Chapter 188 : Outstanding People, Blessed Land

Chapter 188: Outstanding People, Blessed Land

“Daoist friend, isn’t this quasi–third-rank Demon Beast Crystalline Core too expensive?”

In front of the stall, Lin Chang’an looked hesitant, constantly haggling back and forth with the other party.

After all, saving a little was still saving, and whatever was saved would end up in his own pocket.

“Daoist friend, add just a little more.”

In the end, Lin Chang’an acted as if his funds were tight. After taking out a portion of Spirit Stones, he relied on some other resources to finally exchange for this Crystalline Core.

When he obtained this fire-attribute quasi–third-rank Demon Beast Crystalline Core, Lin Chang’an could clearly sense the agitation of the Wind-Chirp Bird inside his Spirit Beast Pouch.

But he kept a calm face. After securing the Demon Core, he lowered his bamboo hat and melted into the crowd, vanishing from sight.

Meanwhile, the cultivator at the stall stood there thoughtful, secretly stroking the Spirit Beast Pouch within his sleeve.

“Although it was hidden well, it still lacked a trace of sea beast stench. And though his words and actions were very convincing, to a cultivator who has lived here long-term, there was still a faint sense of disharmony.”

It seemed this was an outsider Foundation Establishment cultivator.

And outsiders—if not fleeing from crimes, then they came here seeking that slim chance of fortune. Generally, their family wealth was not small.

Thinking of this, the man’s breathing grew slightly heavier.

He too had come here fifty years ago, hoping to seize a chance at Core Formation. But after so many years, he had learned how difficult it truly was.

“These outsider cultivators are all fat sheep. I’ll try first. Even if it fails, with my cultivation, even against a Perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator, I can still escape easily.”

As he thought of his age, realizing that if he didn’t fight now he might miss his chance, a trace of viciousness flashed across his eyes.

……

“There are too many good things in this marketplace, and the abundance of resources here far surpasses the Seven Kingdoms, where most resources are monopolized by the upper echelons.”

As a drifting cultivator, Lin Chang’an naturally understood the benefits of such abundant resources.

He also knew that if the major powers here were like those in the Seven Kingdoms, restricting resources, then the cultivators below would have an even harder time resisting Demon Beasts.

“Even if some forces wish to restrict them, Bihai Palace and the various Nascent Soul powers look down on such petty things. What they want is for the lower cultivators to flourish, so they can continuously expand their exploitation and reap greater profits.”

Different cultivation, different vision.

In the Seven Kingdoms, cultivators feared rogue cultivators rising up and threatening their rule.

But in the Sea Abyss of Beasts, the top powers never bothered with such concerns.

Thus, in the marketplaces here, formations, puppets, cultivation methods—all these treasures could be openly bought and sold.

Formations and puppets, once bought, would still bring continuous profit through maintenance and repairs.

Powerful cultivation methods also required special training spirit items, which in turn created endless profit.

“My purchases are about complete. There’s still plenty of time later to learn more and collect other resources.”

After circling the marketplace, Lin Chang’an was just about to contact Old Hu when suddenly his heart skipped a beat.

“I’ve been targeted!”

With his sharp perception, he immediately sensed someone following him. That familiar mana aura—it was clearly the cultivator from the Demon Core transaction earlier.

“As expected of the vicious Sea of Ten Thousand Demons. I’ve only just arrived and already run into a robber cultivator.”

Lin Chang’an sighed inwardly, but his eyes flashed. Perhaps this was also an opportunity—an opportunity to better understand this place.

Without showing anything outwardly, Lin Chang’an secretly sent a voice transmission to Old Hu.

Although he could sense that the other party was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to be safe, he had Old Hu shadow him from the dark.

Two against one—and with his confidence, even if they encountered a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, they might not necessarily fall short, especially with Talisman Treasures.

Against a False Core cultivator, he also had ways to escape.

And Old Hu also possessed a Talisman Treasure.

With this thought, Lin Chang’an changed disguises several times before leaving the marketplace.

He flew dozens of miles away when suddenly, a strange aura flared up from the forest below.

“Hiss!”

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

From the underbrush below, a ten-foot-long venomous green serpent shot up, transforming into a streak of green light that lunged straight at him.

“Damn it!”

Facing the sudden ambush, Lin Chang’an, upon seeing it was a poisonous serpent, feigned panic and deliberately slowed his hand movements.

In an instant, the protective spiritual light around him was corroded through by poisonous mist. His face darkened, and only then did he hastily summon a great bronze bell.

“Who is it!”

The booming clang resounded, blasting the serpent away with a pitiful screech. At the same time, a figure lunged from behind. At that moment, Lin Chang’an roared in shock and fury:

“It’s you!”

