Free Web NovelChapter 79: Chapter 72: Dragon-Brewed Immortal Mink
Zhong Yi wanted this solution because he planned to mix Flowing Soul Soil into it for sale.
Zhong Yi wasn’t yet sure what level of Creator-concocted Potion the Flowing Soul Soil was equivalent to.
But based on its actual effects, even a Potion concocted by a Five-finger Creator couldn’t necessarily compare to Flowing Soul Soil.
The Potions that Five-finger Creators concocted from various materials each had different effects.
Even when these Potions worked, their effects were generally singular in purpose.
They weren’t versatile like Flowing Soul Soil, which could be used to improve the Quality of any Guardian Beast!
Previously, Zhong Yi had been reluctant to use the Flowing Soul Soil because the roots of the Soul-Controlling Flower produced it very slowly.
But yesterday, Zhong Yi had obtained two full Storage Bags of Demon Remains from the Deceitful Moon Tower. The Soul-Controlling Flower absorbed the Life and Soul Energy from these remains.
The amount of Flowing Soul Soil produced in a single night was more than the total from the past several days combined.
While Zhong Yi didn’t have a large amount of Flowing Soul Soil on hand at the moment, he could continuously acquire Demon Remains from the Deceitful Moon Tower going forward.
Under these circumstances, Zhong Yi could finally consider selling Flowing Soul Soil as a commercial product.
Currently, Zhong Yi only had a single Four-finger Creator under his command. If he wanted to partner with a power like the Zhenchong Commerce Association, one Four-finger Creator was obviously not enough.
Zhong Yi planned to first acquire some Wind Object Palm coconut oil and Absolute Mystery Clove pollen to concoct an encrypted solution.
Then, he would give the encrypted Potion containing the Flowing Soul Soil to Zhao Kai, letting him assess its properties.
He needed to see what a suitable price would be for a bottle of this Potion if sold publicly.
If the price of the encrypted Potion with the added Flowing Soul Soil was too low, Zhong Yi would have to think of other ways to earn Federation Coins.
In that case, he would only use the Flowing Soul Soil in partnerships with top-tier factions or to strengthen the Guardian Beasts he wanted to cultivate himself.
"Honored guest, we’ve arrived at Zhuanyun Lane. Guardian Beast Vehicles aren’t permitted inside. Should I wait for you here?"
"If I wait, there will be an additional service fee of 5,000 Federation Coins per hour."
The driver’s attitude was extremely respectful as he spoke.
When serving important figures from the Central District, being cautious and discreet was an essential quality.
Zhong Yi said after exiting the vehicle.
"I’ll need you to wait here for about two hours. Afterward, I have to go to South Cross Street."
The driver readily agreed with a nod.
Although Guardian Beast Vehicles from the Central District could travel through any of Starlight City’s districts, it was clear they wouldn’t be able to pick up any fares in the Lower City District.
Though he didn’t know why this guest from the Three-Pointed Star Law Hall wanted to visit a place like South Cross Street, which was on the fringes of the Upper City District.
But South Cross Street was, after all, part of the Upper City District, and it would be much easier to find another fare there.
Summer weather was already muggy, but Zhuanyun Lane was also extremely humid and carried a foul, fishy stench.
Zhuanyun Lane was, in fact, a seaside port in the Lower City District. Every day, large quantities of cargo arrived by sea.
This cargo had to be manually sorted and categorized within the lane.
Along the way, Zhong Yi saw many workers shouldering one burlap sack after another. The contents of some sacks were obviously unclean.
As they hoisted the sacks, dust or fluids would spill out and drench their bodies.
In the world of Guardian Beast Masters, people born in the Upper City District without a Lifebound Guardian Beast in their Soul Base still had a chance to form a Contract with a regular Guardian Beast, provided their family had some means.
But if they were born in the Lower City District without any family wealth, their only fate was a life of hard labor.
Some of these laborers toiling in the Lower City District had never even undergone the Soul Awakening Ceremony.
The division between Starlight City’s Upper and Lower City Districts was severe. Many of the workers had a purplish-black mark on the left half of their face.
The mark’s shape resembled a Beast Pattern and covered half their face.
