Chapter 936: Land of Star Origin Pt.2

On a massive wasteland in the depths of space, a spatial tear appeared in the air, and a five colored light poured out from within. It forced the spatial tear open before turning into a five colored spatial gate.

A handsome young man emerged from the gate and when he stepped foot on the wasteland, the spatial gate behind him seemed to reach its limit as it crumbled rapidly.

A light flashed in the eyes of the young cultivator and a ray of light emerged from his dantian. It entered the fluctuating space after the spatial gate disappeared. Next, he turned to look in a certain direction and chuckled in a low voice, “Since you’ve been here for a long time already, why don’t you show yourself?”

The void hundred or so feet away from the young man started to ripple and a figure eventually emerged. A trace of fear could be seen in his eyes as he mumbled, “Senior, please forgive me. I have no intention of offending you. I was merely passing by and ran into your arrival...”

The young cultivator looked at the middle-aged cultivator who looked pretty intoxicated and fearful as a strange look flashed in his eyes. He muttered indifferently, “Merely passing by? This region of desolate wilderness is tens of miles wide. For you to appear close to where I emerged... Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence? Hmm?”

The skinny middle-aged cultivator felt a formless pressure descending on him and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. No matter what, he was a Martial Dipper Realm expert. He didn’t expect the other party to possess such terrifying strength! He quickly stuttered, “Sen... Senior, please, I truly ran into you because of a coincidence! Other than the Star Origin City that is located in the central region of the Land of Star Origin, its surroundings are exactly as what we see. It’s filled with endless wasteland and it’s where the experts of the various worlds would appear when they try to head for the Land of Star Origin. Many cultivators of the Star Origin City would head into the wilderness to offer their services to the experts of various worlds. We can earn a quick buck by doing so, and we might get to form connections with the experts of various worlds. We also hope to run into some opportunities by doing so.”

It was clear it was the young cultivator’s first time in the Land of Star Origin. He didn’t know anything, but it was possible for him to determine that the middle-aged man before him was telling the truth.

Maintaining the frosty expression on his face, the young cultivator continued, “Even if I pretend you’re telling the truth, those cultivators who head out into the wilderness to do what you said should possess low cultivation levels. It wouldn’t be too suspicious to run into Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. As a mighty Martial Dipper Realm expert, you... Huh? There seems to be a problem with your fate dippers...”

The middle-aged cultivator forced a smile. “Seems like nothing can be hidden from you... Senior, I believe you can see the condition of my body. I was schemed against during my advancement into the Martial Dipper Realm. They did something to the Origin Dipper I used and not only was I unable to fully refine it, foreign fate dipper essences also emerged to cause chaos in my body. I don’t even have a tenth of my strength left and I might not even be stronger than cultivators in the Martial Extermination Realm.”

Actually, he didn’t need to explain anything. The young cultivator had already discovered everything by inspecting his dantian with his divine will.

After heading the explanation, the young cultivator maintained his expressionless face. “One has to say that you’re still pretty damn lucky. You were able to complete your breakthrough even under such circumstances!”

“Yeah...” Even though he was feeling extreme anguish about his situation, he didn’t refute it.

The next moment, the young cultivator changed the topic. “You said that people who came to the Land of Star Origin for the first time would usually appear in the wasteland around the city. What do you mean by that?”

Slightly surprised, the middle-aged cultivator quickly replied, “Exactly! The Land of Star Origin might be considered a transit point for many worlds and wouldn’t mind revealing its position in the vast sea of stars to welcome experts of the various powers, but they still have some sort of protective measures. Anyone who comes for the first time probably hasn’t received the recognition of the Star Origin City. As such, they won’t be guided directly to the city. They can only appear in the wilderness around the city. After you enter the city for the first time and report to the Transfer Department, you will be able to send yourself directly into the city when you come in the future. You can also use the grand formations made by the Transfer Department to enter other regions or even worlds that welcome outsiders.”

“Hm...” The young cultivator seemed to fall deep into thought. “The Land of Star Origin doesn’t seem to just be a public region in space... It seems to also be some sort of transfer point!”

“Exactly, exactly!” The middle-aged cultivator replied hastily.

“You said that people like yourself would stay in the wilderness to welcome newcomers to the city in order to earn a quick buck? What do you mean by that?” The young cultivator asked again.

Lowering his body slightly, the middle-aged cultivator quickly explained, “Junior has been mingling about the Star Origin City for dozens of years and I know everything here like the back of my hand. It’s said that the Star Origin City has been under the control of the Star Origin Lord for hundreds of years, possibly longer! However, there are countless powers who established themselves in the city. On the surface, there seem to be all sorts of rules implemented in the city, but every power has their own way of doing things. Outsiders who come for the first time would usually be taken advantage of due to their lack of knowledge. Even with outstanding cultivation, one wouldn’t be able to gain an advantage with it. It’s good to have a guide who knows about the city as it can save you a lot of trouble...”

The young cultivator stared at the other party with a smile that didn’t really seem like a smile. “Oh? So... You’re telling me you can save me a lot of trouble if you guide me into the city?”

Even though the middle-aged cultivator couldn’t tell anything from the other party’s expression, he seemed to be able to hear the meaning behind his words. He lowered himself once again and muttered, “Senior, please give me a chance.”

