Immortal Road.

"The sky is beyond the stars."

Lin Shan pondered for a long time. Considering the current environment, staying in Xiaorong City wouldn't improve his situation much, and staying there would only be a waste of time.

How to go to outer space is a question I need to consider.

That place is said to be a paradise for star cultivators, and there must be methods to rapidly increase one's cultivation level. For him, going there would be like a fish in water.

Furthermore, if conditions permit, it would be best to forge a celestial sword for Star Sword Immortal, so that this woman can stop nagging all day and become an immediate combat force.

It's a pity that Xing Shuzi left in such a hurry that he didn't even say goodbye.

Now, we are faced with three paths.

It is most unwise to travel freely in the heavens. The starry sky is so vast that one could not explore it even in a lifetime. If one were to rely solely on flying to reach a destination, it would take forever.

The cost of using teleportation arrays is exorbitant, making it unaffordable for ordinary people. While it is fast, the problem is the lack of financial resources.

Finally, what remained were merchant fleets.

Many merchant guilds in the celestial realm engage in trade with the starry sky, opening up shipping routes and forming fleets.

Later, merchant ships were gradually put into operation to travel between the two places, making it more convenient for tourists to travel and greatly promoting the connection between the celestial realm and the starry sky.

Lin Shan learned through various channels that in Yunzhou and even the entire Yunfeng Immortal Realm, only one merchant guild possessed a fleet of void merchant ships, namely Yi Bao Lou!
The location is within another great immortal city, 'Dingfeng City'.

Unfortunately, Yunfeng Immortal Realm is still somewhat remote compared to other immortal realms, but having a Starfield Travel company there is quite good.

Before leaving, he purchased all the necessary supplies to avoid not being able to buy them in the heavens. He also arranged to meet with the old Taoist priest Jinchi before parting.

When the other person arrived, he was carrying his precious fishing rod. He was completely stunned when he heard that he was going on a long trip!

"You're leaving? Where are you going? Aren't you going fishing with me anymore?"

Lin Shan didn't say he was going to the outer star system; he only told him he was going to travel and broaden his horizons.

Old Taoist Jinchi hurriedly tried to dissuade him, clearly reluctant to give up this partnership.

“Brother, we two brothers are right next to the ten lakes of Yunzhou. We can make a living off the water. Sooner or later, we’ll be able to reach the peak of the Void Realm. Why do you have to go to such lengths for something so close by?”

Lin Shan rolled his eyes. "With that little bit of fish, how long would it take to get you to the peak of the Void Realm?"

By then, I'll have gone from a naive teenager to a middle-aged old man, wasting a lot of time. Am I crazy?!

"Don't worry, brother. Take your time setting up the bait. I'm not not coming back. I'm just going out for a walk. I'll be back by the time you've finished setting up the bait."

This is just like a scumbag boyfriend; he comes back when he needs something, reaps the benefits, and then leaves without a trace.

The old Taoist priest Jinchi looked resentful and said, "Look at what you're saying, kid. Is that even human language?"

However, he was a fisherman all his life and had no great ambitions or courage. Seeing that Lin Shan was determined to leave, he could only sigh helplessly.

"Indeed, you are still young and should travel more, unlike me who is old and has long lost my ambition. If you find any good local specialties, just remember to bring some back for me."

"Don't worry, wrap it on me!"

Lin Shan patted his chest and promised that when things got better outside, he would send him local specialties every day.

The two then chatted for a while. Old Daoist Jinchi was really generous. Before parting, he pulled out twenty seventh-grade spirit stones from his pocket, saying that the Immortal Realm was too big and it was not easy to travel far, so he sponsored him some travel expenses.

"Here you go, my brother. I'm not very capable, this is all I can offer. I wish you a bright future."

Lin Shan was astonished; this friend was definitely worth making!
Although the quantity was small, it was a token of goodwill, so there was no need to refuse and I simply accepted it.

"Don't worry, brother, once I'm rich, I'll definitely treat you to the best of everything!"

“good good”

We bid farewell to the old Taoist priest Jinchi and returned the rented cave dwelling.

Lin Shan left Xiao Rong City and traveled west along the rift valley in Yunzhou. A few days later, he arrived at Dingfeng City.

This immortal city is clearly more prosperous than Xiaorong City, with more permanent cultivators. It serves as a hub for trade and commerce between the surrounding immortal realms, and it is said that the inter-realm teleportation array is located here.

He asked someone for directions and arrived at the headquarters of Yibaolou.

As expected of a major merchant guild in the Cloud Wind Immortal Realm, its headquarters is very impressive. It occupies more than 100 acres of land in Dingfeng City, a prime location where every inch of land is precious. The flow of people coming and going is enormous. Inside, there are not only logistics parks, but also auction houses, docking ports, teleportation platforms, and other facilities.

He went in but was not received. He walked through the corridor and came to a river port where large ships were moored, their masts covered with Yibaolou flags. Someone on the shore stopped him.

"Stop right there, what are you doing?"

"I'd like to inquire about tickets for business travel routes."

