Chapter 489: Eight Branch Alliance (2/2)

“Thank you for your auspicious words, Fellow Daoist Sun. May I inquire, what sort of items are you looking to acquire?”

“Oh, nothing special. Just some odds and ends, although if there are any neo-demon hordes for sale, that would be excellent.”

Laughing and smiling, Sun Dahai continued to chat vaguely with Ou Yunzi as they walked along.

The entire time, Meng Hao remained silent, allowing Sun Dahai and Ou Yunzi to feel each other out.

When they reached the border of the allied Tribes, Ou Yunzi smiled and clasped hands and watched as Sun Dahai and Meng Hao entered the city. Afterwards, a dour look appeared on his face.

Suddenly, a man’s voice could be heard: “Brother Ou, is there something fishy about those two?”

The air rippled next to Ou Yunzi as a man and a woman appeared. Both were middle-aged. The man wore a long scholar’s robe and the woman was dressed in a Lady’s gown. [1. Specifically, she is described as wearing the kind of casual garment that royal concubines or princesses would wear. Here are some pictures]

Ou Yunzi glanced over at the two and then slowly said, “They say that they came from the North region. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary about that Cultivator named Sun. As for the black-cloaked man next to him, I couldn’t see the level of his Cultivation base. Furthermore, his aura was cold and dark.

“In order to forestall any mishaps, I suggest we allow them to be on their way of their own accord and…” Before Ou Yunzi could finish, he was interrupted rather impolitely.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” said the woman in the Lady’s gown. “He couldn’t possibly be a Spirit Severing Patriarch. Even if he’s of the late Nascent Soul stage, he’s only one person. The net has already been cast out. When it comes time to draw it in, no mishaps will occur. Fellow Daoist Ou, there’s no need to worry.”

The scholarly looking man laughed, and his eyes flickered coldly. “He’s only one trifling person. Brother Ou, there’s no need to take him to heart. We will let the net remain cast a few more days, and then, according to the agreement reached by the Elders, we will draw it in. If those two really came from the North region, along with their Tribe, then we’ll be able to catch quite a big fish!”

The man laughed, and the woman continued, “When the time comes to draw in the net, their Tribe will be revealed, and will become resources for our Eight Branch Alliance. Then, our months of rest here will not have been in vain.

“All of it will just count as bad fortune for them! They won’t be able to blame anyone but themselves!” With that, the man and woman departed.

Ou Yunzi frowned. After a long moment, he shook his head. “Maybe I really am just thinking too much into it.” With that, he turned and disappeared.

After entering the city, Meng Hao and Sun Dahai split up. Sun Dahai had practiced Cultivation for many years, and was experienced and astute. He was adept in making discreet inquiries and collecting news, so Meng Hao decided to stroll about the city alone. When he saw all the people, and the proliferation of various shops and stores, he was astonished.

This place was quite large, and although you couldn’t say that it had everything, there was quite a variety of things to purchase, from neo-demon hordes, to powerful solitary neo-demons, even a quite a bit of rather shoddy medicinal pills. There were even flying magical items.

Unfortunately, there were no prices listed, only indications that these items could be purchased through auction. Even still, Meng Hao was able to get a feel for the majesty of the city. There were many Cultivators; it seemed the city could hold nearly ten thousand people, making the place quite bustling.

As he walked, Meng Hao’s pupils suddenly constricted as he noticed what appeared at first to be a simple structure, but was actually a luxurious shop. This shop happened to specialize in totems!

Different Tribes had different totem branding methods, and this place happened to sell a variety of such methods for a variety of prices. This shop instantly caught Meng Hao’s attention.

After careful examination, he found that most were relatively cheap, and were only designed for functionality, not for providing Cultivation base breakthrough.

After looking around for a while, he felt that he understood the city a lot better. About two hours later, he had managed to stroll through about half of the city, when suddenly, he stopped in place.

He had just sensed a bit of Demonic Qi coming from a shop nearby. After looking over, he was able to identify which shop; it was a place that sold totemic Sacred Ancients!

Perhaps a better way to say it was that these were incredibly powerful neo-demons that could be turned into totems!

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered, and he was just about to enter the shop when suddenly a man appeared in front of him. He was dressed like a scholar; this was none other than the man who had been speaking with Ou Yunzi earlier.

The man laughed and blocked Meng Hao’s way.

“Fellow Daoist, the things in this shop will be up for auction in seven days. If you want them, you can purchase them at that time.”

Meng Hao looked at the man with cold, glittering eyes. Without a word, he turned and walked away.

The middle-aged scholar’s pupils constricted. When Meng Hao had looked at him, the man had used Divine Sense to try to feel Meng Hao out. However, all the Divine Sense could make out regarding the black-cloaked man was rippling nothingness. It couldn’t pierce inside, not even the slightest bit.

“That man is very strange…” said the scholar, his eyes narrowing.

Meng Hao’s expression didn’t change as he walked through the city. However, deep within his cloak, his eyes gleamed with coldness.

“This place is pretty interesting. It seems almost everything is purchasable only at the auction…. Everything seems ordinary, but if you think about it carefully….”

Sun Dahai’s name in Chinese is 孙大海 - sūn dà hǎi. Sun is a surname. Dahai means “ocean.”