The Journey of the God Emperor

Chapter 8: A Mysterious Old Man

Lloyd and Trisha were about to go back to where Francis was standing to continue their search for affordable mana stones when Lloyd's pendant which is hidden under his shirt suddenly emanated heat.

"Huh?" Lloyd abruptly said.

"What's the matter, young master?" Trisha concernedly asked.

"Oh, It's nothing," Lloyd replied. He received some kind of a message from the pendant telling him to go to a specific place. Lloyd thought it to be some kind of a message because even though it was neither delivered through a voice transmission nor a worded message, the pendant's intention was still directly sent to Lloyd's mind.

They went back to where Francis was patiently waiting for them and then Lloyd proposed an idea.

"Guys, I think there's no more available mana stones in this store. Why don't we check the other stores?" Lloyd suggested.

"Okay, bro. Let's check the other stores then," Francis replied.

"Yes, young master," Trisha responded.

"Ok, let's go now," Lloyd said.

After they left, a silhouette can vaguely be seen standing at a corner of a stall not far from where Lloyd's group were previously standing.

Outside, immediately after they got out of the store, Lloyd directly walked toward a store located just on the opposite side of the road.

"Hey, bro! Wait for us!" Francis shouted. However, Lloyd ignored Francis and continued walking toward the opposite side of the road.

Francis and Trisha immediately closely followed Lloyd. The road was not that wide, with it being only 10 meters wide. It didn't took too long for Lloyd to arrive at the store. Francis and Trisha arrived after a few seconds.

'What's so special about this place?' Lloyd thought. This was the place which the pendant wanted him to visit so there's definitely something special inside.

"Bro, what's so special about this place?" Francis asked.

Lloyd smiled a little when he heard that. "I don't know," Lloyd responded.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Francis asked.

"Well, let's just go in for now. Maybe there's something special inside," Lloyd said.

"Okay, bro," Francis conceded. Trisha was just standing next to Francis awaiting Lloyd's decision.

The three of them proceeded to go inside the store.

In actuality, the store they were about to enter can be hardly classified as a store. Sure, there were a signage on top as well as various posters about the products posted on the walls outside. However, the building itself was so dilapidated and ancient-looking that any passerby can mistaken it as a haunted house. The materials were mostly wood, with a little amount of bricks and cement mixed within so the wood deteriorated up to the point where it can hardly support the building. Creak sounds and dust particles appear just by walking on the wooden floors.

"Is this really a store?" Francis complained while whispering to Lloyd. "This is worse than the dog house of my servant's dog."

"What the- just be silent for a moment. Let's not be rude. There's always a story behind everything," Lloyd whispered back.

Francis became quiet when he heard Lloyd and just continued walking.

When they arrived at the front desk, the trio noticed that aside from the dusts and old construction, the front desk looked exactly the same with the front desks that can be found on hotels or Inns. Lloyd searched if there was anyone behind the desk and found a person casually lying on an old and wooden reclining chair. The group carefully assessed the person and found out that it was actually an old man. There was an old straw hat on top of his face so the group did not managed to recognize the old man at first.

Lloyd saw the situation before him and carefully approached the front desk. He slightly coughed to get the attention of the old man but to no avail.

"Umm..excuse me? Is your store open?" Lloyd asked the old man. However, the old man wouldn't budge.

"Excuse me? Hello?" Lloyd asked again but a little bit louder this time because he thought that the old man cannot hear that well.

"Stop shouting! I can hear you loud and clear!" the old man abruptly said.

The trio was startled because of how sudden and loud the old man has responded.

"Dammit! Youngsters nowadays are so impolite!" the old man grumbled while taking off the straw hat on his face and sitting properly.

The trio got a closer look at the old man after he took off his hat. The old man has long, curly, and balanced black and white hair which seemed to not have been washed for a long time making it dry. The long hair covered his left eye, making it a bit mysterious. His face already have wrinkles but his grey eyes were full of energy. He was dressed in a long white gown which looked quite ancient.

"I apologize for the sudden....intrusion. But, is your store open?" Lloyd politely asked.

"Of course it is open. Haven't you saw the signboard outside?" the old man irritatingly said.

"How can we see it? Almost all of the signboards outside are deteriorated and can hardly be read by a normal person," Francis whispered.

The old man looked at Francis and shouted, "Hey you! I can hear you, you know!"

Francis covered his mouth and avoided the old man's gaze.

"I apologize for my friend's rude behavior. We just want to ask if you have some mana stones available?" Lloyd asked politely once again.

"Of course, we have those! Do you really think that just because my store looks like this, we won't have things to sell?" the old man shouted.

'So, you do admit that your store needs renovation,' Lloyd thought.

"No, sir. Of course not. I know that one must not judge anything just based on its external appearances," Lloyd hurriedly said.

The old man stroked his non-existent beard and approvingly said, "Not bad, young man. Come. I'll take you to where I store my mana stones." Then, he got up from the reclining chair and beckoned the trio to follow him.

"Thank you," Lloyd responded. He signaled Francis and Trisha to closely follow from behind.

They followed the old man walking toward a door that was located on the left side of the front desk. There was a door and the old man opened it and walked inside. The trio followed suit and was amazed by what they saw. They were slack-jawed by what they were seeing.

"What the-!" Francis blurted out. "Are all of these still usable?!"

