Blue Phoenix

Hui Yue sheepishly scratched the back of his head unsure what he should say. He had never told them about all the abilities he had and he never would. If he wanted to survive in this world, he understood very well that he could not display his full strength to others. Hiding some of his strength was the only way to survive in this dog eat dog world.

It was not that Hui Yue did not trust Pei Ze, but since he had soulforce, he understood that anyone with enough soulforce was capable of listening in on any conversation. If anyone heard about his marvelous skills and treasures like the Universe Box wouldn't that just be asking for trouble? This was a risk that he could not take.

Seeing Hui Yue's sheepish actions, a wry smile appeared on Pei Ze's lips as he understood that this young man had no intention of telling his secrets to anyone, though he did not blame him. He had encountered lucky chances before, and he had secrets that he would never share with others, secrets that he would only use if he were in a life and death situation.

The two young men knew exactly what the other was thinking, but neither of them blamed the other. Everyone had their own secrets it was not just them, but any cultivator had techniques, skills, and items they would not tell others about.

"So why did you come to town if not to buy herbs for contribution points?" Pei Ze asked curiously, and Hui Yue just shrugged his shoulders.

"I finished cultivating, and it was suggested that I leave my chambers and see a bit of the scenery outside, so here I am." Hui Yue smiled as he spoke and looked around the marketplace before he frowned a little.

Across the road was a small entry to a cellar, but although it looked like a normal cellar, Hui Yue noticed a few very high-ranked experts were seated close by.

A group was playing gambling games, but when he looked at them, he could instantly tell from his soulforce that their gambling was a farce. It was just a cover, and their real job was to protect this cellar.

On the other side of the cellar’s entrance were two elderly men playing chess. Both were demons, but their potential had been high, and they were Immortals of Creation. It was quite rare to see demons so high-ranked yet here were two right next to this cellar’s entrance.

As Hui Yue watched this cellar, he saw that experts would move in and out at random times, but every time someone tried to enter they would throw some Worldpower Stones at the gamblers.

Some did it very subtly, pretending to be gambling then losing while others just directly threw money at the gamblers. Everything was very interesting, and Hui Yue was enticed.

What was hidden in this cellar that people paid money to see it?

Pei Ze and the two guards had caught Hui Yue's gaze and were also looking towards the cellar with curiosity.

"What do you think it is?" Pei Ze asked, his curiosity piqued. Even the two guards were quite interested in what was happening.

"Why don't we go have a closer look?" Hui Yue asked with a cheeky smile. The other three were at first taken aback. They were here as guests in the capital, and they had already been warned to be careful not to get killed yet now Hui Yue was busy looking for trouble on his own. Should they try and stop him or follow him? It was a hard decision.

"Don't worry too much about it," Hui Yue continued as he looked at the people coming out of the cellar, "Not only are people arriving they are also leaving. Even if we were to be unlucky and walk into a trap of some kind, we should be able to fight our way back out. I can at least guarantee the safety of the four of us."

Hui Yue had so much confidence that the other three were swayed by his tempting words. They truly wished to see what was happening in this cellar and soon all four of them were moving towards the entrance.

"Hey friends, you seem new around this part of town, why don't you come over here and play a game with us?" A loud, rowdy voice sounded out as Hui Yue and his friends headed closer to the cellar.

The two guards behind Pei Ze and Hui Yue tensed up, but Hui Yue just waved his hand and laughed out loud, "Since big brother is willing to let us participate in a round of gambling, who are we to decline?"

His carefree attitude showed, and at the same time he accepted their invitation, he could see these cellar’s guards relaxed as they heard him speak.

"So little brother, why have you come here? Has something caught your eye?" Another of the men gambling asked straight away, and Hui Yue raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sudden question.

"To see a cellar with such tight security, anyone would become curious," Hui Yue said with a shrug of his shoulders, and his words caused the men to tense up once more as they looked at him like he was an enemy.

"Calm down," he said casually as he flicked his hand and a bag of Worldpower Stones appeared.

"I happen to have soulforce; it was a simple matter to see that you and the two esteemed gentlemen on the other side are here as guards."

"I see that it is possible to enter and I must say that my interest is piqued. I have no hostile intentions, all I want is to have a peek inside."

