The Treasure Consortium's shop was enormous—a three-story pavilion, decorated in dazzling gold and jade, radiating an air of grandeur. When Evan and Lena stepped inside, quite a few people were already browsing for items they needed.
Evan wandered casually through the shop. The shelves and display cases were packed with all sorts of goods—weaponry, pills, ores—an endless array of dazzling choices.
But none of these things caught Evan's eye. After a while, he walked up to the counter and said to a middle-aged man, "Shopkeeper, does your store have any elemental crystals of fourth rank or higher? I'd like to buy some."
The middle-aged man glanced at Evan and replied, "We do have them, but the price is extremely high. Besides, with your current cultivation, you can probably only safely absorb about seventh-rank elemental crystals. If you try to absorb ones of higher quality, you might risk exploding and dying. I'm sure you understand what I mean."
Evan felt a strange mix of emotions. The shopkeeper's words started out looking down on him, but then shifted to a tone of concern, making it hard to guess his true intentions.
"I'm well aware of the risks," Evan replied coolly. "I'm not planning to use them right away, so just tell me—do you have those kinds of elemental crystals or not? In a city as big as Azure Moon City, I'm sure you must."
At that moment, Lena stepped over, glanced at the shopkeeper, and said, "What, do you think we can't afford it, or are you doubting Stormtower's strength? My young master brought plenty of money for this training trip."
The shopkeeper looked at Lena, and when she mentioned Stormtower, his expression changed slightly. "Our shop only has a third-rank fire elemental crystal and a second-rank water elemental crystal, each priced at over a thousand upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals. Take your time to consider."
Evan felt a little disappointed. What he really needed were earth elemental crystals, or wind elemental crystals—the water and fire ones were useless for his second transformation without top-grade crystals. So he asked, "Do you have any other elemental crystals? Like earth elemental crystals or rare types?"
"We do, but the quality isn't great. There's a fourth-rank earth elemental crystal, and one fifth-rank wind elemental crystal if you're interested. The earth elemental crystal is eight hundred upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals, while the wind one costs three thousand." The shopkeeper replied calmly, neither servile nor overbearing.
Lena said, "Shopkeeper, aren't you overdoing it? Asking so much for a fifth-rank wind elemental crystal—do you really think we don't know the market, or are you just trying to rip off a couple of clueless kids?"
"Miss, that's not fair," the shopkeeper replied. "Everyone knows wind elemental crystals are extremely rare. If anyone else came to buy, I wouldn't sell for less than thirty-five hundred Violet Cloud Crystals. You get my point. Of course, if you want even higher-grade elemental crystals, you'll have to wait for the auction."
"This time, the Treasure Consortium is putting three first-rank elemental crystals up for auction—the prices will be astronomical. I wonder if you've decided whether to buy?" the shopkeeper said.
"I'll take both the earth and wind elemental crystals. How many supreme Violet Cloud Crystals do you want?" Evan asked calmly. He spoke without any special intent, but his words left both Lena and the shopkeeper stunned.
"If you have supreme Violet Cloud Crystals, just twenty will do. Young man, you're making a killing!" The middle-aged man quickly regained his composure and responded at once.
Without another word, Evan took out twenty supreme Violet Cloud Crystals from his storage ring and placed them on the counter. "Here are your crystals. Take me to the goods!" he said.
Lena looked at Evan as if he were some kind of monster. She couldn't understand how he had supreme Violet Cloud Crystals—they were incredibly rare in the God Realm. In fact, the shopkeeper was the one really profiting: twenty supreme Violet Cloud Crystals were worth at least four thousand upper-grade Violet Cloud Crystals.
By the time Lena snapped out of it, Evan had already received the elemental crystals. "Let's go, Lena. Even though we didn't get exactly what I wanted, we still gained something. I'm guessing you have questions for me?"
When Evan took out the supreme Violet Cloud Crystals, quite a few people in the shop saw the dazzling purple glow. Several eyes flashed with greed, and Evan noticed it all clearly. He'd done this deliberately—to test something.
"Let's go. We'll talk back at the inn. There are too many people here, and you went way overboard just now—how could you take out supreme Violet Cloud Crystals in public? Haven't you heard the saying 'a jade-bearer is guilty'? Trouble will be coming soon," Lena said worriedly.
"It's fine—I've got you with me, haven't I? I don't fear a bunch of petty clowns. Let's wander the streets and see which idiots dare to make trouble in Azure Moon City," Evan laughed.
Lena wanted to refuse, but held back. Evan's secrets were truly terrifying—she had no idea she was traveling with a hidden tycoon. He'd only just ascended to the God Realm, so where did those supreme Violet Cloud Crystals come from? It was a total mystery.
After leaving the Treasure Consortium, the two strolled slowly down the street. Evan kept his spiritual sense alert to their surroundings, quickly noticing at least three pairs of eyes tracking them—clearly customers from the shop.
"Evan, where did you get those supreme Violet Cloud Crystals? Don't tell me you just picked them up. If you really see me as a friend, give me the truth," Lena finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist asking. I dug them up myself. You know I spent almost ten years in Mine Tunnel No. 19, right? I was mining the whole time. After I bought an earth elemental crystal from you, I absorbed its energy." Evan replied honestly.
"I was born with earth-escape talent, but the God Realm's soil is insanely tough. Going deep is nearly impossible without strong earth energy, so I needed to absorb powerful earth elemental force. That's why I came here to buy more earth elemental crystals. I don't actually have many supreme Violet Cloud Crystals—it's way too dangerous to go deep, even for me." Evan explained.
Lena stared at Evan in disbelief. After a moment, she said, "You're unbelievable. To mine supreme Violet Cloud Crystals at that depth with just God-Lord cultivation—it's unheard of."
"Even God-Emperors who know earth-escape might not be able to do it. Once you're underground, there's barely any room to move—other than crawling forward, you can't do much else," Lena said.
"Lena, you were right—we really have run into trouble. Someone's tailing us. They won't make a move inside Azure Moon City, will they?" Evan asked.
"No, but once we're outside Azure Moon City, it's a different story. Don't worry—I'll have Stormtower's people clean up the mess. Come on, let's go back to the inn and let me take a look at those supreme Violet Cloud Crystals," Lena said nonchalantly.
Evan was left speechless. Lena's tone made it clear Stormtower's people could deal with those stalkers right here in Azure Moon City. Just how terrifying was the protection around them...