24 Four Monarchs. (1/2)

”Alright, let's go.”

After spending another week fully digesting the energy inside the Metal Eater's Demon Crystal, Li Yang opened his eyes and stood up. He took a quick shower and ate some food to refill his energy, before beckoning over Jinwu.

Jinwu hopped onto Li Yang's shoulder and the two of them left the inn. Li Yang was not heading out to accept a mission, he was instead heading over to the branch of the Universe Merchants.

All he had to do to increase his cultivation was to increase the size of his dantian, so if he could get his hands on the flesh, blood, or Demon Crystals of strong Demonic beasts, he could quickly increase his cultivation. The Demon Crystal of the Metal Eater had slightly increased the size of his dantian, but that was only slightly, not even large enough to engrave a single new rune.

Of course, Li Yang did not expect to be able to buy anything just yet. Demonic beast parts cost a large amount of money, especially if it was a strong Demonic beast. With the money he had now, hoping to buy parts from any Strong Demonic beasts was nothing but a foolish dream.

”Greetings. Would you mind telling me how things work inside the Universe Merchants branch?”

Li Yang stood outside the six stories tall blue pyramid that was the branch of the Universe Merchants. He spotted a guard standing at the entrance, so he walked over with a faint smile and asked politely. He did not know how the Universe Merchants worked, so it was best to ask before entering.

”Newcomer eh? It's very simple. Anyone can enter the first floor to buy or sell their wares, but you will have to show some wealth or at least a sell-able item that is worth a bit before you can enter the higher floors. On the first two floors, the currency is money, but on any floor above those two, you will need Spirit Stones.”

The guard looked Li Yang up and down, but he did not seem to pay attention to his short stature, quickly explaining how things worked inside. Spirit Stones were crystals that had absorbed a certain amount of Qi, the purer the Qi they contained, the rarer they were and the more they were worth. Most cultivators used them for cultivation, running arrays, as well as currency.

”The higher the floor, the more expensive and rare the sold items become. While everyone can buy or sell items inside, only people that have become members of the guild can do so without a fee on every item. As for members of the guild, as long as they pay the annual fee, they don't have to pay any fees.”

The Universe Merchants were a guild, after all, so they would, of course, give their members more favorable circumstances than nonmembers. Of course, the guild itself would also often buy items from people who were not members.

”Of course, if anyone were to steal or sell bad items inside the branch of the Universe Merchants, then that person would be hunted down by both the Universe Merchants as well as the Royal Dragon Pavilion.”

If the Universe Merchants did not offer any type of protection, there was no way there would be people who were willing to sell their items inside the Universe Merchants Branch.

”Thank you very much.”

Li Yang thanked the guard and headed into the pyramid. Entering was like moving into a new world, all the noise from the city just suddenly vanishing. There was an array that made sure that the temperature on the inside was constantly cool, a refreshing fragrance drifting through the air.

The floor was made using a type of softwood that had been polished until it shone. A myriad of stands and blankets were located around the inside, with people peddling the wares they had placed on the stands or blankets.

To the left of the entrance that Li Yang had just used was a set of stairs, two guards preventing people from heading up without first showing sufficient wealth. Despite there being a large number of people walking around, it was not as noisy as Li Yang expected it to be.

Li Yang swept the various shops with his eyes, quickly spotting a shop that he was interested in. The shop featured a large variety of robes in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Li Yang only had the single wolf skin robe that he made the first time he entered the Cloud Wilderness, so it was about time to get some new clothes.

”Do you make specialized clothing?”

Li Yang walked up to the stand and looked at the various robes as he asked the seller, a slightly older man who had a long white beard that was braided with a few colorful beads. Behind the old man was a wall as well as a door, so it seemed like the Universe Merchants had given him a room where he could work.

”Aye. As long as it's not too extravagant, if you give me half an hour, I can make most types of clothing.”

The man looked Li Yang up and down, trying to see if he was an actual customer or just a child who was curious. He eventually nodded his head and responded. He raised his hand and circulated a bit of his Qi, a thread of fabric appearing in his palm. It was clear that he was proficient in using the laws of either threads or cloth.

”Excellent. I would like to commission you to make some robes for me. It's fine if they look like the ones I am wearing now, but I would like for them to be violet in color. If possible, I would like a small and soft pillow to be sown into the left shoulder.”

Li Yang nodded his head with a smile and started explaining what he wanted. He was fine with the robes being in the form of wolf skin robes, as he had grown slightly attached to the wolf skin robes he wore.

After all, they were the first type of clothing he made for himself in his new life. But he also wanted them to be violet in color, as that was the color he wore in his past life, the color of the robes he wore when he first met Fang Ying.

”Very well. I will make them out of flexible material, so they can grow a little to accommodate for your growing period. Each robe will take me about half an hour and cost five gold each.”

The man nodded his head and measured Li Yang's size with his eyes. His job was just to make the clothing, so he did not bother about why Li Yang wanted it like he did. After calculating for a bit, he put out a price.

”Then just give me three of them.”

Li Yang reached down to his pouch and pulled out 15 gold coins and handed them to the old man, who happily took the coins before turning around and heading into the room located behind him.

The money system of this world was also very similar to the one in Li Yang's previous life. It started with copper, which was worth the least. 100 copper became 1 silver, while 100 silver became 1 gold, 100 gold became 1 platinum. So for the robes to cost five gold each, it seemed like their quality would be excellent.

Li Yang did not move away from the shop, simply sitting down and quietly cultivating while he waited. This was a cultivating world, seeing people sit down in all kinds of places to meditate was completely normal, so no one disturbed Li Yang while he waited.