Martial Peak

Chapter 1993, Old Swindler

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

It was not an exaggeration to describe Mo Xiao Qi as a hedgehog with the sharpest of spikes, and everywhere she went, the cultivators who accidentally bumped into her experienced great pain and hurriedly made way.

As such, the place where she and Yang Kai stood actually became quite spacious as no one dared to approach to within a few paces of them.

“Big Brother Yang, I found you! There are so many people here,” Mo Xiao Qi said as she turned her eyes around like a country bumpkin who had just entered the city and was awed by the sights, she was seeing for the first time.

Yang Kai looked at her with an awkward smile on his face and called out to her wryly, “Xiao Qi…”

“Hm, what’s the matter?” Mo Xiao Qi turned her head back curiously, but in the next moment her beautiful face turned pale, she covered her mouth with her delicate hand, and pointed to Yang Kai’s shoulder, “Ah, your shoulder is all bloody, Big Brother Yang! Who attacked you? How could they!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine…” Yang Kai spoke calmly and in a somewhat resigned tone, as if he had already gotten used to this. A short time later, he managed to staunch the blood flow and said, “Just do not touch me so casually next time please, otherwise… I might lose too much blood and die.”

Mo Xiao Qi was stunned for a moment before she blushed, lowered her head, and squirmed in place a bit as she pinched her dress guiltily.

“Haha, you’re here, Alchemist Yang!”

At that moment, Kang Si Ran’s hearty laughter rang out from nearby and when Yang Kai turned his head to look, he saw Shopkeeper Kang striding over.

“Shopkeeper Kang!” Yang Kai cupped his fists.

“Seeing Alchemist Yang’s confident appearance, this Kang is relieved. It seems Alchemist Yang has prepared appropriately.”

“This Yang can only do his best to return safely.”

“Alchemist Yang is too humble. Inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, there are countless opportunities to be had. I am certain Alchemist Yang will be able to smoothly return after obtaining great benefits. Oh, this girl is…”

“Oh, this is Xiao Qi. She’s my friend,” Yang Kai introduced Mo Xiao Qi to Kang Si Ran. Although Mo Xiao Qi was quite innocent, she wasn’t quite familiar with interacting with others, so she just nodded lightly and stood quietly at Yang Kai’s side.

“Alchemist Yang, this old master previously asked the Senior who came from the chamber of commerce headquarters for some information and learned that everyone will be separated upon entering the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, so it is unlikely we will be able to travel together,” Kang Si Ran said in an apologetic tone.

Yang Kai raised his brow and asked, “Could it be that upon entering, everyone will be sent to a random location?”

Yang Kai had already entered various Sealed and Self-Contained Worlds before, so he was not unfamiliar with such things. When Kang Si Ran mentioned this, he immediately thought of a possibility.

“Yes,” Kang Si Ran nodded solemnly. “The space inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda is an ancient battlefield, so its World Principles are not complete and are even broken in certain places. As such, even if cultivators enter at the same time, they will appear in different positions. Before, this old master was thinking he could travel together with Alchemist Yang, but it seems that will not be possible now.”

Yang Kai smiled slightly and said, “If we can’t join hands, it means others can’t either, which means that everything will come down to our own individual abilities.”

“What Alchemist Yang says is right. This old master also thought of this, so he came to specifically inform you to remain cautious inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. In the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, there are numerous barriers and traps that, can kill Origin Kings like us if we fell into them. Countless Star Soul Palace disciples fall inside every year for this reason, so one cannot be careless.”

“Many thanks for the warning, Shopkeeper Kang, I will be careful,” Yang Kai gently nodded.

The two stood in place and chatted casually.

“By the way, who are those people sitting up there, Shopkeeper Kang?” Yang Kai gestured to the high platform in front of City Lord’s Mansion with his eyes and asked.

Kang Si Ran chuckled and said, “In fact, this old master only recognizes three of them. The second one from the left is one of my Violet Source Chamber of Commerce’s Vice Presidents, Sir Lou Chi. Next to him is Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President, Sir Ceng Yuan. As for the one in the middle, he is Silver Star Envoy, Sir Xiao Yu Yang of Star Soul Palace. The others… this old master only knows their origins and is not clear about their names.”

Yang Kai nodded and was just about to respond when Mo Xiao Qi’s voice came from the side, “The first one on the left is Chen Wen Hao from Heavenly Martial Holy Land, the first one on the right is Feng Ming from Orthodoxy Temple, and the one to Feng Ming’s right is Gao Xue Ting from Azure Sun Temple.”

Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran looked at Mo Xiao Qi in amazement.

“You recognize all of them?” Yang Kai asked.

Mo Xiao Qi giggled, “I’ve learned the names and appearances of many Emperor Realm masters, so I know a little about them. Everyone except for Silver Star Envoy Xiao Yu Yang, who is a Second-Order Emperor, are First-Order Emperors.”

“Young Lady is very knowledgeable; this old master is impressed!” Kang Si Ran cupped his fists with admiration.

Mo Xiao Qi waved her hand quickly, “It’s nothing.”

