After a probing conversation with Colan, Ender returned to his guest room.
Sitting on a chair, he picked up a pastry and took a bite, beginning to ponder the information he had gained from his conversation with Colan.
"The beast-shaped statue…" Ender mused, "From Colan's expression when he revealed that statue, his so-called friend might not be a friend at all; it could even be an adversary or enemy."
"However, it's also possible that the person is indeed Colan's friend."
Thinking this, Ender decided to start with the young Kaxiu, to see if he could find out who had the beast-shaped statue.
…
Two days later.
Ender had someone inform the young Kaxiu that he was planning to visit the Fengyin City market and wanted to buy some interesting or peculiar items.
As expected, the young Kaxiu found Ender. "Mr. Atlas, I heard you want to go to the Fengyin City market."
"Yes," Ender nodded. "I want to browse and see if I can buy anything I'm looking for."
"I have nothing to do anyway," the young Kaxiu said. "Why don't I take you to the market, Mr. Atlas?"
Ender smiled, "Then I'll trouble you, Kaxiu."
"You're too kind, Mr. Atlas," the young Kaxiu replied with a smile.
…
Subsequently, led by the young Kaxiu, Ender arrived at the Fengyin City market.
As the main city of the Fengyin Territory, which spans tens of millions of kilometers, Fengyin City has dozens of markets.
The market Ender and his group visited this time was not very crowded. According to the young Kaxiu, the items there were expensive and included many unique and rare treasures, though their prices were far beyond what ordinary people could afford.
Because of the near-accident outside the city last time, the young Kaxiu's guards had increased by two, both Pinnacle Clouds Level Warriors. In addition, a female Spiritual Master replaced the grey-robed elder.
The young Kaxiu led Ender to a building in the market and said with a smile, "Mr. Atlas, this place will definitely meet your requirements."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Ender looked up at the nine-story building in front of him and asked, "What's special about this place?"
"Mr. Atlas," the young Kaxiu explained, "This Fengling Pavilion is the best antique shop in Fengyin City. It has many unique and rare items, and things from dangerous places like the Ancient God Ruins and Demon Ocean often appear here."
"Then let's go in and take a look." Ender, intrigued, entered the Fengling Pavilion.
The arrival of Ender and his group immediately attracted the attention of a one-horned man in the main hall.
The one-horned man quickly came forward, "Young Master Kaxiu, what an honor! Welcome, welcome!"
"This is Mr. Atlas," the young Kaxiu introduced. "Your Fengling Pavilion has many rare and unique items, so I specifically brought Mr. Atlas here this time."
Hearing this, the one-horned man looked at Ender. He felt that this so-called Mr. Atlas looked young, seemingly not much older than Kaxiu, so why was he addressed this way?
"Mr. Atlas," although puzzled, the one-horned man still smiled warmly, "Welcome to Fengling Pavilion."
"I heard you have many rare and unique items here. Could you show them to me?" Ender asked.
"This way, gentlemen."
The one-horned man led Ender and the others onto an elevator-like device, then went directly to the eighth floor.
…
On the eighth floor of Fengling Pavilion, in a luxurious reception room.
After the one-horned man invited them to sit down, he had someone serve some pastries and drinks. Then, a beautiful and charming maid came forward, carrying a metal tray covered with a red cloth.
"This item comes from the Ancient God Ruins and belongs to an extraterrestrial race; it is incredibly sharp!"
The one-horned man stepped forward and said, "It has been identified as a metal never before seen on our Blood River World."
Then, he pulled off the red cloth covering the metal tray, revealing a small, thin white metal piece, with some tiny secret patterns on it, likely a fragment of a weapon.
"Mr. Atlas, are you satisfied with this item?" the one-horned man asked.
"Too ordinary." Before Ender could speak, the young Kaxiu shook his head and said, "This metal piece, apart from coming from an extraterrestrial race, is not much different from other weapon fragments."
After speaking, he turned to Ender and asked, "Mr. Atlas, am I right?"
Hearing this, Ender nodded slightly. This weapon fragment was indeed very ordinary. Not to mention the sixth-order weapon fragments used by an Military Lord-Level Immortal, he could even afford complete sixth-order weapons, so he naturally found it ordinary.
Seeing this, the one-horned man waved his hand, dismissing the maid. But soon another maid came forward, also carrying a metal tray covered with a red cloth in both hands.
"This item comes from a dangerous place on our Blood River World—the Demon Ocean!"
The one-horned man stepped forward and lifted the red cloth. On the metal tray was a transparent jade bottle ten centimeters high, containing a rather viscous liquid even more vibrant than blood.
