Chapter 114: The Heaven-Reaching Pavilion (Part I)

The Tongtian Pavilion was truly like an imperial palace, layer upon layer, filled with indescribable beauty and hidden formations, with shimmering light faintly visible everywhere.

"By the way! I heard that the Central Immortal Island is offering a bounty for the capture of vicious rogue cultivators running rampant on the sea. I have slain the thirty-eighth-ranked Island Master Wuming. This is his head; may I collect the reward?" Jiang Feng gestured for Duan Xingyun to present the head of Island Master Wuming.

"Oh!" The two guiding disciples caught sight of the head preserved within the ice. One of them gasped, "The Langya Chamber of Commerce of Nine Rocks Town is truly formidable to have beaten everyone else to this. We had heard that several inner-disciples from the Langya Chamber of Commerce of Lingbo Town were planning to hunt down Island Master Wuming themselves."

"What?" A thought struck Jiang Feng. He reached into his robes and pulled out two small vials containing six medicinal pills each. "I obtained these Life-Prolonging Golden Pellets while slaying Island Master Wuming; they are specifically for tempering the physical body. Take these, junior brothers. Each bottle contains six pills, which should enhance your cultivation."

"Many thanks, senior brother!" The two Central Immortal Island disciples looked delighted. Watching this, Duan Xingyun silently marveled at Jiang Feng’s clever tactics.

"May I ask, have the disciples from the Langya Chamber of Commerce of Lingbo Town arrived here yet?" Jiang Feng inquired. Giving away the pills was his way of fishing for information.

"Not yet. At this moment, Lei Peng, Su Bing, and Huo Liu, the three senior brothers from the Langya Chamber of Commerce of Lingbo Town, seem to be in the upper levels meeting with several elders," one disciple replied.

"How long have those three been here, and when will they be leaving?" Jiang Feng asked.

"That, we do not know; it seems they are waiting for someone," the disciple replied, pleased with the pills. "Oh, and there is one more major piece of news I should tell you, senior brother and sister: Mo Linhai, the leader of the Nine Ghosts Demon Sect, is also on the highest level of the Tongtian Pavilion right now, speaking with our Pavilion Master and the Elder Tongtian. It seems he has mastered his demonic arts and intends to sweep through the deep sea, clearing out vicious rogue cultivators along the way. If you happen to run into him, you must be extremely careful."

"Hm? Is that so?" Jiang Feng was taken aback by this news, a shock passing through his heart.

The Demon Commander Mo Linhai had also come to the sea and was right here in the Tongtian Pavilion. The three inner-disciples from the Langya Chamber of Commerce of Lingbo Town were here as well. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and a scheming look appeared on Jiang Feng’s face.

"No need for further pleasantries. I require seven jellyfish and several medicinal herbs: eight-hundred-year-old Rehmannia, Vajra Soil, Earth-Flame Gold, thousand-year-old earth turtles, thousand-year-old gold-and-silver pangolins, a Teng snake, a Taiyin Earth Dragon earthworm..." Jiang Feng recited a long list of rare spiritual herbs in one breath. "Do you have these?"

"So many rare medicinal herbs! And most of them appear to be for cultivating earth-element techniques. I presume, senior brother, that you practice the Wood-Element Nether Arts of the Nine Rocks Town Langya Chamber of Commerce..." one disciple mused. The other nudged him quickly. "Senior brother must have his reasons for needing these. It is not our place to ask. We do have these herbs in the Tongtian Pavilion, but the price is quite high. The bounty for slaying Island Master Wuming is not enough to cover their value. Do you happen to have any top-tier Nether artifacts to make up the difference? About ten pieces, such as flying swords or dharma robes, would suffice."

"I happen to have ten top-tier Nether artifact robes here. Would adding these cover the difference?"

Jiang Feng waved his hand and produced a stack of robes—all the top-tier Nether artifact garments collected by Island Master Wuming. Generally, top-tier Nether artifacts are highly sought after by sects; even a sect with hundreds of thousands of outer disciples needs them. However, top-tier black-grade Nether artifacts can only be forged by masters of the True Nether Realm, and they require rare materials.

Even for a master of the True Nether Realm, forging such items consumes immense Nether power. Since these masters must also focus on their own cultivation, they cannot afford to waste significant time and power forging these for inner or outer disciples. Ten top-tier Nether artifacts, even with the necessary rare materials, would take a True Nether Realm expert at least a year or two to craft.

How precious is a year or two of time? Unless one has reached the level of a Nether King, one's lifespan is limited. Who would willingly waste that time?

"Indeed, these are ten top-tier Nether artifact robes..." The two disciples exchanged glances, calculated briefly, and nodded. "This will suffice. Please, senior brother, wait in the inner hall while we take these robes and the head of Island Master Wuming to settle the accounts with our senior brothers, and then we shall retrieve the herbs you need."

"Thank you, junior brothers. After you bring the herbs, I would also like to ask you to arrange a private alchemy room for me. I need to fire up a furnace to refine some items. Once I am finished, there will certainly be a reward for you both," Jiang Feng said.

