Chapter 23: The Underground Trading Center

The Leiyang Flower proved truly effective. As soon as Guan Tian finished swallowing it, she began to show signs of recovery. Mao Xuanzi stepped forward and had her ingest the Tears of the Elves, whereupon Guan Tian slowly opened her eyes.

"It's you!" Guan Tian glanced at Fang Zhe, Mao Xuanzi, and Feng Shang, and expressed her gratitude, "Thank you for saving me!"

Fang Zhe asked, "How did you get these injuries, and what about the others in your Daughter Kingdom?"

Guan Tian slowly struggled to her feet, sat on the ground, and replied, "Not long after you left, the Venerable Matriarch of the First Generation also departed from the Daughter Kingdom. The Matriarch of the Ninth Generation temporarily assumed the role of Queen to manage state affairs. Originally, the Daughter Kingdom was very peaceful, but we never expected the Star of Calamity to reappear!" Guan Tian reminisced slowly. The appearance of the Star of Calamity aroused everyone's highest vigilance, but even with the Ninth Generation Matriarch and the others attacking together, they were no match for the Star of Calamity. Just like that, the people of the Daughter Kingdom were utterly defeated, with many dead and others fleeing. In the end, only the Ninth Generation Matriarch, the Four Great Guardians, the Seven Great Heaven-Shaking Flowers, and the Ten Great Overlord Flowers remained to continue the duel against the Star of Calamity.

With a single strike, the Star of Calamity destroyed the entire Daughter Kingdom. Ominous baleful energy surged from beneath the city, and after absorbing this energy, the Star of Calamity grew even stronger. It was right at that moment that Guan Tian lost contact with them, and later, when she regained consciousness, she happened to run into Fang Zhe and the others.

"I wonder how they are doing now?" Being a woman, once she recalled the matters of the Daughter Kingdom, tears welled up and fell uncontrollably.

Feng Shang was the one who loved making women happy the most. At this moment, he stepped forward and said, "Guan Tian, don't worry. One day, your Daughter Kingdom will be rebuilt. Didn't your Venerable Matriarch of the First Generation say that we would encounter the one in white? Why don't you come along with us!"

Guan Tian glanced at Feng Shang. She had nowhere else to go right now, so she had to agree, "Then I must ask you to take good care of me during this time!"

It was naturally a good thing for Guan Tian to join them. After all, their current team consisted entirely of men, so having a woman around was not a bad thing. Little Han Tianyue hugged his clothes and stepped forward, saying, "Although that Star of Calamity was defeated, he is not yet dead. He will surely return. We had better leave first!"

Guan Tian looked at the young child before her and asked in astonishment, "Who is this?"

"I am Han Tianyue!" Han Tianyue told her about defeating the Star of Calamity and explained the reason why he had shrunk. Although the matter sounded bizarre, Guan Tian still expressed her sincere gratitude, "Thank you for helping our Daughter Kingdom drive away the Star of Calamity!"

She then looked at the oversized clothes Han Tianyue was hugging, stepped forward, and said, "You are a child now. How about I help you alter your clothes so you can wear them properly?"

Han Tianyue nodded.

Guan Tian stepped forward and took the garments.

Han Tianyue stood nearby stark naked and feeling somewhat embarrassed, using both hands to cover his private parts.

Feng Shang could no longer hold back his laughter, earning a fierce glare from Han Tianyue.

Mao Xuanzi stepped forward, picked up Han Tianyue, and wrapped the oversized clothes around his body.

"Thank you!" Han Tianyue expressed his heartfelt gratitude.

Mao Xuanzi said earnestly, "As long as you treat my sister well, I will naturally help you through to the end!"

Han Tianyue nodded. Toward Prince Mao, Han Tianyue held absolute sincerity.

A woman is a woman; in no time at all, she altered Han Tianyue's clothes to fit a child. Once Han Tianyue put on the resized garments, he looked precisely like a miniature version of himself.

