Against the Gods - Volume 01 - Red-Colored Calamity

by Mars Gravity

  Only then did the image of the youth disappear. Then, a fist filled with profound energy struck from the right side of the gray wolf and ruthlessly smashed the top of its head. It died with a blood-curdling screech as blood oozing out of its orifices.

  With not even a single glance at the reckless gray wolf, Yun Che dusted his hands and continued to walk forward.

  Jasmine could not help but state: “To unexpectedly complete the first stage of the Star God’s Broken Shadow within this span of just one month; your previous sixteen years of being a cripple was truly a waste of your comprehension.” She had originally thought that it would take Yun Che at least three months to somewhat master the first stage, but never would have thought that he would completely perfect the first stage within just one month, and was even able to freely utilize it.

  Chapter 57: New Moon City, Black Moon Merchant Guild

  New Moon City; located in the central eastern area of the Blue Wind Empire with a scale more than ten times larger than Floating Cloud City. Small sects and clans were established throughout the city like trees in a forest. The Blue Wind Imperial Family had also set up an Imperial Profound Government here, and even Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan had branch sects in this location. Thus, countless young profound practitioners rushed in from every direction in hopes of the fortunate possibility that they may join the major sects, while pursuing the way of the profound.

  On this day, from the eastern side of the New Moon City gate, a youth dressed in black attire slowly walked up. He appeared to only be sixteen or seventeen and there was still some immaturity left on his features; however, his gaze was weighty and profound, and his complexion carried a resolute determination and indifference that was incompatible with his age. His progressive strides were very slow, and every step left a shallow print onto the solid ground along with a stream of startling sweat drops.

  The distance between Cyan Forest Town and New Moon City was a total of three hundred fifty kilometers, and Yun Che had been walking for over a month. It wasn’t because he did not want to arrive sooner, but because he simply could not walk any faster.

  On the day that he set off from Cyan Forest Town, Jasmine had asked him to find a heavy object that was more than two hundred kilograms…. But Yun Che was even more brutal on himself; he spent all of his remaining yellow profound coins and directly bought a chunk of pig iron that weighed three hundred and thirty kilograms from the smithery in Cyan Forest Town. Afterwards, Yun Che prepared rations and departed Cyan Forest Town. He didn’t buy a profound horse, but rather traveled by foot…. with this chunk of pig iron weighing three hundred and thirty kilos strapped onto his back.

  If it was for a profound practitioner at the True Profound Realm, this weight wasn’t considered to be much; however for a profound practitioner at the Nascent Profound Realm, this was definitely not a weight that could be easily ignored.

  The first day that Yun Che had carried the pig iron, every single step he took would consume a large amount of profound energy. At the same time, his shoulders would be in unbearable pain and his spine seemed like it would at break anytime. After walking for four hundred steps, all of his profound energy would be completely expended; his entire body would be pressed onto the ground by the pig iron and he would also be unable to stand back up for a long time. But after a slight recovery, he continued to march onwards, and carried that chunk of pig iron without the slightest intention of stopping.

  Just like that, Yun Che walked the entire three hundred and fifty kilometers. For food, he had his unchanging dried rations and the low level profound recovering pellets he made, while his drink was the water he prepared at the waterfall from the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range.

  The sweat drops he left behind during this entire journey, if merged, was enough to form into a decently sized stream.

  Yun Che’s frightening willpower astonished Jasmine yet again. It was because throughout the entire journey, Yun Che had not put down the pig iron on his back even once; even if he was completely exhausted and his back bled, his expression did not reveal the slightest hint of resignation, nor did he let out any sounds of painful suffering. Instead, he remained incomparably composed.

  Three hundred and fifty kilometers. From the difficult initial step to the gradual adaption later on, after the process of exhausting and recovering again and again, for thousands of times Yun Che’s profound energy in his profound veins became even more thicker and richer…. So much that there was indication of another possible breakthrough half a month ago. However, Yun Che forcefully suppressed his profound power’s breakthrough. Since the earlier increase of his profound strength was too fierce, it was necessary for him to adequately stabilize the profound energy while also allowing his body to completely adapt and control his profound power.