As this jade bottle appeared in everyone's sight, the blood-red, viscous liquid inside immediately captivated everyone's attention. They felt as if they were immersed in it, seeing countless people attacking and killing each other!
The young Kaxiu was a little puzzled, "What is this?"
"Young Master Kaxiu," the one-horned man explained, "This is a rare item that just arrived at our shop: Demon Ocean water."
"Oh, I was wondering why it looked so familiar. So it's Demon Ocean water." The young Kaxiu suddenly understood, then turned his head and asked, "Mr. Atlas, what do you think?"
"A bit interesting." Ender was interested in this Demon Ocean water.
Hearing the conversation between Ender and Kaxiu, the one-horned man was inwardly astonished, "What is this Mr. Atlas's background? He can make Young Master Kaxiu so respectful!"
It was well known that among the young masters of the various Families in Fengyin City, Young Master Kaxiu was the foremost. His temperament was gentle, yet he was also somewhat proud, looking down on the profligate sons of other Families.
To be treated with such deference by Kaxiu, who was known as the 'First Young Master of Fengyin City,' indirectly proved that this Mr. Atlas was not simple.
The young Kaxiu asked, "How much is this bottle of Demon Ocean water?"
"This number." The one-horned man held up three fingers.
"Three hundred Treasure Currency." The young Kaxiu nodded, "That's a good price."
"Young Master Kaxiu," the one-horned man said, "It's not three hundred."
"Three thousand Treasure Currency." The young Kaxiu frowned slightly, "That price is too expensive!"
"Young Master Kaxiu, it's not three thousand either." The one-horned man chuckled, "It's thirty thousand Treasure Currency."
"Thirty thousand!" The young Kaxiu was a little astonished, "Does this Demon Ocean water of yours have something special about it? Why is it so expensive!"
The currency of the Blood River World is uniformly in the shape of blade coins, divided into Little Blade coins (Red, called little currency), Middle Blade coins (Black, middle currency), and large blade coins (Green, large currency). Above these, there is also the most valuable purple blade coin (Called treasure currency).
1 Middle Currency was worth 1,000 little currency.
1 Large Currency was worth 1,000 middle currency.
1 Treasure Currency was worth 1,000 large currency.
"Young Master Kaxiu, this price is indeed a bit high, but there's a reason for its expense." The one-horned man quickly explained, "This bottle of Demon Ocean water is not ordinary sea water; it comes from the Demon Ocean, so it's naturally much more expensive."
"Moreover, the Demon Ocean is in the far west, a long way from the Fengyin Territory, so a higher price is normal."
The young Kaxiu stopped talking. If what the one-horned man said was true, and the jade bottle indeed contained Blood River water, then thirty thousand Treasure Currency truly wasn't expensive.
Ordinary Demon Ocean water, transported over long distances to the Fengyin Territory, could go from being freely obtainable to skyrocketing to hundreds of Treasure Currency.
The Blood River is much more dangerous than the outer sea. Bringing back water from the Inner Sea and transporting it to the Fengyin Territory, being tens of times more expensive than ordinary sea water, is normal.
"Thirty thousand Treasure Currency, I'll buy this bottle of Blood River water," Ender said.
"Charge these thirty thousand Treasure Currency to my account," the young Kaxiu quickly called out, then turned his head and said, "Mr. Atlas, consider this Blood River water my gift to you."
"Kaxiu," Ender shook his head, "I just made a large sum of money. You don't need to buy this Blood River water. If I see anything else I like, you can buy one then as a gift."
Hearing this, the young Kaxiu nodded gently, agreeing to Ender's suggestion.
Seeing Ender buy the bottle of Blood River water, the one-horned man's Face was full of smiles, "Mr. Atlas is generous."
He gently waved his hand, signaling the maid to stand aside, and then had other maids bring forward metal trays.
However, the next few rare and peculiar items did not make Ender want to buy them, and even Kaxiu considered them relatively ordinary.
Seeing the two continuously shake their heads, the one-horned man naturally didn't want two big customers to slip away, so he had his subordinates bring up even rarer items.
Many of these rare items made the young Kaxiu feel curious, but they still failed to impress Ender.
Seeing this, the one-horned man's eyes flickered. It seemed he had gone through a series of internal struggles and finally made up his mind to bring out his most prized treasure.
"Mr. Atlas, Young Master Kaxiu," the one-horned man said through gritted teeth, "Our shop also has a prized treasure, which we obtained at great cost and price."
"Oh, a prized treasure?" The young Kaxiu was a little curious, "What kind of prized treasure? Bring it out and let's see."
