Through the side passage, Lin Lei and the others arrived at the third floor hall of Wisteria Castle, where a vast array of goods were displayed for sale. This hall was noticeably much more crowded. People moved in small groups, stopping before various counters to examine the merchandise.
"Boss, look."
Dilia laughed. "Bei Bei, they've put out all these goods for people to look at, of course. But from what I see… with so many people browsing, I doubt many of them are actually buying."
The walls behind the counters throughout the entire third floor hall bore inscriptions.
Lin Lei was somewhat surprised. "Offensive weapons, defensive weapons, medicines, materials, cultivation aids, divine sparks…" Clearly, the numerous counters lining this third floor hall each dealt in different types of merchandise.
"Lin Lei, look — that's where they sell houses," Dilia said, pointing to a corner of the hall.
"I've always heard it's extremely difficult to get a foothold in Emperor Wing City. Let's go see just how expensive these houses really are." Lin Lei's curiosity was piqued, and he led Bei Bei and Dilia over.
Quite a few divine-level powerhouses had gathered nearby to watch.
"You're all in luck — right now, there are still three ownerless properties in all of Emperor Wing City! Act fast, because if you miss out, that's it." The purple-robed young man behind the counter spoke in an unhurried tone.
"Only three empty houses in all of Emperor Wing City?" Lin Lei could scarcely believe it.
A bystander glanced at Lin Lei and said, "Brother, every house in Emperor Wing City was sold off over a hundred million years ago. Any house available now is one whose original owner died. Then Wisteria Castle puts it back on the market — so there's no rush to buy. Emperor Wing City has tens of millions of residents, you know. Given enough time, someone's bound to die again, and then there'll be a house to buy. It's just that the prices are outrageously steep. Better to wait for something cheaper."
Hearing this, Lin Lei understood.
In Emperor Wing City, a house only became available when its original owner died. That ownerless house reverted to Wisteria Castle, which then put it back up for sale.
That made sense. Emperor Wing City prohibited fighting within its walls, but with tens of millions of residents, they couldn't all stay inside forever. Some of them — the demons, for instance — would leave to take on missions. If they died, their houses would revert to Wisteria Castle.
Lin Lei was still puzzled about one thing: how would Wisteria Castle know when a house had become ownerless?
Perhaps there was some blood-binding mechanism involved, he speculated silently.
With these thoughts in mind, Lin Lei, Dilia, and Bei Bei approached the counter to check the prices of the three houses. What they saw made them jump in shock.
"Highway robbery!" Bei Bei exclaimed. "The cheapest one is sixty million inkstones!"
Lin Lei was equally stunned. Of the three properties, the most expensive was over three hundred million inkstones, another was one hundred and twenty million inkstones, and the cheapest was sixty million inkstones.
"That's right, way too expensive. If only more of those original owners would die off!" the surrounding divine-level powerhouses fumed bitterly.
"The cheapest house in Emperor Wing City can be bought for just eight million inkstones. But when one of those cheap houses appears, it gets snapped up instantly." The mid-level god beside them sighed. "Sixty million inkstones — who can afford that?"
Lin Lei nodded to himself.
Houses varied in price. Some were absurdly expensive, but from what he'd heard, even the cheapest cost eight million inkstones — and that required luck. Everyone wanted those affordable houses, so the moment one appeared, it would probably be snatched up in an instant.
"So becoming a resident of Emperor Wing City really isn't easy," Lin Lei sighed.
He had thought himself reasonably wealthy, but after seeing these house prices, that Highgod divine spark worth seven million inkstones suddenly didn't seem like much at all.
The three of them left that counter — they hadn't been planning to buy a house anyway. Lin Lei intended to set off for the distant Blood Peak Continent. How could he settle down in any one city?
"Offensive weapons!"
The three of them couldn't help but wander over to a long counter on this side. Business here was clearly booming, with a large crowd of onlookers. But when Lin Lei looked at what was being sold, he was taken aback.
"These are called offensive weapons?" Lin Lei hadn't paid much attention to the ordinary ones.
But then he spotted something unusual among the offensive weapons — a single arrow!
If they'd been selling divine bows, Lin Lei wouldn't have been surprised. But selling a single ordinary arrow on its own — that was something else entirely.
"Fifty thousand inkstones apiece? And you have to buy at least ten?" Lin Lei couldn't help but shake his head.
The purple-robed attendant behind the counter noticed Lin Lei staring at the arrow and shaking his head, so he spoke up. "These are God-Slaying Arrows. A Midgod hit by even one is as good as dead. Even a Highgod — a dozen or so of these would scatter their soul to the winds!"
"How is that possible?" Bei Bei's eyes went wide. "It's just a physical attack. How can it kill someone that easily?"
"Physical attack?"
The purple-robed attendant scoffed. "If it were an ordinary arrow, do you think we'd be selling it here? Each of these arrows has been coated with a soul poison developed by Highgod masters of the Laws of Death. Hmph — it's designed specifically to attack the soul."
A spark of interest flickered in Lin Lei's mind. Soul poison?
Back on the Yulan Continent, the Grand Sorcerer he'd encountered had Yeru try to poison him. When Lin Lei had drunk that fine wine, it had contained soul threads that attacked the soul. He'd known for a long time that among those who cultivated the Laws of Death, some were particularly skilled at soul-based assassination.
That Grand Sorcerer had only been a Lowgod.
But now he was hearing that this was developed by a Highgod who cultivated the Laws of Death. The potency was nothing to scoff at. One arrow killing a Midgod was probably true. A dozen arrows killing a Highgod seemed about right too.
"The power is tremendous, but you still have to actually hit your target," Lin Lei understood. Whether Midgod or Highgod, no one was going to stand still and let you shoot them.
Still… there were those who specialized in marksmanship. And then there were armies — ten thousand soldiers firing arrows in unison. Even a fast-moving target would be finished in that scenario.