Chapter 1204: Tiannan Planet Province

“A hundred million Spirit Stones?”

Even Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing that number.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it. Being the new Divine Lord of the North Qiong Sect, the ruler of a planet region, he had planets filled with assets in his hands. The elders of the seven Divine Sects were even willing to offer him a resource planet, so that he would show mercy and spare them. Although he kept most Spirit Stones on Earth to support the development of the North Qiong Sect, the amount he had taken with him was enough to make him a billionaire of sorts among the cultivators in the universe.

Let alone that Chen Fan had even filled the Blade Strengthening Gourd with World Thousand Spirit Water before he left; one sip could be worth a hundred million Spirit Stones.

However, that was truly expensive.

It was beyond Chen Fan’s imagination.

He thought he would need to spend only a few thousand or ten thousand Spirit Stones to get a boat ticket bound for the South Heavenly Realm and would get there very easily. Who would have thought the ticket would cost a hundred million Spirit Stones? Such a price could almost hollow out a Nascent Soul Cultivator and was enough to buy half of a barren resource planet. As for Golden Core Cultivators, they wouldn’t even have one-tenth of it.

“Do you really think a Golden Core cultivator like me can afford it?” Chen Fan said expressionlessly.

“If so, I can’t help you.” The fat guy was still smiling sincerely, but it made people want to punch him.

“I saw many people boarding. Did they also buy tickets?” Chen Fan frowned and looked at the port. Even though the ship for crossing the two realms had yet to arrive, a large number of people had already passed the security check and were waiting in the VIP zone.

“Oh them! They have a background,” the fat guy said as he counted with his fingers, “Some of them have relatives, elders or parents who used to reside in the South Heavenly Realm. According to the laws of the South Heavenly Realm, residents of the realm can bring their directly-related family members over, but there’s also a limit. The usual would be just a few seats.

“Some have their sects in the South Heavenly Realm. The sects here are merely their branches, and they’re taking the elite disciples there.

“Some benefit from the influence of the thirteen Chambers of Commerce. They’re businessmen who have a legal operating license and can travel between the two places. However, they also have to spend a huge amount of money or use some special ways to get a ticket.

“As for the large families in the Little South Heavenly Realm, I don’t need to explain much to you. They may have Ancestral Patriarchs with Half Grand or Soul Formation level, so they can directly go to the South Heavenly Realm.

“Lastly, for individual cultivators without a background like yourself…” The fat guy looked at Chen Fan and shook his head. “You can only buy a ticket with money. Even though a hundred million Spirit Stones is a pretty penny, you must know that it’s more than just a boat ticket. It’s also a ticket for you to get rid of the miserable Little South Heavenly Realm, and reside, work or cultivate in the South Heavenly Realm. Without it, you can only cross the ‘black sandstorm zone’ with your own power, but I heard that practically ten out of ten Nascent Soul cultivators die when they travel through it.”

In the end, the fat guy looked at Chen Fan with a meaningful look.

Chen Fan pondered for a while and said, “Is there any other way? This is too expensive.”

He didn’t think it was too expensive, but it would be too much if a Golden Core Cultivator suddenly produced a hundred million Spirit Stones from his pocket. That was the net worth of a Nascent Soul Cultivator; Golden Core cultivators would normally have a tenth of that; he would only attract a slew of covetous looks if he did make the purchase.

Think about it. Considering the price of the ticket, it would imply that Chen Fan’s savings were more than that.

“Brother, don’t make it more difficult for me. The official price is ten thousand Star Coins. I’ve already given you a discount…” The fat guy gritted his teeth. “Fine, 20% off, 8,000 Star Coins. This is the cheapest I can go. I’ll only lose money if I make it any lower.”

After bargaining for a while, they decided to set the price at 6,700 Star Coins.

It seemed that the fat guy had suffered a loss, but he started smiling after confirming the price. His smile was so wide that his eyes almost disappeared. It seemed that he had still made good profit.

“It’s difficult for you to trade that many Spirit Stones. Let me take you to the exchange center and turn these Spirit Stones into Star Coins.” After settling the purchase, the fat guy led Chen Fan to an extremely magnificent building with a relaxed look.

Chen Fan thought he was in a bank on Earth after seeing the shiny and reflective floor, a few giant pillars that required several people to surround and many pretty, gentle receptionists wearing fitted uniforms.

The fat guy led the way and introduced, “Looks like you’ve seen the lions. This is like the exchange shops or banks in the Little South Heavenly Realm, but we call one of these a Planet Bank in the universe. It’s a place for withdrawing and depositing Star Coins, also for exchanging Spirit Stones and treasures.”

