Chapter 438: The Sea King's Dome
Chapter 438: The Sea King’s Dome
When Lu Yin thought of that elder from the Court of Seven Names, he suddenly remembered that there was a hidden base of the Neohuman Alliance hidden within the Starfall Sea.
He requested a star chart of the Starfall Sea from the pretty maid to study.
“Brother Lu, come and take a look. It’s amazing!” Coco called out to him from the deck.
Lu Yin walked out of the hold and looked into the distance. Before them was a region where the sky was no longer dark. Instead, there was a blue radiance encompassing the entire area, and beneath the blue sky was a towering, majestic mountain. There were multiple layers of white clouds circling around the mountain like streamers, while a faint trace of a seven-colored radiance could be seen in between the cloud layers.
The mountain was conical, narrowing as one approached the peak. A warm patch of sunlight from some unknown origin illuminated the mountain, and it was adorned with large green patches filled with vivacity.
As the ship quickly neared the mountain, the crowd was gradually able to make the mountain out more clearly.
The fog lifted, and it felt like they had arrived at paradise. A white ribbon spilled down from above, which was actually a stream of water. Every so often on its way down the mountain, the cascading river would split apart and start flowing across the mountain, separating into various mountain streams.
Behind the mountain, the void rippled, spreading out in layers, almost as if someone was beating the void like a drum.
The mountain was extremely massive and wide. After getting their first glimpse of the mountain, it took them half an hour to actually reach the area illuminated by sunlight, and even then, it still felt like they were a fair ways away from the mountain.
“Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on arriving at—the Sea King’s Dome,” the beautiful maid loftily announced, her face veritably shining with pride. It wasn’t just her; all the soldiers on the ship from the Sea King’s Dome had proud expressions, as this was their home base. The master of the Starfall Sea resided here, and even though there was only a single mountain, it still was able to suppress the entirety of the Starfall Sea.
Everyone stood on the deck of the ship and stared at the mountain excitedly. A glance was all it took to know that this was no ordinary mountain, but a sacred one.
Lu Yin gradually filled his eyes with star energy, trying to look at the Sea King’s Dome, but it took less than a moment for his eyes to start aching, dissuading him from trying any further. The influence that the Sea King’s Dome had on the universe was too strong, and it had even reached a similar level as the mountain where Lu Yin had met Mister Mu; Lu Yin was similarly unable to observe the Sea King’s Dome.
The closer the ship came to the mountain, the more clearly the passengers were able to sense its boundless strength. It was gentle, yet extremely dignified. It gave the impression of a true deity.
In fact, the Sea King was basically a deity to the people on the ship as even Enlighters would view the Sea King as a deity.
Quite a few spacecraft followed behind the ship, as many of them were similarly from the Sea King’s Dome.
The Sea King’s Dome did not prohibit outsiders from entering, but of course, they could only ascend a limited height on the mountain.
Feng Mo sat in his spacecraft and stared at the Sea King’s Dome in shock. He had come here before in his youth, and he had never forgotten the feeling since. He had assumed that, with his current power level of 150,000, he would feel something different upon returning. However, he quickly realized that he had been gravely mistaken. The sensation that he currently felt from this mountain was no different than in his youth. It wouldn’t matter if he were young or old; even hundreds or thousands of years in the future, he would always face the Sea King’s Dome with the same feeling of reverence and terror.
The Sea King’s power was enough to shock the universe. He was an absolute powerhouse, and people such as Feng Mo would never be able to comprehend such strength.
The seawater around the Sea King’s Dome was different from the rest of the Starfall Sea. Here, there was a touch of golden sunlight.
Only those who arrived at the foot of the mountain could vividly experience the enormity of the mountain. As they looked up, they couldn’t even see the peak. From their perspective, it didn’t look like a mountain, but more like a vertical continent.
On the mountain, the waterfall crashed down with a thundering roar.
The pretty maid stood in a high area, overlooking the crowd. “These are the Sea King’s orders: three days from now, the selection will officially begin. During these three days, you can go sightseeing around the Sea King’s Dome. With the tokens that you’ve been given, all of your expenses will be reimbursed by the Sea King’s Dome.”
