Zhou Yan headed to the East City's trading bazaar, a place specifically for selling materials. The materials Zhou Yan intended to purchase this time were several unique to the East City's powers.
One was soul stones. Zhou Yan was not unfamiliar with this material, as his territory's Free Material Instance had already been unlocked, yielding a considerable amount daily.
Another type of crystal was soul crystals. This material was far more potent. Not only could it be used as a crafting material, in alchemy, or for formations, but it could also be directly absorbed to enhance one's soul power or mental strength.
In essence, soul crystals possessed immense utility and were extremely expensive. Crucially, they were rarely obtainable by ordinary individuals.
Many lords sought to acquire these soul crystals to boost their mental attributes. This material was difficult to procure; without specialized channels, acquiring a large quantity was impossible.
Zhou Yan's primary focus was precisely on purchasing these soul crystals. As for soul stones, he was not particularly in need of them.
The reason he was buying these soul crystals was naturally for the magic-class professions within his territory.
While the magic-class professions in his territory were few, he anticipated their numbers would significantly increase in the future. Being prepared in advance was always a good strategy.
The last type of material was soul stones.
Soul stones also had significant uses, but they were primarily employed as materials for upgrading buildings and forging equipment.
Zhou Yan's objective in East City was soul crystals and soul stones.
After a considerable time, Zhou Yan spotted the East City bazaar. He exchanged glances with Xiao Zhao and the others before entering.
"It's quite lively here. Not only materials are sold, but also various weapons and equipment. Do they not sell to us?" Xiao Zhao found the people here peculiar. She looked around at the items, noting that the quality of the equipment was not particularly high.
"Young lady, if you like it, the price can be a bit lower," the shopkeeper said to Xiao Zhao with a smile.
"Don't you only trade with lords?" Xiao Zhao inquired.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you must be new here! You've misunderstood. Only a few rare materials from the Soul Continent are exclusive to lords. Other items are completely unrestricted."
"Think about it, if all goods were only traded with lords, how much tax revenue would be lost? The Alliance wouldn't make such a decision."
After hearing the shopkeeper's explanation, Zhou Yan and his companions finally understood. They had misinterpreted the situation. It wasn't that everything was exclusively traded with lords, but rather that only the materials indigenous to the Soul Continent were directly transacted with lords.
Zhang Wuji and the others quickly communicated with Zhou Yan, realizing that many things were not as they had initially understood. Zhou Yan paid it no mind, as Zhang Wuji had only spent an hour gathering information, and naturally, many things hadn't been thoroughly understood.
Zhou Yan then issued an order for them to freely purchase all kinds of materials, the more the better. They were not to worry about the cost, as he possessed an abundance of wealth.
With Zhou Yan's directive, the others immediately began acquiring materials.
"Shopkeeper, I'll take all these materials," Zhou Yan said, having found the shopkeeper to be quite amiable. He bought out the vendor's entire stock in one go.
"Thank you, sirs," the shopkeeper said, genuinely pleased. He then proceeded with the transaction with Zhou Yan. However, the shopkeeper then asked Zhou Yan, "You've come for those unique materials, haven't you?"
Zhou Yan nodded. "Indeed. I just heard they're not easy to acquire, and many people are looking for them."
The shopkeeper looked at Zhou Yan and said, "If you're willing to spend a considerable sum, I do know of a black market where you can acquire quite a few materials. However, that place only opens at night."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan immediately produced a bag of spirit coins and asked, "Price is no issue. As long as you tell me, these spirit coins are yours."
The shopkeeper accepted the bag, which was a low-grade storage pouch containing at least a hundred thousand spirit coins. He quickly put it away and handed Zhou Yan a token.
He then explained, "The black market opens at 10 PM. Before that time, you need to go to Wentian River and present this token to board a ship. They will then take you to the black market."
Zhou Yan received the information he desired and thanked the shopkeeper. "Thank you."
The shopkeeper smiled and continued, "One token allows only three people on the ship. I only have this one, no more. However, I must warn you, the black market is very dangerous. Robbery has occurred even on the main streets, and there are many traps. It's not a pleasant place. You must be mentally prepared."
Zhou Yan nodded and replied, "Thank you, I'm aware of that. I will be careful."
After Zhou Yan and his group departed, Yang Zaixing immediately asked, "Lord, I'll accompany you to the black market tonight. If we encounter any villains, just leave them to me!"
"Let me go with you. I, Dian Wei, will personally protect the Lord!" Dian Wei also patted his chest and vowed.
Seeing others about to speak, Zhou Yan quickly interjected, "It's still early. Why don't we just buy a few more black market passes?"
Zhou Yan believed that since this shopkeeper could produce a black market pass, there must be others who possessed them. A thorough search would surely yield results.
Zhou Yan also relayed this news to Bai Qi and the others, asking them to look for black market passes as well. This way, they could all enter the black market together, and if any trouble arose, they could handle it immediately.
Zhou Yan then proceeded to the next stall, again purchasing all the materials from the vendor. However, this shopkeeper did not provide any information about the black market. It seemed such information was not common knowledge, and black market passes were not readily available.
Nevertheless, due to his generous spending, by the time he reached the twentieth stall, the shopkeeper also provided two black market passes and advised Zhou Yan to wear a mask and conceal his true appearance when visiting the black market.
Although these materials were common, Zhou Yan needed them. Moreover, the ability to acquire black market passes from these individuals was quite beneficial to him.
After acquiring about ten black market passes, Zhou Yan headed directly to the area specializing in the sale of those specific materials. Within the entire city, apart from the black market, this was the only place where these materials could be purchased.
As for the origin of the materials within the black market, no one bothered to investigate. The vested interests involved were simply too vast.