Chapter 720: Inverted

"Those fence-sitters are constantly swaying from one side to another, and the Reincarnation Region has been very active over the past thousand years, so this is no surprise. Having said that, the foundation of our collaboration hinges on the failure of this negotiation, so none of this really matters," the black-robed man harrumphed coldly.

"That may be true, but wouldn't it be better if we could secure victory by unveiling our trump cards? After that, we'll be able to exert pressure and slowly chip away at the Reincarnation Region," the white-robed elderly man said.

"You want to sow internal conflict within our Gray Realm so that we can whittle away at the Reincarnation Region without any effort on your part? Isn't your Heavenly Court being a little too greedy? Feng Qingshui, I suggest you stop trying to play these tricks because you're not fooling anyone," the black-robed man said with a cold sneer.

Veins immediately began to bulge on the white-robed elderly man's forehead upon hearing this.

Ever since he became a Dao Ancestor, he couldn't recall the last time someone had dared to refer to him directly by name to his face.

However, his anger was only a flash in the pan, and it quickly subsided as he replied, "Yin Chengquan, our Heavenly Court will be sure to do our part, but this is your Infernal Tribe's territory, so you better make sure that nothing goes wrong on your end."

"You don't have to worry about that. Even if the measures that you've prepared fail, I still have backup measures that I can employ," Yin Chengquan replied.

"Good. In that case, our collaboration should be a smooth and mutually beneficial one," Feng Qingshui replied.

"Let me make this clear in advance: your Heavenly Court better not do anything extra outside the terms of our agreement. Otherwise, there will be consequences to bear," Yin Chengquan said as a cold tone crept into his voice.

Feng Qingshui merely harrumphed coldly in response.

......

The Tarmin Area was the area in Asura City filled with the most shops and merchants, and it was also the most densely populated area in the city. Cultivators from all tribes in the Infernal Region converged there, so Han Li's trio didn't look too out of place.

There were many renowned merchant streets and markets in the Tarmin Area, and the most renowned one of all of them was the inverted street.

After passing through a multitude of streets, Han Li's trio finally arrived at a massive plaza.

There were several times more beings from different tribes than they had seen on the way here, and many of them had a black wooden crate hanging in front of them, within which were placed all types of different wares that they were trying to sell.

Right at this moment, a short Gray Realm being with dark green skin and a shock of green hair on his head approached Han Li's trio, then began enthusiastically advertising his wares.

"Can I interest you in a premium Baleful Snout Smoke Kettle? No? Then how about a few Baleful Inskstones? They're an absolute must setting up arrays."

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he paid no heed to the salesman, while Mo Guang was staring at a giant black tree in the distance, and Shi Chuankong was the only one who was actually browsing through the wares in the black wooden crate with keen interest.

Shi Chuankong casually tossed an intricate little kettle back into the wooden crate, then remarked, "It doesn't look like you have anything good to sell. You could probably sell these things to some low-tier beings, but do we look like the type who would be interested in things like this?"

"I beg to differ. These little trinkets of mine aren't exactly high-grade tresures, but they're very versatile and useful for a wide variety of purposes," the green-haired being replied with a sheepish smile.

"I suppose you're not wrong there. How much for these Baleful Inkstones?" Shi Chuankong asked.

He continued to walk forward as he spoke, and the green-haired being was backpedaling in order to keep up with him.

"At the very least, seven of them will be required to set up an array, and I'll only charge three gray crystals. If you take a large set of twenty-one, then that'll only be eight gray crystals," the green-haired being hurriedly replied.

"Eight for twenty-one is a fair price. How about if I buy forty-nine? How much of a discount can you give me then?" Shi Chuankong asked.

The green-haired being's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing this, following which he replied in a slightly embarrassed manner, "I'm afraid I don't have that much stock left. I only have thirty-five left on hand, and I can sell them to you for twelve gray crystals. Is that alright?"

"You don't have enough stock? Forget about it then," Shi Chuankong replied with a dismissive wave.

"Don't pass me up so quickly, esteemed customer. Is there anything else I have here that catches your eye? Perhaps I can throw in something else to sweeten the deal," the green-haired being hurriedly said, frantically trying to retain Shi Chuankong's interest.

Shi Chuankong examined the wares in the crate momentarily with a disdainful expression, then said, "Nothing else here catches my eye. Do you have a map of Asura City? I want as detailed a map as possible."

The green-haired being was horrified by this request, and he hurriedly looked around momentarily, then gently tugged on Shi Chuankong's sleeve as he said in a quiet voice, "Please be careful with what you say here, esteemed customer. The Infernal Tribe is very stingy and never allows private sales of maps of Asura City, nor do they ever sell their maps to outside tribes.

