As if sensing someone's arrival, the old man opened his eyes. His gaze swept over Su Ming, revealing a hint of surprise. After looking him over carefully, he closed his eyes again.
Feisu Chinese Network
Su Ming stared at the blue object on the Beast Skin Book. It looked like a plate, with a very sharp edge, but several cracks ran across it. The deepest one nearly split the object in two.
It lay quietly on the Beast Skin Book, occasionally giving off a faint, flickering glow. Seeing it, one could almost believe the thing was alive.
Amid the crisscrossing cracks, Su Ming could just make out some carvings: a hideous ghost face, so terrifying it made his skin crawl.
"That's a defective Barbarian Artifact. You can't afford it." As Su Ming examined it, an old voice came from beside him. He looked up. The speaker was the old man sitting cross-legged.
"Barbarian Artifact?" Su Ming drew in a sharp breath. He had already suspected as much. From the Beast Skin Book, he had learned that Barbarian Artifacts were extremely precious. Only powerful figures in the Dust Opening Realm could possess and craft them. It was difficult for someone in the Blood Condensation Realm to acquire one. Even if they did, it was usually passed down through their tribe—and that tribe had to be capable of protecting it from being forcibly taken by a Dust Opening Realm expert.
"This thing is damaged and can't be used. But it was still crafted by a Dust Opening Realm expert. I'm asking a thousand Stone Coins," the old man said slowly.
Su Ming looked at the blue plate, longing and envy in his eyes. But he had only five Stone Coins to his name. There was no way he could afford it.
With a quiet sigh, Su Ming gave the blue plate a few more looks, then finally walked away, reluctant to leave it behind.
I wonder when I'll have a Barbarian Artifact of my own... Su Ming wandered through the Tribal Market, thinking to himself. There were many stalls with people selling goods from beneath Beast Skin Book coverings, but after making a round, he didn't see anyone else selling Barbarian Artifacts.
He did spot a few Luoyun Leaves, though, being sold by different people. Their prices were steep: one Stone Coin per leaf, almost as much as Black Dragon Saliva.
By now the sky had darkened, and dusk was approaching. The setting sun cast its last rays over the land, but the Tribal Market had grown even busier and livelier.
After checking the sky, Su Ming continued wandering around. He even stepped into some wooden-bark tents, where goods were also for sale. The prices were high, but the quality seemed guaranteed. Quite a few people were coming and going from each tent.
As Su Ming watched, he noticed some people from the Barbarian Tribe who didn't seem to be there to buy anything. Like him, they carried woven baskets and went into the wooden-bark tents to sell their goods to the owners.
At the sight, a faint smile touched Su Ming's lips. He had spent the whole afternoon observing. Now that he had pieced together the details, he understood most of the trading rules here.
As the sky grew almost completely dark and torches began to blaze throughout the Tribal Market, Su Ming quietly made his way to a secluded corner beyond the reach of their light.
After warily checking his surroundings, he quickly took off his woven basket, opened the Beast Skin Book wrapped around it, and draped it over himself. Then he put on all the extra Beast Skin Book coverings he had prepared in the basket. Finally, he took out a black Beast Skin Book garment like a robe and layered it over everything, wrapping himself up tightly.
Now no one could see Su Ming's face. Even his figure looked extremely bulky; he was almost unrecognizable from the frail boy he had been before.
He shifted his body and tightened the layers of Beast Skin Book around himself. Then he glanced at the basket. One item remained inside, something he had specifically prepared for this trip. It had been heavy all the way here, but it served a purpose.
Su Ming hoisted the basket onto his back and walked with his head lowered. After a few steps, he stopped and thought for a moment, then hunched over as if he had a hunchback. He hurried toward one of the wooden-bark tents he had chosen earlier.
That tent had the dimmest light. Most of the people who had come and gone from it that afternoon, like Su Ming now, had concealed their faces, seemingly unwilling to be recognized.
Although this was Su Ming's first visit to the Tribal Market, his observations throughout the afternoon had taught him most of its subtleties. He didn't enter the wooden-bark tent he had chosen right away. Instead, he wandered around the nearby dimly lit area, occasionally glancing at it.
Before long, someone emerged from the tent with their face hidden, hurried away, and left the Tribal Market.
Su Ming had seen many people like that during the afternoon. He waited until he was fairly certain that no one pursued those who left. Then, while the tent was empty, he quickly approached it. Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted the flap and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, Su Ming felt a gaze settle on him. A middle-aged man sat cross-legged inside the tent, bare-chested, with a bonfire burning before him. It cast a warm glow and crackled as the flames consumed the wood.
