klisemfg Chapter 212 Nighttime Island Exploration
Chapter 212 Nighttime Island Exploration
Chapter 212 Nighttime Investigation of the Island
Liu Jun got up, straightened his robes, and then went to open the door.
The shopkeeper outside the door, holding a tray, looked at the person who opened the door with a smile: "Fellow immortal, here is your lunch."
Liu Jun glanced at the food on the tray in his hand, then took it from him without hesitation: "Thank you for your trouble."
"Oh, it's alright. Fellow immortal, you eat first. I'll go and serve the others."
The shopkeeper smiled politely but made no attempt to linger.
After a moment of silence, Liu Jun spoke softly just as the shopkeeper was about to leave:
"I remember there were several waiters in the shop, so why did the shop owner need to come and do these things himself?"
The shopkeeper paused, then turned around and looked back, his expression completely natural and unchanged.
"Oh ho, there are waiters in the shop. It's almost noon, and there's a lot going on. The waiters are too busy, so I'm helping them out. It's always been like this. After all, it's my own shop, and I can't neglect my customers."
Liu Jun's eyes revealed understanding, mixed with a faint smile: "I see. Then the shopkeeper should hurry up and get busy."
It's ridiculous. Although this inn is large, there are only twelve people here today, not counting those who are out. There are five waiters in the inn, and in the backyard, which should be the kitchen, there are two men and two women, who are probably in charge of cooking and other chores.
There was nothing wrong with this arrangement, but even if all thirteen people in the building, including her, needed to eat, it wouldn't be so busy that the restaurant would have to step in. Moreover, only three of the twelve guests were eating, and the others were not making any noise.
Don't ask her how she knew; she knew perfectly well the moment she stepped through the door of the inn.
Even if the shop owner prefers to have food delivered by himself, why did he say earlier that the shop was busy?
Was this lie, which was so obvious that it was easy to spot, something he didn't need to say in the first place, or did he say it on purpose?
Liu Jun always trusted his intuition.
At first glance, the island seemed perfectly fine, but ever since she set foot there, she had been constantly plagued by an inexplicable feeling.
Everything here is normal, and the people here are normal too, but why does Liu Jun feel that it's not like the towns on land or the village on the shore?
This small island, and the people on it, are more like... a place that is both open and feels invisibly closed off.
Nothing was stopping people from coming or leaving, yet Liu Jun felt as if she couldn't leave this place.
There was nothing wrong with the food, and it was all cooked from pure spiritual ingredients without any impurities. Liu Jun ate it all up and then went to sit down and meditate.
As night fell, most of the islanders had already gone to bed, except for Liu Jun, who was wandering around the island. No, to be precise, it wasn't just Liu Jun who was out there, but she just didn't let anyone see her.
It is indeed not a very large island for cultivators. If a mortal were to travel to every corner of the island, it would take two hours.
There were no wild animals to be seen in those deserted areas, but the chirping of insects never stopped, making the place seem unusually quiet and desolate.
And the high and deep night sky was so clear that the moonlight shining on the ground made it possible to see things clearly underfoot, and even the shadowy places didn't seem so dark.
"Brother Liao, why do you have to come to this godforsaken place so late at night?"
"What do you know! I got reliable information from an old Taoist priest that the clam spirits in the bay near Percy Island produce pink pearls the size of a fist."
"That thing isn't anything rare, why would we want it?"
"You're so stupid! Pink pearls are useless to us, but there's a kind of clam spirit that can produce black blood pearls. Do you think they'd be useful?"
"Ink Crimson Blood Beads!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down, you're trying to attract everyone's attention!"
The man called Brother Liao immediately slapped his accomplice, lowering his voice even further.
"You got lucky following me, didn't you? You got a good deal, kid."
"But, Brother Liao, if that old Taoist priest had information about the Ink Pill Blood Pearl, why didn't he come himself instead of selling the information to you?"
The person on the other end seemed to be silent for a while before continuing, "You're stupid, that old Taoist doesn't look like he has the ability. I don't know where he got his information from. I paid a lot of money to buy the information from him. If he dares to lie to me, that old man doesn't want to live anymore!"
The Ink Crimson Blood Pearl appears to be a black pearl, but it is actually black with a red tinge, hence its name. It is formed by the essence of a clam and is extremely rare, appearing only once every thousand years.
