"Oh, are you all going together?"
"Yes, Master, as your subordinates, we should naturally accompany you on your travels."
Zhang Xiaoman paused slightly and shook his head, saying:
"Thereâs no need for so many formalities; youâre the leaders of the Undead Clan, not bodyguards, so thereâs no need to follow me all the time. Besides, Iâm not as weak as you say; what kind of danger could I possibly encounter?"
"Thatâs not what I meant, Master..."
"Alright, alright, I understand your thoughts. But if youâre only going to protect me, then you should go back and get some rest. Everyoneâs been working hard lately."
"If you want to visit the marketplace to relax a bit, then come with me. By the way, I can help you procure a batch of weapons since you donât have any suitable equipment yet."
Zhang Xiaoman instructed.
Acatus hesitated for a while, then nodded.
"Master, Iâll go with you. Iâm curious about what an alien store looks like."
Hillna didnât speak but didnât leave either.
Zhang Xiaoman knew she wasnât good at expressing herself but understood her intentions.
"Alright, letâs set off together then."
...
One hour later.
The small shuttle carrying Zhang Xiaoman and the others landed in a city on Skull Star that glimmered with various colors of light.
This was the largest marketplace on this artificial planet and the most crowded area.
The delay was due to Ziwei taking the other three to the administrative district to configure a more functional personal terminal for them.
Additionally, Zhang Xiaoman activated the uplink connection of the quantum communication network within the Star Network Terminal, allowing his wristwatch to connect to the Dark Web normally.
Compared to the personal terminals here, he still preferred the Star Chart for its usability.
Plus, these wristwatches could be upgraded with the addition of World Tree modules, offering more potential than other terminal devices.
Now, equipped with comprehensive personal terminals, Zhang Xiaoman and the others will have a better experience in the upcoming trading.
Currently, they have reached the central area of the city.
All kinds of stalls lined the streets, and every now and then, small hoverboards were set up as stalls by the road.
According to some intel, many of these vendors were originally professional mercenaries who, after acquiring good materials from missions, were reluctant to sell them to merchants at purchase price and thus tried selling them during their spare time.
Since prices were lower than those in stores and sometimes real treasures could be found here, many people preferred to purchase in this area.
Zhang Xiaoman thought these small stalls were interesting and couldnât help but glance around.
The items in the stalls were quite diverse, ranging from ordinary Dark Spiritual Materials to finished equipment, medicine, and more.
Some even displayed various Dark Spirit Formulas, hoping to sell them at a good price.
However, these formulas were mostly small skills with uncertain effectiveness; even though the price wasnât high, few people would buy them.
After all, anything of value would be submitted directly to the Integration Departmentâs Dark Spirit Association.
That department organized all matters related to Dark Spirits.
If a formula gets submitted there, it would be evaluated based on power, defense, applicability, and various aspects, and you would be rewarded with corresponding Star Coins.
Moreover, if your formula is purchased and learned by others in the future, you would receive a royalty share provided by the Dark Spirit Association.
In the Dark Star Alliance, privately selling registered Dark Spirit Formulas is a serious illegal act.
Regarding the incentivizing and protecting the creation of Dark Spirit Formulas, the Dark Spirit Star Domain Alliance does a great job.
"Soul Tracking Technique?"
Zhang Xiaoman flipped through a small stall in front of him and pulled out a yellowed booklet.
Inside, the booklet recorded a Dark Spirit Formula, and the cover had those very words he just utteredâSoul Tracking Technique.
Such booklets were also found in abundance near other stalls.
Some formulas were recorded using the most primitive paper-saving methods, while others were stored in readable mobile devices that customers could purchase directly along with the device.
"Little brother, you have a good eye! This Soul Tracking Technique is an invaluable item I found in a Kurus Clan relic!"
The stall owner, a creature with a lizard head, was enthusiastically introducing the book in his hand.
"Little brother, I heard this Soul Tracking Technique is quite potent, especially suitable for the Spiritual Wisdom Clanâs cultivation. It can find lost souls through the flesh, though its application is not broad, but it can be useful in critical moments."
"I can see youâre interested in this. Would you consider buying it? Since this is our first meeting, letâs call it friendshipâIâll offer it to you for just 200,000 Star Coins!"
The Lizard Man babbled on, oddly giving Zhang Xiaoman the impression of a curio market owner spotting a naive customer.
"Are you sure this Soul Tracking Technique is useful? I see youâre also from the Spiritual Wisdom Clan; have you cultivated it yourself?"
Zhang Xiaoman suspiciously scrutinized the seller.
In reality, he wasnât too eager to buy; he was mainly curious if such unverified formulas could actually sell.
Moreover, had these sellers cultivated them themselves?
Despite appearances, this Lizard Man was indeed part of the Spiritual Wisdom Clan.
Typically, any humanoid beings could be categorized as belonging to the Spiritual Wisdom Clan.
Basically, a head, two arms, and two legs.
Even if you have an extra head or a couple of arms, it wouldnât make a difference.
Unless the creature, like Tree-men or giant dragons, outwardly differs completely from humanoid figures, they would be considered part of the Spiritual Wisdom Clan.
On the other hand, after hearing Zhang Xiaomanâs question, the Lizard Man immediately waved his hand, saying:
"As for cultivation, I havenât tried it, little brother. Donât laugh, but my strength isnât enough to cultivate this formula; it requires connecting to above Sequence 155 of Dark Spirit Particles which Iâm not able to do."
"Moreover, I wonât lieâthis Soul Tracking Technique requires significant spiritual power to cultivate; imagine, tracking souls without enough spiritual power, how could it succeed?"
"Unfortunately, I, Old Crocodile, am not a Divine Thought Master; even if I could connect with sufficient Dark Spirit Particles, it would be useless without enough spiritual power."
"Are you saying that only a Divine Thought Master can cultivate this?"
Zhang Xiaoman blinked, somewhat knowledgeable about Divine Thought Masters.
Essentially, they were Dark Spirits specializing in high spiritual power and majoring in cultivation techniques in this field.
"Ah, it doesnât necessarily require a Divine Thought Master...It just requires spiritual power reaching 50...uh, no, 30 should be enough...Little brother, you donât have less than 30 spiritual power, do you?"
The Lizard Man finished with a worried look, fearing a "no" from Zhang Xiaomanâs mouth.
However, before Zhang Xiaoman could reply, Ziwei couldnât help speaking up.
"What a shoddy formula! Canât even cultivate it yourself! Looks like a scam! And for 200,000! You might as well rob! How about 200 coins? Even that seems too much!"
Ziwei clearly had experience, accustomed to these small stall tricks.
Little did she expect her words to barely leave her mouth before the Lizard Man across smacked the table suddenly, shouting:
"Deal!"