Hui Yue's words and the bag of Worldpower Stones in his hand slowly caused the men to calm down. Even the two men who were playing chess stopped their game and turned to look at Hui Yue when he said that he had soulforce.

Everyone was shocked. Soulforce was incredibly rare, and those who possessed soulforce all had better treatment than those who did not as this was an incredibly rare talent which allowed for the user to reach the apex. Currying favor with such an expert was a great idea, and thus everyone treated them specially.

Although Hui Yue claimed he could use soulforce, the men at the table were not too convinced, and soon a discussion broke out. Some wanted Hui Yue and his friends to be beaten and thrown into the street while others wanted to accept the Worldpower Stones and allow them inside.

The discussion was long, and while they were discussing the matter, Hui Yue just stood still. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a friendly smile was on his lips. He was as casual as one could be, and there was not an ounce of fear or discomfort present on his face.

The two guards and Pei Ze, on the other hand, were all filled with restlessness and some fear. They could hear the gamblers discuss what to do and they all heard words like, 'break their legs,' 'beat them up,' 'make an example out of them,' and so on. Even though the guards of Pei Ze and Hui Yue were strong, they were quite disadvantaged in regards to their numbers.

Just as the group seemed to have reached an agreement, they turned towards Hui Yue. One of them tightened their fists, bared their knuckles, as they walked towards Hui Yue, and a menacing expression appeared on their faces.

"Stop," a powerful voice said; it was neither loud nor quiet. It was as natural as could be.

"This is an esteemed customer of ours, why are you blocking the entrance for him? Accept the entrance fee of ten Worldpower Stones and return to your gambling."

The speaker was one of the demons who had been playing chess. His eyes were sharp and clear as he looked towards his own men, and the moment he spoke, they all huddled together like fearful chickens in front of a fox.

"Thank you, senior," Hui Yue said towards the elder and bowed deeply. Seeing his gesture, Pei Ze and the two guards quickly followed suit. The protectors of the entrance all rushed back to the table. "Forty Worldpower Stones," one of them said expressionlessly not daring to charge more than the man had said.

Hui Yue threw the bag towards the man and gestured for the others to follow behind him. He was already very curious about what was hiding inside, and he quickly went in. Although he seemed casual, he was on high alert. His soulforce was constantly sweeping his surroundings, and he was surprised to find that his soulforce was incapable of entering the cellar and see what was hiding on the other side of the entrance.

At first, he could not see anything as the dimly lit room was in complete contrast to the outside. A dense aura of soul energy ten times more heavy than outside was present within this cellar. Hui Yue was shocked to see that the soul energy in the air was so heavy that it could impact one's visibility. It was hard to see far ahead. It was clear that this place was filled with so much soul energy and it could only happen if a lot of souls had their ending here.

"I know what this is," one of the guards said shocked as he stuck close to Hui Yue not daring to let him even take one step alone in the dimly lit room.

The room itself was empty and not very large but at the end was an open door leading into complete darkness. It was from here that all the soul energy was seeping out.

"Pray tell," Hui Yue said as he slowly made his way towards the open door. He was ecstatic. Although some might feel terrible about the fact that they were busy consuming the souls of uncountable mortals, Hui Yue was not one of them.

He would never slaughter mortals for the sake of consuming their souls, but if they had already been slaughtered by others and he did not use the energy, it would simply be a waste of energy.

The blue cloud surrounded Hui Yue, the two guards, and Pei Ze. When they had been on the flood dragons, Hui Yue had used the blue cloud for his own benefits, but now he expanded it so that all four were in its range of absorption. They all absorbed the energy at a much quicker pace than before, and their souls were constantly undergoing changes.

Reaching the door, Hui Yue made his way through it with vigilance. Although he seemed casual, he was anything but. Soon the black mist stopped and in front of them was a massive underground hall.

Voices reverberated through the ceiling where crystal chandeliers were hanging letting a gentle light shine down on the massive hall.

On the ground were stall after stall placed next to one another. Everyone here was selling items. Anything that one could dream about was present within this hall, and Hui Yue almost lost his composure with excitement as he looked at all these stalls. There was a chance of getting something beneficial from them, and at the same time, it was also possible to sell some things he had on him. Maybe he could even get his hands on some rare materials used for creating the most complicated formulas he had gotten from the Grave of the Unknown.

With excitement in his eyes, Hui Yue was like a small child in a toy store unable to decide where to go first.