Martial Peak
chapter-5053

Yang Kai became interested in the sugar-coated hawthorn fruits. As he recalled what he had seen, he asked probingly, “10 copper coins?”

The old man nodded with a smile, “Yes, 10 copper coins for a skewer. It’s fair, isn’t it?”

“I’ll get one skewer, then.” As Yang Kai spoke, he fished out 10 copper coins and passed them to the old man.

As a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he naturally didn’t bring any copper coins with him. Copper, silver, and gold were used by the mortals to buy goods. Most cultivators wouldn’t need such things; however, there were a lot of Humans living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe. Copper, silver, and gold coins were commonly used in the exchange of goods. Therefore, the 10 copper coins he had fished out were taken from his Small Universe.

Surprisingly, the old man glanced at the copper coins but didn’t take them. Instead, he sported a dark expression, “Are you messing with me just because I’m old, you brat?”

A puzzled Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean, Old Sir?”

Upon seeing that the young man appeared sincere, the old man frowned. As he examined Yang Kai, he suddenly realised what was going on, “Oh, I get it. Brat, since you’re new to this place and know nothing, I’ll not settle the score with you. Instead, I’ll teach you something today.”

Yang Kai replied respectfully, “I’m all ears.”

The old man said with a smile, “The copper coins used in this Marketplace are specially made. These ordinary copper coins can’t be used here.”

After he finished speaking, he flicked a copper coin at Yang Kai.

Yang Kai took the coin and carefully examined it. He realised that even though the material used to make the copper coin wasn’t special, it was indeed custom-made. The Yin character was engraved on one side, while the Yang character was on the other side.

There was no kind of restriction on the copper coin, nor was there a unique way of making it. It wouldn’t be hard to make a fake one. At the very least, Yang Kai could easily make many of them if he wanted to.

Nevertheless, it would be inappropriate for him to do so.

Left with no choice, he could only be honest with the old man, “I’m sorry, Old Sir. I don’t have this kind of copper coin.”

The old man chuckled, “I know you don’t. It’s fine. I’m sure you have cultivation resources. You can trade them for copper coins with me.”

“Does it work that way?” Yang Kai was stunned.

“Why would I lie to you?” The old man nodded firmly.

After giving it a thought, Yang Kai fished out a Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal as he couldn’t suppress his curiosity, “How about this thing, Old Sir?”

The old man arched his brow and took the Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal, then he became elated, “It’s a wonderful Sixth-Order Yang Element material. That’s great. I haven’t seen anything as pure as this in a long time.”

Yang Kai quipped to himself that this thing was certainly pure, for it was a result of the crystallisation of the Burning Light’s power. There was no Yang Element material in the world that was purer than this.

“You can trade it for 10 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits,” the old man said firmly, then was ready to fish out 10 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits.

“Wait a moment!” An astonished Yang Kai quickly stopped him.

Since a skewer of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits was worth 10 copper coins, 10 skewers would be 100 copper coins. How was it possible that a Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal could only be traded for 10 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits?

A Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal was worth at least 20 million Open Heaven Pills, and a resource that rare couldn’t really be bought with money. Given the conversion rate, it would mean that 1 copper coin in this Marketplace was worth 200,000 Open Heaven Pills.

Yang Kai was overwhelmed by a sense of unease. He didn’t think the old man was conning him, but this thing was simply too expensive.

It was no wonder that when the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master bought a skewer of hawthorn fruits from this old man earlier, he appeared as if some of his flesh had been shaved off.

That was because a skewer of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits was worth 2 million Open Heaven Pills.

[Why is it so expensive?]

Yang Kai was quick to stop him, but the old man was extremely swift. The moment he started speaking, the old man had taken out 5 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits.

“Old Sir, even though I’m new to this place, you can’t oppress me like this,” Yang Kai stared at the old man with a solemn expression.

The old man replied with a smile, “I certainly won’t oppress a young man like you. Don’t worry, I’m an honest trader. If you don’t believe me, you can ask around.”

Yang Kai scowled. After pondering on it for a moment though, he said, “I’ll just get one skewer. I can’t have so many.”

The old man shook his head repeatedly, “No no, I’ve taken out 5 skewers already. You have to buy them all.”

A speechless Yang Kai refuted, “Can’t you just put them back in?”

The old man lowered his head and said in a grim voice, “If a person jabs a dagger into your body and takes it out, can you pretend that nothing has happened?”

Yang Kai was dumbfounded, “It’s like comparing oranges with apples.”

The old man shook his head, “It’s all the same to me.”

A furious Yang Kai snapped, “You just said that you’re an honest trader, but here you are compelling me to buy your goods. It’s not fair!”

The old man ignored him and stuffed five skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in his hands. After passing him 50 copper coins, he said solemnly, “Young man, just take it as me giving you a lesson today. You have to be careful whenever you head out from now on.”

After he finished speaking, he left in a hurry with his skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits.

Yang Kai was left dumbfounded as he clutched the 5 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in one hand and 50 copper coins in the other.

He didn’t understand what kind of damned place this Marketplace was. Why was there such a place in Yin-Yang Pass? What was the purpose of building it?

