Translation: Aerial Rain Translation (aerialrain.com) by koffeam
Meng Qi clutched the jade slip. There was a usage instruction on its surface. She had heard about Beyond The Heaven before and knew that besides Cloud Immortal Pavilion, this was another famous trading place patronized by the cultivators. Rumor said that you could buy anything here. Heavenly treasure, various magic tools, herbs and poisons, weapons…even some spells.
However, Cloud Immortal Pavilion existed in the four realms of the Three Thousand Worlds. It was jointly managed by the top ten sects of the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Realm. You could find the Cloud Immortal Pavilion branch in any city in the Three Thousand Worlds, including the small town at the foot of Qingfeng Valley.
Most of the time, Beyond The Heaven was simply a myth among the cultivators. In Meng Qi’s previous life, she had heard about the rumor. She also wanted to visit this place, said to be the most mysterious and largest trading place for the cultivators.
Unfortunately, she never got the opportunity.
Meng Qi closed her eyes. Following the instruction carved on the jade slip’s surface, she poured her spiritual sense into the slip. This was equivalent to binding a magic tool. From now on, this jade slip could only be used by Meng Qi. She opened her eyes and lifted up the jade slip. On its glossy and beautiful surface, two characters ‘Meng Qi’ were newly engraved.
Meng Qi gripped the jade slip again, infusing a bit of her spiritual aura inside. In an instant, she saw a blinding light and suddenly found herself inside an unfamiliar space.
Meng Qi observed her surrounding, the scenery here was magnificent. Dark green, tall mountains. Clear sky with white clouds. Right beyond her eyes, there was a very huge and magnificent city that she had never seen before. Compared to Qincheng, the largest city in the Eastern Realm that Meng Qi had visited before her rebirth, this city is even more expansive. So large that she couldn’t see its edge at a glance.
Floating right above the city were seven small islands. Covered by bright sunlight from their back, it was hard to clearly see the islands’ interior from below. Meng Qi looked at the floating islands with some curiosity when another figure suddenly appeared next to her.
Meng Qi curiously took a glance at the newcomer. It was a male cultivator in a blue robe, seemed to be in his early thirties. He noticed Meng Qi’s gaze and turned his head to nod at her. The man was handsome and tall. Even in the plainest blue robe, he seemed to be detached from the world’s vulgarity.
“Is it perhaps Fellow Daoist’s first visit?” The male cultivator could see Meng Qi’s confusion and curiosity. He walked towards her: “If Fellow Daoist wants to buy or sell things, you can go to that city. There are special staffs at the city gate. They will give you a map and simple guidance.”
“Thanks for Fellow Daoist’s advice.” Meng Qi quickly returned a salute. She embarrassingly smiled: “Indeed, it is my first time visiting Beyond The Heaven.”
“It’s alright.” The male cultivator smiled slightly. “Here is the gathering place for the cultivators from all around the Three Thousand Worlds. Since it is Fellow Daoist’s first visit, you may ask the city’s staff for a nameplate.” He paused and explained, “Inside Beyond The Heaven, everyone can use an alias. Of course, you can also use your real name.”
“I understand.” Meng Qi nodded. She found it a bit interesting. Such a grand city, seven floating islands in the sky, a nameplate that could hide one’s identity, and free trading…..Meng Qi thought that the people who created this place must be very creative.
“If you still have questions, you can ask me on our way to the city.” The man waved his hand courteously. He was very polite to Meng Qi. Inside Beyond The Heaven, people only entered via their spiritual sense and thus couldn’t meet any danger. Meng Qi politely saluted back and walked with him towards the massive city ahead.
“I would like to ask Fellow Daoist, what are those seven islands floating in the sky?” Meng Qi asked. The further she moved forward, the more she could feel the immense size of the city. Even the floating islands seemed to be more imposing.
“The bottom three islands,” the male cultivator pointed to the three smallest and also the lowest floating islands, explaining: “are the three largest auction venues in Beyond The Heaven. Named Heaven, Earth, and Profound.”
Heaven, earth, and profound, those were the higher realms after the nine-stages realm. For example, medical skills were graded from the first stage to the ninth stage. Further up, there were profound, earth, and heaven. According to legend, only a few medical cultivators have ever reached the profound realm since the beginning of Three Thousand Worlds’ history. As for the earth and heaven realms above, they were almost unheard of.
When a Great Ascension cultivator prepared to ascend, they might have a chance to break through the ninth stage and enter the new realm. Unexpectedly, the owner of Beyond The Heaven was so domineering that they directly named the three auction venues as Heaven, Earth, and Profound.
The male cultivator seemed to guess Meng Qi’s thought, but he only smiled slightly and said nothing. Cultivators who just entered Beyond The Heaven still couldn’t fathom the power of the owner of this place. It was normal for them to be surprised.
“The next two floating islands above.” The man seemed to be very familiar with this place. “Are used by the ten largest sects in Eastern and Western Realm, Northern and Southern Realm, respectively. The items they wanted to sell are all stored there.”
“And above that…”
Meng Qi looked in the direction the man pointed. There were only two islands left.
“The lower one is the best restaurant in the world. You can think of any delicious food, delicacies, and exotic ingredients…all can be found there.” After that, he pointed to the city on the ground. “You can also find all kinds of food and specialty from many regions inside the city. However, it still far worse compared with Beyond The Heaven Restaurant.” He paused and added, “That restaurant belongs to the owner of this space.”
Meng Qi: “…”
Really a big figure! Domineering enough! Did it mean that even the ten top large sects in the four realms of Three Thousand Worlds were pressed under the owner’s feet?!
