"I'm Sister Hong Yin," the nun finally got a chance to speak, smiling. "Senior brother's secular name is Qin Jia Tian."

"Big... Bro?"

Shuro and Lee were taken aback, exchanging a look before glancing at Qin Jia Tian's upper body.

What was big about it? This was blatantly nonsense!

"Big Bro... interesting nickname you've got there," Shuro forced out a laugh.

Lee stole a peek at the ample twin peaks beneath Hong Yin's Daoist robe, averting his gaze to sigh sincerely, "The immortal maiden is too modest!"

Hong Yin was clueless while cold sweat beaded Qin Jia Tian's forehead. Unable to explain to the innocent nun, he glared sharply at the Young Master Chuan, only to find the air of mystery gone. He seemed just like any mundane street youth.

"This is your first time in Warden City?" Qin switched topics.

"How did you know?"

"If you had experience, you wouldn't be so unprepared."

"Oh? Is Warden City very chaotic and dangerous?"

"Not dangerous, but it is chaotic indeed. Young Master Chuan, you may not know Warden City's origins."

"Please enlighten me, Big Bro."

"Like the mundane world has dens for outlaws and rabble, so too does the cultivation world. Such places are called Ruins, hidden within Yin Chuan's underworld. Each Ruin has its own distinct laws set by the strongest in its history along with the city lord alliance."

Shuro listened quietly.

"You mean the cultivation world's Ruins are like my Tera Dynasty's black markets? Shady places that avoid daylight?"

"You could say that, though much more complex than just black markets." Qin cleared his throat, pointing to the coin-filled chest in Lee's arms. "Plus with Warden City's inscription-reading meet underway, major and prestigious sects of the Heavenly South have sent elders and disciples. Strutting in flaunting money like this can easily attract trouble. In other words, you lack a storage ring."

Before Shuro could respond, Qin presented a ring on his palm, grinning. "One thousand Yin coins, no haggling."

"Young master, just who is that Big Bro? He has the air of an immortal but took such a ridiculous nickname, and haggles as shrewdly as Lee without an iota of refinement." Riding the Yin Chuan steeds, Lee looked baffled.

"Whoever he is, he means no harm to us." Shuro turned the storage ring in his hand. Infusing true qi activated its space as he continued, "A thousand coins for a ring that can hold an entire district yamen is an absolute bargain. Didn't you see the others' jaws drop when he gave it to me?"

"You're right, Big Bro clearly wants to get on the young master's good side but hasn't brought it up directly. Lee finally understands - the immortal path is fundamentally no different from the martial path. Strength still reigns supreme. Display sufficient deterrence and you'll naturally gain respect, even from immortals." Lee gestured with a thumbs up, winding and fawning.

Lewis blushed slightly at the praise while Shuro paid no heed, long used to Lee's manner.

Immortal sects? Just cultivated people.

Hours later at dawn, Shuro's party arrived before the city walls on their eight-legged steeds.

Dim sunlight pierced the thick gloom, bathing the desolate ruins. Rather than ruins, it was an immense fortress rivaling Caelius Capital. Windowless from the outside, the mottled bricks were etched with dense, cryptic patterns - profound glyphs fused into the walls, exuding a potent aura. Shrouded in rolling black mist, the entire city was mysterious and archaic.

"Celestial Caelius above, twelve floors, five cities."

Halting before the walls, Shuro narrowed his eyes and murmured the poem.

As Shuro arrived at Warden City, memories of what the Nine-Dragon Sovereign sought grew clearer, the misty veil lifting.

"The inscription steles in the southeast outskirts... it's hidden among them!" His pupils dilated as he realized.

Lee looked oddly at Shuro. "Young master, let's head into the city."

"Let's go."

They climbed the winding cloud ladders, crossing over layers of stone steps into Warden City.

Before them was a majestic, grand plaza rivaling those in Caelius Capital. At its center stood an ancient hall ringed by dark pillars, of neither Buddhist nor Daoist design. Blue and white mists swirled above the hall, occasionally flashing with purple lightning and green fires.

The hundred-pace radius around the hall was desolate and silent, not a soul in sight. Most kept their distance, intentionally avoiding the vicinity. Beyond the hundred-pace boundary, however, was a dense crowd of at least thousands. Immortals and mortals mixed together, their overbearing auras soaring skyward. The weakest were at the half-step rogue cultivator level for mortals, Foundation Establishment for cultivators. Some great void martial artists were present too, but only as attendants to the cultivators.

"S-so many people," Lewis stammered, face stiff.

"No wonder, with the inscription steles opening as Big Bro mentioned," Lee remarked.

"The steles opening," Shuro murmured, gaze flickering.

