Xiahou Aotian stood awkwardly at the entrance of the shop.

Since he had been discovered, he didn't bother to dwell on it any longer. Recalling the character that flashed through his mind, he vigorously rubbed his face to complete the disguise.

He stepped into the shop, his eyes scanning the rows of shelves, sweeping over the low-level materials scattered on the ground, immediately confirming the identity of Lian Sanyue.

She really was a refiner, most likely from the Zhao family.

Although he had learned about the background of the Wanbaowu's proprietress from Hongjige before coming, seeing it with his own eyes confirmed that she was a refiner.

--Every refiner's workshop is as messy as a small mechanical factory's processing workshop, or a hardware store on the street.

Of course, Xiahou Aotian wasn't bothered by this messiness. On the contrary, he felt a sense of returning home.

His gaze shifted from the shelves to the left, where a cashier counter stood against the wall. Behind the counter was a beautiful woman in black leather and a blue tube top.

Her fingers held a slender cigarette, her eyebrows and eyes were languid, and her temperament was charming, resembling a female gang leader from a movie.

"Are you Lian Sanyue?" Xiahou Aotian walked up to the cashier counter.

Lian Sanyue looked at him in astonishment, momentarily forgetting to smoke. She stared blankly and said, "Kakarot?"

She burst into laughter, "This is the first time I've seen someone sculpt their face into a two-dimensional protagonist, hahaha..."

Have you laughed enough! Protagonists transcend dimensions... Xiahou Aotian protested inwardly, took a deep breath, and said:

"I heard you have a good reputation and can handle any business. I have a deal, I don't know if you're interested."

Lian Sanyue suppressed her smile, returning to her lazy posture, took a puff of the cigarette, and exhaled white smoke from her fiery red lips, saying:

"Tell me about it."

Xiahou Aotian immediately pulled out a set of armor, a bronze tripod, and a string of copper coins from his inventory.

Lian Sanyue's eyes lit up, "Qin Dynasty artifacts?"

Qin Dynasty cultural relics were mainly bronze and ceramic, which were vastly different from the calligraphy and paintings well-known in later generations.

She didn't look at the copper coins, but carefully stroked the bronze tripod and armor, evaluating them:

"They're well preserved. These kinds of cultural relics are rare even in Overlord-level dungeons, and they have to be related to Qin Dynasty dignitaries. But I don't accept them."

Lian Sanyue smiled:

"Cultural relics are meaningless to me. The prices are also high. The customers who come to my Wanbaowu only care about Spirit Realm materials and props. Your target audience should be wealthy people who like to collect and invest in antiques."

Xiahou Aotian seemed to have expected this. Kakarot's face was arrogant and indifferent, "I hope to auction these cultural relics through you, giving you ten percent commission."

Lian Sanyue then nodded, "Okay, come back in ten days to collect the money."

Xiahou Aotian breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and then said: "I hope you keep today's transaction confidential. How much for a hush fee?"

Lian Sanyue thought for a moment, "Give me two hundred thousand."

"Deal!"

Xiahou Aotian took off his backpack, took out four stacks of banknotes, and placed them on the cashier counter.

He knew the common knowledge that black market transactions used cash.

If there wasn't enough cash, you could use props as collateral to cash out from the black market owner, and pay back the money within a specified period.

After paying the cash, Xiahou Aotian turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lian Sanyue suddenly called out with a smile: "Since you're here, why not check out Wanbaowu's black market?"

I don't have money, I don't want to see it... Xiahou Aotian was about to refuse, but Lian Sanyue's words piqued his interest.

"Although there aren't many good things in the black market, you can sometimes find bargains."

Hearing these words, Xiahou Aotian's DNA moved. He thought, isn't this a protagonist-exclusive scene?

He immediately changed his mind, "Okay!"

"Entering the black market requires a hand牌, one hundred thousand." Lian Sanyue opened her palm, revealing a long, black lacquered wooden牌 with the words "财源广进" written on the front.

One hundred thousand? You might as well rob me! Xiahou Aotian cursed in his heart.

After paying the fee for the hand牌, he entered the Wanbaowu black market and saw a bustling scene.

"The scale is quite large..."

Xiahou Aotian toured the black market with great ambition. As a scholar with rich knowledge and with the old grandpa in the ring by his side, he was confident that he could find bargains in the black market.

Half an hour later, Xiahou Aotian stood in the black market with a dumbfounded expression.

Is everything here actually fake?

It's not that there aren't any props and materials, but they are all clearly marked with prices. There is no situation where something is clearly a prop or material but is mistaken for worthless junk.

In short, the props and materials here are very expensive, and the junk is also very expensive. There is no possibility of finding bargains at all.

"Clearly, there's something wrong with this place, not with me. My opportunity isn't here." Xiahou Aotian regretted throwing away one hundred thousand and planned to leave.

At this moment, Lian Sanyue's voice came from beside him:

"Didn't buy anything you liked? Then would you be interested in experiencing the feeling of refining?"

