What seemed to be a dream became true.
Seven Beast Mountains Market—
What one might think to be a normal market was far from it.
A giant steel dagger, radiating glowing crimson light at times, had pierced right into a giant mountain.
Seven mountains stood nearby, all seeing this giant dagger and reminded of what it meant:
The day the Sun Glow Sect used their Weather Arts, they were able to pierce a dagger right into their brother’s territory. No more was it called Eight Mountains, no, the rhythm of expanding in eight direction has been destroyed. Now it was only Seven Mountains, a mere facade of what it was.
Standing in front of this giant dagger, a sense of oppression spread in every beast’s heart.
But for Muyu, what he saw was different.
In front of him, a majestic steel pagoda had stretched from low to high, its door wide open with cultivators streaming in from the outside, entering en massse.
"Little Muyu, are you surprised?"
Just then, a middle-aged man walked outside the pagoda and greeted him with a bright smile.
"Uh... great-grand uncle Deyuan?" he asked surprised.
"Haha, you remember me!" Deyuan smiled brightly, walking forward and observing Muyu from head to toe.
At the same time, Muyu did remember this great-grand uncle of his—!
Fu Deyuan, a member of the De generation, his talent was in weapon refining and he was extremly talented. Later, no one in the family spoke of him, as if he had vanished. So all this time, he had been in the Seven Mountains Market?!
"Haha, I can see that you have many questions. But first, let formally invite you in as the Grand Market Elder of the Fu Clan!"
"Thank you, grand elder!" Muyu bowed deeply, realising his own rudeness.
"No need, no need! In this market, just call me Uncle Yuan, there is no need for such formality. The family loves those generations and such, but in the outside world, whether you are older or younger, only cultivation matters. Since I’m a bit stronger, calling me uncle will suffice!"
"Okay, uncle Yuan, I will listen to you!"
"Ah? Haha, you’re a real young genius, able to accept it so easily!" Deyuan laughed again, his belly trembling as he leaned backwards.
After laughing some more, he took Muyu to the pagoda’s entrnace.
Cultivators were lined up in front of the entrance, while guards stood by left and right.
Deyuan directly skipped the line and walked to a guard, taking out a token and about to show it to him when the guard shook his head, "Master Yuan, there is no need to show this token! We all know you already, just go in."
"Thank you, thank you! By the way, this is my nephew. I will register him at the sect’s halls today, is it fine if I take him up with me?"
The guard hesitated when he heard this. Looking over to the young man, he still thought about it when a voice came from behind him—"You can go in, but make sure to also register him in the Talisman Guild!" the voice said before quietening down.
Deyuan was confused but bowed nontheless, "Thank you, great guardian, for giving us the permission!"
He hurriedly walked into the pagoda while pulling Muyu with him.
Inside, he didn’t stop at all but took Muyu right down the road.
Muyu only saw a vast spectacle: the inside of the pagoda was a giant space, and this first floor of three looked extremely beautiful. Now he understood why the pagoda only had three stories but was so giant; it turns out, each story was a giant on its own!
The first floor was entirely a huge city area, he only looked at it for some time before he had been led by Deyuan to a different area.
In the centre of the market, there stood... a giant pillar.
People lined up for this pillar, a lot less, and even Deyuan was quiet, waiting for the people to advance before he himself walked forward.
A guess formed in Muyu’s mind as he observed the pillar, but he dared not utter anything.
When it was their turn, Deyuan took out the token once more and showed it to the guards; they just glanced at it before nodding, allowing them to... enter the pillar!
That’s right! The pillar was closed off, but somehow they managed to pass through solid steel and wait inside.
The space inside wasn’t too large, but it was able to hold a hundred people at least. When eight more entered, there was a pause for a moment, before he felt something different:
Below them, the ground started to rise, and around him the steel became illusory. He was able to look outside, observe the majestic city, only for the scene to rapidly change.
The steel pillar’s foundation stopped, and people started walking out into one direction of the steel pillar, passing through it easily.
Deyuan did the same, followed by Muyu, who then saw a different scene.
Instead of the hustle and bustle of the city below, this was a smaller space, and people walking around were more quiet. They would still talk, but the lack of people wouldn’t allow it to become a bustling place.
Courtyards stood left and right, with people entering and leaving at will. Most of these courtyards had a small storefront, but very few people bought anything; most just passed by or entered the building directly.
Passing through the first two layers of courtyards around the pillar, Deyuan led them to a courtyard in the third layer; it was large and had a main building over two stories tall. There was also a small storefront, and Deyuan finally stopped in front of it.
"Mufu’er!" he called out, smiling brightly and slowing down after this hasty move.
"Uncle Yuan? You’re back so soon?" Mufu came out right then, still holding a small vase and a polishing paper in his hands.
When he saw Muyu, he nearly jumped, "Third brother! You’re here too?!"
"Eight brother, shouldn’t I ask you this? I didn’t hear of you coming to the market at all!!" Muyu was surprised. This was his eight brother, another smart person and renown in the family to become the next weapon refiner; how come he was right here?!
"You two, it seems you’ve known each other for long!" Deyuan chuckled, "Muyu, this just now..." he wanted to ask, but then shook his head, "That was the Guardian Captain, a Foundation Building elder. Just follow his words and register at the Talisman Guild. Hehe, it seems my family has gained another genius!"
Muyu nodded, then looked back at Mufu, still curious about things.
Deyuan chuckled and told them he had business to do, so the two should talk amongst themselves.
And they did—Muyu instantly bombarded Mufu with countless questions: what the hell was this Seven Mountains Market?!