Lu Yin suddenly looked up, his eyes burning with a fervent radiance. Reimbursed? He had clearly heard that word.
The others did not really care about being reimbursed since they had come here to actually attempt becoming the Sea King’s son-in-law; none of them had the nerve to ask the Sea King to foot their bills. Also, they were planning on mostly resting so as to preserve their energy in order to deliver their best possible performance. They wanted to at least appear to be generous and high class.
However, Lu Yin was different, and the way he looked at the Sea King’s Dome had changed. Him coming here had turned out to be a great fortune, as he would have missed out on a golden opportunity otherwise.
Lu Yin’s reaction gave the pretty maid quite a fright, and she shot him a fierce look. She then escorted all of the people who had received tokens due to their looks off of the ship and told them that they could head straight for the upper levels of the Sea King’s Dome.
Such discrimination felt unjustified to Lu Yin. There were definitely better things in the higher levels, but he could do nothing about that since he could not change anything.
There were many ports at the base of the mountain that made up the Sea King’s Dome, and they provided docking for both spacecraft and ships that had sailed across the Starfall Sea. As soon as everyone set foot in the port where they had docked, they were astounded by the bustling scene that greeted them.
There were not many planets within the Starfall Sea, which would lead one to assume that the trade here would not be very prosperous. However, what appeared before their eyes was an incomparably booming port, and there was one building in particular was extremely eye-grabbing: Shamrock Enterprises’ local branch. A bit further from them were branches of other well-known organizations from various parts of the universe.
“Most of those who come to the Starfall Sea are adventurers. There are too many legends about the Starfall Sea, and many people come here to try their luck at chasing those legends. Actually, there aren’t that many people here at the Sea King’s Dome. Grayweed Continent is actually much more crowded. Countless powerhouses from all over the universe gather there, and mercenaries…” someone nearby introduced the place to the newcomers.
Lu Yin walked into the port alone and gazed up. He was planning on entering the port when Lulu caught up to him.
Lu Yin was taken aback by her arrival. “You didn’t follow the maid?”
“Do you think that she would dare to take me along?” Lulu retorted.
Lu Yin agreed, as their objective was to safely arrive at the Sea King’s Dome, not to actually become someone’s son-in-law. No matter how bold Lulu might be, she wouldn’t dare to challenge the Sea King’s dignity, and the maid was even more fearful of doing so.
“There’s a prohibition in the Sea King’s Dome prohibiting fighting here, so we’re very safe,” Lulu said.
Lu Yin looked back, but he didn’t see Feng Mo. However, he was confident that Feng Mo would not let them off that easily. The Hunter had probably hidden himself.
Lu Yin’s plan was to roll his die during these three days and to use the star essence in his possession to upgrade himself to a peak Limiteer. However, there was an important decision he had to make first: should he go shopping?
Finally, Lu Yin decided to go on a shopping spree to prevent any accidents, since he only had three days.
“Lulu, what are you intending to buy?” Lu Yin asked as his eyes swept around frantically. His greedy expression betrayed his calm tone.
Lulu paused. “The Sea King will reimburse us, so not buying anything would be wasteful. Let’s go to an auction!”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up as he looked at Lulu, his face clearly showing his admiration towards her. Going to an auction was a great idea.
The two hurriedly made some enquiries, and then, they headed for the largest auction house, located halfway up the mountain.
“Pick one,” Lu Yin said. When the duo arrived, they looked up to see two giant auction houses on either side of the street.
Lulu chose the one to the west, while Lu Yin went to the east. They had no intention of fighting against each other in the auction houses.
The scenery around the Sea King’s Dome was beautiful, and the people there lived simple lives. At least, that was what Lu Yin had observed on his way up the mountain while picking up whatever caught his eye along the way. As long as he showed the token, everyone had been very cordial, so he felt that the inhabitants here were rather guileless.
However, the most vexing concern for Lu Yin at this moment was that his cosmic ring was not large enough, even though he had obtained an upgraded one from Northgate Lie that had originally come from the Starfall Sea.