Although Guan Tian had been revived by the Leiyang Flower and the Tears of the Elves, she was still very weak at the moment. After altering Han Tianyue's clothes, she was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

"It's not very safe here. We should leave as soon as possible!" Once dressed, although many people dared not rashly break into the Purple Bamboo Forest because of the Spirit-Devouring Beast, it wouldn't be long before many others bypassed the forest to investigate the Daughter Kingdom. Han Tianyue did not want them to attract too much attention and cause unnecessary trouble later on. Moreover, apart from Feng Shang, everyone else was nursing injuries. If they encountered a powerful opponent, they would have no choice but to surrender. Considering all this, Han Tianyue stepped forward and spoke.

Fang Zhe walked up to the Spirit-Devouring Beast and inspected it. The beast let out a long howl and climbed to its feet. Although injured by the shockwaves, it still retained its mobility.

Lei Cong also checked the Thunder-Winged Dragon. Though injured as well, compared to the Spirit-Devouring Beast, its wounds were light, and continuing the journey posed no problem.

As for Guan Tian, since her body remained extremely weak, Feng Shang naturally carried the group's only female member on his back.

At this point, Han Tianyue had transformed into a six- or seven-year-old child, making movement somewhat inconvenient. Though injured himself, Mao Xuanzi still picked up the little boy who was his future brother-in-law, and the group headed eastward together.

Just as Han Tianyue and the others were leaving the ruins of the Daughter Kingdom, Han Tianyue abruptly noticed several figures appearing where they had just been. Those figures gazed toward their direction, whispered among themselves, and then vanished back into the Purple Bamboo Forest.

"I couldn't clearly make out their appearance, and presumably, they don't know who we are either. That's for the best. If the other party found out our identities, the road ahead would become difficult. Judging by their behavior, they must be wary of the Spirit-Devouring Beast. The beast is far too massive and conspicuous; we must find some container to store the Spirit-Devouring Beast, the Thunder-Winged Dragon, and the Swift Tiger, releasing them only when needed." Since there were quite a few squads like theirs along the way, conflicts and plundering were frequent occurrences. If they caught the eye of some powerful faction, not only would they lose these spirit beasts, but they might also invite fatal disaster.

Not only Han Tianyue, but Fang Zhe also shared this intention, saying, "Traveling like this is too conspicuous. After all, we've been out for less than a year, we don't understand the outside world, and our enemies are unknown. We need to find something to house the Spirit-Devouring Beast, the Thunder-Winged Dragon, and the Swift Tiger!"

Lei Cong remarked, "I do know of some items used for storing spirit beasts. They are called Universe Bags, which can not only hold spirit beasts but also store various items and treasures. There is another kind called Sound-Universe Bags; these bags are much larger than Universe Bags and can even be used by several people simultaneously."

"There are such bags as well?" Feng Shang pursued the inquiry.

Lei Cong nodded and said, "Whether it's a Universe Bag or a Sound-Universe Bag, they can be repeatedly stacked to form multiple layers of storage. Many experts love to stack their Universe Bags into dozens or even hundreds of layers. The space inside such a massive bag is comparable to an independent world."

"Since these bags are so powerful, are they safe?" Feng Shang continued to ask.

Lei Cong nodded and replied, "Universe Bags are not all that safe because experts prefer to carry their Universe Bags alone. As a result, many other experts love to rob these Universe Bags, crack their seals, and loot the items inside! As for the Sound-Universe Bag, because it can be used simultaneously by several people, as long as the bag of one person is plundered, the others can still open it from however far away or whatever space they are in and retrieve everything inside. Even if an expert robs a Sound-Universe Bag and breaks the seal, the contents inside would have long since been retrieved by someone else!"

"Since Sound-Universe Bags are so great, why do so many people still use Universe Bags?" Feng Shang asked in great astonishment upon hearing this.

Lei Cong smiled.

Fang Zhe took over the conversation, "For experts, their enemies come from all directions, and a person's magical treasures and items will never be shared with anyone else. This is because they all fear being plotted against by their closest companions, leading to assassination by their enemies."

"Things are not absolute either. Some couples who practice dual cultivation will use Sound-Universe Bags!" Lei Cong continued, "Regardless of whether it's a Universe Bag or a Sound-Universe Bag, not only can their spaces be stacked, but one can also establish a world within them, appointing oneself as the supreme god and dividing realms and paths. However, very few people nowadays build worlds within bag spaces anymore."

"Why?" Feng Shang asked, listening very intently.

