Star Odyssey

Chapter 1763: Yi's Emporium

The shop owner stared at Lu Yin in a daze before finally registering what the young man had asked. At that moment, a slight smile subconsciously spread across the man’s face. “I understand. So, is Young Master looking for the most exclusive store?"

Lu Yin nodded and stared intently at the shop owner. "It must be the most exclusive."

"That is not a problem at all. This one will escort Young Master there personally. This store is absolutely the very best." The shop owner behaved very motivated, as if he had received a sudden enlightenment.

Lu Yin was somewhat taken aback by the change in behavior, but he quickly praised the shopkeeper’s decision. When he had been at the Sea King’s Dome, he had not thought about getting a local to guide him, but only the locals would be familiar enough with a city to know which shop was the most expensive. Going to an auction house would be too low-level for Lu Yin’s current status. Although many items that were auctioned off were very expensive, most of the best items sold in such a manner were not exclusive to the auction houses, which was unfortunate.

"Young Master, allow me to show you the way." The shop owner smiled warmly, though his smile was rather ugly.

They left the store and hailed a cart that was pulled by a strange animal. The shop owner drove, and after a long ride, the two men arrived at another street.

Lu Yin blinked as he looked around at the playful and laughing women on each side of the street, as well as the flamboyant lighting. "Where are we?"

The shop owner moved closer. "This is the most enjoyable place in all of Venom King City! Young Master, here, you can experience the greatest pleasures in the world, even things that you can’t imagine! There is nothing that you cannot find here. Young Master, what’s your preference? They have all types."

Lu Yin slapped the shop owner upside the head. "I thought you said that you were taking me to the most expensive place!"

The shop owner grew terrified. "This street is home to Venom King City’s largest brothel, and the prices there are unmatched! I heard that even Casanova himself has visited this place before. Is this not up to your liking, Young Master?"

Lu Yin was left completely speechless. "I want to buy something!"

After a brief moment, he corrected himself. "Let me make it as clear as possible: I want to buy poison, or some sort of exotic treasure, weapons, or similar things. I want the best and the most expensive."

The shop owner's face twitched, and he gulped hard.

"Understand now?" Lu Yin asked in a vicious tone. His every move was being watched and spied upon; just how would he explain himself of his actions on this street when word of it leaked out?

Actually, why bother explaining at all?

The shop owner quickly nodded. "Understood! This lowly one understands! I will take you to Yi's Emporium.”

"Yi's Emporium?"

"Almost any poison that can be found within the Divine Venom Dynasty is sold in Yi's Emporium. It’s the biggest poison market in the empire, and they also sell weapons and all other sorts of treasures. Young Master will definitely be satisfied."

"Let’s just go to Yi's Emporium…"

Within the imperial palace, Qing Shaohuang expressed a bit of surprise as he read a report. He was standing in front of Qing Longlong.

"He went to Beauty Street," Qing Shaohuang commented as he tossed the report away.

Qing Longlong was confused. "Beauty Street?"

Suddenly she remembered something, and her face flushed brightly. She snorted, "Shameless!"

Qing Shaohuang had no intention of continuing this conversation with his daughter. Instead, he asked, "Did you take him to see Yuan Miaomiao?"

Qing Longlong knew that she could not hide this from her father, so she grunted in affirmation. "Miaomiao wanted to see him."

Qing Shaohuang frowned. "Don't take Lu Yin to see anyone else from that family again. Just leave it alone."

Qing Longlong looked at Qing Shaohuang and hesitated, but she eventually decided to remain silent.

News that Lu Yin had visited Beauty Street quickly spread throughout Venom King City. At this moment, Qing Shaohuang was no longer the most talked about person in the city, as Lu Yin had taken this position.

"Beauty Street? Where’s that?" Wen Sansi asked curiously.

The local guide provided for the Wen family by Venom King City replied, "A street of brothels."

Wen Sansi nodded and no longer cared at all, but Wen Qian’er spat, called Lu Yin shameless, and left.

Mr. You soon learned of Lu Yin's trip as well. As long as Lu Yin did nothing to hide his movements, everyone would know wherever he went. If Lu Yin hid things, then only Qing Shaohuang would know of his movements.