According to him—

That was a bank called the “Tiannan First Planet Bank” and was one of the largest Planet Banks in the entire South Heavenly Realm. Billions of assets were transferred to and from that location every day, and the currency they used was Star Coins.

Chen Fan looked around and saw countless counters arranged like lines of neat squares; the end couldn’t even be seen. There were long queues in front of the counters and the people lined up were wearing long robes with an ancient style. They could easily be identified as people from the Little South Heavenly Realm.

Very few Connate Cultivators went there to exchange Star Coins; most of them were Golden Core cultivators. The strange thing was that there weren’t many Nascent Soul cultivators.

The fat guy saw Chen Fan’s confusion and he explained, “Connate Cultivators can’t make that much money, or they don’t have enough power. They haven’t even gotten out of their planets. How could they ever go on an interstellar trip?

“As for the Nascent Soul Cultivators, they’ve already reached the Nascent Soul Level and will live a long life. They’re all superior members on a planet or as part of a sect, where they can enjoy boundless bliss and luxury. How could they be willing to leave everything behind and go to the South Heavenly Realm? The Golden Core cultivators though, aren’t as lofty as the sky and as low as the ground. Their cultivation time isn’t really much longer than that of Nascent Soul cultivators, and they’re willing to work hard and put in the effort. They’re even willing to have a go at making it in the South Heavenly Realm to fight for a prosperous future.”

“Can they afford the boat tickets?” Chen Fan wondered.

Not all Golden Core cultivators were as rich as the Divine Lord of the North Qiong Sect. In fact, Chen Fan had seen many poor Golden Core cultivators along the way. They even pawned their Spirit Treasures to exchange for a few hundred or a thousand Star Coins at the Tiannan First Planet Bank. How could they afford to buy a boat ticket priced at ten thousand Star Coins?

“They either get a loan or pay in installments. Golden Core cultivators can live a thousand years. If they don’t have enough money, they can work for a long time.” The fat guy offered an honest smile.

“Huh?”

“If you weren’t one of those rare rich Golden Core Cultivators, I would have prepared a three-century working contract for you.” The fat guy heaved a sigh and seemed to be sad about it.

He was also surprised after seeing that Chen Fan was able to pay tens of millions of Spirit Stones.

Chen Fan was speechless.

Meeting that guy had completely changed his understanding of profiteers.

It was finally Chen Fan’s turn after they finished talking. He opened an account, registered and bought Star Coins; he directly made an exchange for ten thousand Star Coins. Apart from the 6,700 Star Coins for the fat guy, he got 3,400 more for his expenses in the South Heavenly Realm. However, when he had to write down his name during registration, he hesitated for a while and decided to write down “Chen Mu from the Shanyang Planet Region” in the end.

“Chen Fan” or “Chen Beixuan.”

Those two names had an explosive power in the Little South Heavenly Realm. Although the Tiannan First Planet Bank didn’t seem to be related to the Little South Heavenly Realm, that place had all kinds of people after all, and there were many spies. Chen Fan didn’t think it was worth the risk. Let alone everything else, that fat guy behind him might not have even heard of his name, either. If his identity was exposed, he would truly have to go into the black sandstorm zone.

Even though he was strong enough and wasn’t afraid to go through the dangers in that zone, he wouldn’t have a proper identity once he reached the South Heavenly Realm; it would be difficult for him to stay in such a well-developed civilization.

Besides, Chen Fan had some doubts.

He had never heard of the South Heavenly Realm in his past life and he didn’t know what exactly that place was.

The fat guy said, “You’re Chen Mu from the Shanyang Planet Region. I’ve heard there are plenty of sects and talents, even though you don’t have a Soul Formation Grand Cultivator. Some of them are outstanding even when compared to ours. You also have lots of mining planets and people say you’re super rich.”

He looked at Chen Fan with golden glitters in his eyes.

This was the reason why Chen Fan purposely chose the Shanyang Planet Region. It wasn’t just because Chen Fan was more familiar with the Shanyang Planet Region and had encountered a few of their factions, like the Qiyun Sect, but also due to the large number of mines and rich families found there. If he hadn’t used this reference, the fat guy would have wondered where Chen Fan had gotten such a large amount of money, which would be at odds with his identity as a Golden Core cultivator.

Chen Fan took out the 6,700 Star Coins and gave them to the fat guy. He then took another 300 Star Coins for his expenses and saved the rest in the card. The fat guy said the coins from the Tiannan First Planet Bank were accepted in the whole universe. As long as he was in human territories, he would be able to exchange them.

The fat guy immediately became enthusiastic after receiving such a large amount of Star Coins.

It was still too early for boarding, so the fat guy invited Chen Fan for a drink in a new bar which was nearby. He said he wanted to let Chen Fan enjoy the luxurious and extravagant life in the South Heavenly Realm beforehand.

