Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Mysterious Merchant No. 2!
Zhou Ming paused when he saw the item’s owner’s name.
The mysterious merchant he had encountered when purchasing items before was No. 1. Seeing a Mysterious Merchant No. 2 now did not seem particularly strange.
“Qianying, let’s make a trip to Godreach Cliff!” Zhou Ming said.
“All right!”
Qianying carried him away.
…
Meanwhile, inside the castle in the abyss…
Numerous Demon Gods gathered with ugly expressions to discuss an important matter.
Naturally, they had learned of Cangxuan’s departure from the Dark Faction immediately. What their investigation revealed shocked them even more.
The second Demon God had also defected to the Hope Faction!
Zhouyou Shijie had now gathered two Sword Saints!
“What kind of charisma does this Zhouyou Shijie possess? How did he even recruit Cangxuan?” Balen found it impossible to believe. “Is he some kind of incubus?”
Amy said bitterly, “We’ve lost two Demon Gods in succession. The blow to morale is too great. If this continues, the consequences will be unthinkable!”
“Five god-tier powerhouses, three of whom can be called top experts. That lineup is terrifying!”
…
Everyone spoke at once. The successive setbacks had clearly dealt them a severe blow.
“Enough!”
A cold voice suddenly rang out, cutting off their argument.
“!!!!”
Everyone’s hearts tightened as they looked toward the source. The void twisted, and a handsome man in blood-red armor emerged. He had sharp brows, bright eyes, and an imposing appearance, but his blood-red pupils carried tremendous menace.
[Slayer of All Beings · Wu Xing] (Ordinary NPC)
“Greetings, First Demon God!”
Twilight Walker · Locke, who had become the tenth Demon God after Flame Giant King’s death, behaved with utmost deference.
The other Demon Gods also rose and offered their greetings.
“There’s no need for ceremony!” Expressionless, Wu Xing sat at the head of the meeting hall. “All of you are pillars of the Dark Faction. What kind of sight is this, arguing noisily and losing your heads?”
“Wu Xing, your strength…”
Eric sensed that something was wrong.
Even with his Level and Inspect proficiency, he could not see through the first Demon God’s Panel. All he saw was still an Ordinary NPC!
“After so many years in seclusion, I was bound to make some progress.” Wu Xing smiled calmly. “Now, only half a step separates me from the realm beyond the god tier!”
“Half a step?”
Everyone immediately felt reassured.
Wu Xing was clearly saying that one of his feet had already crossed the threshold!
“Then can you break the dimensional barrier between adventurers and natives now?” Eric looked unusually excited.
If Wu Xing could break that dimensional barrier, killing Zhouyou Shijie would take no more than one finger!
The God-Demon Orb would then be theirs for the taking!
Wu Xing nodded, killing intent flashing in his eyes. “I can’t maintain it for long, but… killing a mere Zhouyou Shijie won’t be difficult!”
Zhouyou Shijie had opposed the Dark Faction again and again, killing one Demon God and poaching another. The moment Wu Xing emerged from seclusion, intense killing intent toward him had taken root.
Now it was time to make him pay in blood!
…
Elsewhere…
Zhou Ming and Qianying rapidly approached their destination. A dark cliff entered view, while a vast ocean surged in the distance. Farther still, a faint golden barrier could be seen stretching between heaven and earth.
There was no question that they had reached the edge of the Eastern Region’s continental landmass. Even the currently unopened “national border” between regions was close at hand.
“Ding!”
[System Notification: You have entered the map [Godreach Cliff]!]
Standing near the cliff in the sea breeze, Zhou Ming looked around but saw no one. “Did he already leave?”
“Interesting!”
A voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. “You seem to have known I would linger here?”
Zhou Ming turned toward the voice and saw a man in a black cloak. He was of average build and gave off a powerful aura. The cloak concealed him so thoroughly that his appearance was impossible to make out.
[Mysterious Merchant No. 2] (God-Tier NPC)
Level: ???
HP: ???
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
Skills: ???
