"Young Brother Chen, you are new to the Central Land. Do you know what forces exist Central Land?"
Ye Qing'er took a sip of tea and chatted casually.
"As far as I know, the ruling power in the Central Land Plains is called the ' Heavenly Court,' and the ' Haotian Empire ' is a subordinate force of the Heavenly Court, responsible for helping the Heavenly Court manage the mortal world."
Chen Mu recalled the geography books he had read before and gave a brief explanation.
"Indeed! But young friend, do you know which other top-tier powers exist in the Central Land besides the Heavenly Court?"
"This... it seems that the four ancient academies also wield considerable power, but if they were to contend with the Heavenly Court, they might still be slightly outmatched."
Ye Qing'er smiled and nodded.
"It seems that Brother Chen has some knowledge of the Central Land."
That's right. The four academies are among the top powers in the Central Land Plains. Only the three major sects and two major Lineage are even stronger than them.
Ye Qing'er took another sip of tea, and seeing that Chen Mu seemed quite confused by what she had said, she continued to explain.
"Actually, the top powers in the Central Land are easy to remember: one court, two clans, three sects, and four prefectures."
The "one court" he was referring to was naturally the Heavenly Court, which had dominated the Central Land Plains for tens of thousands of years and had yet to be challenged by any other power.
The two races are the Soul Clan and the Saint Clan. One is born with a powerful Divine Soul, and the other has an unparalleled physical body. Both are races with extraordinary talents.
The three sects are the Sword-Questioning Sect, the Buddhist Sect, and the Heavenly Puppet Sect. They have each reached the pinnacle of their respective paths, and even the Heavenly Court dares not underestimate them.
The Four Academies, also known as the Four Ancient Academies, are aloof from worldly affairs and do not participate in the struggle for supremacy. Their students are found throughout the world, and even members of other top powers have studied at these four academies. Therefore, although their apparent strength may not be the strongest, their foundation is unfathomably profound.
"Thank you, Miss Qing'er, for clearing up my doubts."
Chen Mu carefully considered what Ye Qing'er said and gained a deeper understanding of the Central Land.
Compared to the Central Land, the Wilderness are much simpler, with the Barbarian Clan Temple being the only dominant power.
However, less than one-tenth of the Wilderness is actually inhabited by humans; the deeper parts are dominated by monsters, and no one can predict how much power is hidden there.
After half an hour, everyone had rested enough, so they went downstairs and continued strolling along the commercial street.
"Hey, there's Myriad Treasures Pavilion here too!"
Chen Duo stopped in front of a magnificent building and exclaimed in surprise.
"That's normal. Myriad Treasures Pavilion's business in magical artifacts is the best in the Central Land, and they have the most complete selection of various Spiritual Power materials. They have branches in almost every major city on the continent."
Ye Qing'er explained to everyone.
"Let's all go inside and have a look! I want to see if there are any good materials for crafting talismans."
Chen Mu suggested.
"No, I want to browse the jewelry shops over there. Brother Huo, would you like to come with me?"
Chen Mu looked at A Huo, and seeing that he did not refuse, he shrugged and said indifferently.
"Okay, A Huo, you need to keep an eye on Duoduo. We'll head back to the inn after we're done sightseeing."
Chen Mu trusted A Huo's abilities. It was getting dark, and it was about time to go back to the inn for dinner.
"Good!"
After Chen Duo pulled A Huo away, Chen Mu and the two women entered Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
The first floor of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion sells only ordinary materials, so Chen Mu didn't stop and went straight to the second Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
"Sir, what would you like to do?"
A young servant greeted Chen Mu warmly as he approached.
Chen Mu thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided yet. Why don't you take me to the spiritual materials area first?"
"Okay, this way please."
Upon entering the spiritual materials area, Mutou by the variety of high-grade spiritual materials, but the prices listed above calmed him down considerably.
"Strange, why do I feel that these spiritual materials are so expensive?"
He couldn't help but murmur to himself.
Ye Qing'er seemed to have expected this, and said, "Brother Chen, most of the spiritual materials sold by the Myriad Treasures Pavilion are purchased from the Wilderness. Buying them locally in the Wilderness is naturally much more expensive than buying them from the Wilderness Border City."
If you venture deeper into the Central Land, the price will likely increase several times over!
"I see!" Chen Mu suddenly realized. In that case, it seemed reasonable for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to raise prices, but the price increase was a bit too high.
"However, materials from outside the Wilderness are much cheaper here than in the Wilderness itself. You can focus on finding these materials; there are many that you might not be able to buy in the Wilderness."
Ye Qing'er reminded her.
These words were like a wake-up call. Chen Mu's research on runes was often limited by the lack of suitable materials, so he immediately began to search carefully on the counter.
"Millennial Cold Iron, Deep-Sea Marrow Silver, Void Stone... and this, is this Ice Soul Crystal?"
After browsing around, Chen Mu found several precious materials that he had been searching for, but unfortunately, the prices were just too high.
Ice Soul Crystal has a higher tolerance for Soul Power than Soul-Hosting Wood. Currently, Soul-Hosting Wood is already the limit for making nine-pattern talisman paper. If you want to produce higher-level talisman paper, the rune imprint board must be upgraded, and Ice Soul Crystal is an excellent upgrade material.
Considering that he still needed to go to Chen Mu Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, and that the city there should be more prosperous than Wilderness Border City, the materials from non- Wilderness should not be more expensive than those from Wilderness Border City. In the end, he only bought a small portion of the materials he urgently needed.
Although it was only a small portion, the price on it was still worth several fourth-grade Spirit Stone. Even Ye Qing'er, who was standing to the side, was Xiaoxiao shocked by Chen Mu's wealth.
It should be noted that most ordinary Martial Master possess only a few third-grade Spirit Stone in their entire fortune, while Chen Mu can spend several fourth-grade Spirit Stone in a single visit to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, making him richer than many mid-level tribal leaders.
When Chen Mu went to the shopkeeper to pay his bill, the shopkeeper was very respectful and also recommended a promotional activity to him.
"Sir, we're having a promotion right now! We have a batch of ancient treasures on sale for 90% off. Would you be interested in taking a look?"
"Wow! That's a great deal! Then take me to see it right away!"
Chen Mu was overjoyed; he hadn't expected to encounter such a good thing.
Ye Qing'er frowned slightly, but did not stop them, and followed Chen Mu into a separate small exhibition hall.
The merchandise in this showroom was all enclosed by a transparent air shield, clearly for the safety of the goods—a treatment not given to merchandise outside.
These items all look very old, some even with rust spots, exuding an aura of time and wear.
Looking at these ancient magical artifacts, Chen Mu began to regret not bringing the White Turtle with him. With this living fossil, buying these ancient treasures would definitely not have been a bad deal.
Before coming to the Central Land, Chen Mu had asked White Turtle if he wanted to come along.
However, he said that his strength had not fully recovered, and he had many enemies in the Central Land. He was afraid that if his identity were exposed, it would implicate Chen Mu, so he did not come out with him.