Chapter 533 531: Pale Ring

"Have you found any trace of Ning Xueyao and Luo Xiao?"

The mysterious masked person inside the window heard this, then turned and disappeared into the darkness.

A moment later, he reappeared.

"We have a lead on Ning Xueyao. The price is two hundred thousand Spiritual Essence Coins!"

The masked man said.

"Two hundred thousand?"

Luo Tian was a little surprised.

The Celestial Net's prices were usually fair. A high price meant the task was difficult or involved high-level individuals.

Back when Luo Tian had inquired about Cheng Wanli and Ye Feng, it had only cost him thirty thousand Spiritual Essence Coins.

The price for information on Ning Xueyao alone was several times higher than for those two combined!

But now, for Luo Tian, anything that could be solved with money wasn't a problem at all.

Luo Tian took out his First-class VIP Order, received a thirty percent discount, and paid one hundred and forty thousand Spiritual Essence Coins.

The masked man then handed him a piece of paper with the relevant information.

Luo Tian's brow furrowed as he read it; the information was scarce and vague.

According to the description, Ning Xueyao had left the Broken-star Realm and traveled deeper into the Cosmos, entering the region of the "Pale Ring."

"The Pale Ring?"

Luo Tian had heard of it before, but he had no idea where it was or any other details.

"What about news of Luo Xiao?"

Luo Tian asked next.

"There's no definite news at the moment. It might take another two or three months to get you an answer, and the price will only be higher than the information on Ning Xueyao."

The masked man said in a low voice, as if even he was surprised by this result. Just who was this "Luo Xiao" that even the Celestial Net's intelligence capabilities had failed to find him?

"Nothing?"

Luo Tian began to suspect that this branch of the Celestial Net Intelligence Organization might be a fake.

He didn't have several months to wait around here.

After leaving the Celestial Net Organization, Luo Tian closed his eyes, his consciousness entering the Celestial Book World!

He planned to use the Celestial Book directly to perform an Inference on his father Luo Xiao's whereabouts!

"Celestial Book, how many Spiritual Essence Coins to perform an Inference on my father's whereabouts!"

Many lines of text appeared on the Celestial Book.

Luo Tian stared, dumbfounded.

Cost: 1,500 pages of Energy for a rough clue.

Cost: 2,500 pages of Energy for more information.

Cost: 5,000 pages of Energy for precise information.

'Celestial Book, when did you become such a crooked merchant?'

Luo Tian lamented.

Currently, replenishing one page of the Celestial Book's Energy required two hundred Spiritual Essence Coins. That meant 1,500 pages would cost three hundred thousand Spiritual Essence Coins.

Two thousand five hundred pages would be five hundred thousand Spiritual Essence Coins.

Although Luo Tian was wealthy, he wasn't willing to squander his money like that.

After a moment's thought, however, Luo Tian could understand the price.

After all, his father had been missing for a very long time, and Luo Tian didn't have a single related clue. Under these circumstances, the cost of the Inference would naturally be high.

It was like performing an Inference on a Martial Skill.

Improving an existing skill was relatively cheap.

Right now, it was as if Luo Tian were asking the Celestial Book to create a powerful Martial Skill from scratch, with no foundation whatsoever. The high cost was to be expected.

Next, Luo Tian began replenishing the Celestial Book's Energy.

"A rough clue," Luo Tian said.

WHOOSH!

The pages of the Celestial Book flickered with a faint cyan light and turned rapidly. A line of text then appeared.

"The Pale Ring..."

"This place again!"

Luo Tian's eyes narrowed!

"The Pale Ring, what is it? Where is it?"

Luo Tian asked again.

Getting this answer only required two hundred pages of Energy.

Dense text soon appeared on the Celestial Book.

"In the vast Cosmos, there are thousands upon thousands of realms..."

Across the entire Cosmos, the distribution of spatial realms was like a sky full of scattered stars.

Among the Ten Thousand Races, a standard for classifying the geography of the Cosmos gradually took shape.

The spatial realms scattered at the outermost edge of the Cosmos were divided into an immense ring called the "Broken Ring."

The Broken-star Realm where Luo Tian was located was just a small piece of the Broken Ring!

Venturing from the Broken Ring deeper into the Cosmos would lead one into the second ring-shaped region: the "Pale Ring"!

'The Cosmos is so vast...'

Although Luo Tian had long known this, the understanding became much more profound after learning about the geography.

The Broken-star Realm he had traveled through after leaving the Dongchen Continent was merely a single area within the Broken Ring.

Most people were unaware of this.

After all, the Broken-star Realm itself was huge, and they might never leave it in their entire lives.

'Finding Ning Xueyao and my father is going to be a long journey...'

Luo Tian sighed.

A round trip between the Broken Ring and the Pale Ring would take several years at least.

Venturing rashly into a strange and distant place required thorough preparation.

For now, Luo Tian had no intention of setting out.

He could only set the matter aside for the time being.

Afterward, Luo Tian left the Martial City Spirit Hall and headed for the Celestial Mountain Realm, intending to complete a Sect mission he had accepted along the way.

...

「One month later.」

Near the Celestial Mountain Realm, a grayish-white Void Ship sailed through the dim void.

Onboard, a dozen or so thieves were having a party.

