Blackwater, a land fraught with danger.
But at the same time, a place that was overflowing with opportunity.
In the far past, numerous powerful factions existed within Blackwater. Every one of these factions was stronger than the empires currently bordering Blackwater. Due to some unknown reason, the factions within Blackwater disappeared one after another, allowing more and more Genesis Beasts to flood Blackwater, transforming it into the Genesis Beast heaven it is today.
However, although these ancient factions had disappeared, some things would ultimately be left behind, things that made countless Genesis Masters madly scramble towards them.
In Blackwater, luck would occasionally favor certain fortunate souls, allowing them to ascend to the skies in a single step and let their names echo loudly across the land.
Over time, more and more Genesis Masters swarmed towards this place, risking all sorts of dangers as they searched for opportunities in hopes of becoming the next individual to earn luck's blessings.
But the ones who are graced by luck are ultimately few in number, and majority end up as part of the piles of bones buried under this bloody and chaotic land.
…
Blackwater was a place of chaos and killing, a place where the strong preyed on the weak.
However, Zhou Yuan's group was obviously not weak prey. Thus, although they drew countless eyes wherever they went in Blackwater, no one dared to make any moves against them.
Many factions of various sizes existed within Blackwater, each king of their own territories. The passing of Zhou Yuan, Wei Canglan and the rest of the group would cause these factions to be on high alert.
After all, anyone who spent most of their time in Blackwater knew that there were two factions that could not be offended. One was the infamous Black Venom King, and the other was great general Wei Canglan of Canglan County.
Zhou Yuan's group may be few in number, but all of them were elites. Moreover, there was an Alpha-Origin expert with them, Wei Canglan. This line-up was enough to easily sweep away any faction with the exception of Black Venom City.
Hence, upon seeing Zhou Yuan's group, the Blackwater factions would fall into a state of panic, afraid that this terrifying party would pounce on them in the next moment.
However, Zhou Yuan and the rest obviously paid no attention to these factions. As long as they did not obstruct the former, Zhou Yuan and gang would quickly pass through.
This situation continued for several days as Zhou Yuan and the rest gradually approached their destination…
Devil Prison City, the city closest to the ruins. The city lord was an advance Heaven Gate stage expert and was rather famous in Blackwater. He was after all capable enough to govern a city here.
Although Devil Prison City was normally a rather bustling place, ever since news of the ruins had spread, the city had immediately become a lodging point for the numerous factions that had come in search of treasures. Thus causing the population of the city to rise dramatically.
Countless people journeyed to the ruins every day, though none dared to venture too deep. After all, there were all kinds of bizarre battle puppets inside, which would potentially become a thorny problem if one caught their attention. Yet, there were also some fortunate fellows who stumbled into certain places and brought out several strange 'toys'. Such items were very popular and sold for handsome sums of Genesis crystals, allowing these lucky fellows to earn a small fortune…
None of the city guards dared to stop Zhou Yuan, Wei Canglan and the rest when they entered Devil Prison City, allowing the latters to do as they pleased.
In Devil Prison City, Zhou Yuan and gang booked an entire inn, settling everyone's accommodations.
After helping everyone settle down, Wei Canglan found Zhou Yuan and suggested, "Your highness, this is the closest city to the Battle Puppet Sect ruins and quite a number of people have already made their way to the ruins from here. We should be able to obtain information regarding the ruins here so I suggest that we take a look."
Zhou Yuan was pretty much fine with anything. Their non-stop travels over the past few days had been exceptionally dull. Did no one else see the looks of interest on Su Youwei's, Wei Qingqing's and even Yaoyao's faces when they heard Wei Canglan make his proposal?
Therefore, after tidying up a little, the group left the inn along with a few bodyguards.
Devil Prison City was not as grand as Great Zhou City or Canglan County, the former gave off a rather simplistic feeling and was filled with disorder.
Two waves of men would clash from time to time on the streets, every strike from each individual fatal in nature. This resulted in still warm bodies being thrown out occasionally, causing the entire city to be blanketed in an aura of cruelness.
Zhou Yuan and his group drew several gazes as they walked in the city. Of course, the majority of these gazes were aimed at Yaoyao, Su Youwei and the long-legged Wei Qingqing.
Beauties of such calibre were clearly very rare in such a place.