The items sold at auction houses are all priced exorbitantly, and the pills made from them can even help cultivators forcibly break through bottlenecks and advance to the next realm, which is truly heaven-defying. Of course, the higher the realm, the smaller the bonus.
If a Nascent Soul cultivator obtains it, they can break through to the Divine Transformation realm. However, if a Divine Transformation cultivator obtains it, they can only advance one level. Its effect on higher realms will become less and less significant. But for those with lower realms and strength, its allure is indeed great enough to make the risk worthwhile.
Why would news of the Ink Cinnabar Blood Pearl spread from this place?
The clam spirits that can give birth to the Ink Crimson Blood Pearl must be Shadow Clam spirits that are over six or seven hundred years old, and they mostly live in the deep sea. More importantly, Shadow Clam spirits are at odds with shepherds.
The shepherds never took sides definitively; the only thing people knew was that they genuinely disliked the Shadow Clam Spirits.
Although the Shadow Clam Spirits are also a type of sea monster, and they are not some ancient race, they can still go against the shepherds.
Many of the formed spirits and monsters have long lifespans. The Shadow Clan still has elders who live for tens of thousands of years. However, the secret behind the two clans' continuous rivalry has never been known to outsiders.
This alone proves that there is absolutely no way that the Inkstone Blood Bead could appear here. The two of them have probably been fooled by the old Taoist they were talking about.
"But Brother Liao, shouldn't we look for clam spirits in the Wuze Sea? There are plenty of clam spirits there."
Wuzehai is located south of Fuchuan and is also the territory of the Hidden Shadow Clam Spirit. He knows this much better than that Brother Liao.
"What do you know? That old Taoist said that the clam spirits of Peixi Island can also produce Ink Blood Pearls. Everyone in Wuze Sea knows that."
"With our abilities, we might not even make it back alive, let alone find the pearls. Nobody knows about this place. We were the first to arrive, so we're guaranteed to make a fortune!"
"That makes sense, Brother Liao is truly wise!"
"That is!"
But if he is truly wise, why is there an increasing sense of unfamiliarity around him?
"Brother! What happened?"
Liao Zhi swallowed hard and looked around warily: "No, it's okay, don't panic! They're probably not coming for us."
Liu Mazi, who was standing next to him, pointed ahead and said, "Brother, there, over there!"
Following the direction Liu Mazi pointed, they saw a group of people dressed in black carrying torches, marching in an orderly fashion in one direction.
Despite being a cultivator, he walked at night like an ordinary person, even wearing simple black clothes. Anyone with a bit of eyesight could see him clearly.
Even Liao Zhi and Liu Mazi, who were whispering to each other just now, were wearing Buddhist robes and would try to cover themselves up, but the pedestrians were doing it openly.
"Brother, should we follow them and see what happens?"
Liao Zhi slapped Liu Mazi again: "What are you looking at? We're here to make money, not to investigate secrets! Let's go to the bay."
"Hey hey."
Liao Zhi and Liu Mazi left, but Liu Jun, who had stayed behind to listen to the secret, appeared and followed the group of people carrying torches.
It was easy to sneak in; in the blink of an eye, he knocked out the person at the back of the group and took his place.
This is not some small patrol team on an island, and although they are cultivators, their strength is weak.
Moreover, judging from their expressions, they all looked exactly like a "corpse-driving team," all like wooden figures with no emotions, only knowing to walk in one place. It would be strange if there were ghosts involved.
But they walk around so openly, and the islanders are used to it. But what about the outsiders? Don't they notice?
Apart from those two people, did no one else show any curiosity?
The island was quiet at night, no, it was deathly still, as if no one had ever lived there, a stark contrast to the daytime scene, except for those two people from earlier.
Liu Jun followed the group for nearly half an hour without stopping, but at their pace they should have already crossed from one end of the island to the other, yet they had not left the forest.
However, the surrounding scenery did not seem to be spinning in place, and there were no traces of magic arrays.
Liu Jun followed the group without making a sound for a while until the people in front of him finally stopped. Liu Jun peeked out cautiously and was shocked by what he saw, his pupils shrinking sharply.
The misty forest in the night is never a real tree, but a strange tree with one human face after another piled up, and even the branches and trunks are made of human hands, feet and bodies fused together and extending outwards.
There were also many corpses hanging from the branches of large trees, all wrapped in blood-red silk, resembling ripe fruits hanging on the branches, swaying in the night breeze.