As the group got closer to Sword Saint Isle, they could soon make the silhouette of an isnd in the distance. The most eye-catching of all was the giant sword-shaped mountain, with numerous Skyrunners flying around. A city built up around this mountain, with no walls, and the rules on flying above its airspace seemed to be quite loose compared to other cities.

  “Go ahead and fly right in. Members of our Nightmoon Valley are staying at the Sword Saint’s manor, so we’ll have to find our own lodging, but there should be plenty of pces to choose from,” Zhu Yi said from her position perched up above the Skyrunner.

  “Our lodging? Shouldn’t Seniors be joining your fellow comrades?” Li Lang asked.

  “No. Our mission this time is to escort you. As safe as Sword Saint Isle is, we take our duties seriously.”

  “I see. Thank you, but—do you think you can reach out to Senior Jian if he is here already? I’d like to meet him if he is.”

  Zhu Yi directed a look over to Ma Kong. The stoic man simply nodded before a Skysword materialized underneath him, carrying him away. He headed straight for the summit of the sword-shaped mountain.

  “It’s hard to say how punctual our Head Disciple is. You should expect him to come find you tomorrow if he has already arrived.”

  With the matter settled, the group quickly descended into the city proper. They took a tour around while looking for a suitable inn. The infrastructure here was simpler than most cities they had passed through. Only simple houses or two-story buildings could be seen. No manors or estates could be spotted anywhere.

  With nothing of note to see, they quickly settled on an inn and checked into their rooms. They didn’t linger there for long, though. The sun was still high in the sky. They took advantage of the sunlight remaining to scour for pces where cultivators gathered.

  “This pce is just like Pority City,” Li Lang muttered. “Everyone here seems to take cultivation seriously. Over half the people on the streets are in the Foundation Establishment Realm.”

  “Only disciples of the Sword Saint himself permanently live on this isnd,” Zhu Yi expined. “Everyone else are visitors, and naturally, those who could step foot here have some accomplishment to their name.”

  Li Lang nodded. He had heard of the dangers of traversing the sea, but he hadn’t encountered anything perilous himself. The ocean was just too rge. Even if it was teeming with Qi beasts, there was a chance they wouldn’t encounter any of them as they flew by, but if they did, the Qi beasts would at least be comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  Just as they were conversing about the traits of the city, Li Lang’s group suddenly came to a stop when they drew near the base of the sword-shaped mountain. The area around it was paved with roads. There was even a set of sturdy stone gates that were currently opened wide. A long line of people were queued up before it, waiting their turn to enter the interior of the mountain.

  However, what drew the group’s attention wasn’t the structure, but the people in the line. Everyone there was surrounded by at least one or two disheveled people in chains.

  “Is that—sve trading?” Li Lang couldn’t help but ask.

  “Oh no, Sword Saint Isle may have looser rules, but they are honorable people. They would never engage in sve trading. That there is an entrance to their jail, so those should be criminals. Deviators or rogue cultivators of the orthodox path who have turned bandits. Many of them show up during these events, trying their luck at ambushing the people traveling here. The disciples of the Sword Saint are quite efficient at capturing them.”

  “These so-called criminals thought it was a good idea to ambush powerful cultivators from various rge sects and organizations? Are they in their right mind?!”

  “There are plenty of inexperienced cultivators that have recently broken through, but possess rge sums of wealth participating in these big events. Many of them are overconfident in themselves after their breakthrough and travel here alone. It makes these people think it’s worth a shot to target these vulnerable people,” Zhu Yi answered while fshing a meaningful gnce at the trio.

  “Well—I guess we can’t argue with that one.”

  Li Lang quickly dropped the topic as they continued their tour of the city. It didn’t take them long to find a more bustling area filled with restaurants and teahouses. It was just the type of pce Li Lang was looking for.

  He entered the most crowded teahouse without hesitation and began eavesdropping on the conversations all around.

