Immortal Martial Emperor

「The next morning.」

Hong Yu left Xiahuang Shang's residence and rode in the chariot Xiahuang Shang had arranged for him, heading toward the largest marketplace.

The Imperial Capital truly lived up to its reputation as one of the four most prosperous places in the Southern Border Profound Domain.

Markets and trading posts were simply innumerable.

If he had to choose one himself, he would have been dazzled by the options. Fortunately, Xiahuang Shang had already made arrangements and told him about the most prosperous and famous location.

The Profound Cyan Pavilion!

It was located in the Outer City. Hong Yu's chariot ride took a full three hours to get there.

The entire Profound Cyan Pavilion was immense. The building stood a hundred meters tall and had over thirty floors.

"I don't know how long I'll be. You can head back first," Hong Yu said to the guard with a smile.

This was the guard Xiahuang Shang had assigned to be Hong Yu's guide.

The guard smiled. "Please take your time looking, Sir. I'll wait outside!"

Seeing the guard's insistence, Hong Yu didn't waste any more words. After a few pleasantries, he entered the Profound Cyan Pavilion.

This time, he hadn't brought Xu Wudi and the others with him.

For one, he could be assassinated by a powerhouse from the Blood Killing Tower at any moment, so it wasn't safe for them to follow him. For another, he had too many secrets he didn't want too many people to know about.

The first ten floors of the Profound Cyan Pavilion were a trading area for unaffiliated powerhouses. Any expert with a Treasure to sell could obtain a Qualification Token from the pavilion and set up a stall to do business.

Of course...

The Profound Cyan Pavilion would take a cut of the profits.

The middle ten floors housed shops leased by the major powers and families, similar to specialty stores.

As for the top ten floors, those were run by the Profound Cyan Pavilion itself. They sold Primordial Weapons, Primordial Cores, Martial Skills, various Secret Manuals, and treasures, and there was also an auction house.

Hong Yu started his search from the First Layer.

'If I want to increase my strength quickly, using Pills and enough Elemental Essence Ore to advance my Primordial Gang Fighting Technique is one way, but it's not enough.'

Hong Yu mused to himself while sifting through the dazzling array of Treasures. 'Aside from that, my offensive abilities are still lacking.'

His offensive and defensive capabilities were currently unbalanced.

On the defensive side, he had the Nine Transformation Dragon God Technique and the Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique, which were more than enough to make his physical body exceptionally strong.

But on the offensive side, the only thing he had that was truly presentable was the Great Destruction Fist.

As for his Pupil Technique: Heaven-Filling.

It was somewhat effective against ordinary powerhouses, but when facing Unparalleled Geniuses, which one of them didn't have a will of iron?

Heaven-Filling alone was no longer enough to deal with them.

After some thought, Hong Yu decided to first search for the materials needed to refine the Sixth-Grade Spirit Pill, the Void-Breaking Pill.

The Void-Breaking Pill was a Pill that could raise one's cultivation realm. It was extremely difficult to refine and was considered a relatively High Level Spirit Pill in the Divine Medicine Scripture.

A Primordial Embryo Realm Powerhouse who consumed a Void-Breaking Pill could advance by one minor realm.

Beyond that, he needed to purchase enough Elemental Essence Ore.

To break through with his Primordial Gang Fighting Technique, he needed to devour a sufficient amount of Elemental Essence Ore. This was essential.

In addition...

He also wanted to find some powerful offensive Martial Skills.

The many Martial Skills and Treasures he had found in the Crystal Palace weren't suitable for him, but he could trade them for enough wealth to buy what he needed.

The Profound Cyan Pavilion truly held many treasures.

Hong Yu spent three Celestial-Level Martial Skills and two sets of Fifth-Grade Primordial Weapons, finally managing to trade for the materials needed to refine the Void-Breaking Pill.

After storing the materials away, he found nothing else suitable on the first ten floors.

Hong Yu continued onward, arriving at the middle ten floors to start his search.

He didn't notice, however, that his extravagant spending on the first ten floors had already caught the attention of certain people with ill intentions, who were now following him.

It wasn't that Hong Yu wasn't vigilant enough.

