The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 521 - 371: The Slave Master

Chapter 521: Chapter 371: The Slave Master

The merchant master named Xiu Xiang showed great respect upon learning that the Divine Blood awakened in Li Yi came from a deity that had fallen in the Northern Wasteland, and he enthusiastically invited Li Yi to share a carriage, even calling for a beautiful concubine to accompany them.

However, this kind of treatment made Li Yi feel as uncomfortable as sitting on pins and needles. He was not from this world and feared that talking too long would arouse suspicion and bring disaster, so he only wanted to exchange greetings and make small talk before excusing himself and leaving.

But the merchant master was very enthusiastic and had servants bring all kinds of exotic fruits and delicacies, as well as fine wines, to entertain Li Yi.

After taking a sip of the amber-colored wine, Li Yi immediately felt a surge of Qi-Blood from within his body, transforming into a silver aura that rose like mist, burning and stretching every muscle and bone. It seemed as if all the turbidity that had built up over countless years was rapidly released after this one sip, leaving him feeling indescribably relaxed and content, as if he were in the midst of the magnificent universe, both body and mind cleansed.

Seeing the silver aura enveloping Li Yi, Xiu Xiang was quite astonished. This indicated that Li Yi’s divine lineage was incredibly pure, almost on par with the direct descendants of the Divine Blood lineage. No, it was even purer than the average direct descendant, and it appeared that he had a tremendous amount of untapped potential, truly extraordinary.

"Da Yi, this is not just a simple awakening of Divine Blood, but almost a return to the ancestral state, with endless potential for the future," he praised sincerely. "If you wish to establish a lineage of Divine Blood here in Beihuai City, I can provide financial support."

Li Yi said, "I’ve come to Beihuai City to rescue several companions who have been sold into slavery for various reasons. I must find them as soon as possible."

"Such a thing has happened?" Xiu Xiang was surprised and then quickly said, "I will help you with this matter. I’m quite familiar with Beihuai City and might be able to find your companions for you."

"It’s a personal matter, and I don’t want to trouble you," Li Yi declined politely.

Xiu Xiang laughed heartily and said, "This is but a trifle, how can it be a bother? Come, let’s head immediately to the slave market of Beihuai City."

With that, he called out, and several warriors mounted on mutant beasts rushed over, and they also brought two mutant beasts to serve as mounts.

"Master." Warrior Qi saluted.

Xiu Xiang nodded, then gestured, "Da Yi, please, this matter is urgent, do not hesitate."

Seeing that he couldn’t refuse any longer, Li Yi accepted the invitation.

He mounted one of the mutant beasts, while the merchant master named Xiu Xiang sat on another. After giving a few instructions to his servants, Xiu Xiang led a few warriors and left the caravan, heading to Beihuai City ahead of the rest.

The grandeur of the city walls could only be appreciated up close.

The vast city gates were wide enough to allow dozens of carriages to enter side by side, and upon entering the city, Li Yi sensed numerous strong auras among the bustling crowd with his soul perception. He was but an inconspicuous character here, unlikely to draw the slightest attention. Had he not revealed the traits of his Divine Blood, it would’ve been very difficult to catch anyone’s notice.

Moreover, the people of Beihuai City were exceptionally tall, often more than two meters, with sturdy builds and extraordinary physiques, each possessing incredible Divine Power.

Such physiques were not the result of cultivation, but rather innate strength, like genetics, something ingrained in their very bones.

Yet at this moment, Li Yi had not yet been exposed to the cultivation practices of this world.

Soon enough.

Xiu Xiang led Li Yi through half of Beihuai City, eventually arriving at a market. This was a special market, exclusively for the sale of various slaves, and there were not only men, women, and children, but also many mutant beasts, all caged and bound by thick chains, unable to break free.

Li Yi was astonished by the sight of many rare beasts and exotic races he had never encountered before.

In one cage, there were several women with fins on their faces and fish tails instead of legs, resembling the legendary mermaids. When Li Yi passed by, these women gazed at him with eyes as beautiful as sapphires, as if they were appraising him, or perhaps pleading for his help.

"The merfolk from the North Sea, their body oil can be made into Everlasting Lamps that burn for eternity, and their tears turn into pearls upon touching the ground. These are female merfolk, and they fetch a higher price. If raised properly, they can spin cloth, as merfolk are naturally skilled at weaving a special fabric that can be made into water-repellent garments, which is quite valuable," Xiu Xiang said after a glance, demonstrating the knowledge of a merchant master.

"Da Yi, if you would like one, I can gift it to you."

Li Yi shook his head and said, "I have no need, I’m just curious as I have never seen the merfolk of the North Sea before."

"Merfolk from the North Sea are indeed rare elsewhere," Xiu Xiang nodded in agreement.

Li Yi continued to move forward, and then he saw some mutant beasts he recognized, such as Good Wings, and this one in Beihuai City was even larger and more dangerous. Even chained, it was still attempting to struggle, making loud, violent banging noises.

Soon, his expression changed slightly.

Because in one cage, he saw a black dragon-like creature, trapped and unable to escape.

"That is a Jiao, with an age of eight hundred years. Just two hundred years short of becoming a dragon. Its hide can be made into armor. Last year, this place caught eight hundred Jiaos, fetching a good price. This year, however, fewer Jiaos have been caught," Xiu Xiang remarked after looking around, seeing only one large and one small Jiao in this store, with no other remarkable goods.

