The Wuwang Sea was originally the territory of the Sky Demons. It took Nan Zhi more than a month of narrow escapes to avoid the great demons and finally walk out of the black mist.
Although she had consumed quite a few pills along the way, her harvest was extremely rich.
First were the scattered Sky Demon Spirits, plus a pile of demon beast cores, which directly pushed the sacrifice progress of the “Corpse of Old Nan’s” third Innate Divine Ability, “Wood Manipulation,” to 23.9%.
Second were the miscellaneous items and Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Tickets dropped from killing monsters.
Combined with the ones Nan Zhi had been saving up all this time, the number of lottery tickets had easily surpassed the double-digit mark.
【Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket: 108】
Then there were various cultivation techniques and skill books. Although most of them were of green or blue quality, Nan Zhi still organized them carefully, keeping them for future use.
She had even obtained two Wish Mission Scrolls.
As for the remaining pill recipes, Nan Zhi planned to work hard on improving her alchemy skills during her stay in the Sea Market, aiming to force her success rate up through sheer volume.
The greatest advantage of gamified cultivation was not the various lucky draws, nor was it the display of hostile factions on the map.
It was the fact that everything about cultivation was numerical.
For other cultivators, if their lifespan was insufficient or their cultivation stagnated, they would have no idea what lay ahead on the long, endless path of the Great Dao. It was like a blind person groping forward on a pitch-black path.
But what about her?
Lifespan insufficient? Then she would cultivate two sets of techniques simultaneously.
Cultivation stagnated? Then she would kill monsters to gain Upgrade EXP and steadily improve.
Alchemy difficult? Then she would use massive amounts of time and materials to forcefully push her success rate up!
Bottlenecks?
They simply did not exist.
This was the sheer value of quantitative change inevitably leading to qualitative change.
“The biggest harvest this time might be gaining a major helper, plus the corpse of that Jiao-dragon.”
Nan Zhi recalled their first meeting at the foot-shop. That old dragon had pressured her so much with just a single word that she couldn't move. Now, seeing him again, he had already turned into a corpse.
“The dragon claws, horns, whiskers, and eyes can be used as medicine for alchemy, or to forge weapons. I'll set them aside separately.
The dragon scales are extremely hard and cannot be pierced by ordinary weapons. Perhaps I can collect them to make a suit of chainmail, and refine it into a treasure garment in the future.
As for the dragon bones, ordinary flames cannot refine them. I still have to wait for Ao Mingzhu's reply and find a Heaven or Earth-grade pill fire before making any plans.”
Nan Zhi only lamented for a brief moment before beginning to plan meticulously.
She had only met that Dragon Lord once. Expressing a bit of sentimentality didn't stop her from skinning, tendon-pulling, and refining him in an instant.
The paper figures that had finished collecting the dragon blood flew back to her side. Nan Zhi immediately stored the materials, dissolved into the mist, and vanished from the spot.
...
Most of the cultivators walking in the Sea Market belonged to the Demon race, with citizens of the twelve nations of the four directions making up the vast majority.
The people of the Peony Kingdom were delicate and elegant, regardless of gender; the Chuyun female immortals were pure and peerlessly beautiful; the Black Crow people were solitary; the Alligator Dragon people were fierce; those from Poison Dragon Island were mysterious; the Afterlife Kingdom was populated entirely by ghosts; the Jiao people were romantic; and the Rakshasa were hideously ugly.
As for the people of the Sea Dragon and Yaksha nations, Nan Zhi had already seen them on the Splendid Platform.
Nan Zhi removed her disguise and walked alone through the Rakshasa Sea Market. Everywhere she looked, she saw decorations deeply characteristic of a sea market:
Red jade corals over ten zhang tall stood in clusters. Along the roadside, buildings constructed of white jade and bluestone could be seen everywhere. There were also underwater dwellings built with whale bone frames and turtle shell roofs, nestled one after another on the sandy beach.
Children of various foreign races could be seen running around everywhere. Some had human faces, while others still retained their original beast forms, making it hard to tell which nation they belonged to with the naked eye.
Every time the seawater swept over, a layer of fist-sized sand crabs would be left on the ground, and these children would stick their bottoms in the air to pick them up.
Just like in the mortal realm, there were vendors hawking and shouting everywhere, though the types of goods were different.
“Come take a look! A pearl produced by a ten-thousand-year-old deep-sea giant clam demon! A top-grade treasure pearl that can nourish the primordial soul and disperse heart demons!”
