When the man who was drinking saw the woman, surprise immediately appeared on his face. He stood up as if he wanted to say something, but the woman's eyes were calm. When she walked over, she sat down opposite the man. She swept her gaze across the area and looked past Su Ming, who was about to leave, as if she did not care about him.
"Can I?" The man seemed to be very nervous. He did not sit down, but asked in a low voice instead.
"You don't have the right, but I've bought you one day to prove that you do."
Su Ming left. These were the words he heard before he left. The two people did not seem to be avoiding his words, but Su Ming did not want to get involved in things that had nothing to do with him. Even if he could somewhat tell that there was some sort of secret between the man and the woman, it had nothing to do with him.
The night passed uneventfully. When dawn arrived the next day, Su Ming opened his eyes from his meditation. He smoothed out his robes and left his room. There was a thin layer of fog covering Han Mountain City in the morning. When he walked outside, it was as if he was walking on clouds. It was a strange feeling.
After observing and listening to the people yesterday, Su Ming had gained a better understanding of Han Mountain City. He walked down the street and lifted his head to look at the mountain city. More accurately speaking, there were four layers to the city. He was currently at the fourth layer, which was located at the deepest part of the city. It was also the largest.
The third layer had a limit on the level of cultivation. If the person's level of cultivation was not high enough, they would not be able to enter. As for the second layer and even the first layer, only those who had a certain status could enter.
'The Star Plucking Tower is located at the top of the mountain city above the first layer. Only powerful Berserkers in the Transcendence Realm who have become guests of one of the three tribes can enter that place.' Su Ming looked at the top of the mountain city and averted his gaze after a long while. He walked towards the shops selling herbs in the area of the fourth layer.
Su Ming did not buy the herbs needed to create Mountain Spirit and South Asunder. The main reason he came to Han Mountain City this time was to search for a map to the Alliance of the Western Region and the herbs needed to create Spirit Plunder.
Su Ming spent the entire morning going in and out of the shops. The herbs sold there were comprehensive, but the prices were much higher compared to those sold in Wind Stream. Fortunately, Fang Mu had given Su Ming stone coins to show his respect, so he had plenty of them.
'I still lack five herbs to create Spirit Plunder …' When noon arrived, Su Ming fell into deep thought and walked towards the entrance to the third layer of the city. There was also a majestic gate there. There was a dark light shining behind the gate. There were dozens of people nearby, and they looked as if they were there to watch a show.
Su Ming saw some of the Berserkers successfully walking through the gate, but there were also some who did not have enough power and were bounced back when they tried to enter. Their faces were filled with indignation, but they had no choice but to stop trying. Instead, they walked towards the onlookers and seemed to have bought something before they successfully entered the dim light of the mountain gate.
After observing for a while, Su Ming lifted his feet and walked towards the mountain gate. His arrival was immediately noticed by the onlookers. Su Ming's expression remained calm as he stepped into the dim light. Yet at that moment, he immediately felt a repelling force appear out of nowhere and land on his body. It was as if someone had pushed him with force. He staggered a few steps back and could not enter.
'The cultivation level is limited to the eighth level of the Blood Solidification Realm …' Su Ming frowned. As he retreated, he determined the requirements to enter the third layer of the gate based on the repelling force.
"Another person who doesn't have any abilities but still wants to try. You … I'm talking to you. Come here." One of the dozens of onlookers immediately called out to Su Ming.
Su Ming looked at him coldly. The person who spoke was a middle-aged man at the fifth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. When he saw Su Ming looking at him with hostility, he immediately glared at him and revealed a white plate hanging on his waist.
"Heh, you look very stubborn. This pass only costs 1,000 stones, but if you want to enter the third layer, 1,300 stones!" The middle-aged man let out a cold snort and took out a palm-sized stone from his chest. He waved it in his hand.
Su Ming averted his gaze and ignored the middle-aged man. Instead, he looked at the dark light on the mountain gate and took a step forward once again.
His actions not only caused the middle-aged man to laugh coldly, it also attracted the attention of the surrounding members of the three tribes who were also selling the pass. All of them looked over and roared with laughter.
"It's been a few days since I've seen such a person. Fang Lin, you can't sell it for 1,300 stones!"
"That guy actually let Fang Lin catch up to him. He's profited. If it were me, I wouldn't sell it for less than 2,000 stones. Either he comes to buy it, or he can forget about going in. Who asked him to have such a low cultivation base?"
These dozen or so people were obviously very familiar with each other. At this moment, as they roared with laughter, they already had a tacit understanding. No one would sell at a low price. Instead, they would help each other raise the price.
Their laughter attracted the attention of the people around them, especially those who were unable to pass through the gate. Most of them had sympathetic looks on their faces.
Su Ming approached the mountain gate, but he did not step in. Instead, he lifted his right hand and pressed it against the dark light, feeling that repelling force once again.
"2,000 stones. If you give me 2,000 stones, I'll sell this pass to you. Boy, I'm telling you, you're not the first person to cause trouble. If you don't buy it today, then based on our rules, even if I'm not here the next time you come, you'll still have to spend more stone coins to …" The middle-aged man from Tranquil East Tribe immediately shouted loudly, but before he could finish speaking, he abruptly stopped himself.
The people around him were also shocked. They no longer roared with laughter, but instead stared at the mountain gate with dumbfounded expressions of shock on their faces.
