Antiques?

Amid the crowd, Yang Yu kept his aura completely contained. After a period of adjustment, he could now just barely pass for an ordinary person... at least, he no longer leaked any of the power within him and drew other people's attention.

He strode briskly onward.

He covered over a kilometer of streets in no time. After purchasing the Black-Spotted Tiger-Stripe Mantis, Yang Yu quickly left the pet section.

On his last visit to Shangjing City's Bird-and-Flower Antique Market, Yang Yu had already browsed almost every shop in the pet section. Only the old man from earlier had anything worthwhile. The birds, beasts, and insects in the other shops were, frankly, nothing more than pets.

Yang Yu did not need pets, nor did he have the leisure to keep them.

Whoosh~~~~~~~~

Whoosh~~~~~~~~

His invisible, intangible fate soul power spread outward, constantly influencing everything within ten meters of him.

The moment pedestrians in his path touched the outer edge of that unseen fate soul power, they automatically stepped aside and went around him... it looked as though everyone on the street cleared a path the moment they saw Yang Yu.

Like an ancient king making his procession!

Yet, despite the strangeness of the scene, no one paid it any mind. No one even noticed anything amiss!

The power of the fate soul was truly wondrous.

Not only could it form life imprints to control the powerful Insect Beasts under his command, but it could also intimidate and influence weaker life-forms through its overwhelming strength!

Earlier, Yang Yu had done nothing deliberately. The power that naturally leaked out of him alone had profoundly affected ordinary people.

Now, itching to experiment, he actively put it to use. His mighty fate soul power immediately beguiled and controlled the pedestrians within a certain radius, even directing their actions to a limited extent.

This control was very limited. With his current fate soul power at the peak of the acquired human rank, this was all Yang Yu could make ordinary mortals do.

What if Yang Yu used his fate soul to order those pedestrians to kill themselves, or hand him their money?

They would immediately snap out of it. Once their lives, property, or similar vital interests faced a serious threat, his covert influence and control would naturally collapse.

Could he use fate soul power alone to intimidate and control an ordinary mortal into absolute obedience?

Even the peak of the postnatal earth rank would probably barely suffice.

Only fate soul power at the Heaven Tier, the final realm of the postnatal stage, could accomplish that with ease!

The antique section!

This place was clearly much quieter than the pet section. Though only one street separated them, the difference was like that between a bustling downtown and a ghost town!

"It really is deserted."

"Looks like there aren't as many people hoping to strike it rich by finding a bargain as I imagined." Yang Yu shook his head with a smile.

The rapid growth of the internet had caused information from all over the world to spread in an explosive flood!

With that flood of information shaping them, people in modern society had grown increasingly savvy... tricking them into willingly parting with the money in their pockets was no longer easy.

This was the antique section, but fewer than one in ten items were genuine antiques.

To put it bluntly.

The antique section of Shangjing City's Bird-and-Flower Antique Market was an enormous market for fakes!

Come here to hunt for treasures?

You had to really know your stuff. Ordinary people would never dare!

Yang Yu wandered casually, his invisible, intangible fate soul power probing the shops along the street. With just a brief sweep of that power, he could get a rough, intuitive sense of what they held.

He browsed his way past eighteen or nineteen shops, only to find fakes, fakes, and more fakes... still nothing but fakes!

Nearly twenty shops, and not a single genuine piece!

"No wonder people call the antique section of Shangjing City's Bird-and-Flower Antique Market the blackest of black markets, with the crookedest of crooked dealers!" Yang Yu shook his head, feeling rather speechless.

Back when he had been on the expedition team, he had spent years handling all kinds of freshly unearthed antiques. He had even secretly kept some to sell himself. Naturally, he had disdained places like this, so although he had often stayed in Shangjing City for considerable stretches of time, he had never browsed this antique district.

After today's visit, he truly felt that its reputation was well deserved.

Yang Yu was somewhat disappointed, but he patiently continued onward, spreading his fate soul power to keep searching.