Hearing this, Xiahou Aotian, as a Thaumaturge, felt his DNA move again, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Lian Sanyue swayed her waist in a charming manner: "Follow me."

Xiahou Aotian followed her out of the black market with curiosity and doubt, passed through the duel arena, and arrived outside a room.

Lian Sanyue twisted the door open, waved away the two guards inside, pointed to a three-legged cauldron, and smiled:

"It is the greatest refiner in the world. You can touch it and check its attributes."

Xiahou Aotian stepped forward and curiously stretched out his palm, pressing it against the furnace. After a few seconds, he revealed a look of shock:

"It, it's actually a rule-type item?"

In addition, he felt that this furnace looked familiar. After a brief recollection, he remembered that there was a similar furnace on the Nuwa Empress scroll enshrined in the treasure vault of the underground palace.

At this moment, he sensed a strong mental fluctuation from the ring.

......

Songhai International Airport.

A silver-white Gulfstream broke through the blue sky and landed slowly. It taxied along the runway for a long time before stopping.

Zhang Yuanqing, wearing a baseball cap and mask, walked out of the cabin with Palace Master Zhisha, and under the guidance of the greeters who had been waiting for a long time, got on the shuttle bus.

When they arrived at the airport parking garage, Palace Master Zhisha said goodbye with a smile and left on her own.

Zhang Yuanqing got into the luxurious car arranged by Fu Qingyang and returned to Fu's Bay.

He took out his phone, turned off airplane mode, and the phone immediately made a "ding-dong" sound non-stop, with dozens of unread messages and a dozen missed calls.

Three of them were from Xie Lingxi and the Queen, and the rest were all from Guan Ya.

Zhang Yuanqing opened the chat app and checked the messages.

Guan Ya sent him more than twenty messages, half of which were text, deeply expressing her regret and confusion. On the one hand, she was trying to win him back, and on the other hand, she said that she might have been affected by something yesterday, and the breakup was not her intention.

She apologized for her irrational behavior yesterday and hoped to talk to him.

Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time and that his phone was turned off, she was probably panicking, so she started sending voice messages. The last few messages were in a crying tone.

Xie Lingxi sent him two messages. One was that her cousin Xie Lingzhou died at Qin Feng Academy. The family notified her to go back to attend the funeral, so she had to leave Songhai for a few days.

The other was asking timidly: Did you really break up with Sister Guan Ya?

Because there was no breakup, the little girl woke up this morning and felt that Brother Yuanshi was her dream lover again, and forgot her coldness yesterday.

The Queen's message was that Guan Ya went to the next villa this morning, cried a lot after returning, and her emotions were unstable. She hoped that he could forgive Guan Ya and make up.

It could be seen that although the Queen had always wanted to steal her best friend's boyfriend, she still had feelings for Guan Ya.

Next were Sun Miaomiao's messages. The first one was sent at nine o'clock in the morning, and she sincerely apologized for her激烈的言语 yesterday.

The second one was at eleven o'clock at noon. After enduring for three hours and not waiting for Yuanshi Tianzun's forgiveness, she tentatively sent another one, which read:

"Hmph, stingy!"

The last message was from Yin Ji. She explained that she was a little impatient yesterday because she was assisting her master in capturing the Chunyang Sect Leader. If there was time, she hoped to have a phone call.

Zhang Yuanqing immediately dialed Yin Ji's number. It rang for more than ten seconds before it was finally answered.

"Yuanshi Tianzun." Yin Ji's gentle voice came from the phone.

"Call me Yuanshi." Zhang Yuanqing said in a joking tone.

There was a second of silence on the other end, but she didn't respond and went straight to the point:

"The Taiyin and Star Secret Techniques are the secrets of the Taiyi Sect. Before learning them, the disciples in the sect have signed contracts and will never pass them on. They have also received the blessing of the Taiyin, so you can't even ask about them灵."

Ordinary Night Wanderers definitely cannot ask about灵, but I have fragments of Taiyin, but it is impossible for me to hunt the Saints of the Taiyi Sect for the sake of the secret techniques... Zhang Yuanqing sighed and said:

"I know."

As if sensing the disappointment in his tone, Yin Ji lowered her voice:

"But that's not what I wanted to say..."

After a pause, she said: "Do you know why the sect leader created the secret techniques for main cultivation of Taiyin and Star."

To become more powerful? Zhang Yuanqing immediately thought of this answer.

"I heard from my master that main cultivation of Taiyin and Star is to make it easier to fuse with the supreme power when reaching the demigod realm in the future. Of course, for ordinary Night Wanderers, main cultivation of Taiyin and Star is just to make themselves stronger," Yin Ji said.

"Fuse with the supreme power?" Zhang Yuanqing was stunned, and then he almost immediately understood the meaning of these words.

The supreme power mentioned by Elder Hongying should refer to the three original powers of Sun, Moon, and Star.

So, to control the three original powers, you must choose one power to focus on before reaching the demigod realm. Is this the meaning of the existence of the "main cultivation secret technique?"

