Desolate Era

by RWX

  “It really is huge.” Little Qing’s eyes were filled with excitement as well.

  The Whitewater Hound raised his head as well. He had never before seen such a beautiful place. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain before them was structured like an enormous qilin creature which lay there, nearly ten thousand kilometers long. In other words, the size of this Heavenly Treasures Mountain was comparable to the entire Stillwater City.

  Whoosh.

  The black dragon carriage quickly flew into the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

  “Let’s first get something to eat, then sell off our treasures.” Ning was in a superb mood. He paid no attention to those three following him, and the black dragon carriage flew straight in, under the guidance of the greeters.

  The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain was filled with enormous crystalline mirrors which hung in the air everywhere, nearly covering the entirety of the sky at a height of tens of kilometers.

  Beneath the countless mirrors, many Immortal cultivators were congregating.

  Swoosh.

  As Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing flew into the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, one of the mirrors quickly locked onto them.

  “Black dragon carriage, the one used by young master Youngflame Nong of the Youngflame clan. Youngflame Nong has already been killed by Ji Ning..”

  “The rider on the carriage is dressed in magic robes in the shape of furs, and looks identical to Ji Ning.”

  “Next to him are two Godbeasts; Azure Skysnake and Whitewater Hound.”

  “99% chance of the youth being Ji Ning.”

  This report was quickly duplicated and spread out, and as it was, it was sent out through one of the thousands of intelligence channels. This was a location under constant surveillance by the main headquarters, as every day, all sorts of figures would arrive, including those from other major worlds or even the Heaven Realm or the Netherworld Kingdom. All sorts of intelligence reports could be generated here, of greater or lesser import. As for the news of Ji Ning… in the eyes of the many intelligence agencies, he was very unremarkable and ordinary.

  “Ji Ning has already appeared within the main headquarters of our Heavenly Treasures Mountain. There are five customers who have a standing purchase order for all information regarding him. Immediately deliver these reports to them.” A black-robed woman gave a calm order, and soon, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain sent out five subordinates, each with a copy of an intelligence report, towards five different locations in the imperial capital.

  Immediately report Ji Ning’s whereabouts upon discovering him! There were five customers who had standing purchase orders of this nature.

  “Is that the Blackwater Carriage?” Within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, a violet-robed man stared into the distance as Ning, aboard his carriage, entered a private courtyard. The black dragon carriage brought him all the way into the courtyard, then Ning entered a two-story building within the estate, sitting down alongside Little Qing and Uncle White to enjoy some of delicacies that came from places throughout the Grand Xia Empire, and even from some other major worlds.

  “Fur-clad youth? Azure Skysnake? Whitewater Hound?” The violet-robed man murmured to himself, “Can this be the Ji Ning who killed Youngflame Nong? He truly is ignorant, to dare to so be so arrogant and open… he’s probably already been discovered by the intelligence division, and the Youngflame clan will most likely quickly be aware of him as well. However, none of that has anything to do with me.”

  “Youngflame Nong was quite wealthy. Ji Ning killed him… and must have taken his many treasures. It seems my opportunity has come.” The violet-robed man’s eyes lit up, and he immediately, leisurely walked forward. A few moments later, he arrived outside the courtyard. He stood there, outside the courtyard, waiting silently, not entering.

  A long time later…

  “Who is it outside?” Ning’s voice rang out.

  “Yu Qi of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the violet-robed man laughed.

  “Enter,” Ning said.

  The violet-robed man obediently entered, quickly arriving at that two-story building. He followed the stairs up to the second floor, where Ji Ning, an azure-robed maiden, and a white-robed man were seated. They had essentially finished eating.

  “You were outside the courtyard for quite some time. What for?” Ning leisurely held a cup of wine in his hand, sweeping this Yu Qi with a weighing gaze. Yu Qi’s power… from what Ning could tell, he should be at the Wanxiang level.

  “I am responsible for purchasing and selling treasures on behalf of the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Yu Qi said modestly. “For example, if some people wish to sell their treasures or want to buy something special, I can assist. And of course, for the deals that I was responsible for carrying out, the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain will give me some rewards.”

  Ning nodded lightly. “You recognize me?”

  Yu Qi laughed. “I immediately recognized that carriage that you rode on, fellow Daoist Ji Ning. The carriage is known as the ‘Blackwater Carriage’, and was used in the past by Youngflame Nong; he often rode in it to come to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Thus, quite a few people recognize it. Upon seeing the carriage, seeing the way you look, and the Azure Skysnake and Whitewater Hound by your side, I was able to guess that you are the ‘legendary’ Ji Ning.”

  “It seems I’m quite famous. Even the imperial capital knows about me.” Ning couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you might not be aware of this, but you are indeed quite well-known,” Yu Qi laughed. “Youngflame Nong was one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital. Although they were described as the Four Dukelings, they weren’t necessarily the most powerful individuals of their generation; however, they had exalted statuses, were extremely wealthy, and loved to have fun. Youngflame Nong, however, ended up dying in the outside world. This news was naturally picked up by interested parties. Although the Youngflame clan never publicized it, anyone who did just a bit of investigation would realize that the killer was Ji Ning. Thus, your information was quickly unearthed by many as well. You have as spirit-beasts a Whitewater Hound and an Azure Skysnake; you like to dress in fur-shaped magic robes; you are extremely talented in swordplay, and have the appearance of a delicate, handsome youth…”

  Yu Qi rambled on and on, while Ji Ning, Little Qing, and Uncle White just stared.

