That indolent voice had a blatantly provocative tone.

Su Yi had never liked verbal battles, but he was interested in probing these mysterious old-timers, so he used Speaking Divine Writ and said with the voice of the heart, “You speak out of turn. You must be punished!”

Silence followed. Nothing happened whatsoever.

After a while, that indolent voice burst into laughter. “Haha! Little baby, are you trying to make me laugh myself to death?”

The others burst into uproarious laughter shortly after.

“You’ve yet to master the Book of Destiny, yet you think you can use Speaking Divine Writ to punish us? I’ve got to say, you sure are a bold little fellow!”

“Strange. How could a supreme treasure like the Book of Destiny have landed in the hands of a foolish kid like you?”

One voice after another rang out, all of them teasing, mocking, and jeering.

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. If that didn’t work, I’ll just have to try again!

His Heart Soul formed hand seals as he used the Spirit Platform Chapter. His heart instantly lit up with dazzling light.

Then, he tried Speaking Divine Writ once more.

“Those who disrespect me must be punished!”

This time, the Book of Destiny heated up.

Within the strange landscape of the Book of Destiny, streaks of dazzling Laws of the natural order appeared, filling the dome of heaven. An oppressive, calamitous aura spread.

A clamor of panicked voices rang out.

“That little wretch actually...”

“Run!”

Boom!

It was like Heaven’s Will displaying its strength and majesty. Lightning imbued with a mysterious power descended from the heavens, cracking like whips.

Cries rang out, like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.”

“Damn you, Mo Hanyi! You could have provoked anyone, so why provoke that little bastard of all people!?” someone shouted and cursed, clutching their head as they scampered around like a rat.

The whips of lightning threw the whole area into chaos. Desperate cries arose on all sides.

“Why are you punishing us? That was all on Mo Hanyi! Why should we have to suffer, too?”

“You might be Destiny’s Chosen, but you can’t just do whatever you want!”

Su Yi’s face was pale. Defeating those River Kings had been enormously draining, and now, he’d issue “divine punishment” on top of all that. Even his Heart Soul was dim and feeble.

Nonetheless, he smiled. He didn’t know why these old-timers were sealed within the book. Perhaps they were each as terrifying as could be, but now that he had the Spirit Platform Chapter, punishing them was easy!

“Little Destiny’s Chosen, I submit! How about we talk this over? I’m sure you don’t understand the Book of Destiny’s secrets. I can tell you everything!” Mo Hanyi, the indolent-sounding man who’d made fun of Su Yi earlier, spoke up once more. “Just don’t bear a grudge.”

“I’m not interested.” But Su Yi refused without hesitation and closed the Book of Destiny.

He didn’t trust these mysterious figures at all. Prior to truly mastering the Book of Destiny, there was no way he’d try to learn anything from them. Especially since he could sense the enormous resentment in their voices. Some of it was directed at Xiao Jian, but the rest was directed at him for acquiring the Book of Destiny!

That aside, learning the Spirit Platform Chapter was an unexpected harvest. He naturally wouldn’t covet anything else.

Yes, he wanted to learn the Book of Destiny’s secrets, but he’d uncover them for himself. He didn’t need others to guide him.

Without any further delay, Su Yi set aside his scattered thoughts, focused on the Spirit Platform Chapter, and immersed himself in tempering his heart.

Mysterious power surged from the Book of Destiny, flowing into his heart and replenishing his earlier expenditures.

A day later, he’d recovered about half of the secret power of his heart, but Su Yi no longer dared to delay.

“You stay here and wait to welcome me back,” Su Yi called the Star Toad over and ordered. “I’ll come see you once every seven days. If I don’t make it back within the allotted time, leave immediately."

The Star Toad had already been exposed as one of the Peacock River Empress’s allies, so it didn’t make sense for him to visit the Spirit Treasure Celestial City again.

“Your Excellency, I...”

The Star Toad was just about to object when Su Yi shook his head. “Do as I say.”

The Star Toad sighed and agreed.

Su Yi, meanwhile, transformed once more, taking on the appearance of a foppish young dandy in gray. He was wearing the face of Wang Zhiwu, the Master of Legends.

He figured it was fine. After all, beneath the River of Destiny, no one would recognize Wang Zhiwu.

......

This was Su Yi’s third time visiting the city, except that he hadn’t passed through the gates the first two times.

This time, much to his surprise, the Peacock River Empress’s seven attendants were no longer hanging from the gates.

Su Yi pondered briefly, then proceeded into the city. The streets were so crowded that he bumped shoulders with strangers as he passed. It was like an endless, flowing river of traffic.

Except that all of the pedestrians were denizens of the depths, including river cultivators like the Star Toad, but also vengeful souls, ghosts, and spirits.

For all Su Yi’s breadth of experience, he could feel his horizons broadening.

The Star Toad had told him that the River of Destiny was home to no small number of infamous Ghost and Spirit Kings. They had different origins, but all of them had proven their Daos here, so they too needed to acquire true names to advance.

Rumor had it that the mightiest of them could become “River Emperors,” too. However, it was far rarer for them to succeed than it was for the more typical, animal-like river denizens.

