Chapter 720: Inverted

"Those fence-sitters have always been the type to watch which way the wind blows. With the Cycle Realm being so active in the past millennium, what's so strange about it? But the foundation of our cooperation was always the failure of these negotiations, so none of this matters." The black-robed man snorted coldly.

"Even so, if we could win in the negotiations without using those contingency plans, we could then use our momentum to pressure them and gradually wear down the Cycle Realm. Wouldn't that be better?" The white-robed elder spoke.

"Wanting to expend no effort at all, just watching us in the Grey Realm fight among ourselves to help you consume the Cycle Realm's power—aren't the Heavenly Court's calculations a bit too clever? Feng Qingshui, Yin offers a word of advice: the Heavenly Court had best not entertain such thoughts of watching from the sidelines while others fight." The black-robed man glanced at the white-robed elder and sneered.

Upon hearing this, the white-robed elder's temples bulged with veins.

Since becoming a Dao Ancestor, how many years had it been since anyone dared to call him by his given name to his face?

But after a moment, he calmed his mind and spoke calmly:

"Yin Chengquan, the Heavenly Court will not shirk its share of effort. As for you, this time it's on your Nine Nether Clan's turf. Don't cause any trouble."

"That's not for you to worry about. Even if your methods fail, I still have contingency plans." Yin Chengquan twisted his neck and said.

"Very well. Let's hope our cooperation is pleasant." Feng Qingshui said flatly.

"I must say something upfront. Aside from what's in the agreement, don't do anything superfluous, or don't blame me for being rude." Yin Chengquan changed the subject and said gravely.

Feng Qingshui just snorted coldly and said nothing more.

…

The Taming District was the area within Shura City where commerce and trade were concentrated, and also where cultivators from various clans in the Nine Nether Domain gathered most densely. People of all shapes and sizes from different races appeared there, so Han Li and his two companions walking among them were not too conspicuous.

Within the Taming District, there were many well-known commercial streets and markets, the most famous being the oddly named "Inverted Street," which housed a large number of Grey Realm cultivators.

Passing through numerous streets and alleys, Han Li and the others finally arrived at a vast, wide square.

The surrounding people of various strange races were several times more numerous than those seen on the road earlier. Many of them wore a wide black wooden box hanging in front of them, containing all sorts of trinkets, weaving through the crowd like itinerant merchants, trying to peddle their wares.

"Honored guests, would you like a top-grade Wusha snuff bottle? No? Then how about some Ji-sha inkstone? It's a must-have for setting up formations and casting spells…" At that moment, a short, dark-skinned Grey Realm alien with a few tufts of green hair on his head approached and enthusiastically promoted his goods.

Han Li frowned slightly and ignored him. Mo Guang kept his eyes fixed on a huge black ancient tree in the distance, not noticing at all. Only Shi Chuankong, with great interest, began rummaging through the black wooden box in front of the alien.

"Little brother, your eye for goods isn't good… These things might be good enough for lowly beings like the Cida Clan, but do we look like people who would use such things?" Shi Chuankong tossed a small, delicate black snuff bottle back into the wooden box and curled his lips.

"Hehe, sir, that's not quite right. Although my little wares aren't high-grade treasures, everyone can use them, everyone uses them well, and they're good quality and cheap." The green-haired alien said with an ingratiating smile.

"That's true. How much are these Ji-sha inkstones?" Shi Chuankong asked casually.

As he spoke, he kept walking, and the green-haired alien followed closely, walking backward beside him.

"For setting up formations, you need at least seven pieces. The price is not expensive, just three grey crystals. If you buy a large set of twenty-one, it's only eight grey crystals." The green-haired alien, seeing a potential sale, quickly said.

"Eight… that's a fair price. What if I buy forty-nine pieces? Any discount?" Shi Chuankong nodded and asked.

Hearing this, the green-haired alien's light grey eyes lit up, but then he said somewhat apologetically:

"Sir, this… I don't have that much stock here. I only have thirty-five pieces. I'll charge you just twelve grey crystals. What do you think…"

"Not enough stock? Then forget it." Shi Chuankong waved his hand immediately.

"Sir, please don't… How about you see if there's anything else here that catches your eye? I'll sell it to you at half price, or even throw it in for free." The green-haired alien, seeing this big deal slipping away, panicked and quickly said.

Shi Chuankong frowned, looking somewhat disdainful as he rummaged through the wooden box for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"There's nothing else worth looking at. Do you have a map of Shura City? Give me one, a detailed one."