"Beauty Street? Hmph!" Mr. You's eyes were dark. He had made the trip to Venom Flowzone not only because of the invitation that he had received, but also because the overseer hoped to find a way to convince Qing Shaohuang to cooperate with the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers to deal with Lu Yin. This was the overseer’s true mission.

Balsam also received word that Lu Yin had gone to Beauty Street, though she was somewhat puzzled, as Lu Yin had been too open about his actions. Everyone was aware that Lu Yin’s only connection to any brothel was the Neoverse’s Azure Mansion. Other than that, Lu Yin had never once been known to visit such places. What had changed with his visit to Venom King City?

Had he done this deliberately?

In Yuan Taishi's estate, the master of the house looked quite calm. "He went to Beauty Street? Odd that he was able to remain calm with Miaomiao..."

At this time, on a certain section of Beauty Street, Qing Li quickly made an emergency U-turn.

"My lord, are you not going to visit Miss Tang?"

Qing Li felt quite frustrated. "It's bad luck to go right now."

"Miss Tang has been waiting a long time for you."

The corner of Qing Li’s mouth twitched. His determination to go rose once more, but after realizing that he might run into Lu Yin, Qing Li lost interest. “Cut the crap, I won’t be going anymore.” He paused, before adding, “Make a trip down and make sure that Lu Yin doesn’t seen Miss Tang."

"This lowly one will be on his way."

Qing Li felt cornered. Why was that bastard haunting him? The king had wanted to visit Beauty Street to vent a bit, but such a situation had occurred. Things were just getting worse and worse.

Lu Yin just turned around on Beauty Street and started making his way elsewhere.

Yi's Emporium took up half of the street it lay on, and Lu Yin was able to see the building from far away.

Yi's Emporium, Yi's Emporium, Lu Yin's heart moved. "What sort of connection is there between this Yi's Emporium and Attendant Yi?"

The shop owner answered in a respectful tone, "The hidden owner of Yi's Emporium is Attendant Yi."

Lu Yin was surprised at this. "He’s allowed to have his own businesses with his position? Does Qing Shaohuang not care?"

"Qing-" The shop owner was about to reply, but then he suddenly stopped. He was not qualified to speak Qing Shaohuang's name casually. "His Majesty’s knowledge is not something that this lowly one would dare to comment on, but Yi's Emporium has been open for many, many years, and it enjoys an excellent reputation."

Lu Yin did not particularly care about the place’s reputation. All he cared about was whether their goods were of a high enough quality. Even if their reputation was poor, what would they do? Try to rob him?

Yi's Emporium took up half the street front, but it looked rather simple from the outside.

Half a street in Venom King City was a distance that an ordinary person could not cover even after spending an entire day of walking. This meant that even cultivators could enjoy the pleasure of wandering about a store, and it also meant that the store had an endless variety of goods.

Yi's Emporium had nine levels, and while that might not sound like very many, each level was extremely tall, and even the imperial palace could be seen from the top of the building.

Lu Yin’s eyes darted about for a moment as he approached Yi's Emporium, as there were Enlighters protecting the building, and more than one at that. This was an impressive lineup.

"The Divine Venom Continent is the heart of the Divine Venom Dynasty, and each of the hundreds of cities on this continent has its own Yi's Emporium. In each location, Yi's Emporium is only shorter than the city master’s palace. This place is Yi's Emporium’s headquarters, and it is only shorter than the imperial palace itself," the shop owner mentioned as he led Lu Yin to the store.

This Yi's Emporium had quite an imposing entrance, as it was manned by twenty Explorers. Such a show of strength was enough to scare most people away.

Even before Lu Yin entered the building, someone approached came to welcome him.

"This lowly one is Yi's Emporium’s manager, Cai. I came to welcome Alliance Leader Lu." The old man respectfully bowed to Lu Yin. There was an entire group of people behind the old man, and both the men and women bowed to show their respect to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was surprised. "You know me?"

Cai Lai answered in a very respectful manner, "Who doesn't know of Alliance Leader Lu? I’m truly honored to have Alliance Leader Lu visit my Yi's Emporium."

Lu Yin smiled and walked in.

