A Guide to Appraising Exotic-Race Courtesans

I waited for the stars, longed for the moon, and finally, the main storyline had arrived!

Jiang Chen was merely a little puzzled.

He had waited nearly a month without seeing any main storyline. He had only just achieved modest mastery of Myriad Phenomena Resonance and slain a Foundation Establishment Sandworm above his level, when the main storyline suddenly appeared?

Wasn't that a little too coincidental?

This main storyline was called: Twin Mermaids.

"Another demoness?"

Jiang Chen suddenly realized that every main storyline seemed to involve demons or devils—and female ones at that.

This simulator really felt like an interspecies pimp. It could be called: A Guide to Appraising Exotic-Race Courtesans.

Now, a pair of merfolk women lay before him...

Jiang Chen looked around. No one was watching him, and with Li Lingzhou's sword domain protecting him, he was in no real danger.

"Start the storyline!"

The story began in a midnight desert.

It was probably somewhere near Jiang Chen's current location.

Bright moonlight spilled down, and Jiang Chen vaguely saw something stirring beneath the surface.

A Sandworm!

A Foundation Establishment Sandworm was racing underground.

Jiang Chen enlarged the map and shifted his view, quickly finding himself a hundred li to the southeast.

It was possible that this Sandworm had passed nearby just now.

In the story projection, Jiang Chen saw himself seated cross-legged atop Flame Mountain, his sculpted handsome face bathed in gentle moonlight.

He could clearly sense that his own bearing had changed.

Yet upon closer inspection, it was hard to say exactly what was different. It seemed like an unspoken warmth and clarity...

His gaze returned to the Sandworm.

Jiang Chen had not looked closely before, but now that he paid attention, he discovered that this was no ordinary Sandworm.

It was actually a fake Sandworm made by human hands!

Its craftsmanship was lifelike and remarkably realistic, far superior to his own. Its maker clearly understood Sandworm anatomy extremely well.

But its method of concealing its aura was far inferior to his.

Even so, it was doing its best to hide its presence while maintaining speed, not daring to burrow deeper into the sea of sand.

Jiang Chen guessed that this Artificial Sandworm was transporting some rare treasure that could not see the light of day.

For example: Merfolk Woman.

Jiang Chen had been in this world for three years and had never seen a Merfolk Woman, though he had heard legends about them.

It was said that there had once been a Quicksand River near Flame Mountain, home to the nearly extinct Merfolk Clan.

The Merfolk Clan had not evolved completely. They had not fully become demons, remaining half-human and half-demon—commonly known as mermaids.

Aside from being kept for viewing, the tears of the Merfolk Woman could condense into tear pearls, priceless treasures for treating injuries and illnesses, cultivating, and advancing realms.

For instance, Shopkeeper Zhang of the Spirit Spring Inn had once bought an ugly but optimistic Merfolk Woman for his son... If she had not been optimistic, he probably could not have afforded her.

The market price of a single Merfolk Pearl exceeded one hundred spirit stones.

Perhaps this was why the Merfolk Clan had nearly gone extinct: all the merfolk women had been captured and forced to cry, while male merfolk faced even greater hardship.

Jiang Chen thought that if his system had never arrived and he had remained unable to cultivate Qi Refining, he could have switched careers, copied Korean dramas, and helped merfolk women cry. Wouldn't he have dominated the field?

Jiang Chen's vision followed the Artificial Sandworm as it raced beneath the ground.

Very soon, he detected another Foundation Establishment divine sense locking onto the Artificial Sandworm.

The newcomer was around ten li away and rapidly closing in.

Only after being pursued to within three li did the Artificial Sandworm notice that it was being followed. It hurriedly changed direction and burrowed deeper underground.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

A black-clad man at Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage, wielding a black iron saber, swiftly caught up to the Artificial Sandworm.

Standing on the surface, he cleaved into the depths of the sea of sand with a single strike!

In terms of cutting power, this saber was far sharper than an ordinary spirit sword. It was also imbued with water qi, rapidly penetrating the sea of sand and reaching the Sandworm.

