novelraw Chapter 124 The Gate of Stars, A Gathering of Geniuses
Chapter 124 The Gate of Stars, A Gathering of Geniuses
Chapter 124 The Gate of Stars, A Gathering of Geniuses
The chubby boss was so excited that he almost dropped the crystal lens in his hand, and his voice began to tremble:
"Complete control? Titanic strength? My God, sir, what are you doing—"
He had only spoken halfway when he immediately covered his mouth.
Because he almost committed the biggest taboo in this line of work: inquiring about the origin of the goods being traded without authorization.
If the person opposite him really was the Laughing Clown of the Church's "Secret Realm Wandering Circus," then his question was tantamount to getting into big trouble.
Although he was protected by the entity behind the secret trading shop, and wouldn't actually lose his life because of it, it was best not to ask too many questions.
Xia Fa remained silent, casually tossing the two high-level secret contracts onto the table, deliberately appearing very indifferent.
His posture further convinced the portly boss that this man was not to be trifled with, and he immediately beamed with joy.
"Guest, these two high-level secret contracts are highly sought after in the extraordinary world. After all, many people who have signed the Controller's Secret Contract and the Mighty Secret Contract have a certain probability that their spiritual intuition will guide them to these two high-level secret contracts. So, without me saying anything, you already know how much they are worth."
This time, he didn't even bother with an act. He slapped his left palm on the table, and five thick stacks of banknotes appeared, right in front of the Titan's Mighty Contract.
His slightly chubby right hand swept across the table again, and three equally thick stacks of banknotes appeared, also facing the secret agreement for complete control.
Xia Fa understood that in this situation, the fat boss would definitely be offering the market price, and there was no possibility of him deliberately trying to lower the price.
So he nodded slightly, took the eight stacks of banknotes, and put them into his black bag.
However, he was somewhat surprised.
Unexpectedly, the Titan's Might, a high-level secret contract, is worth a full 50,000 gold pounds!
It's safe to say that this is one of the most popular and widely used advanced secret contracts.
Of course, many extraordinary individuals from ordinary backgrounds definitely cannot afford it; the reason the price can be so high is mainly due to the large number of buyers.
For example, if there are 10,000 extraordinary individuals from humble backgrounds who sign the Great Power Pact in order to strive for a better life, then only two or three of them will eventually rise to prominence and be able to afford it.
Moreover, this will create competition.
If ordinary contracts like the Tentacle Contract and the Extrasensory Contract are not something many people are willing to sign, then the corresponding advanced contracts are not so sought after.
It can be acquired for a starting price of 10,000 gold pounds.
The same principle applies to the complete control contract. There are far too many extraordinary individuals who have signed the ordinary control contract, and many nobles have signed this contract for self-defense.
After all, not everyone can successfully understand the contents of the secret contract they have signed and then continue to advance. There are countless extraordinary individuals who are stuck on the first secret contract, and there are several in St. Vivian's Church.
With a whopping 80,000 gold pounds in hand, Xia Fa was quite pleased. He then took out other miscellaneous spoils, such as some ordinary secret contracts, extraordinary primal substances, and the extraordinary metals that Beneath had brought back from the Endless Realm.
The fat boss was even happier than him, and his attitude became much more enthusiastic, doing his best to complete the transaction.
Soon, Xia Fa sold everything that needed to be sold.
After a quick calculation, I found that I had actually made a total of about 160,000 gold pounds!
Adding to his existing wealth of over 10,000 gold pounds, his fortune reached a staggering 170,000 gold pounds!
"I'm only 330,000 gold pounds away from buying the Gate of Stars from Dick Tudor—well—provided I can kill Pompeii and get what he wants."
Xia Fa pondered in his heart, even considering whether he should first ask Dick to spend an extra 500,000 gold pounds to buy the Star Gate, a supreme-level secret contract, and then go to kill Pompeii to get that item for him.
With only two secret contracts, he wasn't confident enough to deal with a demigod, but with three contracts, he would be in luck.
After all, those weren't the three ordinary secret contracts of an ordinary Eagle-level superhuman, or at most one high-level secret contract plus two ordinary secret contracts. This was one high-level secret contract plus two overlord-level secret contracts!
Dick Tudor seems quite reasonable; he should be willing, right?
However, Xia Fa also understood that no matter what, he had to save up 500,000 gold pounds first, otherwise he would be embarrassed to ask, since the other party had already given him a silver throne worth 3 million gold pounds for free.
"Sir, is there anything you need to buy? Don't worry, there's nothing our Secret Trade Shop doesn't have, only things you can't imagine!"
The portly boss spoke with a beaming smile, his face full of sincerity and enthusiasm.
