Zhang Yunsha suggested.
After all, ordinary people are simply no match for Lin Chang’sheng.
"Alright, go inform Tributor Luo, and make sure he brings Yunchu back safely!"
Guo Tiangang ordered.
"Yes!"
The Zhang Yunhe brothers immediately retreated.
...
Celestial Nether Sword Sect.
Amid a vast, endless mountain range, a towering peak pierced the ground like a sword, grand and imposing.
Atop the mountain, there stood a jet-black great hall, as dark as ink.
At the far end of the hall, a short man paced back and forth.
Whoosh—
In the next instant, a figure streaked through the air and landed inside the hall, immediately dropping to his knees.
"Sect Leader, r-reporting: Lin, Lin Chang’sheng is fine—he’s still alive!"
The kneeling man spoke anxiously, panic-stricken inside, fearing Celestial Nether Daoist would kill him on a whim for delivering bad news.
This Celestial Nether Daoist was notoriously fickle.
"What? Lin Chang’sheng is actually alive? Where is he?"
Celestial Nether Daoist was stunned.
He’d assumed Lin Chang’sheng was dead—never imagined he’d survived!
Why is this kid so damn hard to kill?
Not even the Qiankun Array inside the Heaven-Reaching Immortal Treasure could finish him off?
"I found out from some probing in Celestial Orchid Sect: after destroying Celestial Orchid Sect, Lin Chang’sheng headed toward the Demon Sea!"
The kneeling man quickly replied.
"Demon Sea?"
Celestial Nether Daoist muttered, then smirked coldly. "There’s a broad road to Heaven and he won’t take it, yet runs straight into Hell with eyes wide open. If he sets foot in the Demon Sea, I’ll make sure he dies with no remains left!"
Celestial Nether Daoist now hated Lin Chang’sheng’s guts.
Lin Chang’sheng had slaughtered several Elders of the Celestial Nether Sword Sect and caused their overall strength to plummet.
If not for having him—a powerhouse at the Immortal Realm—the whole sect probably wouldn’t even rank in the top ten of the Immortal Domain anymore.
"Does the Sect Leader mean the one we have infiltrated in Immortal Corpse Sect—"
"Watch your tongue!"
The disciple barely finished his words before Celestial Nether Daoist waved his hand, blasting him apart with a streak of immortal power, his body exploding into a bloody mist.
"Hmph. Lin Chang’sheng, you’ve offended Heaven-Suppressing Sect and Immortal Martial Hall. I’d really like to see how you die! Even if you escape their manhunt, the moment you enter the Demon Sea, you’re dead meat."
Celestial Nether Daoist gave a cold snort, then a streak of black light shot from his brow and vanished into the horizon.
...
Ten days later.
While the major sects were making their moves, Lin Chang’sheng had already arrived at the city nearest to the Demon Sea.
The place was called Wanghai City.
Because from atop the city wall, you could see the distant sea.
This city had once flourished, most of its residents fishermen.
But now it was nearly abandoned.
Because sea demons had plagued the place for years, most citizens had already moved, and those who stayed behind were mostly cultivators.
And these were all cultivators of considerable strength.
"There are even cultivators entrenched here?"
Lin Chang’sheng noticed that, despite being abandoned for ages, people still slipped in and out of the city from time to time.
Which meant there had to be inns or at least places to stay.
Lin Chang’sheng planned to ask about the Demon Sea here and make some preparations.
Otherwise, charging blind into the sea would make it hard to come out alive.
After putting the Lightning Thunderclap Eagle into his storage bag, the three of them landed within the city.
To avoid trouble, Lin Chang’sheng had Guo Yunchu disguise herself to keep from drawing attention.
After all, Guo Yunchu’s figure was, well—let’s just say, leaving her out in the wilderness was absolutely asking for trouble.
Soon enough, Lin Chang’sheng found a rather shabby inn and pushed open the door to walk in.
Guo Yunchu, trailing behind, seemed a little out of place with the other two.
Inside the inn, he saw there weren’t many people—a few scattered here and there.
And instead of tables, there were small fire pits.
But these weren’t your ordinary wood-burning pits—they were fueled by Flame Star Stones.
Flame Star Stones could burn for ten years straight, and made top-notch fuel for Alchemy or heating.
But tonight, they weren’t being used for heat or Alchemy, but for roasting meat.
