Chapter 542: West Sand City

At this moment, Yan Buji, having looted the three families, had already arrived in the Heavenly Spirit Realm.

Yan Buji transformed into an unremarkable Golden Core cultivator, preparing to board a cross-domain voyage ship to the West Sand River Basin.

"Passengers aboard the cross-domain voyage ship, take note: the ship to the West Sand River Basin is about to depart. Please board in order and have your tickets checked. The Nine Heavens Five Regions Great Merchant Association reminds you that the cross-domain voyage ship must pass through spatial turbulence; please remain in the cabins and do not go outside. If passengers have personal grudges, settle them yourselves after arrival."

"The Nine Heavens Five Regions Great Merchant Association was founded at the discovery of the Heavenly Spirit Realm and has a history of five hundred thousand years. The association upholds the principles of harmony, friendship, and common prosperity, welcoming all to join. Besides selling cultivation supplies, it offers appraisal, auction, Dharma protection, and escort services......"

Yan Buji listened to the sound coming from the cabin, looking puzzled: "They really know how to do business."

This great merchant association's power comes from cultivators across the five regions; some are from sect clans, others are loose cultivators. However, the association has no true owner; instead, five representatives, each responsible for their respective region divided by the five regions, handle trade affairs.

Besides the Nine Heavens Five Regions Great Merchant Association, there are other small merchant associations, mostly formed by powers of the five regions, but none can compare to the great association.

Thus, the great merchant association's standing is not based on strength, nor does it depend on a single helmsman's measures to develop to this point. Its operating model is relatively free and standardized; although it cannot truly achieve fair and just transactions for both buyer and seller, overall its measures tend toward that direction to some extent.

"This trip to the West Sand River Basin shouldn't take long; by then I will have reached late Golden Core there, then return to the Dongxing Sea Region to fetch the She Shen Pill from She Shen Temple."

Yan Buji thought for a moment; the West Sand River Basin is still a rather peculiar region.

There, Buddhist sect dominates, and Buddhist cultivators who spread the faith are numerous.

Yan Buji took a deep breath; whatever matters can wait until later. Now he intends to tally his gains.

"He's made a fortune."

Yan Buji smiled; it was not in vain that he spent so much time working as a miner and a waiter, infiltrating the three forces to gather information, calculate costs, and locate the treasure vault—his efforts were not wasted.

In fact, looking back, Yan Buji also knew his actions were quite dangerous; had it not been for the Boundless Sea Great War period, when each faction had some guard against others, if he succeeded at one and then went to another, he would likely be immediately surrounded by the two factions' Nascent Soul cultivators, making escape difficult.

Precisely because they mutually feared and dreaded that someone would loot treasures and then be attacked amid the chaos, this allowed Yan Buji to loot all three families in a single day.

Although this is greatly related to Yan Buji's perfect early intelligence gathering, the risk remains substantial.

"Especially the Bright Moon Island Master of Treasure Flood Island, who actually activated the island-protecting grand formation to its limit in advance; if not for a secret escape route, he would have been trapped there."

Yan Buji normally would not engage in such life‑taking deeds; it is not that he fears danger, but he makes decisions after considering the overall situation.

Precisely because the Boundless Sea is chaotic, he can, like before when he looted the Twenty‑Eight Mansions Island in the Chaotic Flow Sea, snatch a batch and escape; but this time it is obviously more perilous than before. Back then, the Sun and Moon Palace could not attend to the Mansions Island, and the factions used beast tides to breach the island to strike the Sun and Moon Palace, so Yan Buji's looting difficulty was not as great.

But this time is different: the two factions openly participated in the chaotic war situation of the Boundless Sea, and while they were on guard, Yan Buji's insertion point coincided with the moment the Submerged Dragon Association's fleet was destroyed, when the Wind Spirit Sect dared not act rashly. Wandering Heaven Gate also counted a victory and was contemplating retreat, giving Yan Buji a chance to mingle among them.

However, Treasure Flood Island was troublesome; fortunately, Yan Buji learned that the Bright Moon Island Master had entered seclusion and was unseen, presumably to avoid the True Yellow Island and Submerged Dragon Association's people and ask her to leave the island for help; since she did not want to get involved, she went straight into seclusion, giving Yan Buji an opportunity.

In practice, it was naturally troublesome; Yan Buji was not out to fight them to the death, merely to scoop up a profit and leave, so he did not want to go to war with them. The plan was extremely detailed, and within a day they could not react in time, ultimately succeeding!

By this point, Yan Buji's total income amounted to one million medium‑grade spiritual stones!

Converted to low‑grade spiritual stones, that is one hundred million!

This shows how rich the Dongxing Sea Region's resources are; even forces that have existed in the Boundless Sea for only two or three hundred years can accumulate such terrifying wealth, let alone True Yellow Island and the Submerged Dragon Association.

The only pity is that his strength is insufficient to loot those two.

"With this many spiritual stones, it should be enough for me to cultivate to late Golden Core." Yan Buji felt somewhat troubled.

The cost of mainly practicing the Nine Turns Technique keeps growing; he has already accomplished the Great Transformation Return to Origin Method, but progress is slow, and he has not yet reached the stage of dispersing cultivation for re‑practice.

Nevertheless, his mana continues to accumulate day and night, and it is compatible with the Heaven's Gate Five Elements Law; the only problem is that training is too slow.

One month passed.

Yan Buji walked out of the swaying cabin and arrived within the Heavenly Spirit Realm of the West Sand River Basin.

"Although the Heavenly Spirit Realm is not among the five regions, establishing coordinates within the five regions still subjects it to the influence of spatial power." Yan Buji thought; this is also why crossing from the Heavenly Spirit Realm to a great domain remains dangerous.

However, the great merchant association developed cross‑domain voyage ships here, which has greatly facilitated many cultivators.

"Welcome, everyone, to West Sand City!"

Inside West Sand City, Yan Buji saw that most of the surrounding cultivators were Buddhist cultivators, each radiating light and wearing monk's robes. These Buddhist cultivators, male and female, all had shaved heads, held prayer beads, and wore Buddhist plaques.

On the other hand, some cultivators dressed no differently from ordinary cultivators; these appeared to be the imperial city cultivators of the West Sand River Basin.

"May I ask, fellow Daoist, is this your first time coming to the West Sand River Basin?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Li Wangsong of Dragon City; I have met you, fellow Daoist."

Seeing that the other party possessed a full Golden Core cultivation, Yan Buji bowed and said, "I am Ji Bu, coming from the Dongxing Sea Region; I have met you, fellow Daoist."

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to participate in the Centennial Hundred Temples Buddhist Law Conference?" Li Wangsong asked with a smile.

"The Hundred Temples Buddhist Law Conference?"

Yan Buji narrowed his eyes, shook his head: "No, I am merely traveling; I am penniless and want to see if there is any opportunity in the West Sand River Basin."

"I see; would you be willing to visit Dragon City, fellow Daoist? My Dragon City is one of the major imperial cities beneath the Spirit Mountain; if you have nowhere else to go, why not take a look at Dragon City?"

Yan Buji thought carefully; he happened to lack a guide to learn about the West Sand River Basin, so he nodded: "If it's just for a look, that's fine."

"Alright then, fellow Daoist, please come this way!" Li Wangsong appeared especially pleased, but the more so the other party acted, Yan Buji guessed they might have some ulterior motive.