Battle Through the Heavens: Starting from the Jia Ma Empire

Chapter 3 Marketplace Treasure Hunt

Sunlight spills across the golden sand dunes, shimmering with a captivating glow. The desert city, like a jewel embedded in the yellow sand, radiates a unique brilliance. Strolling through its narrow, winding streets feels like stepping into an exotic dream.

The streets were lined with shops selling all sorts of unique and unusual goods. There were weapons inlaid with rare gemstones, gleaming with a cold light; exquisite hand-embroidered silks, soft and comfortable; and mouthwatering delicacies that emitted an enticing aroma.

Every now and then, you might encounter some foreign merchants dressed in strange attire. They enthusiastically introduce their goods to you with simple, honest smiles, but in reality, they are thinking about how to squeeze every last drop of money out of your purse.

While strolling through the city, you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery of the desert city. The sand dunes in the distance look particularly magnificent under the sunlight, while the city's buildings are cleverly integrated into the desert environment, exuding both rustic elegance and a sense of mystery.

If you think Stone Desert City is just like that, you're sorely mistaken. Located in a desert region, constantly at war with the Serpent People, and with its fantastical elements, the girls here are passionate and unrestrained. They wear leather armor that exposes their navels and combat shorts that reach their hips, and some even have a dagger tucked into the side of their boots. If anyone harbors ill intentions towards her, they could easily take your life without warning.

Of course, if you're handsome enough, they'll transform into alluring enchantresses. For example, right now, facing the prodigy Lin Feng, they're all openly and secretly flirting with him, wishing they could immediately throw themselves into the arms of the alchemist, much to the annoyance of Xiao Qinglin beside them.

"Hmph, these vixens, they're all bad guys. Brother Lin Feng, don't let them bewitch you." Qing Lin clung to Lin Feng's arm with both hands, looking sullen.

"Hahaha, you little vixen, I think you're the biggest little devil here." Lin Feng rubbed Qing Lin's nose.

"Brother Lin Feng, you bad boy, I... I was only doing this for your own good." Qing Lin blushed and buried her face in Lin Feng's arm. She thought to herself, "Brother Lin Feng is mine, and you vixens won't take him away. Humph!"

The market in Stone Desert City has only gradually prospered in recent years, and this is largely due to Lin Feng. Since revealing his identity as an alchemist, perhaps because he inherited the legacy of a fourth-grade alchemist, he has become wealthy. Lin Feng, however, has developed a bit of a penchant for picking up bargains.

Therefore, he often went to the market to hunt for treasures. With his extraordinary soul talent from his transmigration, he managed to snag a few bargains, and once even obtained a low-level Xuan-rank fighting skill—the Vajra Finger.

As the name suggests, it aims to develop fingers as hard as diamond. By opening up the tiny meridians in the fingers, once mastered, it can achieve instantaneous strikes, making it an essential tool for home, travel, and even murder.

If one can absorb rare and precious herbs, this fighting technique can even rival the power of a mid-level Xuan-rank fighting technique. Although Lin Feng did not only find ordinary medicinal herbs for tempering, he still achieved the effect of rare and precious herbs by relying on the purity of the five elemental fighting qi.

Therefore, Lin Feng frequently visited the market to hunt for bargains, spending lavishly in hopes of finding another item like the Vajra Finger. He would typically exchange anything he fancied for healing pills, and he would also acquire any medicinal herbs, rare bone fragments, and so on that he desired.

This has attracted more and more people to trade in the market of Stone Desert City. It is believed that even if Lin Feng leaves Stone Desert City, it will not have much impact on the place, after all, a brand effect has already been formed.

Footsteps weaved through the market, accompanied by Qinglin's cheerful footsteps. Even after being adopted by Lin Feng, who revealed himself to be an alchemist, Qinglin was initially met with disgust by those around him.

This is normal in Stone Desert City, which has been at war with the Serpent People for generations, but it is a huge injustice for Qing Lin, since most people cannot choose their birth.

Qinglin's life before meeting Lin Feng was predictable. Later, a drunken mercenary tried to ambush Qinglin, but Lin Feng, who had reacted quickly, used the Vajra Finger to kill Qinglin in one fell swoop, and the situation improved greatly.

As for why he killed, in a world like the Dou Qi Continent where powerful individuals roam freely, how could Lin Feng not be ruthless? As for why he didn't wait for his enemies to grow stronger before reaping their rewards, Lin Feng explained that he had plenty of enemies; how could he let one plot against him in the shadows? After collecting the corpses, he still managed to collect several hundred gold coins, grateful for nature's bounty.

After that, Qinglin became much more cheerful after Lin Feng's encouragement, and even secretly regarded herself as Lin Feng's little housekeeper. Don't ask Lin Feng how he knew.

"Hmm! What's this?" Lin Feng walked up to a small stall and bent down to look at the thing the vendor was displaying. In front of the burly man's stall was a seemingly ordinary black iron plate, which had just given him a strange feeling, as if his soul had suddenly trembled.

"Hahaha, esteemed alchemist, is there something you've taken a fancy to? Hahaha, we have everything!" A burly, rugged man hurriedly stood up to introduce the products. Despite his simple-minded appearance, Lin Feng, with years of experience in trading, was quite shrewd. He immediately noticed the cunning glint that occasionally flashed in the man's eyes.

"Alright, now that you know my name, Lin Feng, you should also know my rules. These herbs, along with these five first-tier desert scorpion-tiger beast magic cores and this second-tier fire serpent magic core, and all the other miscellaneous items on this stall, pack them all up. I'll give you three bottles of first-grade hemostatic powder, three bottles of first-grade detoxifying pills, and one bottle of Qingling pills that can increase a Dou Shi's cultivation efficiency by 30%. How about that?" Lin Feng waved his hand, stopping the burly man from continuing his promotional speech.

"Hahaha, the Alchemist is so generous! Very well, welcome to visit again, Alchemist!" The burly man rubbed his hands vigorously and quickly packed up the items on the table. Lin Feng also took out the corresponding pills from his storage ring and put them into his own.

As he put the item into his storage ring, he touched the black iron plate, and his soul felt a strange sensation once again. This convinced him that he had found another treasure.

Of course, he wasn't in a hurry to go back and verify it immediately. As a dignified third-grade alchemist and a six-star Great Dou Master, he wasn't as anxious as some guy who had his fire drained for two and a half years. (Xiao Yan said he was drained for three years, but it actually seems to be two and a half years; I'm not entirely sure.)

After browsing around and buying some cultivation items and medicinal herbs, they accompanied Qinglin to buy some cosmetics before returning to the Crimson Fire Mercenary Group's base.

As a dignified third-grade alchemist, how could I haggle? I simply shove pills in your face with a wave of my hand. Hehehe, that's only when I don't need the pills.

(End of this chapter)