Chapter 499 - 468: Strange Creatures, Turbulent Undercurrents

Song Ciwan reined in her cloud and gazed at the flower fields ahead, finding the magnificent and wondrous scene before her possessed a kind of mythical romance.

In the flower fields, it wasn’t just elf-like men and women flying about on dragonflies and butterflies. Song Ciwan also noticed a patch of flowers near the stream that was exceptionally different.

It was a cluster of intricate, multi-petaled peonies. The flowers, like smiling faces, grew crowded together, seemingly forming a vast, multi-leveled Petal Square!

On the massive Petal Square, small stalls of all shapes and sizes were set up.

The stalls were laden with a rich variety of goods.

As for the stall owners, they weren’t the beautifully featured, elf-like men and women, but were actually people from the Mortal World!

Song Ciwan could clearly tell the difference between the two groups after just a few glances.

First was their appearance. The reason Song Ciwan had secretly nicknamed the elf-like men and women ’Elves’ was naturally because they all shared a similar beauty that was ’not of the Mortal World’.

Then there was their aura. All living things possess a unique aura. Humans have a human aura, demons have Demonic Qi, and deceitful beings have Deceitful Qi. For example, the Heaven and Earth Alien Species she had once met, the Stealth Race, also had their own distinct aura.

The aura of the Stealth Race was ethereal and ancient.

As for the elf-like men and women in this massive world, they too had their own unique aura.

Song Ciwan sensed it carefully and felt an indescribable liveliness, purity, and... chaos!

Yes, both pure and chaotic.

It was a thought-provoking contradiction.

Moving on to the humans running stalls on the Petal Square, these people were basically all Martial Artists. Most had a Cultivation of Innate First Transformation, with a few at Innate Second Transformation or higher. The business for these stronger individuals was exceptionally good.

Their stalls sold all sorts of mirrors, floral hairpins, and small toys from the Mortal World... Though they were all exquisitely made, they were essentially just mundane objects.

But the elf-like men and women who traded with them and browsed the stalls used crystal-clear, colored beads as currency.

Song Ciwan had seen this kind of colored bead before in a Spiritual Material Shop in Liangzhou. It was a type of Spiritual Material with pure Energy, called a Five Elements Crystal Pearl.

Five Elements Crystal Pearls came in various levels, but even the lowest was at the Two-star Level. If exchanged for Primordial Pearls, a single Two-star Level Five Elements Crystal Pearl could be sold for at least five Primordial Pearls.

And a single Primordial Pearl, in the world of mortals, could be exchanged for more than a hundred taels of silver.

As for those mirrors, floral hairpins, and small toys from the Mortal World, no matter how exquisitely crafted, it didn’t change the fact that they were fundamentally worthless.

For the two sides to be trading these things, one could only say that the Human Race vendors were complete swindlers, and the elf-like men and women were far too naive and ignorant.

Song Ciwan watched from a distance for a while and noticed another detail: the elf-like men and women basically couldn’t speak the Great Zhou Language.

Meanwhile, the Martial Artists of the Human Race were all speaking a halting, alien tongue to communicate and trade with the elf-like men and women.

It had to be said, it was no wonder these people were able to earn this money.

They had even learned the language of an Alien Race. Though they were swindlers, their dedication to doing business was the real deal.

Finally, and most importantly: among the Human Race Martial Artists running the stalls, never mind the ones at Innate First Transformation, but the ones at Innate Second Transformation were all Immortal Seeking Martial Artists!

They also simultaneously possessed the aura of Foundation Establishment Stage Immortal Seekers.

The Immortal Seeking Martial Artist whom Song Ciwan had been tracking earlier also happened to be among them.

Song Ciwan’s gaze shifted, landing on this person from afar.

The man was hunched over, standing respectfully behind a lean, powerfully built Innate Second Transformation Martial Artist. Several elf-like men and women were gathered in front of the Martial Artist’s stall, chattering in a language Song Ciwan couldn’t understand as they excitedly picked through the various items on display.

