My gorgeous wife

Chapter 1890 - 1859: Strange Tales

In fact, the atmosphere here does feel somewhat off.

In Li Chen’s perception, this place was filled with a dusk-like aura. The cultivators here didn’t seem to possess a vigorous life force, much like elders stepping into their twilight years.

Yet, in reality, the lifespan of each Immortal is extraordinarily long. Perhaps some among them indeed were Old Immortals nearing the end of their lives, but it shouldn’t be the case for all.

However, in Li Chen’s perception, at least half of the Immortals in this marketplace exhibited such traits.

"What exactly is going on?" Li Chen became quietly vigilant but said nothing more, merely reminding the two women beside him to "be careful."

Yang Xin and Bai Tianyi also seemed to notice the anomalies here and nodded in agreement.

"Boss, I need to purchase some herbs and materials."

Li Chen led the two women into a rather well-sized general store, directly handing over a list.

The shopkeeper of the general store appeared to be a male Immortal in his fifties. However, he didn’t have that twilight feeling seen in other Immortals outside. Upon receiving Li Chen’s list, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

"You... sure you alone want to buy this much?"

The list Li Chen handed over was filled with many items, including herbs for alchemy, materials for setting up a formation, and some miscellaneous supplies needed for traveling. The quantity was quite large, which was a considerable transaction for this shop.

Generally, such large purchases were mostly done by sect disciples for their sects. However, given Li Chen’s appearance, he didn’t at all resemble a disciple from any Immortal Sect, which shocked the shopkeeper.

"Not just one person." Li Chen chuckled and pointed to the two behind him, "It’s for three."

"This..." The shopkeeper was a bit hesitant because the order was substantial, and the shop couldn’t provide that much stock right away. Furthermore, some items on Li Chen’s list were quite rare, and he might not find a supplier immediately.

After some thought, the shopkeeper decided to explain it to Li Chen.

"Don’t worry about that. Just bring out everything you have from the list," Li Chen said.

"Okay then." The shopkeeper nodded, still looking somewhat hesitant.

Seeing the shopkeeper’s expression, Li Chen roughly guessed his thoughts and tossed a ring over, "Here, a deposit."

The shopkeeper instinctively caught the ring. After a quick look inside, his previously hesitant expression immediately turned into a smile, "Alright, alright, sir, please wait a moment. I’ll fetch the items right away."

Watching the shopkeeper hurry to the back of the store, Li Chen turned and winked at the two beautiful women standing behind him.

Shortly after, the shopkeeper emerged holding a ring.

"Sir, here is your ring. All the items you requested are inside."

Li Chen checked it and nodded, "Not bad, the quality is satisfactory."

Then it was time for the payment transaction. While Li Chen was paying the balance, he jokingly asked the shopkeeper, "Boss, why does it feel like something’s off with this marketplace? Is this a retirement home for old Immortals?"

"Sir, please don’t say such things,"

Hearing Li Chen’s words, the shopkeeper was startled and quickly spoke to Li Chen via sound transmission, "You must not speak carelessly about this matter here."

"So what exactly is going on?" Li Chen asked curiously.

"Sir, you don’t seem like a local. Coming to this desolate and extremely cold Northern Region, I assume you are heading to the Battle Palace?" The shopkeeper scrutinized Li Chen and his companions before finally asking.

"That’s right, we do plan to go to the Battle Palace." Li Chen nodded. There was nothing to hide about this matter, and from such a large purchase, one could easily guess his intended destination.

The shopkeeper nodded. Even while using sound transmission, he instinctively lowered his head, pretending to look elsewhere, "Actually, those Immortals who look at death’s door yet are filled with killing intent have returned from the battlefield."

"Immortals returning from the battlefield?"

Li Chen furrowed his brow in thought. Indeed, among those Immortals exuding a twilight aura, there were seldom any below the Realm of Great Yi True Immortal. Generally, the minimum cultivation requirement to participate in the Four Realms War was the Domain Realm, which is the Great Yi True Immortal level.

"That’s right. These Immortals were sent back from the battlefield. No one knows what they encountered, but they returned looking like this, with little life span left. When asked, they simply mention encountering an enemy, and many don’t even know what happened. Even the strong ones from the Battle Palace are making no progress in their investigation."

"Encountered an enemy...?"

Li Chen pondered silently.

It seems he guessed correctly. These people are not truly at the end of their lives, but their vitality has been devoured, turning them into this current state.

This method indeed resembles the techniques of Zhang Lu or Mo Daoyi, those who have fused with the Doomsday Beast Souls.

But Li Chen had seen it himself before; generally, those cultivators devoured by them were drained to death, leaving no need to spare their lives.

Yet these Immortals had their vitality devoured but remained alive, which was particularly strange.

Despite this, Li Chen couldn’t help feeling a bit concerned.

If indeed these Doomsday Beast Souls had appeared, then there could really be trouble.

In the unknown Starry Sky, the Supreme of the Heavenly Dao once said that the World-Destroying Beast can transform into a Heaven-devouring Beast, and can also split into countless individual entities.

Undoubtedly, both Zhang Lu and Mo Daoyi were hosts to these individual Soul Splittings.

One or two can be managed, but if there are many, it could spell disaster for anyone.

If such beings were to disrupt the battlefield of the Four Realms, it would undoubtedly complicate matters further.

Whether things get complicated or not doesn’t matter to Li Chen, but he worries that if his relatives in Heaven Realm also participated in the war, it could really be troublesome.

"It seems we must head to the battlefield as soon as possible."

Li Chen clenched his fist, leading the two women straight out of the shop.

Afterward, the three of them left the marketplace directly. Their flying magic treasure turned into a stream of light, speeding straight toward where the Battle Palace was located.

However, they hadn’t flown far before Li Chen saw a chilling scene not far outside the marketplace.

It was the Disabled Immortal he saw when entering the marketplace, along with another Green-Robed Immortal.

Through earlier events, Li Chen came to know that the Disabled Immortal and Green-Robed Immortal were likely life-and-death comrades and close brothers.

But now, the Green-Robed Immortal is dead.

From his flying magic treasure, Li Chen could see from afar that the Disabled Immortal was expressionlessly gnawing on the corpse of the Green-Robed Immortal!

Combined with the surrounding barren landscape, the scene was... chilling to the bone!