Chapter 174: Transaction

"May I ask, Miss, where exactly this place is, and why are there so many people here who have already died?"

Chen Mo did not go into detail asking about the conflict between Fengdu Niangniang and the Lord of the Blood Sea; he was an outsider, and without any benefit to be gained, he would absolutely not involve himself in it.

"This world is called the Youming Jie, and this place is called Wangsi Cheng. All those who die an unnatural death before their lifespan in the human world is exhausted will first fall into this city."

"They do not believe they are dead, but still feel they are alive, and will continue to live according to their past habits. Therefore, you must never tell them they are dead, otherwise they will fall into madness."

"There are a full eighteen such Wangsi Cheng in the entire Youming Jie."

The palace maid in black gauze spoke, and a force already shrouded the area, preventing these sounds from spreading.

"The Youming Jie is not a place that the living can enter at will. If you have no business here, it is best to leave as soon as possible."

The palace maid in black gauze looked at Chen Mo and urged him, then immediately turned her gaze toward Wei Xia, "You are a Ghost Spirit, only remaining in the human world because you have lingering obsessions. Now that you have stepped into the Youming Jie, you may continue to stay here."

Wei Xia did not say much, only shifting her steps to hide behind Chen Mo.

"But since this is the Youming Jie, why is it connected to the outside world, to the point where some ordinary people who unfortunately fall into water pools can even enter?"

"And why is it that these people who fall here cannot see the Youming Jie, but can only see an endless Blood Sea?"

Chen Mo continued to speak; having finally encountered someone who could answer his questions, he naturally had to ask more.

"This is, of course, the work of the Lord of the Blood Sea. She wishes to expand the entire Youming Jie, to assimilate the boundless living beings between heaven and earth into the Youming Jie, hoping to use this to evade the Mirage Sea Calamity."

"Therefore, the human world and the Youming Jie, which should have been completely separated, have had many passages opened by her, and the boundless Blood Sea was also stirred up by her."

"Any living being who unfortunately falls into the Youming Jie will be eroded by the aura of the Youming Jie; those with insufficient strength will gradually die and become true creatures of the Youming Jie."

Seeing Chen Mo's confusion, the palace maid in black gauze slowly explained, her tone still filled with disdain and anger toward that Lord of the Blood Sea.

Chen Mo nodded slightly, wanting to ask more about the Youming Jie, and whether there were any beings of the Heavenly Human Realm within the Youming Jie.

The expression of the palace maid in black gauze, however, changed abruptly, her gaze becoming serious as she stared fixedly at Chen Mo, "Niangniang has sent word; she wants to see you."

It was clear that she had not foreseen this situation either, her expression full of surprise, yet she still very loyally carried out the order of that Fengdu Niangniang.

Chen Mo was not very surprised by this situation; if Fengdu Niangniang, or rather the Lord of the Blood Sea, could control this place, then they would certainly be able to sense his arrival.

As for whether doing so would be dangerous, Chen Mo was actually not very worried.

Because according to his deductions, there was absolutely no one in the Youming Jie whose cultivation exceeded the Innate Martial Artist level.

The reason was simple: if they truly had Heavenly Human cultivation, they should be thinking of exhausting every means to push open the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate.

Chen Mo could even be certain that if that Lord of the Blood Sea had the Heavenly Human Realm and could push open the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate.

Then she could simply go and push open the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate; why would she need to desperately expand the Youming Jie to resist the Mirage Sea?

Even if she could not leave the Youming Jie at will, as long as she revealed the strength of the Heavenly Human Realm, countless experts would naturally help her solve this problem.

For this, even if it meant sacrificing many people, there would be those who would let her reach the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate and push it open.

Since the Lord of the Blood Sea knew that expanding the Ruins Realm of the Youming Jie could resist the Mirage Sea, it was impossible for her not to know about the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate.

And the reason she ignored this problem must be that she understood she could never possess Heavenly Human strength.

Since that was the case, there was no need for him to worry about many things.

With Chen Mo's current strength, as long as he did not face an expert of the Heavenly Human Realm, he could always run away if he could not win against other Martial Artists.

Moreover, he had originally intended to conduct a transaction with the Lord of the Blood Sea; since a transaction could be discussed, the Lord of the Blood Sea would not be all that dangerous.

It was just that he had not expected there to be this lineage of Fengdu Niangniang here as well.

