Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

Once Darcel's group made it undetected into Mawold Town, the first thing they immediately did was spread their Spirit Sense around just in case anyone might try to target them.

Compared to merely four seventh rank Innate Core members. Darcel, Aniela, and Yasami know there will be a greater search of importance for the three ninth rank members.

After all, the ninth rank of the Innate Core realm is only a fine line from stepping into the legendary half step Heavenly Transformation realm. 

And while a half step realm may not seem like a massive step on paper, it made a world difference in terms of prowess.

Darcel and Aniela could remember Vice-Principal Zelle's prowess and just how much of a difference her being in the half step realm. 

Despite being only a half realm distance between her and the First Elder of the Quicksilver Roc sect, Vice Principal Zelle can casually dominate him with ease.

Moreover, even in her severely weakened state when they went against the human-like creatures and the possessed humans. Vice Principal Zelle instantly killed dozens of eighth rank and ninth rank Innate Core warriors in one attack!

Darcel, Aniela, and Yasami guessed the Silver Bloody Hammer group probably has the means to give their ninth rank warriors a chance to become a half step Heavenly Transformation cultivator. 

Even if it is a small chance and takes dozens of years, that kind of opportunity is far too important to lose. 

And the trio knows they will undoubtedly get hounded if they're linked to that group's disappearance. 

Still, it wasn't like Darcel, Aniela, or Yasami were too worried about the Silver Bloody Hammer group retaliation. 

All three of them have the utmost confidence in their trump cards and unique abilities if it were to ever come to that point.

Back at the task at hand, Darcel, Aniela, and Yasami's eyes did a quick trail over Mawold Town, looking to see anything noteworthy of concern. 

But, surprisingly enough, neither Darcel, Aniela, nor Yasami spotted any Silver Bloody Hammer group members in the mass crowds of people.

They stick out like a sore thumb with their armors, so Darcel's group were sure they would've spotted at least one of them if they were here at this time. 

Seeing and sensing that there were none, Aniela shrugged and turned her attention back to where the crowds of people were moving towards to.

"Everything seems clear for now, guys! Come on, let's see what's all this hustle and bustle is about." Aniela reminded Darcel and Yasami, getting their focus back to their own group.

Darcel and Yasami took a quick look over to each other, nodding since they too didn't see or sense anything worth of concern. 

With that, Darcel, Aniela, and Yasami sneakily follow behind the crowds of people to the main event today.

While they walked, Darcel noticed they were going in the exact opposite of where the Nobe's Fang group place was located.

Finding his interest growing more, Darcel decided to listen in on a random conversation to determine the cause of this sudden spike in people.

All Darcel did to achieve this was enhancing his ears with Spirit Qi and directed his scenes towards a specific group of people. Darcel decided to zero in on one happy looking couple where the man had an excited expression on his face while the woman looked a bit exasperated. 

As he focused on this couple, Darcel suddenly heard the man say, 

"You can't have that look on your face dear when coming here. I just know that today? Today is our day! We will, for sure, get lucky! My hopes are through the roof!"

"You….you….haah. Every time you spot that same kind of spiel, we always leave empty-handed from this damn Guild Fair! This time, I'll choose where we go, you hear?"

Darcel heard the woman say, prompting him to already tune out their conversation. He already heard what he needed to hear. 

The woman merely saying Guild Fiar got Darcel to recall a conversation Fruna had with him and Aniela when they were first arriving at Mawold Town.

Fruna had explained to them both about the Mages organization set up here. 

And in this town, they branded themselves as the Ice Drake Guild. These Mages were a powerful bunch, all specializing in the branch of Ice Mage arts. 

However, what truly made them so important to note wasn't their power levels. 

No, it was the mere fact that the Ice Drake Guild was the most richest in resources in the whole town! They completely eclipsed the Nobe's Fang group and the Silver Bloody Hammer group.

Furthermore, it wasn't like either group could do something against the Ice Drake Guild about them being the richest. 

Not only did the Guild prowess match both groups, but they also held vital resources cultivators like them just absolutely needs.

This is why their Guild could freely hold these trade fairs from time to time. 

It was a slip of the mind not recalling this on Darcel's part since he was so preoccupied with charming Yasami.

Although he doesn't recall Fruna mentioning to them that an Ice Darke Guild trade fair would happen so soon. 

As they near the trade fair, Aniela and Yasami also figured what was going on from making the same move as Darcel and listening in on other conversations.

