Storm Rising Beyond the Seas: The Abyssal Depths

“Is that not Fellow Daoist Xu? I heard you were planning to return to Heaven Star City. Still unable to teleport?” The woman’s voice was soft and sweet, the kind that made anyone who heard it feel at ease.

But Han Li’s brow furrowed unconsciously. He smiled bitterly to himself.

It seemed that nearly every female cultivator he met had practiced some sort of charm technique. Though this woman’s skill was far inferior to that of Zi Ling or Yuan Yao, it was more than enough to bewitch the hearts of low-level male cultivators.

Thinking this, Han Li swept his gaze across the room.

The brocade-clad man and Xu Yun remained expressionless, but the other men’s bearing had grown unnatural; their eyes drifted involuntarily toward the woman.

“These are some new friends I’m showing around. As for returning to Heaven Star City, I’m afraid it won’t be possible for a while. I didn’t expect the rumors to be true. The fighting over there is about to start for real.” Xu Yun said this with an unwilling, bitter tone.

“Staying here isn’t so bad. If you left, I’d be losing a valued customer.” Lady Ming covered her apricot lips with a light laugh, her bright eyes shimmering with autumn waves. That mature, seductive charm made the dark-faced cultivator and his companions stare without blinking. Even the two female cultivators flushed deeply.

“Lady Ming, these people are all my guests! Give me my marker now, please.” Xu Yun called the woman by name, clearly displeased by her open use of charm technique in front of them.

“Hehe! Understood. These two friends have cultivation and resolve that are no less than yours, Brother Xu. It seems they’ll have no trouble at all on Abyssal Island.” Lady Ming smiled lightly. After sweeping Han Li and the brocade-clad man with her gaze, she withdrew her charm, becoming an ordinary-looking common woman.

The abrupt shift stunned the others. Then, realizing what had happened, they were left awkward.

Clap. Clap.

The woman clapped her hands twice. A young mortal woman stepped out from behind the screen.

“Take Immortal Xu to the auction room. The auction should have just started.” Lady Ming said coldly to the mortal woman, then tossed a green token to Xu Yun.

Xu Yun caught the so-called marker without even glancing at it, and followed the mortal woman toward a side door.

Han Li and the others naturally followed close behind.

As he crossed the threshold, Han Li sensed a faint disturbance in the spiritual energy. It felt as though he had stepped into some kind of restriction. His expression shifted slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

A new scene opened before them. Behind the screen, there was an entirely different world.

A long corridor, two zhang wide, split the stone house behind into two hallways of considerable size.

The hall on the left was spacious and bright. Aside from a few tall black stone pillars, there was no obstruction. It was also bustling with activity.

Nearly twenty to thirty cultivators were gathered there, lined up in a long queue. Each of them, male and female alike, had a young mortal woman accompanying them.

Though some male cultivators eyed these scantily-clad mortal women with lascivious gazes, they only occasionally made flirtatious remarks. No one actually dared to take liberties. They seemed to be wary of something.

At the end of the queue was a small room. White light flickered on the door. The cultivators in line simply pressed their jade tokens against the door to enter. But only one person was allowed in at a time.

The hall on the right was completely covered by a pale blue light barrier, revealing nothing of what was inside.

“This place is called Bright Pearl Pavilion. It’s where cultivators sell their overseas gains for spirit stones. Or, if you think your item is valuable enough, you can have it appraised and put directly into the auction. There are several similar establishments in this city, run by different powers. Each of them has a Nascent Soul stage cultivator backing them. Without that, you couldn’t survive in a lawless place like the outer seas.”

“So many Nascent Soul cultivators! Could it be the Four Great Merchant Alliances?” The woman surnamed Liu gasped in shock, muttering to herself.

“The Four Great Merchant Alliances have no footing here. Maybe on other demon beast islands, they’re a monopoly. But Abyssal Island is the only demon beast island controlled by a coalition of many powers. Individually, none of these powers can match the Four Great Merchant Alliances in the Inner Star Seas. But together, even the Star Palace wouldn’t dare to offend them lightly. Even so, their alliance only extends to Abyssal Island itself.” Xu Yun explained unhurriedly.

“From Brother Xu’s tone, it seems Abyssal Island has something special about it. To make so many powers willing to challenge the Four Great Merchant Alliances!” The brocade-clad man was shrewd himself, immediately catching the hidden implication.

