A New Paradise on the Outer Star Seas

Chapter 520: Stirrings Beyond the Sea – Black Stone City

“It’s not convenient to speak here. Fellow Daoist Xu, how about we continue this discussion outside?” the burly man in brocade suggested, glancing around the stone hut and the Star Palace cultivator in the corner.

“Outside? Sure,” the scar-faced man replied with an air of indifference.

A look of delight flashed across the brocade-clad man’s face, but then, as if something had just occurred to him, he turned around and forced a faint smile at Han Li.

“Brother Qu, why don’t you join us? Perhaps we can find a way to cooperate,” the burly man said, making an obvious attempt to recruit him.

Hearing this, Han Li blinked and then chuckled.

“Very well. I was just thinking of hearing what you have to say.” Han Li replied with a smile. Without the slightest hesitation, he strode forward and stepped out of the stone hut first.

Seeing this, the scar-faced cultivator looked a little surprised. “What? This Daoist isn’t traveling with the rest of you?”

“He was just teleported here with us. We don’t know him from before,” the dark-faced middle-aged man said suddenly, his tone still carrying a trace of hostility toward Han Li.

The brocade-clad man frowned at these words but said nothing.

Xu Yun simply nodded, offering no further reaction either.

One by one, the group filed out of the stone hut.

By this time, Han Li was already standing outside, looking around in astonishment.

The scene before him was completely different from the Condensing Jade Island he had visited before.

They had appeared inside a small city.

Although not large and quite crude—covering an area of only about twenty li—it was indeed a city built from black stone.

The dilapidated stone hut housing the teleportation array sat at the center of this stone city, atop a platform resembling an altar. On each of its four sides was a steep stone staircase.

Because it was positioned at a relatively high vantage point, standing on this platform offered an unobstructed view in all directions.

Surrounding the city was a symbolic stone wall about three to four zhang high. Just a zhang beyond it, a thick white light barrier flickered, protecting the entire city within.

Inside the stone walls were large stone buildings of varying sizes.

Strangely, there were no multi-story structures—everything was a single-story bungalow.

At a glance, the city seemed packed with buildings, but there were actually very few independent structures. Some were clusters of connected stone houses, while others were enormous single-story edifices occupying an astonishing area—many spanning several dozen zhang.

What shocked Han Li even more was that, inside this stone city, mortals and cultivators were mingling together, walking along the rough black stone paths, and busily entering and exiting the stone houses.

That alone would not have been so strange. But what caught Han Li’s attention was that most of these mortals were young, beautiful women, dressed as gaudily and colorfully as butterflies. The others were strong, robust men, and a few handsome youths or pretty girls.

As Han Li stood there in a daze, the brocade-clad man and the others came out under the guidance of the scar-faced man. Seeing this small city, they too had looks of utter shock on their faces.

After all, since they had planned to come to the Outer Star Seas, they had naturally read up on some of the demon beast islands in advance. But none of the information they had seen matched this place.

“Brother Liu, take out the jade slip with the information on Qiyuan Island and look it over again. Maybe we missed something,” the brocade-clad man said, a flicker of unease passing over his face as he spoke in a low voice.

“Alright! I’ll take another look!” The woman surnamed Liu hurriedly agreed and began rummaging through her storage pouch.

“Fellow Daoists, don’t bother looking through your materials. Most of the information you’ve seen on Qiyuan Island before is fabricated. It’s only natural that you’re surprised.” Xu Yun raised a hand to stop the woman.

“Fabricated? What do you mean by that?” the brocade-clad man’s expression shifted.

“It’s simple. Qiyuan Island is different from other demon beast islands. Any cultivator who returns from this island is given a strict order: they can only leak the same false information. Otherwise, disaster will befall them. Fellow Daoist Yi and the rest of you—I really don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or unlucky to have come to this island.” Xu Yun said this with a faint, ambiguous smile.

“Unified false information? Who could possibly enforce something like that? Could it be the Star Palace?” Mistress Liu looked uneasy.

“Although it’s not the Star Palace, this place is indeed ruled by a powerful force. A force that even the Star Palace is reluctant to offend lightly.” Xu Yun sighed as he spoke.

Hearing this, Han Li’s brow twitched. The brocade-clad man and the others were even more taken aback.

They all exchanged uncertain glances.