—It was clearly just a slightly larger ordinary pearl with some fluorescent powder smeared on it.
“Freshly harvested thousand-year-old mysterious turtle shells! Invulnerable to blades and spears, immune to water and fire! Ground into powder, it can be used for alchemy and drawing formations! We also have newly arrived dragon blood, the ultimate formation ink!”
—Who would dare sell real dragon blood in the Sea Market? What they were actually selling was the blood of a demon beast called the “Fish-Dragon.” This creature's ancestors had intermarried with the Dragon Clan, but its bloodline only contained a tiny trace of Dragon Qi.
“Newly arrived Jiao Silk! As light as smoke and mist! Not only does it make your skin fragrant when worn, but it also preserves your youth and keeps you forever young! Only a hundred and fifty middle-grade spirit stones per zhang!”
—The territory of the Jiao People Kingdom was on the verge of being swallowed by the Sky Demons, and their annual Jiao Silk production was extremely limited. Anyone who believed they could buy it for just a hundred middle-grade spirit stones was a fool.
“Ten-thousand-year mulberry wine! Extracted from the essence of the East Province's Fusang wood!”
It was made from a hundred-year-old mulberry tree, probably buried underground for a dozen years, and smelled sour.
“Genuine secret medicine of the Hehuan Sect, the Lunar Rejuvenation Pill! One pill to strengthen yang and nourish the kidneys, two pills for beauty and youth, three pills for longevity! Guarantees that whether you are a man or a woman, you will enjoy lively nights every night!”
This vendor actually had a bit of a conscience. The pill was real, and the recipe was correct, but it was made with the lowest-grade materials. One would probably have to eat a hundred of them to see any effect.
Nan Zhi bypassed the sales pitches expressionlessly, using her connection to locate an inn whose storefront was decorated with countless pearls and jade stones.
—She shared a connection with her spirit beasts, but as long as she cut off the link, let alone within the Rakshasa Sea Market, even if they were face-to-face, Ao Mingzhu would not be able to detect her.
“Mistress!!”
Before she could even walk inside, the little hedgehog, sensing something, rushed out. Transforming into her human form, she hugged Nan Zhi tightly, her eyes filled with smiles:
“Heeheehee, I knew Mistress was vastly powerful and would definitely be fine! Wanniang didn't believe me, worrying day and night. She's such a big adult, yet she still secretly cried. How embarrassing!”
With that, Hongluo tilted her head up, looking extremely proud of herself.
“You mischievous little thing. The wind and sand by the shore just got in my eyes. When did I cry?”
Wanniang, standing nearby, gritted her teeth in exasperation. She reached out to touch Nan Zhi's cheek, finally letting out a complete sigh of relief:
“Heavens, if Hongluo hadn't shared a connection with you, I would have been scared to death!
That is the Wuwang Sea! How could you be so, so bold—”
On that day, when Nan Zhi left a note, Wanniang had nearly fainted when she heard she had jumped into the Wuwang Sea. It was only after hearing from Hongluo that Nan Zhi was fine that she slowly put her heart at ease.
However, during this time, she had been constantly worrying about her dear friend, and couldn't help but secretly shed a tear once. She hadn't expected this little sprite to see it and remember it until now.
“It's my fault for always making the two of you worry about me,” Nan Zhi said sincerely as she took Wanniang's hand. “It's just that I had some matters to handle that day, which delayed me for a bit.”
“Let's not talk about that. Come inside with me quickly. Look at you—the salt in your hair is all tangled, and you've grown so thin. You must have suffered a lot during this time.”
Wanniang glanced at Nan Zhi, knowing this wasn't the place to talk. She quickly pulled her into the inn, saying as they walked:
“After Hongluo and I received your message that day, we waited for you in the Sea Market after coming ashore. We didn't stay here originally, but two of your friends came by and said you had entrusted them to settle us here.”
Friends?
She was a stranger in a strange land here in the Rakshasa Sea Market. Where would she get friends?
Nan Zhi couldn't help but frown, a faint possibility rising in her mind.
“Lady Wanniang, Hongluo! Look what I brought—”
In the next second, a heroic-looking Sea Dragon Kingdom woman dressed in thin gauze swam in from outside. When she saw Nan Zhi standing there alive and well, her expression gradually froze, finally turning into deep grief:
“Ahhhhh! You really came back as a ghost to find me!”
Who?
Me?
Nan Zhi: “...”
Why don't you take a look at her sandbag-sized fist and say that again?
Rate on N.U.