Where are you headed?

"The sky is beyond the stars."

Upon hearing this, the person from Yibaolou simply led him to a large building on the right, where there was a counter specifically for receiving business travelers from outside the region.

He handed the job over to a steward and then left.

Lin Shan glanced at the board next to him, which clearly listed the costs of using teleportation arrays to travel to various immortal realms, with prices clearly marked.

Furthermore, the amount of energy required varies depending on the teleporter's cultivation level, and the price also varies accordingly.

For example, a cultivator in the Void Realm would need 5 Grade 7 spirit stones to go to the cheapest Eastern Immortal Realm next door, and 200 Grade 7 spirit stones to go to the most expensive Langhuan Immortal Realm!
Inter-domain teleportation arrays are indeed not something the poor can afford.

Moreover, there are only teleportation arrays here leading to dozens of surrounding immortal realms. For example, the Ice Soul Immortal Realm that Shui Bingyue went to, which he knew from the lower realm, has no direct connection from here.

The immortal realm is vast and boundless, and one must constantly travel between places at times.

When the manager of Yibaolou heard that he was going to the outer stars, he told him directly that there was only one route that had been opened in the Yunfeng Immortal Realm, which was to go to the Shixiu Beiluo Auxiliary Star District of the Xuanwu Star Region.

The outer starry sky is vast, ruled by a star court that hangs high above, governing all the stars.

Its territory is divided into five major star regions: the Central Purple Star Region, the Eastern Azure Dragon Star Region, the Western White Tiger Star Region, the Southern Vermilion Bird Star Region, and the Northern Black Tortoise Star Region.

Apart from these, all of these are uncivilized lands, collectively known as the Wilderness Starfield.

The central star field has three enclosures, and the four directions have twenty-eight constellations. The Shi constellation belongs to the northern Xuanwu star field.

Below the Room constellation, there are further subdivisions: East Room, South Room, North Room, and West Room. Each Room constellation governs multiple star regions, with the Luofu star region belonging to the North Room constellation.

Depending on its size, a star region contains a number of stars, arranged according to the positions of the celestial stars and assigned to local star deities for governance.

The details are quite complicated, and just looking at the dense star chart makes one dizzy. The person in charge pointed directly to a certain point, which is the North Star in the Auxiliary Star Region.

"In the Immortal Realm, the Cloud Wind Immortal Domain is closest to the Northern Star in the sky. In addition, the first owner of the Treasure Pavilion had a close relationship with the Northern Star Lord. Therefore, this two-way teleportation array was opened to serve as a strategic cooperation fulcrum."

He didn't care about the forests and mountains; all he cared about was the price.

"How much does it cost per ride?"

The manager carefully provided a quote:

"Very few people go to outer space, and it's basically not open on weekdays. With your mid-stage Void Realm cultivation, senior, let's see if you can go alone or wait for the group trip that happens every six months."

"If you're in a hurry, booking a teleportation array just for you will cost tens of thousands of Rank 7 spirit stones." "If you can wait, we can offer a group discount of 1,000 Rank 7 spirit stones per person."

"."

Lin Shan had thought going to heaven would be expensive, but he didn't expect it to be this expensive; even the group-buying price wouldn't be enough for him.

"I've heard that your place also offers a way to travel to outer space by boat. I wonder how much it costs?"

"One hundred spirit stones."

This one is relatively cheaper and not as daunting as the teleportation array, but you still need to wait.

The ship can only depart once it has enough passengers, and the manager estimates it will take about three months.

It's not a long time, so it's acceptable.

Lin Shan bought tickets in advance and then stayed in Dingfeng City.

During this time, he was not idle. He went around selling his property, selling everything that was useless, leaving nothing behind as long as it could be exchanged for money.

Even the weapon-forging heritage of the Grandmaster of Forging Dust!
He didn't dare to do this in the past because he was afraid that someone with ulterior motives would investigate. Now that the heat has died down and he is about to leave, he naturally has no more scruples.

Those victims wouldn't have chased him to outer space just to catch him; the round-trip fare wouldn't even be enough!
The inheritance sold for a high price of seventy spirit stones.

But he kept the Earth Fire Divine Furnace in his possession, intending to use it for alchemy later.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Lin Shan received his ship ticket and followed the signs to the port's berthing area.

A white, misty ship was docked at the shore. All four decks of the ship had doors, windows, and railings, and each deck was interconnected in a ladder-like shape.

You can see cultivators lining up to board the ship, men and women, young and old, of varying cultivation levels.

The ticket price is determined based on cultivation level. Those in the Nascent Soul stage and the Core Formation stage are just there to make up the numbers. Otherwise, the Void Realm stage alone wouldn't be able to support the expenses of interstellar travel. Each ship has a limit on the number of people, but even so, it still crammed in over a thousand people!

Furthermore, there are caravans from Yibaolou that would stop at each node along the route to purchase or sell goods, and incidentally take on the business of transporting cargo. Bringing people along was just an additional source of income for them.

If it's just the passengers, they won't even break even on this trip!

