After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

“Sir, you’re from out of town, no wonder you don’t understand.”

The innkeeper was very enthusiastic. According to him, it was indeed possible to go to the Northern Region from Haiyuan City, but at a great cost; in other words, it was impossible to do so through normal channels.

"Can't get through?"

"Yes, Lizhou is a place of exile, and it is not allowed to leave easily, let alone for outsiders to enter at will. Of course, it is not impossible to leave if one pays a sufficient price."

Chen Futu thought for a moment and took out a gold ingot. The shopkeeper beamed with joy, "You're so generous, sir. I'll just tell you a secret."

In Haiyuan, there is an organization called the Sea Area Supervisory Bureau. This organization has a large ship that can cross the Red Bone Strait. They usually set sail once every six months. They will be departing in the next few days. The price they ask for is not gold or silver, but either beautiful women, cultivation techniques and weapons, or some rare pills or materials. In short, they like anything related to cultivation.

Upon hearing this, Chen Futu fell into deep thought.

The system space contains many valuable items. Not everything was given to the system to devour after the series of battles. For example, some strangely shaped treasures were left behind. Even if you take out the Blue Star pastries and drinks purchased from the system's monthly store, you should be able to get away with it.

Just to be on the safe side, Chen Futu selected a few pills, all of which were made by Sun Simiao and Wen Ruyu.

Among them are Saint-grade pills, as well as Venerable-grade and Emperor-grade pills; these are hard currency.

When Chen Futu arrived at the Sea Area Supervisory Office, he met a deputy commander at the Supreme Realm. Upon seeing a bottle of Supreme-grade pills placed in front of him, the deputy commander's attitude changed completely. He snatched the pills and greeted the commander with a grin, calling him "little brother."

His name was Tong Yang, and he said the ship would depart for the Northern Region that afternoon.

Chen Futu hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, so Tong Yang made some arrangements, and Chen Futu boarded the dark-colored ship without any problems.

The material of the hull is unknown, but it is very sturdy.

There are at least one or two hundred people on the ship. The weakest among them is a Martial Emperor, and the strongest is a Grand Venerable who has reached the peak of the Cloud-Supporting Realm. He is Tong Yang's superior and the rightful ruler of the sea.

The reason why they went to the Northern Region every now and then was unknown. Chen Futu was too lazy to ask, so he stood by the railing and looked out at the boundless sea.

The ship departed in the late afternoon, and only then did the tense nerves of those on board relax a little.

The commander said, "I warn you again, once you're on board, don't cause any trouble, especially when crossing the median line. You all need to behave yourselves. Also, the voyage will not be short; it could be as short as a month or as short as two months."

Chen Futu was secretly alarmed, gaining a new understanding of the Red Bone Strait. The so-called strait was wider than the distance from the Central Plains East China Sea to the Great Western Regions. At the speed of the ship, it would indeed take one or two months to reach it, so the land would not be seen for a long time.

For more than ten days, Chen Futu spent the rest of his time observing the Boundless Sea, except for the time he stayed alone in his cabin to comprehend the Human Emperor's Dao Chapter.

This ocean is incredibly dangerous. The fish that leap out of the water are enormous. As giant sea monsters, their strength surpasses that of a Martial Emperor. This is why no ships venture out to sea; ordinary ships and people simply cannot withstand the onslaught of marine species.

In his spare time, Chen Futu would take out some meat skewers to grill and then drink some beer.

"Wow, this looks delicious."

A strange girl with fox ears was squatting next to the barbecue grill, staring at the skewers and swallowing hard.

Chen Futu was momentarily taken aback when he saw her fluttering ears.

Is she human?

[An ancient bloodline race, known as the Celestial Fox Bloodline, is extremely rare.]

"Hehe, I've really learned something new."

Chen Futu didn't want to stare at the girl's ears, so he handed her a handful of kebabs. The girl thanked him happily and started eating them voraciously, just like Xiaobai.

With the meat skewers to fill her stomach, the girl became more talkative. She said her name was Huahua and she was visiting her family.

Chen Futu knew that her so-called visit to relatives was not so simple, so he simply asked her about the situation in the Northern Region.

"So this is your first time leaving Lizhou. The Northern Region is different from Lizhou. The dominant forces here are not the imperial dynasties and aristocratic families, but the sects."

Hua Hua started talking non-stop.

The sects here are different from those in Lizhou. They are true martial arts sects with deep lineages, often spanning hundreds or even thousands of years.

Hua Hua grinned and said, "You know the Holy Emperor of Great Xia, right?"

"You know him too?" Chen Futu was quite surprised, not expecting that the Holy Emperor's name had spread so far.

"Who in Lizhou doesn't know that domineering man? He once proposed the theory of national destiny, saying that a dynasty's lifespan is at most two or three hundred years. This is also why outsiders prioritize sects. The inheritance of sects is much more stable than that of dynasties. So when you go to the outer regions, you would rather provoke the scions of noble families of those dynasties than provoke the disciples of sects."

Hua Hua's expression turned serious as she spoke.

Chen Futu nodded, but found it amusing. He had already provoked the young man who had his eye on Liu Longyue. He was the young sect leader of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect in Zhongzhou, a second-rate force with a Great Sage in charge.

"The Ten Thousand Swords Sect?" Hua Hua tilted her head, and Chen Futu asked, "Do you know this sect?"

"I know."

"Is it great?"

"Haha, can the Ten Thousand Swords Sect be considered powerful? What kind of trash is that?"

Hua Hua seemed to have heard a joke. While drinking the yogurt Chen Futu gave her, she laughed heartily, completely disregarding her image, like a mischievous little fox.

Chen Futu's face darkened. "I heard they are a second-rate force."

"That's all just talk. What's truly powerful is the immense influence they rely on. It's because of the master behind the Myriad Swords Sect that it can be considered a second-rate power. Otherwise, what second-rate power only has one Great Sage in charge?"

Hua Hua clearly knew a lot about the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, so Chen Futu immediately inquired about the specifics.

"I've met the young sect leader of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. I heard he recently came to the Northern Region. He said he wanted to personally take away a woman who came from Lizhou, but I don't know who she is."

After Hua Hua finished speaking, Chen Futu's expression darkened.

If nothing unexpected happens, the woman Hua Hua mentioned is Liu Longyue.

Damn it, what kind of bullshit young sect leader is he? Instead of staying put in the Central Plains, he came to the Northern Region to arrest people. And he actually succeeded?

"Does Young Master Qin have a grudge against that kid? Do you want to take me with you? I don't like him either."

Hua Hua laughed slyly.

"No need, I just want to go out of Lizhou and take a look."

Chen Futu, unwilling to cause any further trouble, personally took action to kill the culprit without leaving a trace, so as to avoid bringing unexpected disaster to the Central Plains dynasty.

For the next few days, Hua Hua stayed by his side, eating and drinking for free. Chen Futu used her favorite strawberry cake to extract a lot of information from her, especially about her identity. She was not simple. If he was not mistaken, she should be a secret agent sent by a powerful clan to Lizhou to find out the whereabouts of the treasure.