Chapter 420: Sinking Dragon Society

Followed Boss Zhao into the house, watched him set up a soundproof formation, took several items from the Storage Accumulation Device, and placed them on the table.

Yan Buji examined closely, picked up something that resembled a wooden carving, and said, "There is demonic aura lingering on it, but there are obvious carving marks; it probably wasn't made by someone who worships the demon race, right?"

"Fellow cultivator, you have keen eyes; can you tell the origin of this wooden carving?"

"I don't know."

"It is said that the demon race has Emperors, all of whom are supreme beings at the Great Vehicle Tribulation Crossing Stage, the top combat power among races beneath the saints and sages. And this wooden carving is said to depict a revered figure called the Eight Wilderness Emperor."

Eight Wilderness Emperor?!

Yan Buji does know that the demon race has Emperors, but knows little of their honorifics, having only encountered the Wood Extremity Emperor.

Looking at the carving's shape, it resembles an eagle perched on a mountain peak; unlike an ordinary eagle, this eagle's wings seem to cover the entire mountain, a small view revealing how massive the body of the Eight Wilderness Emperor must be.

"Not bad; selling it to cultivators who like collecting should fetch a good price."

"Hehe, now let's look at this."

Boss Zhao pushed over a carved jade pendant, and Yan Buji picked it up and examined it closely: "Is this Accumulation Device primarily made of Fivefold Transformation Spiritual Material, eighth‑grade fox jade?"

"Indeed, but this Accumulation Device requires extremely high spiritual perception intensity, so it's probably not usable by us Foundation Establishment cultivators."

Yan Buji nodded: "The refining technique looks rather crude; I guess it's a practice piece from a Real Person at the Core Formation or Golden Core stage."

"But that alone is enough, hehe."

Yan Buji shrugged indifferently; after all, he would never buy such inferior goods.

Then Yan Buji picked up a wooden plaque beside it, which bore no patterns and emitted a faint spiritual aura, and asked, "What is this?"

"Actually I'm not sure either; logically it should be a plaque made of ebony, but I don't know its purpose."

Yan Buji looked puzzled: "This ebony… at most it's a Twofold Transformation, right? Not a rare thing."

The higher the transformation rank of ebony, the more valuable it is, but this ebony's characteristics are similar to a single leaf of the Hidden Orchid, requiring a long period as a basis to grow.

Moreover, ebony itself is a universal Spiritual Material used in making various Accumulation Devices, able to serve as a substitute material; of course, the ebony's transformation rank must be higher than the rank of the Accumulation Device you intend to craft.

For example, if you want to make a Threefold Transformation Accumulation Device but can't find a suitable Spiritual Material, you can choose Fourfold Transformation ebony as a substitute.

Ebony possesses excellent magical extensibility and fluidity, and even the shaping stage of refining it into an Accumulation Device is much easier than with ordinary Spiritual Materials, so many are circulating on the market; however, none above Fourfold Transformation ebony have appeared.

Fourfold and Fivefold Transformation ebony usually require waiting at auction houses; you might be able to get them.

Yan Buji thought for a moment: "How about selling it to Yan?"

"How so? Fellow Daoist Yan, interested in making an offer?"

"Just curious."

"Then I'll sell you a face, Yan, for three thousand Spiritual Stones."

"Too pricey; three hundred is about right."

"Your haggling is too harsh; I barely managed to acquire it."

"Three hundred fifty, cannot go higher."

"Deal!"

Yan Buji realized he'd taken a big loss; a single Twofold Transformation Spiritual Material isn't worth that price, and this isn't even a whole piece of ebony.

But then again, a whole Twofold Transformation ebony costs more than three hundred Spiritual Stones; this kind of Spiritual Material sells easily, sometimes fetching up to a thousand Spiritual Stones.

Thus, the cultivation world's pricing for Spiritual Materials actually fluctuates widely; sometimes an inconspicuous Spiritual Material that is normally Threefold Transformation sells for a Twofold price, and occasionally a Onefold Spiritual Material that suddenly becomes popular sells for a Threefold price.