He bit down on a piece of local fruit and flashed his token to effortlessly enter the auction house.
Due to the Sea King searching for a son-in-law, a great many disciples of great powers in the universe had gathered at the Sea King’s Dome. They might not be the most powerful, but they did not lack money. The auction master did not even need to fan their emotions, and any item being auctioned off was fought over.
Those who could open auction houses on the Sea King’s Dome were not simple, which meant that the goods they dealt with were naturally not inferior. Lu Yin saw something good the very moment he stepped inside.
“One harmless Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. The seller has personally tested it, and it’s definitely harmless. The auction begins now, with a starting price of… three hundred star essence!” the auctioneer shouted.
The people below him started to compete, and each time that they raised their tiles, the price would increase by another ten star essence.
With the Sea King’s token, Lu Yin was guided to a room within the auction house that was reserved for distinguished guests. It was much more luxurious than the hall below. He did not even need to raise a tile to bid. Instead, there was a button beside the seat that let him enter a bid.
There were more than ten types of fruit juice in front of him, and there were also beautiful women in the room to accompany him, but Lu Yin declined everything. Although he did not care about the Sea King’s son-in-law selection, there was no way he would fool around with women while seeking safe harbor in this territory. No matter what, such behavior would basically be an insult to the Sea King, whom Lu Yin didn’t dare to offend.
With the press of the button, Lu Yin joined the auction.
In just a short while, the price rose to 500 star essence.
There was no fixed value to a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Some could reach sky-high prices while others might have low value. It depended solely on whether or not anyone here needed one, as no one could put a price on such an object.
Lu Yin did not bother paying attention to the price. He pressed the button incessantly, until the auction house’s personnel actually had to approach him. They respectfully informed him, “Sir, no one below is competing with you anymore. You can stop pressing the button.”
Lu Yin grunted, as it didn’t matter to him since he wouldn’t be the one paying for it anyways. As for what the price had reached, did he have to know? The auction house just needed to tell the Sea King.
The next item to be auctioned was a universal armor, and not just a normal set of armor at that. A metal from the Cosmic Sea had been fused into it, making it exceptionally sturdy, to the point where it could even defend against a Hunter’s attacks.
Lu Yin did not truly believe this information, as it was the same as a blackhole-grade Aurora. Such a spacecraft could indeed withstand an attack from someone with a power level of 100,000, but Hunters were not idiots. They all had battle techniques and innate gifts, and such things could easily raise a cultivator’s attack power beyond what a gadget showed. It was just like that armless Hunter who had attacked Lu Yin in the past. Still, a universal armor that could withstand an attack of 100,000 was pretty decent, and Lu Yin ended up casually bidding on it.
Lu Yin continued to bid on quite a few items. Although they were likely not to be too useful, only the Sea King could be blamed for being too rich.
However, the frequency of Lu Yin’s bids were quickly noticed by the auction house. They specially dispatched someone to verify his assets, but that person was sent away by the Sea King’s token.
This matter served as a reminder for Lu Yin. What if the Sea King did not fulfill his offer of reimbursing the selection participants after learning of Lu Yin’s situation? That would be unacceptable! Lu Yin immediately decided to behave a bit more low key, promising himself that he would not bid on any more useless items. With that, the auction soon returned to normalcy.
On the other side of the street, Lulu behaved in the opposite manner, and she was even more unrestrained than Lu Yin. She did not even bother with pressing the button, and she simply shouted out a number, generally doubling the most recent bid, allowing her to frequently succeed. This scared the auction house, and they immediately sent someone to inquire about her financial status, but the person only received a rhetorical question in response: “Do you think that the Mavis family lacks money?”
The sentence caused those from the auction house to be speechless. The Mavis name was synonymous with money, and they became even more excited after they learned that Lulu was from the Mavis family. This was an excellent opportunity for them to get rich.
Lulu was pleased with herself, as she would not even end up using her own money since she had the Sea King’s token! The Sea King should be pretty loaded.
The Sea King himself did not know that, at this juncture of the selection, some people participating in the selection were simply aiming to spend as much money as they could, and they were enjoying themselves immensely as they did so.