Chapter 388: Section 175: The Legendary Giant Aiyu
Sunrise climbed high, casting radiant light.
The damp sea breeze dissipated into nothingness within Fire City.
This was a bustling town, vibrant as a flame.
In the market, all manner of people jostled shoulder to shoulder; cries of hawkers, the haggling, shouts warning of thieves, and more merged together.
News that the Justice Pirate Group had taken down the Navy Headquarters was spreading on its way here.
Everything was as usual.
“What?” Zi Di’s voice betrayed a hint of urgency, “Your shop has sold out of red-blue crystal clusters too?”
After resting for a night, she had set out at dawn, taking advantage of the early market to purchase a large amount of supplies.
Everything had gone very smoothly, after all, she had scouted the situation yesterday.
But at the last moment, an unexpected event occurred, all the red-blue crystal clusters had been snapped up. And this resource was an essential item for the Justice Pirate Group.
“May I ask, who exactly made a move to suddenly buy up so many red-blue crystal clusters?” Zi Di’s voice was low.
“Sorry, we do not sell our customers’ information. That’s the rule of our shop.”
Zi Di handed over several gold coins.
The person receiving her immediately accepted the gold coins, changing his tone: “Trading information is also part of our shop’s business.”
“A merchant caravan from the Molten Lava Continent’s Sand Yellow Clan?” Zi Di was surprised by the answer.
She had speculated that it must’ve been a big merchant who acted, initiating a commercial move specifically targeting red-blue crystal clusters. She did not expect that it was an external merchant caravan who made the move.
Generally speaking, the likelihood of such external merchant caravans manipulating markets in other regions is quite low.
“What could the purpose be, that they have such strong and massive demand for red-blue crystal clusters?”
Zi Di had to go and negotiate.
Although red-blue crystal clusters were not of a very high grade, they were indeed quite rare. According to the nomenclature in the field of alchemy, they should be termed fire and water element symbiotic crystals. These crystal clusters had hues of red and blue, with water and fire in balance.
Fire Island was one of the important origins.
After making several inquiries, Zi Di arrived at the Sand Yellow Clan caravan’s encampment.
The scale of the caravan was beyond Zi Di’s expectation—it was so large that there was a temporary base arranged by Fire City specifically for the caravan!
Generally, it was unusual for caravans entering Fire City to receive such treatment.
Zi Di declared her intentions to the guards at the caravan’s encampment, but the caravan’s side refused her request to communicate.
The Sand Yellow caravan was incredibly arrogant.
This made Zi Di even more curious.
She thought for a moment, then showed the Elder Token of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce to them.
When the guards saw the token, their expressions changed subtly; the guard who took the token treated Zi Di with more respect: “Please allow me to inform the higher-ups of this matter.”
“Go ahead,” Zi Di allowed.
Moments later, within the largest tent of the caravan’s encampment, Sha Ji saw the token.
He was not the caravan’s leader, but his status far surpassed that role.
As the son of the Clan Leader of the Sand Yellow race, Sha Ji possessed a strong bloodline and great talent; he had already reached the Holy Domain Level.
“Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce?”
“The once Seventh Guild, which has now been swallowed by the upper echelons of the Holy Bright Empire, but the residual energy is still not to be underestimated.”
“Interesting… Let’s meet them then.”
The guard returned the token to Zi Di and then led her into the tent.
The tent on the outside appeared ordinary, but the interior was spacious, well-equipped, and ornately furnished.
A giant with a dreadlocked ponytail lay semi-reclined on a pile of soft golden sand, as if on an enormous sofa. Surrounding him were several attendants—humans, elves, and others—all strikingly beautiful with prominent figures. Some held large serving platters full of fresh fruit, others massaged the giant’s legs, while some fanned him gently with magic fans.
“I am the young Clan Leader of the Sand Yellow race, the only heir, and a Holy Domain fighter, Sha Ji. Mage from the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, state your purpose,” the giant opened the conversation.
He merely squinted to survey Zi Di, his attitude arrogant.
Zi Di bowed and explained her intent to purchase red-blue crystal clusters.
Sha Ji seemed somewhat disappointed: “Is that all, such a trivial matter?”
Behind her mask, Zi Di’s voice remained neither servile nor overbearing: “Compared to you, I am just a minor Black Iron, an insignificant mage, hardly worth mentioning. The responsibilities I hold in the Guild are likewise inconsequential.”
“However, we’ll take as many red-blue crystal clusters as you have.”
“As for the price, we can negotiate.”
Sha Ji, however, closed his eyes, completely losing interest in Zi Di: “You may leave.”
He didn’t care at all about such a small transaction.
Zi Di quickly added: “Although I am of low strength, I still have many contacts within the Guild. If we are fortunate to make this deal with your esteemed caravan this time, we could also form more partnerships in other areas.”
Sha Ji let out an annoyed hum.
Zi Di felt her body shake as if struck by some kind of spiritual assault.
She did not dare to stay any longer, she bowed once more and swiftly withdrew from the tent, leaving the Sand Yellow Clan caravan’s encampment.