“Hehe! Brother Yi guessed correctly. The island is named ‘Abyssal’ because there really is an unfathomable beast abyss in the nearby waters. High-grade demon beasts that are rarely seen on other islands often appear there. I’ve even heard of grade 8 and above beasts showing up. For the sake of these high-grade beasts, the Nascent Soul cultivators behind these powers naturally wouldn’t allow the Four Great Merchant Alliances to monopolize the area. I’ve heard that when the abyss was first discovered, these powers fought several major battles with the four alliances. Eventually, the Star Palace stepped in to mediate. I’m not sure what terms were negotiated. But in the end, this island was handed over to the joint management of these powers. The true situation on Abyssal Island is strictly prohibited from leaking to the Inner Star Seas. Anyone who leaks it would be hunted down and silenced by these powers.” Xu Yun explained calmly.

Han Li was deeply shaken by this. The brocade-clad man and the others changed color.

“Grade 8 demon beasts… that’s practically the same level as Nascent Soul cultivators. Do beasts like that really exist here?” The brocade-clad man could no longer keep his composure.

“That’s hard to say. I haven’t seen one myself. But grade 7 beasts have definitely been killed here. That grade 7 demon core was auctioned off at this very Bright Pearl Pavilion for a sky-high price. It was eventually bought by a Nascent Soul senior.” Xu Yun clicked his tongue in admiration.

“From what Fellow Daoist Xu says, it sounds like the demon beasts in the abyss are easier to find than in ordinary waters. Is that right?” Han Li, who had been silent until now, furrowed his brow slightly before speaking.

“They are indeed somewhat easier to find. But precisely because there are so many high-grade beasts there, the number of cultivators who have been wiped out there is also countless.” Xu Yun cast a surprised glance at Han Li, then thought for a moment before replying.

Hearing this, the brocade-clad man and the others, who had never been to other demon beast islands, were still half-convinced.

But Han Li had already formed a rough picture of the abyss in his mind.

This was clearly a place where reward and danger coexisted. No wonder it was so peculiar.

Just as Han Li fell silent, the mortal woman leading the way asked respectfully:

“Honored immortals, would you like to visit the appraisal hall first, or go directly to the auction hall?”

“There’s nothing to see in the appraisal hall. It’s just for having unknown items identified, then either converting them to spirit stones or putting them up for auction. Let’s go straight to the auction hall. The things there will truly open your eyes, Fellow Daoists.”

Xu Yun was clearly familiar with the place. Without waiting for the mortal woman to lead the way, he strode toward the hall on the right.

When he reached the light barrier, he said nothing, simply used his jade token to lightly trace a line. A circular opening appeared. After waving for Han Li and the others to follow, he stepped inside.

Since they had already come this far, the brocade-clad man and his companions naturally did not stand on ceremony. They filed in one after another.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Han Li glanced at the mortal woman standing respectfully outside the door, a trace of curiosity in his voice.

“We mortals are not permitted to enter the auction hall. I will wait here for the honored immortals.” The mortal woman explained with a smile.

Han Li nodded. Without another word, he stepped through the blue light barrier, which closed automatically behind him.

The interior was surprisingly plain. Aside from a few wooden chairs, there was only a stone platform several zhang long at the far end of the hall.

Behind the stone platform stood an old man. He was holding a blue-glowing stone in his hand, speaking with great eloquence.

In front of him, dozens of cultivators of various ranks were either standing or sitting. There were Qi Condensation stage and Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, but not a single Core Formation stage or above.

“This Blue Light Stone is an excellent material for refining water-attributed magical tools. The original owner is auctioning it at the low price of five hundred spirit stones. As per the rules, each bid must increase by at least thirty spirit stones. Bidding may begin now.” The old man on the stone platform announced in a booming voice.

“Five hundred and thirty.”

“Five hundred and eighty.”

“Six hundred spirit stones.”

As soon as the old man finished speaking, many of the cultivators below began to bid. Though it wasn’t what one would call fierce competition, the stone was eventually bought by a young Foundation Establishment cultivator for nearly seven hundred spirit stones. He paid on the spot and immediately took the item.

“Next is an earth-attributed magical tool…” The old man barely paused before continuing the auction.

Han Li naturally had no interest in magical tools. He swept his gaze across the hall and spotted Xu Yun and the others huddled in a corner, speaking in low voices. His expression unchanged, he walked over.