“What do you want in exchange?” The young cultivator asked suddenly.

“Huh?” Not knowing how to respond, the middle-aged cultivator seemed a little taken aback.

The young cultivator was pretty patient and he repeated himself, “I wish to know what is usually given in exchange for services like yours in the city.”

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“Essence crystals! The Land of Star Origin uses essence crystals in exchange for all sorts of treasures and spiritual herbs!” The middle-aged cultivator responded quickly. How could he not understand what the other party was saying at that point? His tone changed suddenly and he continued, “Of course, you can trade trades with others instead of using essence crystals. After all...”

Before he could finish, the middle-aged cultivator saw the other party chucking something at him and he hastily reached out to grab it.

“Is this it?” The young cultivator asked.

Looking at the pure crystal that exuded dense energy, the middle-aged cultivator felt a lot more relieved that he wasn’t dealing with a broke bum. “Senior, this is precisely a low-grade essence crystal.”

Realizing that the young cultivator could bring out essence crystals, he was most likely not from some desolate region. In that case, their interaction in the future wouldn’t be too difficult.

The young cultivator put on an expression that showed that he was deep in contemplation. He seemed to understand the reason why essence crystals appeared back in his home world and the reason the various powers were collecting them.

Not bothering to retrieve the crystal, the young cultivator muttered, “Oh yeah, there’s no need to call me your Senior. I’m from the Shang Clan back in my world and you can just call me Young Master Shang.”

It didn’t come as a surprise that the young cultivator who appeared was Shang Xia.

He hadn’t entered the Six Direction Realm, but his powerful Five Element Origin was able to keep his aura concealed. No matter how hard the middle-aged cultivator tried, he could only feel that Shang Xia was extremely powerful. He was unable to see through the young man before him, but after thinking back to how the other party opened the spatial gate, he felt that everything was pointing to the fact that the youngster was an Ancestor in the Martial Void Realm.

After hearing what Shang Xia said, the middle-aged cultivator revealed a look of joy. Now that the other party told him his name, he was most likely going to hire his services. “Greetings, Young Master Shang. My family name is ‘Luo’, and I’m the seventh member of my family. You can call me Luo Qi.”

Shang Xia didn’t bother about the authenticity of his name and he nodded slightly. “Luo Qi, how should we make our way over to the city?”

...

With Luo Qi leading the way, they started to travel in the direction of the Star Origin City.

Shang Xia might have a way to travel at a much quicker speed, but he wanted to understand more about the situation in the city. After all, the Star Origin City was a transit hub that was connected to multiple worlds!

Not to mention the fact that Luo Qi seemed to mistake him as a Martial Void Realm Ancestor and wasn’t hiding anything from him. Shang Xia was extremely satisfied with the other party’s deferential attitude. After all, that would allow him to learn more about the Star Origin City.

Maybe because of the essence crystal Shang Xia had already given him, but it might also be because of the fear he had of the ‘Martial Void Realm’ Ancestor before him, Luo Qi seemed to want to leave a good impression. Along the way, he introduced everything he knew about the city and even spoke about the power structure in the city. Shang Xia gained a basic understanding of the situation in the Star Origin City which consisted of powers gathered from the various worlds.

Seeing a majestic city appearing in the distance, Shang Xia asked suddenly, “Luo Qi, you mentioned that the Star Origin Lord controls the city. What do you know about the Star Origin Lord?”

Luo Qi was stunned by the sudden question. After some time, he shook his head and chuckled bitterly, “Seni... Young Master, the Star Origin Lord is an existence high above me. He’s too mysterious and someone like me won’t be able to come into contact with him. I haven’t seen the Star Origin Lord, and I never heard anything about the Star Origin Lord showing up in public. It’s the same for everyone I know. All of us don’t possess the qualifications to know about Senior Star Origin Lord. All I can say is that of all the powers in the Star Origin City, none of them ever disrespected the Star Origin Lord.”

Shang Xia thought for a second and continued, “If the Star Origin Lord is as mysterious as you say, how is he able to maintain his control over the city? He can’t possibly rely on his prestige to keep everyone in check, right?”

Luo Qi replied quickly, “He has the Star Origin Guards!”

Shang Xia didn’t need to ask further as Luo Qi quickly made the introductions. “It’s said that the Star Origin Guards were made up of 7 kids who followed the Star Origin Lord in the past. Their purpose is to maintain control of the city. The 7 camps were initially led by the original members of the Star Origin Guards, but the position of commander might have changed several times. The leader of the Star Origin Guards is chosen among the 7 commanders, and that has been the way they operated since they were established.”

“How strong are the 7 commanders?” Shang Xia asked.

Shaking his head, Luo Qi sighed, “All I know is that in the past hundreds of years, no matter how much the position of the leader rotated, none of them were weaker than the Martial Void Realm. Their leader has always been the strongest among the 7...”

Shang Xia nodded inwardly. At the same time, he thought to himself,

That would mean that all 7 camps are led by Martial Void Realm experts... Their collective strength has already surpassed any Elysium even in the Spirit Abundance World. It’s no wonder they have the ability to establish themselves as the transit hub between the various worlds. It’s also not surprising that the Star Origin Lord can maintain control over the city even without showing himself for hundreds of years...