  “I heard both the Iron Tempest Prince and the Whispering Leaf Tyrant aren’t coming this time. Do you think it’s because they’ve been falling behind in their cultivation and are scared to lose to the other Eight Demon Pilrs?”

  “Nonsense! I don’t know about the Whispering Leaf Tyrant, but the Iron Tempest Prince has always been famed as the second strongest demonic cultivator within the Foundation Establishment Realm, behind only Slithering Shadow. He must simply be busy with some other matter.”

  “Well, we can’t compin, considering Slithering Shadow is here, along with the Blood Prince. They are more than enough to represent our Luminescent Domain. They’ll surely show up those hypocrites that have the audacity to call themselves the Four Enlightened Ones.”

  “You two can’t discount the Sword Saint’s disciples either. The Stormsword technique they practice isn’t to be underestimated.”

  Numerous people were discussing the upcoming event. Many of them made it no secret they were only there to see a good show.

  The prizes that could be earned in the Dark Sea Arena were alluring, but many of them didn’t believe they stood a chance. There were numerous hidden dragons and crouching tigers even in the early-stage Foundation Establishment division. Most who participated really just did so for the sake of experience. It made the event truly more of an exchange rather than a proper tournament.

  Having entered this pce, swimming with information to be learned, the trio quickly split up. Wei Ping was an expert in gathering information from these types of pces, while his two companions employed a more straightforward method. They directly approached tables that were discussing things that piqued their interest while Zhu Yi faded into the background to watch over them.

  This sted half the afternoon before they reconvened to share their findings. There was a plethora of topics discussed in these teahouses. From famous cultivators to the test news happening in the Luminescent Domain. It was apparent that the people in the teahouse were demonic cultivators, so they had to visit other teahouses if they wanted to gather news about the righteous sects.

  From the intel they gathered, they learned about an open marketpce nearby where people traded their valuables.

  The group didn’t hesitate to use the remaining time before sunset to visit this marketpce.

  They soon found the pce where numerous people set up makeshift stalls around a rge pza. They id out their items on wooden tables or id them on thick woven mats. Others simply had a sign that advertised the type of knowledge they were willing to trade.

  Before the group could even take two steps into this pza, Li Lang was already glued to the first stall he saw. A middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard had a stall that was filled with cultivation manuals of all sorts.

  Just from a cursory gnce, you could see martial and Qi arts of various affinities. Not just the five main elements, but even more obscure ones like sound or sand. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a high proportion of sword techniques.

  “Boss, can you give me a discount if I buy in bulk?” Li Lang excitedly asked the bearded man.

  “I don’t do discounts. I’d rather take my time than sell them for cheap. You either have enough red crystals or put up your own techniques for trade.”

  Li Lang’s companions could only helplessly watch on as he went on a shopping spree. Li Lang was determined to collect techniques of various attributes, as he wanted a healthy sample size for his research. He had yet to choose an affinity for himself, and he was quite open to all possibilities.

  Since he was already at a disadvantage compared to other cultivators due to his ck of spiritual roots, he needed to carry out a meticulous study before deciding his future direction.

  Should I find one that has an affinity to poison? Maybe metal? But what about fire? I have a heavenly fire, after all. Hmm, how come there are barely any techniques that incorporate more than one affinity!?

  Just as Li Lang was about to ask the stall owner about multi-element techniques, a voice interrupted his chain of thought. It came from right beside Li Lang and sounded young, which caught his attention.

  “Excuse me, fellow Daoist, do you have any Qi arts that utilize the power of emotions? I am willing to trade any for a copy of Scorch Wind Descent.”

  Turning toward the speaker, Li Lang frowned. The person had the appearance of a young teenager and looked particurly familiar for some reason. He stood there, staring at this newcomer without blinking as he dug into his memories.

  However, his antics didn’t go unnoticed.

  “Umm, may I help you?”

  Seeing how rude Li Lang was being, his companions could only facepalm.