“Heh heh! In truth, this place isn’t as bad as you might imagine. In fact, in some ways, for certain cultivators, it might even be a paradise they’d dream of.”

“Black Stone City is the first city on Qiyuan Island, and also the only one. As long as you have strength, a large number of spirit stones, or demon cores, this place is a cultivator’s paradise. You can enjoy and purchase things you can’t get on other demon beast islands—top-quality dual-cultivation cauldrons, incredibly powerful magic treasures, priceless spirit beasts, century-rare materials—everything you could want is here.” The scar-faced cultivator suddenly smiled and, in an unexpectedly seductive tone, spoke loudly. This caused a few passing mortals and cultivators to glance their way, but they soon went back to their own business as if nothing had happened.

The brocade-clad man and the others, however, only grew more alarmed and uncertain upon hearing this.

Han Li remained expressionless, continuing to scan his surroundings as if he hadn’t heard a word.

The scar-faced cultivator took note of this and glanced at Han Li a couple of times with some surprise.

“Brother Xu, could you give us a detailed introduction to this place?” the brocade-clad man took a deep breath and asked in a low voice.

“Of course. Since I can’t leave for the time being anyway, I might as well take you all on a little tour and explain things as we go. That will be far more useful than just talking. Just don’t forget to give your old friend Xu Yun a little something if you all benefit later.” Xu Yun seemed to have completely recovered from his earlier dejection and now spoke with an unusually hearty tone.

“Then we’ll be troubling you, Brother Xu. This place really does seem different from the usual cities.” The brocade-clad man stared at a male cultivator, a look of surprise on his face.

This male cultivator was openly walking down the street, his arm around a mortal woman. The other mortals and cultivators passing by seemed to pay him no mind at all.

Seeing this, Xu Yun gave a faint smile. Without saying another word, he led the group toward a large stone building nearby.

Han Li had noticed this black stone house long ago. It was one of the largest structures in the city.

From afar, he could see two enchanting mortal women standing at the entrance, smiling at the numerous cultivators who were frequently entering and leaving.

“Remember this! Although this place isn’t Heaven Star City, dueling and fighting are strictly forbidden here, except within a special arena. The punishment for violating this rule is nothing less than the destruction of your body and soul. There is absolutely no other option.” Xu Yun began to issue this warning with a grave expression.

“No way. Isn’t that punishment even harsher than Heaven Star City?” the dark-faced middle-aged man exclaimed in shock.

“Yes, it is much more severe than Heaven Star City. But precisely because of this, cultivators who enter this city can rest completely assured of their safety. As far as I know, no one who has come here to settle a grudge with violence has ever managed to leave this city alive. After all, there is always a Nascent Soul senior stationed here,” Xu Yun explained slowly.

“A Nascent Soul cultivator!” The brocade-clad man’s expression shifted dramatically. The others also looked horrified.

Han Li felt a chill run down his spine and became even more alert.

“Alright. We can talk more once we’re inside.” Passing between the two enchanting women’s smiles, the brocade-clad man and the others followed the scar-faced cultivator, their hearts filled with uncertainty as they entered the stone house.

A flicker of curiosity passed through Han Li’s eyes, and he followed them in.

As soon as he stepped through the door, a large, fan-shaped folding screen blocked his view.

The screen was a pinkish color, painted with a scene of a celestial maiden flying through the air. Although only the back of the painting’s woman was visible, the image flickered and danced continuously, a faint red light shining through it. It was clearly a magic tool of no low grade.

On either side of the screen were two small, semicircular arched doorways.

Standing in front of the screen was a female cultivator of about thirty years of age. Dressed in a light green palace robe, she stood there elegantly, speaking softly and laughing with a male cultivator.

Strangely enough, although this woman’s facial features were quite ordinary, every gesture she made was full of mature feminine allure. Even her casual speech and laughter exuded a captivating charm that stirred the soul.

The male cultivator was at the same mid-Foundation Establishment stage as she was, yet he was completely enthralled, staring at her with wide eyes and swallowing his saliva uncontrollably.

However, as soon as this woman saw Xu Yun and the others enter, her eyes lit up. She clapped her hands lightly, and a young mortal woman immediately emerged from behind the screen. Under the reluctant gaze of the male cultivator, she led him around the screen and disappeared.