Chapter 217: Chapter 210: Secret Exchange
The bloody slaughter began, and Wang Xu showed no mercy at all. Any Cosmic Martial Artist he encountered had to either hand over the map fragments obediently or face death.
Most Cosmic Martial Artists had never heard of Wang Xu, so why would they surrender the map fragments they risked their lives to collect just because of his threats?
Moreover, those who possessed a large number of map fragments were usually among the elite among the talents of various countries and were even less likely to comply with Wang Xu’s demands.
In such cases, Wang Xu had no choice but one word: kill!
Don’t give it? Kill until you give it.
Not convinced? Kill until you are convinced!
Wang Xu was now employing the "mob" strategy: either comply or die. If you choose neither, Wang Xu will choose for you personally.
As a result, the number of map fragments in Wang Xu’s possession skyrocketed.
Three hundred and eighty thousand... four hundred thousand... four hundred and thirty thousand... four hundred and fifty thousand... five hundred thousand...
Wang Xu was like a bandit, snatching map fragments everywhere, drawing his weapon at the slightest disagreement, leaving no time for reasoning or argument.
Soon, he had six hundred thousand map fragments in his hands.
"Still short by one piece!" Wang Xu was furious and somewhat helpless.
Holding a golden map with as many as nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight map fragments put together, the location marked on it was not far from where Wang Xu was, and he had even visited it several times.
Yet, one of the places on this map had an unbearable gap.
Just one map fragment short!
Wang Xu felt helpless.
A total of six hundred thousand map fragments, and still not able to piece together a complete map—how many people would laugh when they heard this?
Moreover, during the time Wang Xu was forcefully seizing, several others had successfully assembled a complete map.
This made Wang Xu extremely annoyed and accelerated his pace of collecting map fragments.
Although a fast pace allowed him to obtain more map fragments, it also exposed Wang Xu.
Eventually, many Cosmic Martial Artists somehow got news about Wang Xu, and upon seeing him from tens of thousands of miles away, they would turn and flee for their lives.
As a result, Wang Xu’s attempts to seize map fragments repeatedly failed, causing him to grow increasingly puzzled.
One day, Wang Xu set his sights on another group of Cosmic Martial Artists.
To prevent them from noticing him and fleeing, Wang Xu suppressed his aura and used a white mask to cover his face.
He had taken this mask from a Cosmic Martial Artist and discovered that this seemingly ordinary white mask could block the penetration of Spiritual Consciousness. While wearing the mask, unless the opponent’s Spiritual Consciousness reached the Mixed Cosmos Realm, they couldn’t see what kind of face lay beneath it.
"Who’s there?" The leader among the Cosmic Martial Artists had very sharp senses, and even with Wang Xu’s suppressed aura, he couldn’t get within a thousand meters before being noticed.
"I am Hedon Kael from the Hedon Cosmic Country, passing through here by coincidence," Wang Xu replied, feeling tense at first, but he relaxed when he saw that the leader had no intention of fleeing.
"Hedon Kael? Never heard of it, but as an Invincible White Hole Level Martial Artist, do you dare wander this area? Aren’t you afraid of being seen by the ’Great Demon King’ and getting killed?" the leading Cosmic Martial Artist said.
Hearing "Great Demon King," Wang Xu realized they were talking about him and immediately said, "Great Demon King? I just came from the other side of the Thousandfold Divine Country and haven’t heard of this name. Could he be a genius from some Cosmic Country?"
The leading Cosmic Martial Artist glanced at Wang Xu. Though unable to see his face, he gestured for him to come over, thinking quickly.
Wang Xu was eager and approached the Cosmic Martial Artist with the speed of an Invincible White Hole Level.
"Let me tell you, the Great Demon King has the blood of a million geniuses on his hands and is incredibly powerful. If you run into him, you probably wouldn’t even know how you died," the leading Cosmic Martial Artist said, with a trace of fear in his eyes.
"Oh? Is that so? Such a formidable figure. I should be sensible and steer clear, lest I lose my own life by accident," Wang Xu said in a very surprised tone. "Can you tell me what the Great Demon King looks like?"
"This is it." The leading Cosmic Martial Artist waved a hand, and a scroll flew towards Wang Xu, displaying his very likeness.
However, it wasn’t captured by any imaging device but drawn by hand. Clearly, someone among them had seen Wang Xu’s true face and was spreading it widely to avoid unnecessary death at the hands of the Great Demon King.
"Is this the ’Great Demon King’? Doesn’t look very menacing," Wang Xu commented.
"Consider yourself lucky to have seen it; this scroll is worth three map fragments," the leading Cosmic Martial Artist said as he retrieved the scroll while Wang Xu’s lips twitched.
Someone was actually using his portrait to trade for map fragments. Selling one for three map fragments and selling tens, hundreds, or thousands more—that could directly assemble a complete map!
These bastards, if he ever encountered them, he would definitely take all their map fragments.
"Three map fragments—it is a bit expensive, but to save one’s life, it’s worth it," Wang Xu said. "Let me ask, where did you get this portrait from?"
The leading Cosmic Martial Artist’s eyes flashed with a sly gleam at Wang Xu’s question.
He exchanged a glance with the other Cosmic Martial Artists, and after a moment, they nodded.
"If you want it, I can sell you this one," the leading Cosmic Martial Artist offered.