That's how the cultivation world is; having new information makes doing business much easier.

Putting the plaque away, Yan Buji returned to business: "By the way, Boss Zhao, have you gotten any news about the secret realm I asked you to inquire about?"

"There are many secret realms within the Boundless Sea, such as a Lingyu where a Nascent Soul True Lord solidifies heaven and earth, ancient battlefields, and even realms of the birth of heaven and earth; I don't know which kind you're looking for."

"So many? What I'm after should be an oceanic trench."

"Oceanic trench?" Boss Zhao thought for a moment: "There are more secret realms under the sea, and most of them lie within oceanic trenches. There are a few nearby; would you like to go take a look?"

"Alright, thank you." Yan Buji pulled out a sack of Spiritual Stones.

Boss Zhao smiled, put away the Spiritual Stones, and handed over a map.

"On this map, True Yellow Island is the center, and the surrounding islands are roughly plotted; those unmarked islands may be uninhabited or may be seclusion spots for some cultivators—just don't disturb them lightly. However, to the east of True Yellow Island lies a large faction called the Sinking Dragon Society; be sure to be careful."

"Doesn't the Sinking Dragon Society often trade with True Yellow Island? I've seen the merchant ships at the dock are all from the Sinking Dragon Society," Yan asked.

Boss Zhao frowned: "That's the issue. Not long ago, the Sinking Dragon Society's Golden Core stage True Person Chen Fu broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, and now the Society also has two Nascent Soul True Lords."

Yan Buji pinched his chin: "That shouldn't be enough to cause a conflict with True Yellow Island, right?"

"A conflict isn't inevitable; the True Lords Huang Feng and Yun Shang Xianzi are veteran Nascent Souls, so they wouldn't fear a newly promoted Nascent Soul Chen Fu. The problem is that the Sinking Dragon Society now refuses to maintain a friendly, reciprocal relationship with True Yellow Island and intends to develop on its own."

Yan Buji frowned: "So the Sinking Dragon Society plans to establish its own sect here, creating a large gathering place like True Yellow Island?"

"That's right, so it's clear the Sinking Dragon Society will inevitably reduce trade with True Yellow Island in the future. Moreover, the Society will certainly recruit members everywhere; that's their old habit," Boss Zhao said.

"Since I am an Alchemist, might I be under special scrutiny? If that's the case, I think my personal safety shouldn't be in much danger," Yan laughed.

"The key is that most of the materials the Sinking Dragon Society sells come from the demon race."

Yan Buji's pupils narrowed: "Is the Sinking Dragon Society colluding with the demon race?"

"There's no concrete evidence, so I advise you, fellow Daoist, to be cautious and not be easily deceived. You also know that humans and demons are as hostile as water and fire; if the Sinking Dragon Society is backed by demons, the elders of the Turbulent Sea would never tolerate anyone colluding with the demon race. To put it bluntly, even if you wiped out a sect in the Turbulent Sea, you wouldn't be charged with the crime of colluding with demons."

Yan Buji raised an eyebrow, clasped his hands and smiled: "Thank you, Boss Zhao, for the information; I understand."

"Alright, if you later encounter members of the Sinking Dragon Society, avoid them if you can; it's not good to clash with them."

"No problem."

The relationship between humans and demons is so poor that colluding with demons as a human traitor naturally leads to a bad end.

But since the Sinking Dragon Society has always sold demon materials, yet no one has caught them red‑handed, or even if they have, they don't want to report it…

That only shows that True Yellow Island and the Sinking Dragon Society are similar—not good entities.

【9】 "Heh heh, I really like the atmosphere here—mutual slander, mutual suspicion. There's no deep hatred, yet people use any means for profit, just like true enemies."

【10】 Come to think of it, I'm that kind of person too.

"Heh heh, I really like the atmosphere here—mutual slander, mutual suspicion, clearly there's no deep hatred, for profit they resort to any means, just like true enemies." Yan Buji laughed.

Speaking of which, I'm also this kind of person.