Currently, Compass Carburettor was rushing through flatlands, noticing that it was slowly turning more and more arid as patches of sand began to increase in number.
That wasn't all, the number of cultivators around him began to reduce as they had to take precautions against the blistering heat.
Even for the Claw Wolf, it proved to be difficult after a while. He took out some water from his storage bracelet, quenching the third of them both as they continued to travel.
"Based on what they were speaking about, there should be an area of treasure here…" He muttered, continuing to travel.
Slowly, he noticed a mysterious force acting upon him, influencing his Origin Essence. It turned his Origin Essence sluggish, preventing him from using it as quickly as before.
Moreover, the deeper into the desert he went, the stronger this effect became. And soon after, he noticed that it had become too sluggish that he wasn't even able to do anything much. He needed almost a minute to even activate his Origin Art of Mind Connect.
He felt unnerved by this sensation, especially since Origin Essence was all that he could rely upon now. After all, even to take something from his storage space, he was depended on his Origin Essence.
He approached a cultivator nearby, cupping his fists to ask, "Friend, do you know anything about this region?"
"You've come to this place without any preparations?" The other cultivator asked in shock. For a moment, he thought of something, but upon seeing the aura the Claw Wolf exuded, he refrained from doing anything against Compass Carburettor.
"It's not like there's a guide map for this Secret Realm, after all." Compass Carburettor shrugged.
"Well, that's true. There are a lot of undiscovered locations in the Folkan Secret Realm. And, information regarding them are secret records that the ancestors of every Clan and Sect had been accumulating for centuries." The cultivator smirked, pressing his cone-shaped hat downward, covering his eyebrows, "I can tell you the details. But you'll have to pay me."
"How much?" Compass Carburettor asked.
"Hmm…" The cultivator glanced him from head to toe once before quoting, "Three thousand Essence Stones."
"Good luck with that. I'll ask someone else." Compass Carburettor said, turning around to leave. Three thousand Essence Stones was an exorbitant price.
Even his healing services were only priced around a hundred Essence Stones and only charged extra for tricky injuries where a lot of doctors had to operate.
The typical salary for a household part of a Clan was around a thousand Essence Stones. The stronger and more influential the household, the greater their salary.
For a commoner, thirty Essence Stones were enough to feed him for a month.
So, three thousand Essence Stones were pretty much daylight robbery.
"Fine, fine. I was just messing around." The cultivator waved his hand, "I'll sell it to you for 2000 Essence Stones. This was information my family had passed down for generations, after all. I can't sell it for any cheaper."
"Let me ask around and see if it's actually worth that much." Compass Carburettor continued to walk away, spotting another cultivator in the far-off distance.
"Fine!" The cone-hat cultivator shouted, "1600 Essence Stones. I won't tell you for anything less."
"I only have 1500 Essence Stones in my pouch. And that's all I can pay." Compass Carburettor said, taking out a pouch that he dangled before the cone-hat cultivator.
"Damn miser!" The cone-hat cultivator grunted before accepting the money, "Fine! I'll tell you."
During this round of back and forth, Compass Carburettor had already connected to the cultivator's mind, probing through his recent memories, sensing his emotions in them to see that he was only overcharging.
He was actually aware of a lot of information that might prove useful. Hence, Compass Carburettor haggled. Based on what the inner mind of the cone-hat cultivator felt, he judged than 1200 Essence Stones were the bare minimum he thought were suitable for this information.
And even that, he wasn't willing. After all, this information might prove useful for him. The part about it being passed down through his family for generations was a lie though as he had actually chanced upon a cultivator's belongings when he killed them in the past.
It was that cultivator's family that had been guarding this information.
Hence, Compass Carburettor quoted a price of 1500 Essence Stones, readying that slowly due to the time it took for his Origin Essence to bring out the pouch from the storage bracelet. He didn't wish to display its effect to others, after all. And hence, he purposefully turned around many times, looking like he was walking away.
In truth, he was just preparing the pouch to hang at the side of his hip. The other party wasn't able to notice this due to the Claw Wolf.
It was impossible for the cone-hat cultivator to escape with the money. It was because he had long become a Sleeper Cell.
Grinning while holding the money pouch, the cone-hat cultivator grinned, stating, "This is the Temperate Refinement Zone. It's a place where our Origin Essence would turn sluggish the closer towards the centre we approach. And in its core, we won't be able to use Origin Essence at all."
"But, here's the catch." He said, "Training in this place would raise your affinity to your respective attributes. And in the core is a stone pillar lake where you can train and grow a lot stronger. It could be considered as the number one training zone in the entire Folkan Secret Realm."
"How does training while our Origin Essence is sealed prove useful?" Compass Carburettor asked.
"Even though we won't be able to use Origin Essence there, it'll still remain within us." The cone-hat cultivator smirked, "Besides, the region's density of Origin Essence is the highest. So, training there would naturally temper your body and enhance the pathways through which your Origin Essence flows."
"Overall, you'll also gain a deeper understanding of your Origin Arts there." He said, "So, those who are aware of this place have already reached the core."
"I see," Compass Carburettor nodded, already confirming the same through the cone-hat cultivator's memories. 'This'll be a good opportunity to strengthen myself further. With a deeper understanding of Origin Essence, I'll be able to manipulate it better and compress an even greater quantity during my breakthrough.'
Thinking as such, he began to march towards the centre of the Temperate Refinement Zone's centre.
Standing almost a kilometre away was a giant of a man, holding a pair of binoculars that he used to gaze at Compass Carburettor's back, muttering, "So, you've decided to come here, Compass Carburettor."
"This'll be your grave."