  It seemed as though after having killing Youngflame Nong, he truly had become quite well-known in the imperial capital.

  “…and I guessed that the reason you came here today, fellow Daoist Ji Ning, was to sell off some treasures,” Yu Qi laughed. “And I, here at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, specialize in this sort of business.”

  * * *

  Book 11, Chapter 12 - Tears

  Right at this moment, someone suddenly knocked at the door. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, might I come in?”

  “Eh?” Yu Qi frowned. This voice was quite familiar.

  The door swung open.

  A short, chubby old man walked in, also dressed in violet. The man looked towards Ning and bowed. “Hawkart greets you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” He smiled casually towards Yu Qi. “Yu Qi, you came quite quickly.”

  “Fellow Daoist Hawkart, you actually discovered fellow Daoist Ji Ning so quickly. I’m quite surprised.” Yu Qi let out a cold snort. Both of them were responsible for dealing in the treasure trade. Everyone loved treasures, especially rare ones. When absolutely unique, one-of-a-kind treasures were discovered, the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain would go and collect them and offer them only to the imperial clan, not selling them to outsiders. That was why some of the major clans and sects, in order to avoid certain precious treasures from being completely monopolized by the imperial clan, would also collect many treasures and keep them internally.

  For example, the Northmont clan of Stillwater had the ‘Carefree Caverns’, which was secretly collecting precious items as well. And in turn, the Heavenly
Treasures Mountain had a number of people who were responsible for befriending experts and acquiring treasures from them.

  “I didn’t ‘discover’ fellow Daoist Ji Ning; it was he who declared his interest in selling treasures, which is why I learned of this,” the violet-robed elder laughed.

  Yu Qi was startled.

  Ning, seated there, said calmly, “I came to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain this time for the purpose of selling treasures. Thus, I had already instructed the attendant to make it known. I imagine that fellow Daoist Hawkart was notified by the attendant.”

  Yu Qi now understood. The short elder said proactively, “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, if you sell your treasures to me, I will definitely give you a price that satisfies you.”

  “I don’t really care who I sell them to. To me, this is but a small matter.” Ning looked at the two. After entering into a feud with the Youngflame clan, Ning’s Dao-heart had improved considerably, and the two in front of him weren’t able to entice him at all. “I know quite well that the most common treasures are always purchased at 60% of actual value by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

  Yu Qi and the short elder both nodded.

  “Come, let’s go to a larger location.” Ning rose to his feet. “As for who I will sell the treasures to, we can discuss that in a bit.”

  “This way, please.” “After you.” Yu Qi and the short elder both responded with warmth.

  Moments later, they arrived within a large garden, where only maidservants were present.

  “All of you, leave.”

  Yu Qi and the short elder were both dressed in violet robes. Upon their entrance, the maidservants immediately left obediently.

  “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, how about this garden? Large enough?” Yu Qi glanced at the surrounding area. “Generally speaking, when Loose Immortals trade with us, they’ll come to this type of location.”

  Ning swept the area with his gaze. In the center of the garden, there was a gazebo, next to which was nearly a three hundred meter region of polished stone, surrounded by precious flowers of all types.

  “It’ll work.” Ning nodded, then waved his hand. Instantly, an awe-inspiringly massive pile of magic treasures appeared on the ground. There were more than a hundred thousand Mortal-ranked, ten thousand Earth-ranked, and a hundred-plus Heaven-ranked. “First calculate as to roughly how much these treasures are worth.”

  “Whoah.”

  Yu Qi and the short elder both took deep breaths. This many treasures?

  “This is just a portion,” Ning said calmly. “I’ll sell them to whoever gives me the best price. Oh, right; if I recall correctly, as long as the value of a business deal reaches two hundred and fifty thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, one can receive a ‘Xia’ insignia, right?”

  “Right.” Yu Qi and the short elder didn’t hesitate at all. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, don’t worry at all; we will definitely give you a ‘Xia’ insignia.” Just by a quick visual appraisal, they could tell that the treasures in front of them definitely exceeded the necessary value.

  Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing sat down within the gazebo, leisurely sipping wine and laughing.

  Whoosh whoosh whoosh. The magic treasures were quickly divided by type. Yu Qi and the short elder both carefully assessed every single magic treasure. Since the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain employed them to deal in treasures, they were clearly no ordinary Wanxiang Adepts. Each of them had memorized the prices of hundreds of millions of types of magic treasures and items, as well as the details regarding them. Their memories, naturally, were unfathomably superior to the memories of ordinary mortals.

  Still, it took them a full hour before they finally came to a halt.

