The owner of the stall was a War God-level existence of the War Clan.
The War Clan looked very similar to humans, except they had a single horn on their heads.
The ranking system of the War Clan was completely different from that of humans.
Warriors corresponded to the Qi Refining stage cultivators of the human race, and Great Warriors corresponded to the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the human race.
And so on, War Gods corresponded to the Core Formation stage cultivators of the human race, War Spirits to the Nascent Soul stage cultivators, War Kings to the Purple Mansion stage cultivators, and War Ancestors to the Deity Transformation stage cultivators.
...
Wu Tao first asked a question, then casually picked up a piece of ore and examined it.
This piece of ore was golden yellow, but it had many small holes on its surface.
"Friend, how much for this ore?" Bi Fang asked, shaking the stone in his hand casually.
The War God-level stall owner chuckled and said, "Brother, you have good taste. This is a top-grade material for refining magical treasures, Geng Jin Jing Shi. If it's added during the refining process, the magical treasure will be indestructible and invincible!"
"I know that. Be straightforward and give me a price. If it's suitable, I'll buy it," Wu Tao said directly.
The War God-level stall owner was about to say something else, but seeing Wu Tao's directness, he nodded and stated his price: "Since brother is an expert, I'll sell you this Geng Jin Jing Shi for three thousand stones. By the way, I don't haggle here, so that's the price!"
"This price is fair. Alright, cash on delivery!" Wu Tao said very cheerfully.
The War God-level stall owner nodded and replied, "Okay!"
Wu Tao then took out a storage bag and handed it to the War God-level stall owner. After glancing into the storage bag, the stall owner smiled and accepted it.
Just as Wu Tao was about to take the Geng Jin Jing Shi away, he suddenly heard a voice.
"Wait a moment!"
Upon hearing the voice, Wu Tao and the War God-level stall owner both turned around in surprise. A man and a woman were striding towards them.
The War God-level stall owner was clearly a little angry.
Wu Tao's gaze fell on the couple who had just entered. He frowned, instinctively feeling that trouble was coming.
The man and woman were not old. The man was handsome and dashing, and the woman was beautiful. It would not be an exaggeration to describe them as a golden couple.
Moreover, their spiritual pressure was not low. The man was at the same realm as Wu Tao, both at the middle stage of Core Formation, while the woman was at the early stage of Core Formation.
From the strong vitality emanating from their bodies, these two were genuine in their youthful appearance.
The man saw Wu Tao and the War God-level stall owner. Although there was no obvious disdain on his face, a trace of arrogance could be seen.
"What, more customers? Huh, you injured my guard beast." The old man's eyes widened slightly when he saw the couple, but then his expression darkened as he glanced outside.
"Hold on, we want this item!" The man reached out with one hand, and a gray hand materialized out of thin air, reaching for the Geng Jin Jing Shi.
Meanwhile, Wu Tao's expression darkened as he saw the man make a move to snatch the Geng Jin Jing Shi.
He brought the two fingers of his left hand together to form a sword finger. Sword energy surged from the sword finger, extending over a meter, and directly sliced the gray hand in half.
"A sword cultivator..." The young man's expression changed slightly and became hesitant after seeing Wu Tao's move.
"Senior Brother Zhang, please wait. We can discuss this. There's no need to fight. This piece of Geng Jin Jing Shi hasn't been sold to this fellow Daoist yet, has it..."
"No matter what the previous price was, I am willing to pay double. Could you let us have it?" The woman named Jiang stopped the young man and then asked the War God-level stall owner.
"No, once the goods have been sold, there's no reason to sell them to someone else. This is not an auction house, where the highest bidder gets it..."
"Everything must follow the rules of first come, first served, unless this fellow Daoist truly doesn't want it, only then will you have a chance to buy this Geng Jin Jing Shi."
The War God-level stall owner spoke with considerable force, showing no respect.
It was clear that he was disgusted by the overbearing actions of the young man earlier.
If this were not human territory, this War Clan stall owner might have already made a move.
Upon hearing this, the woman named Jiang couldn't help but freeze, then turned to look at Wu Tao.
However, Wu Tao didn't even lift his head, and directly put the Geng Jin Jing Shi into his own storage bag.
"My master is Elder Song. This Geng Jin Jing Shi is a must-have for me. I will pay you double the previous price. Hand over this ore."
The young man named Zhang stared at Wu Tao and said slowly.
Although his words became more polite, his tone was very harsh, as if Wu Tao had taken advantage of him.
"No. Get lost!"
Wu Tao turned around, showing no regard for them.
