The prosperity of the capital city at night was truly unparalleled by any other city. Not only were establishments like restaurants, which already operated at night, bustling with patrons, but shops selling all sorts of goods were also open under the lamplight.
After leaving the teahouse, Lu Heng and his companion did not go to other restaurants for dinner. At this moment, stalls selling various snacks had also been set up along both sides of the street.
The main street was filled with people, appearing even livelier than during the day. To prevent Lu Bai from getting lost, Lu Heng took out a thin iron chain and tied it to Lu Bai's waist, with the other end attached to his own wrist.
These snack stalls were all located away from places like restaurants. Although the food prepared was relatively simple, each had its own unique characteristics. Lu Heng led Lu Bai, eating and browsing along the way.
By the time the bright, sparkling stars were embedded in the dark night sky, the two had strolled through several more streets.
"Come and see, I have the Huíhún Dān from the Dānyáng Sect for sale, a top-grade pill that can save your life."
"Take a look, do you have any weapons you like? The weapons here are all enhanced with special attributes, and they are all top-quality goods."
At this moment, the stalls selling food on both sides of the street had long been replaced by stalls selling all sorts of goods, and calls of vendors could be heard from time to time.
"Dàlì Wán, Dàlì Wán, eat one and I guarantee you'll be full of vigor every day. Won't you have one?"
When Lu Heng heard this voice, he couldn't help but glance at the stall. On the stall was a yellowed white cloth, on which several small boxes were placed. One of the boxes was open, and a dark, round pill was displayed inside.
Lu Heng couldn't help but smack his lips. This place truly had everything for sale.
"That seems to be the Língbǎo Gé ahead." Looking ahead along the street, a particularly conspicuous pavilion was visible not far ahead.
Many large red lanterns were hung outside the pavilion, illuminating the surrounding shops and streets as if it were daytime.
People occasionally walked to the entrance of the pavilion, paused for a moment, and then most of them were allowed inside.
Tugging the thin chain tied to his wrist, Lu Heng pulled Lu Bai closer. "Let's go and check out that Língbǎo Gé."
This was his main purpose for coming to the capital: to bid on some high-level magic crystals to facilitate his own upgrade.
After many days of traveling to various places, Lu Heng had gradually learned that such high-level demonic beasts were quite rare on the Shényuán Continent. To advance to higher levels of Enlightenment, a considerable number of corresponding high-level magic crystals were needed.
However, precisely because high-level magic crystals were scarce, there were not many experts on this Shényuán Continent. For people in sects like Wúchénzi's, those at the eighth level of Enlightenment were already very rare.
However, Lu Heng suddenly remembered that the Prince of Lu he had encountered earlier seemed to be at level eight or above.
It seemed that their sects could not compare to the ruling imperial family, after all, the concept of "All under heaven belongs to the King" was even more deeply ingrained in such ancient societies.
As he walked towards the Língbǎo Gé, Lu Heng sensed the cultivation of the people around him.
As he approached the Língbǎo Gé, Lu Heng sensed that the number of experts nearby was gradually increasing. Moreover, when he probed into the Língbǎo Gé with his divine sense, a more profound aura repelled his probing.
"Hmm." Lu Heng let out a soft groan, quickly retracted his aura, and switched the water attribute he had used for probing to the wind attribute.
Pulling Lu Bai to the front of the Língbǎo Gé, Lu Heng did not use his divine sense again. He carefully observed the Língbǎo Gé and its surroundings.
The main building of the Língbǎo Gé was a six-story tall structure, covering an area of about a thousand square meters. The first floor had a stone foundation and half-height outer walls, while the upper parts were all wooden structures.
The surrounding buildings did not have excessively high structures, with the tallest being only three stories. Moreover, judging by the architectural style outside, they should also belong to the Língbǎo Gé.
Upon reaching the entrance, Lu Heng and his companion were stopped by two burly men. "Where is your waist token?"
"What waist token?" Lu Heng was taken aback. Did one need some form of identification to bid at the Língbǎo Gé?
If so, wouldn't that expose which family had won the treasure?
"First time here?" One of the burly men sized up Lu Heng and his companion, then pointed to a small door on the side. "See over there? Go buy your waist token there."
Lu Heng looked in the direction the man pointed. A small door was opened on the side of the Língbǎo Gé.
"Thank you for the guidance." Lu Heng bowed to the two guards, then pulled Lu Bai towards the small door.
There were already two or three people queuing in front, and Lu Heng and his companion had to wait for a short while before it was their turn.
"Ground floor seats are two hundred crystal stones per person, and private rooms on the upper floor are ten thousand crystal stones per room," said a pockmarked old woman, without even lifting her eyelids, taking a puff of her dry tobacco.
Beside the old woman was a wooden wall. The upper row had more than ten red plaques hanging, and the lower row had even more green plaques, each with a different number.
Waving away the smoke that drifted over, Lu Heng took out a bundle from his spatial ring, which contained ten thousand crystal stones. "One private room on the upper floor."
The pockmarked old woman raised her cloudy eyes, glanced at Lu Heng, and then grabbed the cloth bag, pouring the crystal stones inside into a straw hat. The straw hat was just the right size to hold ten thousand crystal stones, and in this world, for the sake of convenience in counting, the size of crystal stones was uniform.
The pockmarked old woman used the stem of her tobacco pipe to hook a red plaque hanging on the wall and placed it on the table. "Third floor, Room C."
Picking up the red plaque, Lu Heng and his companion returned to the main entrance of the Língbǎo Gé.
After showing the red plaque to the burly men at the entrance, the men were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected Lu Heng and his companion, who looked quite ordinary in their attire, to be able to afford a private room upstairs.
"Third floor, Room C." The burly man, having seen the number on the red plaque, shouted into the building.
Immediately, a young man with a delicate appearance came out and bowed to Lu Heng and his companion, saying, "Two esteemed guests, please follow me."
As they followed the young man into the building, the environment they saw was indeed extraordinary.
The interior was elaborately carved and decorated, opulent and magnificent. The colorful paintings and murals were vibrant, with the flowers and birds depicted appearing lifelike.
The interior had a hollow design, with a large platform in the middle. Currently, a singer and dancer were performing on the platform, their melodious voices echoing throughout the building.
Surrounding the platform, there were scattered seats on three sides, with a layout somewhat similar to teahouses before the apocalypse.
Further up, surrounding the platform, were private rooms designed on three sides.
Curtains hung outside the private rooms, obscuring the view inside.
Following the young man, Lu Heng and his companion were led to a private room on the side of the third floor. Looking at the room numbers of the private rooms they had passed, Lu Heng knew that the rooms here were arranged sequentially and did not have significant differences.
"Two esteemed guests, someone will be here shortly to serve you some tea and snacks. If you have any other needs, you can also call the servants at the entrance," the young man said. After a pause, seeing that Lu Heng and his companion remained silent, he bowed again and withdrew from the room.