It was just that the Profound Cyan Pavilion was packed with people coming and going, an endless stream that left him no time to pay attention to everyone.

Even if he noticed someone tailing him, in such a vast sea of people, how could he easily spot them unless they were deliberately focusing their attention on him?

"How may I help you, customer?" a female receptionist asked with a slight bow.

She wore a tight-fitting qipao and heavy makeup. Her full breasts and wide hips created a fiery visual impact.

In particular, the slit at her chest parted to reveal two mounds of fair, soft flesh and a deep, dark cleavage that stirred a certain longing in onlookers.

Hong Yu's will was firm, and he remained unmoved. "I need Elemental Essence Ore," he said calmly.

"We do have a lot of Elemental Essence Ore here, but I'm not sure which element you require, or how much," the woman said with a professional smile that was neither overly enthusiastic nor cold.

Hong Yu said, "Any element will do. I need a rather large amount!"

The Primordial Gang Fighting Technique required refining and absorbing the pure energy within Elemental Essence Ore and originally had elemental restrictions. However, since Hong Yu had comprehended the Chaos Mysteries, he could be like a sea that accepts all rivers and was no longer bound by elemental limitations!

The woman hesitated for a moment. "A large amount? How much exactly?"

Hong Yu said, "However much you have, I'll take it all!"

"HISS!"

The woman sucked in a sharp breath.

'However much they have, he'll take it all?'

One had to know that any power capable of opening a specialty store in the Profound Cyan Pavilion was an Overlord of their domain, with assets so vast they were immeasurable.

Especially those in the Elemental Essence Ore business—which of them didn't have one or two hundred ore veins under their control?

And Hong Yu dared to say he'd take as much as they had?

'Does he really have the backing to say that? Or is he just spouting nonsense?'

"What's going on?" Just as the woman was hesitating, an elderly voice called out.

The woman felt as if she'd been granted amnesty. "Shopkeeper, this customer says he wants Elemental Essence Ore. Um, he says he'll take however much we have!"

"Oh?"

It was an old man with a full head of white hair and a white beard.

His eyes were profound, a clear sign of someone who had experienced the ways of the world. With a world-weary gaze, he said faintly, "Young man, are you aware that our owner has five hundred ore veins? We excavate tens of millions of units of Elemental Essence Ore every year. Are you sure you'll take as much as we have?"

Hong Yu nodded. "I'm sure!"

"Alright, then follow me!"

The old man hesitated for a moment before leading Hong Yu away.

Not long after, a burly, middle-aged man with a fleshy face approached and asked casually, "Hey beautiful, that young man just now seemed pretty high and mighty. What's he buying?"

"Oh, he's here to buy Elemental Essence Ore."

The woman wasn't on guard. She blinked and said, "He's a strange customer. He actually said he'll take as much as we have. I can't tell if he's a true tycoon or just some country bumpkin."

"Oh?"

A trace of greed and fervor flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

He had been watching Hong Yu since he was on the first ten floors.

His eyes darted around a few times, then the middle-aged man turned and left. It wasn't long before he departed the Profound Cyan Pavilion, and after a series of twists and turns, he arrived at a courtyard.

Several powerful auras could be felt fluctuating within the courtyard.

The middle-aged man knocked on the door and gave a secret signal. When the door opened, he was greeted by a man with a scar on his face.

The man said flatly, "What is it? Didn't I tell you? The Boss and the others took a job. They're ambushing a group of powerhouses in the next two days. I told you guys not to come over unless it's important."

"Hehe, big business. This is a huge score!" the middle-aged man said.

"Oh?"

The scar-faced man hesitated for a moment before leading him into the courtyard.

Before long, the middle-aged man left excitedly and returned to the Profound Cyan Pavilion.

And back in that courtyard...

The scar-faced man stood outside a small hut. "Boss, are you sure you want to make a move?"

"Since he can casually trade Celestial-Level Secret Martial Arts Manuals and has the guts to demand a massive amount of Elemental Essence Ore, this is indeed a huge score. It'd be a waste not to take it!" a hoarse voice replied from within the hut.

