Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Lan Jinshang strode through the palace, heading deep into its interior.

The palace was built deep within Star Crossing Gorge, occupying a vast area. The inner chambers connected to the farthest reaches of the canyon, making it appear as if the palace was nestled against the gorge from the outside.

In reality, the scale of this palace, located deep in Star Crossing Gorge, was far more magnificent than it appeared from the outside. It had even been integrated with the natural caves within the canyon, creating a seamless and organic structure. Only its owner knew the true extent of what lay within.

Entering the rear hall, she found herself in a long corridor.

On either side of the corridor were towering, smooth reef stone pillars, intricately carved with fierce sea beasts. Each pillar held a wall lantern filled with sea pearls, which emitted a soft glow, adding a gentle hue to the grandeur of the palace.

After passing through the corridor, Lan Jinshang entered a grand hall adorned with crystals. This hall was no longer part of the palace but extended deep into the canyon, having been transformed from a natural cave.

Standing in the hall was a man.

He was tall and robust, with a stern and resolute face that commanded respect without effort. It was Yansheng.

Yansheng's original form was a ferocious tiger shark, known for his combative nature. Compared to the young whale shark still growing in Star Crossing Gorge, the fully transformed tiger shark was not only younger and stronger but also exceptionally brave, rivaling those demon cultivators who had long since taken human form. His presence deterred other demon cultivators from easily provoking Star Crossing Gorge.

"Blue Aunt," Yansheng greeted Lan Jinshang respectfully yet affectionately, "Why did you bring those two human cultivators to Star Crossing Gorge?"

It wasn't uncommon for human cultivators to accidentally wander into the Endless Sea, but Lan Jinshang rarely paid them any attention unless they dared to harm the sea beasts of Star Crossing Gorge.

In fact, the sea beasts in Star Crossing Gorge were much gentler than those elsewhere; they wouldn't attack passing human cultivators. Other sea beasts in different regions were far less merciful, often leaving passing human cultivators injured or dead.

This time, Lan Jinshang personally invited two human cultivators back, which puzzled Yansheng greatly.

As a demon cultivator who had only recently transformed within the past century, Yansheng shared the same attitude towards human cultivators as many sea creatures: he believed them to be deceitful and malicious, capable of enslaving demon beasts and acting reprehensibly. He harbored no goodwill towards human cultivators and preferred to avoid them altogether.

Compared to other sea beasts, Lan Jinshang's attitude towards human cultivators was inexplicably merciful.

Though he didn't understand, he refrained from interfering with her actions.

Lan Jinshang did not answer directly but instead took out a pill bottle and said, "Do you know what this is?"

"A spirit pill from human cultivators?" Yansheng became even more perplexed, "Blue Aunt, if you need spirit pills, you can ask the sea clan. They have spirit pills too. Why seek help from human cultivators?"

In the eyes of many sea creatures, the sea clan was all-powerful. Although the sea clan did not refine pills themselves, they controlled some human alchemists to do so for them, ensuring they never lacked spirit pills.

Some demon cultivators who were on good terms with the sea clan could obtain spirit pills from them. They preferred seeking the sea clan over human cultivators.

"This is not an ordinary spirit pill," Lan Jinshang said, "It's a longevity pill."

"What? A... longevity pill?" Yansheng looked at her in shock, "Are you sure?"

Lan Jinshang smiled slightly, but the familiar Yansheng could see the turmoil beneath her composed exterior. She was suppressing her emotions, something few others noticed.

"I am certain," Lan Jinshang said softly, "Yansheng, this longevity pill was refined by Young Master Ning in just three days... Do you understand what this means?"

Yansheng understood well.

Though he had never visited the continent where human cultivators lived, he knew much about their alchemists. After all, the sea clan kept many alchemists in captivity. Among them was a heavenly-grade alchemist who couldn't refine longevity pills. One reason was the scarcity of the main ingredient, longevity grass. Another was the incomplete inheritance of their alchemy techniques. Lastly, the heavenly-grade alchemist was not entirely willing to serve the sea clan.

They had tried to obtain longevity pills from the sea clan before, but to no avail.

Never did they expect that two young human cultivators who accidentally wandered into the Endless Sea would possess the very longevity pills they needed.

Yansheng's face flushed with excitement, his voice hoarse, "Blue Aunt, since it's a longevity pill, let's give it to Lord Xuan immediately."

Lan Jinshang said, "I was about to take it there. Come with me."

Yansheng agreed and followed Lan Jinshang forward, completely forgetting about the two human cultivators left in the palace.

***

In the deep sea, there was no distinction between day and night.

Wen Qiao woke up, unable to tell the time. Using her spiritual energy to check, she realized they had slept through the day, and it was now night.

