Chapter 224: The Stone Rock Forms

【Manifestation Point:】

Su Lin was checking his system marketplace, glancing at his system points, then at those items he once could never afford, once considered the ultimate goal of his life.

Hah!

"How much did Nike pay you?" Ye Fan saw Su Lin staring blankly into the air, one corner of his mouth curled into an exaggerated smile, and couldn't help asking: "What are you laughing at?"

The other had held that pose for three minutes.

"Nothing," Su Lin suppressed his Dragon King-style smile, rubbed his aching cheeks, and replied: "How long until we reach the Shengcheng?"

Ye Fan: "Almost there."

In just one day, the group crossed thousands of mountains and rivers aboard a flying vessel, traveling tens of thousands of miles, finally nearing the Shengcheng of the Northern Region.

If a Four Poles cultivator traveled alone, it might take several days; though Su Lin's speed was certainly faster than the vessel, riding a vehicle was always more comfortable than traveling on foot.

Nine protective array patterns shielded the exterior of the vessel; its entire body, over a hundred meters long, was ancient and simple, its interior lavishly decorated with pearls hanging in every corner and on the ceiling, fragrant incense infused with Dao resonance burning slowly, filling the air with spiritual essence—just being inside made one feel their cultivation steadily rising.

A long table forged from starstone was piled high with various spiritual fruits and pastries: Eight Treasures Cake, Dragon Blood Fruit, roasted Desert Crocodile.

"You're the real rich guy," Su Lin remarked with deep emotion. "You really know how to enjoy life."

"After all the struggle I've put in under Ye Zhetian, can't I enjoy myself a little?" Ye Fan leaned back on a wide chair, propping his head with one hand, biting into a spiritual fruit with the other, while a like-flower servant massaged his neck behind him.

"Keep playing! Keep dancing!"

Several like-flowers, their faces subtly optimized to look ordinary yet slightly stiff, stepped forward and swirled their sleeves in dance.

"Brother, eat," Xiao Nannan held out a sesame cake to Ye Fan, who leaned forward and took a bite.

Su Lin had thought he knew how to enjoy himself—now he felt like a dwarf beside a giant.

"Do you do this every day?" Su Lin couldn't help asking.

"Occasionally—where's the time to do it daily?" Ye Fan sighed. "And every action has its consequence. Doing business means inevitably meeting more people. When I go out in style like this, I almost always run into old customers—and they're all impatient. I've already ruined several flying vessels."

Hei Huang couldn't help interjecting: "Going out with you always brings trouble. Every time you cause chaos and end up exposing your identity!"

"Those bastards strut around everywhere like they own the place—how could accidents not happen!?" Ye Fan retorted, yet a deep, unshed worry lingered in his brows.

Ye Fan couldn't figure out what was wrong—he'd made money, but every time he stepped outside, he had a high chance of bumping into old customers.

It wasn't as exaggerated as Hei Huang claimed, but whenever he was spotted, the other party was at least at the Dragon Transformation stage, and identity exposure inevitably led to pursuit and assassination.

Last time, he'd run into that fool from the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground—the elder who had vouched for Ye Fan's shop. The man, for reasons unknown, had rushed forward trying to self-destruct; Hei Huang barely escaped after paying a heavy price.

Ultimately, it was still because his cultivation was too low—he could only wander this star region.

"Let me ask you one thing—you haven't sold goods into the Forbidden Zones, have you?" Su Lin held up a cross-realm talisman and asked Ye Fan.

"Not yet—you're not that reckless," Ye Fan glanced at Su Lin's motion and said: "Let me propose something: Isn't your sect still missing a Wu Dao Tree? Why don't you go into the Forbidden Zones?"

"I'll open the portal—you just need to coax and trick them into my territory," Su Lin suggested.

Ye Fan had no intention of walking into the trap now: "No thanks. Let's wait until I do business with them later."

Even if they've fallen into darkness, they were once the greatest prodigies of their age—some even the creators of the Nine Character Secrets—and they possess countless precious resources.

"By the way, Su Lin, have you and Klein ever thought of joining us?" Ye Fan smiled.

"What do you mean?" Su Lin blinked, then realized: "Historical Projection?"

"Weigong Shilang's projection can only manifest weapons—that's a limitation. But your historical projections are different," Ye Fan's eyes gleamed. "Those divine herbs and medicinal materials…"

"We've arrived. Let's talk about this later."

As they spoke, the flying vessel had reached the outskirts of the Shengcheng.

The Shengcheng of the Northern Region—the absolute center of this crimson land, even rivaling the Primordial Ancient Mine in fame.

