I Can Extract Divine Power

The gloomy street was pervaded by an air of deathly silence.

Countless ruins lay under shrouds of dark clouds, like an endless night.

The biting cold felt like ice, and just standing there for a moment was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

The street, wrapped in a frigid aura, was utterly terrifying, like a plunge into absolute darkness.

At the far end of the street, an aberration disguised as a peddler stared at Shen Bai, its eyes cold and brutal.

As the peddler aberration drew closer, Shen Bai could sense its incredibly powerful aura.

’As expected of the aberration that took destroying an entire street to summon. It’s truly formidable.’ Shen Bai narrowed his eyes, his fingers slowly tracing the blade of the Cold Moon Sword.

Aberrations have no humanity. Even as Shen Bai was lost in thought, the peddler aberration made its move.

The peddler aberration shook a Bell. An intermittent JINGLE JINGLE echoed through the ruined street.

As the Bell chimed, the goods hanging from the ends of its shoulder pole began to exude a desolate chill, like the air in a graveyard.

’The Void Realm... A single destroyed street was enough to summon a Void Realm aberration. The Mysterious City really is something else,’ Shen Bai thought as he raised Cold Moon.

The Blood Red Sword Qi, carrying a majestic and righteous power, descended in an instant like a blood moon falling from the sky.

But in the next moment, Shen Bai’s Blood Red Sword Qi passed right through the peddler aberration with ease.

But nothing happened as Shen Bai had expected.

The Sword Qi continued onward, landing in the far distance and unleashing a terrifying shockwave, as if Heaven and Earth themselves were collapsing.

’It passed through?’

Shen Bai frowned. ’Is it impossible to kill this peddler aberration?’

His Anti-Demon Blood Sword Dance was at Level 6; it was a technique that could break through almost anything.

Even a hellish Void Realm aberration couldn’t withstand more than a few of his attacks.

Moreover, Shen Bai had already reached the Unity Realm. The power of Overcoming Adversity and Attacking Upward allowed him to dominate those in the Void Realm without fear. With all these advantages stacked in his favor, he found it strange that he couldn’t harm the peddler aberration.

But the peddler aberration gave him no time to ponder. In an instant, it launched its attack.

The shoulder pole and its cargo seemed to act like a balance scale, rapidly expanding before Shen Bai’s eyes.

Waves of a terrifying, aberrant aura washed over the street like a cold tide, enough to make one’s blood run cold.

Shen Bai realized the peddler aberration was gone. It was as if it had vanished into thin air, or perhaps had never been there at all.

The street fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Only the frigid aura remained, proof that a Void Realm aberration had indeed been there.

The shoulder pole and its cargo remained on the ground, but a thick fog had enveloped the area, obscuring his location.

Through the dense fog, the shoulder pole and its cargo were the only things he could see clearly.

Just then, a voice rang out, growing closer. It was utterly devoid of emotion, and the sound of it made his skin crawl.

"A trade, a trade... A willing buyer and a willing seller. You pay the price, I’ll give you the goods. Once the goods are yours, there are no returns and no exchanges..."

As these cold words echoed, the shoulder pole and cargo on the ground began to change.

The shoulder pole lifted into the air by itself, floating before Shen Bai with the cargo balanced on its ends.

The left basket opened, revealing what was inside.

Shen Bai looked up and saw that it was empty. Yet, a frigid aura swirled within, so dense it seemed to have substance.

At the same time, the basket on the right opened as well.

Shen Bai turned to look and was startled to find the peddler aberration from before inside the right basket.

It looked like a miniature version of itself.

The peddler aberration was crouched in the basket, staring at Shen Bai with cold, emotionless eyes.

’What does this mean?’ Shen Bai stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The shoulder pole, the cargo on both sides, and the voice from moments ago—all of it pointed to a single word.

A trade.

But as for how to make this trade, or what was being traded, there wasn’t a single clue.

’The rule... The entire street was based on forced buying and selling, which is just another kind of trade.’

Connecting this to what had happened earlier, an idea began to form in Shen Bai’s mind.

’The peddler aberration is a seller, and this shoulder pole is like a scale. The left side is empty. Do I have to achieve a balance to get rid of the aberration?’

At this thought, it clicked. Shen Bai finally had a plan.

’If that’s the case, I think I understand now.’

Shen Bai held his Cold Moon Sword and slowly approached the shoulder pole.

Just then, waves of a frigid aura began to emanate from the empty basket.

In an instant, Shen Bai felt something was off.

’It’s absorbing my Qi.’

As his Qi was absorbed, the previously unbalanced baskets began to level out.

Meanwhile, the peddler aberration in the right basket showed a hint of satisfaction on its face.

’I get it. The Qi is the currency for this trade. If I can’t provide it, my life will be in danger.’

’But the amount of Qi it’s consuming... it’s a bit much.’

Shen Bai understood instantly.

However, the frigid vortex in the basket was Absorbing Qi far too quickly.

In the span of just a few breaths, a tenth of his Qi had been drained, and from the looks of it, the basket was nowhere near satisfied.

’It’s powerful enough to drain even a Void Realm master dry. Truly formidable.’

Shen Bai stroked his chin, a calm and unruffled expression on his face.

He could afford to be calm because his Level 6 Poison Avoidance and Spirit Recovery Skill had a terrifying Spirit Recovery effect, allowing him to regenerate massive amounts of Qi.

This rate of Qi absorption would be unbearable even for a Void Realm master, but for Shen Bai...