A cultivator passed by shouldering a sandalwood pole. Shuro stepped forward, "Excuse me, fellow Daoist."

The peddler-looking cultivator sized up Shuro and grumbled, "What is it?"

"We're new arrivals. May I ask why Warden City is so lively today?"

"Why should I tell you?" He walked off expressionlessly.

"If you tell me, I'll help drum up business for you. You haven't opened shop yet today, right?" Shuro smiled, blocking him.

The cultivator halted and scrutinized Shuro for a while. His little mustache twitched as he beamed and slapped Shuro's shoulder heartily. "Why didn't you say so earlier? What fortune, what fortune to meet me! Though I haven't opened shop, I'll give you first dibs today."

Lee and Lewis exchanged looks at his rapid change in attitude and shamelessness.

The peddler quickly set down his pole and took out goods - herbs, pills, talismans, artifacts. Everything had a listed price from one to ten thousand Yin coins. Soon, a small mountain of items covered a ten-pace radius around him, far exceeding the pole's capacity.

Lee and Lewis gawked while Shuro knew the pole must be an artifact like the storage ring, though its grade was uncertain.

"Here's everything, go ahead and pick." The peddler smiled. "Since this is drumming up business, the first transaction can't involve haggling."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Shuro felt intrigued browsing the selection. "Do you have Rejuvenation Pills?"

"Unfortunately just sold the last one. Fellow Daoist can check the south plaza, many pill vendors there should have it. It's not rare."

Shuro nodded. With the Rejuvenation Pill, he could remove Bai Yiqing's seal and increase his odds at Old Lady Yu's centennial banquet in seven days.

"I'll take this." He pointed to a fiery red, head-sized pill pulsating with light.

"Excellent eye! This eighth-grade Flood Dragon Core Pill costs five hundred Yin. Rich in essence and blood, it's a superb supplement for the physical body's external cultivation." The peddler raised his thumb. "We Southern cultivators focus on Primordial Spirit, though we also temper our bodies. Fellow Daoist's foresight is admirable."

Shuro smiled and retrieved five hundred Yin coins from his ring, though many items were better than the Flood Dragon Pill. But they were too expensive, ranging from five thousand to tens of thousands of Yin coins. The cheaper goods held little appeal.

"That's five thousand gold ingots!"

Lee winced in anguish, mentally bleeding. They had ten thousand and one Yin coins left after giving Big Bro a thousand and this unscrupulous peddler five hundred. The young master better spend thriftily!

"Clean deal!"

The peddler handed the Flood Dragon Pill to Shuro and started packing up before Lee interrupted with an insincere smile. "My young lord opened business for you, so you should offer something small in return. How about two more worthless trinkets?"

The peddler's brow twitched but soon relaxed. "Fine, fine. Meeting you today is fate too. I have some unpriced goods, just pick any."

Shuro looked towards the dozen or so items - herbs, talismans, and a few dull spirit stones of low grade and weaker aura. No wonder they were unpriced, not even worth one Yin coin.

His gaze fell on one item and lingered - a lustrous white talisman devoid of any aura. Yet Shuro vaguely sensed something special about it.

Grasping the opportunity, Lee snatched up the talisman. "We'll take this."

The peddler examined it. "This is a guise talisman - it can disguise you as someone else with a unique transformed appearance. But it's easily seen through by powerful experts." He chuckled. "Since you've chosen, no changing your pick."

Lee looked awkwardly at Shuro.

Shuro just smiled faintly. "This one, no changing."

"You asked why Warden City is so lively today." The peddler packed up as he explained, "The inscription steles open once a year two days from now. All major and minor sects of the Southern Heavens send Foundation Establishment disciples to trial, so the city gets bustling."

"So it will be two days before we can enter the Stone Sea?" Shuro inquired.

"Indeed, fellow daoist. If you wish to enter the Stone Sea, you must wait another two days," replied the merchant cultivator as he finished packing his wares, humming a tune as he ambled towards the south side of the square.

Two more days of waiting it is, then.

Shuro felt the tension ease from his brow as he glanced at Lee and Lewis. He saw eagerness writ plainly across their faces.

"Let's go take a look around," Shuro suggested.

The south side of the square was lined with peddlers loudly hawking their wares, most at the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Three hundred-year nine-grade ginseng fruit, only two hundred Yin coins!"

"Five hundred-year eight grade dragon phoenix grass, yours for three hundred Yin!"

"Primeval mined turtle stone, seventh grade congenital mineral, five hundred Yin a piece, no haggling!"

"Turtle stone? Lee, buy some," Shuro instructed.