Before leaving, Lin Shan met an old friend he had met in the South China Sea, Lie Yunsheng, the young master of Yi Bao Lou!

"Eh? You are, Fellow Daoist Xiong Shan?"

Lie Yunsheng was surprised when he passed by. He was deeply impressed by Lie Yunsheng's appraisal skills back then. After the Qiyunling incident, Lie Yunsheng left without saying goodbye and the two never met again.

And now, during this visit to the headquarters of Yibaolou, we happened to run into each other.

The two took the opportunity to catch up while boarding the ship.

Lin Shan learned that Lie Yunsheng had returned to Yunzhou more than ten years ago and had been helping his family with their business. He also mentioned that his sister had told him about a dark horse who had suddenly appeared at the Yunzhou Grand Gathering, and he guessed that it must be Lin Shan.

“I knew Fellow Daoist Xiong Shan had extraordinary appraisal skills, but I didn’t expect him to make it into the top three and take away the share originally given to Senior Sister Wen Lingzi of the Jinxiu Immortal Sect. It’s a real waste that no one recognized his talent afterward.”

Lie Yunsheng sighed deeply. Although he was a young master, he still felt indignant on behalf of the rogue cultivator genius.

"Hehe, the world is vast, there's always a place to use your skills. I'm just planning to travel around the outer space and see if I can broaden my horizons."

Upon hearing Lin Shan mention going to the outer reaches of the heavens, Lie Yunsheng glanced at his own ship and frowned slightly.

"Brother Xiong, the outer starry sky is probably not as simple as you think. In some ways, it is more than ten times more dangerous than the Immortal Realm itself."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Lin Shan immediately inquired.

The steward next to them had already started urging them on, but he was stopped by a look from the young master Lie Yunsheng, so he could only stand by helplessly and dare not urge them on.

"Besides the hundreds of thousands of stars in the sky, the vast starry sky is a lawless land. Although the Star Court is vast, it does not have the energy to take care of every nook and cranny. In the dark areas where it cannot be seen, life and death battles are played out everywhere!"

Lie Yunsheng pointed to the sky, and Lin Shan looked in that direction. In the distant starry sky, there were gaps between each star, perhaps brewing an unpredictable terror.

His eyes were filled with unconcealed worry; he clearly didn't want to see this appraisal genius perish.

"There are dangerous forbidden zones in the darkness, teeming with bizarre and wondrous cosmic beasts, and from these beasts arises a vast group of cultivators known as space pirates! Have you ever heard of them?"

"Never."

"Star pirates often hide in the dim starry sky, guarding the routes along the way, coming and going without a trace, and taking advantage of the situation. Some collect tolls, some rob passing passengers of everything, and some simply sink merchant ships and kill everyone, which has always been a headache for merchant guilds."

Lin Shan was startled upon hearing this.

"Is that so?"

Lie Yunsheng smiled wryly. Seeing that most of the people on the merchant ship had boarded, he didn't want to keep so many people waiting for him, so he could only pat him on the shoulder and advise him to be careful.

"The trade route between my Yibaolou and Beishi Star in the Luofu Star Region is generally stable, avoiding the activity range of all alien beasts in the starry sky. However, occasional accidents are unavoidable, so you should be prepared."

Having finished their conversation, and with the ship about to set sail, they could not delay any longer and had to bid each other a reluctant farewell.

"Farewell, my lord, until we meet again."

"Take care on your journey, Brother Xiong!"

Lie Yunsheng watched Lin Shan board the ship, then waved his hand, and the steward blew his whistle.

The entire ship began to hum and vibrate violently. The huge oars at the rear of the ship turned, and the sails billowed and fluttered. A green aura shielded it from all sides, and it gradually rose above the water and into the air.

“That’s an old friend of mine. We’ll arrange a comfortable room for him on the ship.”

"Yes, son."

Lin Shan leaned on the ship's railing, looking down at the celestial realm. As the ship soared into the sky, his thoughts drifted away.

My time in the Cloud Wind Immortal Realm was full of twists and turns, and I deeply felt my incompatibility with the local people.

The reason for this is that they are outnumbered and lack strength.

Meanwhile, on the side of the Eastern Immortal Realm, stood the colossal Penglai Immortal Sect. Although he hadn't noticed it for the time being, it was developing right under his nose, so it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.

The constant sense of impending crisis kept him on his toes at all times.

I'm going to the starry sky, hoping to take advantage of star cultivation and achieve a qualitative improvement!

Back in the cabin, they found many monks talking to each other in the lobby on the first floor, mostly discussing their destination.

I had just turned the corner when I spotted an old acquaintance!
"Brother Xing Shuzi, how have you been?"

Xing Shuzi turned around and was immediately stunned!
"Brother Xiongxiongshan, what are you doing here?"

Lin Shan's lips curled up. It's true what they say, you never know where you'll meet someone in life. It seems that Xing Shuzi is going to the outer stars, and after thinking about it, this is the only way.

It's only natural that the two would run into each other.

And so, they've come together again after all this time! (End of Chapter)