Merfolk

This alone showed the Black Mountain Society's standing in Jiangyuan City.

Song Chi naturally knew nothing of everything happening in the Jiangyuan black market at that moment.

After exhausting all the funds in his possession, he left the Jiangyuan Kindling Mall.

Two days later, in the Myriad Heavens Market.

Having spent the entire previous day training in the All-Attribute Cultivation Room, Song Chi looked exceptionally refreshed. He stood before the Ultra-Long Range Random Space Gate Deployment Platform, waiting for its cooldown to finish.

59s

58s

...

1s

0

The moment the cooldown timer reached zero, Song Chi restarted the deployment platform without hesitation.

The original ten projections above the platform had now increased to nineteen, meaning that nineteen space gates had been deployed across the boundless Shattered Star Sea.

Perhaps because the number of space gates had nearly doubled, spatial fluctuations soon began to ripple from the market entrance less than two minutes after deployment. This was the disturbance caused by an activated space gate. Clearly, creatures had already arrived in the market through one.

Turning his head, Song Chi saw several furtive aliens enter his field of vision. Their upper bodies were human, while their lower halves were fish.

This time, he did not need to consult the Encyclopedia of Civilizations and Creatures. He was very familiar with this race.

"Merfolk!"

The mermaids of this race were renowned throughout the Shattered Star Sea. Of course, it was not for any respectable reason, but for their beauty.

Maids, female slaves, concubines, and so on...

Naturally, the merfolk who had entered the market were ordinary merfolk, not the extremely rare mermaids.

Even so, Song Chi was quite curious. Merfolk were still relatively rare in the Star Sea. Only Star Sea Floating Continents where waters covered more than half the landmass could possibly give rise to such a race.

After entering the market, the merfolk curiously looked around. Seeing this, Song Chi took the initiative to approach them. It was clear that these merfolk were well educated, or rather, of decent birth. They did not need a translator, and both sides could communicate freely in the Star Sea Common Tongue.

However, he quickly lost interest again. These merfolk were clearly young and inexperienced. They readily revealed all kinds of information, yet they truly had nothing particularly valuable on them. Apart from pearls produced by deep-sea clams, they only had conch shells fit for decoration. Song Chi could not muster much interest.

It was not that deep-sea clam pearls had no value. They simply had to be old enough.

Pearls over three hundred years old could be ground into powder to aid in the cultivation of the Guidance Art. When used together with the Psionic Cultivation Platform, the effects were astonishing.

Pearls over a thousand years old could even greatly accelerate the cultivation of the Guidance Art above lv20. Unfortunately, the pearls produced by these merfolk were generally only a few decades old. There was not even a century-old one among them, and their benefit to the Guidance Art was negligible.

Since Song Chi had no interest in what they possessed, these merfolk naturally could not buy anything from the market's shops. This left them thoroughly anxious.

Inside the gene optimization potion shop, Gore had only caught a faint scent of the Basic Gene Optimization Potion when he felt the intense yearning of every cell in his body. There was no doubt that this potion would bring him immeasurable benefits. If he could consume several more doses, it might even allow his bloodline to evolve after birth.

Thinking of the Coral Sea Region's tradition of the "merfolk," where bloodlines reigned supreme, a piercing gleam immediately surfaced in his eyes.

Then he suddenly asked:

"How can I buy this special potion?"

The moment his words fell, the text on the light screen at the center of the shop began to change.

The deep-sea clam pearls are not old enough. The older they are, the more valuable they are. A minimum age of three hundred years is required.

Seeing those words, Gore's expression became extraordinarily vivid, making Song Chi, who was in another shop, nearly laugh out loud.

In truth, he could understand. The Shattered Star Sea stretched across an unknown number of trillions of light-years and had nurtured countless civilizations. Among those non-technological civilizations that pursued personal power, the quality of one's genes, or bloodline, essentially determined the lives of their members.

Those born into such civilizations with inferior bloodlines but harboring great ambitions were exceedingly pitiful, because they could see no hope at all.

Yet now, something that had once been utterly hopeless was placed right before him. One could only imagine the excitement in his heart.

Watching the male merfolk quietly head toward the market entrance, Song Chi's eyes filled with anticipation. He wondered whether the other party would bring him a different kind of surprise.

Blood Sea Floating Continent, Coral Sea Region.

Two hundred miles north of Conch Island in the Conch Archipelago, southern Coral Sea Region, beneath the sea, a faint and illusory gateway had appeared at some unknown time. Just then, a subtle spatial fluctuation arose from within it. Immediately afterward, Gore, who had just exited the Myriad Heavens Market, appeared before the gateway.

Glancing back at the void gateway as it returned to calm, Gore could no longer conceal the gleam in his eyes. The thing called ambition, once deeply buried within his heart, quietly emerged again. This time, Gore no longer deliberately suppressed it, and within a short time, it became uncontrollable.

Inside Conch Island, which had long since been hollowed out, stood a somewhat dilapidated palace. This was the territory of the Bronze Halberd Tribe of the merfolk. Once a royal tribe of the merfolk, the Bronze Halberd Tribe had fallen into decline after suffering several upheavals.

Under the unceasing oppression of other large tribes, the Bronze Halberd Tribe could now control only the thousand-mile waters surrounding the Conch Archipelago. The resources they harvested each year were pitifully few.

Over generation after generation, the Bronze Halberd Tribe's once royal bloodline had long since degenerated. The strongest member of the tribe was now merely Rank 2. In this endless Blood Sea where the strong devoured the weak, they were in a precarious position.

Within a hidden underwater cave deep in the tribal territory, the tribal chief glared furiously at Gore.

"You want to exchange deep-sea clam pearls over three hundred years old for that unknown potion? Gore, I think you've gone mad."

Gore met the Rank 2 fishman's gaze with unwavering resolve.

"Father, I am certain that potion can purify the thin royal bloodline within us. With your current strength, if your bloodline can be purified twofold, you will definitely advance to Rank 3."

The Bronze Halberd Tribe chief stared at his son, his voice solemn.

"You must understand what you are saying. Treasures capable of purifying bloodlines are exceedingly rare. If it turns out to be fake, your monthly resource allocation will be reduced by eighty percent from now on."

Gore did not hesitate. He simply nodded firmly.

The chief said nothing further. Instead, he raised a hand and tossed out a jade box containing several crystalline, translucent pearls.