However, those that could survive till now in Blackwater were at least somewhat discerning. Hence, no one dared to come forward although the gazes filled with various intentions continued to size-up the three girls.
After a few turns, Zhou Yuan and the rest eventually arrived at a comparatively cleaner street, a street overflowing with people and clearly much busier and exciting than everywhere else.
Stores filled the street. The dazzling goods on display very attention grabbing.
"Come, come and take a look. We have newly arrived stock from the ruins. All kinds of treasures can be found here so be sure not to miss out!"
Zhou Yuan and gang followed the shouting and arrived at the biggest store, where an assortment of objects in various states of disrepair were on display inside a crystal cabinet. Every item gave off an ancient aura as if they had just been excavated.
"Have a look everyone, this is a Genesis Weapon we uncovered from the Battle Puppet Sect. It likely used to be a Black tier Genesis Weapon and we're offering it at a hugely discounted price. Just one thousand nine hundred Genesis crystals and you'll be able to take it away!" Someone yelled from inside the store.
Zhou Yuan turned to see a long bronze spear in the man's hands. Its body was quite damaged, and it gave off a dim Genesis Qi pulse. Let alone a Black tier Genesis Weapon, it was likely that it would not even match a Normal mid grade Genesis Weapon.
But this was only logical. If it was truly a Black tier Genesis Weapon, it would cost at least ten thousand Genesis crystals, not a measly thousand nine hundred.
Few responded to the spear and only a scattering called out their bids. In the end, it was sold for two thousand five hundred Genesis crystals and it could be assumed that the buyer had purchased it with the mentality of hoping to find a treasured pearl under the dust.
Several broken-looking items appeared in succession, each one likely obtained from the Battle Puppet Sect ruins. Zhou Yuan took a look, but nothing piqued his interest. With his Spirit perception, he could sense that these items were indeed completely damaged and no longer had any value.
After a while, Zhou Yuan intended to leave with everyone.
Just as he turned his body, Yaoyao suddenly pulled him, her snow-white chin indicating towards crystal display cabinet. "Buy the item at the bottom left corner."
Zhou Yuan was stunned. His gaze shifted, only to find an object that resembled a black jade tile. The surface of the jade tile was mottled, and several cracks could be seen, but a faint pattern was barely visible.
Zhou Yuan was somewhat confused, because he could sense that there was not even the slightest trace of Genesis Qi from the black jade tile.
"What is it?" He asked in a low voice.
Yaoyao smiled faintly as she said, "The jade tile itself is not worth anything, but there seems to be a rather peculiar incomplete Genesis Rune on it. Something that can give me such a feeling should be rather special to the Battle Puppet Sect."
The corner's of Zhou Yuan's mouth twitched for a moment. You're pretty arrogant little miss, I won't possibly dare to refute your reasoning.
As he shook his head inside his heart, Zhou Yuan did not probe any further and pointed at the jade tile and asked directly, "How much?"
The seller's lips puckered slightly like a monkey. A single look was all it took to know that this was a shrewd man. Although he too did not know the function of this black jade tile, when he saw Zhou Yuan ask for a price, his eyes seemed to rotate in thought as his mouth opened, intending to ask for a very generous sum.
"My money is not so easily scammed. Are you certain that the ones behind you will be able to swallow it?" An indifferent voice emerged from Zhou Yuan's lips.
The man's mouth immediately closed. He had seen Wei Canglan turned towards him with an apathetic look. The pressure from an Alpha-Origin expert made the man understand that the person before him could not be offended.
"Hehe, the one who put it up for sale is only asking for two thousand Genesis crystals." It was a rather indignant reply.
Zhou Yuan nodded, not wanting to needlessly waste any more time. "Alright, I'll take it for two thousand Genesis crystals."
With a wave of his hand, Liu Tieshan fished out the Genesis crystals and prepared to make payment.
"Wait, I offer three thousand for the jade tile." However, a chuckle was suddenly heard at this moment.
Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed as he turned his head slightly, only to see the crowd part for a group of people. At the very front, a familiar figure entered Zhou Yuan's eyes.
"Qi Hao?"
An icy look immediately flitted across Zhou Yuan's eyes when he saw this figure. To think that he was hiding in Blackwater.
Qi Hao grinned at Zhou Yuan before pointing at the black jade tile as he lazily said, "I'll take three thousand for it."