Second Time

Chapter 27 - Shimmering Ore City

Shimmering Ore City was a stark opposite to Jade Garden City. A huge number of houses and courtyards, all carved from stone, dotted the barren landscape as far as the eye could see. The inhabited parts of the town had the snow swept off the roofs, but that only included around a fifth of all the buildings. The rest would be filled as the opening of the Eternal Ore Domain drew nearer over the next two years.

A tall snowy mountain range walled off the city on one side. When the sun hit right, the ores within the exposed stone glittered, giving the city its name.

A massive array surrounded the city that provided heat. Despite it, the temperature was still below freezing. Cai Fei pulled a furred cloak closer around her body while Shao Yue walked with a carefree nature in her usual sleeveless robes. Her skin showed no trace of cold. Her footsteps left behind patches of melted snow.

People with no cultivation were a rare sight in the town. Even the workers shovelling the snow out of the streets had several meridians open at the least. A relatively inhospitable town that only received attention every four decades didn't have much allure as a long-term residence.

Most of the preparations for the Eternal Ore Domain's opening were handled by the local Roaring Blizzard Sect. Shao Yue had already looked through their library in her past life. One of her grade five yin cultivation techniques came from the sect. She also had a recommendation letter addressed to the sect master, but didn't feel like using it.

In such a wasteland, how could the sect have good quantities of high-grade herbs for her to refine?

The other two letters, addressed to merchant groups, attracted her much more. To decide which one to act on, she had to gather some information on the two groups.

While she asked around, a pair of men spied on her from a distance.

"That's a monster beast," one of the men said, his eyes wide. He had dishevelled hair and a rough beard.

The thin man at his side snapped his head to look at Shao Yue. "What? Brother, are you sure?"

"Positive. My Beast Roar Art gives me the ability to see Beast Cores, and that woman definitely has one."

"Her hair and eyes are a bit strange, but other than that, she looks human. Does that mean she's a grade eight monster beast?"

Monster beasts could assume a human form at grade seven, but they'd always have traits of their monster form, such as Hu'er's tails and ears. At grade eight most of those vanished, and at grade nine they would be indistinguishable from a normal human.

The first man frowned. "It's possible, but judging from the size of the Beast Core, it should only be grade six. That might just be the true form of the monster beast."

"Should we try to capture it?"

"If it's grade six, our entrapment array will work, but if it's grade eight... we might be in trouble."

"Imagine what we could do if we tamed a beauty like that!" The man let out a laugh that would send goosebumps crawling over any woman's skin.

"Right, it might be worth the risk! Let's follow her for now."

Shao Yue hummed to herself. She was a little interested in seeing if such an array would actually do anything to her. With Cai Fei and Hu'er at her side, she didn't have much to fear even if she became immobilized, so she pretended not to notice the two men plotting against her.

Shae Yue acted normally for the next half hour, then said, "Let's stop in here for a meal. We'll go to the Roaring Blizzard Sect after."

Cai Fei tilted her head, wondering why Shao Yue had changed their plans, but shoved it to the back of her mind and focused on the promise of food.