After delivering that strike, the black-clad man leaped into the sea of sand as well and pursued it downward.

His movements were incredibly professional, like the bone-shaving waiter from New Dragon Gate Inn, making Jiang Chen's legs ache just from watching.

But his divine sense continued following them down.

Sure enough, four people were hidden inside the Artificial Sandworm.

One was a merchant at Early Foundation Establishment.

One was an apprentice at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

And there were two merfolk women locked inside a water tank.

The water tank was over a person's height tall. Its exterior was wooden bars, while its interior was lined with a translucent bamboo membrane that kept water in.

The merfolk women inside had human upper bodies and fishlike lower halves. White shells covered their chests, and chains were locked around their necks.

The two men outside truly were merchants.

The two merfolk women were young, both with Qi Refining cultivation. They were delicate and pretty, and looked like a pair of twin sisters.

What a sin... Jiang Chen could not help sighing inwardly.

Next, the black-clad man dove down to kill.

In the blink of an eye, the two merchants were silenced. Their Storage Rings and heads were taken, while the water tank was dragged out of the sea of sand by the black-clad man.

Muffled cries for help came from inside the tank, whimpering like infant cries.

The black-clad man raised a hand and patted the wooden bars.

"Don't shout. We're government officials."

The cries inside the tank became even more desperate...

The black-clad man had no choice but to use Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure to knock the two merfolk women unconscious.

Afterward, he carried the water tank and flew on his saber toward a nearby underground relay station.

Jiang Chen had heard before that the Fireburn Kingdom government had anti-bandit strongholds in the deserts around Flame Mountain.

Their locations were said to be highly secret, and no one had ever seen them... He had not expected the rumors to be true!

A Golden Core Realm elder was stationed at the relay station.

The elder had stern features and a burly frame. He wore the spirit-protecting armor of Fireburn Kingdom's Imperial Guards, and one look was enough to tell that he was a seasoned battlefield general.

"I've been idling around for over half a year, and I finally caught some merfolk women—twin young girls, at that. With this merit, this old man can finally be transferred back to the imperial capital."

Jiang Chen was rather surprised. He had not expected the Fireburn Kingdom emperor to have such a taste for merfolk women.

He remembered that this old emperor possessed Nascent Soul cultivation.

Why would a Nascent Soul expert be interested in Qi Refining merfolk women?

There was no place on a Merfolk Woman's lower half that could bring him pleasure, either.

Jiang Chen could not make sense of it.

After finishing his tea, the old general grabbed the water tank and prepared to leave.

"You have rendered the greatest merit this time. This old man will submit a memorial to His Majesty and request that you be appointed a general."

The black-clad man respectfully clasped his fists.

"Thank you, Chen!"

After that, General Chen returned to Xiyang City, handed the two merfolk women over to the palace, and sent them to the Imperial Physicians' Office to be examined for injuries...

Elsewhere.

At the underground stronghold, the black-clad man opened the merchant's Storage Ring and found only a little over twenty Merfolk Pearls. Somewhat disappointed, he said:

"A merchant is still a merchant. He hid his assets elsewhere. If I'd known, I would've spared his miserable life."

Turning the Merfolk Pearls over in his hand, the black-clad man muttered softly:

"Merfolk Pearls are sacred treasures for preserving one's looks. Should I give them to the princess, or to the Empress Dowager?"

"The princess is clever, and her cultivation talent far surpasses even the crown prince's. What a pity she is a woman... I heard she has also become engaged to a Beast Taming Sect prodigy... Looks like I have no chance again!"

"The Empress Dowager once ruled from behind the curtain. Now her power has been taken away, yet His Majesty still does not dare touch her. She must have something extraordinary about her... Could the fox demon legend from back then be true?"

The Empress Dowager... the fox demon legend?

Jiang Chen thought, could Thousand-Faced Fox be possessing the Empress Dowager? Had she even ruled from behind the curtain back then?

Thinking of the dignified, beautiful woman from the previous Butterfly Effect projection...

Damn.