Yue Jinghua, we shall see whether you can make it back to the royal capital alive.
The female warrior tossed aside Qi Feng's corpse and strode away.
A few mercenaries watching, out of camaraderie, dragged Qi Feng's body out of the pit and hastily buried it in a desolate area outside the Hundred Beasts Valley, where thousands of mercenaries die each year.
After the crowd dispersed, a figure hiding in a clump of low bushes nearby remained unseen.
From the appearance of the female mercenary to her departure, and throughout the whole process of dismantling the trap, Yue Jinghua hid to one side, concealing her presence, and went unnoticed by everyone.
The identity of that female mercenary was much more formidable than she had imagined. If Qi Feng and the others who died at her hand were compared to toddlers learning to walk, and she, with the martial arts of her past life, was like a child just learning to walk, then the Dark Jade Female Xuanist was like a child who had already learned to run.
Yue Jinghua was by no means a match for her now.
But sooner or later, she would repay that person tenfold, even a hundredfold.
After fruitlessly interrogating Qi Feng last night, Yue Jinghua only squeezed out the information that the true mastermind behind the "Yue Jinghua" incident might appear at the Free Market at dawn.
Having set up the trap with the limited time she had, she waited and started organizing the remaining memories in "Yue Jinghua"'s body.
The land where "Yue Jinghua" lived is known as the Canglong Continent, a mysterious ancient land. The skies above the continent are filled with endless Dark Spiritual Energy. Under the influence of this energy, the average lifespan of the continent's residents can reach eighty years. There are also a small number of special individuals on the continent, who consider themselves as God's Chosen Sons.
These Chosen Sons are born with constitutions different from ordinary people, capable of transforming the Dark Spiritual Energy drifting above the continent into their own Dark Power, and are reverently referred to as Dark Martial Artists by the continent's inhabitants.
Additionally, due to the existence of spiritual energy above the continent, the plants and animals on the land are also different from those on Earth. Some high-order beings among them can even transform into human form, possessing human intelligence. Regardless of their rank, these creatures are collectively referred to as Dark Beasts and spirit wood.
"Yue Jinghua" also belonged to the ranks of "God's Chosen Sons," and she was born into a noble family in the Dragon War Empire on the Eastern Continent. For many years, she was deeply cherished by her family. Because she had some talent in Dark Energy, she received the same Dark Martial Artist education as men from a young age, but this education was mostly theoretical, as she had never truly practiced it.
Her reason for entering Hundred Beast Mountain, which was swarming with Dark Beasts, was that after she became unable to condense Dark Energy and her family fell into ruin, she moved to her grandfather's family in the Shang Kingdom and could only seek a cure by entering the Royal Xuanji Academy.
To obtain admission to the Royal Xuanji Academy, "Yue Jinghua"'s mother sold off part of her dowry to gather the equipment and funds for her journey. She must pass a trial, and the requirement for the trial is to obtain a Second Rank Dark Pill or spirit core.
While sorting through the memories, Yue Jinghua also discovered several secrets hidden within this seemingly worthless body.
First and foremost, "Yue Jinghua" was not a true waste. She was very smart and remembered clearly all the Basic Martial Techniques from the Canglong Continent that she had learned before she was eleven. For some reason, from the age of thirteen after being poisoned, she could no longer condense Dark Energy.
Secondly, and most importantly, "Yue Jinghua"'s Dantian was not damaged; "her" Dantian was simply unable to be utilized.
In order to unravel the secrets within "Yue Jinghua"'s body, the reincarnated Yue Jinghua, now Yue Xiaoqi, entered a grocery store in the Free Market.
The Free Market, as the primary supply point outside of Hundred Beast Mountain, had all kinds of facilities, including weapon shops selling various types of weapons and armor, taverns and restaurants providing food and lodging, medicine halls for herbal supplies, and grocery stores specializing in purchasing all kinds of Dark Beast derivatives.
All these shops have one thing in common: they are all built atop trees to effectively defend against some ground-level Dark Beasts' nocturnal attacks.
"Old Xia's Grocery Store" is a rather inconspicuous ordinary grocery store in the Free Market. It is located in a secluded spot, built upon a century-old pine tree at the very northern edge of the Free Market.
When that female customer entered the grocery store, the owner Old Xia, as always, was wiping a worn book placed in the most conspicuous spot of his shop. This book was a recent acquisition.
The wooden door of the grocery store was pushed open, "Shopkeeper, I need a set of silver needles for acupuncture."
Old Xia lifted his reading glasses perched on his nose—he was over sixty years old and a bit presbyopic. After getting a clear view of the newcomer, Old Xia asked enthusiastically.
"Respected customer, what is this silver needle you speak of for acupuncture? I have never heard of such a thing," Old Xia was troubled. Despite having operated a grocery store for so long, it was the first time he had heard anyone mention acupuncture silver needles.
"I forgot that acupuncture is probably unheard of here. In that case, give me a set of embroidery needles, ranging from large to small, every size required. Additionally, I need a bottle of strong liquor, some flint, waterproof oil paper, a water bladder, salt, and insect repellent powder." When "Yue Jinghua" was abducted, aside from the Deer Skin Armor for self-defense and that flashy Dagger, she didn't have a single piece of equipment for wilderness survival. It seemed that her cheap mother, just like "Yue Jinghua," was a Noble Lady without even a smidgen of wilderness survival knowledge.
Old Xia agreed and hurried to gather the items the customer needed.
While waiting for Old Xia to find the items, Yue Jinghua roamed around the grocery store.
The grocery store had everything, but the most abundant items were related to various low-level Dark Beasts, such as seeds of Lizard Grass, pelts of the Fire Wolf... The items in the grocery store were well-stocked, each with its corresponding price tag.
Prices ranged from several dozen silver coins to a single Gold Coin, among which the Dark Pills of Dark Beasts were the most expensive. Just a regular First Rank Wood Thorns Grass Demon Core was valued at fifty Gold Coins, and a Second Rank Wind Fox's Dark Pill was as high as two hundred Gold Coins.
"The items you wanted are all here. The total comes to twenty-one Gold Coins. Do you need anything else?" In the vicinity of Xuan Beast Valley, prices were quite high. Twenty-one Gold Coins was not considered a big sale, but Old Xia was as warmly hospitable as ever, which made Yue Jinghua feel quite fond of him. After paying, she struck up a conversation with him.
"Customer, you must be on your first trial outing. The reason why the Dark Pills are priced so high is that they are rare; sometimes even ten or twenty or thirty low-level Dark Beasts are needed to obtain a single Dark Pill." Old Xia was not very optimistic about this kind of newcomer entering Xuan Beast Valley, but after hearing Yue Jinghua skillfully list a series of wilderness survival items, his opinion changed slightly.
"I have another question. Why is that book priced so high?" Yue Jinghua suddenly changed the topic, referring to the book with the worn cover that Old Xia had previously been wiping. The book was priced at ten thousand Gold Coins.
Old Xia looked back and a hint of pride flashed in his elderly eyes: "Because this is not an ordinary book; it is a Summoning Treasure Book that can only be used by the Witch Summoning Clan."