Ender was unenthusiastic. As a core member of the Virtual Universe Company's Primal Secret Realm, he had high authority and had seen a lot of information. Besides unique items from the Blood River World, very few other things could impress him.
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen. I'll go fetch that prized treasure now!" The one-horned man said, then left to retrieve the prized treasure.
"Mr. Atlas, what do you think this prized treasure is?" the young Kaxiu asked, "I've never heard that Fengling Pavilion has a prized treasure."
"You'll know when you see it," Ender replied.
…
After a while.
The one-horned man finally returned to the reception room and said, "Apologies for the wait, gentlemen."
At this moment, the one-horned man was carrying a metal tray with one hand, still covered by a red cloth. From the raised part of the red cloth, it seemed the prized treasure was not large.
The one-horned man first had all the maids leave, then he spoke, "Only for Young Master Kaxiu; if it were anyone else, I wouldn't bring out this prized treasure."
Hearing this, the young Kaxiu was a little impatient, "Open it and let's see."
Ender also became more interested. He felt that Fengling Pavilion's prized treasure was not simple, but he didn't use his Spiritual Force to probe it, because what was seen and what was probed were different, and the unknown brings surprise.
"This is the prized treasure of my Fengling Pavilion!" The one-horned man exclaimed, pulling off the red cloth.
Boom!
When Ender saw the so-called prized treasure, he was immediately captivated!
It was a grayish-white object, several centimeters long, seemingly a broken claw statue of a desolate beast. The cross-section was incredibly smooth, as if naturally formed.
The broken claw was carved with tiny patterns, layered like fish scales, and the tip had five hooked claws, exceptionally sharp.
Ender found this broken claw statue peculiar. The scales on it were very eye-catching and held a slight attraction for him.
"This broken claw, this peculiar feeling…" Looking at the broken claw statue, the young Kaxiu murmured softly, "I always feel like I've seen it somewhere before!"
Hearing this, Ender was a little curious, so he didn't disturb the young Kaxiu, waiting for him to recall carefully.
Although he didn't disturb him, the one-horned man, hearing the young Kaxiu's murmuring, had a panicked look in his eyes and quickly spoke, "Young Master Kaxiu, are you alright?"
"Hmm!" Ender turned his head to look at the one-horned man, thinking to himself, "This guy is a bit off."
He remained calm, planning to observe the situation and see what tricks the man intended to play.
"Ah!" Interrupted by the one-horned man's voice, some thoughts that the young Kaxiu was about to recall were broken again.
"I'm fine," the young Kaxiu shook his head. "I just feel like I've seen this statue somewhere before; it feels a bit familiar."
After speaking, he looked at Ender and asked, "Mr. Atlas, what do you think of this statue?"
"This statue is good, quite unique." Ender nodded, "I plan to buy it."
"Mr. Atlas has excellent taste!" The one-horned man praised, "You can see the uniqueness of this prized treasure at a glance."
"Mr. Atlas wants to buy your prized treasure," the young Kaxiu asked, "How much is it?"
"Considering Young Master Kaxiu's Face, I'll sell this prized treasure cheaply." The one-horned man held up one finger with his free right hand and quoted, "Only one million Treasure Currency!"
"One million Treasure Currency, that's too expensive." The young Kaxiu shook his head.
It should be noted that in the best inn in Fengyin City, renting the best room for a year costs only one Treasure Currency.
One million Treasure Currency would be enough to live a life of comfort and abundance for hundreds of thousands of years in the best room of that inn.
"One million Treasure Currency is too expensive…" The one-horned man thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Then, Young Master Kaxiu, what price do you think is appropriate?"
"Hmm…" The young Kaxiu thought for a moment, intending to give a drastically cut offer, "Five… no, thirty…"
Listening to the offer the young Kaxiu was about to state, the one-horned man's expression remained unchanged, but there was a hint of joy in his eyes.
"One hundred thousand Treasure Currency!" Ender suddenly interjected.
Hearing this, the young Kaxiu's eyes widened. He thought the price he was cutting was already ruthless, but he didn't expect Mr. Atlas to be even more so.
"One hundred thousand?" The one-horned man's eyes flickered, "Mr. Atlas, this price…"
"This is our final offer," Ender said calmly.
"Final offer… One hundred thousand Treasure Currency is a loss!"
Hearing this, the one-horned man's expression first turned a little gloomy, then changed again, "A loss is better than losing both the person and the money!"
"Sold!" He finally said through gritted teeth, "One hundred thousand it is!"
Hearing the one-horned man agree, the young Kaxiu was stunned!