The Destiny Villain Starting from Battle Through the Heavens

"Third Young Master, what brings you and Miss Xun'er to the market today? If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know."

Hearing Xiao Yan address him in a certain way, Payne's smile grew even warmer.

"Nothing important, I was just a little bored at home in the clan, so I came out for a walk to clear my head!"

Xiao Yan smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Uncle Payne, you go ahead and get busy! I'll call you if I need anything."

"Alright!"

Payne nodded and said, "Then I won't disturb Young Master and Miss Xun'er's shopping any longer. Have fun."

"Xun'er, let's go~"

Xiao Yan smiled politely, then pulled Xiao Xun'er into the market.

"Pari, take two men and follow the Third Young Master and Miss Xun'er. Don't let those ignorant fools mess with them."

Watching Xiao Yan and the others leave, Payne's smile slowly faded, and he turned to give instructions to the tall, thin guard beside him.

"Yes, Captain!"

Upon hearing this, the tall and thin guard quickly led two other guards into the crowd and followed Xiao Yan and his group at a distance.

Xiao Yan strolled around the market with Xiao Xun'er for a while before finally stopping in front of a stall.

Looking at the thumb-sized green crystal on the stall, Xiao Yan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Finally found it."

The green crystal in front of me is a first-tier wood-attribute magic core, and one of the main materials for refining Foundation Building Elixir.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to bend down and pick up the demon core to examine it, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

Xiao Yan picked up the demon core without making a sound, and then glanced at the black iron piece next to it out of the corner of his eye.

It was a very old-fashioned piece of iron, with some unwashed dirt still on it, looking as if it had just been dug out of the ground.

"Xiao Yanzi, buy that piece of black iron; it's a good thing."

Before Xiao Yan could figure out what that special feeling was, Yao Lao's voice rang in his ears.

Upon hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly, and he subtly nodded his chin.

However, Xiao Yan didn't pick up the black iron piece directly. Instead, he tossed the green magic core in his hand and asked the somewhat shifty-looking stall owner, "What kind of magical beast's magic core is this?"

"Young master has a good eye! This is the magic core of a first-tier magical beast, the Wood-Devouring Fox, which is considered top-grade among first-tier magic cores."

Seeing that Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er were dressed in extraordinary attire, the stall owner hurriedly greeted them enthusiastically, "Our Fang Mercenary Group spent more than half a month hunting down five Wood-Devouring Foxes to obtain this magic core. If you sincerely want it, five hundred gold coins will suffice."

"Too expensive!"

Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "The market price for a first-tier magic core is usually between four hundred and four hundred and fifty gold coins. Moreover, among first-tier magical beasts, the Devouring Wood Fox's attack power isn't particularly high, making it relatively easy to kill. It's just a bit hard to find!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the stall owner's lips twitched slightly, immediately realizing he'd run into an expert. He then gave an awkward laugh and said, "Then four hundred and seventy..."

"I'll take this magic core!"

Before the stall owner could finish speaking, a magnetic voice suddenly rang out.

The stall owner instinctively looked in the direction of the sound and saw a handsome young man dressed in a moon-white robe and holding an ivory folding fan walking slowly toward them.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly upon seeing the person who had arrived.

Xiao Yan had originally thought that Nalan Sheng had already left Wutan City, but he never expected to see this guy in his own market, which immediately put him in a bad mood.

"There are five thousand gold coins in this card. Apart from this magic core, I'll take care of everything else on your stall."

Nalan Sheng ignored Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er, instead taking out a black card and throwing it in front of the stall owner, speaking in a tone that suggested he was not short of money.

"..."

The stall owner was slightly taken aback at first, then quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Young master, please wait a moment, I'll pack everything up for you right away."

It's not surprising that the stall owner was being obsequious, because although he had a lot of items on his stall, they were worth at most two or three thousand gold coins.

As a result, Nalan Sheng directly offered double the price to buy the stall, so how could the stall owner not be happy?

[Ding! Host has intercepted the first-tier magic core of the destined male protagonist. Reward: 100 villain points!]

[Ding! Host has intercepted the protagonist's Xuan-rank beginner-level combat skill, "Absorb Palm," and is rewarded with 1000 Villain Points!]

Hearing the system notification in his ear, Nalan Sheng's lips curled up slightly before he turned his gaze to Xiao Yan. He feigned apology and said, "Third Young Master, I'm really sorry~ I just happen to be in dire need of a wood-attribute magic core, I didn't come here specifically to steal your things."

"..."

Seeing the barely concealed smile on Nalan Sheng's lips, Xiao Yan was speechless for a moment, but on the surface he smiled and said, "Young Master Nalan is joking. When buying things in the market, it's always the highest bidder who gets the goods. There's no question of fighting or scrambling."

"Young Master is so understanding. I won't disturb your date any longer."

As soon as Nalan finished speaking, he waved his hand and put all the items that the stall owner had packed into his storage ring, then left without looking back.

"Brother Xiao Yan, that guy was clearly doing it on purpose."

Watching Nalan Sheng's departing figure, Xiao Xun'er frowned slightly and said, "He must have known that you urgently needed a first-tier wood-attribute magic core, which is why he deliberately offered a high price to buy that magic core."

"Nonsense~ Of course I know he did it on purpose."

Xiao Yan said helplessly, "But they haven't violated the market's trading rules, so I can't just use my power to bully them, can I?"

"If I really did that, the reputation of our Xiao Family Market would be ruined. Who would want to set up a stall and do business here then?"

"Brother Xiao Yan, what should we do next?"

"What else can we do but keep shopping!"

Xiao Yan shrugged and said, "I don't believe that such a large market can't find a second first-tier wood-attribute magic core."

Teacher, what exactly was that black piece of metal? Why did it give me such a strange feeling?

Compared to the first-tier magic core that Nalan Sheng had intercepted, Xiao Yan was more curious about the origin of the black iron piece and couldn't help but ask Yao Lao in his heart.

[I can't say for sure what it is exactly, but that black iron piece was probably made by an alchemist, so only those with exceptional soul perception could sense its peculiarity.]

The old apothecary pondered for a moment and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that black iron piece is likely used for storing information, and it most likely contains some pill formulas."