Chapter 779: Gathering
Over time, many bizarre and unexplainable phenomena emerged within this perpetual haze, and these strange occurrences had become intertwined with the lore and allure of the city, especially around the Antique Street, which was now famed as a haven for peculiar treasures and forgotten relics.
Max wandered deeper into Antique Street, where the fog seemed almost to cling to the old wooden beams of the stalls, coiling through cracks in the weathered planks. He paused at a humble stall where an old man with a drooping white beard displayed a branch that perpetually exhaled gentle wisps of mist.
It had a faint shimmer, almost like silver dust lay scattered along its bark. Max, driven partly by curiosity and partly by the impulse that rare things might one day prove invaluable, handed over a solid 5,000 PQ without a second thought, even though he had no idea what use the misty branch would serve.
For him, things were valuable simply because they were rare—and sometimes the strangest items became priceless keys in moments of crisis.
He didn’t stop there. Max roamed the crooked lanes and hidden corners of Antique Street for hours, scanning every stall and merchant with the discerning perception of his Three Dimensional Body.
He purchased bombs crafted with mysterious formations, arrows infused with special elemental energies, delicate glass spheres filled with swirling poison smoke, and countless other odds and ends. Each item might only buy him a sliver of time or a narrow escape, but in a place like the rumored tomb of Lord Kome, even a heartbeat could mean the difference between life and death.
After spending a small fortune gathering protective items and peculiar trinkets, Max spent the remainder of the day touring Misty City alongside Gayle and Rose. They wandered through the stone-paved streets, where lanterns flickered like fireflies in the fog, casting shifting shadows across carved wooden shopfronts and elegant pagodas.
Together, they sampled street foods sizzling over open braziers, browsed vendors selling spirit herbs and talismans, and traded insights about cultivation and the countless regions of the Middle Domain.
Despite the looming dangers and the uncertainty of what lay ahead, the atmosphere between them was light, even companionable, as they explored hidden courtyards, mysterious alleys, and ancient pavilions where the fog swirled like drifting silk.