Pillar of Yita

”We need healing medicine and magic storage crystals.”

”Ten bottles of healing potion, and we can give you more magic storage crystals,” Fang Hong replied. Each of them had brought five bottles of healing potion, and if everyone received two bottles each, he and Parker, as ranged professionals, could each take an extra bottle, which would be just enough. Having him, an alchemist, on their team gave them a natural advantage with the magic storage crystals and their need for them wasn’t very urgent.

Unlike Tianlan, if she were here, she’d definitely drive a hard bargain, but Fang Hong’s offer was quite fair. The other party hesitated for a moment before nodding, ”Okay, that’s fair, we agree.”

”Parker,” Fang Hong turned his head and gestured, calling out, ”Bring your magic storage crystals here.”

”Why me?” Although he complained, the Papalarian reluctantly handed over the crystals. Fang Hong took them and handed them over, mentioning that these crystals were actually contributed by a magic guided conductor from the first level earlier, and they had nothing to do with them. This was a blood profit.

He watched the others carefully examine the crystals and then asked after storing them safely, ”Now, tell us where that Purple Mushroom Lord is, will you?”

”In the first area, there’s a waste water pond,” the man knew that if he didn’t satisfy Fang Hong on this matter, the subsequent negotiation would be off the table. Healing potions were what they desperately needed. Thus, the man gave a very detailed answer, opening a window from the Summoners System and flicking it towards Fang Hong.

It was a video clip showing a creature as large as a mountain slowly making its way into a distant cave. The image was slightly shaky, but it was still clear enough to see the long, radiant, glowing tentacles trailing behind it, undoubtedly belonging to the Purple Mushroom Lord.

”We saw it head toward the northern cave, about a quarter of an hour ago. It moves slowly and probably hasn’t gone far. There’s only one passage on that side; you should be able to catch up easily with it.”

Fang Hong nodded, it looked like these people had indeed encountered this lord level ’monster’, but he wasn’t particularly interested in this news. After signaling for the others to hand over the healing potions in exchange, he asked, ”What about the Blood Oath Alliance?”

Upon mentioning the Blood Oath Alliance, the man hesitated, ”We encountered people from the Blood Oath Alliance in the third area. They didn’t notice us at the time. There was a deserted, great Holy Temple. When we saw them, the people from Blood Oath Alliance seemed to be heading toward the direction of the great duct, which is in the seventh area...”

Participants in the trial naturally bought a copy of the map from outside. Although the quality of these maps varied, they all marked the same areas and overall the differences weren’t too great. So Fang Hong naturally knew the directions of the third and seventh areas.

”The seventh area, what are they doing there?”

He was filled with doubt. To get to the third area from the first and second areas was a far point on the fifth level. But if the Blood Oath Alliance was leading the pack, why would they go out of their way to take a longer route?

The man shook his head, ”I’m not sure about that, but I’m not lying to you. This is a video we shot; you can see for yourself.” As he spoke, he sent another video clip over.

Fang Hong glanced at the video; the footage was a bit blurry due to the dim light, but it was still clear enough to make out the attire of the Blood Oath Alliance members. From the video, it seemed they really did leave from the west of the great Holy Temple in the third area.

Fang Hong also had a map and was well aware that the direction was exactly the seventh area marked on it.

He frowned; this was indeed strange. Was there another secret on this level, or did the lord level monsters in the seventh area drop better loot? Were the members of the Blood Oath Alliance so confident that even if they headed to a remote point, they would be able to enter the next level before everyone else?

But it was a question without an answer, the people before him couldn’t respond, and naturally, the members of the Blood Oath Alliance wouldn’t come out to reveal the secret to him. Fang Hong continued his principle: if something didn’t make sense, set it aside for now. He nodded to the people and said, ”Thank you for the information; we are square now.”

”We’re off to find the Purple Mushroom Lord and won’t delay here any longer. Good luck to you,” he said, preparing to turn and leave.

However, the man called out to him from behind, ”Wait, friend.”

Fang Hong paused and turned back to look at him.

The man took off a small device from his strap and tossed it over, ”You might find this useful. It’s just a trade, but you’ve really helped us out, thank you.”

Fang Hong caught the device and couldn’t help but smile wryly; it turned out to be a magic meter amplifier—simply put, it could amplify a specific ether magic power signal within a certain distance, mostly used for tracking. It seemed, although they couldn’t handle the Purple Mushroom Lord, they had left a magical mark on it for tracking.

He could imagine that if he had taken advantage of his position in the trade to insist on a steep price, they would likely have kept this little device from him. Although tracking the slow-moving Purple Mushroom Lord wouldn’t be an issue without this magical seal, having it would save a lot of time.

And underground, time was undoubtedly the most precious thing for everyone.

He raised the device towards them in acknowledgment and said, ”Thanks.”

”You’re welcome,” the man also smiled, ”It’s rare to meet a summoner as straightforward as you. Honestly, I was prepared to face an exorbitant demand.”