Demon-Sealing Stone, Source-Severing Blade, Soul-Breaking Saber... What even are these things...?" Chu Lian stared at the people around her as they took out one item after another, utterly at a loss for words. Although most of the things they presented did possess some form of magic-breaking ability, they were still far removed from what she had envisioned.
Sure enough, she could not expect the people in the outer region to produce anything too impressive, even if they were representatives acting on behalf of those in the inner region and atop the tower. Getting them to bring out something valuable enough to trade with her was probably not something they were particularly willing to do.
These were likely already the best expressions of sincerity they were willing to offer. After all, even though many SS-rank items could not completely satisfy her requirements for breaking magic, they possessed other special abilities, and quite a few of them were rather tempting.
Unfortunately, for the sake of her "grand demon-slaying plan," she did not want to trade for anything else for the time being. She only wanted something capable of destroying a devil's magic or preventing him from defending himself.
As far as disrupting magic was concerned, both the Mercurial Scimitar and the Nice Staff performed extremely well, but when it came to actually breaking through magic, both fell somewhat short. Still, when paired with the Dragon Fang Spear, they might produce a different effect.
Having gradually reached a decision, Chu Lian rejected those whose items did not meet her requirements and asked them to step back, leaving only a handful of suitable candidates.
Demon-Sealing Stone, Magic-Immunity Shield, Needle That Can Pierce All Things... Seriously, this thing is giving me an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. If the person standing opposite her had not clearly been someone other than that famously unlucky lancer, Chu Lian might genuinely have wondered whether he was hiding his identity.
Even though countless remarks were bottled up inside her, Chu Lian said nothing. She simply looked at them and pondered for quite some time before finally making up her mind.
"I choose the Nice Staff. Everyone else, please leave." By this point, there were not many viable choices left. Chu Lian had hesitated between the Mercurial Scimitar and the Nice Staff for a long time before ultimately choosing the Nice Staff.
"No problem. I look forward to doing business with you next time." The crocodile finally spoke, his voice deep and low. It seemed he did not particularly care whether this transaction succeeded, completely unlike his attitude last time when he had urgently wanted the dragon blood.
Presumably, he had already resolved whatever difficulty he had been facing. The reason he was still coming to trade with Chu Lian was probably because he saw her potential and wanted to establish a deeper relationship with her. Then, whenever he obtained something good in the future, Chu Lian would naturally think of him first as well.
No one capable of becoming a Spacetime Traveling Merchant was truly stupid. Even if they traded for something baffling or seemingly useless, that did not necessarily mean it actually had no value. A clever merchant could always find the right business opportunity.
"Likewise. If you need something next time, as long as what you're offering meets my requirements, I'll give you priority." Chu Lian waved her hand and answered with a smile. She made no attempt to expose the crocodile's true identity. Whether he really was Renekton or not made no difference to her.
Barring some major accident, she probably would not be visiting Valoran anyway. Maintaining a friendly relationship with Renekton would also allow her to trade with this enormous crocodile who had inexplicably become a Spacetime Traveling Merchant for things she might need from Valoran.
Of course, if he did not mind, she was even tempted to ask whether he would be interested in getting into the human-trafficking business and abducting Irelia, Syndra, Miss Fortune, Jinx, Lux, Annie, and the other girls she liked for her.
Mm, that would definitely be fun, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, such ideas could only remain ambitions for now. Setting aside whether it was even possible, her relationship with the crocodile had not yet reached the point where she could ask something like that of him.
After all, the others might be manageable, but Syndra and Irelia were definitely not easy to deal with. The former might not be as powerful as him, but as a Transcendence Realm powerhouse, the very idea of capturing her was already something of a joke. Irelia might not be as strong, but she had several of the other women standing behind her, and the weapon in her hands was itself a terrifying killing instrument. If the crocodile really tried to abduct those two, he would probably come back battered and humiliated. Of course, it was not necessarily impossible. She could always bring it up later if the opportunity arose.
"I'm very curious to see what other merchandise you have." Although the crocodile had failed to make the trade, he was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he sat there and watched Chu Lian's next transaction with interest. He had a feeling that this girl definitely possessed more than just this one item.
