The Forbidden Area of the Sword Tower

　　In this pure and simple village, children at the age of five to six were practicing their sword arts seriously.

　　Teng Qingshan and Li Jun glanced at each other, both of them astonished.

　　“Yes. Shangguan Quan, lead the way to the central areas of the Northern Yan Town,” Teng Qingshan said. Shangguan Quan hastily responded with a smile, “The town is just several Li away. We will get there real soon.” Shangguan Quan hastily led the way, while many villagers of this town greeted Shangguan Quan.

　　When the others asked him why he didn’t go to the beach, Shangguan Quan pretended as if nothing had happened and replied, “Yes. I am accompanying my two friends to the central areas of the town.”

　　Shangguan Quan had seen Teng Qingshan’s ability, so naturally, he didn’t dare to provoke him.

　　He clearly knew that—even if all the villagers combined forces, they still wouldn’t be a match to this mysterious man.

　　……As they walked on the wide path, the morning sun shone on the ground.

　　Teng Qingshan and Li Jun carried their bundles, while Shangguan Quan at the side repeatedly answered their questions. After talking for a while, Teng Qingshan confirmed one thing: “According to what this fisherman said, the Bright Moon Island has a length and width of seven hundred to eight hundred Li, which is about the same size as the Jiangning County! The Northern Sea Continent is the size of two prefectures! There’s a big difference.”Through this, Teng Qingshan realized that—The Bright Moon Island is not the Northern Sea Continent!

　　And when he asked this fisherman if he knew of the Godly Axe Mountain, the fisherman also shook his head with a blank expression on his face.

　　“You mentioned that the general is very powerful? How many generals are there on this Bright Moon Island?” Teng Qingshan asked.

　　“Our Bright Moon Island has a total of eighteen towns with a total of eighteen generals!” Shangguan Quan hastily answered, “Of course, out of the eighteen generals, the general of the Black Sea Town at the northern side is the Island Lord of our Bright Moon island.”

　　“The general is the Island Lord?” Li Jun said in shock.

　　Actually, since Teng Qingshan and Li Jun came on a boat, and as the questions they asked were all basic information, Shangguan Quan naturally knew that they were from the foreign lands.

　　Although Shangguan Quan was surprised, he was only an ordinary fisherman, thus, he didn’t dare to harbor any other thoughts. “The eighteen towns of the Bright Moon Island and the eighteen Houses of Generals have existed for over a thousand years. There is also competition between the eighteen generals; if the most powerful general was able to obtain the support of the Sword Tower, then he would become the Island Lord of the Bright Moon Island.

　　“The support of the Sword Tower?” Teng Qingshan had heard the two words “Sword Tower” more than once.

　　It was obvious that the eighteen generals held high positions in this Bright Moon Island, but the position of the Sword Tower was a lot higher and superior!

　　‘Of course!”

　　Shangquan Quan’s eyes revealed admiration as he said, “The Tower Lord of the Sword Tower is definitely the number one expert of our Bright Moon Island, an invincible existence! Even if the enemy was protected by over ten thousand soldiers, the Tower Lord would still be able to take the head of the enemy! Therefore, none of the eighteen Houses of Generals dared to disobey the Sword Tower’s order.”

　　Teng Qingshan and Li Jun glanced at each other.

　　The position of the Sword Tower is superior indeed.

　　“Where is the Sword Tower?” Teng Qingshan asked.

　　Shangguan Quan pointed eastward into the distance as he said, “Look there.” Teng Qingshan and Li Jun then looked eastward as Shangguan Quan continued saying, “Can you guys see the two mountains leaning against each other!”

　　It was faraway on the east side. Although it was extremely far, they could still see the two lofty mountains.

　　“The mountain at the northeast is where the Sword Tower is located!” Shangguan Quan stared afar and said with misty eyes, “The mountain at the northwest is the forbidden area of our entire Bright Moon Island! Legend stated that… only the most powerful experts of the Sword Tower are able to obtain the chance to enter the forbidden area occasionally!”

　　“Sword Tower? Forbidden Area?”