  On this day, New Moon City’s city gate finally appeared in his line of sight.

  “Finally arrived.” As Yun Che strolled onward, the corner of his mouth formed a smile.

  “The current you can undoubtedly achieve a perfect victory against any Profound Beasts of the same level. But in the end, profound beasts only have low intelligence and have very singular and boring attack patterns. If you want to become a legitimately strong practitioner, you’ll need to battle more with people…. Then, let us start with this New Moon City.” Jasmine said, as if she was an experienced elderly person

  “Yes!” As Yun Che nodded his head. His gaze contained no fear at all, but instead possessed an indistinct excitement and expectation.

  “Now, put down the pig iron on your body. Your current body should be completely used to the huge growth spike of profound power….. No, even if it had spiked up a few more levels, your body should still be able to endure it.”

  Yun Che released the pig iron and dropped it down, causing it to smash a deep dent into the surface of the ground. At that instant, Yun Che felt that his body was so light that it seemed as if it didn’t exist. He slightly channeled some energy, and kicked under his foot; from this jump, he actually leapt over sixteen straight meters! After firmly landing onto the ground, he swung his right hand; a crimson colored flame fiercely ignited from his right hand, then quickly extinguished, re-ignited, and extinguished again…. he controlled it freely to his heart’s content without any resistance.

  “I’ll tell you some good news. With your current body, you can barely endure the first stage of the Evil God’s seven gates! Which means, you can now attempt to open the first gate when you meet an opponent that you can’t defeat!”

  “I can open the first gate already?” Yun Che’s face was full of astonishment.

  “Only barely. As a last resort, you can try to open it. With your current profound power and physique, it shouldn’t cause any major danger to your life. However, I* am unsure about whether or not it would cause any permanent damage. Before reaching the seventh level of Nascent Profound Realm, it’s best to not use it recklessly.” Jasmine’s spoke with warning words.

  Yun Che originally wanted to try to feel the sensation of opening the first gate, and at the same time, wanted to see how powerful the profound skills would be with the gate open. But after listening to Jasmine’s words, he could only obediently put down that thought. If by chance his body couldn’t endure and was injured permanently, that would certainly be a huge loss.

  As he walked closer to New Moon City, the thick and majestic city wall appeared in front of Yun Che with a wave of extremely oppressing force. Endless people flowed in and out under the towering city gate, displaying a bustle that would almost never occur in Floating Cloud City.

  If one entered the streets of New Moon City and looked around, different styles of buildings and storefronts sprawled on without end. As crowds moved together, the waves of clamor were like the tide; it was exceedingly lively and bustling. In addition, regardless of gender or age, nearly everyone carried varied levels of profound energy.

  “This is a large city after all. In comparison, Floating Cloud City only resembled a slightly lar
ge town.” Yun Che sighed.

  “Hello, the uncle over there. If I may ask, where is the location of the Black Moon Merchant Guild?” Yun Che stopped a middle-aged man who looked to be relatively good-natured, and politely asked him.

  “Black Moon Merchant Guild?” The man assessed Yun Che from head to toe. Although his ordinary attire and his overly young age made him a bit skeptical, he still extended his hand and pointed: “Head west straight from here, after crossing about seven streets, turn right and keep walking, then you’ll arrive. However, young man, for a place like Black Moon Merchant Guild, no matter buying or selling, it is necessary to have a considerable capital.”

  Yun Che nodded, said his thanks, and walked toward the direction he pointed to. After passing seven extremely long streets, he took a right turn. After continuously walking for another half a quarter of an hour, the flow of people suddenly decreased. Even the atmosphere had become quite different.