Lei Cong laughed and said, "You probably don't know this, but once upon a time, many people harbored delusions of becoming gods, so they built their own worlds inside their bags. They never expected that the slaves within their internal bag worlds would grow powerful and eventually usurp their creators, becoming the masters of that world while killing the original owner!"

"That just means that person was too weak, unable to even defeat the beings he created. He deserved to die!" Feng Shang laughed without feeling any pity at all.

Hearing this, Han Tianyue, standing to the side, thought to himself, *"For a created being to rebel against its creator—just how much courage, daring, and boldness does that require? Such people possess this level of courage, daring, and boldness, so why can't we be like them?"*

Feng Shang continued to ask, "Where did you hear all this from?"

Lei Cong smiled and said, "Didn't I mention before? Our ancestors originally manufactured thunder tribulations. Whether it's the space inside a bag or the space we currently inhabit, thunder tribulations exist everywhere. Therefore, our ancestors naturally knew these things. However, down to the present day, after the Nine Heavens shattered, everything changed, and our ancestors had no choice but to give up manufacturing thunder tribulations and live in seclusion in Fire Thunder Mountain City."

Han Tianyue did not find it strange that Lei Cong knew these things, but what made him even more curious was what else Lei Cong might know!

Lei Cong continued, "If I'm not mistaken, further ahead there should be a trading center, but it's rather dangerous there!"

"Why?" This time, Han Tianyue asked.

Lei Cong explained, "Once we go further ahead, we should be leaving the mortal realm and entering the territory of the ancient human tribes. These ancient human tribes fell from the shattered Nine Heavens, and between the ancient human tribes and the mortal realm lies an underground trading center where many powerful figures from the firmament descend to trade!"

"Then you mean we can buy bags over there?" Han Tianyue already understood Lei Cong's intention and continued to ask.

Since Lei Cong was a newcomer, they didn't want to steal everyone else's thunder. After prompting Han Tianyue to voice these words, Lei Cong feigned ignorance and said, "I only know that such a place exists; as for whether they actually have these bags, I have no idea!"

Although Han Tianyue was a cautious person by nature, he never concealed anything from his companions. Understanding Lei Cong's intentions, Han Tianyue did not care for this sort of behavior, but Lei Cong had indeed provided them with extremely useful information, so Han Tianyue chose to pretend he knew nothing.

Feng Shang continued chatting idly with Lei Cong while carrying Guan Tian on his back.

Han Tianyue jumped down from Mao Xuanzi's arms. Although following along was a bit strenuous, walking on his own felt much more comfortable.

As for Fang Zhe and Mao Xuanzi, they remained as taciturn as ever, following behind Han Tianyue.

Unawares, they arrived at the outskirts of the underground trading center. To avoid attracting attention, Fang Zhe, Lei Cong, and Feng Shang each placed their respective spirit beasts among a patch of trees and said, "We are going into the underground trading center to buy supplies; you all stay right here and wait for us to return!"

Upon hearing this, the Swift Tiger nodded vigorously because it could finally avoid looking at Feng Shang, that great demon king. After Han Tianyue and the others walked away, the Swift Tiger smiled inwardly, *"If I don't run now, when will I?!"*

Before the Swift Tiger could even turn around, a massive paw landed heavily on its back. It turned out that the Spirit-Devouring Beast had sensed the Swift Tiger's thoughts and, in a rage, pinned it down, thinking, *"If you dare run, watch me snap your bones!"*

The Swift Tiger looked at the Spirit-Devouring Beast with an innocent expression and said, "I just wanted to take a pee!"

Only then did the Spirit-Devouring Beast loosen its paw.

With the Spirit-Devouring Beast present, the Swift Tiger didn't dare harbor any more wild fantasies. Mournfully, it muttered, *"Why is my life as a Swift Tiger so bitter? It seems this wonderful and brilliant life of mine is about to be buried in the hands of this freak."* The moment it recalled Feng Shang calling it a "little kitty," the Swift Tiger felt like dying. *"No, I have to run!"*

The Swift Tiger wanted to run again. The Spirit-Devouring Beast lowered its head to glance at it, and the Swift Tiger instantly collapsed flat onto the ground in dejection. One could only say: like master, like beast.

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