It turned out that the trio were amazed because the condition of the things inside the room was even worse than the things outside. Francis saw eight cabinets, which was neatly organized into two rows, with each row having four cabinets. These cabinets, although still debatable because of how deteriorated it were, released some kind of odorless smoke from its openings the moment they got inside. Because no one experienced anything out of the ordinary, they paid it no heed.

"Of course it is! What an Ill-mannered young man!" The old man irritatingly said.

Francis cannot hold it any longer and responded, "I was just speaking the truth! Do you really have mana stones or are you just another senile old man?"

"I have mana stones!" the old man angrily responded. After saying that, the old man ignored Francis and instead looked at Lloyd and then asked, "What is your name?"

"My name is Lloyd Blanc, Sir," Lloyd politely said.

"Lloyd, if not for you, I wouldn't even bat my eyelids at your group. Especially at that fat guy. So, what kind of mana stones are you looking for?" the old man said.

"Do you have some low-tier mana stones?" Lloyd inquired.

"Is that all? Of course, I have them," the old man said. "Wait here."

The old man walked towards the cabinet and disappeared when he took a turn.

What Lloyd have previously used in aiding him to achieve a breakthrough in the third level of Mana Gathering Realm was an inferior-tier mana stone, which was perfect for people who's just starting their cultivation journey. Low-tier mana stones can only be absorbed by cultivators in the Mana Creating Realm. Lloyd, however, was an exception, he can absorb mana stones which are a grade higher than what his current level can absorb. After the white color from the pendant of samsara entered and altered his body, Lloyd's potential was maxed out. Which means that he achieved the highest level of potential that a human could have. After low-tier mana stones, there were mid-tier mana stones which could only be absorbed by cultivators in the Mana Utilization Realm.

After about five minutes or so, the old man came back with a magic pouch. Although the trio thinks that the old man just brought an old and tattered pouch because of its external appearance and also due to them having the subconscious thought that the old man can't possibly have anything worth buying.

"Hey, old man. Please don't take this the wrong way but...are you joking with us? How can a low-tier mana stone which individually measures over 7 inches fit inside such a small and dilapidated pouch?" Francis said.

The old man just directly ignored Francis and instead spoke to Lloyd.

"Lloyd, I have 2 low-tier mana stones of the purest grade," the old man said.

Francis was slightly annoyed when he was ignored so he told the old man, "Old man, I am talking to you! What 2 low-tier mana stones? Where? Inside that pouch? Stop messing with us!"

"Francis..." Lloyd interjected.

"What?!" Francis shouted. But when he looked at the speaker's direction, he immediately went silent. Afterward, he awkwardly smiled and asked Lloyd, "What is it, bro?"

"That pouch is not an ordinary one. It is a magic pouch," Lloyd explained.

"What? It is a magic pouch? I find it hard to believe but since bro is the one who said it, I will believe it," Francis said without any fuss.

"Here you go, Lloyd. This pouch contains 2 low-tier mana stones," the old man said while still ignoring Francis and handing the pouch to Lloyd. "These two will be yours for 2,000 bronze stones."

Lloyd grabbed the magic pouch and was surprised by the price when he heard the old man.

"But Sir-," Lloyd responded.

"No buts. I only accept 2,000 bronze stones here. If you do not have them, give my pouch back and scram," the old man said with a slight irritation to his voice. The old man was serious in his demands.

Lloyd was stuck in a dilemma. He desperately needs the mana stones for the upcoming tournament, but at the same time, he does not want to take advantage of the old man.

 After sometime of thinking, left with no choice, he pulled and handed the old man an ordinary bag containing 2,000 bronze stones from his magic pouch. "Thank you for the generosity, Sir. I promise to help with anything aside from financial matters."

"No need for thanks, although I will keep your word about helping me. I favor those who doesn't judge based on looks and pity those who does, ho-ho-ho," the old man said while slightly laughing.

Only Lloyd, the old man and Francis knew why Lloyd thanked the old man.

Normally, pure mana stones are used as cultivation resources by cultivators while impure mana stones can be used as currencies. Inferior-tier mana stones usually costs 500 bronze stones. The low-tier mana stones, however, because of how rare cultivators in the Mana Creating Realm are, costs a lot higher. It usually costs around 2,000-3,000 bronze stones EACH depending upon the quality of the stones. Even though the old man says that he favors Lloyd, it was not enough to give Lloyd such a huge discount. The trio knows that this was the first time that they met the old man so the only thing that they could think of was that the old man really favors Lloyd as well as he was really mysterious. How can an old man, living in such a rundown house, possibly own such precious mana stones?

"If you don't have any more you want to buy, scram," the old man said.

The three of them looked at each other and immediately understood each other's intentions. So, they bid farewell to the old man and were about to leave when Lloyd's pendant underneath his shirt emanated heat once again.

Lloyd stopped on his tracks.

"Wait."

Francis and Trisha also stopped and looked back at Lloyd.

"What's the matter, bro?" Francis asked.

"Since we're already here, I would like to look around. Is it fine with you two?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, it is fine by me. How about you, Trisha?" Francis asked.

Trisha nodded and said, "As long as young master wills it, anything is also fine by me."

"Thank you. You two can also look around. Maybe you'll find something you will like," Lloyd said.

"Okay, bro."

After saying that, Lloyd proceeded to head into the direction where the pendant directed him to go. He went to the farthest cabinet from the right, took a turn left and then looked around his vicinity.