But since it was a transaction, as long as it could be done, he could conduct it with anyone.

Besides, having two factions was actually a good thing for him; at the very least, he had more choices.

"Very well, may I ask where that Niangniang is?" Chen Mo's expression was calm, his tone without any fluctuation.

"Please follow me." The palace maid in black gauze spoke, turned, and flew away rapidly, with Chen Mo following closely behind.

Her strength was not particularly high, and the speed she burst forth with at this moment was only slightly faster than Wei Xia's.

The three of them flew rapidly away from the city, and about one hundred li to the east of the city, a traveling palace appeared abruptly.

Chen Mo could be certain that no palace had existed here before; it seemed that this Fengdu Niangniang also possessed extremely strong control over the Youming Jie.

Her strength might not reach that of a Heavenly Human Realm expert, but within the Youming Jie, they could be called invincible to a certain degree.

It was not necessarily that one could not defeat them, only that it would be very troublesome to take action against them.

"Niangniang." The palace maid in black gauze bowed and saluted.

A person walked out of the traveling palace, with a petite and exquisite figure, and a face as beautiful and bright as a lotus flower rising from the water; she could be called an extremely beautiful woman.

She wore a bright red dress, her expression was half-smiling, and her eyes were very deep and hollow, as if she had experienced a very long time.

"Fengdu Niangniang." Chen Mo cupped his hands in a salute and said.

"You practice the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body! And you have already condensed the Heaven and Earth Furnace, stepping into the Shencang Realm." Her eyes were bright, and she spoke with confidence, identifying the cultivation technique Chen Mo practiced in a single sentence.

Chen Mo nodded slightly, not denying this.

The fact that he practiced the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body was something any Innate Martial Artist could see.

Because he was constantly inhaling and exhaling Heaven and Earth Power into his body, at a speed far faster than ordinary Innate Martial Artists.

And he had no requirements for the Heaven and Earth Mechanism contained within the Heaven and Earth Power, inhaling and exhaling it in a nearly brutal manner, turning it all into his own use.

Any Innate Martial Artist who had seen the technique of the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body could see that this was the method of the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

Chen Mo had no intention of concealing this; cultivation techniques only had differences in level and strength, and there were no flaws; so-called flaws were merely a result of insufficient practice.

"I have a matter I wish to discuss with you; the reward is generous, and I can give it to you first."

Fengdu Niangniang's tone was steady; she did not say anything meaningless, but went straight to the point.

She understood that empty talk of righteousness could only fool the naive, and could never fool an Imperial Court official like Chen Mo; if one wanted to ask them to do things, it was best to clarify the rewards and benefits.

"What does Niangniang wish to ask me to do, and what specific reward can you offer?"

Hearing this, Chen Mo immediately became interested.

"Come inside to discuss in detail." Fengdu Niangniang's tone still did not have the slightest fluctuation, and after speaking, she turned and walked into the traveling palace.

Chen Mo was not afraid, and followed closely behind her.

The temporary palace was decorated very simply and plainly; there were not even tables or chairs, and within the vast, empty palace, only a few Putan were placed at random.

"I wish to ask for your help to kill the Master of the Blood Sea, to stop her from expanding the entire Youming Jie and turning the human world into a Ghost Domain," Fengdu Niangniang turned around and said, looking at Chen Mo.

"Ah!" He was stunned at first, then immediately shook his head slightly to decline, "The Master of the Blood Sea is powerful and can control the boundless Blood Sea; I am afraid I cannot kill her."

Chen Mo did not necessarily feel he was no match for the Master of the Blood Sea, but the problem was that the opponent could control the boundless Blood Sea; even if he could defeat her, wanting to kill her would likely be very difficult.

"No, you can. This Youming is a fragment of the ancient Youming Jie, which I incorporated into this world to evolve into the Youming Jie of this world.

But it is a broken Youming Jie after all, and to avoid the erosion of the Mirage Sea, I have used many methods on this Youming Jie, which is why it has been able to survive.

Therefore, the strength of the experts in this Youming Jie is strictly limited and will never exceed the top experts of the human world; it is precisely because of this that I have been able to survive the rising tides of the Mirage Sea time and time again."

Fengdu Niangniang spoke, carefully explaining his doubts to Chen Mo.

