Chapter 258: Enemies on a Narrow Road (3.5k)
Another night of rest. In the morning, the sound of Gugu Birds could be heard. Su Jiu and his companion casually washed up and left the inn room they found last night in their Day 1 clothes.
The inn was situated on a slope, enveloped by lush green trees. As soon as Su Jiu opened the door, he could see the various businesses in the town below. The signs prominently featured icons of birds, suggesting that these were shops catering to bird monsters.
Su Jiu couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. As expected of Yunpu City, known as Bird City, everything here seemed to be related to bird monsters, from the shops to the various symbols.
Lush green trees were scattered everywhere, stretching to the end of the street. White shadows flitted between the branches, and as the sunlight poured down, one could see numerous bird nests of various sizes on some of the trees.
As they walked, this unique blend of humans and nature living together presented a view so beautiful that not only Su Jiu but also Bai Zhi beside him had their eyes sparkling with wonder. She couldn’t help but exclaim softly, “What a strange city, to allow bird monsters to fly freely within the city.”
“After all, their city’s livelihood depends on bird monsters. However, this city shouldn’t be a major one, right? Along the way, I’ve actually seen some individuals at the War General level.”
Su Jiu chuckled, his gaze turning to the constantly moving crowd around him. He was slightly surprised by the somewhat formidable auras emanating from them. He had seen quite a few War General level individuals pass by on this journey. Logically, there shouldn’t be so many strong individuals in such a third-rate city. This gave Su Jiu a feeling that their trip to collect feathers might not be peaceful.
The young lady in green he had previously taught a lesson to seemed to be the granddaughter of a local big shot. It was possible she might resort to some underhanded tactics. However, Su Jiu wasn’t afraid of her making a move. He was no longer the mere warrior who was chased everywhere back then…
Now, even facing Battle Kings, he could remain unfazed. His growth was immense. If he were transported back to the Siren disaster, he could easily deal with that woman from the Cherry Blossom Country by himself.
A fleeting thought crossed his mind, and Su Jiu chuckled inwardly, feeling incredibly at ease. This was the peace of mind that power brought. Even the Battle Kings in this city wouldn’t be just any High-Rank Battle Kings.
What was there to be afraid of?
Slowly retracting his gaze, Su Jiu pulled Bai Zhi, who was looking around curiously, closer to him and said softly, “We’ll head to the central area first. Don’t wander off, it seems a bit unstable around here.”
“I’m not a child anymore…”
Looking at Su Jiu’s serious expression, Bai Zhi pouted and murmured a few words before asking Su Jiu to help her with the mobile phone the Dragon Hunter Commander had gotten for her. Her eyes, which lit up like little flowers, slowly brightened as she looked up and asked, “Where do we go next?”
Su Jiu pondered for a moment and then gently replied, “First, let’s buy the alchemy balls, and then we’ll find a guide to take us to Luoyun Mountain. There’s something in Luoyun Mountain that I must retrieve.”
“Yes, that’s right… we really need to find a guide. Although Luoyun Mountain is called a mountain, listening to the Bishop, it’s no different from a continuous mountain range…” Bai Zhi agreed, her thoughts aligning perfectly with Su Jiu’s.
The two walked slowly through Yunpu City, where trees and buildings intertwined. Listening to the conversations and various shouts along the way, they understood the sheer volume of people in this bird-catching city.
On the main street, curses and shouts constantly reached their ears. On both sides of the street stood shops of various sizes, all related to bird monsters, and they were all bustling with people.
Unlike ordinary cities, there were very few vehicles like cars here. Many local residents actually relied on birds as their mode of transportation.
After inquiring about shops selling alchemy balls nearby, Su Jiu and Bai Zhi arrived in front of a large wooden building. Su Jiu noticed the words “Cui Yu Pavilion” on it.
“Is this the largest Alchemy Workshop in Yunpu? Looking at its grandeur, it’s no less impressive than those in some major cities.”
After exchanging glances, the two proceeded to gently enter the crimson-lacquered main doors of the wooden building.
Inside, a dozen people dressed as waiters stood in formation. The auras emanating from them were surprisingly at the level of High-Rank Warriors. Upon entering “Cui Yu Pavilion,” the noisy shouts significantly diminished.
Sensing the faint yellow light inside, Su Jiu’s eyes narrowed slightly. He looked around and saw that the incredibly spacious hall was filled with numerous glass counters. Within these counters, various alchemical artifacts were neatly displayed. At this moment, a considerable number of people were gathered in front of these counters.
The hall was divided into areas for regular alchemical items and alchemy balls. Unsurprisingly, the area for alchemy balls had a larger crowd. Judging by their attire, most of them were outsiders who had come to capture monsters. For those who intended to catch birds, a good alchemy ball could significantly increase their capture rate, saving them a lot of trouble.
It seemed that many outsiders here looked down on the basic alchemy balls priced at 50,000 yuan. Their gazes were directed towards the special alchemy balls housed in exquisite glass, entirely white and crafted like cold jade, with wisps of white energy swirling around them.
“Let’s go take a look too…”
Pulling Bai Zhi, who was looking around, Su Jiu and Bai Zhi walked towards a crystal counter and casually glanced at the items.
“These should be custom-made alchemy balls for capturing different elemental monsters. The red ones should be fire-elemental, used to capture ice-water monsters and suppress them. Yellow is earth-elemental, blue is water-elemental, and purple should be lightning-elemental…”
Looking at the red, yellow, blue, and purple alchemy balls displayed in the counters, Su Jiu, who had recently been cramming basic alchemy knowledge, immediately recognized them. He couldn’t help but exclaim,
“I didn’t expect such a small city to have such a complete range of alchemy balls. I remember that in Huayang, they only had the simplest basic alchemy balls.”
