Chapter 125: Treasure Hunting at Purple Pottery Street
Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Treasure Hunting at Purple Pottery Street
Almost every inch of space was occupied.
The puppets embedded in the walls resembled dolls, yet they were all humanoid in form.
"Young Sir, please come over here."
The wooden puppet that had led him in pointed to the ground by the entrance. There were lines carved into it beforehand—it must be an Array.
’Young Sir?’ Zhu Ge paused, then instantly understood.
He now had a wisp of Literary Energy in his body, while all his Blood Qi was concentrated in his Martial Arts Heart.
Normally, an ordinary Martial Arts Heart would still leak some Blood Qi, allowing others to sense it.
But for a prodigy, whose Martial Arts Heart is the embryonic form of true intent, they can completely prevent a single trace of Blood Qi from being exposed.
And that was to say nothing of Zhu Ge.
With Zhu Ge’s level of skill, his control was flawless.
Therefore, to the wooden puppet, Zhu Ge clearly appeared to be a Confucian Scholar of the First Realm of the Confucian Dao, the Cultivation Realm.
Hence the respectful address, "Young Sir."
Zhu Ge offered no explanation, simply walking over to the Array and stepping onto it.
The Array flickered, seeming to scan Zhu Ge’s body before entering his Dantian.
However, it didn’t touch the Xigui in his mind or his Martial Arts Heart. After all, the Upper and Middle Yuan Palaces were of paramount importance; no normal Cultivator would allow an outsider to probe them wantonly.
Once the Array scanned the wisp of Literary Energy in Zhu Ge’s Dantian, it immediately withdrew.
"Identity confirmed: Human Race." The wooden puppet nodded. "The city is quite chaotic right now. Please be careful, Young Sir. Protect your belongings and watch out for petty thieves."
’Watch out for petty thieves?’
Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes, nodded, and headed into the passage.
Nearly all the surrounding Soldiers were injured, but they remained utterly silent, none of them paying Zhu Ge any mind.
Their only focus was on resting, seizing every available moment to prepare for a potential surprise attack.
As Zhu Ge passed by, he could still faintly sense a feeling of unity among these Soldiers.
It was as if every breath they took released faint wisps of Blood Qi. Through some sort of Cultivation Technique, this Blood Qi condensed, forging them into a single, impenetrable unit.
They were grouped into squads of sixteen, each one an impenetrable unit. As Zhu Ge drew near, he felt a sharp aura that made his skin prickle.
An elite force!
These Soldiers were clearly battle-hardened veterans.
It made sense. With war raging throughout the Da Sheng Empire, these Soldiers could face slaughter and battle at any moment.
They must have drilled day in and day out, perhaps even entering the jungles to fight Demon Beasts, never letting their guard down for an instant.
That was the only way they could have defended Jianshui City when an endless horde of demons laid siege to its walls.
Zhu Ge felt a sense of respect for these Soldiers.
It wasn’t just for their strength, but for their unwavering will and determination to defend the city.
After he passed through the silent corridor, a rush of clamorous noise and bright light flooded Zhu Ge’s senses.
In the distance stood buildings made of pale red clay. The streets were bustling with pedestrians, every one of them hurrying along with a gaunt, sallow look on their face.
This must have once been a prosperous city, with a large population and a thriving artisan sector that fueled a bustling economy.
But now, neither the number of people nor their expressions suggested they were residents of a prosperous city.
Between the distant streets and the bottleneck entrance, there was a vast, open training ground, flanked on both sides by rows of barracks.
The training ground, too, was now filled with Soldiers.
However, these Soldiers were a far cry from the ones guarding the passage.
Some Soldiers were men in their sixties or seventies, their backs already stooped with age, possessing not a shred of strength.
Others were mere boys of fourteen or fifteen, the immaturity still plain on their faces.
New recruits!
Seeing this, Zhu Ge understood.
Although the demon horde had been repelled, Jianshui City was, in a sense, scraping the bottom of the barrel for its military.
From the elderly down to the young boys, anyone who could lift a blade was being conscripted.
This proved that the city’s true strength—the able-bodied men in their prime—was no longer sufficient.
Perhaps they still had many Soldiers, but the Jianshui City Lord must have been considering the situation in Red River Prefecture and decided to urgently replenish their ranks.
Otherwise, waiting to call them up until they were truly needed would be too late.
Untrained and powerless Soldiers were nothing more than sitting ducks before the Demon Beasts.
Fortunately, with the demon horde now in retreat, these new Soldiers had ample time to train.
Zhu Ge’s arrival caused no stir. However, a Centurion training new recruits on the field glanced his way and gave a distant nod in greeting.
Zhu Ge, of course, silently nodded in return.
He couldn’t help but notice, however, that the Centurion’s gaze was filled with respect.
It wasn’t hard to understand why.
At a time of crisis for Jianshui City, most people were thinking only of how to escape.
Only a few, like Zhu Ge, would think of entering Jianshui City to become part of its defense.
Of course, that was part of Zhu Ge’s plan as well.
Having entered the Martial Arts Second Realm, the Mountain Shattering Realm, Zhu Ge was itching for a good fight.
But with his strength, any First and Second Realm Demon Beast he encountered in the wild would be easy pickings.
Only on a battlefield could he truly let loose and kill to his heart’s content.
However, he had other goals for entering the city this time. He needed to visit the Marketplace first to do some trading before he could think about slaying demons.
And so, after asking a few hurried passersby for directions, Zhu Ge finally arrived at what passed for a bustling area—Purple Pottery Street!
"Weapons inscribed with a master’s calligraphy! Spirit Level, low-grade, only one gold coin!"
"Spiritual herbs! No grade, but full of energy! Six silver coins a handful!"
"Buying Demon Beast teeth! We pay by weight, in copper coins!"
Purple Pottery Street was clean and orderly. There were plenty of pedestrians, but no street vendors. Instead, both sides of the street were lined with shops, and the shouts of merchants filled the air.
Most of the shouting came from the smaller establishments; the more elegantly and traditionally decorated shops, in contrast, were completely silent.
Zhu Ge squeezed into the crowd, letting it carry him forward as he surveyed the shops on either side of the street.
Herb shops, Spirit Beast Shops, pawnshops, weapon smiths...
There were all sorts of businesses. Some displayed colorful wares, among which were even high-grade Spirit Level items practically overflowing with Spiritual Qi.
A dazzling sight to behold!
Zhu Ge also noticed that the weapon shops tended to be more crowded.
After all, in a time of war, everyone wanted a weapon for self-defense.
However, most of the pedestrians on the street were ordinary people, with not a trace of power in their bodies.
Therefore, the shops with the most booming business were those that sold mundane weaponry.
As for a few of the other shops, they were practically deserted.
Zhu Ge walked the entire length of Purple Pottery Street, which stretched a full three kilometers and was packed with shops and people. He occasionally passed individuals with obscure auras, likely other Second Realm Cultivators.
But their paths didn’t cross, and he had no interest in them anyway.
By the time he finished exploring Purple Pottery Street, he had decided on his destination.
First on the list... a bookstore!