Lucian seemed to be asking the Evernight Goddess yet also seemed to be asking the unnameable thing in the starry sky.
Suppressing the unyieldingness and resentment in his heart, he did not lie flat just because the other party was the Ring of Destiny. That final ray of light that appeared proved he was not completely alone.
Although he was unsure what that ray of light intended, at the very least it had helped him escape once from danger. In this mad and desperate world, to judge by actions rather than intentions was the wisest choice.
Moreover, if the Ring of Destiny truly wanted to descend through his body, then it would have to wait until he advanced to Sequence 1. Otherwise, Lucian's body couldn't withstand the presence of a complete great Great Old Ones! And this period would be the time for him to accumulate power—it was his only chance!
He didn't know how much time had passed. Countless plans flashed through Lucian's mind, and just as many were denied.
Only a great Great Old Ones could fight against another great Great Old Ones—and the ones with hope of becoming great Great Old Oness were few enough to count on one hand.
Evernight Goddess Adam, Klein—plus the God of Steam and Lilith for numbers' sake. Among them, Klein was the easiest to rope in, and Adam the hardest. So, going full circle, he was back to Klein again!
Did He already foresee this outcome? So He gave me a copy of the Zhou Mingrui Biography?
Lucian recalled how not long ago he had vowed to rely on himself. Now he was thinking of forming alliances.
…
Backlund's air quality was terribly poor. Every breath gave a tearing sensation in the throat—of course, this was limited to the slums.
The chaos of the slums was the best cover for gray industries. Many unofficial Beyonders came here to offload stolen goods.
The Church of the Evernight Goddess had previously asked him if he was willing to join them, and subtly revealed that they wouldn't interfere with his choice of Beyonder path.
He was all alone, so he didn't think long before gladly agreeing. After all, what the Evernight Goddess valued was his future, while what he needed was the present. Without the present, what future could there be?
Supposedly, the church planned to assign him to Tingen City as a trainee bishop—on the condition that he became a Beyonder within one month.
Bishop Electra of the Church of the Evernight Goddess had vaguely hinted that as long as he became a Beyonder, the condition would be fulfilled. It didn't matter whether the Beyonder pathway belonged to the Church or not.
This seemed like the Evernight Goddess's intention. Otherwise, by convention, the bishop should have given him the Sequence 9 potion of the Night pathway—or at least provided the formula.
In fact, Lucian would have been glad if that were the case. If he were made to become a Sleepless, then in order to become a god in the end, he'd definitely backstab the Evernight Goddess.
The slums of Backlund had a different look. The great smog event hadn't happened yet. Busy figures were everywhere on the shabby streets.
Sweat mixed with cheap alcohol drifted from a tavern not far away. The darkening sky meant more and more people were gathering in the tavern.
Lucian sat down in a corner of the tavern. He didn't go to the Beyonder trading location himself—he was just an ordinary person with no contact with Beyonder powers for now.
Before long, a tall middle-aged man with a scruffy beard shouted at Lucian.
The man's voice was loud and boisterous, with a bit of drunkenness in his tone.
"You, the kid over there, want a glass of beer?"
"I want a five-pence beer, fermented for over six months."
Lucian replied with the agreed-upon code. In this land, such exchanges were quite common.
"So troublesome. Then come with me to the cellar to pick it out." The man sounded a little impatient.
The two of them wove through the crowd of drinkers, going down a spiral staircase into the tavern's basement. The noise from upstairs faded, and even the air became thinner.
"It's in there. Don't forget the introduction fee."
The man's face turned fierce, sweeping away the drunken look he had earlier.
"Here is one gold pound."
Lucian's face showed some reluctance to part with the money. In the end, he gritted his teeth and quickly handed over the gold coin.
The middle-aged man weighed the coin in his hand, then his expression instantly softened.
"I'm Raul Dianyé. If you need anything else, come find me at the tavern after 7 p.m."
Raul hummed a cheerful tune as he left the basement, but inwardly he thought—the kid probably doesn't have enough money left to ask for more help.
He showed such a pained expression over one pound—clearly just a slightly wealthy ordinary person with no real background. Maybe I could sell his information to some thugs.
Lucian had no idea that his act not only failed to fool Raul but also made him a target.
He took a cloak out of his pocket and put it on to cover his eye-catching appearance. Then he pushed open the old wooden door and entered the trading room.
"I need a Sequence 9 potion formula—any pathway is fine."
Lucian had just entered the small room when he heard someone—who looked like a woman—make a trade request.
He wisely did not speak at that moment and silently retreated to an unnoticeable corner.
Everyone in the room fell silent for a while before a hoarse male voice spoke.
"I have a Sequence 9 'Secret Prayers' potion formula. Price: 200 pounds. Non-negotiable."
Secret Prayers was Sequence 9 of the Hanged Man pathway—and also a very dangerous path, because the Sequence 0 of this pathway had already gone mad!
Once, the man closest to the True Sun died from betrayal. His humanity fused with extreme negative emotions and revived on his corpse, inheriting everything from the Hanged Man path, and came to be known as the True Creator!
At the end of the Fourth Epoch, He was sealed by the current Seven True Gods in the forsaken land. Since then, He lost His anchor, lost His reason, and fell to become one of the evil gods.
The woman did not hesitate to agree to the trade. For her, becoming a Beyonder might be the most important thing.
They completed the transaction under the witness of an old man with a white beard, signing a series of contracts.
Lucian's gaze also fell on the old man in front.
There was nothing special about the elder's appearance—long wavy hair, a few deep wrinkles on his face, and no trace of mystical aura on him. He didn't seem like a Beyonder at all.
Before long, Lucian's attention was caught by an advertisement on the wall.