"That is only natural. Our Central Sea Market forbids fighting, and many rogue cultivators come here to cultivate, paying for the use of our facilities; it is the safest place possible." The two disciples were not surprised by Jiang Feng’s request.

The sea is perilous at every moment; finding a place to cultivate on the sea market established by the Central Immortal Island is the safest option because fighting is strictly prohibited. This is especially true within the Tongtian Pavilion; anyone wishing to fight or kill here would first have to answer to the Central Immortal Island, one of the Ten Orthodox Sects. Cultivating here would be exactly the same as cultivating within the Nine Rocks Town Langya Chamber of Commerce—perfectly safe.

Watching the two disciples leave with the robes and the head, Duan Xingyun looked at Jiang Feng with a sinister smile and asked, "What is your plan? With Lei Peng, Su Bing, and Huo Liu here, they will naturally find out about us soon and certainly won't let things rest. I didn't expect the Demon Commander to be here, though."

"I have my own ideas," Jiang Feng replied, his smile fading. "Once the herbs arrive, we will hide inside the King’s Cauldron and focus on cultivating our Nether Arts. You should also condense your Nether power."

After a short wait, the two disciples returned in a hurry. "Senior brother, senior sister, the room is ready, and the herbs have been delivered inside. Please, follow us."

"So fast? The efficiency of the Central Immortal Island is truly impressive," Jiang Feng praised. Among the herbs he requested were several extremely difficult to find, such as the Taiyin Earth Dragon earthworm and the thousand-year-old gold-and-silver pangolin. Searching for them in the wild, in desolate mountains or treacherous marshes, would likely have taken months. Yet here, it was accomplished in a single conversation, traded for ten top-tier Nether artifacts and one head.

"I still have thirty-six flying swords and eight top-tier Nether artifact robes. I wonder what I could trade those for?" Jiang Feng pondered. He did not need these items, but for disciples of the Nether Practitioner rank, they were treasures beyond compare. In any given sect, Nether Practitioners made up the majority of the disciples.

Jiang Feng knew that a single flying sword or dharma robe could help a disciple through the most difficult stage of physical cultivation. In the Nine Rocks Town Langya Chamber of Commerce, with its over four hundred thousand outer disciples, those who possessed such items were few and far between. Even inner disciples did not have one for everyone, and he imagined it was the same for the Central Immortal Island.

Since the Central Immortal Island had established a sea market, its resources were abundant. Jiang Feng could easily trade what he did not need for things useful to his own cultivation.

As he followed the two disciples deeper into the Tongtian Pavilion, Jiang Feng continued to calculate his next trades. Unexpectedly, the two disciples spoke up: "Senior brother, do you happen to have any more flying swords or top-tier Nether artifact robes? You were quite generous to produce ten of them earlier. If you have more, the Central Immortal Island can offer you treasures to enhance your cultivation in exchange."

"Is that so? What kind of treasures do you have?" Jiang Feng asked.

"We cannot decide on that ourselves, but Senior Brother Hai is waiting for you in the secret chamber." The two disciples navigated several corridors and led the three of them to a bronze hall. With a creak, the heavy bronze door opened. Inside stood a man standing as straight as a spear, possessing an aura of calm that commanded respect without anger, his Nether power deeply concealed. He was clearly a master of the Nether Arts Secret Realm.

"Greetings to the two senior brothers from the Nine Rocks Town Langya Chamber of Commerce. I am Hai Yue, an inner-disciple of the Central Immortal Island."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Hai," Jiang Feng nodded as they entered the hall. The door slowly closed, leaving the space in absolute silence, as if it were a separate world.

The bronze hall was about seven or eight hundred paces square and empty, with no furnishings. In the center, however, were many medicinal herbs temporarily placed in large crystal vats.

In particular, seven crystal vats, each over two meters tall, held seven jellyfish. Each creature radiated thick water vapor, and a powerful consciousness emanated from them, attempting to bewilder Jiang Feng and the others, creating hallucinations. Clearly, these seven jellyfish had "attained spiritual awareness!"

These were the seven jellyfish Duan Xingyun required. Each one was a rare, exotic species that lurked in the deep sea at a depth of a thousand feet; finding them would have wasted an untold amount of time. The other crystal vats were filled with the thousands of pounds of medicinal herbs Jiang Feng had requested.

"Senior Brother Jiang Feng, you must have gained quite a bit from slaying Island Master Wuming. Rumor has it you also had some unpleasantness with the Langya Chamber of Commerce of Lingbo Town? Their disciples are still within my Tongtian Pavilion, waiting for you. They seem to intend you harm. But please rest assured, they do not yet know you are with me," Hai Yue said with a smile.

"Senior Brother Hai is well-informed," Jiang Feng replied with a forced smile. "You mentioned wanting to make a trade. I do indeed have more top-tier Nether artifacts. What do you have that could enhance my cultivation?" He cut directly to the point, wasting no time on pleasantries.

"You practice the 'Heavenly Wood Scripture,' one of the eight great Nether Arts of the Nine Rocks Town Langya Chamber of Commerce, do you not? I have a piece of Divine Wood here that could assist your cultivation. I discovered it at sea once. Have a look and see what you think." As he spoke, Hai Yue gestured, and a piece of wood flew into his hand.