　　Teng Qingshan stared at the two distant mountains that were adjacent to each other. With just his eyes, Teng Qingshan was unable to discern how far apart these two mountains were.

　　“How far away is the Sword Tower?” Teng Qingshan asked.

　　“Around a distance of a hundred Li.” Shangguan Quan said with a smile, “Our Northern Yan Town is considered one of the three towns closest to the Sword Tower. Occasionally, one would encounter the disciples of Sword Tower in the restaurants or other places in the Northern Yan Town! The sword skill of the ones that were able to join the Sword Tower is extremely powerful.”

　　Li Jun asked with a smile, “How powerful?”

　　“They are able to defeat me with one move,” Shangguan Quan said.

　　Li Jun was not surprised, but Teng Qingshan was secretly astonished. Teng Qingshan had seen Shangguan Quan’s sword skills. The ones that were able to defeat Shangguan Quan must be extremely adept in sword skills. “According to this fisherman, the entire Bright Moon Island must have a very long history. From one generation to the next, the people of the Bright Moon Island seems to focus only on sword skills! As for the arts of the other equipments, they didn’t really do any research on it. However, of the eight supreme sects in the land of the nine prefectures, probably no sect has ever made such achievements in terms of the power of their sword skills…”

　　The people here focused only on sword skills!

　　Unlike the eight supreme sects that had to worry about their own status and position in the nine prefectures, the Sword Tower had absolute control of this Bright Moon Island.

　　For thousands of years, from generations to generations, numerous people researched sword skills, thus, the sword skill of the Sword Tower had indeed reached an incredible level.

　　“It is too far!” After three or so months of voyage with the wind constantly tailing, they should be around eight hundred thousand Li or nine hundred thousand Li away from the land of the nine prefectures! Teng Qingshan guessed so because the boat was fast when the wind was tailing, and in the end, when the wind was going against their direction, even though they borrowed force through the use of the sail, the boat was still very slow.

　　“We are around eight hundred or nine hundred thousand Li away. Who would have thought that an island, a fictitious land of peace, that only focused on sword skill would exist here?”

　　With a population of ten million people, generations of people focused on studying sword skill. ……

　　As Teng Qingshan was walking, he suddenly took out an Iron Leaf Fruit from his bundle.

　　“What precious stone is this?” Shangguan Quan widened his eyes and asked, “The entire gem is green and is as big as my fist. It seems to be faintly transparent. I have never heard of such a big gem in our island.”

　　“Gem?”

　　Teng Qingshan smiled and kept his forefinger and middle finger together. “Hu!” A beam of earthy yellow swordlike glow appeared on the tip of his fingers, flashing faintly.

　　“In-Innate?” Although Shangguan Quan had already realized it earlier, he was still astonished.

　　Teng Qingshan stared at the earthy yellow swordlike glow beaming from the tip of his fingers. Actually, this beam was not formed through the Innate True Origin, but was formed through the condensation of the Internal Supreme Force! “What is the swordlike glow formed through the Internal Supreme Force called? Swordlike Supreme Force?” As Teng Qingshan thought, he laughed and pointed at the Iron Leaf Fruit with the swordlike supreme force and carved out egg-sized pieces from the Iron Leaf Fruit.

　　“Big Brother Teng, what are you planning to do?” Li Jun was slightly surprised.

　　Teng Qingshan smiled and placed the rest of the Iron Leaf Fruit into the bag. He then rubbed the egg-sized Iron Leaf Fruit with his hands, and as the Internal Supreme Force flashed, some pieces fell off immediately. In just a few moments, the Iron Leaf Fruit became smooth and round.

　　The egg-like green gem was created.

　　“Little Jun, how much do you think this thing costs?”

　　“Big Brother Teng, you mean?” Li Jun’s eyes brightened. She also understood. They might not have the currency of the Bright Moon Island, but people normally liked rare and beautiful items. The rarer, more beautiful and more remarkable the item is, the more expensive it will be.

　　The small pieces that Teng Qingshan carved out from the Iron Leaf Fruit was like a jade. It would also flash a green glow at night. No wonder that Shangguan Quan would call it a gem.