Description: Merchants who roam Destiny Continent. Their movements are unpredictable, and they come and go without a trace. They care only about money.
…
“Zhouyou Shijie?”
At the same time, Mysterious Merchant No. 2 studied Zhou Ming in surprise. “I’ve heard of you, the most famous adventurer on Destiny Continent right now!”
“Greetings, my friend!”
Zhou Ming cupped his hands and went straight to the point. “I’d like to buy something from you!”
“Easy enough!”
At the mention of business, Mysterious Merchant No. 2 lost his earlier wariness. He approached with great friendliness. “What would you like to buy?”
“Perfect Disguise!”
“Three hundred thousand Gold Coins!”
“…Can we arrange another form of payment? I don’t have that much money on me,” Zhou Ming asked.
He might constantly obtain priceless items these days, but he was not so detached from reality that he considered an SS-Rank item cheap.
“No money?”
Mysterious Merchant No. 2 immediately lost interest. “Then how do you propose we trade?”
“Barter!” Zhou Ming said seriously.
“Oh? What will you offer me?” Mysterious Merchant No. 2 asked curiously.
Zhou Ming shook his head. “I’m not trading you anything that belongs to me!”
Mysterious Merchant No. 2: “???”
“What I mean is that I have a Xuanniao named Xiaoyou!” Zhou Ming summoned Xiaoyou from the pet space. “Any item it touches will increase in grade!”
“I see!”
Mysterious Merchant No. 2 finally understood, then asked in a strange tone, “You plan to have Xuanniao enhance one of my items in exchange for Perfect Disguise?”
“Exactly!” Zhou Ming admitted. “You can freely choose what you want enhanced.”
Mysterious Merchant No. 2 fell silent.
In theory, he did not seem to lose anything. Used well, the service could even earn him an enormous profit. But…
Using my own item to pay for another one of my own items, while Zhouyou Shijie contributes nothing at all? Something about this feels deeply wrong!
“Xiaoyou can only enhance one item per day!” Zhou Ming said solemnly. “The opportunity is exceptionally precious. It’s worth far more than three hundred thousand Gold Coins!”
Mysterious Merchant: “…”
That argument was outrageous!
“I truly don’t know how you managed to capture it!” Mysterious Merchant No. 2 said enviously as he looked at Xuanniao beside Zhou Ming. “You’re set for life!”
Making money had become far too easy for the current Zhouyou Shijie.
If he wished, he could rely entirely on Xuanniao’s ability to earn a fortune every day, endlessly!
“Ninety-nine percent skill and a teeny-tiny bit of luck!” Zhou Ming said without shame, then returned to the matter at hand. “My friend, do we have a deal or not?”
“Deal!”
Mysterious Merchant No. 2 agreed.
He was no fool. How could he fail to see the potential profit?
“Ding!”
[System Notification: You have successfully triggered the hidden quest [Exchange]. Would you like to accept?]
“No!”
Zhou Ming decisively refused, then added under the merchant’s puzzled gaze, “If the item advances from SS Rank to SSS Rank, you’ll owe me an additional three hundred thousand Gold Coins!”
“Why don’t you just rob me?” The Mysterious Merchant glared at him, his voice full of displeasure.
Zhou Ming smoothly retreated to his real demand. “Or you can open your shop, and I’ll choose a few inexpensive things with a total value of no more than one hundred thousand Gold Coins!”
“Well…”
After hesitating for a moment, the Mysterious Merchant nodded. “Fine!”
“Ding!”
[System Notification: You have received the hidden quest [Exchange] (Difficulty: D)!]
“A pleasure doing business!” Zhou Ming was quite satisfied.
This had been his real objective from the start.
If he had opened with the second request, the other party would undoubtedly have tried to haggle. He needed to begin with a condition the merchant could not possibly accept, making the later request look far more reasonable by comparison.
“…It’s a good thing you aren’t a merchant. You’d be a profiteer of the worst kind!”
The Mysterious Merchant cursed him with a laugh, then waved a hand and displayed his merchandise.
…