36 Entering the Core Region

As soon as Tang Lin stepped into the core region of the Secret Shop, he could clearly see that there was a noticeably smaller amount of items present.

At the very end of the core region of the Secret Shop were three pedestals that were taller than the rest.

'Those must be the 10,000 point items', Tang Lin thought.

He had already come this far without being seduced by all the other items, so he would certainly see this through as he instantly headed to the 10,000 point items.

Tang Lin didn't even bother to stop and look when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The mysterious egg within his mind had reacted to something.

Walking back, Tang Lin felt the egg's reaction get stronger as he moved to the right side of the core region. Near the right side of the core region in a very inconspicuous location stood a wooden pedestal.

"Earth's Secrets (Incomplete) - Middle heaven grade qi cultivation technique", Tang Lin read aloud to himself before looking at the price.

'9000 points?!?! This is definitely the item that the egg is reacting to, but what should I do? It's too expensive for me to get as well as one of the 10,000 point items', he thought in a dilemma.

*Huuu*

'I need to stay calm and think this through rationally', thought Tang Lin as he tried to stabilise his state of mind.

'Wait, didn't the guardian spirit say that the 10,000 point items will refresh every trial. That shouldn't include any other item including this then, right?. It seems like the most logical choice is to purchase one of the 10,000 point items and then collect more points later on to come back and get this', he decided.

Moving away, he walked back towards the 10,000 point items. Unlike the other items being sold, there were only three of them, which were isolated from all the others. Upon reaching the deepest part of the Secret Shop, Tang Lin looked at the items for sale.

Treasure Gathering Orb - High earth grade artifact

Blazing Demonic Blade - High earth grade sword

Spirit Seal - High earth grade artifact

'Huh? The Blazing Demonic Blade is gone', thought Tang Lin as he looked at the empty pedestal in the middle.

Being able to sense Tang Lin's confusion from afar, the guardian spirit spoke up.

"Someone else has already purchased and obtained the Blazing Demonic Blade", she explained.

'Hm… that makes sense. It seems like I've become an unknown variable after also obtaining 10,000+ points by slaying the unofficial God-tier chimera', Tang Lin thought.

'Oh well, let's first read the detailed descriptions of the other two items before making a decision', he decided as he looked to his left to read the orb's description below first.

Treasure Gathering Orb: Allows the user to locate treasures or anything valuable that is below the artifact's grade or one rank higher than the artifact's grade or one rank higher than the artifact's grade. The brighter the orb becomes, the closer the user is to the treasure.

"What an interesting item", he mumbled, while thinking of possible ways to efficiently make use of it.

Deciding to move on, Tang Lin looked to his right and read the detailed description of the Spirit Seal.

Spirit Seal: A jade lion insignia that can change its size and weight according to the user's will. Can be used to imprison other people for a maximum of an hour. With every additional person imprisoned, the duration of imprisonment is halved.

'Wow, they both seem pretty good, but I don't know what to take. Reading the detailed descriptions just made it harder to make up my mind', Tang Lin thought.

"After thinking about it, it seems like the Spirit Seal is better", he said as he reached out his right hand to grab it.

However, just as he was about to take the Spirit Seal, the draconic symbol on his forehead lit up.

"AH!" exclaimed Tang Lin as his right arm swung over to the left.

A sudden burst of qi had spread into his right arm, momentarily taking control of it to reach out and grab the Treasure Gathering Orb on his left.

*Ding!*

"Thank you for shopping at the Secret Shop! Your purchase has been confirmed!" announced the shop from who knows where.

Tang Lin's jaw dropped to the floor as he watched his points rapidly drain down, while looking down at his trembling hands holding the Treasure Gathering Orb.

"Y-Y-You… BASTARD! AGH!" he screamed as he continuously hit the draconic symbol on his forehead in frustration.

"Damn egg!" Tang Lin though, while fuming with anger.

An incense stick of time later.

"I'm done now…" Tang Lin groaned as he walked out of the Secret Shop.

Seeing Tang Lin's bruised and black-eyed face, the guardian spirit slapped herself in the face in disappointment.

'My judgement skills must really be getting worse', she thought as she let out a deep sigh.

"Do you want to continue to the second trial or leave the realm?" she asked.

"I want to continue", he answered firmly.

With a swing of her arm, a giant portal appeared behind her.

"Then I wish you luck…" she said indifferently as she watched Tang Lin enter the portal.

As he walked in, she noticed a glint on his forehead that had not dissipated yet.

'That symbol!' she thought.

"WAIT!" she yelled hurriedly, but it was too late, Tang Lin had already disappeared into the next trial.