“These alchemy balls should have some suppression effects. I can clearly feel an uncomfortable aura emanating from the fire ball surrounded by crimson flames,” Bai Zhi said indifferently, her eyes narrowing. As a plant-type monster, she didn’t have a good impression of these alchemical items deliberately designed to target her.
Sensing her displeasure, Su Jiu smiled helplessly, gently stroked Bai Zhi’s head, and then asked, “Do you know the elemental attribute of the monster beast we are going to capture this time?”
Bai Zhi, who was about to push away Su Jiu’s hand, paused when asked. She pondered for a moment, then slowly looked up. “The woman said it’s a monster called the Crimson Flame Sparrow. It resembles a Dan Crane, with its feathers all crimson red. It’s more accurate to say it was blessed by a War God-level monster rather than a descendant of a War God. She said this type of monster is a mutated species, and their bloodline is inferior to that of a true War God-level monster, but they are good as mass-produced High-Rank Beast Pets.”
Hearing Bai Zhi’s words, Su Jiu couldn’t help but recall the map marked with the corpse of the Flame Phoenix Sparrow. Blessed by a War God-level monster, was there a special connection between the two?
Just as he was about to speak, a charming laugh came from the side. “Two guests, what kind of alchemy balls do you need? Our Cui Yu Pavilion is a leading alchemy store in Yunpu City, and I believe you can find what you need here.”
Looking up, Su Jiu saw a woman in a green qipao appear at the counter. She seemed to be around thirty years old and had a mature and charming presence. Judging by her attire, she was likely an employee of this alchemy shop. Su Jiu, without wasting any words, said directly, “We need to buy fifteen frost balls that are fire-elemental resistant and durable enough to securely hold a War General-level monster.”
Since there were other options, Su Jiu wasn’t going to skimp on the money to buy ordinary basic alchemy balls. After all, ordinary basic alchemy balls could easily be broken by monsters that had reached the War General level.
Since the group was preparing to capture descendants blessed by a beginner War God-level monster, that species was bound to have individuals at the War General level.
Upon hearing that Su Jiu needed advanced frost balls that suppressed fire attributes, the woman in the green qipao casually glanced at them and then looked surprised. Her gaze swept over Su Jiu again as she softly asked, “You two don’t look very old, you’re not here for the Crimson Flame Sparrow, are you?”
“Is the Crimson Flame Sparrow very famous? I just want to buy frost balls, can’t I buy them?” Hearing the mention of the Crimson Flame Sparrow, Su Jiu’s heart skipped a beat. He then suppressed his surprise and asked calmly.
“We sincerely apologize, esteemed guests, but we have sold out of frost balls.” The woman in the green qipao squeezed her chest, pulled out a cigarette from her pocket, took a puff, and slowly exhaled, saying faintly,
“As for the Crimson Flame Sparrow, it is indeed very famous… About a month ago, an adventurer who delved deep into Luoyun Mountain, by some stroke of luck, captured three Flame Crimson Birds with extremely high bloodlines. They were sold to outsiders under the name Crimson Flame Sparrow, making a substantial profit. If it were just that…”
“He spent the money on drinking all day, and when he was drunk, he revealed that the Crimson Flame Sparrow was a very large clan… Then, it spread like wildfire, attracting many outsiders.”
Exhaling another smoke ring, the woman in the green qipao smiled faintly. “Come to think of it, some of these people actually managed to capture Crimson Flame Sparrows. I heard it was somewhere deeper in Luoyun Mountain.”
“Thank you for the explanation.”
Su Jiu nodded. He assumed that the Ancient God Sect bishop had gotten his information from here. Unlike those people, he had the precise location from the map. When the time came, he would not only be able to get the feathers but also capture quite a few Crimson Flame Sparrows.
The woman in the green qipao waved her hand dismissively, saying nonchalantly, “This is nothing, it’s something anyone can ask about.”
Thinking that he would definitely need some alchemy balls to capture the Crimson Flame Sparrow, Su Jiu’s gaze scanned the special frost balls surrounded by many people. He then spoke, pointing to a frost ball encased in glass, and asked in a low voice, “Sister, isn’t there still a frost ball here? The price is not an issue… Is it still for sale?”
Following Su Jiu’s gaze, the woman in the green qipao’s eyes paused slightly, and she looked at Su Jiu somewhat strangely, saying earnestly, “This White Snowball is our shop’s signature masterpiece, a semi-frost ball. It cannot be bought with money; you can only exchange it for magic crystals… and not ordinary beginner magic crystals, but three White Snowballs for one intermediate magic crystal.”
“Intermediate magic crystal? That expensive, is there something special about it?”
Su Jiu hesitated. He still had eleven intermediate magic crystals, so exchanging them for fifteen White Snowballs wouldn’t be a problem. Very few people would make such an exchange – one intermediate magic crystal is worth at least three to five million, and they are rarely sold directly on the market.
However, capturing young monsters of high bloodline at the War General level to sell would be more valuable than directly killing adult monsters to obtain magic crystals. If Su Jiu could capture the Crimson Flame Sparrow, it wouldn’t be too much of a loss.
“Where is my White Snowball? My grandfather is personally paying this time, so shouldn’t I get a 30% or 40% discount?”
Just as he was about to speak, a familiar bossy female voice rang out from not far behind them. Su Jiu turned his head slightly and saw Lin Yu, whom he had seen before.
However, this time, she was accompanied by an old man in blue robes. The old man appeared calm and composed, his aura contained, but Su Jiu could still feel that he was a top expert in the early stage of the Battle King.