This time he was being sincere. After all, this guest was carrying a huge sum of 160,000 gold pounds. If he treated him well, the guest might be so happy that he would be willing to spend a lot of money to buy those expensive treasures and sealed items.
Xia Fa nodded, deliberately speaking in a high-pitched, hoarse voice befitting his thin, bamboo-like physique:
"Do you have any secret artifacts that can interfere with both time and space? Sealed artifacts are fine too, but not at a high cost."
Unexpectedly, his words stunned the fat boss, whose expression turned serious.
"Sir, are you sure you want it? The time-space treasures or sealed items you mentioned are all very expensive. I can only retrieve them for you after you confirm your purchase and pay the price."
Xia Fa had a bad feeling, and suddenly realized something.
You see, in the eyes of this portly boss, he was carrying a full 160,000 gold pounds.
Even so, the fat boss's expression changed when he heard that he wanted to buy a time-space treasure or a sealed item; he suddenly became very serious.
This indicates that the price of time-space treasures or sealed artifacts is far greater than he estimated.
After all, if it were only a few thousand or tens of thousands of gold pounds, this fat boss would probably have already eagerly offered it.
"Can I take a look first?"
Xia Fa spoke in a high-pitched, hoarse voice.
"Of course, of course, please wait a moment, sir."
The portly boss greeted them and immediately took out a book from his pocket.
It was a thin booklet, but the cover was woven with gold thread, making it look quite expensive.
The fat boss turned to the first page. Although the paper was just ordinary white pulp paper, the products on it appeared to Xia Fa as if they were in a 3D projection.
It was a thin needle, a completely hollow needle, with tiny particles of light flowing through the hollowed-out parts.
"The secret artifact, the 'Time Hand,' is very simple to use: just twist it and release. For ten seconds, it slows down the flow of time within a 30-meter diameter area by 0.7 times, while simultaneously causing the same area of space to rotate in the direction you twisted it."
"After using it, users will completely lose their accurate perception of time within a day."
"Sometimes time feels incredibly long, but when you look at the clock, only a few seconds have passed; other times, it feels like very little time has passed."
But upon closer inspection, it seemed that at least ten hours had passed.
The portly shopkeeper went to great lengths to introduce the product, and finally gave the price:
"Guest, since this is a time-space artifact, and it was crafted by the renowned genius artifact craftsman 'Sochuwu Kongjian,' the price is fixed at 300,000 gold pounds. We cannot offer you a lower price."
Good guy!
Xia Fa was shocked. Such a heavyweight spacetime treasure right off the bat?
Moreover, it was personally crafted by Sochuu Kongrun, the inventor of the Chuubu bag.
Three hundred thousand gold pounds—that's way too expensive; even if you sold him, you couldn't afford it.
Helpless, Xia Fa could only shake his head slightly, signaling the fat boss to turn to the next page.
However, he actually understood why it was so expensive.
After all, only a secret treasure or seal that can simultaneously interfere with the flow of time and the stability of space can completely disrupt divination and secret divination, making it impossible for the existence of the sovereign to be traced. Both are indispensable.
Time-related or space-related treasures alone would be quite expensive, let alone those that require both.
The fat boss seemed to have expected this result and turned to the second page.
On the second page was a steel clothes rack, and a very thin one at that.
Xia Fa looked at him with some curiosity, then his eyes lit up with interest as he waited quietly for the fat boss to introduce the business.
The portly boss explained earnestly and meticulously:
"The sealed artifact is called 'The Naughty Child Who Just Came Home.' Yes, that's the name of this sealed artifact."
"Using this sealing artifact, you only need to flick the air, and the space will shatter to varying degrees, depending on your rank. Time within a one-meter radius will flow faster, by a factor of two, but only by one second."
After a pause, the chubby boss adopted a more serious tone:
"As for the cost of using this seal, if you happen to be next to it when you use it, you will be swept into the shattered space during the accelerated time and shatter along with the space."
"If this sealed object is used by throwing or by using a puppet, firstly, your puppet or substitute will suffer the same effects as mentioned above. Secondly, you yourself will be unable to find your way home for the next twenty hours, regardless of whether you use methods such as possession, spying, teleportation, teleportation, or instantaneous teleportation."
That's a killer weapon!
Xia Fa was amazed. If he controlled the puppet to use this move, wouldn't it be possible to perish together with the enemy?
Under normal circumstances, unless one is a demigod, no one can stop the spatial shattering.
Even if one reaches the demigod level, if the spatial shattering is too violent and rapid, it cannot be stopped.