Su Ming was standing there without moving. He only pressed his right hand against the dark light, but the dark light started flashing furiously. It was as if an invisible force had rushed into it, causing the dark light to sink in like a piece of cloth that was being pulled. A large amount of ripples spread out from it, as if it could not withstand the force.
This scene made the people from the three tribes who were selling the passes suck in a sharp breath. The middle-aged man's face turned pale in an instant. They had been earning stone coins in this place for many years and had seen far too many people entering and exiting this place every day. They could be said to have seen many things. They had seen this sort of sinking in the dark light dozens of times, but every single time this sort of change happened, it was caused by a powerful Berserker in the Transcendence Realm!
Once a powerful Berserker in the Transcendence Realm entered the gate, the dark light would be pulled, and eventually, it would be torn apart.
In the midst of their silence, a crack suddenly appeared on the dark light on the mountain gate before Su Ming. Su Ming slowly pulled back his lifted right hand and calmly took a step forward. Once he stepped through the crack, the dark light on the mountain gate gradually returned to normal.
It was silent outside the mountain gate. The middle-aged man pretended to be calm despite his nervousness. The people from the three tribes beside him were stunned for a moment before they looked at the middle-aged man with pity.
"You provoked a Berserker in the Transcendence Realm … Fang Lin, you're on your own now."
"I didn't expect him to be in the Transcendence Realm. How old does he look?"
"I've never seen this person before. This senior must have just come to Han Mountain City recently."
The middle-aged man was slightly flustered. He may have forced himself to remain calm, but the fear in his heart made him not dare to continue selling the passes. He quickly left with regret in his heart. His judgment had always been accurate, or else he would not have been able to do this. He had clearly seen Su Ming's first failure and based on the strength of the rebound, he had guessed Su Ming's level of cultivation. That was why he had said those words, but he did not expect that he would be wrong.
"This … Isn't this just bullying me? You're a senior, you can just go there once and it'll be fine. Why did you have to make things difficult for me..?" The more the middle-aged man thought about it, the more wronged he felt.
At that moment, Su Ming walked into the mountain gate and stepped into the third layer of Han Mountain City. He turned his head back and looked at the dim light within the mountain gate. A contemplative look appeared on his face.
'Looks like fine control isn't something a normal Berserker in the Blood Solidification Realm can master … This is the second time I've used fine control over my Qi, and I managed to walk in easily. The depression in the dim light is also clearly different from when other people entered.' Su Ming continued walking forward in silence. He walked along the mountain path, and not too far away from him was the second layer of Han Mountain City. There were not many buildings there, and there were fewer people on the streets as well. However, all of them were at least at the eighth level of the Blood Solidification Realm. The buildings also looked grander, and there was a faint pressure spreading out from them.
It was clear that there were powerful Berserkers guarding these buildings.
It might be noon, but this place was not as noisy as the fourth layer. Su Ming walked past the shops. Suddenly, a glint appeared in his eyes. A hint of surprise appeared on his face, but it soon disappeared.
This was a shop that sold materials from wild beasts. There was a bloody stench in the air. There was an old man sitting cross-legged in the shop. His eyes were closed, and there were several black bells on his right wrist.
The shop was not big. There was a spider the size of a millstone nailed to the right wall by nine black wooden nails. The spider was entirely purple and was already dead, but it had nine legs!
The ninth leg was crimson red, and it was clearly different from the other limbs.
'This is one of the three materials needed to create the Welcoming of Deities!' Su Ming averted his gaze and walked towards the shop.
Yet the moment Su Ming was about to step into the shop, the three balls of fog floating in the sky above Han Mountain City suddenly changed. They started tumbling abruptly, and muffled rumbling sounds reverberated in the air.
The sudden change immediately made the old man in the shop open his eyes. He was not the only one. Almost all the people in the third layer felt their hearts tremble and lifted their heads to look.
The three balls of mist tumbled even more violently. At the same time, in the city built around the mountain, on the first level, in the Star-Picking Tower at the peak of the mountain, there was suddenly an ancient sound of a bell echoing in all directions.
Dong … Dong … Dong …
The bell chime seemed to have stirred up invisible waves of sound that tumbled through the area. Not only did it attract the attention of the people in the third layer, it also caused the people in the fourth layer to burst into an uproar. Even the people in the second layer focused their attention on the bell chime.
"The bell chime sounded three times. Someone wants to challenge the Chains of Han Mountain!"
"It's been a long time since someone dared to challenge the Chains of Han Mountain! Most of the people who fail die, but once they succeed, they can enter the three tribes and fulfill one of their requests! "
"The request is secondary. The most important thing is that if they succeed, they will definitely become the chief guest of the tribe. Their status will not be something a normal guest can compare to. I even heard that this is one of the signs for Freezing Sky Clan when they come to Han Mountain City to take in disciples!"
"Which tribe's Chain of Life and Death is the challenger going to challenge?"
The sounds of discussions rose in Su Ming's ears. At the top of the mountain, at the center of the three Chains connected to the mountain, a person appeared.
'It's him!' When Su Ming saw the person clearly, a contemplative look appeared in his eyes.
Three Books to Pay the Debt: First, Huangfu Qi's Great Zhou Royal Family. Huangfu is a good man. He doesn't talk much, but he's a good person.
Second, Wind Chimes' World Conquering the Nine Heavens. This guy isn't a good person. His ears exploded just now … I look down on him!
Third, Pie's Ruler. Pie weighs as much as my ears before I lost weight. Ahem, now that I'm thin, I can be proud of myself. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com and vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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