One of the man's eyes was nothing but an empty socket. The other shone with a piercing glint as he stared at Su Ming without a word.
"The firelight's a little harsh." Wrapped from head to toe in Beast Skin Book, Su Ming had no fear of the man seeing his face. He spoke slowly, his voice slightly hoarse and unlike his usual one.
The one-eyed man studied Su Ming for a long moment before looking away. Aside from the fact that Su Ming had no signs of blood energy, he seemed no different from anyone else who came here.
Although the man couldn't sense any blood energy from him, anyone who could enter this tent without seeming unfamiliar with it, and who clearly knew the rules, wouldn't be an unknown nobody.
He raised his right hand and pressed it down over the bonfire. At once, the flames dimmed soundlessly, and the light inside the tent faded with them.
"Take it out. If it's good, I'll offer you a decent price," the man said slowly, withdrawing his hand.
From behind the Beast Skin Book covering his face, Su Ming studied the man for a few moments. Then he suddenly laughed. His laughter was just as hoarse, echoing through the tent until the man's brows furrowed.
The instant the man frowned, Su Ming raised his right hand and swept it out. A medicinal fragrance filled the air as a round object flew toward the man. He caught it in one hand and looked at it. The moment he did, his remaining eye lit up, and he couldn't hold back a sharp intake of breath.
"How many Stone Coins is this worth?" Su Ming's hoarse voice drifted through the tent.
"What kind of medicine is this? Where did you get it? What does it do?" The man stared at the object in his hand for a long moment, then looked up at Su Ming gravely. A strange glint flashed in his pupil.
"On my way to the Tribal Market, I saw this beast." Su Ming didn't answer the man's questions. Instead, he suddenly spoke, then took off the woven basket on his back and set it aside. Reaching inside with his right hand, he rummaged around. The basket shook, and then he pulled out a bound Diao Li and set it on the ground.
The Diao Li looked listless, but its eyes still gleamed fiercely. It had a few wounds that had yet to heal, and it was bound too tightly to escape.
The man was taken aback, clearly unsure what Su Ming meant. He glanced at the Diao Li. It was just an ordinary wild beast and didn't attract much of his attention.
"So I caught it along the way. Look, it's still alive..." Su Ming's voice drifted on, hoarse and strangely eerie in the dim tent.
"What are you talking about?" The man furrowed his brows.
"I'm saying it's still alive. Do you know why I caught it? It was too curious and had been following me for a long time..." Su Ming raised his left hand and gently stroked the beast. But the instant his hand passed over the Diao Li's unhealed wounds, the creature suddenly shuddered from head to toe!
It didn't scream or roar. All that came was a single shudder, and then its entire body abruptly turned into a cloud of blood mist, as if its blood had been set ablaze. Before the man's stunned eyes, the beast's body vanished, leaving behind only a pile of black and red bones.
"Now, it's dead..." Su Ming touched the bones left behind. At once, they crumbled into dust and scattered across the ground.
The man sucked in a sharp breath. He instinctively sprang up and retreated several steps, his eyes filled with undisguised terror and shock. He stood frozen for a long moment, then looked at Su Ming again, fear and reverence in his gaze.
"Evil Barbarian..."
"Hmm?" Su Ming grunted.
The man shuddered and was about to explain, but Su Ming waved a hand impatiently.
"Tell me how many Stone Coins the thing in your hand is worth! Its effect is simple: when you take medicinal herbs to cultivate, it increases their effect by ten percent. As for your other questions, your curiosity is a little too strong." Su Ming spoke slowly.
The man's face was pale. What had just happened had shaken him to the core. He hadn't even sensed any blood energy flowing through Su Ming, yet the beast had turned into blood mist right before his eyes.
"This thing..." The man steadied himself after a long moment and lowered his head to look at the round medicine in his hand.
"Senior, I've never seen anything like this before... I..." The man hesitated. He would never have spoken this way to an ordinary customer, but the earlier scene had left him so shaken that he didn't dare offend Su Ming.
"You can test it right now. If it doesn't work, I'll get up and leave. If it does, we can discuss the price." Su Ming sat there and spoke slowly, without the slightest rush.
The man relaxed a little. After respectfully agreeing, he took a small bell from his clothes and gave it a gentle shake. A series of ringing sounds emerged from it.
Su Ming's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly as he looked at the bell. His left hand, hidden inside his Beast Skin Book robe, tightened slightly. There was still some Blood Powder residue on it.
The third update was done. I went on a small posting spree today. Please vote for the chapter!
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