"It’s not that I want the portrait, I’m just curious where transactions take place, as I’m looking to buy some things myself," Wang Xu explained.
The leading Cosmic Martial Artist’s eyes lit up, looking to buy something?
A big fish!
Immediately, he exchanged glances with a few other Cosmic Martial Artists, signaling with a subtle look: Delay the action.
"You’re asking the right person, come with me, I’ll take you to the secret trade market," said the leading Cosmic Martial Artist.
......
Wang Xu closely followed the leading Cosmic Martial Artist, pondering in his heart.
"We’re here." Moments later, the leading Cosmic Martial Artist led Wang Xu to a triangular stacked stone pillar gate.
"Why can’t I sense anything?" Wang Xu swept the area with his Spiritual Consciousness, and within a radius of ten thousand miles, aside from their few, there were no other Cosmic Martial Artists.
"If it were that easy to discover, would it still be called a secret trade market?" The leading Cosmic Martial Artist slightly curled his lips and threw a triangular Light Jade into the stone pillar gate.
The Light Jade fell into the stone pillar gate, initially without any reaction, but moments later, it burst into a dazzling, blinding light.
Afterward, a triangular Gate of Space-Time emerged.
"Space-Time Concealment Technique!" Wang Xu was shocked. This kind of concealment technique for opening space requires at least a Mixed Universe Realm level. Could there be a Mixed Universe Realm master inside?
Wang Xu’s current disguise could still work in front of these invincible White Hole Levels, but once faced with a Mixed Universe Realm, he would immediately be exposed.
"Go on in," said the leading Cosmic Martial Artist.
But when he reached the Gate of Space-Time and turned back, he realized Wang Xu hadn’t followed.
Of course, Wang Xu wouldn’t enter an unfamiliar space so easily.
The one who could open such space must be a Mixed Universe Realm individual. Entering the space of a Mixed Universe Realm person meant being completely under their control.
Once inside, life and death would be in someone else’s hands.
"Oh, I know what you’re worried about." The leading Cosmic Martial Artist understood, swiping his Space Ring, producing another triangular Light Jade, "This is the Stone of Space-Time. Once you enter the Gate of Space-Time, if you face any threats, you can leave anytime using this."
"Now that puts my mind at ease," Wang Xu said frankly, accepting the Light Jade and stepping into the Gate of Space-Time.
He could tell the Light Jade had been specially processed, possessing the ability for Space-Time Teleportation, activated simply by using Energy, but it was a single-use consumable. Once used, it would become powder.
With this assurance, Wang Xu dared to step inside.
Those Cosmic Martial Artists who hadn’t entered yet wore grim expressions when Wang Xu’s figure disappeared.
"Hmph! I want to see how ’big’ this fish truly is; a Light Jade is worth ten Map Fragments. If you don’t have that value, I’ll tear you to pieces!" The leading Cosmic Martial Artist’s eyes flashed with malice as he stepped into the Gate of Space-Time.
......
"Is this the secret trade market?"
After crossing the Gate of Space-Time, Wang Xu quickly surveyed the surroundings. Before him was a small, narrow room, no more than a hundred square meters. A gray-clothed man sat in front of a simple counter with closed eyes, resting. A flickering candle sat atop the counter, coarse and simple.
"Jie Wu, you’ve brought a stranger in," the gray-clothed man opened his eyes, lacking spark in his cloudy pupils. Yet Wang Xu could sense his presence was more powerful than the invincible White Hole Level, beyond such figures.
Wang Xu sighed in relief. As long as it wasn’t a Mixed Universe Realm.
"Mr. Yu Ru, this is Hedon Kael from the Hedon Cosmic Country. He’s looking to purchase something," said the leading Cosmic Martial Artist Jie Wu, with a hint of respect in his tone.
"What do you want to buy?" The gray-clothed man Yu Ru looked at Wang Xu and asked.
"I don’t want to buy anything," Wang Xu replied. "I want to barter."
Jie Wu was stunned. Barter? Does that mean he has valuable treasures on him? Jie Wu’s eyes shone brightly.
"What do you want to exchange for?" the gray-clothed man inquired.
"Map Fragment," Wang Xu said.
A gleam flashed in the gray-clothed man’s eyes: "How many Map Fragments do you want to exchange for?"
"Not many, just one," Wang Xu’s words immediately sparked Jie Wu’s anger. He should have inquired more thoroughly. Initially thinking Wang Xu was buying something profitable, now discovering he was exchanging for a Map Fragment, and only one at that, was infuriating!
"Map name, fragment coordinates," the gray-clothed man asked proficiently, indicating Wang Xu was not the first to exchange Map Fragments here.
Wang Xu nodded in his heart. He hadn’t guessed wrong. Any trading spot could exchange Map Fragments.
He now understood why others with fewer fragments could complete a whole map. Exchanging unnecessary fragments with those in need allowed each to complete their map, which wasn’t difficult.
Wang Xu reported the map’s name and fragment coordinates. The gray-clothed man pondered briefly before saying, "To exchange for a specific fragment, you only need one Map Fragment to complete the trade. If you don’t specify, ten other fragments are needed to trade."
As he spoke, the gray-clothed man announced the specific fragment’s map name and coordinates.
Wang Xu had memorized all fragments. Quickly, an identical Golden Paper surfaced in his mind as described by the gray-clothed man. He said promptly, "I have this fragment, let’s trade." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit to vote and support. Mobile users can read at .)