  A huge plaque embedded with a black waning moon appeared in Yun Che’s line of sight;the four words “Black Moon Merchant Guild” were lined horizontally below the black moon. Although they were only four words, they carried an inexplicable deterrent force. It was different from the bustling and liveliness on other streets; not only were the amount of people that passes through very few, most of them also walked with hurried footsteps and with their mouths tightly closed. Let alone being bustling, there weren’t even anyone that spoke loudly, as if they were afraid to disturb something.

  “This Black Moon Merchant Guild, is really just as grandfather had described.” Yun Che quietly muttered to himself.

  Black Moon Merchant Guild’s headquarters was located in the greatest country in the Profound Sky Continent, the Divine Phoenix Empire. Its branch guilds had reached every country and major city, and was reputed to be the biggest merchant guild chain in the Profound Sky Continent.

  Of course the Black Moon Merchant Guild wasn’t as simple as just a merchant guild; to make the Black Moon Merchant Guild dominate all of Profound Sky Continent, one could imagine the degree of influence behind its back. When Xiao Lie had talked about the Black Moon Merchant Guild earlier, he had very seriously mentioned that even the four major sects would never dare to be rash in the Black Moon Merchant Guild.

  The Black Moon Merchant Guild’s system was extremely stringent; in transactions, they could almost achieve absolute fairness, and would never be biased against any one side. However, the Black Moon Merchant Guild usually only deal in merchandise with a high enough grade, and would never take even a glance at goods of a lower quality.

  After confirming the position of the Black Moon Merchant Guild, Yun Che went into a corner with no one around.. He then took out a small bottle of medicinal powder he had refined earlier, and quickly smeared it on his face.

  “What are you doing?” Jasmine curiously asked.

  Yun Che did not answer. After he lifted up his face again, the immature features had already disappeared, and what replaced it was the resolute and stern face of a middle-aged person; even his gaze was filled with the vicissitude of life. He also rubbed small amounts of the medicinal powder onto his hands, which made them appear somewhat shriveled. Then he took out a cloak that appeared to be slightly worn out, switched out the black clothing he was wearing before, and took out a bamboo hat that covered a half of his face after being worn.

  “You even know how to disguise?” Jasmine yelled out in astonishment.

  “For a doctor of miracles, being able to disguise is nothing.” Yun Che had on a proud smile. Soon after, his entire face became stiff and ice-cold, and even his voice turned hoarse: “No matter where Black Moon Merchant Guild appears, it would always be the magnate of the Merchant Guilds in the area, unmatched by anyone. If it is a high enough grade, Black Moon Merchant Guild would buy and sell anything…. There may even be pretty clothing for girls; let’s go in and take a look.”

  As he mentioned the words “pretty clothing for girls”, Yun Che clearly heard Jasmine let out the faint *chirp* sound of bird.

  For commoners, they would all hold a sense of deep reverence toward the Black Moon Merchant Guild; when they pass by this place, they would all quickly walk past, and did not dare to make any movements that could possibly offend the Black Moon Merchant Guild. Yun Che’s bizarre appearance had attracted many people’s attention; but when they saw him calmly and readily walk into the Black Moon Merchant guild, their gazes that looked at Yun Che also filled with a little bit of reverence…. To have the capital to trade inside Black Moon Merchant Guild, one would undoubtedly be a person of great importance.

  The interior of the Black Moon Merchant Guild was very spacious, and its silence carried a kind of looming pressure. If normal people walked inside, they would all be constrained by the atmosphere, to the point of not being able to breath. Atop the enormous cargo shelves, there was a dazzling assortment of merchandise; medicinal ingredients, pellets, weapons, armors, gems, low rank profound beast cores, and even low rank profound skills…. It had everything. But unquestionably, none of the things being sold here were inexpensive. Some may be impossible for a regular family to purchase even with a lifetimes worth of savings.

  Chapter 58: False Bravado

  [TL : Pills/pellets shall now also be interchangeable.. ]

  * * *

  There was a thirty something year old man standing behind the counter inside the Black Moon Merchant Guild. Even though Yun Che had entered with this strange disguise, he only glanced at him and asked: “Buying or selling?”