The sea pearls in the room emitted a soft glow, illuminating the entire space.

Ning Yuzhou opened his eyes, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her fair forehead, his voice still hoarse from sleep, "Do you want to rest a little longer?"

"No, I've already slept all day."

Wen Qiao looked up at him and noticed his disheveled hair spread across the pillow. His handsome face still bore traces of sleep, giving him a lazy charm unlike his usual elegance. She blushed slightly.

Ning Yuzhou chuckled, holding her close, intending to kiss her again, when he suddenly noticed the two furry balls at the foot of the bed.

The two demon beasts sat there, staring at them with innocent, curious eyes. Even Ning Yuzhou, usually calm, felt the urge to throw them out.

Ning Yuzhou released her and reached over to pick up the two furry balls, tossing them off the bed, "No more climbing onto the bed."

Not on the bed? Did he expect them to sleep on the floor? Ning Ge was being too cruel.

Wen Tuantuan looked at Ning Yuzhou with a reproachful gaze.

Ning Yuzhou gave her a stern look, implying a reduction in spirit pills if she disobeyed.

Wen Tuantuan immediately squatted down obediently, looking innocent and cute, indicating she would always listen to Ning Ge. Then she patted Wen Guangun, urging it to show obedience too.

Wen Guangun looked bewildered, still not quite understanding the situation.

Ning Yuzhou ignored the two demon beasts and helped the equally confused Wen Qiao get up.

Wen Qiao looked at Ning Yuzhou, then at Wen Tuantuan, scratching her head. She felt like she understood something but wasn't quite sure. When Ning Yuzhou handed her a toothbrush, she looked at him blankly.

Suddenly, Ning Yuzhou felt like he was raising several adorable creatures, the cutest of which was his little wife.

They washed up and had their evening meal brought to them by Haizhuer, who was considerate.

Wen Qiao and the others weren't interested in the evening meal. They had been spoiled by Ning Yuzhou's cooking, even Wen Tutu, who used to be unpicky, had become selective.

Wen Qiao said to Haizhuer, who was serving the meal, "In the future, there's no need to prepare cooked food; just bring some spirit fruits."

Haizhuer responded meekly, her dull eyes looking at them as she softly asked, "Is there anything else you need?"

"Can we go for a walk outside?"

Haizhuer replied, "Yes, please allow me to accompany you."

Wen Qiao thought about the sea beasts in Star Crossing Gorge and didn't refuse her.

After dividing the spirit fruits among Wen Tutu and Wen Guangun, they left their resting room and began exploring the palace.

Wen Qiao held Ning Yuzhou's hand, curiously observing the underwater palace.

The palace was vast but empty inside, with few furnishings. According to the sea beasts' aesthetic, they didn't feel the need to fill the palace with unnecessary items like human cultivators would, as it would hinder their movement when they transformed back to their original forms.

The aesthetics of humans and beasts were inherently incompatible.

Apart from a few Haizhuer servants, there was no one else in the palace. This might be because the palace had water-repelling pearls, making untransformed sea beasts instinctively avoid areas without water.

After looking around, Wen Qiao still couldn't figure out where the water-repelling pearl was, yet it managed to cover the entire palace.

She couldn't help but whisper to Ning Yuzhou, "Husband, I always thought that water-repelling pearls were formed by the power of ninth-stage sea beasts in the Thousand Islands region... many people say so, but now it seems not to be the case."

In the Holy Martial Continent, the understanding of water-repelling pearls indeed came from the Thousand Islands region.

So Wen Qiao had believed this until they arrived at Star Crossing Gorge and saw the palace isolated from seawater. Only then did they realize that the water-repelling pearls in the Thousand Islands were different from those of the sea clan.

The water-repelling pearls in the Thousand Islands could only be used individually and couldn't repel water for such a large palace in deep waters. The sea clan's water-repelling pearls were far more effective.

Ning Yuzhou mused, "The water-repelling pearls in the Thousand Islands are merely imitations of the ones refined by the sea clan. Their effects are average. The water-repelling pearls refined by the sea clan are truly effective and can even support the water around an entire city. Those sea clan cities are true underwater cities..."

The more they interacted with the sea beasts of the Endless Sea, the more they understood the sea clan's status and capabilities, which justified their title.

Although Wen Qiao was interested in water-repelling pearls, they had water-repelling pills, so moving around in the sea wasn't a problem. Thus, she didn't pay much attention to the sea clan's water-repelling pearls.

After wandering around, they found the palace's architecture monotonous, despite its grandeur. Without any substance, Wen Qiao and Wen Tutu quickly lost interest.

Then they stepped out of the palace.

Instantly, the seawater surrounded them, causing momentary discomfort. The two submerged beasts clung to Wen Qiao for stability.

