Chapter 2: Layout (Part 1)

A handsome man with flowing sleeves stepped forward and said, “Honored guests, there’s no need to get angry. Those few are ignorant… Well, you all should apologize to these two guests.”
Guo Shier’s eyes sparkled as he smiled faintly. That man was actually a professional from the Virtual Altar faction.
The man said, “I am Miyan Ren, the representative of Miyuan Merchant Guild. May I ask your names?”
Guo Shier gave Miyan Ren a casual glance. In an instant, a tremendous pressure flashed by. Miyan Ren showed a shocked expression—he immediately realized that this handsome young man was a master of the Real Altar faction, and not just any altar professional. He sensed an aura similar to that of the clan’s patriarch.
Not daring to ask further, Miyan Ren said, “Elder, if there’s anything you need, please command.” The attendants around him were stunned. After all, Miyan Ren held a very high position in Miyuan Merchant Guild. He had come here only to appraise an item. Even the shop owner or the guild’s leaders wouldn’t dare neglect him, yet here he was showing such respect to two new customers.
Guo Shier said, “I’d like to see… what materials you have here. Oh, by the way, do you have any natural runes?”
“Natural runes…”
Miyan Ren didn’t know what to say. After a long while, he replied, “Natural runes are never sold. Elder, you might want to look for other materials. Well, here’s a list talisman—take a look, and you’ll see. Miyuan Merchant Guild in Midun City is just one branch, so there aren’t many items.”
The items needed by altar-level masters differed greatly from those required by professionals below the rank of Great Sage. Many precious materials were useless to ordinary professionals and only needed by altar-level experts. These items were extremely expensive, often unobtainable even with money. They could only be acquired through exchanges among high-level professionals or by gathering them oneself or having one’s clan provide them. Very few could be sold by merchant guilds.
Guo Shier naturally understood this. He hadn’t intended to buy anything anyway. His plan was to find out where these guilds’ warehouses were, so as to plan a robbery.
Taking the list talisman and glancing at it, he confirmed that there were indeed few items listed. Shaking his head, he said, “Hmm, indeed very few. Is there a list of high-quality items?”

Mi Yanren smiled and said, “Nothing else. Hehe, this is just a branch office; there can’t be any rare items here.” In fact, he was lying. Even a branch of a trading firm often had many good things. But he didn’t know Guo Shier’s identity. If Guo Shier held a position above the eldest of the Gu Mi family, he would be able to see the real list of items.

Guo Shier knew this guy wasn’t telling the truth. He understood that as an outsider, the trading firm wouldn’t give him the real list. He nodded and said, “I have something. I wonder if you’ll buy it?”

Mi Yanren didn’t dare neglect him and said, “Please come to the inner council hall to discuss it. Please!” He stepped aside to make way.

Guo Shier and Ying Mo walked inside, with Mi Yanren following. The servants finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking at each other with pale faces. Guo Shier and Ying Mo had put too much pressure on them.

The inner council hall was located in a small courtyard house behind the trading firm. It was a carefully decorated room, about 100 square meters in size, divided by large screens. There were decorations made from the bones of various magical beasts, and even the low tables were made from beast bones.

After inviting Guo Shier and Ying Mo to sit down, Mi Yanren smiled and said, “What is it? Don’t worry. If it suits the firm, I can ensure a good price for it.”

Guo Shier didn’t really want to sell any materials; he just wanted to understand the situation here, so he made up an excuse. His soul fluctuated slightly as he said, “Elder Shuai, bring out a relatively precious material.”

Elder Shuai asked, “For what?”

Guo Shier replied, “I want to understand the situation here. Oh, and put a tracking talisman on the material—make it discreet so no one notices.”

Elder Shuai immediately understood Guo Shier’s intention and smiled, “Good idea. Wait a moment.”

Seeing Guo Shier lost in thought, Mi Yanren didn’t rush him. He called over a servant to bring various fruits and snacks, then waited quietly.

After a while, Guo Shier took out a crystal bottle, about the size of a canned beer bottle from his past life, and said, “This is a bottle of blood from a Level 15 Abnormal Mammoth. It’s already purified and weighs about ten pounds…”

Mi Yanren was stunned. “A Level 15 Abnormal Mammoth?” He was shocked. This was a very rare item—not a Level 15 mutated magical beast, but an abnormal one. Though not numerous, they were definitely rare materials. He took the crystal bottle, examined it briefly, opened the lid, chanted a spell, and immediately detected a strong vitality.

“Great stuff! Really excellent!”

