Trading Market (Part 2)

Er Dongsheng stopped at a small stall. The seller was a Winged Demon, a kind of demon born with enormous wings on its back, making it quite adept at scouting and fleeing!

"My lord, take a look—these are all fine goods." The Winged Demon hurriedly put away several suspicious-looking items in front of it. Even scamming people required picking the right target. Faced with someone like Er Dongsheng, who looked immensely powerful at a glance, it was better not to provoke him!

Several Elemental Gems and a few Rune Stones remained on the stall, along with a palm-sized, mirror-like object that appeared to be made of metal!

He picked up a fiery red gem. A faint warmth seeped into his hand, and he could clearly sense the exceptionally pure fire elemental energy contained within. This was a Fire Elemental Gem. In his memories, such things were food—or perhaps cultivation materials—for certain Elemental Demons. They felt much like the spirit stones from the legends of his previous life!

He had only heard of them before and had never seen the real thing. Yet here one was before him!

He quietly sensed the boiling desire within his body. The Ink Spirit Flame lurking around his heart in particular leapt wildly, wave after wave of longing relentlessly battering Er Dongsheng's heart!

So I belong to Elemental Evolution too? The Ink Spirit Flame, a flame that transcended this world, was indeed a fire element of some kind!

He had long suspected that he underwent Elemental Evolution as well, but he had never encountered a corresponding Elemental Gem. He had not expected to find one this time—and a Fire Elemental Gem at that! His luck was truly not bad!

A demon's evolution could generally be divided into Physical Evolution, Elemental Evolution, and Spiritual Evolution. So far, Er Dongsheng's evolution seemed to be progressing along both Physical Evolution and Elemental Evolution! He did not know whether such evolution was good or bad!

"I'll take this gem. Put it aside for now—I'll look at the other things." Er Dongsheng handed the gem back to the stall owner and examined the rest of the goods. He was somewhat disappointed. Most of the other gems were Dark Gems, Death Gems, and other dark-type gems. Still, it made sense. In the dark Abyss, elements other than darkness were already scarce, so the gems they formed were even rarer!

He then looked over several Rune Stones. They had all been handcrafted by ordinary demons rather than being Natural Rune Stones. They were useless, pitifully weak!

Rune Stones were generally carved by demons skilled in crafting, based on certain natural patterns, combined with their own insights and some secret arts! Their effects were bizarre and varied, and their power differed greatly! The ones before Er Dongsheng were ordinary runes, capable of things like releasing a Small Fireball. Not only were they pitifully weak, they also consumed a great deal of the user's energy! Compared to the Mutated Small Fireball he controlled himself, they were utterly tasteless!

However, he had heard that some Natural Rune Stones were so powerful that they were utterly monstrous, possessing the might to destroy heaven and earth! Every Ancient Demon Lord possessed at least one unfathomable Natural Rune Stone! There were even rumors that the key to becoming a Demon Lord was possessing a Natural Rune Stone. Er Dongsheng snorted at such speculation. He did not believe that kind of nonsense!

Still, the power of Rune Stones was undeniable. It was simply something he could only long for but not obtain at present!

"What is this?" Er Dongsheng picked up the strange bronze disc beside him!

"A mirror? No way!" He found it strange. Who in the Abyss would be bored enough to make a mirror out of metal? Metal was valuable, after all. Such extravagance was simply asking for a beating!

"My lord, it's just a piece of metal. I happened to pick it up in a mountain range. At the time..."

The stall owner opened its mouth, preparing to explain the origin of the mirror-like object, when suddenly...

"It's you! Damn it, you still dare come here!" A voice gritted through clenched teeth came from behind Er Dongsheng!

Er Dongsheng turned around in puzzlement. Could there really be a demon here who knew him?

"Tsk, tsk, it's you, beautiful. I didn't expect to see you here! What fate!" Er Dongsheng's expression shifted. She really was an acquaintance!

Who was it?

The Abyssal Fairy, Xierjie! The one who had fled after fighting Er Dongsheng last time!

Er Dongsheng casually looked her over. Compared to last time, her aura had risen considerably. It seemed that after fleeing back, she had not spared herself in her cultivation!

But he could not be bothered with her! Fighting was forbidden here, and he had only just arrived, unfamiliar with the place and its people. Better to stir up less trouble!

Though fighting was something he truly loved!

Er Dongsheng lowered his head again and studied the strange mirror in his hand! He always felt that this thing hid some immense secret! Do not ask him how he knew—martial intuition!

After all, if you suddenly saw a mirror in the Abyss, you would find it very strange too!

"You!"

Xierjie stared at Er Dongsheng's indifferent face. This bastard seemed not to have taken her to heart at all! A wave of dejection rose in her heart! She hated him so much that she had even sworn never to rest until she had avenged this grievance. Yet when they met again, she suddenly realized that this hateful bastard had never even spared her a glance!

"Just like before! An ant, an ant! In this bastard's eyes, I have been nothing but an ant from beginning to end! Even now, it is still the same!" Cold light flashed in Xierjie's eyes. Her thoughts twisted and churned within her as though she were contemplating some venomous scheme!

She turned and left!

The Abyssal Species demons watching the spectacle around them all revealed disappointed expressions! Duels between demons were rare to begin with, especially one involving Xierjie, the fairly famous Abyssal Fairy of this region.

This female demon was powerful, and she was also a beautiful Abyssal Fairy, so countless demons pursued her! Few demons dared provoke her! They had thought Xierjie would fight this unfamiliar demon, but they had not expected it to end so inconclusively!

In the Abyss, female demons—especially demons like Xierjie, both powerful and beautiful—were the targets pursued by many formidable demons! In the eyes of Abyssal Creatures, regardless of gender, only the strongest deserved to match with them. This was especially true for demons who had successfully advanced!

Conquering a female demon aroused the interest of countless demons even more than destroying an entire region! Especially demon Fairies famous throughout the Abyss! The process of conquest sent the bored demons into an absolute frenzy!

After all, Abyssal Fairies were unlike Succubi. Their race was incredibly conservative! They could be called the most faithful demons in the Abyss! In that regard, they were rather like the elves of the Sunlight Plane!

So, how did that saying go again?

Er Dongsheng had gotten himself into trouble—big trouble!

But did he care?

Fighting was my favorite!