Beastmaster of the Ages

Compared to Creektown, Commonsky City was several hundred times larger. Furthermore, the xeno source was much stronger there! Excluding the outworlders, the population of Commonsky City should be more than a million. However, due to the immense size of the city, it wasn’t easy to encounter people.

Tianming estimated that if the two pursuers behind him were indeed much more powerful than he was and managed to capture him without a sound, it might not be noticed.

”To find someone like ‘Qi Huan’ who can be trusted, I still need Yin Chen.” Otherwise, if he randomly selected someone without conducting a proper investigation, he could be in serious trouble if things went wrong. Solving xeno fatigue was news that could make waves throughout the entire Xenoabyss.

Once that happened, given his strength, he wouldn’t be able to control the situation.

”The problem is, Yin Chen’s already been exhausted.” He needed to go back and replenish it.

After entering Commonsky City, Tianming didn’t hesitate. He first went to a slightly more lively area, then pulled the interdimensional line three times to have Feiling pull him out.

”Big Brother, how is it?” Feiling asked.

”Getting to the capital might take a long time. For now, I’ll try to make a breakthrough in Commonsky City and obtain more order fragments. If I can’t handle Commonsky City, I won’t even think about the capital,” he said.

”Alright.”

Now, most of Yin Chen was scattered all over the sun, but fortunately there were some reserves around the sun’s core. So Tianming waited there. Approximately two billion reserve Yin Chens rushed in from all directions, converging into his lifebound space.

”I’m going back.” Tianming turned and smiled.

”Be careful and don’t rush,” Feiling reminded him.

”Got it!” Commonsky City was too vast, and he knew he needed to be careful.

......

After returning to Commonsky City, the pursuers were still standing in the distance, coldly looking at him. ”It seems like these two are determined to chase me down.” They were gambling on Tianming not having as many soulstones as he had claimed. Now, it was a race against time.

”Let’s go!” As he moved forward, his invisible cockroaches began spreading throughout the entire city. They didn’t need to be cautious, as even if they were discovered, no one could connect them to him.

”Spread throughout the city and find a reliable family.”

”Got it!” Yin Chen’s greatest advantage was its reliability, which was much higher than Meow Meow’s.

”Commonsky City is so huge, and Yin Chen has to cover it all. Identifying the right people will take some time.” The difficulty now was that Yin Chen could gradually spread out and listen in on conversations to figure out who had xeno fatigue, but it couldn’t determine who possessed order fragments!

Order fragments were often priceless. When the market was good, even some lower-tier order fragments could sell for a high price. The only sin was owning wealth. Because of that, most people who acquired order fragments would hide the information to prevent others from robbing them.

Getting information through eavesdropping would thus be challenging. From clues, to filtering, and finally selecting the right candidates might take days. The situation was different from Creektown.

”I hope it can finish its task before my soulstones run out!”

Tianming relaxed, waiting for good news from Yin Chen. He wandered around Commonsky City, observing the exotic customs and practices of the place. His mood was good, but having two menacing individuals following him would quickly sour any beautiful mood.

Through eavesdropping, he learned the names of the two from Yin Chen, ’Chen Yin’ and ’Jiang Yong’. Chen Yin was the tall, skinny one.

”They seem to come from a place called Intrepidus. Is it a mundus? Intrepidus Mundus?” he speculated. ”If it’s really called the Intrepidus Mundus, it sounds pretty impressive! I wonder how strong they are. Is it close to Skydome and Infinitum?”

He had Yin Chen continue listening.

Several days later, Tianming asked it, ”Any leads? It’s a thousand soulstones a day.”

”Don’t have! Don’t talk! When done...I will... notify you!”

”Alright!”

Was it pissed? Upon reflection, the little guy had to deal with a lot of information every moment of every day. For its small brains, it was a massive load. Yin Chen’s irritability made Tianming understand that, even in Commonsky City, individuals like Qi Huan weren’t easy to find.

”That’s because there are many strong individuals in Commonsky City, and everyone has many concerns.” He patiently waited.

”There’s a... ’black market’.... Should we... go take... a look?” Yin Chen suggested.

”Black Market? What’s it for?” Tianming asked.

After Yin Chen explained, Tianming finally understood. Commonsky City was completely controlled by the native races. To ensure the city’s independence and protect the wealth of the Xenoabyss, they prohibited certain important items from circulating among outworlders. One of those items was order fragments, which weren’t allowed to be sold to outworlders.

However, outworlders like Tianming had some precious items, including some top-tier cosmic artifacts that also held significant appeal for the Xenoabyss races. So, while there was a grand strategy at the top, there would be a counter-strategy at the bottom. Thus, the Commonsky City Black Market was born. It was a place that Commonsky City turned a blind eye to, as Yin Chen explained. Even if you were an outworlder, as long as you had money, you could buy anything there. Many treasures from the astralscape of order could also be disposed of there.

Although it was called a black market, it was actually quite straightforward. Fighting was prohibited and the transactions were fairly conducted, with clear pricing. The sole objective was trade without subterfuge.

”Here, people won’t care that I’m an outworlder, or that I’m young. They only care about the trade. The black market is hard to come by and it benefits everyone, so naturally, no one would easily tarnish its reputation.” Because it was beneficial to the Xenoabyss races as well, both Commonsky City and the Antiquitas Mortis tacitly accepted its existence.

”Let’s go check it out.” With Yin Chen as his guide, Tianming was at ease.

Commonsky City was vast! He used Meow Meow to rush over, and two days later, he finally arrived at the location of the market. It was inside Commonsky City, in a deep and secluded canyon filled with endless mist, creating a natural dark zone. Rolling dark clouds made the black market appear exceptionally mysterious.

Flight was prohibited there, so the only entrance to the Black Market was through the canyon. Tianming arrived and found a pair of bull-headed and horse-faced guards standing at the entrance. Those two specter races were the overlords of Commonsky City.

”Admission fee!” As Tianming approached, these towering figures, a kilometer tall, reached out their hands to him.

”How much?” Tianming asked through gritted teeth. Yin Chen hadn’t mentioned an admission fee!

”For outworlders, it’s ten thousand soulstones! Once you’ve paid, you won’t need to pay again for a year if you return,” the bull-headed man said. While it was expensive, at least it wasn’t a rip-off. If it was too expensive, no outworlders would enter.

”Alright.” Tianming promptly paid ten thousand soulstones and stepped into the black market canyon. As he moved deeper into the dark, misty area, he looked back.

Chen Yin and Jiang Yong had followed him in!

Tianming couldn’t be bothered with them and began exploring. The place seemed particularly eerie, and many giant caves on the cliffs were market stalls.

”Hmm?” He hadn’t gone far when something made his body feel unusual. “The Prime Wonder?”