Due to seasonal change, a batch of hummingbirds was up for sale. All types available. Interested parties please go to 4 Lanter Street and look for Slanter Reina.
Bronze hummingbirds weren't considered rare among hummingbird types. Since this Mr. Slanter claimed to have all types, it was likely that bronze ones could be found there.
Lucian silently noted the address. Then he was drawn to the next trader's accent.
This person's accent was strange—clearly not from Backlund. Maybe not even from Loen at all.
"I need a Beyonder weapon. High power. Usable by ordinary people. Must last at least one year."
Again, the room fell silent. Just when most thought the trade would fall through, a thin man weakly said:
"I have a shotgun that meets your conditions. It can still be used for two years. Those hit by this gun will lose all their blood and become dried corpses! But the side effects are huge—each use draws your own blood. After three uses, you'll die from blood loss. Also, it can't touch living beings directly—otherwise it'll misfire! Price: not less than 500 pounds. You can make up part of it with items I deem valuable."
Though the shotgun's side effects were heavy, it was still an excellent weapon. 500 pounds was a bit cheap. Lucian thought for a moment and saw through the truth.
The owner of the shotgun knew this well—but he had already used it twice. A third use would probably be a mutual kill. So the gun had little value left to him.
The foreign-accented buyer clearly fancied the weapon. But he looked annoyed—he probably didn't have enough money.
"I only have 300 pounds. But I also have some rare trinkets uncommon in Loen."
He pulled out a small backpack filled with various herbs and animal corpses.
Lucian also looked into his bag—and quickly spotted one of the main materials he needed for his potion.
The Passerby potion required a black-eyed chameleon. But this special chameleon could only be found in the forests within Feysac. It wasn't rare—but people had little interest in it, so it was uncommon on Loen's market.
"I'll pay 10 pounds. I'm interested in that black-eyed chameleon—maybe I can make a specimen out of it."
Lucian offered a very low price for the chameleon. According to his knowledge, the creature wasn't part of any other potion formula—otherwise, the man wouldn't have casually tossed it in a corner.
"This kind of chameleon is not sold individually. Ten for a set—one hundred pounds total."
The man didn't accept Lucian's offer. Instead, he tried to bundle-sell the chameleons to fleece Lucian, whom he took for a sucker—after all, Lucian's offer had reached a high price of ten pounds!
If those hunters in Feysac knew that rich folks in Loen were willing to pay this kind of price, it would surely spark a hunting craze.
One hundred pounds for ten black-eyed chameleons—as far as Sequence 9 potion main ingredients go, this price was unbelievably low.
Or rather, one should say—unthinkable.
In fact, before the Passerby potion appeared in this world, ten pounds apiece for this kind of lizard was ridiculously expensive.
After all, this lizard wasn't considered a rare magical material, and its use range was very limited.
Though Lucian could accept the price of 100 pounds for ten lizards, acting was still necessary. Otherwise, it would be too easy to expose his real intent.
"I don't need that many—five at most. I won't waste money on unnecessary items."
Lucian applied pressure with a silent attitude.
"Deal!"
The man saw Lucian hesitating and worried he might not go through with the purchase—so he immediately backed down. Honestly, if Lucian had insisted on just one, he would have agreed too. After all, these things were just picked up on the road while passing through Feysac.
…
The foreign man finally gathered enough pounds after dumping a bunch of strange little curios, and obtained the Beyonder item he wanted.
Lucian, too, got the promotion materials he needed—making it a transaction that satisfied all three parties involved.
The atmosphere of the trading gathering was greatly lifted by their successful deal. One after another, all kinds of Beyonder items emerged in abundance.
This was Backlund, after all. Most of the rich people and various factions in all of Loen chose to take root and grow here.
"I have here three special charms—each with different effects. One is to stop bleeding and heal wounds, another shoots a searing flame, and the last grants a wonderful night. A set of three charms, price: 120 pounds. I believe that's a very fair price!"
"As for why! I can make this promise right here: the third charm contains mummy powder!"
The speaker was a slightly plump middle-aged man. He hadn't bothered to cover his face. Only a few thin yellow hairs remained on top of his head. His tiny eyes were squeezed by the excess fat on his face.
Lucian had some impression of him. Outwardly, he was a doctor in the area. Rumor had it that a medicine he developed once sparked a scramble among the rich in the upper districts.
From the time he entered the trading room, this plump man had stood with eyes closed beside the elder who was hosting the gathering. Only when he proposed a trade did he open his slightly refined-looking eyes.
"I'll pay 150 pounds. Can you sell me just two of the mummy powder charms?"
120 pounds for three ordinary charms was too expensive. But once the charms were associated with the famous mummy powder, the price suddenly seemed cheap.
Before the fat apothecary could speak, Lucian cut in first:
"I'll buy a full set for 120 pounds!"
His goal was different from the others. What he wanted were actually the two charms with healing and offensive properties—things others weren't that interested in.
After Lucian spoke, the apothecary forced his sour face straight. He now doubted if these people's ears automatically filtered out part of what he'd said.
He had made it very clear—his charms were bound in sets of three and wouldn't be sold individually!
Fortunately, there was at least one person present whose ears still worked. That made his mood improve quite a bit.
"You're the first to buy a full set of charms. I'll give you a big discount. As thanks for respecting what I said, you only need to pay one gold pound."
The plump middle-aged man decided to disgust these disrespectful people by practically giving the charms away to Lucian.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucian could feel the gazes around him suddenly grow solid.
Almost everyone had turned their attention to him. Some were envious, some regretful—but most wore thick jealousy.
The fat apothecary also realized that what he had just done had put Lucian in a dangerous situation.
He knew very well what kind of people these traders were. Though they didn't dare commit robbery in front of the elder, things were different outside the tavern.