"Someone probably couldn’t help but smash that mirror, but although the mirror was somewhat valuable, it’s just broken now."
Hearing Feng Yuan’s words, Xiao Ji raised his head in dissatisfaction and glared at Feng Yuan. Pinching Xiao Ji’s little pointed beak, Feng Yuan said with a chuckle,
"Why hold such a grudge? It was just playing a prank; you’re not going to dismantle your home over it, are you?"
Xiao Ji chirped indignantly, and the phantom of Agunas swished its tail and said,
"How come I don’t remember you being so tolerant?"
"Yo, Little Crocodile, you’re getting sassy. Believe it or not, when we get back I’ll grind you into crocodile meatballs, and I’ll do it more than once."
The phantom of Agunas glanced at Feng Yuan, who turned his back and ignored him. Liu Wenli, with a pensive look, said,
"The people who appear here are generally not very strong. Plus, most of them don’t take its pranks seriously, right?"
"There might be some who do take it seriously, but it’s no big deal. The little mirror monster is, after all, a Ghost Series Spirit Beast. Although its strength is weak, just at the Common Level, Ghost Series Spirit Beasts can easily escape if they want to."
"Speaking of which, can’t the little mirror monster enter the Ghost Realm?"
Guo Huai asked with some confusion, and Feng Yuan thought for a moment before saying,
"It seems not. Its power isn’t enough to open the gates to the Ghost Realm, but generally, what Ghost Series Spirit Beast would like to go into the Ghost Realm anyway?"
"Does the mirror shattering have no effect on it?"
Yao Yin asked curiously, and Guo Huai nodded and said,
"No, the mirror was merely a place it lived in. Even the special space inside the mirror exists because of its power. Losing the mirror doesn’t have much impact on it."
"It’s just that without the mirror, it will need to take time to cultivate space in a new one. During that time, it will be like a homeless wretch."
Feng Yuan added, and Guo Huai glanced at the mirror and said,
"That’s not pitiful at all, it’s entirely self-inflicted."
"You’ve got a point there~"
Feng Yuan said with a smile. In the Adventurers’ Market, the Spirit Beasts, completely different from those in the Divine Land Region, were an eye-opener for everyone. However, after observing for a while, Liu Wenli said with some confusion,
"Why do I feel that the Spirit Beasts here are a bit abnormal?"
"They seem to have mechanical parts and traces of human activity on them?"
Scanning the surrounding Spirit Beasts, many had mechanical parts like gears on their bodies, or like the little mirror monster, they were related to human creations. Seeing this, Guo Huai also looked at Feng Yuan curiously. After thinking for a bit, Feng Yuan said,
"This seems to be due to the environmental changes. The forms of Spirit Beasts are not unchangeable; sometimes they are influenced by their surroundings."
"Although the Omeilia Region is still in a relatively primitive state, under the influence of Ernis, the widespread emergence and use of machinery is inevitable. It’s not that odd for those Spirit Beasts that live in close quarters with humans to undergo changes."
"After all, many of these machines contain residual power from Ernis."
"Ernis is directly intervening to this extent?"
Guo Huai was somewhat surprised. He thought Ernis was merely pulling strings from behind the scenes, but had not expected that the emergence of mechanization was also due to Ernis’s interference. Feng Yuan glanced at Guo Huai and said,
"What’s so strange about that? Ernis holds authority over mechanical creations. It’s not surprising that it would create some prototypes pretending to be ancient artifacts, otherwise so many Spirit Beasts wouldn’t be influenced by it."
Considering that in the modern Omeilia Region, Spirit Beasts with mechanical alterations weren’t particularly common, Guo Huai had to acknowledge Feng Yuan’s point. Only the intervention of Divine Beasts could cause such a phenomenon.
The Adventurers’ Market was soon thoroughly explored by everyone since it was just a small Lord’s city and couldn’t compare in liveliness to the larger ones. With their gains in hand, Feng Yuan led the group towards the lower part of the city. However, as they walked, the surroundings deteriorated. No one was foolish enough to provoke trouble, but seeing the somewhat filthy stone steps, Liu Wenli couldn’t help expressing her doubts to Feng Yuan,
"You’re not deliberately taking us to some strange place, are you?"