Because the Mirage Sea has rising tides, possessing too much power is not necessarily a good thing; the stronger one's power, the clearer one's perception of the Mirage Sea, and naturally, the more dangerous it is.

Therefore, to avoid such a Catastrophe, she must cut herself off and strictly limit her own strength.

For this reason, she even wrote the restrictions on her own strength directly into the rules of Youming, fearing that one day she might recover too much power.

"You cultivate the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body; in terms of strength, as long as you open three Shencang, you will be enough to rival top Xiantian Martial Artists.

I have a secret medicine that can help you open one more Shencang, and by then you will have sufficient strength to deal with the Master of the Blood Sea."

Fengdu Niangniang's tone was confident, as if she were quite familiar with the cultivation technique of the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body.

Chen Mo, however, showed a look of confusion and asked with a bow, "May I ask, Senior, why you say that opening three Shencang is enough to rival top Xiantian Martial Artists?

The technique I possess is incomplete; it only records up to the Shencang Realm, saying that one must keep opening Shencang, a total of nine great Shencang."

Chen Mo's tone was earnest, his face full of a desire for knowledge.

He knew clearly that the technique he was cultivating was incomplete and its lineage had been broken who knows how many times, so it was normal to have questions.

And this Fengdu Niangniang before him, judging by her tone, must have been one of the few top experts in the world back in the day.

Moreover, she had arrived in this world an unknown number of years ago, and could be called an old monster who had lived for an unknown amount of time.

The things she knew and the information she understood must far exceed his own imagination.

Fengdu Niangniang immediately tossed out a Jade Slip and said, "This is the cultivation method for the first four levels of the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body; you can take a look."

Chen Mo reached out and took it; he could guess the thoughts of this Fengdu Niangniang.

This Jade Slip could be said to be a bait she threw out first; if he wanted to obtain the full technique, he would have to help her kill the Master of the Blood Sea.

Chen Mo did not resist this; there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Taking money to do a job is a matter of course.

Chen Mo took the Jade Slip, cautiously refined it with True Qi, and after confirming repeatedly that there were no problems, he sent the spiritual sense power contained within the Jade Slip into his own Shenhai.

The first two levels of the entire technique were not much different from the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body he was cultivating, only with some extra cultivation annotations.

But when it reached the third level, everything was suddenly very different.

At this level of the realm, a Martial Artist only needs to open three Shencang, taking the meaning of Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Once the three Shencang are opened, they can resonate within the Martial Artist's body, allowing the Martial Artist to further draw the Heaven and Earth Power into their body, and the Martial Artist's physical body can then step into the Creation Realm.

The so-called Creation Realm is to seize the creation of Heaven and Earth and contain it within oneself.

At this realm, the Martial Artist begins to fully open their own Shencang until the potential of the physical body is exhausted.

And after the Creation Realm, there is still subsequent technique, but it is not recorded in the Jade Slip.

That is to say, if he opens one more Shencang, his strength can rival top Xiantian Martial Artists.

At that time, the three Shencang will resonate with Heaven and Earth, drawing the creation of Heaven and Earth into the body, and he will be able to step into the Creation Realm.

Once he reaches this realm, he will be able to push open the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate.

"If you are willing to help me kill that Master of the Blood Sea, the subsequent technique can also count as part of the reward."

Fengdu Niangniang rarely revealed a smile and spoke slowly.

"This junior has one more thing I do not understand; since you were able to bring the fragment of the ancient Youming Jie to this world and turn it into the Youming Jie of this world.

Your strength and means must be stronger than mine; even if restricted by Heaven and Earth, I would think killing the Master of the Blood Sea should not be difficult. Why do you not do it yourself instead of letting this junior take action?"

Chen Mo asked in a deep voice; he was not surprised that Fengdu Niangniang restricted her own strength, because he also understood the danger of the Mirage Sea.

It was just that he knew that even if such an expert strictly restricted her own strength, the means she could use would definitely exceed his imagination.

And if even she could not kill the Master of the Blood Sea, then even if his own strength reached Xiantian Yuansheng, he was afraid he would not be able to do it either.

"I can certainly kill the Master of the Blood Sea, but I cannot kill her completely. She holds a trace of the Divine Authority of the Blood Sea; even if I kill her, she will emerge from the Blood Sea again.

But you cultivate the Xuanhuang Indestructible Body and possess the Heaven and Earth Furnace, which can swallow and contain all things in Heaven and Earth; you can suppress her within the Heaven and Earth Furnace and wear away all her cultivation and strength.

