Cloud Mulberry Realm
As soon as Sang Ying stepped out of the formation, a strong smell of the sea wafted towards her.
She looked around, but her gaze was immediately drawn to the surging waves of the sea not far away.
Perhaps noticing Sang Ying's gaze, the young cultivator guarding the Teleportation Array smiled and said, "It seems this is your first time visiting our Cloud Mulberry Realm. That's our Cloud Mulberry Realm's Endless Sea. If you're interested, you can rent a boat from the shipyard and take a look around."
The young cultivator was wearing a blue disciple's robe embroidered with wave patterns, clearly a disciple of the Listening Tide Sect, the number one sect in the Cloud Mulberry Realm.
Before coming here, Sang Ying had already done her research and knew that of the three major sects in the Cloud Mulberry Realm, only the Listening Tide Sect was relatively friendly and willing to befriend outsiders. The remaining two sects, the Beast Soul Sect and the Array Sect, were very xenophobic.
It could be said that if the disciples of these two sects encountered outside cultivators, they would be considered kind-hearted if they didn't utter a few sarcastic remarks.
Sang Ying had also asked Jiulian and her parents why the Cloud Mulberry Realm was so hostile to outsiders like them.
They did not answer directly, only saying that the Cloud Mulberry Realm used to worship the Beast God, which was different from their beliefs, leading to a difference in their understanding. In addition, cultivators from other small worlds later did some wrong things in the Cloud Mulberry Realm, which made the relationship between the two sides increasingly tense.
Fortunately, the Listening Tide Sect has now extended an olive branch, as the only Teleportation Array in the Cloud Mulberry Realm was set up by the Listening Tide Sect.
Because of this, before they set off, Jing Shouyue specifically instructed Sang Ying and the others to cultivate good relations with the Listening Tide Sect, which would also make it easier for Ten Thousand Daos Born or the Flowing Light Sword Sect to develop some influence in this area later.
Sang Ying accepted the task, and now that someone had taken the initiative to greet her, she took the opportunity to ask, "Fellow Daoist, this is indeed our first time in the Cloud Mulberry Realm, and we are not very familiar with the situation here. May I ask if you know of any inns nearby that would be suitable for us to stay in?"
"Inns? We don't have such things in the Cloud Mulberry Realm." The young man shook his head. "Cultivators who come here either rent houses from families they know, or they find a place in the wilderness to set up magical Law Artifact and live in defensive magical Law Artifact."
Sang Ying now has a clear understanding of the xenophobia of the Cloud Mulberry Realm.
She had visited four of the five small worlds, and even in a barren place like the Hidden Nether Realm, there were inns. But the Cloud Mulberry Realm didn't even have an inn. It seemed they really disliked outsider cultivators and weren't even willing to earn the Spirit Stone.
"However, if you don't know anyone here and don't want to live in the wilderness, you might be able to stay temporarily in our sect's guest quarters," the young man continued.
Sang Ying was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. "You want us to stay in your sect? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
The young man smiled and said, "There's nothing wrong with it. The guest house was originally built for people to live in. Besides, our sect leader welcomes guests from outside. He would be happy if you could stay there."
The young man's expression was sincere and enthusiastic, but Sang Ying sensed something was off.
She turned to look at Jiang Zhuoxue and the others who had followed her. They had also heard her conversation with the young man and quietly nodded to Sang Ying.
However, Sang Ying did not agree immediately. Instead, she asked Duan Hanyi, Dong Fuzhu, and the others, "There are no inns here, and we don't know anyone here. We only have two options: one is to follow this young fellow Daoist to the Listening Tide Sect for temporary accommodation, and the other is to find a piece of wasteland outside and live in a defensive magic Law Artifact. What do you think?"
Sang Ying also brought a bamboo house Law Artifact with her this time. This Law Artifact has two floors, so it wouldn't be difficult to accommodate everyone. However, since they are new to the area, they might encounter some dangers while staying overnight, and someone would probably need to keep watch at night.
The others had also thought of this. It didn't matter where Duan Hanyi lived, as long as he could stay with Sang Ying.
Dong Fuzhu and the others remembered the sect leader's instructions before they set off, so they thought it would be easier for them to stay at the Listening Tide Sect, which would make it easier for them to build good relations with the people of the Listening Tide Sect and find out more information.
Looking at it this way, it seems that more people chose the Listening Tide Sect, and Sang Ying was also curious about this sect and wanted to find out its strengths and weaknesses, so she accepted the young man's invitation.
The young man seemed to be finishing his shift as well, so he quickly switched shifts with others and personally led Sang Ying and the others back to his sect.
Fortunately, the Teleportation Array was not far from the Listening Tide Sect, and they arrived on foot in no time.
The mountain gate of the Listening Tide Sect is very magnificent, with a huge water ripple pattern carved on the plaque, showing the close connection between the sect and the Endless Sea.
The young man quickly introduced, "This is our Listening Tide Sect. Please follow me, and I will lead you to the guest courtyard."
However, before they could take more than a few steps, a shrill scream drew everyone's attention, "Damn the Listening Tide Sect, give my sister back!"
Sang Ying and the others exchanged a cautious glance, then quickly stepped forward. They saw a girl in a black dress straining to break through the mountain gate. As she pushed her way through, she shouted and cursed loudly, her eyes filled with a chilling hatred.
"You bunch of liars, give me back my sister!" She also appeared to be a cultivator, surrounded by Spiritual Qi.
She was probably mindful of something and didn't dare to really use her full strength against the disciples guarding the mountain gate. But they didn't understand the principle of showing mercy; almost every strike they made was aimed at killing her.
Sang Ying was alarmed and was about to go forward to ask what was going on when she was stopped by the young man who had led them the way.
"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to go any further. That person is a madwoman. She and her sister are both cultivators from outside. Not long ago, the two sisters came here and stayed in our sect's guest quarters. But after a few days, the two sisters left together. Who knew that not long after, this older sister suddenly came to our mountain gate, shouting that we had detained her sister and demanding that we hand her over."
The young man spoke with utter disdain, "But she and her sister clearly left a long time ago. And to prove our innocence, we even had her enter the sect and searched the entire place, but there wasn't a trace of her sister. Yet she won't let it go, constantly accusing our Listening Tide Sect. Doing good deeds and still getting framed—what bad luck!"
After hearing this, Sang Ying didn't say whether she believed it or not, but said to the young man, "Even after being told this, you are still willing to be so generous in receiving visiting cultivators. It is clear that your sect leader does not actually take these things to heart."
"Of course, our sect leader is extremely magnanimous. Everyone around knows that the Listening Tide Sect is hospitable, and they won't pay any attention to this woman's nonsense." The young man gestured for them to take another path. "The main gate is in chaos right now, so please follow me through the side gate."
Sang Ying and the others didn't mind, so they followed along.
The people at the main gate were still arguing. The woman's voice was shrill and desperate. "Don't try to fool me! I know, my sister is inside! Your Listening Tide Sect is a cannibalistic sect, a cannibalistic sect!"