  “The Mortal-ranked treasures would round up to be 40,600 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. The Earth-ranked treasures are approximately 252,500 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. As for the Heaven-ranked, the highest price I can give is roughly 560,000 kilograms,” Yu Qi said. “A final price of 853,100 kilograms for everything.”

  “I can give you 855,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence,” the short elder said.

  “Me too,” Yu Qi said hurriedly.

  Ning chuckled. “Any higher prices?”

  Yu Qi and the short elder exchanged glances, secretly feeling hateful towards each other. Ning just laughed. Actually, most of these were mass produced magic treasures, and so the price that could be offered for them was set in stone. Those hundred or so Heaven-ranked treasures, however, did include a few that should have been personally produced by an Immortal, and thus were priced differently and with some fluctuation. Still, the overall price wouldn’t change much.

  “So that’s the price for the treasures, eh?” Ning waved his hand again. “I have quite a few more treasures here as well. Give me a calculation and an offer; the magic treasures and these curios will go to the high bidder.”

  The ground was instantly filled with a huge amount of Immortal grass, spirit-pills, protective curios, and other such items. These protective items were useful for Youngflame Nong, but with Ning now having a Primaltwin, Ning’s combat power was now comparable to a Loose Immortals, and so the treasures were useless to him.

  “Eh?” Yu Qi and the short elder’s syees lit up. Immortal grass, spirit-pills, and protective curios?

  There was some degree of fluctuation in the price of treasures that couldn’t be mass-produced. They would be able to make the most profit from these items. As for those magic treasures… although there was a high number of them, there was very little margin to be made.

  “What a fellow. He really did take out all of Youngflame Nong’s treasures,” Yu Qi murmured to himself.

  “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen so many nice items,” the short elder said, his eyes shining as well.

  The two rapidly began to calculate while pondering internally as well.

  “The magic treasures, combined with these various other treasures… I can offer you 1,300,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!” Yu Qi gritted his teeth, then made the offer. “If this old fellow gives a higher price, then I’ll bow out.”

  The short elder was stunned. He stared at Yu Qi in amazement. “Are you mad?”

  Ning was completely amazed as well. Ning had actually already had an estimate in mind regarding the value of the medicinal items and magic treasures he had taken from the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

  “Can you beat that offer?” Yu Qi stared at the short elder, savagery in his eyes.

  “Eh, I’m too old for this.” The short elder shook his head and sighed. “I don’t dare act as crazily as you. Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, I bid you farewell. Yu Qi, the end of my life will be coming soon. Let me offer you a few words of advice; don’t be too crazy. If you wager too heavily, you might end up losing yourself.” The short elder turned his head and left.

  Ning looked at Yu Qi. “1,300,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence?”

  “Right.” Yu Qi nodded.

  “Fine.” Ning laughed. He couldn’t be bothered with the interactions between the two; what mattered was getting the liquefied elemental essence into his hands.

  Moments later, the two carried out their trade. The treasures went to Yu Qi, while Ning acquired the 1,300,000 kilograms, as well as a Xia insignia. This represented that Ning was like most Loose Immortals, qualified to purchase magic treasures at a 40% discount.

  “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” After having completed the transaction, Yu Qi’s face was ruddy with excitement. “It’s almost night. At nightfall, the monthly Treasure Auction will begin.”

  “Treasure Auction?” Ning nodded, but didn’t look too interested.

  “This is the Treasure Auction of the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. The major powers of this world, and in fact many lone wanderer Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals will deliver their treasures to this Treasure Auction,” Yu Qi said. “In fact, even Immortal-ranked magic treasures might appear, along with m
any other hard-to-purchase items. If you have time, you should make an appearance at the Treasure Auction.”

  Ning was intrigued. It was worth a visit; perhaps he might find essence extracts of the Five Elements. He immediately said, “Will members of the Youngflame clan participate?”

  “The Youngflame clan? That’s a major clan; they will definitely send someone to participate in the monthly auction,” Yu Qi said.

  “Good. Tonight, I’ll pay a visit.” Ning nodded.

  The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. Within King Yan’s estate.

  Anyone conferred the title of ‘King’ was definitely someone who had an extremely high status within the imperial Xiamang clan. After all, the Xiamang clan had existed for countless years; as the chief of this major world, they had countless offspring, but extremely few who would receive the title of ‘King’.

  “Princess, Princess!” An armored female soldier charged towards a residence.

  “You can come up.”

  There were two stories to this residence. On the second floor, a green-robed woman was seated, against the railing, staring at the garden below. The garden was filled with some stones, sand, and even had a small lake; it looked just like a little beach.

  “Princess.” The female soldier fell to one knee.

  The green-robed woman seemed a bit fragile and weak, but the look in her eyes caused the female soldier to feel dread. The green-robed woman said calmly, “Speak. What is it.”

  “A report from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the female soldier said.

  “The Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” The green-robed woman was startled, then immediately said, “Hand it over.”

  “Alright.” The armored female soldier immediately offered the report over.

  The green-robed woman accepted it, then opened it. Upon seeing the details regarding Ji Ning within the scroll, she couldn’t help but tremble, then murmur to herself, “Ji Ning? Came to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia? Is at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain?”