"Sir, don't say such things carelessly. These Nine Nether clans are narrow-minded; they never allow private sales of Shura City maps, nor will they sell maps to outsiders. It's lucky you met me. If you'd met someone else, and they reported your intention to buy a map to the Nine Nether Clan, it would be trouble." The green-haired alien was startled, looked around, tugged at Shi Chuankong's sleeve, and whispered.

Han Li, who seemed not to be speaking, had been listening to their conversation all along, and now his brow furrowed.

Shi Chuankong paused slightly, then said: "Is that so? Thanks for the warning…"

"Sir, you're too kind…" The green-haired alien, flattered, said.

"How about this: I'll take all thirty-five Ji-sha inkstones. You don't have to reduce the price, just throw in this black walnut, and I'll give you fifteen grey crystals as compensation for your kind reminder." Shi Chuankong smiled.

The green-haired alien looked at the 'black walnut' Shi Chuankong pointed at, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes, and continued in a low voice:

"This is just an unformed Ju-sha stone, not worth much… Well, since you like it, I'll throw it in. It's rare to meet such a straightforward benefactor. Since you need a map, let me offer another piece of advice: never go to the big shops run by the major clans in the Nine Nether Domain, and don't look for us itinerant merchants either. The former won't sell, and the latter… heh, you won't get the real thing."

"Haha, many thanks!" Shi Chuankong laughed heartily.

With that, he took out grey crystals and handed them to the green-haired alien, while putting away the Ji-sha inkstones and the black, charred walnut-like object.

After the itinerant merchant left with repeated thanks, Han Li transmitted his voice: "Brother Shi, what bargain did you pick up this time?"

"That fellow had poor eyesight. He mistook the inner core of a Sha-gu Great Demon for a Ju-sha stone." Shi Chuankong spat and replied with a smile.

"Sha-gu Great Demon?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"That's a term from the Immortal Realm, probably not entirely accurate. In any case, it's a very valuable thing in our Demon Realm. I saw one once before in a trading company. This one seems to have been scorched by some strange fire, making the pure Sha energy extremely restrained, easy to overlook." Shi Chuankong said with some pride.

"Oh, so this is the 'inversion' of Inverted Street…" Mo Guang suddenly exclaimed.

Attracted by his words, Han Li and the other looked straight ahead and saw the huge black tree standing in the center of the square, its branches extending hundreds of times, upon which were built houses and structures of various shapes, like fruits hanging from the treetops.

Because the tree branches were twisted and tilted, the buildings constructed on them were also topsy-turvy and oddly shaped.

When Han Li and the others reached the base of the giant tree, they saw a huge doorway in the trunk, with a large horizontal plaque above it inscribed with the words "Inverted Street."

As the three stepped into the doorway, they saw spiral staircases leading upward in front and on both sides, with doorways opening at intervals leading to the shops built on the branches.

Many people were going up and down the spiral staircases, and quite a few figures flew directly to their desired levels with practiced ease. The scene was somewhat chaotic but efficient.

Going up the left spiral staircase, Han Li and the others exited through the first level's doorway and soon arrived before a rather imposing black hall.

Before entering, Han Li saw that inside the hall, from the shopkeeper to the clerks, all looked like hanged ghosts—either Nine Nether clansmen or Nether slaves. He immediately stopped and turned toward another branch.

After checking more than a dozen major branches below, they found that the shops built on them were either owned by the Nine Nether Clan or by a few major clans within the Nine Nether Domain, with few shops of other tribes.

Finally, Han Li and the others stopped searching level by level and instead flew directly to the topmost level.

The topmost branches were already very thin, insufficient to support buildings, so the shops there were mostly small, hanging like bells from the branches.

Han Li and the others arrived above a shop called "Shangliang Study" and flew down into it.

Inside, they saw only one shopkeeper, tall and thin, with dark grey skin like charcoal, drowsily sitting in front of a row of shelves, holding a small, delicate Wusha snuff bottle.

Seeing Han Li and the others enter, the shopkeeper immediately took a deep sniff from the snuff bottle, perked up a bit, and greeted: "Honored guests have arrived. What would you like to see? Our Shangliang Study may be small, but we have ample stock, good quality and cheap, and the key is that we can negotiate."

His words were fluent enough, but his tone carried a lazy air.

"Shopkeeper, you're from the Wusang Clan, right? How did you open a shop here in Shura City?" Shi Chuankong said with a familiar smile.

Han Li had seen information about the Wusang Clan in the books he collected, knowing they belonged to the Wutan Domain under the Heisheng Domain, not a clan within the Nine Nether Domain. So their presence here was indeed somewhat rare.