With all the information they needed to be gathered, Yasami suddenly began to talk. "So we're going to the so-called Ice Drake Guild, huh? An overbearing name for sure. But I had caught wind about this place before. I wonder if we'll even have enough things to trade for these picky mages. They can even be greedier than us cultivators."

Darcel and Aniela were hit with a sudden case of deja vu like they heard someone in the past utter this exact same phrase before. 

Pushing that feeling down, Darcel responded to Yasami, telling her, 

"Surely, with everything we plundered so far from the silver eyesores, we can find at least one batch of decent items." 

Aniela wisely nodded, backing Darcel up with, "Right, right! Just like us cultivators, there's always bound to be Mages who won't be unbearably unreasonable. And….oh? Looks like we finally touchdown here!"

Aniela, Darcel, and Yasami didn't even notice at first, being so engrossed in their conversation. But Aniela quickly picked up on the changing scenery, getting Darcel and Yasami to take a look around the whole place.

They were now in the middle of the jam-packed waves of people, and they saw multiple crowds of people surrounding numerous stands and vendors. 

At the stands and vendors they could spot with their eyes, the trio saw all kinds of strange and exotic items.

There were various quality design Spirit Weapons, strange-looking fruits, alluring looking Artifacts, and brightly designed pills just sitting on numerous stalls.

"Sooo….where to first?" Yasami questioned as she, Darcel, and Aniela took a brief moment to pause and trailed their eyes over the trade fair. 

Only one thought came into Darcel's mind since there were so many things to choose from. "Let's just saunter about a bit. And if we see anything that catches our eyes, we'll just point it so we can go over to that particular stall." 

Aniela and Yasami quickly nodded to Darcel's suggestion. The trio promptly began to randomly walk-off in the trade fair.

They didn't choose a concrete direction, and the trio let their eyes roam everywhere, trying to spot something worthy of their time. 

Aniela and Yasami mainly had their eyes glued to the exotic-looking herbs, pills, and talisman these Mages were selling. After all, those types of items are what'll help them the most for their current realm. 

Meanwhile, Darcel's eyes didn't go around far in the trade fair. His attention got quickly snipped by one unique item.

However, before Darcel could point it out to the girls, a twinkle sparked in Aniela's eyes. 

She quickly spoke up, directing Darcel and Yasami attention by saying, "Oh-ooh! Over there, let's go to that guy! I sense something outstanding for us!" 

Darcel and Yasami quickly zipped their eyes over to where Aniela is pointing at.

And it was, of course, a vendor a bit off the side from the main crowds of people. For this particular vendor, there actually weren't many people gathering around it.

Darcel's group did spot a few people stopping for a few seconds to see what the vendor was selling. But once they saw the signs detailing the vendor's prices, they all put on a wry smile and walked away without even talking to the Mage.

"Uhhh….are you sure about this guy? Just because he fit the role of being the odd one out doesn't mean he'll automatically have something special for us. And for that matter-"

"No need to worry so much, Yasami! I'm confident in my senses, and this specific spot stood out to me. Plus, if you're worried about his prices….also don't worry! My special charms are unmatched, right, Darcy?" 

Aniela had interrupted Yasami with an assured grin plastered on her face. 

Darcel thought for a second and had then broadly smirked, knowing what'll Aniela do next. 

"Indeed. Just watch this, Yasami. You'll be in for a surprise of how much of an expert negotiator this bubbly girl could be when she needs to." 

Yasami felt her curiosity increase. So she simply crossed her arms under her huge busts and quietly followed behind Darcel and Aniela.

As the trio approached the vendor, they finally got a good look at the Mage behind it. Though, there wasn't much to the Mage appearance. 

He was a simple ordinary-looking man that wouldn't stand out among any group of people.

But, while his looks may not be much. His bearing told an entirely different story. Around the man's general air, he exuded an air of pride that made it impossible to look down on him.

His expression was severe, almost being too intimidating to approach. And the man did wear unique looking crystal blue robes, signifying he was indeed from the Ice Drake Guild.

When Darcel's group got close to his stall, the Mage's eyes immediately landed on them. 

But when he only sense it was merely two True Soul Core youths and one fifth rank Innate Core youth, he was about to lose interest in them.

Abruptly then, the Mage didn't know why, but he quickly put all his attention on to Aniela. 

It was….odd? 

The Mage just felt as if he needed to stare directly into Aniela's deep black eyes.

