Chương 70: Chapter 69 — A Fake! The Celestial Shop Scroll

The Celestial Shop Scroll A Fake! The Celestial Shop Scroll [Earth Essence: An earth-element essence birthed by an Earth Spirit Pearl, with peculiar effects.]"…" Reading the stats, Ryan's mouth twitched hard. So the thing was a *byproduct*—not the real Earth Spirit Pearl. Made sense; how could something like an Earth Spirit Pearl be traded for a single Gold Grade-4 set of flying sabers? Wishful thinking.

"Well? Are you satisfied with it?" Lee asked, hopeful.

"…Satisfied." Then a thought stirred.

"By the way—where did you get this?"

"This…" Lee hesitated.

"I'll reforge your whole gear set for you." Ryan offered an enticing condition.

"This…" Lee's face went troubled, then, as if resolving himself, "Fine—I'll tell you." To keep others from hearing, he led Ryan far off before recounting how he'd come by the Earth Essence.

"I see." Ryan looked at him, a little surprised.

"So, Brother Gunn, you have to keep my secret." Lee smiled bitterly; clearly this past of his was something he kept close.

"Don't worry." Ryan patted his shoulder, returned to the spot, and as promised, disassembled and reforged Lee a full Gold-grade set.

"How does it feel?"

"Amazing!"

"Glad you like it." Ryan smiled, then fell into thought. In Heaven's Descent there were five elemental pearls—earth, water, fire, thunder, wind. Not unique existences, but rare beyond seeking all the same. He cared so much about the Earth Spirit Pearl because it tied closely to this very trip to the Northern Desert Domain.

"Water's so scarce here—it really could be an Earth Spirit Pearl at work!" His gaze sank, a notion rising. But the Domain was vast; if an Earth Spirit Pearl truly was the cause, the energy it held would be… how terrifying? Time flew, and a whole morning passed. A blazing sun baked the earth, leaving everyone parched—the climate of the northern wastes: bitter cold at night, a steamer by noon. The crowd retreated underground again.

As everyone grew restless, a cool voice rang out: "Jasper Lee of the Blade Dynasty—come receive your orders!" Lee perked up and hurried out, soon returning with a smile, behind him a woman in fine leather armor, crisp short hair, wheat-colored skin, tall, a great saber on her back.

"Hello—I'm Thirteen of the Blade Dynasty Imperial Guard. Pleased to meet you!"

"Hello, I'm Big Gunn.""'Big Gunn'?"

"That's right."

"Hmph." Thirteen arched a brow and snorted.

"A frivolous name."

"…"

"But never mind—a name's just a label. I've come on the Blade Dynasty's behalf to convey our sincere thanks!" She produced a Mystic Iron tablet engraved with a longsaber and handed it over.

"This is our Blade Dynasty's senior trade-permit token. With it, you may pass freely through most of our towns and trade as you please."

"Many thanks!" Ryan took the token. After a long wait, he finally had the trade permit—from here, he could move freely through the Blade Dynasty and trade with them.

"And—thank you for helping us against the Night Demon raid."

"The people of Flying Saber Town treated me well; I couldn't stand by."

"This is my personal gift—please accept it." Thirteen's manner had softened considerably, her tone gentler.

"I have matters to attend, so I won't linger. If you ever get the chance, please come to Sky-Blade City—I have a favor to ask of you!" System: [Ding! Hidden quest "Thirteen's Request" triggered! Accepting her gift counts as accepting the quest!]"This…" Ryan looked at what she held out and swallowed. [Celestial Shop Scroll: On use, open any shop interface on the continent of Heaven's Descent for trade. Uses: 3/3.]"I know your level's too low to reach our Domain easily, so with this you can trade with us anytime, anywhere," Thirteen said.

"For one in your position, this scroll should be very useful, no?"

"Useful! Hugely useful!" Ryan said, beside himself with joy. With the Celestial Shop Scroll, he could open the Mysterious Merchant's shop directly—a divine-tier item for him. As for using it for long-distance trade with the Blade Dynasty? Wishful thinking. He'd sooner spend a day on a quest chain for a Restriction-Breaking Scroll than squander a use of this. This scroll was the true once-in-a-lifetime find—now his Carrot Coin and Amethyst Coin finally had somewhere to be spent.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He took the scroll and accepted the hidden quest.

"Don't worry—I'll come by when I'm free."

"Thank you." Thirteen nodded, then gathered the Flying Saber Town survivors and left the underground. [Thirteen's Request: Hidden quest, difficulty unknown. Find Thirteen at Sky-Blade City in the Blade Dynasty within one month to trigger the follow-up. Fail to do so in time and the quest fails. Failure penalty: unknown.] A thoroughly hidden quest—its content, rewards, and penalty all hidden, enough to make one laugh and cry.

But by Ryan's experience, the more like this a quest was, the less simple it was—such hidden quests were often computed in real time by the Heavenly Dao System; triggering at different nodes sent them down different paths.

"Interesting," he thought, faintly anticipating.

"When do we set out?" asked Lillian, recovered now.

"Later. The sun's too fierce; with no sun protection, we'd be roasted in no time." Ryan smiled wryly. Lillian nodded and sat cross-legged against the wall to cultivate in earnest—her desperate fight had deepened her understanding of combat, and now was the prime time to build on it. Ryan, meanwhile, drew out the Celestial Shop Scroll, anticipation on his face. System: [Ding! Use the Celestial Shop Scroll?] Oasis City To use it or not? Ryan frowned.

