Rockpeak City was a mid-sized city located within the sphere of influence of the Nightblaze Prefecture.
It was said that Rockpeak City's lord was a special lifeform—originally a rock giant who had cultivated into godhood—and a remarkably powerful Highgod.
Within the city itself, aside from the city lord, there were also two deputy city lords, both at the Highgod level.
If Locke had traveled at full speed, a few dozen years would have been more than enough for him to leave the Nightblaze Prefecture altogether.
However, ever since his soul power had fully recovered, his need for Amethysts was no longer urgent. As a result, Locke did not hurry along his journey.
Most of the time, he simply sat on Little White's back, letting his pet carry him forward.
As for the travel speed of Saint Domain creatures… there was hardly any need to mention it.
The fact that, after all these decades, Locke still hadn't left the Nightblaze Prefecture was proof enough.
That said, even for Demigods, if they weren't flying at full speed and didn't possess a metal lifeform, a few dozen years wouldn't be enough to leave the Nightblaze Prefecture either.
The sheer size of Hell far exceeded anyone's imagination.
As one of the one hundred and eight prefectures, the Nightblaze Prefecture alone was tens of thousands of times larger than a material plane.
In Hell, Saint Domain magical beasts were no different from ordinary mortals in a material plane.
When they arrived at Rockpeak City, Little White instinctively tried to head toward the area outside the city gates where Saint Domain slaves gathered. Locke promptly grabbed the scruff of fur on its neck and lifted it up.
"Shrink."
"Ji-ji…"
Realizing what Locke meant, Little White was instantly delighted. After chirping a few times, it rapidly reduced its body to a tiny form only a dozen centimeters long and was placed on Locke's shoulder.
The Saint Domain beings crowded nearby all cast envious looks toward Little White.
In Hell, Saint Domain beings had no rights at all—they were the very bottom of the food chain.
If they followed the right master, their future could become incredibly bright.
At the very least, a divine spark costing a little over a hundred inkstones was no real burden to a god-level powerhouse.
A typical Demigod stationed at a tribe for ten thousand years would earn about ten inkstones in remuneration.
In just over a hundred thousand years, that would be enough to purchase a Demigod divine spark to help one of their subordinates break through.
Although beings who ascended by refining divine sparks had limited future potential, a god was still a god.
Compared to Saint Domain beings, the gap in both status and strength was worlds apart.
For Saint Domain beings who came to Hell from material planes, things were somewhat better. Anyone capable of reaching the Saint Domain in a material plane, once arriving in Hell—where elemental density was dozens, even nearly a hundred times higher—would find that most of them could soon break through to godhood.
But for those Saint Domain beings native to Hell, it was far more difficult.
If someone could only reach the Saint Domain even in divine planes or higher planes, then throwing them into a material plane would leave them no stronger than an ordinary mortal.
If they failed to break through to godhood within a thousand years, it was almost certain that—unless they refined a divine spark—their achievements in this life would end there.
A servant like Little White, who clearly enjoyed their master's favor and for whom the master was willing to spend an inkstone to bring into the city, stood a good chance of receiving rewards.
It wouldn't even be surprising if such a servant were someday given a divine spark.
Indeed—if they knew that Locke had already bestowed a divine spark upon Little White several years ago, they would probably turn green with envy.
Inside the city, the bustling liveliness stood in stark contrast to the desolation outside the walls—a single wall, yet a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
Entering a city for the first time, Little White's eyes shone brightly as it looked around in all directions.
"Oh, found it."
Locke paid Little White no attention, instead directly searching for the Violet Thorn Castle within Rockpeak City.
As the only trading venue in Hell backed by a Sovereign, the Violet Thorn Castle's reputation was unquestionable.
Likewise, no one foolish enough dared to cause trouble inside it.
The dignity of a Sovereign was not to be profaned.
Choosing the reception counter with the shortest line, Locke waited less than ten minutes before it was his turn.
Such was the efficiency when gods handled affairs.
"I want to purchase a large quantity of Amethysts. How much stock do you have here?"
Standing at the counter, Locke made no attempt to conceal anything and spoke directly through divine sense.
"This lord, at present we have just over eight hundred Amethysts in stock. How many would you like to purchase?"
Hearing Locke's request, the Demigod receptionist was visibly surprised.
Amethysts could restore soul power, but due to the difficulty of refining them, their popularity was far lower than that of Soul Gold Pearls.
For god-level powerhouses with even a modest level of soul attainment, slaughtering a few tribes to refine Soul Gold Pearls was an effortless task.
The one advantage Amethysts had over Soul Gold Pearls was their price.
A Soul Gold Pearl two to three centimeters in size cost one hundred thousand inkstones.
An Amethyst, on the other hand, cost only ten thousand inkstones.
It was even cheaper than a God divine spark.
"I'll take them all."
With over five hundred million inkstones at his disposal, eight or nine million inkstones was pocket change to Locke.
After confirming the exact quantity, Locke transferred 8.73 million inkstones into a spatial ring, removed its binding, and handed it over to the receptionist.
"This lord, please wait a moment."
After confirming the inkstones in the ring, the receptionist bowed respectfully to Locke, then left the counter. She passed the ring to a superior within the Violet Thorn Castle. After receiving confirmation from that person, she returned with a new spatial ring and handed it to Locke.
This scene immediately drew the attention of the surrounding god-level powerhouses.
These gods had conducted business with the Violet Thorn Castle for countless years.
They knew well that for the staff to show such respect, it meant either backing from a major power—or an exceptionally large transaction.
The Violet Thorn Castle was backed by the Violet Thorn Sovereign, and its staff were mostly family members of soldiers from the Violet Thorn Legion.
Under normal circumstances, only members of other Sovereign factions received such treatment.
Yet when these gods looked at Locke, they saw no markings of any Sovereign faction upon him.
Which meant only one thing—
Locke had just completed a massive transaction with the Violet Thorn Castle.
As this realization dawned on them, certain thoughts quietly took root in the minds of some of the god-level powerhouses.
Without a sound, several of them left the Violet Thorn Castle.
"Mm, eight hundred and seventy-three Amethysts. The count is correct."
After binding the ring with a drop of blood, Locke swept it with his soul power and confirmed the quantity.
"Now then—what about metal lifeforms? Do you sell those here?"
"Yes, we do, my lord."
Upon hearing this, the receptionist's smile grew even more sincere.
(End of Chapter)
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