161: Edo Black City, Wanbao Storm
The bone ship glided silently through the dead waters. After several days, the pervasive toxic miasma and mist ahead gradually thinned. A massive, hideous outline of a black city, seemingly constructed from countless skeletons and rusted iron, appeared on the horizon.
Filthy Earth Black City!
Before even drawing near, a complex Aura mixed with blood, filth, madness, and chaos rushed toward them, far more suffocating than the Rotting Poison Swamp. The city walls were towering but covered in marks of damage and repair; in some places, giant bones of unknown beasts were even embedded in the walls. The city gate was like the maw of a predatory beast, with various strange-looking Cultivators, demonic creatures, and even half-human, half-demon beings constantly entering and exiting. The faint sounds of clamor, roars, and clashing weapons drifted over, a scene of utter chaos.
The bone ship stopped at a hidden river bend several miles away from the city. The silent boatman pointed toward the Black City and then ceased all movement.
Ye Chen, Shi Meng, and the other two leaped off the bone ship.
“Senior, Filthy Earth Black City is just ahead. There are no rules inside the city; strength is respected above all else. Killing people to seize their treasures happens everywhere, and even behind some large shops, there might be schemes to rob customers. Please be careful,” Shi Meng warned solemnly once again, a look of lingering fear on his Face. He, his sister, and Hou San planned to find a temporary place to stay outside the city, not daring to enter easily.
Ye Chen nodded and tossed a small cloth bag to Shi Meng, which contained several high-quality Magic Cores. “Thank you for leading the way. We shall part ways here.”
Shi Meng caught the bag. Feeling the pure energy fluctuations inside, he was both surprised and delighted, quickly bowing. “Thank you for your generous gift, Senior! Take care, Senior!”
Ye Chen said no more. With a flicker of his body, he turned into an inconspicuous gray shadow and blended into the constant, mixed flow of people, walking toward the massive city gate.
There were no guards at the city gate, only several fresh corpses being gnawed on by low-level magic insects, serving as a warning to newcomers of the cruelty of this place. Stepping through the gate was like entering another world.
The streets were wide but filthy, with foul blood and unknown slime mixing to emit a stench. The buildings on both sides were crooked, mostly constructed from rough black stone, beast bones, and metal scrap. All kinds of “residents” moved between them: demon Cultivators completely shrouded in black robes with only crimson eyes showing; alien races with tall statures and skin like gray rock; Evil Path Cultivators controlling rotting corpses; and even some Yao Beasts that had gained intelligence but were incompletely transformed, walking about grandly.
The sounds of hawking, arguing, fighting, and wild laughter were incessant. Ye Chen even saw two groups of people fighting directly in the middle of the street over an item just bought from a stall. Blades flashed and flesh flew, yet most of the surrounding passersby watched with indifference, and some even placed bets.
Chaos, disorder, and the law of the jungle were displayed here to the fullest extent.
Ye Chen restrained his Aura, suppressing his cultivation to around the Earthly Fiend Realm Fifth Level. This cultivation level was not particularly eye-catching in the city, but it was enough to prevent people from bullying him at will. He moved through the streets quickly like a ghost, while his Divine Sense acted like an invisible radar, carefully gathering all sorts of information.
His goal was clear: find clues about leaving the Demon Abyss, whether it was information on stable spatial channels or methods for smuggling out.
Soon, he noticed that the largest information hub in the city, besides the chaotic taverns and casinos, was a magnificent nine-story pavilion cast entirely from a certain dark-gold metal—the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower!
This was the place the bone ship boatman had mentioned where an auction was about to be held. The front of the pavilion was busy with traffic, and most of those entering and exiting had extraordinary Auras, clearly being either wealthy or noble.
Ye Chen pondered for a moment before walking toward the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. Auctions were often places where various rare items and secret information appeared; perhaps he could find what he needed there.