The shop owner smiled at Cai Lai in an attempt to suck up to the man, but Cai Lai just shot the owner of the small shop a cold look before following after Lu Yin. The shop owner considered his options and then followed behind.

As soon as Lu Yin entered Yi's Emporium, everyone else was once again informed of his location. Wen Sansi and many others simply wondered why Lu Yin had left Beauty Street so quickly.

Attendant Yi's expression completely changed the moment he learned that Lu Yin had gone to Yi's Emporium, and his mood hit rock bottom. This was because Attendant Yi was aware that Qing Shaohuang had already offered to cover all of Lu Yin’s expenses during his visit. This meant that everything that Lu Yin spent in Yi's Emporium needed to be billed to Qing Shaohuang, but how could Attendant Yi ask Qing Shaohuang for money? Just the thought of that situation made Attendant Yi feel as though the sky was falling down on him.

Qing Shaohuang's expression also became a bit odd after he learned that Lu Yin had gone to Yi's Emporium. Of course, the emperor was aware that Yi's Emporium had been established by Attendant Yi. After all, everyone had some sort of hobby, and there was nothing particularly wrong with Attendant Yi’s love for money. Qing Shaohuang knew that Yi's Emporium should bill him for Lu Yin’s spending, and while the emperor did not particularly care about money, would Attendant Yi dare to accept such a thing from the emperor?

Everyone was watching Lu Yin. Attendant Yi’s greatest wish at this moment was for Lu Yin to not buy anything too expensive in Yi's Emporium, and it was closely followed by the wish that the store’s staff would not tell Lu Yin about any of the more valuable items. Attendant Yi desperately wanted to say something, but it was already too late.

Lu Yin entered Yi's Emporium and looked around. It was quite massive and spacious on the inside.

"Alliance Leader Lu, this is just the first floor, and all the items here are worthless. There’s nothing here that is worthy of your attention. Everything you could be interested in is up on the eighth and ninth floors," Cai Lai said.

"Let’s go and see," Lu Yin casually replied. He had already unleashed his domain, and there really was nothing on the first floor that he cared about. Most of what he saw was a variety of poisons, as well as a few weapons and armors. Everything that Lu Yin saw was useless for him, as these items were only useful for Explorers.

Still, even the first floor of the building was dedicated to Explorers, which showed just how impressive Yi's Emporium was.

The second floor, third, fourth, and even the seventh floor were all passed through one after another, and Lu Yin’s domain swept across each level as they passed. There were a few things on the seventh floor that could be of use to Lu Yin, but he wanted only the best and most expensive items that the store had to offer.

The little shop owner continued to follow behind Lu Yin. He had visited Yi's Emporium in the past, but he had only ever made it as far as the fourth floor. He had never been allowed to step foot on the fifth floor, let alone the seventh. Even in his dreams, he had not been to the eighth floor.

However, Lu Yin had given the man such an opportunity.

Each successive level of Yi's Emporium was smaller than the previous, and since the eighth floor was close to the top of the building, it was much smaller. In fact, an ordinary person could easily walk around this floor of the building.

Lu Yin spent some time on the eighth floor. The poisons that he noticed were quite strong, and each one of them were even more powerful than what Elder Wu’s. However, while the poisons were strong, they were also extremely far from being subtle.

There were not many items on the eighth floor, but Lu Yin noticed one bottle. It was small, only the size of his palm, and it was labeled "Vajra Poison."

"Alliance Leader Lu really has impressive eyesight. While this poison is not dangerous to others, if one uses it on themselves, it will make their skin indestructible. Even an Enlighter would struggle to overcome the protection that this poison provides. It is definitely one of the most precious items on the eighth floor," Cai Lai explained as he looked at Lu Yin gleaming, hope-filled eyes.

Lu Yin nodded, but was not impressed. He moved on to look at other things.

"This is Poison Firestar that has been concentrated and condensed into a small tube. Once released, it can shoot out 10,000 Poison Fire Beads. Even an Enlighter with a power level of 400,000 would struggle to survive against this attack. The beads will cover a person’s body and slow their movements, which can be very useful when fighting against Enlighters."

"This is…"

…