Chapter 57
Long ago, where small merchants used to display and sell their goods outdoors, alien races from other dimensions have now settled in.
At first glance, the scenery looked no different from what one might see on Earth. But upon entering the actual streets, a landscape unlike anything previously seen on Earth unfolded.
This was inevitable, as the name of this street was the "Second Dimension Street," a comprehensive marketplace where alien races from other dimensions sold their wares.
'It's as impressive as I've heard.'
Lee Seong-jun walked along the street, marveling at the weapons and equipment displayed everywhere.
Since they were made with materials or techniques unique to other dimensions, their quality was also excellent.
Among them, the weapons and armor made by dwarves, known as master craftsmen, stood out in particular.
The purity of the materials used was impeccable, giving the blades a razor-sharp edge. And thanks to the skilled craftsmanship, the weight balance was extremely precise.
However, they were also being sold at exorbitant prices that made one gasp.
'...3 billion won for a single sword.'
In fact, even this was considered cheap.
Artifacts with elemental properties or special abilities cost at least tens of billions, with the most expensive ones exceeding hundreds of billions.
Some of the swords were impressive enough to capture Seong-jun's attention, but it didn't lead to an actual purchase.
'I mustn't forget my original purpose for coming here.'
The reason for visiting the Second Dimension Street was none other than to purchase "spirit potions."
Or rather, there was no reason to buy other weapons when he had his fists, which could be considered the most convenient and excellent weapon.
Therefore, Seong-jun immediately headed towards the inner part of the street, where shops selling spirit potions were located.
Finally, as he entered the area lined with shops selling spirit potions:
"We're selling precious spirit potions containing centennial snow ginseng at affordable prices! Come take a look!"
"Selling special strength-enhancing potions made by the beast folk! Come in and check them out!"
Unlike the shops displaying dwarven weapons earlier, merchants here were gesturing or shouting from all around.
Seong-jun felt puzzled by the drastically different atmosphere, but it didn't take long for him to understand the reason.
'...They lack confidence in their products.'
The saying "empty vessels make the most noise" wasn't for nothing.
Most of the items on display were barely worthy of being called spirit potions.
'The purity is too low.'
If expressed as a percentage, it would be about 0.0002%, with such a low concentration of qi that one might believe only the scent had been added.
Surprisingly, these potions were considered to be on the better end of the spectrum.
There were even items that couldn't be called spirit potions at all.
Whether to forcibly maximize their effects or not, various impurities had been added instead of pure qi.
Consuming them once or twice might not cause immediate problems, but continued consumption would lead to unfavorable results.
In the worst case, those impurities could settle in the body as turbid qi, potentially causing qi deviation.
Even if one were lucky enough to avoid any side effects, there was a high probability of experiencing discomfort due to the interference of turbid qi when advancing to higher realms.
'These are worse than not taking anything at all.'
After seeing the dwarven weapons earlier, Seong-jun had somewhat high expectations, but the spirit potion section was truly disappointing.
'...I've just wasted precious time.'
As Seong-jun sighed deeply inside and turned to leave with quick steps, at that moment:
A brief ringing sound echoed in his ears.
'...?!'
It was extremely rare for a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation to hear such a ringing sound.
It would be no exaggeration to say that without external factors like receiving a major impact near the head, being hit by a sound attack, or falling under the influence of a spell, ringing in the ears was impossible.
Yet, he heard it.
Naturally, Seong-jun's eyes narrowed.
'What is this?'
As Seong-jun turned back, puzzled, towards the path he had just walked:
Beeeep-!
Once again, a ringing sound echoed in his ears.
Not only that, but his sharp senses also picked up on the flow of qi intertwined with an acute sensation.
Seong-jun's gaze turned to the alleyway at the center of the stalls displaying goods right next to him.
The long, dark corridor stretched out, giving the impression that the world inside was distorted.
'A barrier.'
He hadn't noticed it when walking by without thinking, but now that he focused his senses, it was easy to tell.
This straight alleyway was surrounded by a barrier of considerable level.
Even though he was aware of the barrier and looking directly at it, its outline seemed blurry.
It had such excellent concealment abilities that he might have missed it if not for the ringing in his ears.
'A barrier of this level in a place like this?'
As Seong-jun chuckled wryly, curiosity began to stir in a corner of his mind.
'What could be inside that requires this?'
Various hypotheses flashed through his mind, but Seong-jun dismissed them with a shake of his head.
There was no reason to rack his brains alone in the first place.
'There's no ominous feeling or sharp aura at all.'
The barrier before his eyes was solely focused on concealment abilities.
How did he know this?
During the Great War of the Four Sects, even after defeating the Alliance Leader and securing victory for the Blood Sect, the war continued for over a year.
The reason was because of the barriers and formations deployed by the Zhuge family, their elusive abilities constantly hindering progress.
That's why he had continuously studied and researched barriers and formations.
