The upper district.
Qin Sang left one merchant guild and headed toward the next.
He was in no hurry to meet Master Feng. This round of inquiries was primarily to understand the state of affairs in the Three Realms of the North Sea.
These merchant guilds were well-informed, and Qin Sang now had a general impression of the three realms.
"Sun, Moon, and Star..."
The nautical chart shown to him by the merchants flashed through Qin Sang's mind.
The three territories controlled by the human race were known as the Sun, Moon, and Star.
Among them, "Moon" and "Sun" referred to two of the Three Realms of the North Sea: the Crescent Moon Realm, where Qin Sang currently was, and the Hidden Sun Realm.
"Star" referred to a sea area called the Star Sand Archipelago.
As the name implied, this sea was dotted with countless islands, dense as starry grains of sand. Though its expanse was vast, it was not counted among the Three Realms of the North Sea.
The third realm was the Demon Realm, colloquially known as the demon island.
The Hidden Sun Realm, Crescent Moon Realm, and Demon Realm formed the Three Realms of the North Sea, separated from one another by tens of thousands of li.
The three realms roughly occupied the eastern, western, and northern regions of the North Sea.
The Hidden Sun Realm lay in the east, and the Crescent Moon Realm lay in the west.
Crescent Moon Island was long and slender in shape. Its northern crescent tip was not far from the storm belt, while its southern tip stretched all the way to the southern North Sea.
The Hidden Sun Realm had the smallest surface area among the three realms. It was said to be a circular landmass, remarkably regular in shape.
Rumor had it that the weather there was exceptionally frigid, with snow falling year-round—hence the name Hidden Sun.
The demon island lay between the Hidden Sun Realm and the Crescent Moon Realm, but not directly in the middle—rather, tilted toward the north.
Between them stretched a vast, boundless expanse of sea, bearing a brutally simple name: the Boundless Sea.
It was not entirely devoid of islands and landmasses, but none could compare to the three realms. Moreover, bordering all three realms, its situation was chaotic in the extreme.
Many devilish figures and bloodthirsty demon kings prowled there. Dragons mingled with snakes in a lawless expanse where slaughter was ceaseless.
The Liefeng Archipelago in the Canglang Ocean was a similar place, but it paled in comparison to the Boundless Sea.
Qin Sang did not know whether the merchant guilds were exaggerating.
Rumor had it that even Nascent Soul cultivators had to tread with caution when entering the Boundless Sea, and more than a few Nascent Soul experts had disappeared while attempting to traverse it. Thus, even though the Crescent Moon Realm and the Hidden Sun Realm were both under human control, cultivators here knew very little about the Hidden Sun Realm.
The only widely acknowledged fact was that the Hidden Sun Realm was not fractured into rival warlords like the Crescent Moon Realm, loose as a tray of sand.
The entire Hidden Sun Realm was governed by a supreme powerhouse known as the Xuantian Palace.
According to the locals' descriptions, the Xuantian Palace was likely not a loose alliance like the Beichen Alliance, but an actual sect—and its palace master was a great cultivator!
One could only imagine what a colossal behemoth the Xuantian Palace must be!
The Demon Realm was naturally the territory of the demon race.
Between the humans and the demons in the North Sea, just like between the humans and the Witch Clan in the Canglang Ocean, lay a deep feud steeped in blood.
In the Canglang Ocean, the demons of the Demon Sea provided a distraction to shift conflicts, and the Witch Clan had declined, hunkering down on the Witch God Continent; as a result, animosity between the two races had eased considerably.
The North Sea was different. The two races were like fire and water, with no room for reconciliation.
It was said that humans had once inhabited the Demon Realm, but were later completely slaughtered by the demons, who now reigned supreme over the realm.
Not only that.
The Star Sand Archipelago, situated northeast of the Crescent Moon Realm's crescent tip and also bordering the Demon Realm, had already been mostly swallowed by the demon race, and the demons continued to press forward step by step.
That dragon ship had sailed from the Star Sand Archipelago toward the Crescent Moon Realm.
The location where Qin Sang had exited the storm belt happened to lie between the Crescent Moon Realm and the Star Sand Archipelago. Had he traveled further east, he likely would have landed squarely within demon territory.