"Come on, bottoms up!"

"It won't be long before our Pang Hu Thief Gang is famous throughout the Broken-star Realm!"

The many thieves were feasting and drinking boisterously.

One of them, a tall, thin man, looked at the "one-eyed, middle-aged man" in the seat of honor with a fawning smile. "It's all thanks to the Boss's brilliant leadership that the Pang Hu Thief Gang has come this far!"

"Come, let's toast the Boss!"

The other thieves all raised their wine jars and began to chug.

"Hmph! Those who follow me, Pang Hu, will all become infamous thieves in the future!"

The corners of the one-eyed man's mouth curled up as he also took a drink.

BANG! BANG!

Suddenly, a noise came from the cabin, ruining the one-eyed man's good mood.

"Didn't I tell you to tie that broad up properly? She's very important cargo!"

The one-eyed man's gaze turned vicious!

"Boss, I'll go make her quiet down."

The tall, thin man immediately volunteered.

The woman locked in the cabin was stunningly beautiful. The mere thought of her stirred his lust.

"Don't you dare harm a single hair on her head! Or I'll skin you alive!"

The one-eyed man barked coldly.

"Yes!"

The tall, thin man couldn't help but shiver and nodded repeatedly.

'Can't bed her, but getting a little handsy should be fine.'

The tall, thin man came to a room in the cabin.

He opened the door. Inside was a young woman, trussed up.

When the young woman saw the tall, thin man, she immediately took several steps back, her face filled with terror.

But for a pure and beautiful woman like her to be bound all over and show such a fearful posture only inflamed the tall, thin man's wicked desires!

"Are all you female disciples of the Tai Yuan Sect this beautiful? I really want to ignore the Captain's punishment and ride you!"

The tall, thin man approached slowly, a wicked smile on his face.

...

On deck, the thieves continued to drink.

Just then, a young man in a simple blue shirt flew over from a distance. He called out, "Are you the Pang Hu Thief Gang?"

The newcomer was none other than Luo Tian.

When he left the Sect, he had also accepted a mission.

A group called the Pang Hu Thief Gang had robbed and killed many people near the Tai Yuan Realm. Luo Tian's mission was to wipe them all out.

"Boss, more business has arrived!"

A thief said with a laugh.

In his eyes, the Pang Hu Thief Gang's reputation must have soared recently, and someone wanted to cooperate with them.

"Kid, what business do you have with our Thief Gang?"

The one-eyed man shouted.

"Good, it is you!"

The blue-shirted man nodded slightly and said, "I've come to borrow your heads!"

As soon as he said this, several members of the Pang Hu Thief Gang smashed their wine jars and revealed ferocious expressions.

A few others, however, burst into laughter.

"You damn brat, are you brainless? Coming to provoke our Pang Hu Thief Gang all by yourself?"

"Tsk tsk, we're so scared!"

The one-eyed Pang Hu sneered, then his expression darkened. "It seems the reputation of our Pang Hu Thief Gang isn't great enough!"

Being provoked by a greenhorn like this felt like an insult!

"Boss, he's just a little punk. No need for you to act. Let me capture him and torture him severely!"

A brawny man volunteered.

"Mm!"

Pang Hu nodded and sat back down.

'I'm a man of some standing now. It's not appropriate for me to personally handle every little thing.'

The brawny man's cultivation was at the Peak of the Earth Element Realm Eighth Layer, more than enough to deal with Luo Tian.

"Damn brat, die!"

The brawny man roared, rushing off the Void Ship. A giant, dark metal hammer of immense size appeared in his hands.

BOOM! WHOOSH!

He smashed the hammer down, stirring up a black whirlwind in the void, filled with terrifying force.

It seemed as if Luo Tian would be smashed into meat paste in the next moment.

Luo Tian's expression was impassive. The [Ice Nether Sword] appeared in his hand!

PSSSH!

A Sword Light, as fast as lightning and incomparably sharp, streaked across the void.

The brawny man charging at Luo Tian suddenly felt his hands lighten. He stared and saw that his giant hammer had actually been split in two!

"This..."

The brawny man's heart leaped into his throat!

This was a Top Grade Treasure Artifact, weighing six thousand jin!

Yet Luo Tian had casually split it apart with a single sword strike!

The next moment, the brawny man realized something was wrong with his body. He looked down and saw a clean wound extending from his shoulder to his abdomen, splitting him in two!

THUD!

The brawny man's vision went black as his corpse fell onto the deck!

The falling body left all the thieves on the deck utterly stunned!

That brawny man, at the Peak of the Earth Element Realm Eighth Layer, had been killed instantly in a single exchange!

"Engage the enemy!"

Pang Hu instantly realized that this newcomer was no simple foe!

"Ah!"

Before Pang Hu's eyes, a Gale Sword Light descended from the sky, cutting down one of his subordinates.

WHOOSH!

Luo Tian landed on the deck and swung the [Ice Nether Sword] again.

Every one of his sword strikes was elegant and formless, chilling to the bone, and incredibly precise!

PSSSH! PSSSH! SQUELCH!

With every swing of his sword, blood splattered and bodies fell!

In less than a moment, the number of men in the Pang Hu Thief Gang was cut in half.