“Those opportunists are the type to hedge their bets, and the Reincarnation Territory has been acting frequently for nearly a thousand years, so what’s strange about it? But the basis of our cooperation is the failure of this negotiation, so none of this matters.” The black-robed man snorted and said.

“That’s true, but if we could win the negotiation without using those back-up plans, we could then use our momentum to gradually wear down the Reincarnation Territory, wouldn’t that be better?” The white-robed old man said upon hearing this.

“Thinking you can sit back and watch us Grey Realm fight and consume each other, to help you weaken the Reincarnation Territory’s power, isn’t the Heavenly Court’s calculation a bit too much? Feng Qingshui, Yin advises you, the Heavenly Court better not have such thoughts of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight.” The black-robed man glanced at the white-robed old man and said with a sneer.

The white-robed old man’s forehead veins bulged upon hearing this.

Since he became a Dao Ancestor, how many years has it been since anyone dared to call him by his name to his face?

However, after a moment, he calmed his mind and said calmly:

“Yin Chengquan, the Heavenly Court will contribute everything it should, not a bit less. It’s you who are on your own territory this time, the Nine Nether Race, so don’t mess things up.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Even if your methods don’t work, I still have a back-up plan.” Yin Chengquan rotated his neck and said.

“Very good, I hope we have a pleasant cooperation.” Feng Qingshui said faintly.

“I have to say some things first. Besides what’s mentioned in the agreement, the Heavenly Court better not do anything extra, or don’t blame me for being impolite.” Yin Chengquan changed his tone and said in a deep voice.

Feng Qingshui snorted coldly upon hearing this and said nothing more.

……

Taming District is an area within Asura City concentrated for commercial trade, and also the most concentrated area for cultivators from various races in the Nine Nether Territory. People from all walks of life appear here, so the presence of Han Li and his companions isn't too conspicuous.

There are many famous commercial streets and markets in the Taming District, among which the most well-known is the “Inverted Street,” which has a strange name but concentrates a large number of Grey Realm cultivators.

Passing through layers of streets, Han Li and his companions finally arrived at a vast square.

The number of strangely shaped people from various races around them was several times greater than what they had seen on the road earlier. Many of them had a wide black wooden box in front of them, filled with all kinds of small trinkets, like peddlers shuttling through the crowd, trying to hawk their hidden goods.

“Esteemed guests, how about a top-quality Wu Sha snuff bottle? No? … Then how about a few Ji Sha ink stones? These are essential for setting up formations and casting spells…” At this moment, a short, dark-skinned Grey Realm alien with a few green tufts of hair on his head主动凑了上来, enthusiastically promoting his goods.

Han Li frowned slightly, ignoring him. Mo Guang’s eyes were fixed on a huge black ancient tree in the distance, not noticing at all. Only Shi Chuan Kong was interested in rummaging through the black wooden box in front of him.

“Little brother, your taste is not good… With these things, you might as well sell them to those low-level creatures of the Ci Tuo race. Do we look like people who would use these things?” Shi Chuan Kong threw a small, exquisite black snuff bottle back into the wooden box and pursed his lips.

“Hehe, esteemed guest, you’re wrong. Although my little things aren’t high-level treasures, everyone can use them, everyone can use them well, and they’re good and cheap, aren’t they?” The green-haired alien said with a smile.

“That’s true. How are these Ji Sha ink stones sold?” Shi Chuan Kong asked casually.

As he spoke, his pace never stopped, and the green-haired alien followed closely, retreating backwards.

“If you’re using them to set up a formation, you’ll need at least seven pieces. The price isn’t expensive, only three Grey Crystals. If you buy a large set of twenty-one pieces, it’s only eight Grey Crystals.” The green-haired alien said quickly when he saw an opportunity.

“Eight… the price is fair enough. Then what if I buy forty-nine pieces? How much discount is there?” Shi Chuan Kong nodded and asked.

Upon hearing this, the green-haired alien’s light gray eyes suddenly shone brightly, and then he said a little embarrassed:

“Esteemed guest, this… I don’t have that much stock here. I only have thirty-five pieces. I’ll only charge you twelve Grey Crystals, what do you think…”

“Not enough stock, huh? Then forget it.” Shi Chuan Kong waved his hand immediately and said.

“Esteemed guest, don’t go… Please take a look, is there anything else here that catches your eye? I’ll give it to you half-price, as a gift.” The green-haired alien said quickly, seeing that this big deal was about to fall through.

Shi Chuan Kong frowned, flipping through the wooden box for a moment, looking a bit disgusted, and suddenly asked:

“There’s nothing else I like here. Do you have a map of Asura City? Give me one, a detailed one.”

“Esteemed guest, you can’t talk nonsense. Those Nine Nether Race people are petty. They never allow the private sale of Asura City maps, nor will they sell maps to outsiders. It’s lucky that you met me. If you run into someone else, they might report to the Nine Nether Race that you outsiders want to buy a map, that would be troublesome.” The green-haired alien was shocked upon hearing this. He first looked around, then tugged at Shi Chuan Kong’s sleeve and said in a low voice.