But unlike a Beast Pattern, it didn’t fade to a faint line when not infused with Energy.
These marks resembled the tattoos from Zhong Yi’s past life, just brazenly inked onto their faces.
This type of tattoo was very common in the Lower City District and was known as a Slave Mark.
The Slave Mark etched onto a slave’s left face was typically the Beast Pattern of their master’s family.
Whether forced or by choice, these people had the Slave Mark tattooed onto their faces after being bought and sold.
As slaves in the Lower City District, they gained a chance to survive. The price was working day and night without rest.
The opportunity Zhong Yi was seeking in the Lower City District happened to be a person who bore a Slave Mark.
"You don’t look like you’re from around here. Come to Zhuanyun Lane for a bit of fun?"
A scantily clad middle-aged woman approached Zhong Yi, her face caked in thick foundation.
Judging by her facial features, she must have been quite a beauty in her youth.
But now that she was older, her skin had weathered, and even the thick foundation couldn’t conceal the signs of age.
Right now, the middle-aged woman stared at Zhong Yi with the eyes of a viper that had just spotted its next meal.
However, her gaze was less fixated on his wealth and lingered more on his face.
Gazing at Zhong Yi’s young, delicate face, she even began to unconsciously flick her tongue.
Zhong Yi frowned at the sight and thought to himself,
’I should have brought Hong Ji with me. Even during the day, with the official Prohibition Division supposedly keeping watch, Zhuanyun Lane is still a little unsafe.’
"There should be a place called the Greenfield Underground Tavern here. Where is it?"
The middle-aged woman snickered.
"What, you’re here to buy slaves?"
"If you’re looking to buy young women, you’d be better off coming to our Peach Courtyard."
"The women at our Peach Courtyard are the youngest and most beautiful, and very docile. I guarantee you’ll find them so precious you won’t even have the heart to brand them with a Slave Mark."
In response, Zhong Yi directly pulled out five hundred-Alliance Coin bills.
"Here. Take me to the Greenfield Underground Tavern, and these 500 Alliance Coins are yours."
Since Zhuanyun Lane was a seaport, many ships transporting cargo also brought in displaced people who had been abducted from who-knows-where.
This made Zhuanyun Lane one of the most rampant centers for the slave trade in the Lower City District.
Zhong Yi recalled Zhong Chenghuai mentioning something during a casual conversation.
Back then, Zhong Chenghuai himself had been bought by the father of Zhong Yi’s predecessor for 15,000 Federation Coins in a place in the Lower City District much like Yunzhuang Alley.
The price was less than that of a single, un-contracted Substitute Puppet.
Seeing the Federation Coins, the middle-aged woman’s gaze grew even more intense.
Still, for the 500 Federation Coins, she obediently led Zhong Yi toward the underground tavern named Greenfield.
"Little handsome, I’m not trying to slander them, but the slaves at the Greenfield Underground Tavern are a mixed bag. A lot of ’em have strange diseases."
"They just pick up the ’stock’ that nobody else wants."
"And their prices are even higher than everywhere else..."
Zhong Yi paid no mind to the chattering woman.
After they wound through streets and alleys, he spotted the Greenfield sign. Zhong Yi handed the five hundred Federation Coins to the woman and strode inside without another word.
’The game had been live for a full two years. Despite the vast majority of players milling about in the Lower City District, no one had claimed this particular opportunity.’
’One reason was that I, the game’s developer, had designed the opportunity to be extremely well-hidden.’
’The second was that in my past life, I had lived in a "harmonious society," so maps like Zhuanyun Lane that involved human trafficking had been banned since the game’s launch.’ freewёbnoνel.com
’It was only unbanned for less than two months before the game shut down.’
Inside the Greenfield Tavern, it wasn’t as muggy and humid as Zhuanyun Lane, but the smell was no better.
However, Zhong Yi was in no mood to focus on the tavern’s environment. He’d realized that ever since entering Zhuanyun Lane, he had seen a type of black, crystalline, soybean-sized spider clinging to passersby on dozens of occasions.
And now, one of those same spiders was resting quietly on his own sleeve.