The other man was ruthless. Seeing Lin Chang’an poisoned, he did not hesitate. Raising a trident-shaped spirit artifact, he shouted coldly:

“Daoist friend, please take the road to the afterlife!”

“Die!”

For a rogue cultivator to reach this stage, there was no such thing as naivety.

Lin Chang’an’s poisoning was all a ruse. Naturally, he would not reveal so many flaws. In fury, he directly drew the Azure-scaled Sword, unleashing a surge of sword light.

“A sword cultivator!”

Seeing the sword radiance, the attacker was startled at first, then revealed an expression of delight.

Sword cultivators usually possessed frightening attack power, and such cultivators often carried valuable treasures.

Both men were decisive, without the slightest hesitation, immediately clashing head-on.

“Moo!”

At that moment, Lin Chang’an summoned the Azure-Horned Bull, while he himself—face darkened, feigning panic—turned and fled without looking back.

“Moo!”

The Azure-Horned Bull widened its eyes. No sooner had it appeared than it saw its master abandon it.

“A second-rank Spirit Pet! Indeed, your wealth is fat. Go die for me!”

The robber cultivator was not alarmed but overjoyed. To abandon one’s own second-rank Spirit Pet—how deeply poisoned must he be!

“Since you won’t let me live, then let’s die together!”

With a furious roar, Lin Chang’an’s body erupted with Blood Fiend Energy, and even his sword light took on a blood-red hue. This made the robber cultivator tense, hastily summoning a shield-type spirit artifact to defend.

Terrifying sword radiance erupted in a violent offensive, leaving the robber cultivator a bit battered and embarrassed. Yet the joy on his face could not be concealed.

This kind of frenzied assault was just right—this was a sword cultivator fighting for his life.

Each strike of the sword light was three times stronger than his own attacks as a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But he could tell the other man was poisoned, and his sword light could not last long.

“Arrogant! Today you will learn the might of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

But before the words had even fallen, a cold light flashed from behind, along with the furious bellow of a bull.

“Not good!”

He quickly turned to defend. It was Old Hu, striking from the shadows like a mantis stalking a cicada, his ambush coming from the rear.

“There’s an accomplice!”

The robber’s face changed drastically. Old Hu’s powerful blow smashed aside his shield artifact. Then, right in front of him, the Azure-Horned Bull, eyes blazing red, charged straight at him.

“Moo!”

With a thunderous crash, the robber was sent flying.

The raw strength of a mid–second-rank Azure-Horned Bull was terrifying. Even an ordinary late second-rank Demon Beast could not withstand such a full-force charge.

Yet the robber was ruthless. In the instant he was struck flying, he borrowed the force to lunge straight toward Lin Chang’an instead.

“Do or die!”

The robber roared. He hadn’t expected that by playing robber cultivator today, he would stumble into actual robber cultivators.

This was clearly a setup—baiting him into the trap, a gang operation of robber cultivators.

As talismans exploded in mutual strikes, Lin Chang’an’s second-rank high-grade Thunderclap Talismans unleashed bolts of lightning with astonishing might.

But the more frenzied Lin Chang’an’s use of talismans, the more the robber knew—the breakthrough point lay right here.

The man was already poisoned.

“Go to hell!”

In that instant of clash, a vicious glint flashed in the robber’s eyes. From his sleeve shot forth yet another streak of green light.

Another venomous green serpent Spirit Pet—he actually had two of them.

Yet a cold glint flashed in Lin Chang’an’s eyes as the sword in his hand directly blocked the serpent, while the opponent’s trident thrust straight toward his face.

Just as the opponent was brimming with excitement, he suddenly saw a streak of blood light at Lin Chang’an’s fingertips.

Not good!

【Blood Spirit Thorn】

The flying needle hidden weapon that he had rarely used since Foundation Establishment appeared once more.

At such close distance, the opponent panicked and tried to dodge. Even so, his protective light was pierced instantly. Still, he was indeed a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Although caught off guard, he managed to evade. One of his ears was directly pierced through.

But at that very moment, a streak of azure sword light stabbed straight through his chest from behind.

“How… how is this possible!”

He could not believe it—Lin Chang’an was clearly still entangled with his Spirit Pet.

【Divine Ability · Sword Shadows Follow the Heart】

With Lin Chang’an’s cold gaze, this incomparably condensed sword light, akin to a compressed Greatsword Technique strike, manifested behind him and pierced his armor.

“A sword cultivator… how can he be this strong…”

Even with his armor, the robber cultivator stared at him with eyes full of unwillingness and hatred.

That sword light carried power no Foundation Establishment cultivator should be able to release.

It pierced through both his armor and his mana shield with ease.

But he did not know that the sword shadow condensed by Lin Chang’an was comparable to a small Talisman Treasure.

