Luo Xiyao looked around and saw male cultivators passing by on all sides. Her beautiful eyes darted about as an idea came to her.
With an air of pride, holding herself with an assumed nobility, she spoke into the void, “Has anyone here seen a girl in purple robes?”
After saying this, she waited for the male cultivators to step forward and answer her question. But to her surprise, they seemed not to even notice her—they completely ignored her.
Some of them even got annoyed that she was blocking the way and said, “Miss, you’re standing in the way!”
Luo Xiyao’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and the look in her eyes gradually turned cold. These people were simply too ungrateful!
She had stooped so low as to give them a chance to get close to her, and they didn’t even appreciate it!
Accustomed to being adored and pursued, Luo Xiyao probably didn’t realize that to many cultivators, no matter how beautiful a woman was, in the end, she was just a shell of flesh.
In the eyes of most cultivators, even the most stunning woman was nothing more than a “beautiful skeleton” — a painted skin. Compared to cultivation base, resources, and opportunities, beauty simply wasn’t worth mentioning.
Luo Xiyao stood there stunned for a moment, finally accepting the fact that no one was going to pay her any attention.
Unable to gather information from passersby, she decided to ask the stall owners instead.
She struggled to push her way to a stall and asked with an arrogant look, “Boss, have you seen a girl in purple robes pass by this street?”
The stall owner, following the principle that “the customer is always right,” smiled warmly and said, “Miss, quite a few women in purple have passed by today. Could you describe the one you’re looking for? What are her distinguishing features?”
Luo Xiyao impatiently repeated what the older woman had told her earlier.
“Those women were indeed pretty, but they don’t match the description you gave,” the stall owner shook his head, his shrewd eyes lowering thoughtfully. “They’re probably not the person you’re looking for.”
“Where did those women go?” Luo Xiyao pressed further. Since she finally had a lead, she wasn’t about to give up easily.
Seeing the impatience on Luo Xiyao’s face and noticing she showed no intention of buying anything, the stall owner waved his hand and said, “Xingbao Street is always packed with people coming and going. How am I supposed to remember? Why don’t you ask around somewhere else, miss?”
Hearing his words, a flash of anger appeared in Luo Xiyao’s eyes. This stall owner was clearly trying to brush her off!
Still, she held back her temper. She took a deep breath and said to him, “If you take me to find those women, I’ll give you a hundred low-grade spirit stones!”
The stall owner let out a light laugh. “Little girl, are you sent here by some other stall to cause trouble?”
Luo Xiyao’s beautiful eyes flared with anger as she explained, “Boss, I really am looking for someone. It’s just that this is my first time at the black market, and I’m not familiar with the area. That’s why I’m asking for your help.”
As soon as she finished speaking, among the endless stream of people passing by, someone’s expression changed. Their eyes locked onto Luo Xiyao, as if they were scheming something.
The stall owner looked at Luo Xiyao, a hint of pity flashing briefly in his eyes. Then he said to her, “Little girl, in the time we’ve been talking, I’ve already lost out on several million spirit stones. And now you’re offering a hundred stones and asking me to give up my business for the day? Do you really think that’s possible? You should go back to wherever you came from and stop blocking my stall.”
“How could you possibly make several million spirit stones in such a short time?!” Luo Xiyao clearly didn’t believe him. She felt the stall owner was just making excuses.
But just then, a customer at his stall picked up an item and said, “Hey boss, are you doing business or not? I’m waiting to buy something here!”
“Yes, yes, of course! The item in your hand is a third-grade magical artifact. That’ll be five million spirit stones,” the stall owner said with an apologetic smile.
“Fine.” The customer put away the artifact, transferred five million spirit stones to the stall owner, and then turned and left.
Luo Xiyao’s eyes went wide. All the spirit stones she had in total didn’t even add up to a few million—and yet this stall owner had effortlessly earned several million in just a few breaths!
She didn’t know what to feel about it. She never imagined that setting up a stall at the black market could be so lucrative!
“Miss, why are you still standing here?” the stall owner asked with a smile.
“You…” Luo Xiyao gritted her teeth and decided to go all in. “If you take me to find those purple-robed women, I’ll give you five million too.”
“Miss, why don’t you go ask another stall owner? I’m hoping to make a bit more today,” the stall owner said with a look of resignation. This young lady was clearly someone who’d never had to worry about food or money in her life.
Stalls on Xingbao Street were incredibly hard to get, and they were extremely expensive. He’d only just broken even today—there was no way he was leaving.
Not even if the Heavenly Emperor himself came down to tempt him!
Luo Xiyao bit her lip lightly. The people at this black market were really difficult to deal with. If she weren’t short on time, she wouldn’t bother asking these people for help!
She took a deep breath, turned around, and headed for the next stall.
But as she looked up, she saw a woman in yellow robes walking straight toward her.
The woman was graceful and elegant, with a delicate, radiant beauty. Every move she made was refined and extraordinary, carrying an air of ethereal lightness.
Beneath her delicate brows were a pair of eyes as clear as a mountain spring. With every glance, they sparkled with charm and sweetness—so beautiful they were beyond compare.
Luo Xiyao felt a pang of jealousy, yet at the same time, she found the woman before her strangely familiar.
The woman shot Luo Xiyao a sideways glance, then continued looking around as if searching for something or someone.
“Stop right there. What’s your name?” Luo Xiyao raised her voice, a flicker of darkness passing through her eyes.