  Yun Che went straight to the point; raising his right hand to place three scarlet-colored pills on top of the counter, he coldly said: “Three Fire Spirit Pills, make an offer!”

  These three Fire Spirit Pills were made by refining the Fire Spirit Grass Yun Che had collected from the Flame Dragon’s cave.

  “Fire Spirit Pill?” The clerk’s rigid face finally made a small expression as he picked up one of the pills and lightly stroked it. Suddenly, his complexion changed and was barely able to let out his voice: “Ten… Tenth rank Fire Spirit Pill!!”

  In order to synthesize a medicine pill, it had to pass through the required harvesting of ingredients, looking through the storage, selecting the correct refining tools, proper heat control, and a crucial refining skill. So it was normal for the potency of the medicinal power to be reduced during this whole process. During the refining process, even for an high level pharmacist, it was practically impossible to avoid losing some of the medicinal power. Therefore, a pill of the sixth rank was already considered a top grade item. A pill of the seventh or eighth rank was rare and was already considered to be the highest quality. A top-notch pharmacist belonging to one of the major sects might be able to produce a pill of the ninth rank, but it would be considered a peerless item. As for a tenth ranked pill, even for a first rate pharmacist, to come across one would be one in a ten thousand.

  The higher the potency of the medicine pill, the higher the price, and the faster the body would be able to naturally refine it. The price of an eight ranked pill would be double of the price of a seventh ranked pill. But for a ninth ranked pill, it would almost be impossible to be found on the market. These were usually kept by the major sects for use for their core disciples or used to offer tribute. As for a tenth ranked pill, it was also rarely seen even in the Sky Profound Continent’s Black Moon Merchant Guild.

  If only one of the pills was tenth ranked, it would be nothing much, but the clerk stared with wide eyes when he realized that all three of the Fire Spirit Pills were of the tenth rank. Fire Spirit Grass was already hard to find, but it was also very difficult to refine it into a Fire Spirit Pill. As for it being of the tenth rank, he had never even heard of one before. He could only imagine what would happen if a Profound Practitioner practicing in the fire arts were to set their eyes on these three Fire Spirit Pills; they would most likely covet it with eyes popping out.

  “Make an offer!” Yun Che coldly said again.

  The clerk finally s
napped out of it and quickly brought out a black wooden box and placed the three Fire Spirit Pills into it to prevent the medicinal energy from dispersing. His expression was now a bit more respectful as he faced Yun Che….

  These were three Fire Spirit Pills of the tenth rank and were actually brought out to be sold for money! Black Moon Merchant Guild usually had an air of arrogance, but anyone would be able to tell that this person was definitely of great importance. The clerk courteously said: “These three Fire Spirit Pills of the tenth rank are the best of the best, as for the price… I will give you a hundred purple profound coins each; therefore, how about three hundred purple profound coins total?”

  “…” Yun Che was silent for a while.

  Since Yun Che was silent for quite some time, the clerk began to panic in fear. He carefully took note of the situation; if the price was not satisfactory, he would not hesitate to increase it. These three Fire Spirit Pills of the tenth rank, each one would without a doubt obtain a sky-high price if sold to any one of those major sects of the Profound Sky Continent that practiced in the fire attribute.

  How was he supposed to know Yun Che was silent not because of the low-ball offer…. but was immediately taken aback by the offered price

  Three hundred purple profound coins… Holy crap!! That was a whole three million yellow profound coins!! It was equivalent to a century’s worth of income from an average family!

  On the Azure Cloud Continent, during the times he followed his master around, his master refined medicine to save lives and never once did he charge a single coin. After the death of his master, he had only used the Sky Poison Pearl to refine medicine pills for himself to use in order to increase his strength; therefore, he had no concept of the actual market price or value of each medicinal pill.

  He had originally thought selling a Fire Spirit Pill for one purple profound coin would have already been pretty good. After selling three, he would have enough to live extravagantly for a short while. But he never expected he would be offered three hundred purple profound coins; he was stupefied.