As the headquarters of the East Sea Cultivator Alliance and the greatest force among the human race in the East Sea, Penglai Island was truly extraordinary in grandeur. An endless stream of whales docked at the shore, opening their mouths as crowds of cultivators jostled and stepped out of their maws.
Among the island's residents, mortals still made up the majority, but cultivators were by no means scarce. Cultivators in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages could be seen everywhere. Compared to this place, Fangshan Island was like night and day.
The island master of Penglai Island was a veteran of the Tribulation Transcendence stage. By Great Xia's classification, Penglai Island ranked as a super-rank power—of which there were only nine in all of Great Xia.
Furthermore, Penglai Island gathered the vast majority of East Sea cultivators and possessed deep foundations, making it significantly stronger than Great Xia's super-rank sects.
Hero Yan arrived at the alliance headquarters—a nine-story pagoda. Simple and ancient, weather-beaten and tempered by countless passing ages, each tier was carved with talismans, formations, or patterns embodying profound truths of the Great Dao, reflecting the mysteries of heaven and earth's laws. Standing before the pagoda, a person felt as insignificant as an ant.
"Daoist Masters, I will head into the alliance to register first. Once business is concluded, how about I take you all on a tour of Penglai Island?" Hero Yan said, cupping his fists. Non-alliance members were not permitted inside the pagoda.
"No trouble at all. Go ahead and take care of your business first, Hero Yan," Lu Yang replied with a chuckle. They were in no rush.
A Soul Formation cultivator carried a decent amount of weight in the alliance. Hero Yan entered the nine-story pagoda and explained his situation. Before long, a Soul Formation cultivator came out to welcome him. Hearing that Hero Yan had overcome his lightning tribulation entirely through his own efforts, the cultivator's tone gained several degrees of respect.
"Come on, Hero Yan has things to take care of, so let's look around on our own first," Lu Yang called out to the others. Lacking a local guide wouldn't make much difference.
"Take a look! A freshly caught nine-star thunder eel!" someone hawked, holding up a sleek, pitch-black eel. Over a meter long, it had four spots on each side and one right in the center of its head—a remarkably rare nine-star thunder eel.
"Old uncle, how much for this nine-star thunder eel?"
The old man chuckled and casually tossed out two words: "Not selling."
The customer snapped in irritation, "If you're not selling, what are you shouting for?!"
"If I don't shout, how would you know I caught a nine-star thunder eel?"
"Ancient pills fresh from a secret realm! One hundred thousand spirit stones a bottle!" In front of another vendor sat several small medicine bottles, their surfaces still coated with soil.
This was a common convention in the cultivation world: selling pills excavated from secret realms without unsealing them, gambling on whether the contents were good or bad. It was also a test of one's discernment.
"They have ancient pills here," Tao Yaoye murmured in surprise.
The Feathering Immortal Grass scoffed in disdain. "Ancient pills, my foot. Only the mud is ancient."
As a Little Medicine King that had lived from ancient times to the present day, it had consumed countless varieties of soil over its lifetime. It didn't even need to taste the mud to know what era it was from; one glance was enough.
"Skewers! Freshly grilled mutton skewers! Eat one to prolong your life, eat two to break through your realm, eat three for immortality!"
Hearing the familiar hawking cry, Lu Yang instinctively turned his head, only to discover a Come Again Barbecue right beside the street.
"They've opened a barbecue shop even here?" Meng Jingzhou was astonished. The Nine Nether Cult was truly desperate to make money, expanding their overseas business all the way to Penglai Island.
Lu Yang shook his head with a grave expression. "Our barbecue doesn't taste like this, and the flame they're using isn't True Fire. This is a knockoff."
Besides that, Lu Yang noticed trademark-less flying cars, unauthorized Dream Bubbles... every last one a pirated copy.
Great Xia strictly regulated copyright, but the East Sea was nothing like that. Here, the rule was that as long as it turned a profit, murder and arson were routine—let alone intellectual property protection.
Chapter 810