A Quiet Frontier

Chapter 400: Winds Stir Beyond the Seas — Cultivators, Demonic Beasts, and a Small Island

What puzzled Han Li even more was that, aside from those shops, the place was utterly silent. Not a single person was in sight.

After a moment of thought, he let out a silent, self-deprecating laugh.

How could he have forgotten!

This was hardly a leisurely island in the Inner Star Seas. Those daring enough to come here were at least Core Formation cultivators, or at minimum, late-stage Foundation Establishment ones. Scattered among the other demon beast islands, their numbers would naturally be few.

The cultivators of this Condensing Jade Island had most likely all gone out to hunt demonic beasts.

Thinking this, Han Li raised his head and swept his gaze across the area.

Only then did he notice that the market was built against a small earthen hill at its back.

After a moment’s consideration, Han Li walked toward the general store, which was cobbled together from piles of jagged stone.

“Do you have a recent nautical chart of the surrounding area?” Han Li asked, his expression flat.

He knew even before arriving that the sea charts for all demon beast islands were constantly updated. Naturally, he needed to buy the latest one.

“Yes, yes! We have a rough version and a detailed one. Which would Senior prefer?” The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man at the Qi Condensation stage, perked up at the sight of Han Li and Qu Hun approaching and immediately launched into his sales pitch.

“The detailed one,” Han Li said without hesitation.

“Detailed sea chart, one hundred spirit stones!” the middle-aged man said, an exorbitant price.

“One hundred?” Han Li felt as though his ears were playing tricks on him. Had he misheard the price?

But in an instant, his face darkened with anger.

While he had no intention of courting trouble, neither would he tolerate being openly swindled by a low-level cultivator.

“Senior, please don’t misunderstand! This price was not set by me, but directly by those above. I am merely following orders. Besides, when other seniors sell us their updated terrain charts, the prices they charge are equally steep!” The shopkeeper, seeing Han Li’s grim expression, did not show fear. Instead, he began to pour out his grievances.

“Those above? Which merchant alliance are you with?” Han Li’s anger subsided slightly, and he frowned.

He was well aware that any merchant who could establish a business on a demon beast island could not be some small outfit. It was most likely one of the four great merchant alliances.

“Hehe, Senior is truly perceptive. I serve under the Fengle Merchant Alliance.” The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned, then quickly broke into a flattering smile.

“One of the four great alliances, the Fengle Alliance that runs the Fengle Auction House in Heaven Star City?”

“Indeed, Senior.”

Hearing this, Han Li stopped wasting words and tossed out a mid-grade spirit stone.

The shopkeeper immediately grinned and handed Han Li a jade slip.

“The other shops here—are they all Fengle’s as well?” Han Li glanced at the other storefronts, stowing the jade slip away as he asked without much goodwill.

“How could that be? Except for that purchasing depot to the west, all the others belong to other merchant alliances. They have nothing to do with us Fengle.” The middle-aged man cast a slightly hostile look at the other shops before replying.

Hearing this, Han Li said nothing more. He turned and left, Qu Hun following.

He had taken only a few steps and was about to release the Divine Wind Boat to fly away when suddenly, a green rainbow descended from the sky, landing precisely in front of a purchasing depot diagonally opposite.

As the light faded, a burly Core Formation cultivator was revealed.

“Youngster Fan, your business has arrived!” the large man shouted loudly as he approached the depot. Then, he pulled a storage pouch from his chest and dumped its contents onto the ground.

With a swirl of multicolored light, the corpse of a strange fish, over two zhang long, appeared on the ground.

It was called a fish only because its body was covered in a layer of cyan scales. But it had a snake-like, monstrous head and a pair of huge, sharp claws on its belly. Near the front of its back was a bloody hole, still oozing, suggesting its demon core had already been removed.

“Ah! It’s Senior Hao! This Azure Phosphorus Fish Demon is notoriously difficult to kill! Only someone with Senior’s great divine abilities could possibly destroy it.” A Qi Condensation youth, quick-witted and sharp-eyed, ran out from the depot. He began inspecting the demon beast’s corpse while showering the large man with flattery, which drew a hearty laugh from the man, who seemed to be a bold and open-hearted character.