　　“Shangguan Quan, tell me, how much does this cost?” Teng Qingshan stared at Shangguan Quan as he asked.

　　Light beamed out of Shangguan Quan’s eyes as he took a deep breath and answered, “It would at least cost a hundred purple pearls! Its cost might be even higher.” The three levels of the currency are the purple pearl ,white pearl and grey pearl. Teng Qingshan estimated that one hundred purple pearls would be equivalent to one hundred taels of Gold. If it was truly worth this much, then it would be enough for Teng Qingshan to exchange for some food, clothes and many other items.

　　Teng Qingshan then headed towards the central area of the Northern Yan Town. At this moment, amidst the army of the Northern Yan Town garrisoned in the barracks on the seaside.

　　On the high tower, a soldier was on guard, carefully scrutinizing the surroundings.

　　“Eh? What is that?” The soldier looked southward and said to himself, “A boat?” The soldier’s expression immediately changed.

　　“How is that possible? How would a boat appear on the Nine Rhythm Treacherous Currents of the southern sea region?” The soldier couldn’t believe it as he continued saying, “Perhaps someone sailed a boat to gather treasures underneath the sea? However, the southern sea region has a great number of submerged reefs. With the speed of the seawater on the Nine Rhythm Treacherous Currents, the boat would have crashed into pieces and sunk.”

　　“I shall report to the honorable deputy general!”

　　The soldier immediately went to report. ……

　　The Northern Yan Town was bustling with people. Teng Qingshan and Li Jun, along with Shangguan Quan, strolled in this town. Although it was called a town, it was still as prosperous as Yi City.

　　“Right, the Bright Moon Island is under the control of the Sword Tower, and there hasn’t been any conflicts. They didn’t even need to build city walls! It is normal for it to be prosperous.”

　　“Noble Hero, that is the Southern Sun Treasure Store which I have mentioned earlier.” Shangguan Quan pointed at a store nearby. The door of the store has a width of five Zhangs, while the store itself is luxuriously decorated. The two words, Southern Sun, had the same type of writing as the land of the nine prefectures. “The Bright Moon Island is definitely related to the land of the nine prefectures!” The more things Teng Qingshan learned, the more he believed so.

　　Although the Bright Moon Island and the land of the nine prefectures were thousands of lis apart, the language, writing, and many things were the same.

　　“Guest, what would you like to buy?”

　　The moment Teng Qingshan and Li Jun stepped into this Treasure Store, a handsome young man with a precious sword walked up and greeted. When the handsome young man saw that the big bearded man before his eyes was not carrying swords, he was slightly surprised.

　　“Do you guys accept precious gems?” Teng Qingshan casted a glance at the handsome young man.

　　The handsome young man politely replied, “Of course we do!”

　　Teng Qingshan opened his hand and revealed an egg-sized green gem before immediately hiding it.

　　When the handsome young man saw it, his eyes brightened, immediately realizing that the green gem was a precious item. He then hastily said, “Please come with me.” ……

　　In the hall at the back, Teng Qingshan and Li Jun sat down while Shangguan Quan respectfully stood at the side. An elder was scrutinizing the piece of gem carved out from the Iron Leaf Fruit.

　　“Tsk. Tsk. Incredible. Incredible… Such a big green gem?” The elder continued scrutinizing, occasionally covering it with cloth to look at it in a dark environment. “The gem itself is glowing faintly. What gem is this? I have never seen nor heard of it!”

　　Seeing this, Teng Qingshan laughed.

　　Even he himself has never seen such a peculiar item in the land of the nine prefectures.

　　“And it’s pretty heavy.” The elder weighed it with his hands and said, “It’s only this big, but it is around one jin! What is this?”

　　An Iron Leaf fruit has the weight of around ten jin, while this egg-sized gem is just a small piece of it.

　　“Are you done looking at it?” Teng Qingshan said with a frown.

　　The elder looked up at Teng Qingshan and smiled, “This item is a good thing. Give me a price.” In actuality, this item was not just a good thing. It was something that the Bright Moon Island has never seen before. Even an ordinary egg-sized green gem would be extremely expensive, let alone some item that has never been seen before.