Lee's face was a picture of reluctance, but at Shuro's further urging: "That fellow over there looks to be buying, take the turtle stone and ask if he'll pay eight hundred Yin," his spirits rose. He soon returned, beaming and flashing a thumbs up, a hefty pouch of coins in hand. "Young master, your eye is keen! We struck gold!"

In but half a day's time, the number of Yin coins on Shuro's person had replenished to ten thousand. His storage ring now held more precious pills and minerals, including the Soul Clearing Rebirth Pill needed to unseal Blanche. Lee's eyebrows danced with delight, Lewis equally gladdened.

Shuro's party had long since attracted attention, and whenever a cultivator with unfriendly mien drew near they were intercepted by the same group of elders with profound cultivation. Shuro took note, betraying nothing.

"Look there," Lewis indicated, pointing to the southwest corner of the drill grounds.

Shuro and Lee followed his gaze. They beheld a ring of people, at the center of which immortal disciples were engaged in magical combat, energy waves swirling violently as talismans flared bright.

A mild voice sounded from behind.

"Ah, young master Chuan seems surprised. In but two days the Stone Sea will open for the Comprehension Convention, a time of excitement for disciples. Skirmishes like these are only normal," one of the elders remarked conversationally as they approached. Examined closely, each exuded an overpowering aura despite their advanced age, forms upright and eyes flashing with traced lightning.

These were the wandering cultivators from Yin Chuan. Shuro remembered how their burning stares had raised his hackles. He smiled lightly. "Comprehension Convention? What is that?"

"There is a Stone Sea in Warden City, left behind by the strongest experts from the southern domains over a thousand years ago, engraved with their lifetimes' worth of daoist teachings and insights. Every year on the twenty-second day of the second month, the Stone Sea opens and Warden City invites all immortal sects in the south to come study its contents. Only Foundation Establishment realm disciples can enter, those at higher cultivation cannot," explained the fat elder, face flushed. Though not as corpulent as Lee, he too sported a rounded physique.

"Might we enter as well?" Shuro inquired.

The fat elder shook his head. "Only sanctioned disciples of orthodox immortal sects have the qualification to enter the Stone Sea."

Shuro's brows knitted together, sensing the undisguised curiosity in the man's gaze. He changed the subject. "I'd have thought all private duels banned in Warden City."

The fat elder smiled faintly. "Young master Chuan is unaware, but Warden City enforces only three edicts. First, as with all desolate cities, might makes right. Second, any personal grudges may be resolved through martial trial, but aside from dedicated dueling grounds, any murders committed in Warden City are subject to a tax of ten thousand Yin coins per life taken. Third..."

Shuro waited expectantly.

"No grazing livestock in Warden City."

No...grazing livestock?

Shuro gaped. Lee and Lewis's jaws hung open.

"The first edict is universal law of the Yin Chuan ruins. The second was instituted by the City Lord Alliance. As for the third," interjected another elder, skin bronzed and double-pupiled, "its creator has a history with you three. The strongest person ever to have lived in Warden City - Bruno."

"Ah!" Lewis exclaimed in surprise.

“My great Tera founding emperor’s grand tutor, deemed Warden City’s strongest? How can a mortal man exceed even immortals?” Lee gaped, struggling to accept it.

Shuro was unrattled. Since obtaining the immortal version of the Seven Arts of Stealth from the River Sovereign he knew the supposedly frail, wine-loving poet-emperor of historical accounts was no ordinary figure.

The Nine Dragon Monarch...Warden City...Bruno...could there be some connection between the Nine Dragon Monarch and Bruno?

Shuro contemplated quietly, but no memories stirred from his past life this time.

The rotund elder guffawed. "It seems young master Chuan already knows. But that is to be expected of one called Ferryman of a Single Phrase - ever since a 'young master Chuan' appeared in Tera, all of us wandering cultivators in the southern domains have been abuzz. I am Sun Zhongyuan of Great Zhou, long an admirer of master Chuan."

The elder with bronzed skin and double pupils glared at Sun Zhongyuan before facing Shuro to perform an archaic gesture of greeting. "I am Wu Ju of Great Xia."

No sooner had they finished speaking than Lee cried, "The famed Nan Sun Bei Wu! Strongest martial artists of the past three centuries! How can you still be ali...er, pardon me, I spoke out of turn. Junior Lee pays his respects to the seniors."

Wu Ju shook his head. "Famed? Such reputation in martial circles is but fleeting clouds."

Sun Zhongyuan gave a wry smile. "Do not blame Lee for his surprise. Compared to cultivators our lives as martial artists are more arduous. Even upon reaching the wandering cultivator realm our natural lifespans cap at two hundred years. By the standards of ordinary martial artists we should have gone on to meet our ancestors long ago. Thanks to certain contributions we made to our respective dynasties, we were gifted longevity increasing pills to extend our lives another century. A mere hundred years vanish in the blink of an eye - old Wu and I now have but a handful more years remaining to us."

