Cultivation Online

With the Primal Sovereign of the Seas’ Blood Essence keeping the Sea Devils away, Yuan and his group were able to traverse the rest of the Bloody Expanse in peace.

After several more years of travel, they finally reached land.

However, before actually entering the land, Yuan asked out loud, “Hey, Dena, will it be fine for you to walk around without any disguise? You’re supposed to be inside the Deprived Crimson Valley, after all.”

“There’s no point in disguising myself. They’ll discover that I’ve left sooner or later. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they already know,” she replied calmly. “Besides… It’s a hassle.”

“Even so, it’ll help us avoid detection for the time being,” Yuan insisted. “You’re still recovering, so it’s better if you conceal yourself for now.”

Had Supreme Ruler Dena been at full strength, such precautions would have been unnecessary. But in her current state, Yuan had no desire to deal with the current Supreme Ruler. More importantly, he wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble before fully understanding the circumstances behind her exile and the current state of the world.

“Fine…”

Supreme Ruler Dena let out a soft sigh before shifting her appearance, her hair turning pitch black as her figure grew several inches taller, and her presence transformed into something barely noticeable.

“What about me?” Lev suddenly asked aloud.

Yuan turned to look at him with raised eyebrows.

“Sorry, that was a dumb question…” An awkward smile tugged at Lev’s lips when he realized that he was essentially a nobody.

“What about you?” Supreme Ruler Dena suddenly said to Yuan. “You will cause misunderstandings if you walk around like tha.”

Yuan looked down at his own body and replied, “Is it because I look like a noble?”

She quietly nodded.

“In that case…” Unlike Supreme Ruler Dena, Yuan had to swallow an appearance-altering pill to change his appearance.

Moments later, Yuan transformed into a red-skinned Lower Demon.

Shortly after, they departed the crimson sea and entered a harbor at its very edge, one that belonged to a medium-sized city known as the City of Devils.

Upon arrival, Yuan extended his divine sense, sweeping it across the entire city in an instant.

There were just over ten million inhabitants, the majority of them Lower Demons. While the sheer population was already surprising for a city of this size, what truly caught Yuan off guard was that more than half of them had already reached the God Ascension realm.

‘The number of God Ascension demons in this medium-sized city alone likely surpasses the entire population of God Ascension cultivators within the Nine Heavens! And this is just one city!’

Thanks to their immortality, demons were free from one of humanity’s greatest limitations—their finite lifespan. With eternity at their disposal, they never had to fear running out of time before reaching the next realm.

Moreover, demons were inherently superior to humans in terms of physique and bloodline, granting them a natural advantage in cultivation.

Where humans required extraordinary talent to ascend to higher realms like the God Ascension Realm, demons could do so with far greater ease.

Seeing such an overwhelming number of demons at this level, Yuan could easily imagine them sweeping across the Nine Heavens should they ever choose to invade.

Fortunately, these demons were not Forsaken and had no reason nor desire to invade another world.

Once they were inside the city, Yuan looked at the two and asked, “Now, where should we begin? How does one acquire information in this world?”

“Well, it depends on what sort of information you’re after. For general questions, just about anyone can help. But for lucrative intel like what you seek, you’ll need the Crimson Brokers.”

“Where can we find them?” Yuan asked.

“There’s at least one stationed in almost every city. In a medium-sized city like this, they’re almost certainly here. They usually wear a black robe with a crimson symbol on their chest.”

Yuan used his divine sense to scan the entire city again.

“I found him. Let’s go.”

Some time later, Yuan and his companions approached a black‑robed figure loitering in a shadowy alley, looking extremely suspicious.

“Hey, are you a Crimson Broker?” Yuan asked as he calmly approached the individual.

“Why are you asking?” The Crimson Broker asked.

“I’m looking for information on a certain individual.”

“What’s their reputation like?”

“One of the most famous—or infamous individuals in this world.”

“In that case, there’s likely no need for an investigation. Who is this person? And what sort of information are you looking for?”

“She’s Supreme Ruler—” Yuan abruptly halted his speech when he remembered that Supreme Ruler Dena’s name was forbidden.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat before restarting, “She used to be a Supreme Ruler, and her name is one that cannot be uttered. I want to know what she did that caused her to be—”

“W-Wait!” the Crimson Broker suddenly interrupted him. “If you’re talking about ‘that’ Supreme Ruler, then you can forget it because I cannot help you!”

Without elaborating, the Crimson Broker hastily left the scene the next second.

“…”

“Looks like this will be more difficult than I initially anticipated…” Yuan sighed out loud after a moment of silence.

He turned to look at Lev and asked, “What now? Is there anyone else who can provide us with the information we seek?”

“Well…” Lev started, his gaze shifting to Supreme Ruler Dena. “Considering how that Crimson Broker reacted just now, I doubt we’ll be able to gather information on ‘her’ through normal means.”

“Although Crimson Brokers aren’t official informants, they just skirt the edges of shady. As for those in the shadows who are willing to do anything for money… I only know of the Abyssal Council.”

“Great. Where can we find them?” Yuan asked without hesitation and a single ounce of fear in his voice.

“Um… sorry, but I have no clue. I am only aware of their existence,” Lev said while shaking his head.

However, before Yuan could respond, Supreme Ruler Dena suddenly spoke, “I know where we can find the Abyssal Council.”