Suddenly, the large man turned his face toward Han Li and Qu Hun. After a brief glance, he called out to them in a very friendly tone:

“You two Fellow Daoists look unfamiliar. Just arrived at Condensing Jade Island, I take it? Interested in hunting demon beasts together?”

Seeing the man’s enthusiastic welcome, Han Li smiled but said nothing. Qu Hun, acting on his master’s mental command, lightly shook his head to decline.

Seeing this, the large man showed a hint of regret but continued speaking with warm persistence:

“I am Hao Yuantian, and I have some reputation on Condensing Jade Island. If either of you changes your mind later, you can always look me up.” With that, he took a pouch of spirit stones from the depot’s young attendant. After a quick glance inside, he transformed into a green rainbow once more and flew away, all in a flurry.

Han Li stood there in silence.

Judging by the eager recruitment efforts of both the red-faced old man who had teleported here with him and this man Hao Yuantian, there clearly weren’t many Core Formation cultivators on Condensing Jade Island. They had formed their own small groups.

It seemed the information he had gathered was correct: even for Core Formation cultivators, operating in the Outer Star Seas required sticking together in groups to hunt demon beasts safely.

If he hadn’t had his own plans, he might have accepted one of these invitations himself.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Han Li boarded the Divine Wind Boat with Qu Hun. Taking off from a different direction, he flew out toward the open sea.

On the magic tool, Han Li carefully examined the sea chart jade slip he had just bought before putting it away.

Condensing Jade Island was not large. In just that short time, the Divine Wind Boat had already reached the island’s edge.

Standing at the edge of the flying boat, Han Li gazed into the distance. A flicker of light shone in his eyes as he readjusted their course, heading deep into the endless ocean.

Han Li dared not fly too low above the water.

Some high-level demon beasts, even when lying dormant on the seabed, could suck down every living thing flying above the surface through hundreds of zhang of seawater. If a cultivator startled them, death was nearly certain.

Naturally, Han Li was extremely cautious.

But by the same token, one could not fly too high in the Outer Star Seas. Not only did demonic beasts roam in packs within the sea, but flying-type demon beasts also circled endlessly in the high skies. Being spotted by them was equally dangerous.

Of course, this was not an absolute rule. The conditions of each sea region varied, and nothing was ever completely safe.

Every year, countless cultivators teleported to the various demon beast islands, dreaming of slaying beasts and harvesting their cores. But many of them never returned once they left the shelter of those islands.

Stories of Core Formation cultivators being devoured by higher-grade demon beasts while trying to hunt were common.

Clearly, while the profits from hunting demonic beasts in the Outer Star Seas were tempting, the risk was equally great.

This was why most cultivators who ventured out to hunt automatically formed fixed teams with those they knew, acting together.

Thus, it was much safer.

However, gathering a large number of people to hunt demon beasts together was also a taboo.

Once, long ago, on a demon beast island, the entire island’s cultivators had organized a massive hunting operation.

They had been elated by their initial success. But it wasn’t long before they attracted several rank-seven or higher deep-sea demon beasts, along with a massive horde of others, in a counterattack. Not only did the cultivators suffer heavy casualties, but the demon beast island itself was completely destroyed.

After this happened two more times, no one dared to assemble too many cultivators at once again. At most, they operated in small groups of a few people, or at most a dozen or so.

This was the reason for the prevalence of small groups on demon beast islands and the intense vying for solitary, high-level cultivators.

Based on the information he had gathered, Han Li’s expression grew stern the moment he left Condensing Jade Island.

He not only released his powerful spiritual sense, covering the area several dozen zhang around him, but he also drove the Divine Wind Boat at full power, turning it into a streak of white light that tore through the air at tremendous speed.

Every few hours of flight, Han Li would stop to verify his bearings, terrified of flying off course and missing his intended destination.

As it turned out, Han Li’s luck was quite good.

Aside from spotting a rank-five demon beast playing on the surface far in the distance and making a slight detour, he encountered no real trouble.

After three days of intermittent flying and stopping, he finally spotted a small, fiery red island.

Flying a little closer, he could see that the island was actually built from countless bright red coral formations, glittering under the sunlight. It was an incredibly beautiful and enchanting sight.

Han Li hovered above the island, a look of delight spreading across his face.

(End of the chapter.)