The five donned black cloaks, and Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Tao Yaoye, and Man Gu altered their appearances before finally feeling safe enough to set foot on the island.
Li Haoran had no need to change his looks. The other four had frequently traveled on missions and were widely known, which carried the risk of being recognized. Li Haoran, however, had barely ever stepped outside the Dao Seeking Sect, so no one knew who he was.
"We hail from a prestigious orthodox sect. Even if we don't flaunt our background when traveling, surely we don't need to be this sneaky and secretive?" Meng Jingzhou grumbled helplessly.
Only after landing on the island did Meng Jingzhou realize that their attire was standard among East Sea cultivators—most were clad in black robes.
According to Old Ba, every cultivator in the East Sea had dirty laundry or a shady past, which was why they were always so careful and cautious. If their deeds were judged under the laws of Great Xia, they would be facing at least three years in prison to start with.
"If anyone came to the East Sea to sell clothes, they'd go completely bankrupt," Meng Jingzhou remarked with a click of his tongue, keenly shooting down a potential business venture.
Lu Yang shot Meng Jingzhou a sidelong glance. "East Sea cultivators aren't perverts like you imagine. They're wearing a black robe over their clothes, not flashers wearing nothing underneath."
"Looks like this place is a cultivator market. Though the cultivation bases of these cultivators..."
Lu Yang swept his divine sense across the area. Across this massive island, in a cultivator market that covered more than half the land, amidst the bustling crowd of cultivators, there was not a single person in the Foundation Establishment stage.
The ones with the highest cultivation were merely two in the late Qi Refinement stage.
Oh, wait—more accurately, they should be called ninth-layer Qi Refinement Great Perfection.
"What's wrong with having low cultivation? We're here to ask for a map, not to pick a fight."
"Excuse me, fellow Daoist, do you happen to have an East Sea map?" Meng Jingzhou casually grabbed a passerby who was hurrying past, acting like an old acquaintance.
The passerby had not expected Meng Jingzhou to suddenly grab him and hastily shook off his hand. "If you want to buy a map, go to the Treasure Pavilion! Why bother me?!"
With that, the passerby quickened his pace and scurried away from Meng Jingzhou.
"I only asked for directions. Why so paranoid?" Meng Jingzhou muttered.
Li Haoran had some experience in this regard. "In the East Sea, maps are vital strategic goods. Not just anyone will share them with you. We might as well head to the Treasure Pavilion he mentioned."
"Sounds good."
The Treasure Pavilion was the largest shop in Douyun Island's cultivator market. One of the two ninth-layer Qi Refinement Great Perfection experts Lu Yang had detected with his divine sense presided over it.
"What might you esteemed guests be looking to buy? Truth be told, our Treasure Pavilion has everything you could wish for—dharma treasures, talismans, formation diagrams, visualization charts..." The Treasure Pavilion deacon spoke with a subtle hint of pride.
Their Pavilion Master was a major figure at half-step Foundation Establishment who wielded a damaged Foundation Establishment-grade spirit treasure. He could practically be called the foremost figure beneath the Foundation Establishment stage!
"Do you have maps?"
"Yes, of course we do."
"Give us the best map you have. Make sure it marks the safe sea regions."
"Right away." The deacon instructed a disciple to fetch a wooden box from the storehouse.
"That will be ten spirit stones, thank you for your patronage."
Meng Jingzhou casually took out ten spirit stones without batting an eye. His sheer lavishness startled the deacon.
Could this customer be a great cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement?
Meng Jingzhou opened the map, and the other four leaned in to look.
They found that while it was indeed a map, it only covered a twenty-li radius of the surrounding sea, and the hazardous locations marked on it belonged to races they had never even heard of.
Little Spirit Fish Clan: highest cultivation at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. Dangerous!
Sea Bull Clan: highest cultivation at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. Dangerous!
Ink-Black Octopus Clan: their ancestor is suspected to have broken through the Qi Refinement stage. Extremely dangerous!
Chapter 793