This oasis spanning tens of thousands of li frequently saw cultivators flying overhead; towering mountains had been split cleanly down the middle, revealing a straight, broad avenue before them.

Su Lin stepped out of the vessel and stood at the front, below him spiritual beasts galloped, cultivators thronged—some walking on the ground, others hovering mid-air, stirring up fierce winds.

Su Lin's eyes widened slightly—this was an entirely different landscape.

Not like the Dragon Clan or the Mysterious World, where power was hidden and concealed—here, mountains and rivers shattered as a matter of course; a mighty one's drop of blood could fell a star. This was the world of cultivators.

Dragon-horse hooves and qilin-leopard claws trod through empty air like villagers rushing to market—cultivators traveled alone or in groups, advancing along the avenue toward the Shengcheng.

"It's said that in the Ancient Wasteland era, the Shengcheng hung in the sky—it only sank to the earth at the era's end," Ye Fan said, emerging from the cabin after altering and concealing his appearance.

"Impressive," Su Lin nodded, gazing at the grand ancient city, instinctively imagining how it must have looked floating in the sky.

It dwarfed Water Mirror Peak by far.

Inside the city, nearly half the people were cultivators—truly living up to the saying that if you threw a brick, you'd hit a cultivator.

The city was extremely prosperous, with buildings of every style: palaces stood dense and tall, ancient streets were wide, and powerful cultivators walked the streets like ordinary mortals.

Here, one misstep could easily offend a Supreme Elder of some Sacred Ground—each Sacred Ground had many cultivators permanently stationed in this region.

"The property prices here must be insane," Su Lin said.

"Isn't that the truth?" Ye Fan pointed to a vast palace below, carved beams and painted rafters, palace-like in grandeur. "The money we've made now barely covers the cost of that inn."

Su Lin: "Sigh."

Ye Fan: "Why are you sighing?"

Su Lin: "I don't know why, but I just really want to sigh… Will the Shengcheng have a housing bubble?"

Ye Fan: "Probably not."

The group on the flying vessel drew many glances—Hei Huang wasn't wearing his flowered shorts today and had deliberately shrunk himself, yet he still attracted plenty of attention.

Beyond the fact that flying openly over the Shengcheng was unusual, their very combination drew stares.

Who in the Beidou Star Region didn't know the Saint Body who sold fake goods, accompanied by a black dog demon and a red-haired youth? These three were now on the joint wanted lists of many Sacred Grounds.

The Purple Mansion Sacred Ground had even posted a separate bounty: one Sovereign Divine Weapon and six hundred thousand variant sources—for the Saint Body and the dog, dead or alive; the red-haired one, alive.

Such a generous reward, combined with the collective bounties, made even Ye Fan himself feel tempted.

"Gentlemen, please stop!"

As expected, an elderly man in white robes stood mid-air, seeking to probe the identity of those aboard the vessel.

Su Lin cast a cold glance at the other party, and the next instant, an endless, boundless sea of light appeared within the other's field of vision. This ocean churned, about to transform into the most terrifying fierce beast and devour him.

Gulp.

This Holy Land Elder froze mid-sentence, hastily cupping his hands in salute and begging for mercy: "Senior, please forgive me! I am from the Dao Yi Holy Land—"

"Scram!"

"Yes, sir!" The white-robed old man fled toward the distance as if granted a great pardon.

Quite a few people in the surroundings who had been paying attention to this situation recognized the white-robed old man's identity, and seeing him flee in panic, they began to speculate one after another.

Among them, inside a wine house suspended in mid-air, quite a few guests discussed while drinking fine wine:

"That's Lin He of the Dao Yi Holy Land. Why is he fleeing as if his life depended on it?!"

"Could it be that some Holy Lord has arrived in person?"

"Looks like the person on the flying vessel probably isn't a fake Sacred Body selling counterfeit goods."

Some were analyzing, while others mocked them, saying:

"A mere little Sacred Body has you all in such a state? Look at yourselves, jumping at shadows like that—who knows, one day you might offend some powerful expert who likes keeping dogs and get slapped to death."

His words left everyone speechless, for they truly had overreacted.

This noble Young Master in snow-white robes, seeing that no one rebutted, could no longer suppress his feeling of superiority. He said: "When buying things, you still can't be greedy for bargains. Take yourselves, for instance—why were you taken in? Simply because that Sacred Body's goods were cheap. You thought there was profit to be made, and that's how you fell for it."

"My friend, those words are amiss!" Someone couldn't help but retort: "Our reserve Holy Son of the Fuyao Holy Land wasn't greedy for bargains at all. The magic treasure he bought was actually several times more expensive than outside!"

"Stupid people with too much money~" The noble Young Master sneered.