As soon as they exited the palace, a dolphin swam over joyfully, rubbing against Wen Qiao with its snout.

Wen Qiao greeted it with a smile, asking, "Little dolphin, where is your mother?"

The little dolphin made a sound indicating that its mother was in the palace. It disliked entering the dry palace and wasn't sure what its mother was doing there.

Lan Jinshang disappeared after having Haizhuer settle them in, and no one knew where she went.

While Wen Qiao chatted with the little dolphin, the sea beasts in Star Crossing Gorge gathered around, filling the space in front of the palace.

Being surrounded by so many high-level sea beasts put pressure on Wen Qiao.

Wen Tutu wanted to bristle again.

Wen Guangun watched the sea beasts, slowly taking out a sea sugarcane and munching on it in front of them, displaying a carefree demeanor as if he knew no fear.

Wen Qiao thought Wen Tutu should learn from Wen Guangun to stay calm.

However, when she saw the things wrapped in seawater being pushed towards her, her stress vanished, and her eyes lit up at the spirit herbs, medicines, and various underwater treasures.

These sea beasts had come to trade for spirit pills.

When Lan Jinshang brought them here, the reactions of Wen Tutu and the little dolphin made the sea beasts drool. After entering the palace, the sea beasts surrounded the little dolphin and the other sea beasts who returned with Lan Jinshang, learning how they traded with Wen Qiao. Thus, they approached her with their treasures.

Knowing the sea beasts' intentions, Wen Qiao didn't refuse such a good opportunity.

To the sea beasts, spirit pills were precious, but for Wen Qiao, they had plenty. With spirit herbs from the space, they could make as many spirit pills as needed.

The ocean's resources were vast, and exchanging spirit pills with sea beasts saved them much trouble.

Seeing so many sea beasts crowd around, Wen Qiao didn't know whom to address first, so she said, "If you want spirit pills, line up."

The sea beasts looked at her blankly, unsure how to queue.

Wen Qiao had to maintain order. Seeing her tied up with the sea beasts, Ning Yuzhou helped by passing out spirit pills and screening the items they brought. If something had little value, he sent it back without trading.

Some sea beasts, like killer whales, tried to use worthless items to trade, and if refused, they would try to snatch.

Wen Qiao sternly rejected such bullying, saying, "Anyone who doesn't behave, I'll tell Senior Lan."

This made the sea beasts quickly reconsider their actions.

Wen Qiao found Lan Jinshang's name very useful. Invoking her authority, she felt more confident dealing with these eighth- to ninth-stage sea beasts and soon became friendly with them, even asking them to help find certain spirit herbs.

After trading for spirit pills, the sea beasts received Wen Qiao's commission and payment, then quickly left.

The space in front of the palace emptied once more.

Having obtained useful items, Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou returned to the palace to sort them out. Ning Yuzhou planned to refine more spirit pills to ensure they wouldn't run out next time.

As for Lan Jinshang, who was nowhere to be found, they didn't rush to find her, instead enjoying their leisurely time.

Lan Jinshang appeared for the first time three days after returning to Star Crossing Gorge.

With her was Hu Yansheng, the second demon cultivator to take human form in Star Crossing Gorge.

Wen Qiao noticed that this time, Hu Yansheng’s gaze toward them wasn’t as menacing as before. Although it still lacked warmth, she quickly realized that the longevity pill might have played a role.

"Ning Gongzi, Min Jiejie, how have these past few days been for you?" Lan Jinshang asked with a smile.

"Quite good," Ning Yuzhou replied with a smile on his face.

Wen Qiao held a pure white demon bone in her hand, using spiritual energy to remove impurities from the demon core. Seeing Hu Yansheng looking at her with a somewhat unfriendly expression, she silently put it away.

It wasn’t their fault; they were simply staying in the room arranged by Haizhuer, sorting out the items exchanged with sea beasts. They wouldn’t have had to do this in front of the demon cultivators if these two hadn’t suddenly appeared.

Ning Yuzhou remained calm, putting away a demon spirit grass that had grown alongside the demon bone. He wiped his hands and looked at Lan Jinshang.

Seeing him silent, Wen Qiao, Wen Tutu, and Wen Guangun sat there quietly like chickens.

These two demon cultivators didn’t come just to check on how they were doing; there must be something else.

Hu Yansheng felt a bit stifled seeing the reactions of these human cultivators.

Even though he now knew Ning Yuzhou’s alchemy skills were exceptional and few human cultivators could match them, the prejudice against human cultivators couldn’t be erased overnight. Not to mention, these two human cultivators had low cultivation levels, beings they could easily crush, so there was no need to be so polite.

But Lan Jinshang had warned him beforehand, and since they did indeed need something from Ning Yuzhou, offending him would not be wise.