The Snow Ape Giant revealed a trace of surprise in his eyes as soon as Ji Xinghuo entered, giving a slight nod, "Please take a seat, honored guest."
He pointed to one side of the hall.
There, a row of stone chairs was arranged from small to large, accommodating races of various body types to sit.
The smallest stone chair was only a dozen centimeters high, resembling a small stone stool, while the largest was like a huge throne, towering over ten meters high. To sit on it, a guest’s height had to be at least twenty meters, surpassing ordinary people’s imaginations!
Ji Xinghuo took a seat on one of the medium-sized stone chairs.
"The Lord just told me that Sky Falling Cliff has welcomed a new esteemed guest. Welcome!" Han Qiu spoke amicably, devoid of the pride that a Heavenly King might exhibit, and without looking down on Ji Xinghuo for his lower strength, "I have yet to ask for the honored guest’s name and race, so I may properly note it in our register."
Ji Xinghuo replied, "Ji Xinghuo, human from Earth."
It must be the Void Spirit Guest.
This Giant Chieftain showed such respect toward the Void Spirit Guest that, from the title alone, one could guess that the Snow Ape Tribe was completely subservient to the Void Spirit Guest, honoring them as their master.
Han Qiu took out a scroll made from beast skin, toughened from the hide of some unknown creature, as he used his fingertip to conjure an ice blade and wrote fluidly upon it.
The two of them were speaking in True Dragon Language, and what was written on the beast skin was also in True Dragon script.
However, Ji Xinghuo refrained from prying.
"You are the 487th honored guest since the establishment of Sky Falling Cliff," Han Qiu perused the records on the beast skin scroll, adding, "and also the second guest from Earth."
Ji Xinghuo was taken aback.
Sky Falling Cliff was a trading post established by the Void Spirit Guest, exceptionally high-end and secretive; most people were unaware of its existence. Having been established for several hundred Star Realm Years yet welcoming fewer than five hundred traders demonstrated that very few were deemed worthy of the Void Spirit Guest’s attention.
He had thought he might be the first from Earth, but to his surprise, there had been another Earthling who had encountered the Void Spirit Guest before.
"Could you tell me the name of that fellow member of my race?" Ji Xinghuo inquired.
Han Qiu shook his head, "Sky Falling Cliff strictly maintains the confidentiality of our guests’ information. You must also refrain from mentioning the Lord or the details of the trade to anyone."
As he said this, the Giant’s white, furry, and broad face exuded an air of authority.
"Please be sure to abide by the rules of Sky Falling Cliff," Han Qiu said earnestly. "It will be for your own benefit as well as that of Sky Falling Cliff."
"Thank you for the reminder, Chieftain."
Ji Xinghuo felt a chill in his heart.
Although Han Qiu did not explicitly state the consequences of divulging secrets, the fact that even now the Void Spirit Guest remained unknown to outsiders proved that both Han Qiu and the Void Spirit Guest possessed sufficient means to protect the secret, and anyone who leaked it likely faced a dire fate.
Han Qiu, pleased with Ji Xinghuo’s response, nodded and then took out another large beast skin ledger that floated towards Ji Xinghuo.
"This is the latest list of transactions, please have a look, honored guest," the Giant said, "and if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me."
Ji Xinghuo caught the weighty beast skin ledger and began reading it.
The writing was in True Dragon script.
The content was not extensive, and Ji Xinghuo managed to get the gist after quickly scanning through it. The list was divided into two parts: items for sale and items sought for purchase.
The treasures for sale accounted for two-thirds, while those sought for purchase comprised one-third.
However, all combined, there were less than a hundred items.
As Ji Xinghuo looked at the fresh writings on the beast skin, he knew this was a list tailored for him, likely just the tip of the iceberg. The Void Spirit Guest was not yet willing to reveal the entirety to him. Or more precisely, he had not yet earned the privilege to engage in higher-level trades.
Even so, after finishing the list, he was deeply stirred.
He was particularly taken by the very first item on the list.
Magnetic Spirit Star Core!
The list included a few simple descriptions of the treasure: Magnetic Spirit Star Cores were natural Star Glands originating from a "Magnetic Spirit," a strange species born in extremely high magnetic field planets, lacking consciousness but possessed of biological instincts.
Magnetic Spirits were exceedingly rare. As beings of energy, their bodily structures were ever-changing, formless and elusive.
But they had one crucial organ at their core.
The Magnetic Spirit Star Core.
This type of Star Core was a natural Star Gland, perfectly suited for those who had mastered professions involving electricity and magnetism, superior even to artificially created Star Glands.
Many powerful civilizations in the Milky Way created top-tier Star Glands, but for those pursuing the evolutionary path of electromagnetic forces, there was no better choice than a Magnetic Spirit Star Core.
Ji Xinghuo was extremely tempted, yet forced himself to remain calm.
Clearly, this was bait set out by the Void Spirit Guest.
Having just advanced to Super Mutant, with implantation of a Star Gland as his next step for ascension, it was no coincidence that the most compatible Star Gland appeared just then.
The price was clearly stated: 300 Ether Crystals for the Magnetic Spirit Star Core.
Ji Xinghuo pondered internally.
Ether Crystals were the universal currency of both the Star Realm and the Galaxy, worth about ten million Ya Yuan each on Earth; and in the Star Realm, their value doubled.
300 Ether Crystals equated to 6 billion Ya Yuan!
However, that was merely a numerical equivalence on paper. With 6 billion Ya Yuan on Earth, one definitely could not purchase 300 Ether Crystals.
They weren’t something one could simply buy with money.
There were two sources of Ether Crystals: those mined from Ether Mines and those artificially created by Mutants or Evolvers sensitive to Ether Energy, who invested a lot of time and effort to produce Ether Crystals using themselves as conduits.
Anyone aware of the true value of Ether Crystals would never trade them for any other form of currency.
After all, the Ether Crystals were currency themselves.