Upon entering the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, the internal space was far more vast than it appeared from the outside, clearly utilizing a spatial Formation. The first floor was buzzing with people and filled with countless stalls, like a massive market. Every kind of strange item imaginable was available, from Magic Cores, Ore, and poisonous herbs to Cultivation Techniques, Incomplete Manuals, and slaves.
Ye Chen did not stay long on the first floor and walked directly toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Guards watched the staircase, requiring a verification of funds or proof of strength.
Ye Chen slightly released a sliver of his Seventh Layer of the Disha Realm Aura. The guard's expression changed slightly, and he immediately moved aside respectfully.
The environment on the second floor was significantly more elegant, consisting of individual private booths and display cases, and the quality of the items being traded was higher. Ye Chen went straight to the information desk of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.
A maidservant with a pretty Face but eyes full of shrewdness and wariness came forward. “Senior, how may I help you?”
“I need detailed information regarding leaving the outskirts of the Demon Abyss to reach the upper world, or about stable spatial channels in Boundary Severing City.” Ye Chen got straight to the point, his voice coming through his cloak with a hint of raspiness.
Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed the maidservant's eyes, but she quickly regained her professional smile. “Senior, such information is extremely precious and sensitive; it is not a common item. In the auction to be held by this tower in three days, relevant clues might appear. Additionally, you can post a bounty mission in this tower, but you will need to pay a substantial deposit, and we cannot guarantee that you will definitely obtain accurate information.”
As expected. Ye Chen understood. He continued to ask, “What are the qualifications for entering the auction?”
“Seniors at the Seventh Layer of the Disha Realm or above, or those with assets equivalent to one million Low Grade Demon Origin Stones, can obtain a standard seat. To obtain a private booth, one needs to verify assets of ten million Low Grade Demon Origin Stones or have a recommendation from a major local power,” the maidservant replied.
Demon Origin Stones were the hard currency circulating in the Demon Abyss, containing pure Devilish Qi. Ye Chen did not have any Demon Origin Stones on him, but he had killed many magic creatures and demon Cultivators previously, and the Materials and Magic Cores he had collected were of considerable value. In total, it wouldn't be hard to scrape together a million, but ten million would be difficult.
“I understand.” Ye Chen nodded and asked no more, turning to leave. He first needed to raise some Demon Origin Stones or find an item of sufficient value.
He wandered through the free trade area on the second floor, looking for opportunities. At the same time, he set aside a portion of his mind to keep an eye out for news regarding the ‘Ancient Demon Palace’ mentioned by the maidservant. For the bone ship boatman to specifically mention it, that thing must be extraordinary.
Just as he passed a stall selling various damaged ancient books and old items, the chaos ancestral talisman deep within his Qi Sea suddenly sent out an extremely faint throb once more!
This time, the sensation did not point toward a specific direction, but... came from an unremarkable, palm-sized, pitch-black fragment with jagged edges on the stall, looking as if it had been chipped off some stone tablet!
The fragment was carved with some blurred, distorted patterns that were long since unrecognizable. It emitted an ancient, deathly Aura and was mixed in with a pile of similar “trash,” appearing completely unremarkable.
The stall owner was a thin old man with shifty eyes and a pair of rat-like whiskers. His cultivation was only at the Earth Fiend Realm Fourth Level, and he was currently yawning with boredom.
Ye Chen's heart stirred. He stepped forward, pretending to casually flip through other items on the stall, before finally picking up that black fragment, sensing the faint and obscure fluctuation within it that shared the same source as the chaos ancestral talisman.
“Boss, how much for this fragment?” Ye Chen asked in a raspy voice.
The rat-whiskered old man glanced at it and said lazily, “One hundred thousand Low Grade Demon Origin Stones, or equivalent Magic Cores and Materials.”
This price for a damaged fragment of unknown use could be considered astronomical.
Ye Chen frowned slightly. “What is special about this item?”
“Heh, customer, you wouldn't know.” The rat-whiskered old man perked up, lowering his voice and saying mysteriously, “This is a good item that came out of the ‘Demon Fall Land’! It's said to be related to a certain fallen great demon from ancient times, and it might hide a shocking secret! One hundred thousand, a fair price for all!”