"What did you say?!" Immediately someone slammed the table and rose, ready to fight, but was held back by a companion.

The companion recognized the other's attire and the jade pendant at his waist, and said: "He's royalty of the Guhua Imperial Dynasty!"

The man who had slammed the table instantly turned green in the face, a hint of fear in his eyes, and could only sit back down in dejection.

"Short-sightedness is the reason you bought fakes." The noble Young Master took out a snow-white pendant sword and showed it off: "This sword is called Bedrock Frost. I acquired it from a Daoist Priest on my way to the Shengcheng, when I passed by a remote star. It only cost this Young Prince some pocket change—less than 10,000 Source."

Once this prince of the Guhua Imperial Dynasty's royal family spoke these words, the entire floor of the wine house instantly fell silent.

The noble Young Master tilted his head back, twirled a sword flourish with the blade in his hand, and smiled: "Well?"

"This Young Prince, may I ask—was that Daoist Priest somewhat fat, with a rather round face?" A middle-aged man in purple robes and a Daoist robe rose and spoke.

The noble Young Master frowned and asked: "How would you know? Is he a fellow disciple of yours?"

This sword was clearly a bargain he had picked up. At the time, he had seen that Daoist Priest was simple-minded, and through a mix of coaxing and trickery, he got the sword into his hands.

"Those words won't do!" The middle-aged man in purple robes and a Daoist robe hurriedly waved his hands, his face full of terror. Then, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes piled up with a smile, and he said: "I also have a sword here, called Bedrock Crimson. Take a look."

Just as the noble Young Master was about to say something, a burst of laughter erupted in the wine house.

"Young Prince, I also have a Bedrock Green here! 000 Source Stones to sell to you—do you want it?!"

"I also have a Bedrock Elixir here, only 648!"

"Hahahahahaha! I thought the prince of the Guhua Divine Dynasty had eyes sharp as torches, but in the end he bought fakes just like the rest of us—hahahahaha!"

Some laughed so hard they smashed their dining tables. Especially the cultivators of the Fuyao Holy Land who had been rebuked by him earlier laughed until their comprehension became clear and they were on the verge of breaking through.

"Everyone, off to undergo tribulation—hahahahaha!!!"

Amid the crowd's laughter, the noble Young Master's face cycled between green and white. He dropped the pendant sword in his hand and fled toward the distance, leaving only a cheerful atmosphere behind in the wine house.

The purple-robed Daoist Priest smoothed the beard on his chin, and with a smile, pocketed the snow-white "Bedrock Frost" on the ground.

Although it was a fake, taking it back to fool his junior brothers and sisters who hadn't come out of seclusion yet was still a decent choice.

As long as it doesn't explode, it can still be used.

At dusk, the Shengcheng was resplendent. Starlight cascaded from the sky, falling upon the city like a thin mist. The clear radiance of the moon flowed down like rippling water.

"Drawing in the star power of the heavens." Su Lin decided that after returning this time, he would find a way to build up his Water Mirror Peak as well, striving to make it look like this.

The group did not linger too long wandering around this city. In fact, Ye Fan's purpose was very clear. Carrying the sleeping little Xiao Nannan on his back, he headed straight for the Holy Land's Stone Workshop.

"Aren't you going to see An Miaoyi?" Su Lin said with a grin.

The Black Emperor beside them, hearing this, widened his eyes and looked at Ye Fan, saying softly: "Woof! You kid, I told you to have children with the Purple Mansion Holy Woman and you refused—so it turns out you already had a sweetheart!"

"Shut your dog mouth." Ye Fan gave the Black Emperor a soft scolding, glanced at the sleeping Xiao Nannan, turned his head and said to Su Lin: "I have a fate with her, but I won't deliberately force it."

"Besides, there will be plenty of chances to meet. There's no need to rush."

The current him has never met An Miaoyi; he only learned of their future relationship from some text. Ye Fan will not follow the story's trajectory step by step. Of course, this also doesn't mean Ye Fan will give up on getting to know An Miaoyi.

The word 'fate'—its wonder is beyond words.

People who are fated will meet on the road ahead, no matter what choices they make.

"How nice~" Su Lin said wistfully from the side: "What about Ji Ziyue? What about Qin Yao?"

"The Buddha says, unspeakable, unspeakable~." Ye Fan laughed. You think I'd be like Xiao Yan? You must be joking.

Clusters of ancient trees lined both sides of the road, and the group finally arrived at a tranquil Daoist temple covered in moss.

"Let's go, Su Lin." Ye Fan pointed at the Holy Land's Stone Workshop and said: "I'll take you to find an opportunity!"

End of chapter.