“Hehe, how can a merchant from the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce be so clueless? When she’s told to leave, she persists in prattling on. She got her lesson, and in the end, didn’t she scurry away sheepishly?” One of the attendants giggled as she peeled a grape as big as an apple and brought it to Sha Ji’s lips.
Sha Ji ate one but merely shook his head, “This Black Iron Mage isn’t simple, her Spiritual Space is tough and vast. I originally planned to harm her for a month, but now it seems that at most in a week, she’ll recover.”
“Although the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce isn’t as powerful as before, seeing such a responsible person, one knows that even if the ship is rotting away, there are still some solid nails.”
Fire City is built around the volcano; the real core area isn’t the town, but deep within the volcano.
Regarding this matter, it’s not a secret.
Multiple giant Magic Arrays are laid out deep within the volcano, serving to seal, defend, and scout, among other effects.
As the legendary giant and City Lord Ai You, he is stationed there year round.
Cang Xu’s mission this time was to investigate this place in detail!
“Am I reaching the limit…” Cang Xu’s face turned pale, his body swaying, about to fall, and his spirit was also becoming delusional.
He had spent almost the entire morning on investigation.
Although his physical body remained in the town, through casting spells, he controlled ghosts to investigate, and the results were much better than those of a Holy Domain Level Thief.
The main reason is that most scouting and defense measures are ineffective against the newly born Undead Magic, nearly all vulnerabilities.
“The location of the passage to the Abyss has been ascertained.”
“It’s time to withdraw.”
Cang Xu began to methodically withdraw the ghosts and spirits, one by one.
Boom!
At that moment, the earth shook, and a sudden loud noise came from deep within the volcano; bright red molten lava tumbled forth, and a mass of pitch-black smoke surged up, bursting from the mouth of the volcano into the clouds.
“What’s going on?” Cang Xu was taken aback and within an instant, through the ghosts’ vision, he noticed figures moving deep inside the volcano.
“If I withdraw now, I can still retrieve these ghosts.”
“If I continue the investigation, I fear these ghosts will be completely consumed.”
“Or should I recall them now, let myself recuperate, heal these ghosts, and then have them infiltrate again in a complete state?”
Cang Xu faced a choice and hesitated.
But soon, he made a decision.
He resolutely chose to sacrifice these ghosts, sending them further down into the deeper parts of the volcano.
The reason for this decision was twofold: Cang Xu knew the urgency of his situation, and the more concealed depths of the volcano had revealed themselves in this disturbance, allowing him to discover them. Were he to miss this opportunity, the ghosts alone may infiltrate the correct location and yet uncover nothing significant.
Just as a few ghosts rushed into the crucial spot, another loud boom was heard, and shockwaves mixed with the aftershocks of Mana swept around like a ferocious storm.
The ghost in the forefront was torn apart on the spot by this aftershock.
Cang Xu hastily directed the ghosts to hide behind protruding rocks, barely managing to preserve the last three.
The ghosts’ scouting within the volcano was continuously weakening due to the surrounding environment, and they were being damaged. By now, they were already at their last gasp.
The three ghosts continued deeper, and through their vision, Cang Xu’s pupils suddenly narrowed.
He saw a giant.
A Legendary giant!
She was hoisting a huge hammer, striking down on a Dragon.
With every strike, a thunderous boom resounded, stirring up terrifying shockwaves, with the aftershocks lashing out in all directions.
“She must be Fire City’s City Lord, Ai You.”
“But what’s the deal with this Dragon?”
Cang Xu endured the headache and continued observing.
He quickly realized that this Dragon was fierce and ferocious, its Dragon Head covered in curved horns, not of the dragons from the Main World, but from the Abyss—a Demon Dragon from the Abyss!
And the Demon Dragon’s aura was also of Legendary Level.
“This isn’t a living Demon Dragon…”
“Ai You must be using the Demon Dragon’s corpse, crafting it into a Dragon War Puppet.”
“She’s already very skilled in the creation of Puppets.”
Having observed this, Cang Xu was left with only two ghosts.
Panting heavily, Ai You suddenly stopped her work, “Come out.”
The Demon Dragon’s belly suddenly opened, and a female giant crawled out from within.
“Clan Leader,” the female giant addressed Ai You, “I can still hold on, let me continue to help you.”
She was smaller than both Ai You and the Demon Dragon, which is why she could fit inside the Dragon’s body.
Ai You’s skin was brown-red, while the female giant’s skin was a lighter shade of red. She wore a gold band on her head, her hair disheveled, and her face covered in dust. Her hands were not idle either, one holding an Anvil, and the other a huge brick.
“Sha Ji,” Ai You shook her head, “You’ve forgotten something more important.”
“The young clan leader from the Sandy Yellow clan has been waiting for you for five or six days.”
“Go see him.”
“Don’t forget the duty you bear on your shoulders.”
Begrudgingly putting down the Anvil and brick, the Holy Domain Level female giant Sha Ji pouted and assented with a grunt.
At this moment, Cang Xu’s last ghost could no longer hold on and quietly dissipated on the spot.