Most of the people gathered around the Flame Star Stones were grilling huge skewers of meat in their hands.
Fat sizzled and dripped with a ’chzz chzz’ sound.
The meat was clearly from demon beasts of the sea; eating it would strengthen a cultivator’s body and primordial power.
"You three here to drink or eat seafood?"
As soon as Lin Chang’sheng and his group entered, a burly man with a rough face came up to greet them.
"We’re here for some information!"
Lin Chang’sheng pulled out two Immortal Crystals and set them on the counter.
Upon seeing this, the burly man sneered, "Two Immortal Crystals for information? Isn’t that a bit cheap? You three look like you came a long way, so let me put it straight: a bowl of wine here is twenty Immortal Crystals, a meat skewer is fifty Immortal Crystals! For information—it’s a hundred!"
Nothing here was cheap; supply and demand, you know.
Wanghai City was the only stop within hundreds of miles.
"You’re really gouging us, huh?"
Gu Shan said, annoyed.
These loose cultivators were merely at Integration Stage, and they dare act this arrogant?
"Prices are marked. No tricks. If you can afford it, come in. If not, get lost!"
The burly man didn’t give Gu Shan, a Tribulation Crossing cultivator, any face—as if he had strong backing here.
"You sure?"
Gu Shan’s expression darkened, fists almost ready.
But Lin Chang’sheng stopped him.
"Alright, so you’re saying you know all the local news?"
Lin Chang’sheng wasn’t angry—spending money for news was the norm.
As long as the info was legit, he could deal with it.
"Anything about this area of the Demon Sea—there’s nothing I don’t know. Folks call me the Demon Sea Know-it-all!"
The burly man beckoned, motioning Lin Chang’sheng to hand over the crystals.
Lin Chang’sheng didn’t dally and handed over a hundred Immortal Crystals.
"Right now, what are the odds of crossing the Demon Sea?"
Lin Chang’sheng asked.
The question made the burly man size him up and down.
"With your cultivation? Ten percent—no, not even that!"
The burly man said bluntly.
"Why?"
Lin Chang’sheng pressed—he was at Middle Stage Mahayana and only had a ten percent chance?
Is crossing the Demon Sea really that hard?
But the burly man didn’t answer right away; he just waved for more Immortal Crystals.
Lin Chang’sheng handed over another hundred, and the other man went on:
"Because the Sea Demon Beast Tide is coming—even a Tribulation Crossing cultivator wouldn’t make it right now!"
The burly man didn’t mince words.
This time every year, the Sea Demon Beast Tide arrives.
Even they’d all be leaving the city soon, hiding underground.
So he figured Lin Chang’sheng trying to cross the Demon Sea now was pretty much suicide.
"Is there any other way to reach the other side?"
Lin Chang’sheng pressed on, this time handing over a hundred more Immortal Crystals without being asked.
"Not from me!"
Once he took the crystals, the burly man replied without hesitation. "But if you’re really desperate to get across, I can introduce you to someone who might help."
"That would be helpful."
Lin Chang’sheng decided to put some trust in him, though he knew the guy probably had an angle.
But who knows—maybe there really was another way.
Lin Chang’sheng couldn’t stay here forever, after all.
If he stuck around, the major sects would track him down, and a battle would be inevitable.
While the Immortal Martial Hall and Heaven-Suppressing Sect might not send top Immortal Realm powerhouses, late Tribulation Crossing experts would definitely show up.
With his current strength, Lin Chang’sheng could face off against an early Tribulation Crossing, sure.
But he stood no chance against a late Tribulation Crossing stage—the gap was just too big, so dodging was best for now.
"You’re buying that? He’s obviously just trying to scam your Immortal Crystals!"
As Lin Chang’sheng was about to go with the burly guy, Guo Yunchu complained unhappily.
That got a lot of people at the tables paying attention.
Because in a land as dangerous as this, women were a rare sight.
Judging by Guo Yunchu’s voice, she sounded quite young—that was even more interesting.
"Little girl, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just talk nonsense. How could an Integration Stage swindle you Mahayana and Tribulation Crossing folks? If you don’t believe me, feel free to leave—I’m not forcing you."
The burly man spoke impatiently. The place might be rough, but the business was legit. Well, unless you headed underground—that was a different story.