“It's a good thing that you're talking to me. If you asked to buy a map from someone else, they could easily report the matter to the Infernal Tribe, and you'll be in a lot of trouble."

Han Li had been eavesdropping on their conversation this entire time, and his brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

"Is that so? Thank you for informing me of that," Shi Chuankong mused.

"You're very much welcome, esteemed customer," the green-haired being hurriedly replied.

"Alright, how about this? I'll take all thirty-five of your Baleful Inkstones, and there's no need to give me any discount. Throw in that black walnut, and I'll give you fifteen gray crystals as thanks for your cautionary words," Shi Chuankong said with a smile.

The green-haired being took a glance at the black walnut that Shi Chuankong was referring to, and a hint of elation flashed through his eyes as he said, "This is a Baleful Gathering Stone that's yet to reach full maturity, and it's not all that valuable. If you like it, then you can have it. It's not every day that I meet someone as generous as yourself, so I'd like to offer you another piece of advice.

“If you're looking for a map, don't go to the shops run by the major tribes of the Infernal Region, and don't go to walking salesmen like myself, either. The former wouldn't sell any maps to you, and the latter wouldn't have any, so they'd only be able to sell counterfeits."

"Alright, thanks again then," Shi Chuankong said with a smile, then handed over the gray crystals in exchange for the Baleful Inkstones and the Baleful Gathering Stone.

After the walking salesman departed, Han Li asked through voice transmission, "What bargain have you picked up this time, Fellow Daoist Shi?"

"That idiot mistook the core of a Baleful Bone Demon as a Baleful Gathering Stone!" Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

"What's a Baleful Bone Demon?" Han Li asked.

"That's what those things are called in the Immortal Realm, and their cores are very valuable in our Devil Realm. This one seems to have been scorched by some type of fire, causing the baleful qi inside to become extremely subdued, and that's probably why it was mistaken for something else," Shi Chuankong explained with a smug expression.

Right at this moment, Mo Guang suddenly exclaimed, "So this is why it's called the inverted street..."

Han Li and Shi Chuankong cast their eyes forward upon hearing this, and they were greeted by the sight of hundreds of branches extending out of the giant black tree at the center of the plaza, with different types of buildings constructed on those branches like hanging fruits.

Due to the irregular shapes of the branches, the buildings constructed upon them were also built in different forms and on different angles.

Han Li's trio arrived at the foot of the giant tree, where they saw a massive entrance on its trunk, above which was hanging a huge plaque that read "Inverted Street".

After stepping in through the entrance, they were greeted by the sight of two spiral staircases that led up the trunk of the tree, one on each side. At set intervals up the staircase, there were openings that led to the shops on the branches.

There were currently many people walking up and down the staircases, as well as many people who were more familiar with the layout of the inverted street and were flying straight to the levels that they wanted to visit. The situation was a little chaotic, but it was quite efficient.

Han Li's trio made their way up the staircase on the left, then emerged from the first opening to arrive in front of a majestic black hall.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Even before entering the hall, Han Li could see that all of the shopkeepers and employees were either Infernal beings or Infernal Servants, and he immediately stopped in his tracks before making his way toward another branch.

After exploring around a dozen main branches, they discovered that all of the shops were either run by Infernal beings or by several of the Infernal Region's other major tribes, with very few exceptions.

In the end, instead of continuing their search level by level, they decided to fly straight to the top.

Up here, the branches were already extremely thin, so most of the shops were very small and hanging from the branches like bells.

Han Li's trio arrived at one of the shops before flying into it, and inside was a tall and thin shopkeeper with ashy gray skin.

He was sitting in front of a row of shelves in a drowsy fashion, and there was an ornate Baleful Snout Smoke Kettle in his hand.

Upon spotting Han Li's trio, the shopkeeper immediately inhaled some of the smoke coming out of the snout of the kettle to reinvigorate himself, then greeted, "Welcome! What can I help you with today? Here at my shop, you'll find great quality products for cheapt prices, and most importantly, all prices are negotiable."

This was clearly a very well-rehearsed spiel, but he spoke with a sense of laziness in hsi voice.

"You're from the Dark Mulberry Tribe, right? Why have you opened your shop in Asura City?" Shi Chuankong asked with a smile.

Through the scriptures that he had collected, Han Li knew that the Dark Mulberry Tribe was one of the tribes under the Black Rope Region, as opposed to the Infernal Region, so this was indeed quite a rare sight.