Li Yi’s eyes twitched at the information.

Last year, they caught eight hundred Jiaos? And the greatest value of a Jiao was peeling its hide to make armor?

What in the world was this kind of fearsome place?

"Merchant Master, how about selling this Jiao to you?" the shopkeeper asked enthusiastically at that moment.

"Just one, no use in buying," Xiu Xiang originally intended to decline but then suddenly said, "If it’s for making armor, it’s not bad. How much for a set?"

"Eight hundred gold." The shop owner said with a smile.

"The price is fair. Here’s the gold, I want a set of armor. I’ll send a servant to collect it later." Xiu Xiang said as he took out several reddish-gold coins from his body, tossing over a total of eight.

That reddish gold was not ordinary gold, it gleamed with extraordinary light, a kind of divine metal that Li Yi had never seen before, and the fact that eight coins could buy an eight-hundred-year-old Jiao showed the strong purchasing power of this reddish gold.

Upon receiving the money, the shop owner’s smile widened, and then he immediately called for the butcher.

A bare-chested burly man stepped out, brandishing a sparkling short knife, and headed straight for the cage holding the Jiao dragon, clearly intending to skin it and make armor.

Even though it had been captured, the Jiao dragon’s life force was still remarkably strong, easily able to crush a warrior of the Spirit Power Realm if it were free, but it was now powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as the butcher’s knife approached.

Li Yi continued onward, unfortunately missing the bloody scene of the Jiao being killed and skinned.

However, he had gained a clearer understanding of just how terrifying this world could be.

Xiu Xiang, who had bought a Jiao remarkably calm as if it were a trivial matter, continued to walk through the market with Li Yi, actively introducing him to various unique mutant beasts. However, his introductions were peculiar – almost always about how one could take meat, take bones from the creatures.

Or how they could be used as mounts... His thoughts were entirely focused on the value of the mutant beasts, truly befitting of someone with a merchant’s background.

After they finished browsing the mutant beasts’ section, they quickly arrived at the section where live humans were sold.

All sorts of people were captured and became slaves: there were strong warriors as well as women, but in this slave market, warriors were in high demand, with many willing to pay to purchase them. Conversely, there were fewer buyers for women, only the extremely beautiful were sought after, bought to be tamed into courtesans or dancers.

"My companions were probably sold here about ten days ago. Here are their portraits. I hope the Merchant Master can assist me." Li Yi took out several pictures, retrieved from the thunder fighter jet.

"No problem." Xiu Xiang took the pictures, showed them to his servant, then promptly said: "Go, find them and you’ll be rewarded."

The servants, a bit excited, scattered in response.

This task was easy for them, and they were eager to receive their reward.

Xiu Xiang also led Li Yi to a slave trader, a man who had extensive connections in this market and knew a great deal of information, so Xiu Xiang directly showed him the pictures of Jiang Mingtian, Hu Fei, and Zhao Fangji to inquire: "Have you seen these slaves recently? I wish to buy them."

The slave trader was a man around fifty or sixty years old, with dry, thin skin but a tall frame, leaning on a wooden staff, draped in a leather cloak, with a long beard hanging down to his chest, looking both like a shrewd merchant and a venerable elder.

"Haven’t seen them. Such slaves are too weak and useless, not worth much, and must have been bought by casual customers," the slave trader squinted at the pictures and then shook his head.

Good grief.

Jiang Mingtian and the others, who were at the Soul Realm, turned out to be low-grade slaves here, practically worthless.

"I wish to search, how much?" Xiu Xiang asked earnestly.

"One gold." The slave trader extended a skinny finger, revealing a sly smile.

These three slaves were definitely not worth one gold; he was clearly jacking up the price.

Xiu Xiang frowned but then quickly smiled again: "Fine, one gold for you. Once found, rescue them and send them to Shoushan Village outside Beihuai City."

As he spoke, he took out another reddish-gold coin and handed it to the slave trader.

After receiving it, the slave trader smiled and responded: "Agreed."

A promise made cannot be broken.

That’s the rule among merchants.

Then the group left again.

Meanwhile, the other servants who had been dispatched also returned one after another, all shaking their heads, indicating they had not found the three.

This result made Xiu Xiang sigh with guilt: "Da Yi, I am sorry, finding your friends is probably very difficult. But that slave trader has made a promise. As soon as there is news, he will surely redeem them and send them to Shoushan Village. I have made a promise and will definitely fulfill it, please rest assured."

Seeing this, Li Yi also realized that Jiang Mingtian and the others had most likely been bought by some passing customers. In this huge city without surveillance or cameras, trying to trace these three people was incredibly difficult.

With limited personal power and unfamiliar with the place, relying on this Merchant Master’s appreciation had also failed to find them, he reckoned he would hardly be able to do anything on his own.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to rescue them; in this vast world, he simply didn’t know where to start.

"Thank you for your help. Even if my friends can’t be found, I will remember your kindness," Li Yi said. "I have nothing on me to repay your favor, so I can only give you a few mutant fruits, hoping you won’t disdain them."

As he spoke, he took out several silvery mutant fruits and handed them to the Merchant Master named Xiu Xiang.