"Hmph, mortal." The purple-haired girl gave a haughty snort and accepted the dragon blood from Chu Lian. Her Nice Staff likewise passed into Chu Lian's hands, allowing Chu Lian to examine its effects in greater detail.
"Nice Staff: SS-rank item. After activation, the user becomes completely immune to all control effects and magical damage for twelve seconds, along with a portion of physical damage that does not involve direct bodily contact. Skill cooldown: thirty-six minutes. This item increases damage caused by the user's strength-based heavy strikes by ten percent."
"Note 1: When this effect is activated, your body will double in size. Be careful not to expose yourself."
"Note 2: This is equipment. You do not need to hold it in your hands. Its ability can be activated while it is temporarily stored in your dimensional space."
Chu Lian nodded in satisfaction. Naturally, she knew that under normal circumstances, both the Nice Staff and Mercurial Scimitar had to be held in order to activate their effects. Unfortunately for everyone else, she had the system. After the system categorized them for her, all she needed to do was place them in her dimensional space and their effects would still work. Chu Lian was extremely pleased by this advantage. Did that mean other game items could work the same way?
"Host, please stop indulging in wishful thinking. These items are being placed in your inventory. The inventory only has ten slots, and there are strict restrictions. Items that do not meet the requirements cannot be used this way. The inventory will officially unlock after the third Main Quest begins. You will understand then." Shiroha's system notification sounded without warning, delivering a crushing blow called reality straight into her fantasy. Chu Lian could only smile bitterly. That Shiroha really was something.
"With this, those dragons in the Eternal Land should be able to evolve a little. I hate seeing them get wiped out so easily every time. I really shouldn't have given those guys such absurdly powerful abilities. The Nice Staff will be temporarily removed from the Eternal Land. I'll just make another one whenever I feel like it next time. Anyway, for now, I can't let them run wild too much."
The purple-haired girl made no attempt to lower her voice around others. What Chu Lian found strangest was how, when everyone else was wrapped in robes, this girl had somehow managed to dress so revealingly.
Although Chu Lian could not clearly see her face, she had the feeling that the girl was probably both adorable and extremely clingy. For now, she had no desire to interact with her. Mm, people from the Eternal Land were all troublesome. Although she did not know what the Eternal Land was like now, she imagined quite a few people from other worlds must have become warriors there, right?
"Why haven't you left yet?" After obtaining what she needed, Chu Lian had originally planned to leave immediately. Unexpectedly, the crocodile was still there, and on the other side, the familiar Merchant No. 4321 was standing there as well.
"Fine. What do you two want?" They were both familiar faces, so Chu Lian did not bother being overly cautious. She sat back down at her stall and began placing items on display one after another.
King's Bloodline, White Serpent Soul, Fragment of the Imperial Sword, Dragon Fang Spear, Dragon-Covering Armor...
The instant she placed those items down, five beams of light soared into the sky, then merged together into an incomparably thick pillar of radiance that completely enveloped both Chu Lian and her stall...
"My God!" Whether they had been leaving or had remained behind, everyone cried out in shock. All eyes turned toward Chu Lian's stall as they wondered just what kind of astonishing items could create such a phenomenon.
"You..." The crocodile froze slightly. His gaze was drawn toward the phantom of the floating White Serpent Soul. He could sense that this thing held extraordinarily high value for him, with benefits potentially exceeding even three bottles of Heaven Rank dragon bloodlines.
Most of the others, however, had their attention captured by the dazzling Fragment of the Imperial Sword. Although it was only a fragment, the light it emitted was as brilliant as the grand finale item at every major auction...
No, that was not right. It was even more brilliant than those, dazzling enough that they could barely keep their eyes open while looking directly at it. And yet they continued staring, unable to tear their gazes away.
Even the black-robed girl's eyes were fixed on the "King's Bloodline." She could sense the aura of someone familiar from it, but she could not be certain. Could Merchant 5733 also come from the same world as her? If so, just who was she?
Once that thought surfaced in her mind, she could no longer dismiss it. The longer she looked, the more familiar it seemed. The more she looked, the stronger the resemblance became. Perhaps Chu Lian really was someone from her own world...
Because that possibility had occurred to her, the girl suddenly had no idea whether she should step forward and make contact.
"Haha, I only brought out less than half of my things to show you. I'm not trading any of them." Seeing that she had achieved the desired effect, Chu Lian put everything away again.