"How could I? Although the main entrance is very clean, that’s on the seaside. If you’re willing to make a detour, I don’t mind."
The city, although it was just a small Lord’s domain, occupied a large area to accommodate so many residents. If they were to leave from the seaside, indeed, a significant detour would be required. Yet, seeing the surroundings gradually becoming shabbier, Liu Wenli didn’t need to ask to guess what lay below.
Mo Ling came to his senses and pondered before saying,
"Is the poor district very dangerous?"
Taking a glance at the Spirit Beasts beside everyone, Liu Wenli calmly said,
"We won’t encounter danger, but it’s probably going to be quite dangerous for other people."
Feng Yuan scratched his head and said,
"Is that really necessary? They shouldn’t be so blind as to not recognize that."
"That’s hard to say."
Liu Wenli looked at the dilapidated houses below and spoke. At that moment, a few children curiously peeked out from behind the walls at the ’luxurious’ group led by Feng Yuan. Perhaps intimidated by those Spirit Beasts, Liu Wenli could sense those malicious gazes only sweeping over them before quickly retreating.
"Does it take a long detour to go through the main entrance?"
Mo Li asked tentatively, and after thinking for a moment, Feng Yuan said,
"It’s not particularly far, perhaps, probably about an extra hour to circle back to the seaside."
"Actually, it might not be bad to take a look at their poor district, right?"
Hua Yiyou suggested, and after pondering, Liu Wenli said,
"Meaningless intelligence, we don’t have the ability to take over this place."
"Since there’s no danger... let’s go have a look then."
Mo Li suggested, looking at the somewhat disappointed Mo Ling. Naturally, none of them objected. After all, other than themselves, Delong Tower was still accompanying Feng Yuan. If there were any unfortunate ones who dared to cause trouble, it wouldn’t be their problem, would it?
Descending the stone steps, the surrounding buildings gradually changed. Although the poor district was just outside the city gates, the houses near the gate already looked very dilapidated. Even the space in front of the doors was utilized by residents to place various objects. It was clear that those people were still striving to keep their surroundings clean, but no one could afford to care for the broad stone stairs.
Glancing at the various trash and some excrement carelessly thrown on the staircase, Feng Yuan looked toward Delong Tower and said,
"Help them clean up for free?"
Delong Tower nodded its head, and with a howl, a deep blue Magic Circle materialized in front of it. A thunderous rumble startled everyone. People hurried out of their homes, and those living near the steps witnessed an astonishing sight—a massive wave, seemingly out of nowhere, surged down from the upper civilian area along the stairs.
Adults quickly shoved children inside their homes and swiftly locked the doors, pretending to be ostriches. This was a common occurrence in this area because straight out of this city gate lay a cluster of ruins, so apart from civilians, a large number of adventurers also frequented this entrance. Occasionally, people from the poor district unknowingly provoked these adventurers.
In such situations, as long as they locked their doors and didn’t go looking for excitement, the adventurers wouldn’t do anything to them.
Looking at the stairs cleansed by the tidal wave, Feng Yuan clapped his hands with satisfaction and said,
"It feels great to do good deeds~"
"I think others might not necessarily consider what you did a good deed."
Liu Wenli said calmly, keeping an eye on the commotion around. Clearly, Feng Yuan’s actions had scared those people. He chuckled and said,
"Don’t mind the details~"
"With all the commotion you’ve caused, I fear the city guards will be knocking at our door shortly."
Liu Wenli gestured towards the direction of the civilian market behind them. When they left the poor district and moved downwards, she noticed that the city guards, who could be seen every now and then, had long since disappeared. However, thinking about it, unless it was absolutely necessary, those guards had no interest in wandering around an old and dirty poor district.
"Aren’t you afraid of provoking those adventurers?"
The shadow of Agunas looked somewhat puzzled at Feng Yuan. Those adventurers were not known for their good temper, and besides, besides adventurers, few other people passed through this stone staircase.
Feng Yuan swept his gaze over White Wolf Deity and Delong Tower, and the shadow of Agunas flicked its tail without rebuttal. What else could it say?