The castle was huge, and there was a cluster of various shops, which numbered at least more than 1000. There were plenty of small shops that didn’t have any display, which was merely an individual seated at the side of some items.
The castle had two floors, but Jiang Yi didn’t go up and just pointed at those seated people on the ground and asked with doubt, “These are the so-called black market transactions?”
“Yes, it is!”
Qian Wanguan lowered his head and replied, “Anyone can provide 1000 celestial stones and get a small shop for three days, where you can display all the treasures or rare materials you want to sell. The shops on the second floor are much more expensive, and one will have to fork out 10,000 celestial stones to get a small shop up there. Of course… if we want to buy anything up there, we will have to hand over 1000 celestial stones.”
“Truly black…”
Jiang Yi cursed in his heart. Just relying on such transactions, the Red Sun Merchant Association would be able to get a few hundred thousand celestial stones a day. He looked around and noticed that there were plenty of people coming here to purchase treasures. There were at least a few thousand individuals on the first floor, and it was fortunate that the castle was big enough and didn’t seem to be very congested.
“Let’s go and explore around. Come and look for me if you find anything you fancy.”
Jiang Yi waved his hand while everyone’s spirits grew. There were too many fantastic and bizarre items in this place. Feng Luan and Qing Yu’s eyes were glittering as women were naturally fond of shopping; even Jiang Xiaonu’s eyes were curiously looking around.
“Young Master, we will go take a look over there. If you are feeling bored, then go look at other places. We will come and look for you later on.”
When Qing Yu saw a clothing shop, her eyes immediately lit up. Feng Luan immediately paused and informed Jiang Yi while Jiang Yi looked around with knitted brows and asked Qian Wanguan, “Wanguan, is this place safe?”
Qian Wanguan nodded and transmitted a message: “Safe. There is a prohibition of violence in the castle. No matter who, even the Lu Clan’s members wouldn’t dare to behave recklessly in this place. Anyone who dares to make a move here would be instantly killed by the experts in the castle. This place is one of the most important black markets which belong to the Red Sun Merchant Association.”
“Alright then!”
Jiang Yi nodded and smiled to Feng Luan and the two other girls. “You girls go and buy some clothes. Feng’er, pick a few more clothes for Xiaonu and don’t be afraid of spending.”
This was an adult store which specially made women’s garments and wasn’t suited for Jiang Yi to enter. He got the Golden Flood Dragon to wait for the three ladies outside while he and Qian Wanguan went over to the shops by the side.
“Eh?”
After walking past over a dozen shops, Jiang Yi stopped as he saw a black metal rod that was placed in front of an old man’s knees. The metal rod had an aged and ancient aura presence, which even had mysterious patterns on the surface which looked extraordinary.
“100,000 celestial stones?”
When Jiang Yi saw the price tag in front of the metal rod, he lifted his brows as this item looked like a transcending saint artifact, but it was only selling for 100,000 celestial stones?
“Young Master, do you fancy this Overlord Dragon-Subduing Rod?”
When the old man sensed that Jiang Yi had stopped, his originally closed eyes opened up. He sighed slightly and said, “This Overlord Dragon-Subduing Rod is my clan’s heirloom. It is a pity that my clan has declined, and many clansmen cannot even survive anymore. I have no choice but to sell it. This Young Master looks like you come from a wealthy clan. Please take good care of it.”
“Uh…”
Jiang Yi was a little tempted as 100,000 celestial stones were totally insignificant to him, and this old man looked rather pitiful. He considered for a moment, and the ancient divine essence ring in his hand lit up as he was going to take out the celestial stones. However, his mind suddenly echoed with Qian Wanguan’s transmitted message: “Boss, don’t buy it! It should be a fake!”
Fake?
Jiang Yi blinked he eyes and asked with a puzzled expression: “This item looks aged and obviously is made some time ago. The patterns on it look very mystical as well and seem like it contains some presence. How could it be a fake?”
“Keke…”
Qian Wanguan shook his head and transmitted another message: “Boss, you are belittling these black-hearted merchants. Their counterfeit skills are of a very high standard. If you don’t believe it, ask him if you can take a closer look at it. Once you casually pour your essence force in, you will be able to see if this treasure has the power of a transcending saint artifact, right?”