Eagle Demon said, “Of course. It’s purified from the freshest blood and can be used to craft high-grade talisman pills or directly on the altar.”
Guo Shier said, “Make your offer. This bottle of blood required thousands of pounds of raw blood to produce just ten pounds of purified blood.” He was very curious—this stuff couldn’t be measured in gold talisman coins. Usually, such materials were exchanged rather than sold.
His soul fluctuated, “Elder Shuai, has the tracking talisman been placed in the bottle? Otherwise, we’ll suffer a huge loss.”
Elder Shuai said proudly, “My methods… rest assured, they’re countless times more effective than ordinary tracking talismans. Hmph, no matter where he takes this bottle of blood, I can find it.”
Miyan Ren conducted a few more tests and nodded in satisfaction, realizing Guo Shier wasn’t exaggerating—this bottle of blood was indeed top-tier material. He said, “Elder, this material… is really good. Could you give me a price?”
Guo Shier stared at him with a half-smile and said, “Since it’s you buying it, of course you make the offer.”
Miyan Ren was in a dilemma because he had no idea what price to set. This was the blood of a Level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beast. Not to mention Level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beasts, even the blood of Level 15 Mutated Talisman Beasts couldn’t be priced—there was a huge difference in value, with Abnormal Talisman Beast blood being far more valuable.
Miyan Ren frowned and remained silent. If Guo Shier were an ordinary professional, he might have dared to make a random offer, but the hint of soul pressure Guo Shier emitted was that of an ancestral-level figure, so he certainly didn’t dare act rashly.
After thinking for a long time, Miyan Ren tentatively said, “Five million gold talisman coins?”
Guo Shier showed a mocking smile and said nothing. Miyan Ren’s face turned red. He knew that price wasn’t enough. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Eight million gold talisman coins?”
Eagle Demon sneered and said, “Brother, it’s better to find some good materials to exchange for. At that price… even if you offered two million gold talisman coins, who would be willing to sell it?”
Miyan Ren agreed—it was true that this stuff couldn’t be valued. He said, “Please wait a moment.” He placed the crystal bottle on the low table and added, “I’ll be back in a bit. Please wait.”
Guo Shier said, “Go ahead!”
Miyan Ren left in a hurry. Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Shier, are you really willing to sell this?”
Guo Shier smiled slightly and said, “It depends on what he offers in exchange.”

Eagle Demon knew Guo Shier had an idea in mind, but he didn’t ask. Who knew what strange talismans there were here? If their conversation was recorded, that would be bad. He said, “Hmm, the blood purified from level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beasts is enough to exchange for some really good materials.”

Guo Shier sneered silently without saying a word. Eagle Demon chuckled twice and also sat quietly. He knew Guo Shier was up to something, but he couldn’t figure out what.

After waiting for half an hour, Miyan Ren finally came in, holding two talisman bags. He said, “I’m sorry. There aren’t many materials available for exchange. It took a bit too long.”

Guo Shier replied generously, “No problem. Can I see what the materials are?”

Miyan Ren handed him the two talisman bags and said, “There are a few decent items here. Please take a look, senior.”

As he examined them, Guo Shier muttered, “Hmm, it’s passable, but compared to my stuff, its value is a bit lower…” He silently used soul waves to tell Old Shuai the names of the materials. Old Shuai said, “It’s fine. A few of these are things we don’t have…”

“Although it’s a bit short, a few of these are exactly what I want. Then let’s make the deal!”

As he spoke, Guo Shier handed the crystal bottle on the low table to Miyan Ren. He actually didn’t care much about what materials he got; he just wanted an excuse to send this bottle of blood away so he could find where Miyuan Merchant Guild stored its treasures. Since this bottle of blood was top-tier material, Miyuan Merchant Guild wouldn’t keep it in the storage for lower-grade items.

Miyan Ren knew well that the materials he had were not enough to exchange for this bottle of blood. Seeing Guo Shier so readily willing to make the deal, he was secretly pleased. He said, “Hehe, Miyuan Merchant Guild won’t let our esteemed guest suffer a loss. Well, this is 100,000 gold talisman coins as compensation for the difference.” He had prepared in advance and took out another talisman bag, handing it over.

Guo Shier didn’t refuse. He took the talisman bag, stood up, and said, “Since the deal is done, we’ll be leaving now.”

Miyan Ren also stood up and said, “Okay. If the senior needs anything else, you can send a message talisman directly.” He handed the message talisman to Guo Shier and said, “Let me see you out.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Alright, goodbye.”

Miyan Ren politely escorted the two out of the shop, bowed, and then turned back inside.

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon continued walking down the street. Only then did Eagle Demon ask, “Shier, what trick did you play?” He was really curious.

Guo Shier laughed lightly and said, “It’s nothing. It’s just a mark left behind. Once fighting starts, as long as we find that bottle of blood, we can locate the warehouse where Miyan Trading Company stores its treasures. Hehe, let’s keep using this method.”
Eagle Demon thought about it for a moment before smiling and saying, “Not bad. It’s a great idea. This method won’t work for private transactions, but for large trading companies like this… they definitely won’t notice such a detail.”
Private transactions fear being traced, so few people use this trick. As for large trading companies, especially those with powerful backing, they won’t care about such petty tactics because they simply don’t believe anyone would dare target them—doing so would mean going against not only the trading company but also the entire Gu family.
After that, Guo Shier and Eagle Demon kept entering and leaving shops on this street, selling or exchanging some of the materials, from high-end to low-end ones. By the time they reached the end of the street, they had already earned millions just from gold talismans, along with many materials obtained through exchanges—though, of course, these couldn’t compare to the materials they brought with them.