"Found it. Hopefully this thing's worth something." Chu Lian took out a crystal bottle filled with a red liquid from her storage space. Its name was Dragon Bloodline.
"A Heaven-grade Dragon Bloodline—though only ranked seventh among bloodline tiers—it should still fetch quite a price. After all, not every Spacetime Traveling Merchant is a powerful being. There must be some who need this kind of thing." She murmured softly as she placed the item on her stall.
Perhaps because the item held considerable value, the moment it was placed down, a pillar of light enveloped it, suspending it in midair. As it slowly rotated, it emitted dazzling brilliance, as though proclaiming to everyone that it was a true treasure.
"Ah, so this phenomenon appears when an item's value is high enough? How peculiar." She turned to glance at the other stalls nearby and found that only hers exhibited such an effect. None of the other merchants' goods could outshine the radiance of her item.
In this outermost area of the Origin Land, it was rare to see items of this caliber. Merchants capable of obtaining them usually sold their wares deeper inside, in more prestigious shops—not on open-air stalls like these.
Still, there were exceptions. Some lucky individuals might acquire treasures of immense worth, yet due to their low merchant rank, they could only sell in the outer ring. So, they would choose to display their finds here.
Whenever that happened, it always caused a sensation, attracting all sorts of buyers eager to claim the rare item for themselves.
This pillar of light existed to prevent such treasures from being overlooked. The Origin Land automatically assessed the item's value and produced a vision corresponding to its rank.
The spectacle Chu Lian's item generated wasn't exactly unprecedented—but it was certainly among the top ten of all items ever sold in the outer ring.
After all, this was the bloodline of a Heaven-grade dragon. Whether the buyer used it for themselves or for someone close to them, it could transform its user into a Heaven-grade powerhouse in a short time.
A Heaven-grade powerhouse was nearly invincible across most worlds. As long as they didn't encounter beings of similar or greater strength, they could live freely for a lifetime—who wouldn't envy that?
Thus, despite its relatively low evaluation—ranked seventh in the system's bloodline hierarchy—it was still an item countless people dreamed of obtaining.
Therefore, the instant Chu Lian placed it for sale, the radiant beam piercing the clouds above the Origin Land immediately caught the attention of nearby merchants. Without hesitation, they either closed their own stalls or ran toward her location to see what she was selling.
"How long has it been since we last saw a light of that intensity in the outer ring? This item's price must be extraordinary. I'm rather curious who managed to acquire it." Inside a luxuriously decorated shop, a petite figure cloaked in black spoke in a soft, youthful yet commanding voice. Her words made the gray-robed attendants lower their heads silently.
"What's this? Are you worried I was talking about you? Ahem..." The girl coughed a few times mid-sentence—her frail body showing weakness—but even so, none dared interrupt her authority.
She lifted a teacup, took a slow sip, and continued. "You all help me sell goods daily. I've never treated you unfairly—merely kept strict discipline, that's all."
Seeing no response, she sighed faintly, realizing the subject wouldn't go anywhere, and smoothly shifted topics after another sip of tea.
"Never mind. Let's drop that. Bring me something valuable from the store's vault—I want to see if it can be traded for that item. Hmm... make it worth about seven hundred seventy thousand crystal coins. That should be a fair offer." The girl set her cup down and spoke calmly.
"Yes, ma'am." One of the attendants finally stepped forward to answer her command. Though the girl didn't particularly enjoy the fear her subordinates held toward her, she understood that these people were, after all, part of the foundation she had built through her own effort over time.
If it weren't for them and their subordinate merchants, her inventions wouldn't have spread so quickly across countless worlds in the dimensional universe. Nor would so many have adopted them for use, bringing her such substantial income and allowing her to survive until now.
Unfortunately, the thing she sought to exchange for—the one that could completely change her fate—was still far beyond reach. She wasn't sure if, in the few years she had left, she could ever achieve it.
"I hope it's something useful... I might be able to trade it for some medicine that can slow my life loss... cough, cough... Otherwise, at this rate, in less than three years, I won't even be able to move. And if I can't move, how will I ever fulfill my dream?" When all the gray-robed subordinates had left, the girl muttered softly to herself.
She seemed to carry an extraordinary ambition, but her frail body prevented her from realizing it. All she could do was rely on rare opportunities to prolong her limited lifespan.
"If I cannot fulfill this lifelong wish with my own hands, how could I ever face Father? Our relationship may not have been good... but without him, I wouldn't even exist. His regret—I, as his daughter, must inherit it." She whispered the words, falling into silence.