Yang Kai’s expression moved slightly as well, because when Kang Si Ran introduced the Emperor Realm powerhouses up above, he still addressed them as ‘Sir’ to show respect, even if he knew these masters could not hear him. However, Mo Xiao Qi directly called those Emperors by their names, seemingly not concerned with their status or strength at all.

But that side… At this moment, there were actually six Emperor Realm masters in this tiny Maplewood City. It seemed that all of the Southern Territory’s top great forces were represented here, a rare sight indeed.

No wonder even City Lord Duan Yuan Shan had to stand to the side with a flattering smile on his face.

As time passed, none of the cultivators down below dared to show any impatience, and despite the crowd being massive, no one dared to speak too loudly; after all, six Emperors were sitting before them, so who would dare act presumptuously?

But of course, there was at least one person who did not know how to fear the Heavens and was actively hawking his wares here.

“Top-grade Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills! Buy them now before they are gone! With just one Spirit Pill, as long as you have just one breath left, you can escape from the gates of death! Only three pills left! These are my family’s long inherited treasures! Act now before it’s too late!”

A shout suddenly sounded among the crowd.

All the cultivators were stunned and hurriedly turned towards the place where the voice came from.

If one had to ask which kind of pills sold the fastest in Maplewood City these past two days, the answer would undoubtedly be healing Spirit Pills.

After all, many cultivators wanted to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, who could guarantee that they would not be wounded inside? As such, cultivators had instantly emptied all the major pill shops of healing pills, causing the price of such pills to rise three-fold in a day. Even so, healing pills were still in short supply.

No matter how expensive the price was, could it be more expensive than one’s life? Perhaps a good healing pill would be able to save one’s life at a critical moment, so no cultivator was going to be stingy in this regard.

As early as last night, the supply of healing pills in Maplewood City was exhausted. Without even mentioning high-grade healing pills, even the most common ones were completely sold out.

But now, at this moment, in this square, someone shouted they were selling Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills, a pill which could bring someone back from the brink of death. How could this not attract everyone’s attention?

“This voice…” Yang Kai and Mo Xiao Qi looked at each other and couldn’t help wondering, “Why does it sound familiar?”

“Buy now! Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills refined from the legendary Immortal Source Liquid for sale! Immortal Source Liquid is the essence condensed from the divine Immortal Tree; a single drop is more precious than a thousand drops of Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk! Supplemented by many rare herbs, refined by an Emperor Grade Alchemy Grandmaster, if you miss this opportunity…”

The sales pitch continued.

Yang Kai suddenly remembered who the owner of this voice was.

Mo Xiao Qi apparently also remembered at that moment and shouted indignantly, “It’s that old swindler.”

As she spoke, she rushed out.

Relying on her advantage of being completely untouchable, Mo Xiao Qi smashed her way through the crowd and rushed directly towards the hawker as she shouted, “Old swindler! Still trying to deceive people with your lies! Today I’ll teach you a lesson you never forget!”

When the hawker looked over, he instantly recognized Mo Xiao Qi and his heart clenched. Before Mo Xiao Qi could reach him though, he suddenly pointed behind her with widened eyes and shouted in a voice filled with awe and excitement, “It’s the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda!”

Everyone heard this shout and was instantly overjoyed, turning their heads in the direction the old swindler was pointing.

However, where was there any sign of the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda? Clearly, there was nothing there but empty air.

“Ah… I was tricked again!” Mo Xiao Qi reacted quickly and turned back.

But there was now no trace of the old swindler either. He seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

“Hateful!” Mo Xiao Qi stomped angrily.

Several thousand meters away, amidst a thick crowd of people, a sloppily dressed old man with a shaggy beard sighed in relief, “That was dangerous, I was almost caught… Why must life treat me so horribly? That little girl is simply too much, it was just a few thousand Source Crystals yet she wanted to chase down and kill this old man. Pei, such unfairness!”

After feeling sorry for himself for a while, he suddenly turned and tugged at the clothes of a man next to him and whispered, “Little Brother, you also want to enter the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, yes? Do you perhaps need some good healing pills?”

“Oh? Old Sir has healing pills for sale?” The man suddenly became interested.

“Heh heh heh…” The old man grinned, flashing his big yellow teeth, trying to act mysterious as he took out a jade bottle from his vest pocket and quietly whispered, “These Nine Revolutions Life Restoring Pills, which can even bring someone back from the brink of death, were obtained by my family’s ancestors and passed down through the generations. Little Brother, please take a look!”

Seeing Mo Xiao Qi walking back angrily, Yang Kai knew that she must have failed in her mission.

However, Yang Kai felt something about this situation was strange because he had some contact with the old man in the black market at that time and failed to find anything out of the ordinary about him. The only noticeable trait was his wicked appearance which clearly marked him as nothing good.

However, when Mo Xiao Qi charged off just now, Yang Kai had simultaneously used his Divine Sense to lock onto that old swindler.

But all of a sudden, that old man had managed to get rid of his tracing and disappear.

[That old swindler is not simple!]

This surprised Yang Kai greatly; after all, he was approaching the Dao Source Realm in cultivation and his Divine Sense was far more powerful than even that, so the other party being able to throw him off so simply was proof that the old swindler was no ordinary person.

But having said that, ordinary people would not go around cheating people out of their Source Crystals using such blatant and easily seen through scams either.