The Innate Second Transformation Martial Artist was speaking to the elves in a halting, alien tongue, while simultaneously using the Great Zhou Language to speak to the Immortal Seeking Martial Artist behind him.

"Qionghua Pavilion issued a Golden Core Death Order?" The stall-owning Innate Second Transformation Martial Artist cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Qionghua Pavilion has gone insane! Wu the Ninth, when you get out, inform the brothers to slow down our recent operations. Stop selling the Foundation Establishment Pills for now and wait for a decision from the higher-ups."

The Immortal Seeking Martial Artist, Wu the Ninth, quickly agreed. But after acknowledging the order, he remained rooted to the spot, hesitating for a long moment.

Only then did he speak again, cautiously. "Master Chen, besides this, there’s... there’s also..."

"...the wealthy young master and the Sixth Miss. We discovered a newly appeared entrance to a Spirit Realm Secret Realm at Dafeng Ridge, and the wealthy young master and Sixth Miss have already led a team inside. I’m afraid... I’m afraid those lunatics from Qionghua Pavilion might be lying in ambush outside."

"It would be one thing if only expendable people like us were hurt, but if the wealthy young master and the Sixth Miss come to harm, what are we to do?"

The Second Transformation Martial Artist known as Master Chen frowned instantly. "A new Secret Realm appeared at Dafeng Ridge? Why didn’t I know about this? When did it appear? Why wasn’t it reported?"

His tone became heavy with pressure. "Also, since it’s a new Secret Realm, it should be a secret that no one else knows about. Why would you say people from Qionghua Pavilion might be waiting in ambush outside? Speak! What else are you hiding?"

Wu the Ninth immediately shrank back, his shoulders hunching. He said in a small voice, "Master Chen, when the Secret Realm was discovered, there were also two Qionghua Pavilion disciples at Dafeng Ridge."

"They’re disciples from a major sect and acted with arrogance, even saying they would report to their Immortal Venerable and ask him to dispatch Daoist Soldiers to guard the Secret Realm’s entrance, forbidding anyone from entering. The wealthy young master and the Sixth Miss naturally couldn’t stand for that. The two sides fought, and then the wealthy young master and Sixth Miss led their people inside."

Master Chen’s voice turned icy. "If that happened, why didn’t you report it sooner? Why waste time loitering outside?"

Wu the Ninth defended himself in a low voice, "I... those two Qionghua Pavilion disciples were also seriously injured at the time and were dragged into the Spirit Realm Secret Realm."

Master Chen suddenly let out a breath, then laughed. "Heh. Excellent! A mere Qionghua Pavilion dares to issue a Golden Core Death Order. Now their own disciples are trapped in the Spirit Realm Secret Realm. No one who enters that Secret Realm can get out without taking a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"I’d like to see how Qionghua Pavilion will handle this. When faced with their own Golden Core disciples, what will they do? Kill them or not?"

Wu the Ninth’s posture straightened a bit. He chimed in agreement with Master Chen while cautiously probing, "Master Chen, no matter how crazy Qionghua Pavilion gets, they’re still one of the One Hundred and Eight Upper Sects. Our superiors... their response to this... heh heh..."

As he cautiously fished for information, he put on a fawning smile.

Master Chen saw through his petty worries at a glance and scoffed. "Alright, aren’t you just worried that our Chuzhou Zhang Family can’t handle Qionghua Pavilion?"

"Let me tell you straight, the Ancestor of our Zhang Family is no ordinary figure. The power of our Zhang Family is also countless times deeper and wider than you could ever guess or imagine!"

"A mere Qionghua Pavilion... heh. If not for the Eldest Princess backing them, where would they get the nerve! Forget it. You watch the stall; I’ll be right back. Can’t even send a Communication Talisman in this godforsaken place... damn it all..."