The other elders accompanying them sighed empathetically as well.

Though unfamiliar with these men, it was apparent to Shuro that invisible circles existed within the southern martial world. At the highest echelons were these wandering cultivators and half-step wanderers connected to the immortal sects. Figures like Lee at the peak of Empty Spirit may be unable to make direct overtures, but were knowledgeable regarding the wanderers across the southern lands all the same.

As for Great Zhou and Great Xia, though unfamiliar to him, from the dynastic titles alone Shuro understood they were powerful nations. He already knew from the Nine Dragon Sovereign's memories that mid-sized countries like Tera were but a speck amidst the sprawling terrain of the southern domains, numbering at least three hundred others. Still tinier fiefs easily numbered over a thousand.

Wu Ju cleared his throat with a look at Shuro: "I've met Marco too. He indeed lives up to being a heaven-sent genius - given time, his attainments will surely surpass ours. Back then when the orthodox sect deemed him incapable of taking up cultivation, we old fellows also felt it a terrible pity."

Taking his cue, Sun Zhongyuan added: "That has always been our fate as warriors, most tragic. At least there was the prodigy Marco to give us hope of transcending destiny."

At this, Lee made a disgruntled noise at the back of his throat.

The subtle reaction was not lost upon the crafty old eccentrics, immediately heightening their interest. Smiling, Sun Zhongyuan said:

"Why, even Marco himself admitted it was young master Chuan's guidance that enabled him to coagulate true qi and set foot onto the immortal path. We would not presume to make demands of master Chuan, but perhaps if fate allows..."

Shuro smiled faintly, offering no reply. He understood clearly these men's motive for approaching following Marco's ascension - kindling hopes they too might somehow defy fate. But Shuro owed them no favors, and moreover Marco's innate talents had been peerless. It could be said Marco was only ferried across because heaven itself had already opened the way.

The cultivators' hearts sank as Shuro remained silent.

If not for their encounter at Yin Chuan, they would have dismissed rumors of a "young master Chuan" as no more than idle gossip. Yet the casual slaying of that immortal disciple before their eyes ignited a fragile hope within Sun Zhongyuan and Wu Ju's hearts they thought long dead - perhaps destiny could be defied after all.

The Ferryman of a Single Phrase...truth or fabrication?

Feeling the elders' dubious stares, Lee could restrain himself no longer. He stole a furtive glance at Shuro before stepping forward, somewhat smugly declaring: "These seniors need not worry, I was present when my young lord met Marco that day."

At his words, the wanderers' eyes lit up with keen interest.

With a look to Shuro and receiving no dissent, Lee launched into graphic narration - Marco's initial pathetic helplessness, Shuro's transcendent grace and ease ferrying him across. His liberal embellishments soon had the elders hanging raptly on his every word, gazes burning with revived fervor as they looked upon Shuro.

Shuro shook his head, about to speak, when abruptly a sense of foreboding welled up within.

Eyes flashing, he whipped his head around towards the tunnel opening beneath the cloud ladder. There an emaciated old man stood stunned, staring fixedly at Shuro.

Flanking him were five cultivators sporting feathered caps and robes, cultivation base evenly matched with Sun Zhongyuan and the rest.

Though unfamiliar with the old man, Shuro immediately recognized those daoist robes - the same worn by Blanche's assailant in the manor gardens.

Malice flashed through the shrivelled elder's eyes. Head bowed, he whispered into the lead cultivator's ear. The cultivator slowly raised his head, gaze like solid ice as it locked onto Shuro.

"It's him! Lord Xing Ke of Third Young Master!" Lee hissed by his side. "The raid leader from yesterday!"

The wanderers' attention shifted as well.

"They're from the ninth class Solitary Moon Sect, seems they've also come for the Stone Sea convention," Wu Ju murmured.

Lord Xing Ke...immortal disciples...Solitary Moon Mountain - so that was what transpired. The full picture emerged clear in Shuro's mind.

To curry favor with the Solitary Moon disciples, John had offered up Caelius' foremost beauty, Blanche, as tribute. Shuro happening upon the scene had turned him into a scapegoat of sorts. Surely the unctuous John had long been secretly affiliated with Solitary Moon sect.

"Young lord, if Faithe's disappearance relates to John, we might uncover clues by interrogating him," Lee whispered by his ear.

Shuro blinked, meeting Elder Huang Shiya's venomous glower. His eyes slowly hardened.