The scar-faced man hesitated. "But we've already accepted a mission. We're supposed to go and kill those people tonight."

"Don't worry. From what he said, that kid is only at the Primordial Embryo Realm in cultivation. Sending the brothers from the Earth Department will be enough to take him down!"

The hoarse voice grew impatient. "Alright, you go get some rest too. We move out at sunset. According to the intel we received, that group should be arriving around then!"

"Understood!"

The scar-faced man departed.

...

Inside the Profound Cyan Pavilion.

Ten Storage Rings were placed in front of Hong Yu. Each one contained ten million units of Elemental Essence Ore.

The old man across from him said calmly, "Here are one hundred million units of Elemental Essence Ore, equivalent to the total reserves of ten ore veins. Can you afford it?"

The few powerhouses behind the old man revealed a faint, cold glint in their eyes.

They were on standby, ready to strike decisively the moment Hong Yu couldn't produce sufficient payment, or if they concluded he was just spouting nonsense and playing the Shopkeeper for a fool.

In fact...

The few of them were already prepared to make a move.

After all, the value of one hundred million units of Elemental Essence Ore was immeasurable. Even in the entire Outer City, few people could afford so much at once.

They had long since decided that Hong Yu was just spouting nonsense and here to cause trouble.

"I can."

But Hong Yu just smiled.

With a wave of his hand, ten Celestial-Level Martial Skills and Cultivation Techniques, ten Fifth-Grade Spirit Pills, and ten Fifth-Grade Primordial Weapons appeared.

"HISS!"

The old man sucked in a sharp breath.

Even though he had seen his fair share of big spenders, he couldn't help but be stunned by such an extravagant display.

Staring at Hong Yu with shock and uncertainty, the old man truly couldn't figure out the origins of this young man before him. How could he possess such immense wealth?

The powerhouses behind him, who had been ready to strike, were even more astonished, their eyes wide with disbelief.

They looked at each other in dismay.

The thought that they had just been speculating that Hong Yu was some country bumpkin here to cause trouble felt like an invisible hand viciously slapping them across the face. The sting was fiery and painful.

The old man regained his composure and looked deeply at Hong Yu. "Truly, heroes emerge from the young. Your Excellency has indeed opened this old man's eyes!"

Hong Yu smiled. "So these are all mine now?"

The old man nodded.

With payment from one side and goods from the other, the transaction was complete.

Hong Yu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "If I may ask, old sir, where in the Profound Cyan Pavilion can I buy Advanced Martial Skills?"

"Advanced Martial Skills? Don't you already have Celestial-Level Martial Skills?" the old man asked, puzzled.

Hong Yu shrugged. "I want something of an even higher level!"

"A higher level?"

The old man's eyes widened. 'Higher than Celestial Level? Wouldn't that be Divine Level?'

He shook his head with a wry smile. "Young man, Divine-Level Martial Skills are incredibly precious. Even if someone possessed one, they would rarely put it up for sale."

"There are none?"

Hong Yu was a little disappointed.

The old man hesitated again, then took out a golden invitation card. "There's no need to be disappointed. Although the Profound Cyan Pavilion doesn't sell Secret Manuals above Celestial Level, in three days, there will be a grand auction on the top floor. Many powerhouses will bring their Treasures, so you can try your luck there!"

"This invitation?" Hong Yu was puzzled.

The old man chuckled. "As it happens, our owner will also be auctioning a Treasure. We have invitation cards, so I'll give you one!"

"In that case, thank you very much, Shopkeeper!"

Hong Yu was delighted. 'Three more days,' he thought. 'That's just enough time to go back and refine the Void-Breaking Pill.'

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then Hong Yu departed.

After leaving the Profound Cyan Pavilion, Hong Yu was about to call for the guard Xiahuang Shang had assigned him when his expression suddenly changed.

His Spiritual Power detected several faint auras that had locked onto him.

'Hmm? Could it be the assassins are here for me?'

An idea sparked in Hong Yu's mind. A playful smile touched his lips as he changed his plans.

Alone, he headed toward the city outskirts.

A self-assured mutter escaped him, tinged with a chilling killing intent...

"Let's see just who these esteemed guests are!"