She would not sell a single one of those items. No matter what anyone offered in exchange, the answer was absolutely no.
"It seems you're even wealthier than I imagined. Dragon blood is probably only something you trade because it's among the things you need least, isn't it?" The crocodile's voice sounded. Hearing him, Chu Lian scratched her head somewhat sheepishly and giggled. "Of course. I'm very rich..." That was only if she counted all these things she would never actually trade away.
In reality, she currently possessed very few Heaven Rank items that she did not need and could actually trade. Counting them all, there was only one, and she was not particularly willing to put even that one up for trade. So calling her a pauper would not exactly be wrong.
"Tell me what you need. As long as it's something I can do, I'll definitely do it." The crocodile desperately coveted Chu Lian's items. Unfortunately, if the girl did not want to trade them, then nothing else mattered. Thus, he wanted to know what exactly could persuade her to make a deal.
"People?" Chu Lian suddenly remembered what she had just been thinking about and immediately leaned closer, asking in a mysterious tone.
"...Not for now. Unless they're like the one I traded to you previously, existing as a soul with some sort of vessel anchoring them, it's impossible." Hearing Chu Lian's request, the crocodile could only smile bitterly. What she wanted was genuinely beyond his current abilities.
"Then collect more weapons. The strongest ones you can find." Chu Lian also knew that she was getting somewhat carried away, so she immediately changed the subject.
"Then what could I offer you in exchange?" The black-robed girl walked over as well and asked Chu Lian what she wanted.
"4321, huh? What can you do?" Chu Lian turned her head toward the girl. Compared to the frail, sickly girl she had seen last time, she looked much better now. At the very least, she was no longer coughing on the surface. Of course, extending her lifespan with a life potion was only a temporary measure. Unless the curse was completely removed, there was no possibility of truly saving her life.
"I'm actually a scientist. Research is what I'm best at. And no matter what something is, as long as I've seen it once and come into contact with it, I can reproduce it perfectly unless it's something science simply cannot explain." The girl's soft, gentle voice fell upon Chu Lian's ears like the discovery of a lifeline.
Chu Lian took out a small crystal sphere and handed it to the girl. Looking at her, she asked, "If I wanted to upgrade this item's equipment into something stronger while preserving its original form, what would it cost?"
"Nine hundred thousand Crystal Coins... and one priority trade." The girl fell silent for a moment before stating her terms.
"I don't have any Crystal Coins left right now..." Nine hundred thousand Crystal Coins would naturally have been affordable before Chu Lian traded for that piece of jade, but now it was impossible. As for the priority-trade right, Chu Lian did not particularly care about that.
After all, priority trading only mattered if the other party's item met her requirements and ranked among the best of all the things being offered. By that point, even without a priority-trade right, the chances of Chu Lian choosing her would already be high.
"Then you can owe me for now... Come back in one month to collect it. Here's a deposit of 300,000 Crystal Coins." The girl seemed to make the decision on Chu Lian's behalf, reaching out her own hand toward her.
"All right, if that's what you want. I think you'll receive something you like when the time comes." Chu Lian raised no objection to the girl's approach. All she was doing was ensuring that this transaction was firmly settled.
Chu Lian had already intended to entrust the work to her anyway. And 300,000 Crystal Coins as a deposit meant this piece of equipment must already be worth something close to the peak of Earth Rank. That really was interesting.
"All right, all right. There's nothing else to deal with, so I'm leaving." Chu Lian looked at the growing number of people arriving and knew they had been attracted by the radiance emitted from the items she had just displayed, so she said nothing further.
Her earlier actions had been deliberate, preparation meant to make future trades easier when she returned. But if too many people gathered around, even Chu Lian could not guarantee that some strange situation would not arise, so she figured it was better to leave first.
"Remember, come back for it in one month. I hope you won't disappoint me." There was both anticipation and nervousness in the girl's voice. Clearly, she cared about this far too much.
"OK." Chu Lian turned around and made a gesture. Her figure vanished directly from the Origin Land, leaving a large crowd staring at one another. It seemed they could only wait until the next time she came.
The crescent moon rose in the east. Chu Lian slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the two girls beside her before quietly slipping out of bed and leaving the room. She still had one more matter to settle.
Yaya...