Chapter 21: Burning the River and Boiling the Sea

"Young Master, look at how much we have truly profited lately. We have 8,700 first-grade spirit stones, 5,000 second-grade, 2,000 third-grade, 1,300 fourth-grade, and 400 fifth-grade spirit stones." Zhang Xiao listened to the ledger Ziyan read aloud beside him, his heart filled with joy.

Although these spirit stones lacked the dense spiritual energy of crystal essence, their sheer quantity made up for the lack of quality. This massive haul was enough for him to use the Starlight God-Extinguishing Array to his heart's content.

However, the recent period had been exhausting. Even though he had raised the price to 800 spirit stones and required payments to be made exclusively in third-grade stones or higher, the queue outside remained a long, winding dragon. Zhang Xiao had even been forced to increase his daily quota to twenty clients.

Just as Zhang Xiao was lamenting how tiring it was to make money, Heizi suddenly walked into the backyard and said to him, "Young Master, there is a member of the demon race outside claiming to be a supervisor of the Tianxu Market. He wishes to see you." A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Xiao's eyes upon hearing this.

"Hmph! So, they finally couldn't sit still. Go, let him in." Having caused such a massive stir that the entire trading district was nearly paralyzed, it was only natural for the master of the Tianxu Market to take notice. Zhang Xiao just wanted to see what their attitude would be. If they wanted to cooperate, fine—but if they intended to use coercion, well, then!

After hearing Zhang Xiao's command, Heizi hurried out. Before long, a youth dressed in silk robes walked in. While his features were decent, a closer look revealed a shifty, rat-like demeanor as his eyes darted around the surroundings. "This is my Young Master. State your business," Heizi said, gesturing toward Zhang Xiao with his black scorpion claw.

"What? So young?" The youth stared at Zhang Xiao, who looked to be about his own age, and could not help but exclaim in surprise.

Zhang Xiao remained calm. "Who are you, sir, and what is your business with me?" Upon hearing this, the youth snapped back to reality. He unfurled a feather fan and laughed, "Haha, how rude of me. I am Ruifangzi, a supervisor of the Tianxu Market."

Zhang Xiao narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Oh, so it is Supervisor Rui. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Seeing Zhang Xiao's polite tone, Ruifangzi looked satisfied. "It is like this: because of your treasure-refining room, many shops are suffering from poor business and have begun to protest to the Market Master. Furthermore, the Market Master has had to dispatch a large number of patrol squads to maintain order, leaving the market's defenses thin. Therefore, the Market Master has sent me to offer you two choices."

Zhang Xiao's smile widened. "Oh? And what are these two choices? Please, Supervisor Rui, enlighten me." For some reason, seeing Zhang Xiao’s smiling expression made Ruifangzi feel uneasy, a prickling sensation of discomfort washing over him.

Ruifangzi’s strength was nothing special; he was merely at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and his true form was nothing more than a common sea fish. He had attained his position as a supervisor through his wit. Seeing Zhang Xiao’s expression, he immediately realized that Zhang Xiao was certainly no pushover.

However, thinking of the power backing him, his courage returned. The owner of the Tianxu Market was Chen Tianba, but everyone knew the true power behind it was the Tianxu Cave. Who in the Tianxu Sea dared not show some respect to the Tianxu Cave?

Ruifangzi cleared his throat and said, "The first choice is to join our Tianxu Market. Rest assured, once you join us, you will have all the power and wealth you could desire. You must know that the master of our market is the second son of the Tianxu Cave Master. As long as you join us, I dare not say much else, but at the very least, no one in the Tianxu Sea would dare lay a finger on you. How about it?"

Zhang Xiao offered a cold smile, his face expressionless. "Not interested. I choose the second option." Although he did not know what the second option was, with Zhang Xiao’s intellect, it was not hard to guess that it would involve threats or extortion.

Ruifangzi’s mouth twitched. As a clever man, he understood the implication. He sneered, "In that case, Young Master, I suggest you take care of yourself. Hmph!" With that, Ruifangzi flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

"Young Master, is it wise to do this?" Ziyan asked, looking worried. Zhang Xiao shook his head with a cold laugh. "It is not wise—it is highly unwise. But not for me; it is unwise for that Market Master. If he is hell-bent on courting death, then he cannot blame me for being merciless."

Hearing this, Heizi, ever eager for chaos, shouted from the side, "The Young Master is right! The Young Master is mighty! If they dare to come, we shall plunder his entire Tianxu Market!"

"Good! Good! Good!" At that moment, upon hearing Ruifangzi’s report, Chen Tianba’s face turned so cold it felt as though ice were dripping from it. He laughed three times and shouted to a man clad in armor and wielding a long blade standing nearby, "King Big Shrimp! Take all the soldiers and activate the market’s grand formation! I want to see what kind of skill this alchemy master has to dare look down on me!"