It was apparent that Yang Kai had been conned by the old man, but he still felt somewhat comforted. At the very least, he still had 5 skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits and 50 copper coins.

Since the fruits were so expensive, they might have some amazing effects. Perhaps they could soothe one’s mind or increase the heritage of the Small Universe.

At the thought of this, Yang Kai put away the copper coins and grabbed one skewer of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits before taking a bite.

As he chewed the fruit, he realised that it was refreshingly sweet with a tinge of sourness. The flesh was tender and fresh. More importantly, the fruit pit had been removed, so he didn’t have to spit it out.

After having one of the fruits, he stood still on the same spot for a moment; then, he sported a dark expression.

It was just the most common sugar-coated hawthorn fruit that did nothing to help increase a cultivator’s heritage.

Yang Kai cursed at the dishonest trader and had the urge to chase after the old man and fight him to the death.

With that said, he never put his idea into action, for the other party was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If he really ran after the old man, he would be the one to suffer.

After gritting his teeth for a moment, he let out a sigh. As he was having the costly sugar-coated hawthorn fruits, Yang Kai shuffled further into the Marketplace.

The busy street was lined with all sorts of shops.

Yang Kai soon stopped in his tracks in front of an accessories shop. The accessories in the shop were all quite beautiful. They were apparently made by a skilful artisan.

After getting conned by the old man who sold sugar-coated hawthorn fruits though, Yang Kai was far more cautious this time. However, he was shocked to see that there were a lot of cultivators going in and out of the shop, and the accessories were selling fast.

Since business was booming in this shop, it suggested that the accessories here were extraordinary.

Perhaps they were no ordinary accessories and instead, they were artifacts made by some Grandmaster.

At the thought of this, Yang Kai nodded as he believed that his speculation was right.

“Hey, this generous Senior Brother. Are you looking for some accessories?” After seeing off his customer, a shop assistant hurriedly came over to serve Yang Kai.

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai couldn’t help but laugh, “Why do you think I’m generous?”

The shop assistant pointed at the sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in his hands, “If you’re not wealthy, you wouldn’t have bought so many sugar-coated hawthorn fruits. The one who sells sugar-coated hawthorn fruits is famous across this Marketplace.”

It was then Yang Kai realised what was going on, “I see.”

It was no wonder that a lot of people looked at him with awkward expressions when he walked along the street. That was because he had many skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in his hands.

He didn’t even know that holding a few skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits in one’s hands was a symbol of wealth these days.

Nevertheless, that was indeed the case in this Marketplace.

“What accessories would you like to buy?” The shop assistant asked hospitably.

Yang Kai didn’t have anything specific that he wanted, for he was just wondering whether these accessories were some kind of artifacts. After looking around, he pointed at a red hairpin, “Can I have a look at this?”

The shop assistant promptly took out the hairpin and said with a smile, “This thing is made by the owner. The accessories he makes are the best in this Marketplace. The other accessory shops are not comparable to us. If you give this hairpin to a woman you love, she’ll definitely be pleased.”

The hairpin was placed inside a transparent container. Even though Yang Kai could clearly see the hairpin, he was unable to examine it.

He frowned, “Can you open it?”

The shop assistant put on an apologetic smile, “You can only open the box after buying the hairpin.”

[What kind of rule is this?] Since the hairpin was inside some kind of special container, Yang Kai was unable to determine the Order of the accessory. How was he going to find out whether it was truly valuable or not?

However, he had seen many people buying these accessories in the same way, so he knew that it was impossible for him to have a closer look at it.

Left with no choice, he asked, “How much is it?”

“That will be 50 copper coins,” the shop assistant replied with a smile.

Yang Kai’s face twitched visibly. He couldn’t help but suspect that this shop assistant and the old man who sold sugar-coated hawthorn fruits might be from the same gang; otherwise, how could this shop boy know exactly how much money he was left with?

Still, Yang Kai decided to pass the 50 coins to the shop assistant without hesitation and left with the hairpin.

After stepping out of the shop, he immediately took the hairpin out of the container and examined it.

A moment later, he snarled through clenched teeth, “Another black-hearted conman!”

This was just an ordinary hairpin, not an amazing artifact. First, he was forced to buy five skewers of sugar-coated hawthorn fruits from the old man. Then, he was conned into buying this useless hairpin. He was completely disappointed in this Marketplace.

Everything in this place was a farce; however, he didn’t understand why there was such a place in Yin-Yang Pass. Moreover, a lot of Open Heaven Realm Masters were seen wandering around here.

After such terrible experiences, Yang Kai had lost all interest in shopping here, so he decided to go back to his place.

He initially wanted to toss the hairpin away, but he thought that it was wasteful to throw away something that he had bought with half of a Sixth-Order Yellow Crystal; therefore, he just put it in his Space Ring.

As he was heading towards the exit, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to ask, “Why are you following me?”

The moment he stepped out of the accessories shop, he already realised that someone was following him. He initially thought that it was just a coincidence, but the person behind him never went away. It was then he confirmed that he had been tailed.