Although he lacked outstanding talent in spellcasting and couldn't learn them himself, through endless effort he could at least distinguish the abilities and roles of barriers just by looking at them.
Therefore, he could assert confidently.
There were no life-threatening elements within the barrier unfolding before his eyes.
'...Escape won't be a problem either.'
While he couldn't be certain about breaking through the barrier without entering it first, he was confident that he could easily escape using his knowledge and abilities if needed.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Seong-jun stepped forward without hesitation.
Finally, as he entered the alleyway:
Weeeing-!
With a loud ringing in his ears, the scenery inside the barrier was revealed.
It was the same dark alleyway he had seen from outside, nothing particularly special at first glance.
Of course, just because something wasn't visible didn't mean it lacked any abilities.
Despite being a distance of about 500 meters, which an average adult male could walk in less than 5 minutes, there was no end in sight.
"..."
Narrowing his eyes, Seong-jun unhesitatingly extended his finger and lightly scraped the wall.
Then, he took another step forward.
About 5 minutes later?
"As expected..."
He encountered the wall section he had just scraped.
'I see... it makes you keep walking in circles by confusing your senses...'
It was an excellent barrier that he might not have even noticed if he hadn't left a mark on the wall.
However, unfortunately for the barrier, to Seong-jun, who wielded the martial arts of the Blood Demon, this was a barrier he could break through more easily than any other.
With a relaxed smile on his face, Seong-jun boldly extended his arm forward and let a drop of red blood qi from his body fall to the ground.
Drip.
The moment a single drop, an extremely small amount of blood qi, was absorbed into the ground:
Seong-jun's pupils began to turn an alluring red.
'Evil Remnant Blood Eternal Expanse.'
Unlike typical Blood Demon martial arts with destructive and powerful effects, Evil Remnant Blood Eternal Expanse specialized in tracking and searching abilities.
Needless to say, its effectiveness was beyond compare.
Not only could it detect renowned masters of the Thousand Continents, but even the concealment of the Killing King Ju Cheom-mu, said to be peerless in assassination and stealth, couldn't escape the searching ability of Evil Remnant Blood Eternal Expanse.
No, it would be more accurate to say that escape was impossible to begin with.
This was because Evil Remnant Blood Eternal Expanse had the ability to track and detect blood, which could be considered the foundation of living beings.
Shhhk-!
The blood qi spreading widely across the floor detected the presence of nearby living beings.
Among them, two in particular:
Unlike the main street teeming with numerous life forms, two isolated life forms were clearly sensed inside the alleyway.
'Found them.'
Now that he knew their exact location, there was no need to wander around anymore.
Seong-jun immediately started walking towards where the two life forms were.
After walking about 800 meters:
Beeeep-!!
With a ringing sound in his ears so loud it hurt, the scenery before his eyes began to distort grotesquely.
A darkness so deep it was impossible to believe it was daytime.
Every step forward felt like it might swallow him whole.
As Seong-jun carefully stepped forward with his senses on high alert:
"Welcome, noble warrior!"
A booming voice struck Seong-jun's ears.
* * *
Unlike the other alien races on the street who were constantly engaging in promotional activities and catering to customers, the elf Parenhof and the beast-folk Mokuru weren't even greeting anyone.
Or to be more precise, there were no customers to greet.
This was natural, as Jazan, known as a top-tier barrier mage, had cast a grand illusion barrier around the shop.
Not only ordinary people, but even those considered powerful - by Earth's standards, SS-rank hunters - couldn't perceive the alleyway concealed by the barrier, let alone enter it.
Because of this, all Parenhof and Mokuru could usually do was sit on chairs in front of the shop and grumble, just like now.
"Sigh... I must have been crazy to listen to that brainless bear. Tsk."
"You were praising it as a good idea earlier. As expected of a treacherous elf, your front and back don't match."
"The idea of filtering out the riffraff who can't even absorb the energy of our spirit potions was good. But we should have kept it within reason. Do you think it makes sense to call Jazan and install a grand illusion barrier?"
"Why? Don't you think it makes sense? Rather, overcoming this level of obstacle is what qualifies a warrior to consume the spirit potions I've made."
"Sigh... What's the point of arguing with a brainless bear like you?"
Just as Parenhof was making an expression of resignation, fortunately, a bell sound indicating an intruder in the barrier rang out.
Ding-a-ling~
"Finally! A qualified warrior has come!"
While Mokuru couldn't hide his excitement as he jumped up from his seat, Parenhof shook his head and said:
"...Warrior, my foot. It's probably just a lost passerby."
He wasn't trying to dampen the mood for no reason.
It was a common occurrence.
Passersby who get lost while looking around nearby shops and wander in - the man who just entered the barrier would likely turn back towards the original shopping area before long, just like the others.
He was certain this would be the case.
However, it didn't take long for Parenhof's prediction to be proven wrong.