Ye Chen sneered inwardly; the old man was clearly talking nonsense. But he could feel that this fragment was indeed extraordinary and related to the chaos ancestral talisman. Forget one hundred thousand, it would be worth even a million.
He was just about to bargain and take it.
Suddenly, an arrogant voice rang out from the side:
“This Young Master has taken a liking to this fragment! I'll pay one hundred and fifty thousand!”
Ye Chen turned to look and saw a young Young Master dressed in luxurious clothes with a haughty expression and puffy eyes, walking over under the protection of an old man with a cold Aura. That Young Master's cultivation was only at the Earth Fiend Realm Third Layer, but the old man behind him was actually at the Eighth Layer Earth Fiend Realm!
The Young Master's gaze swept over Ye Chen with undisguised contempt, and he spoke directly to the rat-whiskered old man. “Old man, one hundred and fifty thousand, I want this fragment!”
The rat-whiskered old man's eyes lit up. He looked at Ye Chen, then at the Young Master, his Face showing a troubled yet greedy expression.
Ye Chen's eyes turned slightly cold. He didn't want to cause trouble, but this fragment was of vital importance to him.
“Two hundred thousand,” he spoke indifferently, his voice still raspy.
The Young Master's Face darkened. He seemingly hadn't expected anyone to dare outbid him and laughed in anger. “Good! Very good! On my territory, someone actually dares to snatch something from me? I bid three hundred thousand!”
“Four hundred thousand,” Ye Chen's tone was flat.
“Five hundred thousand!” The Young Master gritted his teeth.
“Six hundred thousand,” Ye Chen didn't yield an inch.
Many people around had already been attracted by the bidding and gathered around, pointing and whispering as they recognized the Young Master's identity.
“It's Wu Li, the son of the Black Fiend Cult's branch altar leader!”
“Tsk tsk, who is this black-robed person? He actually dares to outbid Young Master Wu Li?”
“Probably an outsider who doesn't know any better...”
The rat-whiskered old man was already grinning so widely his mouth wouldn't close.
Wu Li's Face was ashen. Although he was the son of an altar leader, the Demon Origin Stones he could mobilize were limited. Six hundred thousand already made him feel some pain, and more importantly, he felt he had lost Face!
He stared venomously at Ye Chen. “Kid, are you sure you want to compete with me? In this Filthy Earth Black City, there are some people you cannot afford to offend!”
Before his voice had even faded, the Eighth Layer Earth Fiend Realm old man behind him appropriately released a sliver of pressure, directed at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen seemed completely unaffected, only looking at the rat-whiskered old man. “Boss, the highest bidder gets it, is that not so?”
The rat-whiskered old man nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, yes! This customer has bid six hundred thousand! Young Master Wu Li, you see...”
Wu Li trembled with rage and slammed the stall. “Fine! I bid seven hundred thousand! Kid, if you have the guts, follow again!”
Ye Chen went silent for a moment. Just as a look of triumph appeared on Wu Li's Face, he slowly spoke:
“One million.”
The entire place went into an uproar!
One million Low Grade Demon Origin Stones just to buy a broken stone?
The triumph on Wu Li's Face instantly froze, looking as ugly as if he had swallowed a dead fly. He stared intently at Ye Chen, killing intent blooming in his eyes as he squeezed out a few words through his teeth: “You... very good! Let's go!”
He gave Ye Chen a fierce glare, as if wanting to swallow him alive, and then left in a huff with the old man.
With an expressionless Face, Ye Chen paid one million in equivalent Magic Core Materials and tucked the black fragment into his robes. The moment it touched him, he could feel a sliver of joy and desire coming from the chaos ancestral talisman.
He didn't care about Wu Li's threat; in this Filthy Earth Black City, strength was the foundation. He turned to leave, intending to find a quiet place to study the fragment.
However, not long after he stepped out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, he sensed several obscure Auras quietly following him like venomous snakes.
Clearly, someone did not want him to leave easily.