Meanwhile, on the other side, many merchants who saw the beam of light rising from Chu Lian's stall were filled with desire. After estimating the amount of crystal coins the light implied, they hurried off to find items of equal value or gather enough crystal coins to compete for it.
"This is the bloodline of a Heaven-grade dragon. Once you use it, you'll gain the dragon's immense strength and the physical gifts of a half-dragon. I'm sure many of you aren't that powerful yet, right? Come now, if you can bring me something of equal value, I'll trade with you."
Chu Lian sat cross-legged behind her stall, softly introducing the item to every customer who approached.
She hoped to trade it for something of equivalent worth—something she could actually use herself.
At first, she had considered using the blood to strengthen one of her companions. But Ayase's words quickly dissuaded her.
"The people around you aren't ordinary. Their bloodlines are all at least upper-tier—level one, two, or three. Using such a low-tier bloodline on them would only contaminate it, weakening their potential or even wasting their innate gifts entirely. Besides, dragons aren't truly human. Would you really want them to exist in a non-human form? I don't think so."
Persuaded by Ayase's reasoning, Chu Lian decided to keep the vial, hoping she might someday find someone for whom it would be suitable.
And now, upon entering the Origin Land, with the innate protection of the Spacetime Traveling Merchant profession ensuring she would never lose in a fair trade, she finally decided to sell it.
Seeing the growing crowd around her stall, Chu Lian was both pleased and surprised. It seemed that while the top-ranking Spacetime Traveling Merchants were powerful beyond imagination, the lower ones were rather impoverished.
For example, the merchant who had once destroyed and recreated Inori's world in an instant—someone nearly godlike—was clearly among the top-tier elites.
Meanwhile, that young man who had summoned xenomorphs in the Qingping Grand Hotel in Jiuzhaigou was just like her—a beginner merchant, among the lowest of the Spacetime Traveling Merchants.
If a single vial of Heaven-grade Dragon Bloodline could cause such a stir, it meant that most of them simply didn't have access to items of such power.
Most of these merchants dealt in rare or curious goods from remote worlds—or specialty products from their own realms. The cost to acquire them was usually low, but when they found the right buyer, the profits could be substantial.
Even though the rules of the Origin Land made profiteering impossible—since reselling offered no gain—some trades still brought them items of immense personal value.
The merchants surrounding Chu Lian's stall said nothing, nor did they take out any goods to trade.
After all, the price was clearly displayed—a number that made most low-tier Spacetime Traveling Merchants hesitate in despair.
"Seven hundred seventy thousand crystal coins... That's far too steep for me. Even if I converted everything I own into crystal coins, it wouldn't exceed fifty thousand. It's like a drop in the ocean—barely even a fraction of the cost."
Though not everyone thought that way, this sentiment was shared by most of the crowd gathered there.
It wasn't that they didn't want to buy—it was that they simply couldn't afford it. The price was far too high.
"No one's trading? If not, I'll put it away. Next time, there might not be another chance to get something like this again," Chu Lian said as she glanced at the crowd. Realizing that everyone was just watching and no one intended to make an offer, she decided to stop waiting.
She had already spent too much time on quests and dungeon matters. Who knew how much time had passed outside by now? She didn't want Chu Chu or Inori to worry about her.
So rather than waste more time here, she preferred to keep the item for another opportunity.
"Ah-ah, being impatient like that isn't good for business, you know. Only those with patience can reap true rewards—that's the golden rule of us Spacetime Traveling Merchants. You might be a newcomer, but as a merchant, you should start learning that." A man's voice came from nearby. Chu Lian looked up to see another merchant, robed like the rest, though his was white with golden trim—clearly more luxurious than most.
"I'm just a beginner. I sell when I feel like it, buy when I feel like it—no need to overthink it. Besides, I have my own life in my world. I can't devote too much time to this, so it can't be helped." Chu Lian shrugged lightly, unconcerned. She knew how to prioritize.
For her, being a Spacetime Traveling Merchant was just one of many means to strengthen herself—not a necessity. After all, she didn't have that many items to trade, and most of what she could exchange through points was for her own use.
Integrity Points were an exception—since she could earn them freely—but even so, she wasn't particularly passionate about the merchant trade.
"Ahaha, what an interesting little friend. Since you're not that eager about being a Spacetime Traveling Merchant, I won't press you. I came here to trade for that vial of Dragon Bloodline you have. You should find this item I'm offering quite desirable." The man chuckled, clearly unoffended by her bluntness, and held out an item with a knowing smile.
The moment Chu Lian saw it, her eyes were instantly drawn in. She felt an almost instinctive urge to accept the trade on the spot.
However, before she could act, two voices rang out at the same time—one soft and delicate, the other rough and commanding.
"Wait..."