Han Li seemed to have been silent all along, but he had been listening to their conversation. At this time, he couldn’t help but frown.

Shi Chuan Kong also paused slightly, then said: “There’s such a thing? Then thank you for the reminder…”

“Esteemed guest, you’re too kind…” The green-haired alien said, feeling a little overwhelmed by the favor.

“How about this, I’ll take all thirty-five Ji Sha ink stones, and you don’t have to reduce the Grey Crystals. Just give me this black walnut for free. I’ll give you fifteen Grey Crystals, as compensation for your kind reminder.” Shi Chuan Kong said with a smile.

The green-haired alien looked at the “black walnut” that Shi Chuan Kong was pointing at, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and he continued to say in a low voice:

“This is just an undeveloped Gathering Sha Stone, it’s not worth much money… Well, since you like it, esteemed guest, I’ll give it to you. It’s rare to meet someone as forthright as you. Since you need a map, then let me give you one more piece of advice, don’t go to those big shops opened by the major races of the Nine Nether Territory, and don’t look for us peddlers either. The former won’t sell, the latter… hehe, you won’t be able to buy genuine goods.”

“Haha, thank you, thank you.” Shi Chuan Kong said with a hearty laugh.

After saying that, he took out the Grey Crystals and gave them to the green-haired alien, and at the same time, he collected the Ji Sha ink stones and the black, charred walnut-like thing.

After the peddler thanked him repeatedly and left, Han Li transmitted his voice and asked: “Shi Fellow Taoist, what kind of bargain have you picked up again?”

“That fellow has bad eyesight, he mistook the inner core of a Sha Bone Great Demon for a Gathering Sha Stone.” Shi Chuan Kong spat and replied with a smile.

“Sha Bone Great Demon?” Han Li asked in confusion.

“That’s what it’s called in the Immortal World, it might not be accurate, but in our Demon World, it’s a very valuable thing. I saw it once before in a chamber of commerce. This one seems to have been scorched by some kind of strange fire, the pure Sha Qi inside is extremely restrained, which makes it easy to misjudge.” Shi Chuan Kong said with a proud look.

“Yo, so that’s how the Inverted Street is inverted…” At this moment, Mo Guang exclaimed.

Han Li and his companions were attracted by his words and looked towards the front. They saw the black giant tree that they had seen before, standing in the center of the square, with hundreds of branches sprouting out, and houses and buildings of various shapes were built on it, like fruits hanging from the treetops.

Because the branches of the giant tree were twisted and inclined, the houses and buildings built on it were also upside down and strangely shaped.

Han Li and others came to the bottom of the giant tree and saw a huge doorway opened on the main trunk of the tree, with a huge plaque hanging above it, with the words "Inverted Street" written on it.

The three of them stepped into the doorway and saw that there were three spiral staircases in front of them and on both sides leading to the top of the tree trunk. Doors were opened at intervals, leading to the shops and buildings on the branches of the tree trunk.

There were many people walking up and down the spiral staircases, and many figures flew directly to the level they wanted to go to. The scene looked a bit chaotic, but it was quite efficient.

Walking up the spiral staircase on the left, Han Li and his companions came out of the doorway on the first floor and soon arrived in front of a black hall that looked quite imposing.

Before entering the door, Han Li saw that everyone in the hall, from the shopkeeper to the staff, were like hanged ghosts. They were either Nine Nether Race people or Nether Slaves, so he stopped and turned to walk towards the branches on the other side.

As a result, after walking down a dozen or so main branches, he found that the shops built on them were either from the Nine Nether Race or from the major races in the Nine Nether Territory. There were few shops from other tribes.

In the end, Han Li and his companions simply stopped looking layer by layer and flew directly to the top floor.

The branches on the top floor were very thin and not enough to build houses on them, so most of the shops on them were small in size, hanging on the branches like bells.

Han Li and his companions came to one of the shops called "Shang Liang Zhai" and flew into it.

They saw that there was only one tall and thin shopkeeper in the shop, with dark gray skin like charcoal, drowsily sitting in front of a row of shelves, holding a small and exquisite Wu Sha snuff bottle in his hand.

Seeing Han Li and his companions come in, the shopkeeper immediately took a hard sniff of the snuff bottle, cheered up a bit, and greeted: "Esteemed guests, welcome! I wonder what you're looking for? Our Shang Liang Zhai is small but has plenty of goods, they are good and cheap, and the key is that we can haggle."

His words were quite smooth, but his tone revealed a lazy energy.

“Shopkeeper, are you from the Wu Sang tribe? How did you open a shop in this Asura City?” Shi Chuan Kong said with a familiar smile on his face.

Han Li had seen information about the Wu Sang tribe in the books he had collected before, and knew that they belonged to the Wu Tan Territory under the Black Rope Territory, and were not a tribe in the Nine Nether Territory, so their appearance here was indeed a bit rare.