“As for the highest floating island.” The man smiled with regret: “It was said that only the owner can go up there, so no one knows what is there. It has been three hundred years since the establishment of Beyond The Heaven, and no one has been able to take a step into the island.”
Meng Qi looked at the highest floating island. In fact, the island was not that big, nor was it floating directly above the city. It was located in the southwest direction. Surrounded by clouds, it reminded people of the island of the immortals.
“Thank you, Fellow Daoist.” Meng Qi withdrew her eyes and saluted the man again.
“Fellow Daoist is too polite.”
While talking, the two had arrived at the city gate. Standing here, Meng Qi could really perceive the vastness of the city.
“Besides that.” The male cultivator said: “There are countless mysteries in this Beyond The Heaven. It is said that this place has the largest and most blessed grotto-heavens in the whole Three Thousand Worlds. Yet they still haven’t been fully explored. If you can pass the test, Fellow Daoist can participate in the expedition team, hunting the treasures in the secret realm with several other people.”
The man shook his head, a little ashamed: “However, enough power is needed to participate. At least one has to be in the Spirit Severing stage, so they can use their detached spirit to enter the secret realm. I just broke through from the Golden Core stage and entering the Nascent Soul. I’m still far from qualified.”
Then Meng Qi was even further away! She once heard that Beyond The Heaven had an excellent opportunity for the Spirit Severing cultivators and above. The opportunity seemed to refer to those secret realms.
However, all of those things combined, the owner of Beyond The Heaven was really too powerful. They made this place the largest free trading venue for the cultivators. They could also build such a huge city and even seven floating islands. Beyond The Heaven’s owner shouldn’t be a single person, but a very powerful sect.
Meng Qi looked at the neat main road inside. She always knew that the Three Thousand Worlds was vast and filled with wonders. Even before her rebirth, she only ever saw the smallest corner of the world. Now, standing in front of her was such a mysterious and powerful giant.
Meng Qi couldn’t help but sigh. No wonder it was called ‘Beyond The Heaven.’ This place was truly another world, beyond the Three Thousand Worlds.
“If Fellow Daoist has no other questions, I’ll say goodbye first.” The man said to Meng Qi.
“Yes.” Meng Qi returned the salute. “Many thanks for Fellow Daoist’s guidance.”
There were several staff stationed at the city gate. Following the male cultivator’s advice, Meng Qi stepped forward and asked for a city map. This large city hosted countless shops, and its name was ‘Beyond The Heaven City.’ The city was divided into nine areas, including weapons, magic tools, robes, various refining ingredients, spirit beasts, spells… of course, there was also an area that specialized in selling medicine, poisons, and refined pills.
In addition, the central section was the place for free trading. If a visitor didn’t know how to classify their own ware, or maybe didn’t even know what it was, they could trade directly with other people in the free market.
If one wanted to go to the three major auction houses of Heaven, Earth, and Profound, they could directly contact the city’s management staff, who would guide them to meet the auction staff. A specialist would then appraise the item’s value and decide whether to accept the auction and which auction house to submit it.
Meng Qi also followed the man’s other advice and requested a nameplate. This plate was usually useless, but things purchased inside Beyond The Heaven couldn’t directly be taken outside by the buyers. By having a nameplate, she could use it to pick up her purchases at the special relay stations set up in the major cities. The spirit stones were also paid at the pickup. Beyond The Heaven guaranteed their users’ secret, and also provided fast and safe delivery.
Meng Qi thought about it and wrote the words ‘Xiao Qi’ on the nameplate. She now had five sixth-grade spirit stones and already the richest disciple in Qingfeng Valley. However, she still didn’t know the price market of this place.
Meng Qi checked the map and decided to go to the area that sold medicinal ingredients. The city was huge, but there were countless teleportation arrays in every corner. Meng Qi greeted one of the staff and stepped into one of the arrays. In an instant, she was teleported into the eastern district.
Before she even took a step, medicinal fragrance already filled her nostrils. This was Meng Qi’s favorite scent, and her mood improved a lot. This area was basically selling all kinds of medicinal ingredients, poisons, and refined pills. Meng Qi recalled the content of the bamboo slip given by Elder Yan and randomly stepped into one of the shops.
“Hello.” There were no other guests in the shop, only a sturdy man behind the counter. “What does Fellow Daoist need?” The man greeted with a smile.
“Do you have jackdaw grass?” Meng Qi asked. According to the bamboo slip, it was jackdaw grass that made a wound bleeding incessantly, leaving silver marks on it. However, Meng Qi didn’t dare to just rely on the book’s description to conclude that the little white tiger was poisoned by jackdaw grass. She planned to buy a strand and brought it back to confirm personally.
“We do.” The shopkeeper asked: “How many do you need?”
“What is the price?” Meng Qi asked again.
“Twenty sixth-grade spirit stones,” the shopkeeper answered.
Meng Qi: “?????”
According to the bamboo slip, the jackdaw grass was a sixth-grade herb. Meng Qi already guessed that it wouldn’t be cheap. But she didn’t expect that the richest disciple in Qingfeng Valley couldn’t even afford a single strand. And it was just the price of one ingredient. If Meng Qi really wanted to cure Xiao Qi, she was afraid that even several hundred sixth-grade spirit stones wouldn’t be enough.
She didn’t feel that it was too expensive, nor did she plan to not buy it. It was just at that moment, Meng Qi truly regretted that she only charged Chu Tianfeng ten times the price.