The merchant guilds naturally knew the most about the Crescent Moon Realm.
This was also where Qin Sang's greatest interest lay.
Since he had arrived, he might as well settle in.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would likely travel the Crescent Moon Realm for a considerable length of time.
With warlords carving up territories, the situation here was even more chaotic than in the Beichen Realm. Qin Sang had to navigate it carefully.
Master Feng was one of those overlords, renowned throughout the Crescent Moon Realm.
Mulling this over, Qin Sang crossed several streets and arrived before a tall building.
"Fengyang Tower..."
Seeing these three large characters, Qin Sang knew he had come to the right place. Pausing briefly, he stepped inside.
On the first floor, dozens of attractive female cultivators flitted about like butterflies among blossoms to receive guests, creating an eye-catching sight.
However, when Qin Sang entered, an elderly steward came forward to receive him, ushering him into a quiet room on the second floor and serving spiritual tea.
"What does Fellow Daoist Mingyue wish to purchase? I shall have it fetched at once to ensure your visit is well rewarded," the elderly steward said with a smile, personally pouring tea for Qin Sang.
He, too, was a Core Formation cultivator. His demeanor was neither servile nor haughty, treating Qin Sang as an equal.
However, the confidence on the elderly steward's face quickly froze.
The several spiritual materials Qin Sang named were all exceedingly rare; the Fengyang Market City could not provide a single one of them.
Doubt crept into the elderly steward's eyes, suspecting that Qin Sang was deliberately making fun of him. A Core Formation cultivator should have had no business coveting such items.
*This place is hardly any better than the Beichen Realm or the Canglang Ocean!*
With a slight test, Qin Sang had taken the measure of the place.
Indeed, all these regions were cages of a sort; none was particularly rich in resources.
He only wondered if the North Sea's cultivation world possessed unique heritages like that of the Witch Clan that could broaden his horizons.
Paying no mind to what the elderly steward might think, Qin Sang gently turned the teacup with his fingers, pondered briefly, and spoke: "Does your guild have any secret manuals related to insect control for sale?"
"Insect control?"
The elderly steward was taken aback, slightly surprised.
Insect control was a branch of beast taming, and the most obscure one at that. Even among sects famous for beast taming, very few practiced it.
"Manuals on insect control or secret techniques for nurturing spirit insects—either will do."
Qin Sang paused, then added, "If you have top-tier sword arts, bring those along as well. The price is open to discussion."
A top-tier sword art could serve as a cross-reference for the *Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter*.
However, Qin Sang did not harbor much hope.
Seeing Qin Sang's bold tone, the elderly steward's suspicions lessened slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I do not know what kind of sword art counts as top-tier in your eyes, but the guild indeed holds a few in its collection. I will have them brought over for Fellow Daoist to peruse. As for insect-control manuals, Fellow Daoist Mingyue has come to the right place. Our guild happens to possess one, and it comes with quite a pedigree!"
Qin Sang's interest was piqued at once. "I would be glad to hear of it!"
Caressing his long beard with a confident look, the elderly steward said, "This insect-control manual is named the *Insect and Flower Classic*, and it is confirmed to have originated from the Hundred Flowers Valley. Since Fellow Daoist is a master of this craft, you cannot be unaware of the Hundred Flowers Valley's renown, surely? In the art of insect control, if the Hundred Flowers Valley ranked second, no one would dare claim first!"
Qin Sang truly knew nothing of this Hundred Flowers Valley, so he kept his composure, nodded repeatedly, and urged the steward to go fetch it.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn.
The elderly steward returned in person with several manuals.
Qin Sang needed only to glance at their first layers to discern the quality of those sword arts. Tossing them aside without interest, he paid only for the *Insect and Flower Classic*.
Finally, he picked up the jade slip containing the *Insect and Flower Classic*.
It was indeed a secret technique for cultivating spirit insects, possessing some unique merits.
Unfortunately, it was an incomplete text. What it recorded were mostly ordinary spirit insects, with virtually none at the rare-insect grade, and no mention whatsoever of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, the fat silkworm, or the Fire Jade Centipede.
Chapter 1377