Yin Ji continued:

"If we don't choose the main cultivation secret technique, when we are promoted to Overlord, the three powers of Sun, Moon, and Star will be balanced. But when you choose one of these powers to focus on, then this power will压过 the other two."

"So?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

Yin Ji's gentle noise was lowered even more, like the soft whispers between lovers:

"So the main cultivation secret technique is not the key. The key is to imbalance the three powers. As long as you can do this, you can practice other secret techniques as well, such as the Chunyang Cleansing Body Record."

"It's just that this kind of secret technique is hard to come by. Ordinary Night Wanderers can't get it at all, so our Taiyi Sect's secret techniques are so precious."

The Chunyang Cleansing Body Record is a secret technique? This answer really surprised Zhang Yuanqing. If that's the case, then the Sun's divine power in the Demon Refining Pot is useful.

He can completely rely on those powers to push the Chunyang Cleansing Body Record to the Lesser Perfection realm.

No, the Sun's divine power in the Demon Refining Pot is too strong. The consequence of me using them to practice is most likely that I will turn from a carbon-based life into a pile of charcoal, he thought.

"But I don't recommend you focus on the Sun," Yin Ji said.

"Is it because the progress is too slow?" Zhang Yuanqing remembered the knowledge he learned at Qin Feng Academy.

"Slow is one aspect. I heard my master say before that the supreme power symbolizing the Sun seems to have some problems," Yin Ji said slowly. "I just heard about it, but I don't know the specific situation."

The Sun has problems? In that case, focusing on the Sun really needs to be carefully considered. Zhang Yuanqing frowned.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading!

Yin Ji didn't speak either.

The two of them listened to each other's breathing and were silent for half a minute. Zhang Yuanqing broke free from his thoughts and asked casually:

"How is the Chunyang Sect Leader's case going?"

Yin Ji sighed:

"My master set up a trap a few days ago to lure him, but it failed. He has hidden protection and is not bound by moral values, so it is not a matter of overnight to catch him.

"Moreover, we have found that his strength is getting stronger and stronger. He should have hunted a lot of Illusionists recently."

Zhang Yuanqing heard her distress and helplessness. "Hunted a lot of Illusionists? Why not try to cooperate with the Nihility Sect."

Yin Ji smiled bitterly:

"If it were the Military Sect or the Spiritual Energy Society, we would have channels to contact them. The Nihility Sect is elusive. Even the Taiyi Sect can't find their high-level officials."

Among the three major evil camp organizations, the Nihility Sect is the most bizarre.

Moreover, good and evil are incompatible. Even with the threat of the Chunyang Sect Leader, the two sides lack a solid intermediary to reach cooperation.

The Chunyang Sect Leader is 老女干巨猾, has the protection of Taiyin, and is not bound by moral values, so there are too many骚操作, but, if it is just to reach cooperation with the Nihility Sect, I can help... Zhang Yuanqing said:

"I know an Illusionist who may be able to pull the strings."

Yin Ji's mind brightened, and she pondered:

"I will report to my master first and see what she thinks."

Zhang Yuanqing hmm-ed: "I also need to confirm whether the other party is willing to cooperate."

After ending the call, he didn't contact Xiao Yuan, because he was about to arrive at Fu's Bay.

After reporting the findings of 高天原 to Fu Qingyang, he would deal with other things.

Zhang Yuanqing clicked on Sun Miaomiao's avatar and sent a message:

"I turned off my phone to do a mission this morning, Miaomiao. Although you spoke rudely to me, you are still my little宝贝."

Sun Miaomiao replied in seconds:

"Ew~ you're so greasy."

Zhang Yuanqing thought, this is the right reaction. She says it's greasy, but she must be smiling right now.

【Yuanshi Tianzun: I have something to ask you to do.】

【Sun Miaomiao: Forget about borrowing money.】

......Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched, and he sent a message:

【Yuanshi Tianzun: I'm not borrowing money. I want to ask you to help me summarize the list of all Night Wanderers in the Taiyi Sect from 1990 to 2000, including those who died in the line of duty. To add, from Saint to Overlord.】

He wanted to investigate that Night Wanderer who was one of the Dark Twins.

【Sun Miaomiao: What are you looking for this for?】

【Yuanshi Tianzun: I can't say it now. I'll have similar things to ask you to do in the future. I'll tell you when I have some clues.】

【Sun Miaomiao: Okay, I'll try. If it involves Elders, my permissions are definitely not enough, so I can only cheat my grandfather's account.】

【Yuanshi Tianzun: After it's done, I'll take you out to eat.】

Not long after, the driver reduced the speed and drove into Fu's Bay.

Zhang Yuanqing didn't wait for him to stop and打起帅气响指 "Star Escape!"

In the driver's surprised eyes, he disappeared into the carriage.

The next second, he appeared outside the study and knocked on the tall brown wooden door.

......

ps: Fix typos after updating first.