shattering the crystal thrown at him, and picked up the third stone from the stall.

Black Emperor blinked, looking at Su Ye in a daze before quickly realizing that the other party wanted it to strike. Without hesitation, it swiped its claw forward.

Throughout this journey, it had been suppressed by this detestable human youth, and its heart had long been filled with pent-up rage. Now was the perfect time to vent; it wanted people to know that when a Qilin rages, blood must be shed.

"Clang."

Black Emperor's claw did not strike the flamboyant youth's head, as it was blocked by a figure.

It was a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance, his body permeated by golden runes that coalesced into a golden light barrier.

"You have some skill."

Seeing the other party block its attack, Black Emperor did not get angry; instead, it revealed a grin. Mysterious runes emerged on its black claw, and a terrifying power erupted.

Crack.

Cracks appeared on the golden light barrier, spreading rapidly.

The middle-aged man who had manifested the barrier changed expression. He erupted with power from within, condensing more golden runes to reinforce the shield.

At this moment, the flamboyant youth who had been about to leave finally reacted. Terror flashed in his eyes, but it quickly transformed into fury. "Kill this dog for me! And that man, kill him too! How dare they lay a hand on me!"

He did not stop to consider why they had attacked him; he only knew that they had, which was a trampling of his status and an insult to his dignity.

He was incensed, determined to kill this man and dog before him to let everyone know the price of provoking him.