Because Darcel, Aniela, and Yasami were still masking their presence, the Mage didn't even take notice of Darcel and Aniela's gorgeous appearance. 

Yet, the deep black eyes of Aniela instantly took his attention.

Seeing the Mage's eyes all on her, Aniela smirked and continued her plan. She already surged a bit of her Light soul energy into her eyes. And now that she got the Mage's attention, Aniela significantly increased her soul energy, creating an even stronger allure in her eyes.

Aniela knows, compared to Darcel, who can make anyone, male or female, succumb to pleasure. She could use her Light energy to make a specific person find her as the center of attention.

Aniela may not have as much time to practice her alluring Light power against her enemies. Still, she had practice and experimented on Darcel numerous times with it. 

And now, today was the day she'll put her Light skills to use!

"Hello! I'm so glad we finally came about someone like you! You see, we were searching all over the trade fair for something just perfect to catch our eyes. And I think we just found it! Buut, can you tell us what exactly are you selling?"

All throughout Aniela's talk, the Mage couldn't take his eyes off from the beautiful, radiant sparkles that streaked out of Aniela's gorgeous black eyes. 

But, hearing a question directed to him, the Mage began to sober up a bit to talk.

Seeing the entranced state the Mage was under, Aniela expectantly smiled; Darcel praised Aniela in his mind while Yasami was in mild awe. 

For Mages, the trio couldn't precisely tell their power levels. But, they were able to generally equate the Mage natural aura had the same quality of power as an eighth rank Innate Core warrior. 

A decently powerful Mage indeed.

However, no matter how strong the Mage was, Aniela was assured of one thing. His soul being completely unprotected! 

Mages and cultivators' power systems heavily differ. Yet, both systems of power hold the same weakness of their souls in the early levels. 

It's what Vice-Principal Zelle had taught Aniela and Darcel the most about Mages. 

While Darcel and Aniela thought how feeble one's soul is, the Mage began telling them,

"I see, you all must've been looking for quite a while. Well then, you come to the right stall if you want something truly valuable out of this fair. What I have here are high tier Earthen Spirit Ice Qi pills. No matter who you are, these specific pills will explosively increase the rate your bodies can absorb Qi for a decent amount of time. And your bodies will also gain a natural resistance to the extreme cold."

"Ooooh~! How wonderfully useful! Mnh….but I am expecting for these pills to be pretty expensive, no?" Aniela wistfully asked the Mage.

Typically, this would be when the Mage would shoo off the person by stating his outrageous price or directing them to his sign.

But for Aniela….he felt a natural compulsion that overtook his soul. 

He didn't even think as words just smoothly uttered out his mouth. "Typically, each pill would cost ten green crystals each. However, for you kids, I'm willing to see if you can take something out of equal value to me. I mean, for a True Soul Core junior to have this much confidence, you're bound to have something exotic just strapped in you."

The reasoning the Mage gave behind his action seemed a bit flimsy at best. Yet, he didn't question it, and sure as hell, Aniela, Darcel, and Yasami weren't going to question it either.

Aniela didn't talk and had instead ignited her spatial ring. Given that she had an abundance of ice seeds that went over the amount they needed to complete their mission, Aniela knew what to take out.

A purple flash popped in the Mage's eyes, causing him to blink. 

Once his eyes reopened, the Mage was stunned to see what was on his stall. This girl had just brought out seven ice seeds like it was nothing!

The man didn't know what he did to deserve such a pleasant surprise. Still, as a Mage Alchemist, he wasn't going to let this golden opportunity slip away from his fingers!

Holding back his surprise, the Mage didn't question where the girl got these ice seeds, nor did he really care at this time. 

The Mage simply told Aniela, "Perfect. This will equate to three Ice Qi pills. Deal?"

"Deal!" 

Aniela nodded, not minding about using so much of their Ice seeds. 

In any case, neither she Darcel nor Yasami would have any use for them unless they became Mages themselves. And Aniela knows something like that won't happen anytime soon. 

The Mage swiftly took the ice seeds inside a unique looking storage pouch and had then stuffed three Ice Qi pills inside three beautifully designed blue treasure boxes.

The Mage slid the three treasure boxes forward while Yasami lagged behind at that quick and swift interaction. 

Just like that, and they already got something valuable? 

Yasami had then further revealed in her shock as she realized; this man doesn't even realize he's being swindled!