Following Chen Tianba’s roar, the entire Tianxu Market became a hive of activity. Pairs of demon soldiers appeared on the streets, and the dense, layered restrictions and arrays covering the market were all activated. Seeing this, the people in the market turned pale and hid away, not daring to show their faces.

Zhang Xiao sneered, tucked Ziyan back into the Xuantian Command Token, and walked out of the shop with Heizi. He saw squads of soldiers surrounding the shop, led by a Lobster Demon with the strength of the early Divine Refining realm. Zhang Xiao chuckled, "They have arrived quite quickly."

"Kill him!" With the Lobster Demon’s roar, at least a thousand demon soldiers unleashed their artifacts, attacking Zhang Xiao.

"Hmph! A bunch of trash daring to attack my Young Master?" Heizi could no longer restrain himself. His body surged in size. After this period of nourishment and the aid of Zhang Xiao’s medicinal pills, Heizi’s strength had not only fully recovered but surpassed his former self. Spiky armor suddenly erupted across his body, and his large scorpion claws glowed with a red light, transforming into two massive blades.

These were a set of artifacts Zhang Xiao had custom-crafted for Heizi. They were tailored to his physique, forged from top-tier materials, each reaching the level of a ninth-grade artifact.

With the artifacts in hand, Heizi’s power skyrocketed. The aura of the early Divine Refining realm exploded outward. He swung his blades, releasing countless streaks of rainbow-colored light. Nothing, be it person or object, could withstand a single strike. In the blink of an eye, the hundreds of soldiers in the front were decimated.

The Lobster Demon’s eyes bulged in shock. He swung his own long blade, the arc tearing through the seawater, and struck Heizi with all his might. Though the Lobster Demon was also at the early Divine Refining stage, he was far inferior to the fully-armed Heizi. His full-force strike against Heizi’s back did not even produce a spark.

In return, Heizi swung his blade, slicing the Lobster Demon’s weapon in two. Had the demon not dodged quickly, he would have been slain on the spot.

Seeing this, the Lobster Demon’s face changed. Having lived in the market for years, he recognized that Heizi’s armor and blades were ninth-grade artifacts. Greed flared in his eyes—even with the wealth of the Tianxu Market, ninth-grade artifacts were rare, and here there were two.

The Lobster Demon let out a furious roar, and countless restrictions and arrays descended from the sky. These formations had been personally set up by Chen Haotian, the master of Tianxu Cave; they were devastatingly powerful, capable of obliterating experts at the late Divine Refining stage.

"Hmph! Mere trivialities dare to act presumptuously before me?" Zhang Xiao’s body shuddered, and scales emerged, covering him in a ferocious suit of armor. Because of his mastery over the five elements, the armor shimmered with five alternating colors. Beyond the Xuanwu shoulder guards, a pair of flaming wings burst from his back.

A god-beast-like aura erupted from Zhang Xiao, causing every human and demon in the Tianxu Market to tremble. Chen Tianba, who had been sitting in his mansion, was so startled that the teacup in his hand shattered, splashing tea over his robes. He didn't care; his body transformed into an electric python as he charged out of his mansion toward Zhang Xiao.

"Break!" Zhang Xiao waved his hand, and the surrounding water shook violently. The restrictions and arrays in the sky seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, warping and twisting. Seeing this, Chen Tianba roared, "Stop!"

With a furious howl, Chen Tianba unleashed dozens of lightning bolts from his body, striking at Zhang Xiao like a heavenly tribulation. As a late-stage Divine Refining expert, Chen Tianba’s ferocity was terrifying, but to Zhang Xiao, these were nothing. A massive three-colored light wheel emerged behind Zhang Xiao’s head.

With gold, silver, and black intertwined, a circle of five-colored light erupted from within. In this moment, Zhang Xiao stood like a deity, the entire ocean churning at his presence. Facing Chen Tianba’s attack, Zhang Xiao didn't even glance at it, shouting, "Break!"

"BOOM!" Like a thunderclap from heaven, the restrictions and arrays above the Tianxu Market were shattered by Zhang Xiao’s shout alone. The people in the market were left stunned—those were formations capable of killing late-stage Divine Refining experts! Yet they were shattered by a single word.

At that moment, Chen Tianba’s lightning reached Zhang Xiao, only to immediately dissipate into nothingness. Chen Tianba’s expression shifted, and his body expanded to hundreds of feet in height. Lightning surged from him, drowning the Tianxu Market in a sea of electricity.

Amidst the flickering lightning, Chen Tianba, in his python form, resembled an ancient thunder dragon, charging toward Zhang Xiao. "A grain of sand dares to claim brilliance?" Seeing Chen Tianba charge, Zhang Xiao spread his wings, and golden flames exploded outward. This was the Divine Flame of the Bifang, a fire that only a Bifang could possess; it was unaffected by the seawater, burning everything it touched. The entire Tianxu Market began to boil and evaporate under Zhang Xiao’s divine fire, and the nearby demon soldiers were instantly cooked into a feast of seafood. "Burning the Rivers and Boiling the Seas!"