"What did you say, you scoundrel, do you want to die?" The young man named Zhang's face became extremely ugly. He never expected Wu Tao to not only refuse but also insult them.
"Kid, you still have time to kneel and beg for mercy. My friend here is the niece of Vice City Lord Jiang. If you truly offend us, you won't be able to bear the consequences!"
The young man named Zhang's eyes turned cold, and his words carried a hidden threat.
...
"Niece of Vice City Lord Jiang!" Hearing the young man named Zhang's words, Wu Tao's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
The woman named Jiang frowned, but this time she did not intervene. It was clear that she was also quite angered by the word "get lost."
"Oh, so what?" Wu Tao ultimately chose to remain defiant.
Although the man and woman before him seemed to have significant backing, Wu Tao also had his own.
Moreover, in conflicts between juniors, elders usually did not intervene, so he naturally did not care much about the two Core Formation cultivators before him.
Having experienced many fortunate encounters, Wu Tao believed that even when facing the direct descendants of Purple Mansion stage cultivators, he would not be at a disadvantage among cultivators of the same level.
However, facing Wu Tao's persistent defiance, the young man named Zhang's face turned extremely pale, clearly having been infuriated.
...
Could the other party's backing be even greater than theirs? To be so disrespectful even to a disciple of Elder Song and the niece of Vice City Lord Jiang.
The woman named Jiang and the young man named Zhang had similar thoughts. After sizing up Wu Tao a few times, she suddenly parted her red lips and asked, "Does your surname happen to be Wu, and your name Wu Tao..."
"Indeed, my name is Wu Tao. Fairy guessed correctly," Wu Tao said with a slight smile, neither confirming nor denying.
"Is that so? Then this matter is dropped."
After confirming Wu Tao's identity, the woman named Jiang bit her red lips slightly and decided to find an opportunity to retaliate fiercely against him in the future.
The young man named Zhang's expression shifted between anger and disbelief for a while. Upon learning that Wu Tao had defeated Hong Bai, who was at the Core Formation stage, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, he lacked the confidence to defeat him. Therefore, he did not stop Wu Tao from leaving.
...
The young man named Zhang was named Zhang Lingxi.
However, he had already secretly decided to find Hong Bai later to discuss how to deal with him.
At this moment, Wu Tao was in a very good mood, very satisfied with the Geng Jin Jing Shi he had obtained.
...
Once the Chong Zhu Xi Sword was reforged, he would truly be a rare opponent at the Core Formation stage.
After walking for a while, Wu Tao's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had discovered something. Without a word, he walked towards a nearby stall.
The owner of this stall was a member of the Spirit Clan. His body resembled that of a human, and his hair was entwined with vines.
The Spirit Clan was the most prosperous race in the underground world, without exception.
...
The wealth of the Spirit Clan was well-known among all races in the underground world. The Spirit Clan could be said to be a world of its own.
The area occupied by the Spirit Clan was not very large, and their population was not too numerous, totaling only tens of millions, which was less than one-fifth of the population of Tongguan City.
However, there were many Spirit Kings comparable to the Purple Mansion stage among the Spirit Clan, with a total of twelve, residing in twelve great cities, living carefree and unfettered lives.
...
The ranking system of the Spirit Clan, like that of humans, was completely different. Each race had its own naming conventions.
Spirit Masters corresponded to the Qi Refining stage cultivators of the human race, and Great Spirit Masters corresponded to the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the human race.
And so on, Earth Spirit Masters corresponded to the Core Formation stage cultivators of the human race, Heaven Spirit Masters to the Nascent Soul stage cultivators, Spirit Kings to the Purple Mansion stage cultivators, and Spirit Ancestors to the Deity Transformation stage cultivators.
...
The human race, despite being one of the ten great powerful races and seemingly glorious, faced endless crises because they had only eight cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage.
The underground world was turbulent, and the human race had to remain united with its allies to ensure its continuation and legacy.
The Spirit Clan, formed by the manifestation of the spirits of heaven and earth, were all called the Spirit Clan.
Thousand Spirit City, Snow Spirit City, Wood Profound City, Fire Spirit City, Earth Domain City, Thunder Spirit City, Wind Spirit City, Wasteland Spirit City, Gold Spirit City, Water Spirit City, Hundred Spirit City, and Ten Thousand Spirit City. These twelve great cities were inhabited by the entire Spirit Clan.
The Spirit Clan possessed numerous rare treasures not found outside.
...
On the stall before this Spirit Clan stall owner, dozens of peculiar treasures were displayed.