“I see!”
Jiang Yi swept a look at the old man and asked in a soft voice, “Can I take a closer look at your treasure?”
The old man’s face immediately changed as he shook his head resolutely and replied, “No. You can just inspect like this, and you can casually scan it with your divine senses, but you cannot physically fiddle with it. Otherwise, if this Young Master has some powerful ability which can swap out this old man’s treasure, this old man will be in a huge loss.”
“Keke!”
Jiang Yi let out a faint laugh and closed his eyes to enter the Union of Heaven and Man state. This metal rod has a restriction that didn’t allow the divine senses to scan inside. In the Union of Heaven and Man state, all his senses would be heightened; and he would be able to sense the scattered aura presence that the metal rod emitted. He revealed a smear of a smile on the corner of his mouth before he opened his eyes and led Qian Wanguan away.
When the old man saw that Jiang Yi had turned and left, he panicked and quickly called out, “Eh? Young Master, why are you leaving? Do you find it expensive? What about 80,000? If not, 50,000 will also be good…”
Jiang Yi totally ignored the calling but was rather impressed with this old man’s counterfeit skills. Had he not taken a closer look with the Union of Heaven and Man state, he wouldn’t be able to notice that the aura presence wasn’t coming from the metal rod… but from a piece of small rock inside. If he didn’t detect that, he would have probably been scammed.
After walking around at this level, Jiang Yi had discovered many counterfeit items, and there were even… pseudo-divine artifacts. Although the counterfeit skills were truly high in standard, there was a huge disparity to a true pseudo-divine artifact.
Feng Luan and the others had already exited from the clothing shop as Feng Luan transmitted a message from far away: “Young Master, the clothes here are a little fancier and aren’t suitable for Little Sister Xiaonu. Why not go to the second floor and take a look?”
“Good, let’s go!”
Jiang Yi nodded and led everyone up to the second floor. There was a guard from the merchant association who was donned in red battle armor. Jiang Yi and others handed over a thousand celestial stones each and went up to the second floor.
The second floor was as similarly spacious, but there were lesser people around. Most people here were Heaven Monarch martial artists and some young masters and ladies who were dressed splendidly. Jiang Yi took a scan, and his eyes quickly lit up. He pointed to a shop on the left and said, “There is a shop that sells clothes that look rather good.”
Everyone looked over there and nodded silently. There was a huge shop over there and sold various types of beautiful clothes.
“This one looks good, and it is very suitable for Little Sister Xiaonu to wear!”
Before they even walked into the shop, Feng Luan pointed at a dress and said while Jiang Yi nodded in silence. It was a pure-white court dress that was woven with white feathers that emitted a faint white glow, which made the dress look pure, holy, and beautiful. There were a few dozen strange pearls which were embedded on the dress which glowed with a slightly yellow light, making the entire dress even more resplendent.
Jiang Yi turned back to take a look at Jiang Xiaonu and saw her eyes glowing, which obviously meant that she liked it very much. With a wave of his hand, he spoke to a middle-aged woman inside the shop, “Shopkeeper, how many celestial stones does this dress cost?”
“Ke-Ke!”
The middle-aged woman was wearing a pale blue dress and had a simple and elegant aura. She walked over leisurely and smiled while replying, “My guests have some great eyes. This is the best dress in our shop called the Dream Ripple Dress and is our shop’s defining item. The price isn’t too expensive, just 30 million celestial stones.”
“30 million!”
Feng Luan and the others took a deep cold breath while Qian Wanguan’s mouth twitched nonstop. Xiaonu’s brilliant eyes quickly dimmed, and even Jiang Yi’s eyes contracted. This dress cost 30 million? Wasn’t the shop robbing in broad daylight? Feng Luan and the girls had bought a few hundred dresses on the first floor, and it only cost them a few tens of thousands of celestial stones.
Xiaonu muttered for a moment while her eyes shifted away from the long dress and her head shook like a rattle-drum, saying, “Young Master, we are not buying it. I don’t like this dress!”