For example, Lieutenant General Bedivere, although he can shatter space within a sphere ten thousand meters in diameter with a single punch, if he himself were to get caught in it...
It's also highly unlikely that it can withstand the pressure.
Moreover, the fat boss did not say that this was a one-time use seal, indicating that it could be used multiple times.
"What about the price?"
Xia tried to keep her tone calm as she spoke, wanting to hear the price before giving up.
The fat boss's tone became much lower, as if he was afraid of being overheard, even though there was no one else there:
"Five hundred thousand gold pounds. Again, there's no room for negotiation. As you know, this is a spacetime-sealed artifact, and the price isn't too high."
There isn't actually a strict distinction between secret treasures and sealed artifacts.
If I had to put it into words, the cost of using secret treasures is relatively small, and can even be considered a minor negative effect, while using sealed items often requires paying a considerable price.
For example, this "time pointer" doesn't make you feel the passage of time in a day after use, so it's nothing special. You can just stay at home for a day.
However, the price of using a sealed artifact like "The Naughty Child Who Just Came Home" at close range is too high. It will directly pull the user into the shattered space, and this will happen under time acceleration, leaving no time to escape.
On the other hand, treasures are generally crafted by treasure artisans and can be mass-produced.
Sealed items are created by certain coincidences or special circumstances, making them unique, which is one way to distinguish them.
However, this distinction cannot be made entirely; for example, the nine righteous gods can personally create sealing artifacts.
Thinking this, Xia Fa pulled himself out of his thoughts. While the sealed artifact, "The Mischievous Child Who Just Came Home," was somewhat tempting, the price of 500,000 gold pounds was simply too high.
He originally thought that having 170,000 gold pounds made him a wealthy man, but now it seems that in the slightly more advanced supernatural world, he is not even a poor man. Fortunately, he also has a bank draft of one million gold pounds in his bag, which can be cashed in three months!
"Are the prices getting higher and higher at each stage?"
Xia Fa had already noticed the pattern in the products listed in the gold-bound booklet and took the initiative to ask about it.
A hint of guilt appeared on the fat boss's face:
"Yes, sir. Would you like to take a look at other types of sealed artifacts? Space-time type sealed artifacts are generally only needed by beings of demigod level or higher, so they are very expensive."
Xia Fa shook his head:
"Fine, let's leave it at that then."
Seeing this, the fat shopkeeper felt even more guilty. After all, this customer had sold him four secret contracts, three of which were popular or extremely popular, yet he couldn't help him much.
Although it is said that no merchant is without guile, as a businessman, he still values morality and integrity. Moreover, he wanted to establish a long-term business relationship with this mysterious guest.
Thinking this, the fat boss suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said:
"By the way, guest, actually, if you just want to disrupt the flow of time and the stability of space, you don't necessarily need secret treasures and sealing artifacts. You can do it with the power of the secret contract alone."
The power of a secret contract?
Xia Fa was puzzled. What kind of secret contract was so powerful?
For some reason, he suddenly thought of the "Gate of Stars," a supreme-level secret contract.
If we're talking about any secret contract that can directly interfere with spacetime through its power, this is probably the only one.
"It's the 'Gate of Stars,' right? I know that, but it's a top-tier secret covenant. What good would it do you to tell me?"
Xia Fa deliberately spoke in a casual, conversational tone, hoping to extract some information about the Gate of Stars from the fat boss.
After all, he currently knows absolutely nothing about the Gate of Stars, this overlord-level secret contract.
Given his authority within the church, he wouldn't have access to such information, let alone ask others, given his true identity.
Therefore, even a little bit of information would be helpful now.
The fat boss sighed and said with a wry smile:
"It seems the guest is knowledgeable. That's right, the [Bending Manipulation] of the Gate of Stars can distort space, while [Time Concealment] can directly conceal time within a specific area. If we can sign this overlord-level secret contract of the Gate of Stars, we won't need to spend hundreds of thousands of gold coins to buy time-space treasures or sealing artifacts."
Bending and maneuvering
Time Hidden
Xia Fa felt a sudden surge of excitement and secretly memorized the names of the two secret abilities.
He couldn't help but take another look at the fat boss. The fat boss didn't show any aura of a demigod, which meant that even by the most powerful estimation, he was just a whale-level superhuman. He didn't expect that the fat boss knew so much.
Of course, as a supreme-level secret contract, the Gate of Stars certainly has more than just these two secret contracts.
However, these two secret abilities alone are enough to make Xia Fa's heart flutter!
"Sigh, I was just spouting nonsense. That's a top-tier secret contract. How could it be signed so easily? Let alone signing it, you might not even be able to find such a top-tier secret contract. Anyway, our secret trade shop doesn't have it. Haha, it's one of the few items we don't have."
