Chapter 555: The Legendary Token

"Half-step Nascent Soul stage?"

Lu Yang picked up the token. This token looked older than him and Meng Jingzhou combined.

The "half-step Nascent Soul stage" sounded impressive, just like the Nascent Soul stage itself, but ultimately, wasn't it still the Golden Core stage?

With their combat strength, apart from their cultivation level not yet reaching the Nascent Soul stage, all other metrics were comparable to it.

Any casual Nascent Soul cultivator would respectfully address them as fellow Daoists. A less principled one might even call them seniors, and one who knew their true identities might even demand their lives.

A treasure from a half-step Nascent Soul stage cultivator was truly useless to them.

They didn't even think much of the Soul Transformation stage.

What was Lu Yang's status? Young Master of the Heavenly Court Sect, major shareholder of "Once More BBQ," and holder of flying vehicle patents. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he earned a fortune daily.

Even a rich second-generation idler like Meng Jingzhou wasn't qualified to compare with him.

Meng Jingzhou also felt the token wasn't very useful.

As the Eldest Young Master of the Meng family, it was no exaggeration to call Meng Jingzhou the most notorious playboy in the world. Anything he casually leaked from his possession could attract Soul Transformation stage powerhouses to vie for it.

Even a scoundrel like Lu Yang, who was lucky enough to befriend the Senior Sister and Immortal Fairy, wasn't qualified to compare with him.

"Then we thank the Chief."

It was best to accept the Chief's kind gesture.

If outsiders knew that the weak Hydroxy Beetle Tribe possessed such an item, it would bring about a catastrophe for them.

"One more question, how did you know this could open a half-step Nascent Soul stage treasure vault?"

"Along with this token was a demon tribe corpse. Its flesh had been completely devoured by demon beasts, leaving only a skeleton, a piece of paper, and this token. Our tribe was established on top of this skeleton."

"The paper was like a diary, stating the token's purpose: to open the entrance to a treasure vault. The vault's owner was a mixed-blood white snake named Old Ancestor Bai Tan, but the location of the vault was not specified."

"So that's how it is."

The two didn't ask further questions; it seemed the other party didn't know much about the token either.

Demonic beasts were a special existence among demon tribes. Their bloodlines were pure, but their intelligence was low, or rather, they lacked even basic sentience. Since the demon tribe's power was rooted in bloodline, demonic beasts were often very powerful.

Lu Yang guessed the reason for their low intelligence was inbreeding.

Marriage between relatives within three to five generations was very common among demon tribes. In Great Xia, they wouldn't even be able to get a marriage certificate.

The two set off, heading in the predetermined direction to rendezvous with their Third Senior Sister.

They pasted "Divine Movement Talismans" on their legs. These were good items exchanged at the Mission Hall, highly favored by disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect.

As it was easy to stir up trouble when traveling, Divine Movement Talismans could help them quickly escape troublesome situations and preserve their lives.

Divine Movement Talismans were also excellent for traveling quickly.

When pasted on the calves, the talisman's power would generate a pushing force, propelling the user forward, saving effort and increasing speed.

They ran at extreme speed for a full day, passing many Foundation Establishment demon tribes along the way. Their movement was too noticeable, causing many old Foundation Establishment demons to come out and investigate. Upon seeing their incredible speed, they quickly retreated to their lairs in fear.

It was clear at a glance that these two had higher cultivation than them. Many demons were arrogant, and merely being seen was considered an insult, easily provoking furious rage and inviting disaster.

Not good, not good.

"Huh? There are many demons here, but it doesn't look like a tribe. Is this the market that Old Man Ba mentioned?"

Demon tribes didn't have towns, but they often needed to exchange goods, so markets came into being.

Those who could establish markets among demon tribes were usually regional overlords with absolute power to dominate surrounding tribes. Being good at socializing and networking was secondary.

"Let's go take a look."

A demon tribe market—this was also something new.

The market was filled with transformed demon beasts. According to Immortal Fairy, this was one of the Five Ancient Immortals' standardized measures – using human form for communication.

Demon tribes varied greatly: some were as enormous as Kun Peng, hundreds or thousands of miles long, while others were as small as Golden Crows or Jade Rabbits. Not to mention, they had diverse anatomies, and their habits regarding clothing, food, housing, and travel were all different. When demon tribes mingled, these issues became even more pronounced, leading to many disputes in ancient times due to differences in size and form.

Later, during the reign of the Five Immortals, the concept of "people-oriented" was established, requiring different demon tribes to transform into human form when gathering together.

The Five Immortals disappeared one after another, but their influence continued to this day.

Transformation wasn't always a complete humanization. With Qilin Immortal as an example, many demon tribes retained parts of their original race when transforming, such as rabbit demons keeping their ears, or cat demons keeping their tails.

There were also fully transformed demon beasts, so Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou didn't stand out in the market.

"Come take a look! 'Master Golden Monkey's Tempering Qi Pills,' five hundred spirit stones per pill!"

"What? It's actually Master Golden Monkey's pills! Master Golden Monkey is a Foundation Establishment-level alchemy master with a one-third success rate!"

"Copper Rhino Tribe's forged blades and staves, guaranteed quality, bulk discounts available! And even magical artifacts personally refined by the Copper Rhino Tribe Chief! With it, an early-stage Qi Condensation eighth-level cultivator might even defeat an early-stage Qi Condensation ninth-level cultivator!"

"What? Such a huge improvement, able to cross an entire level!"

Lu Yang: "..."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

What kind of shoddy market was this? What rubbish were they selling? A one-third success rate? On Pill Cauldron Peak, the Seventh Elder would beat someone to death for that.

And the magical artifacts refined by the Copper Rhino Tribe Chief were full of impurities and flaws. Even Lu Yang, who wasn't skilled in artifact refining, could make a better one.

"There aren't many masters in this market, just a bunch of Qi Condensation cultivators, with an occasional Foundation Establishment one."

Both were rich in combat experience; a mere glance at the demons' walking and breathing patterns was enough to roughly judge their cultivation levels.

"Never mind, there should be a pawn shop here. Let's just sell the token."

The two found a pawn shop in the busiest part of the market.

The pawn shop rarely opened for business, but when it did, it made enough to last half a year. The attendant, bored, was dozing off. He had large horns on his head, resembling those of a water buffalo.

In the past two months, he hadn't received any valuable goods, just worthless trinkets. The owner had gone inside to sleep.

"Hey, attendant, could you tell us how much this token is worth?"

Lu Yang took the token from his pocket and handed it to the attendant.

The attendant initially paid little attention, casually glancing at it, but then his eyes seemed glued to the token, unable to move away.

"This... this..."

Upon seeing the token, the attendant's heart skipped a beat.

If it truly was the legendary treasure, they would become incredibly rich!

Seeing Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's calm expressions, they probably didn't recognize its value.

He quickly called for the owner, who was sound asleep.

The owner, hearing the attendant's description, abruptly sat up from his bed.

If it was genuine, their pawn shop wouldn't need to open for another ten years!

The owner's race was unknown, but he had a pure white horn on his head and snake scales on his neck, perhaps a mixed-breed demon.

The moment the owner saw the token, his hands trembled, and he almost dropped it.

This was actually the famous Old Ancestor Bai Tan's treasure token!

This was Old Ancestor Bai Tan, who was legendary for being only half a step away from the Nascent Soul stage!

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's eyelids twitched slightly. Judging by their reactions, it felt like Old Ancestor Bai Tan wasn't just a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator, but a half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.

The second update will be at 11 PM (trying my best).

(End of chapter)