After finishing a whole glass of wine and watching a group of pretty, tanned and sexy girls dance, the fat guy named Guo Chuandong said passionately, “Brother Chen, you’ve made the right decision. Don’t you think that you’ve only gotten a useless boat ticket in exchange for that many Spirit Stones. It’s the only chance for you to leave the Little South Heavenly Realm. Once you get to the Tiannan Planet Province, you’ll understand that this place is no different from a barren land. Not even birds sh*t here. There’s not a whiff of entertainment or culture, just like a primitive planet.”

According to Guo Chuandong, he was actually born in the Little South Heavenly Realm. His family couldn’t live there anymore, so they went to stay with their relatives in the South Heavenly Realm. With the knowledge of the cultures and the languages used in both places, he mainly worked as a scalper who sold boat tickets, while he also made money with the “road guidance fee” and the “introduction fee.”

“Brother Chen, even though I charged you 6,700 Star Coins, 5,000 Star Coins of that price are for my relative, who works as a guide at the border on the opposite side. He was the one who got this ticket.

“Plus, I have to give 1,000 Star Coins to the ‘Yellow Maple Port’s manager from the Little South Heavenly Realm.

“I also can’t keep the last 700 Star Coins. I have to deal with everything, from the border security check to the captain and deputy captain of the space shuttle, including those gangs in the local grey areas. Less than three hundred Star Coins will end up in my hands. I’m just making some hard-earned money.” Guo Chuandong poured out his grievances after drinking more.

“What about cultivators who can’t afford to pay?” Chen Fan sipped the wine and felt the taste he was familiar with in his past life.

“They can only sign contracts to sell themselves. Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators from the Little South Heavenly Realm are very popular in the Tiannan Planet Province. They are able and willing to endure hardships; even if they work like old cows, their will to fight is also firm. When the large Chambers of Commerce develop a barren region and encounter some monsters, alien races or aboriginals, those cultivators will be sent over for the cleaning work. However, this is quite tough. Although they’re well paid, they also have a high chance of dying. Some development battles even have a casualty rate of more than 30%.” The fat guy heaved a sigh.

“Brother Chen is quite fortunate, unlike them. I don’t really want them to sign those contracts. Less than half of them are able to survive through the three centuries’ period. But what can I do? I’m also a worker; I can only explain this clearly to them before they sign.” The fat guy shook his head.

After drinking the wine—

The fat guy took out ten Star Coins and paid for the order.

Although he made a pained gesture as he paid, he still said that as he hit his chest. The fat guy was someone who always returned a favor. He earned money from Chen Fan, so he had to pay him back somehow.

Chen Fan made the calculation.

Ten Star Coins was around a hundred thousand Spirit Stones. The two of them had only sat there and drunk some wine. Although the Spirit Wine was indeed good for his body since it had some miraculous effect—and it was a very strong wine, which even made Chen Fan feel a bit drunk—the price was appalling. Normal Connate cultivators would end up broke after having a glass of wine.

After getting out of the bar, “Night Rain.”

The fat guy suddenly turned around and said, “Right, Brother Chen, don’t say ‘South Heavenly Realm’ anymore when you get there. That is actually the old name of the Tiannan Region. It is now an administrative region and is officially called the ‘Tiannan Planet Zone’ or the ‘Tiannan Planet Province.’ You’ll be one of the Tiannan people from now on, so stop using the old name. People will despise you if they find out you come from the Little South Heavenly Realm.

“However, I guess only people from Tiannan who commute between both sides know about this. Most of the others have no idea the ‘South Heavenly Realm’ actually refers to them,” the fat guy said casually, which was nonetheless well intended.

Still, Chen Fan was a bit shocked.

He had indeed never heard of the name South Heavenly Realm in his past life, but the “Tiannan Planet Province” was like thunder in his ears; he had lived in that place for a century during his previous life.

“No wonder I had never heard of a place called ‘South Heavenly Realm,’ but found the ‘Tiannan First Planet Bank,’ the ‘Tiannan Border’ and the ‘Night Rain Bar’ so familiar, as if I would have seen them somewhere. That’s why.”

Chen Fan lowered his head.

Then, the sight shown with the Karma Art appeared in Chen Fan’s mind again. After comparing it with all the places from his past memories, Chen Fan had finally figured out where the place was located.

“Master Cangqin, the Cangmin Immortal Realm, taken from Earth, wandering for a century, the Tiannan Planet Province…”

“I see.”

Chen Fan slowly closed his eyes. When he reopened them, they were filled with the endless past, memories and a hint of sorrow.

“Am I going to see those people earlier?”