The fat boss gave a bitter laugh, knowing that today's deal was off, and stood up, walking towards the pillow.
Xia Fa nodded slightly, and also prepared to leave.
As the portly boss flipped the pillow over, the iron filings filling the room vanished instantly, and the hands of the bronze clock trembled slightly.
I moved the clock back one notch, and the time returned to normal.
The portly shopkeeper put on a smile again and escorted Xia Fa to the shop entrance.
"Please come again next time, sir!"
Xia Fa nodded slightly to indicate that he had heard, and then turned and walked out of the secret trading shop.
However, the turmoil in his heart was far from subsiding.
At this moment, the desire to sign the supreme secret agreement of the Gate of Stars was extremely strong!
Putting everything else aside, just for the two secret abilities of [Bending Manipulation] and [Time Concealment], it's totally worth it!
That's equivalent to saving at least 300,000 gold pounds, and there won't be any cost or negative effects from using it!
Although a demigod like Lieutenant General Bedivere can shatter space at will, he absolutely cannot affect time.
There are very few secret contracts that can affect time, and Xia Fa suspects that the only secret contract that can affect both time and space is the Gate of Stars.
"Let's save up 500,000 first, then visit Dicketto and make things clear, especially about the fact that there's a ruler behind Pompeii. If he agrees, things will be much easier—"
Xia Fa's gaze hardened, and Xun Chang went to a nearby shop to replenish her supplies of living iron powder, yellow crystal, and other extraordinary materials. Then, she headed straight for the shore.
Soon, they returned to the port of Rum City by small boat.
This time, Xiafa opted for a splurge, traveling to Augustus in a steam-powered four-wheeled carriage.
To the west of Augustus lies the Mist God Hunting Grounds, about ten kilometers from the city.
More than an hour later.
Click!
The lacquered wooden gate of the carriage opened, and a black high-top leather boot emerged. Xia Fa, the entire Zhe family, then stepped down.
He paid the fare of five silver coins and three copper coins, then turned around and looked at the distance not far ahead.
What was once a desolate wasteland has now been transformed into a vast forest, covered with all sorts of shrubs, where one can even see deer and rabbits leaping about.
This is indeed the Mist God's Hunting Ground!
To Xia Fa's surprise, at the edge of the Mist God Hunting Ground, where there were originally many fences, there were copper pillars planted at intervals. The copper pillars were engraved with secret inscriptions, and occasionally, wisps of electricity could be seen running between the copper pillars.
Xia Fa immediately recognized that this was some kind of "barrier," which was probably set up by the authorities in conjunction with the church.
This is certainly not to stop refugees, but to stop superhumans without hunting licenses.
"Xia Fa! Ha Bing, my good brother, Yu actually came too!"
Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang out, carrying the fat man's unique, mellow tone.
Xia Fa was taken aback at first, and then a strange expression appeared on his face.
And then he immediately recognized the voice as that of his teammate whom he had met in the land of the gods in the desert, the extraordinary one from the direction of the mechanical secrets, Daponz!
Sure enough, as soon as he turned around, he saw Daponz's fat, trembling body walking towards him again.
"Come, come, let me introduce you. Many young philosophers from Nikiham University and Minerva University are here this time, and of course, there are also some from our Royal Masinari Mechanical Engineering College. Let's get to know each other."
As soon as Daponz came over, he warmly put his arm around Xiafa's shoulder without saying a word and led him to a spot not far ahead.
It was a poorly constructed hall that had just been built, and many young philosophers were looking in this direction.
These young people all had rather indifferent, even somewhat cold, expressions, and their gazes toward them carried a hint of scrutiny and appraising.
Xia Fa immediately noticed the two young men at the head of the group.
One of the young men was extremely tall and muscular, dressed in a black suit, draped in a white naval coat, and wearing a baseball cap. He had a square face and a serious expression, with his arms crossed.
But that's not the point. The point is that there were actually rings of flame swirling around his feet and body, constantly appearing and disappearing.
The other was a girl riding on a giant slime. She was petite with seaweed-colored curly hair and an arrogant expression. Although she was only about 1.5 meters tall, she had incredibly long legs and was not wearing silk, showing her bare, tender little feet.
Xiafa immediately noticed that her slime was not a supernatural creature, but a mystic!
In the Protoss realm, there is a spirit that is just as powerful as the Wraiths, second only to the Protoss!
"Hmph~"
The girl with seaweed-colored curly hair gave a soft hum, rode the giant slime, and hopped over to him. She looked down at him from above, her voice delicate and filled with the pride unique to young girls.
"Is that Xiafa?"