After landing the strike, Lin Chang’an retreated sharply. His sword light danced freely—there was no trace of poisoning at all. He swiftly slew the serpent, while his flying needles darted straight for the man’s vital points.

“Puchi!”

Blood bloomed instantly as the needles tore through his vital parts again and again.

In the blink of an eye, he had lost all life.

The battle ended as quickly as it had begun—there was none of the legendary “three days and three nights of fighting.”

“Old Lin, how did you get targeted by robber cultivators the moment you stepped out?”

Old Hu exclaimed in surprise. But just then, Lin Chang’an’s expression changed. He said in astonishment: “Old Hu, and you’re lecturing me? You’ve been targeted too—let’s move!”

Lin Chang’an raised his hand and collected the spoils. As for the man’s corpse, he abandoned it.

He had thought about probing the memory, but who could say if the corpse carried a tracking mark?

With one Fireball, he burned away the armor and departed immediately.

After Lin Chang’an and Old Hu left, two cultivator figures appeared in a flash.

One of them wore a look of fear and said:

“Old Miao’s corpse is gone!”

“The battlefield traces are fresh. One of them was a sword cultivator. To slay Old Miao, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, so quickly—his cultivation must have already reached Perfected Foundation Establishment.”

“This could be a robber cultivator deliberately baiting us. Damn it!”

The two wasted no time. Decisively, they fled, taking with them the serpent corpse they had picked up along the way.

At first, when Old Hu had followed behind, he had not slain the serpent, fearing that killing the Spirit Pet would alert the opponent.

So he only blasted it away, bringing the Azure-Horned Bull to chase together.

Who would have thought the advantage would fall to the two robber cultivators arriving later.

……

The two returned directly to the marketplace.

After this incident, both Lin Chang’an and Old Hu realized—this was the true norm of the Sea Abyss of Beasts.

Robber cultivators abounded, whether they were vicious criminals from afar or cultivators seeking fortune here—few were kind.

It could be said that the Sea Abyss of Beasts did not harbor idlers. This place was truly an Outstanding People, Blessed Land.

“Old Lin, do you think what we just did counts as the work of robber cultivators?”

Seeing Old Hu’s teasing look, Lin Chang’an was left speechless.

But upon checking the spoils—huh!

Old Hu’s eyes immediately lit up as he exclaimed: “Old Lin, no wonder so many people suddenly decide to become robber cultivators. The gains come far too quickly!”

There were not many Spirit Stones in the man’s Storage Pouch, but it held plenty of resources.

It was clear he had just returned laden with spoils, ready to exchange them for supplies.

The two split the resources evenly.

As for the second-rank poisonous serpent, Lin Chang’an kept it.

“Is this intelligence from the Wind Spirit Kingdom?”

Inside the Storage Pouch, they found jade slips containing intelligence from the man’s homeland.

Clearly, even after leaving home for many years, he had occasionally collected news from there.

But there were no detailed records—his exact family location was unknown.

No doubt he feared vengeance from enemies.

“Alas, all of us come here seeking that sliver of opportunity, but how many truly succeed in the end?”

Old Hu shook his head. This late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was already old.

For Old Hu, who had only just arrived here, the sight gave rise to complicated feelings.

Perhaps after wasting away decades, reaching this same point, they too might become like this robber cultivator.

Unable to move forward, unwilling to turn back, the only option left was to risk everything as a robber cultivator—at least then there was still a chance.

“Old Hu, I didn’t expect you to be such a sentimental man.”

Lin Chang’an teased, though his own heart was just as conflicted.

Perhaps the man’s family still awaited his return.

But! What did that have to do with him?

If he had been the one to die today, there would be no one grieving for him.

“Old Lin, you’re too heartless. I had just managed to stir up some feelings.”

Old Hu waved dismissively. Both were steadfast cultivators. It had merely been a passing sentiment, nothing more.

“Let’s head out together. We need to stay alert for the other three companions too.”

Soon after, Lin Chang’an and Old Hu waited at the agreed spot, where they met the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The five of them then flew toward their designated island of settlement. Along the way, the three factions remained secretly on guard.

Though they were newcomers and unlikely to fall into internal strife so soon, cultivators who had survived this far never trusted others easily.

Even Lin Chang’an and Old Hu, who had known each other for decades, had only formed a tentative trust after experiencing a secret realm journey together.

Even so, both tacitly refrained from asking about each other’s secrets.

Such as the cultivation method Old Hu practiced and the things handed down from his ancestors.

And likewise, Old Hu never questioned why Lin Chang’an’s sword-light divine ability was so frighteningly sharp.

Several days later, the five arrived safely at the island where they would settle.

After all, with five mid-to-late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators traveling together, few robber cultivators had the courage to attack.