Chapter 1,340 – Bazaar

There was much to do and very little time. Zac could picture the race to the docks the moment the Theomore Dynasty shared whatever helpful hint they possessed. Half the gondolas would be gone within minutes, and Zac couldn’t lag behind. Today was his last chance to squeeze the Transformation Docks for all its value before setting off.

Zac could also feel the trouble brewing. It could be Xiphos or the Magistrate exposing his identity or something related to Astora Theomore. It could be entirely unrelated to him. Anything could happen with so many important people gathered in one spot. The sooner they were gone, the better. Still, he couldn’t make himself step onto a random gondola and hope for the best. It would have been one thing if he or Esmeralda actually had a fated connection to the Mercurial court.

The duo left the docks and headed to one of the mercantile districts. They visited a few established stores of established factions to stock up on basic provisions, such as the Middle D-grade talismans Zac had expended during his escape. The visits helped Zac gain a rough understanding of the city’s pricing. It was knowledge he’d need in the public markets.

Cultivators had set up stalls everywhere it was allowed, taking advantage of the influx of people to barter their treasures for items more suited to their cultivation. They were Zac’s best option for finding items he required at a reasonable rate. He and Esmeralda would have needed weeks to go through all the districts, so they picked a massive indoor bazaar where only Middle Hegemons and above could set up stalls.

The rule was to block the lowest tier of Hegemons, those who’d barely squeaked into the grade. Despite the restriction, there was barely any free space left when Zac arrived. There had to be thousands of stalls. Zac strolled down one lane, noticing the nearly identical banners hanging from them all.

Zac walked over to the closest stall. “Can I ask the meaning behind the pennants?”

The stall lazily produced a pamphlet before looking away upon realizing it wasn’t a customer.

“Thank you,” Zac nodded and continued on his way.

The color indicates the general grade of trades, and the signs scribbled across them the type of trade. Most were barter, with only a few stalls accepting Crystals or Imperial Crowns. Every single stall around the entrance had green streamers, indicating they traded Middle D-grade goods. That didn’t mean the stalls couldn’t hold surprising discoveries, but Zac and Esmeralda moved on emptyhanded after making a cursory sweep.

More than eighty percent of the bazaar was dominated by green pennants, with the rest mostly flying the color gold of Late D-grade. There were a few dozen stalls manned by Peak Hegemons. Zac also spotted a restricted corner with large, unmarked stalls. The powerful auras coming off the shopkeepers indicated they were all Monarchs.

The bazaar had some renown to attract even C-grade cultivators, though none of them seemed particularly impressive. Most likely, they were wandering cultivators with a status similar to the frontier Monarchs of Zac’s time. Zac started in the Late D-grade area, and it didn’t take long before he found something interesting.

“The core of a [Spirantis Elm] that has been guarded by a Beast Monarch for fifty thousand years,” a ruddy-faced old man introduced.

Zac didn’t have any of the items on the stall’s list of requirements, so he could only take out a few other Late D-grade materials. “Are you interested in alternative trades?”

The Hegemon inspected the items before shaking his head, though Zac could tell the man would agree if he sweetened the deal. Only Zac needed what the other offered, so he’d have to overpay if he wanted to secure a fast trade. Zac had plenty of materials to spare, but he wouldn’t overspend on the first decent thing he encountered. What if he needed the materials he’d bartered for something even better?

The stallkeeper took Zac’s rejection in stride. Few Hegemons were desperate enough to trade multiple rare treasures for one. Each item represented a brush with death, and Hegemons could live for millennia. They’d rather hold onto their treasures for a few more centuries until a more equitable trade came along.

Zac encountered the same thing in the next two stalls he approached. His materials, free of Earthly Taint, didn’t garner as much interest as he’d hoped. However, the hawkers did gain an additional layer of respect, even when they rejected his offers. They believed Zac came from a faction powerful enough to own entire production lines inside the limited bounds of purified space.

Finally, Zac found a stall whose request he was certain he could satisfy. Better yet, they had something Zac wanted.

“May I ask where you found these minerals?” Zac asked, pointing at three stones inside a protective array. They weren’t the treasure but rather the perfectly cubic alloys growing from them.

The graceful storekeeper hesitated a moment before answering. “I can tell you if you buy them. But I should tell you up-front, it’s unlikely you’ll find anything.”

“That’s fine. I was simply curious what sort of environment can produce such unusual items,” Zac said, trying not to look too interested in the three Peak D-grade Void Treasures. “I’m afraid I don’t have the exact item Miss is looking for. However, I believe I have something that will meet your needs.”

The Peak Hegemon curiously looked at the sample Zac brought out of Kaltosa Lu’s Cosmos Sack before turning her attention to the accompanying Information Jade. Zac had already copied the contents of the introductions, stripping them of any marketing jargon and mentions of the Centigrade Constellation. The stall owner was an Array Master looking for Supreme D-grade materials to use as a base for an unnamed formation.

The Array Master looked at the purple stick with suspicion, but her demeanor slowly changed as she used a series of simple tests to confirm the claims.

“May I ask who crafted this marvelous ink?”

“I cannot say,” Zac shook his head. “I’m willing to offer two sticks along with the supplementary array’s blueprint for the three minerals. It might not fully match the effect of creating your formation on a superior tablet, but you can get very close at a significantly lower price. The [Centennial Starink] will also improve your chances of success.“

Zac didn’t push any further. He could see she was highly interested. One stick should be enough to complete an array disk of the indicated size, so she would have a lot of leftover ink for other projects. The only thing holding her back was the possibility that Zac was a scammer. The bazaar would only get involved if someone tried to force a trade. Anyone getting tricked could only blame their lack of discernment.

It didn’t take long for the Array Master to reach a decision. “I have three more stones like it. Is fellow Daoist interested?”

Zac pretended to deliberate a moment before agreeing. In reality, he would happily have traded all thirty sticks in his possession for more Peak D-grade Void Treasures. The [Fuxi Mountain Gate] was already showing some practical use after being stabilized by the C-grade Void Flower. The more Zac fed it, the closer he would be to making some of his plans a reality.

“You promised to share its origins?” Zac said after carefully stowing the Void Treasures in his new Cosmos Sack.

“Truthfully, I don’t exactly know,” the Array Master said with some embarrassment. “I was walking along the shores a on my way to the Transformation Docks. There was an earthquake that opened a crack in the ground. It released a foul wind that left me powerless, and I fell inside.

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“There was a crevasse far below. I could feel the Peregrine Ocean’s aura, and these minerals grew from the wall. The wind was able to damage my foundations, so I only collected these six minerals before climbing outside,” she explained. “I knew the materials were extraordinary, so I went back the next day. Unfortunately, the crack was gone, as were the minerals when I dug deep into the ground. I believe the ocean leaked a sliver of another world.”

“How marvelous. Thank you,” Zac said before excusing himself.