The Spirit Treasure Celestial City was enormous, with an ancient, primeval quality to it. The vendors lining the vast network of interconnected roads sold all manner of objects. Almost all were unique to the River of Destiny.

The Star Toad said that in the Spirit Treasure Celestial Capital, you could barter, or you could use Eternal Essence Gold and Destiny Jades.

After all, Destiny Jade and Eternal Essence Gold were originally gathered from the River of Destiny, and they were useful both as currency and for cultivation.

The one thing Su Yi didn't lack was Eternal Essence Gold. Over the past few years, he’d gathered an inestimable sum of Eternal Essence Gold as part of his spoils of war. He had several hundred pieces of Destiny Jade, too.

He was short on cultivation resources. If he hadn’t planned to go shopping in the city, he’d have refined his Eternal Essence Gold and Destiny Jade a long time ago.

After wandering for a while, Su Yi got busy.

“I want this whole bundle of Serene Grass.”

“Do you have Five-Lightning Flecked Lava? Excellent. I’ll take a thousand catties!”

“What’s this? I want it!”

A river of money flowed out of him as he bought resources at one shop, then another.

He couldn’t help but sigh. The cultivation world here really is different from the Eternal Heavens Domain. Up there, a single stalk of Serene Grass can fetch a full three hundred pieces of Eternal Essence Gold, but down here, just ten pieces can buy a whole bundle!

He found no small number of similar deals. Many treasures, rare and precious in the Eternal Heavens Domain, were common, ordinary goods here.

Conversely, many items considered commonplace in the Eternal Heavens Domain sold for astronomical prices.

Su Yi seized the opportunity to sell off everything he had no use for, receiving more than ten, or in some cases more than one hundred times the price he’d have gotten in the Eternal Heavens Domain.

It was such a great bargain that Su Yi couldn’t help but feel like he was making off like a bandit. It was deeply satisfying.

He couldn’t help but fantasize about establishing a team of merchants to ferry goods between the Eternal Heavens Domain and the underwater cities of the River of Destiny. Succeed, and he’d soon find himself absolutely rolling in dough!

But Su Yi quickly rejected this unrealistic notion.

Aside from him and a handful of others, no one from the Eternal Heavens Domain could travel freely beneath the surface of the River of Destiny.

Moreover, Su Yi had heard of top trading companies of the Eternal Heavens Domain establishing unique trading relationships with the River Kings of the River of Destiny. They’d conduct business with the River Kings’ merchants atop the River of Destiny.

But such relationships were ultimately limited. Moreover, the risk was enormous, as there was always the chance their trading partners would turn on them.

“Wait up, Brother!”

Su Yi had only just emerged from a shop when a rat-faced, gaunt man sidled up to him and transmitted furtively, “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve brought upon yourself?”

Su Yi’s expression didn’t so much as waver. He transmitted, “What kind of trouble?”

He noticed that the thin man’s hands were covered in black scales, while his eyes shone faint gold. It was immediately obvious that he was not yet a River King.

“They say that overt displays of wealth inevitably lead to disaster. Don’t tell me you don’t understand that?” the thin man transmitted.

This wasn’t just alarmism, either. Su Yi had long since noticed that as he continuously bought and sold treasure after treasure, he’d drawn a lot of covetous gazes. By now, everywhere he went, numerous hungry eyes watched his every move.

They’d obviously taken him for a fatty sheep.

Su Yi feigned surprise. “But I thought fighting and killing were prohibited in the Spirit Treasure Celestial City!”

The rat-faced man sneered. He was now all but certain that this young stranger really was new to the city, and moreover, that he was absolutely rolling in dough, yet too ignorant to realize that it made him a target.

“No one will try anything on the surface, but what about in secret?” said the thin man, his gaze rife with meaning. “The city is enormous. It’s full of places the Four City Lords’ sight does not reach!”

Su Yi said nervously, “Can you help me find a way out, friend?”

The thin man said solemnly, “That depends on whether or not you show sufficient sincerity.”

Su Yi instantly understood what he was getting at and promptly passed him a bag of holding. The rat-faced man opened it, and his eyes instantly lit up. It contained a full one thousand pieces of Eternal Essence Gold!

“Brother, I’ve got to say, your luck is quite something. You actually ran into someone with the heart of a bodhisattva!” The man patted Su Yi on the shoulder.

Su Yi clasped his fist. “I’ll be sure to reward you generously once I’ve safely left the city!”

The rat-faced man fell silent. Something suddenly didn’t seem quite right here. Isn’t this guy a bit too gullible? Not even a dog would have believed those clumsy excuses, so why is he taking them so seriously?

But he quickly set those thoughts aside. He had, after all, survived in the city for years, and his role in all this was minor; all he had to do was deliver the target to the designated location. Then, he could wash his hands of all this. What was there to be afraid of?

“Come with me.” The thin man turned and walked into the distance, flowing through the crowd like a fish in water. He clearly knew the area well.

Su Yi followed, but inwardly, a vivid scene unfolded.

He could see every last person targeting him in the surrounding thirty-thousand-foot area!