Since I'm already here, I might as well look properly.

Whether I find anything is another matter. Either way, I'm only stopping by because it's on my route. It's not like I plan to make a living off this place.

Those were Yang Yu's thoughts at that moment.

With that in mind, Yang Yu continued for another stretch, examining a full fifty or sixty shops. A little farther ahead, he would reach the end of the antique street.

At last, something stirred within him.

Tap!

His footsteps stopped.

"The feel of an antique, and... a very unusual one." Yang Yu raised his head. Without realizing it, he had arrived before a shop housed in an old-fashioned pavilion. It looked quite sizable, and through the entrance he could see a wealth of exquisite objects displayed inside!

Although Yang Yu could tell at a glance that most of them were fakes, he was still impressed!

These fakes were almost indistinguishable from the real thing!

Without his fate soul power, even his extensive treasure-hunting experience might not have saved him from getting taken in here!

"Ink Fragrance Pavilion."

"Hmph, quite an elegant name..." Disdain showed at the corners of Yang Yu's eyes. He glanced at the pavilion's sign, then strode inside.

Inside the shop, among the many exquisite objects.

Yang Yu strolled casually, followed by a woman in a purple cheongsam who introduced the pieces he passed along the way.

The woman was one of the shop's sales assistants. She had a pretty face and a shapely figure, along with such a silver tongue that she could probably talk the dead back to life!

Yang Yu's fate soul power was now formidable, while this woman was only an ordinary person. No matter what she said or how beautiful she looked, she could not sway him.

Someone else, however, might well have been taken in after just a few words.

Every little detail suggested that this shop was thoroughly crooked!

Ignoring the saleswoman's voice beside him, Yang Yu walked straight toward an enormous bronze ding.

Under the scrutiny of his fate soul power, the great vessel gave off a deep, weighty aura. Clearly, only the passage of many long years could have produced such a distinctive feeling.

This was an antique!

But it was not the piece he had first sensed so strongly outside the shop!

That surprised Yang Yu a little. There might be more than one or two antiques in this shop... but although genuine pieces were available, their prices were far from cheap!

"Ming Dynasty Imperial Bronze Ding, priced at one million."

After seeing the bronze ding's price, Yang Yu moved on, heading deeper into the Ink Fragrance Pavilion.

He browsed all three floors of the old pavilion.

A full hour passed, and Yang Yu saw no fewer than ten genuine antiques.

Every one of those authentic pieces was outrageously expensive. None was worth buying!

Yet the antique he had sensed outside, the one that had made even his fate soul stir, seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Forget it."

"I probably sensed it wrong." Yang Yu sighed and turned to head downstairs.

Behind him, the saleswoman immediately grew anxious and called, "Sir, aren't you going to buy anything? These are all top-quality pieces. Won't you take another look?"

"No need. Everything in your shop is too expensive. I'd lose money buying it."

"There are only ten genuine pieces in the whole place anyway. Put out more real antiques and lower the prices, and I'll come buy some." With that, Yang Yu strode away, leaving the saleswoman gaping in astonishment.

A minute or two later, Yang Yu left the Ink Fragrance Pavilion.

Just as he stepped through the pavilion's main entrance.

As he was about to leave, the aura that had sent his fate soul racing earlier surged toward him again!

This time, it was even stronger!

"Hm?" Yang Yu's gaze flashed like lightning as he swept it over the Ink Fragrance Pavilion beside him. But after only a single breath, he shifted his gaze to a narrow alley next to it.

His senses had indeed been off about its location.

But... that did not mean the antique didn't exist.

Rather, the object was not inside the Ink Fragrance Pavilion!

PS: Thanks to "True Wings of Heaven" for the tip! Please also send recommendation votes, bookmark the book, and give it some clicks! This new book is climbing the rankings, so I'm asking for support of every kind! If you have money, please offer financial support; if not, your presence is support enough. I hope you'll support me, support Insect Race Cultivator, and support Yang Yu too!