I no longer have a physical body and cannot cultivate this body-refining technique, which is why I am asking for your help."

Fengdu Niangniang did not hide this and explained the specific situation.

If she had a physical body, the Master of the Blood Sea would not have lived until now.

"Then may I ask, Senior, do you know where this Mirage Sea actually comes from?"

Having finally met a former top expert, Chen Mo would certainly not let this opportunity pass and wanted to learn as much information from her as possible.

"I do not know, or rather, the current me does not know." Fengdu Niangniang shook her head slowly, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes.

"I brought the Youming fragment here to avoid the catastrophe back then, and I have now survived eight rising tides of the Mirage Sea.

To survive these eight tides, I discard the vast majority of my memories each time, keeping only the necessary information.

Too much about the Mirage Sea has been cut away by me; only in this way can I avoid being dragged into the Mirage Sea when the tide covers the entire world."

Her tone was cautious and also revealed a bit of indescribable fear.

To survive these few Catastrophes, she had discarded too many memories, so if one were to judge her age by her memories, she was at most a thousand years old, mainly from this era.

Although this time was also very long, compared to the original her, it was far too short.

"However, I can tell you one thing: knowledge of the Mirage Sea is also the Mirage Sea's pollution of us; the more one understands it, the stronger the call one will receive from it."

On this point, she was quite certain.

"This is a Seven-Heart Lotus of the Blood Sea; it can help you open another divine treasury. If you are willing to help me slay the Master of the Blood Sea, I can grant you one."

"Furthermore, although the food of the Blood Sea can help you replenish your Qi and Blood, do not consume too much of it. After all, you are still a living person, not a creature of the Blood Sea."

Fengdu Niangniang took out a lotus flower the size of a palm; ripples of blood-colored precious light circulated, and an extremely alluring fragrance emanated from it.

As for the point that one cannot consume too much food from the Blood Sea, Chen Mo had actually anticipated this long ago.

It was just that he could also sense that he was not currently suffering any ill effects, and before reaching a certain threshold, he could safely consume the food here.

Even if he could not eat too much, at the very least, he now had one more way to replenish his Qi and Blood in the future.

"Niangniang, the human world turning into a Ghost Domain can effectively resist the erosion of the Mirage Sea; this should be a good thing, right?"

"As far as I know, if no one in our world pushes open the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate, then in another hundred years or so, it will be submerged by the Mirage Sea once again."

Chen Mo asked his final question.

Fengdu Niangniang first sighed softly, then explained, "What you say is not wrong; although the Youming Jie and the human world exist in the same world, their Heavenly Laws are completely different."

"If the Heavenly Laws of the Youming Jie are used to resist the erosion of the Mirage Sea, then at the very least, the lifespan of this world can be extended by another hundred years or more."

"But doing so is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst; the Mirage Sea will eventually submerge the Youming Jie as well. When the next era arrives, this world will no longer have a Youming Jie, and by then, great chaos will inevitably ensue."

As the Master of the Netherworld, it was obviously impossible for Fengdu Niangniang to watch such a situation occur, so she had to find a way to deal with the Master of the Blood Sea.

Even if she could not slay her quickly, she absolutely could not let the Youming Jie continue to expand.

"Very well, then this junior is willing to lend you a hand, Senior, to slay the Master of the Blood Sea."

With his last question answered, Chen Mo pondered carefully and finally decided to agree to the matter.

The reason was very simple: she was offering far too much!

Of course, besides that, Chen Mo also intended to maintain the balance of heaven and earth; otherwise, if he really let the Youming Jie expand, the problems it would cause would be too great.

Moreover, with his current strength, pushing open the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate was only a matter of time; he had no need for the methods of the Master of the Blood Sea.

"Good." Hearing this, Fengdu Niangniang could not help but reveal a smile, then her expression turned serious again, and she exhorted him very solemnly.

"When you make your move against the Master of the Blood Sea, remember to be careful. I once tried to persuade her to stop, but she would not listen at all. I suspect that she has very likely fallen into Qi Deviation and acts in an extremely extreme manner."

As she spoke, she handed the lotus flower in her hand to Chen Mo, letting him use it to break through his own strength.

I drank a few cups of wine today and am not in good condition, so there will only be one update. Apologies.

(End of this chapter)