Recalling that his bag's Amethyst Coin count was still too small, he mastered the impulse and put the scroll away. Better to wait until I've gathered enough Amethyst Coin—no rush! He stowed it and went back to refining Bronze Fire Seeds. Minute by minute, until Lillian opened her eyes from cultivation—nearly four hours had passed.

"Let's go. About four hours till dark; we'd best move." The two packed up, left the underground, and raced toward the Sword Dynasty. The ultimate goal of his trip lay there. … As the sky dimmed, Ryan and Lillian crossed into Sword Dynasty territory. As before, they each switched to swords and pressed deeper into the desert.

"Where are we going?" Lillian asked, curious. Since entering the Domain, Ryan had moved like a man who knew it cold.

"To Oasis City."

"Oasis City? What for?"

"To retrieve something very important to me." His eyes turned to the distance, a trace of remembrance in them.

"Very important?"

"Yes—very important." …

"Report—the advance unit has found the target's trail. Shall we attack?"

"What a stupid question! If you've found them, charge! Mince that brat for me!" Under the night, a four-or-five-meter-tall man with a great pair of bat wings bellowed into a black-glowing conch in his hand.

"Whatever it takes, pin them down! We're on our way!"

"Yes!" A reply came from the black conch.

"Hmph—that Balana, killed by a single human brat. A disgrace to our Calamity Legion!"

"Heh heh heh… and so you've one fewer rival, no? You ought to be glad—heh heh…" A skeleton archer wreathed in ghost-fire chuckled.

"Spare me—you know full well this fellow only says he hated Balana; truly, he modeled himself on him! Hahaha!" A bloated, foul-smelling brute laughed, patting his round belly, mockery undisguised.

"Shut it, you dead pig!"

"Hahaha—touched a nerve, did I, you reeking bat?" … The night was clear—meaning no storm tonight—but the faintly oppressive air made Ryan frown.

"Feel it?"

"Mm."

"Looks like someone's come to make trouble for us." His gaze sank.

"Nine times in ten, that aura's the Calamity Legion's army, sent to hunt us down!"

"What do we do?" Lillian's brows pinched.

"No need to mind them—just shake them off!" With that, Ryan swept Lillian into his arms and surged ahead at full speed. The 10x acceleration showed its full power; carrying her, he became a blur and vanished into the night. Caught up suddenly, Lillian's face went flustered, pink clouds spreading; her body softened against his chest, eyes shut, not daring to look at him, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat. This… is nice. …

"What?! They got away?! What are you all good for?!"

"Forgive us, Lord Jinzaka! They were too fast—we couldn't keep up!"

"Shut up, you pack of fools! Before he died, Balana left a Night Demon Mark on that human brat. Find the mark's aura and run them down!"

"Yes!" … In the boundless desert, an emerald-green wetland had formed, ringed by lakes—green water encircling Oasis City at its heart. Oasis City lay near the Sword Dynasty's interior, shaded by green trees, lush with grass, utterly at odds with the desert around it. Here, none of the desert's worries befell you—a veritable paradise in the wastes. Powerful forces and families from across the Sword Dynasty gathered here; aside from Sky-Sword City, it was the dynasty's most prosperous city.

Oases were rare in the desert, but not unheard of. Yet an oasis as vast as this—with clustered lakes and such lush growth—was the only one of its kind in the whole Northern Desert Domain. The reason involved a legend. The Sword Dynasty's ancestor had once obtained a Forbidden Sword, but its sword-energy was so fierce it could snuff out all life—where it passed, not a blade of grass grew. So the ancestor found a master smith to forge a Sword Casket to contain that energy.

Tens of thousands of years on, the Forbidden Sword had long vanished, but the casket made to hold it remained in the Sword Dynasty. The casket held a mighty aura of life, and over the ages it birthed countless living things, turning the region around it into an oasis. Later the Sword Dynasty discovered the oasis and built a city there—the origin of Oasis City. The first light of dawn poured down, and the night-stilled Oasis City seemed to rekindle its warmth, welcoming a new day.

"This… is the Oasis City you spoke of? It's beautiful!" Lillian stared at the great oasis appearing in the distance, disbelief in her eyes. She'd read of desert oases in her study's books, but they were always small—nothing like the vast expanse before her, even holding a verdant wood. Unbelievable!

"Yes—this is it!" Ryan gazed at the green land, stirred. At last, the first step. His purpose in the Northern Desert Domain was simple: first, obtain the Sword Casket of Oasis City; second, obtain the Forbidden Sword in the Endless Abyss. All long since planned.

"Come—let's register, then we can enter." He smiled and, quite naturally, took Lillian's arm and led her toward Oasis City. …

"They've actually gone to Oasis City!"

"What do we do?"

"Bide our time. Gather more forces and watch the perimeter; the moment they come out, we strike!" This was Oasis City; the Calamity Legion didn't fear the Sword Dynasty, but a rash move would only mean needless losses—not worth it. Besides, their numbers on this mission were limited, sent only to hunt the human brat; no need to invite extra complications.

"I don't believe he can hole up in Oasis City and never come out!" Oasis City's costs were beyond ordinary means—for that brat, not being thrown out was already a stroke of luck.