"Ning Beichen, I want to find more Star Stones," Luo Yingying said excitedly to Ning Beichen.
She felt the same hunger as Ning Beichen. If it weren't for the lack of Star Stones, she would have wanted to continue cultivating like this. The visible improvement in her cultivation made her extremely infatuated.
"Okay."
Ning Beichen nodded. It wasn't just Luo Yingying; he, Ning Beichen, felt the same.
However, Star Stones weren't easy to find. At least, this was the first time they had found any, and they had found them inside a giant python. This showed that these things weren't everywhere.
Soon after, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying left this meteorite and continued to fly deeper into the Starfall Sea.
Not long after, they discovered another large meteorite, but this time, they were not greeted by a giant python, but by a human.
This person was hiding on the meteorite, and when he saw Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying, he launched a sneak attack without a word.
However, it was fortunate that the attacker's cultivation was only at the Mortal Transformation realm, not the Extraordinary realm. Otherwise, under the sneak attack, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying would not have been able to defend themselves.
Since he was not at the Extraordinary realm but at the Mortal Transformation realm, his sneak attack was naturally ineffective. Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying discovered him immediately.
This time, Ning Beichen didn't even have to make a move. Luo Yingying killed him with a single sword strike, not even giving Ning Beichen a chance to interrogate him.
Luo Yingying stuck out her tongue at Ning Beichen. She hadn't expected this guy to be so weak that he couldn't even withstand one of her sword strikes.
In fact, the main reason was that she and Ning Beichen had cultivated using Star Stones before, causing her cultivation to soar. For a moment, she was still measuring herself by her previous strength, not realizing that her current cultivation was already much stronger than before.
However, it didn't matter that the attacker had died. Ning Beichen wasn't too concerned. What surprised him was that this guy actually had quite a few Star Stones on him, making his attempt to steal a chicken result in the loss of his rice.
However, this sneak attack also served as a warning to Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying that the humans here were not all good people, and they should never act like benevolent saints or innocent damsels.
Furthermore, no weaklings or naive innocents could enter this place. Unless they knew them personally, it was best to treat everyone as an enemy.
There was nothing on this meteorite, so Ning Beichen couldn't figure out why this guy attacked them without a word. Was it because he was jealous of Ning Beichen's handsome appearance, or jealous of Luo Yingying's beauty? So he was unbalanced internally.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying rested for a while on this meteorite and then continued on their way.
However, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying were not as lucky afterwards. After more than ten days, they hadn't found any treasures or traces of humans.
As for the stone coffins, there was no sign of them, making it impossible for them to know where to look. They could only search like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Time flew by. Ning Beichen and his companions had been in the Starfall Sea for more than a month.
During this past month, they hadn't found any stone coffins, but they had occasionally found some Star Stones on some meteorites. However, the quantity was very small, which was just a drop in the bucket for them.
They had also encountered some Star Beasts. These Star Beasts varied in strength. They had even encountered Star Beasts they couldn't defeat and had to flee.
However, they hadn't yet encountered any Star Beasts that could instantly kill both of them, so they could be considered somewhat lucky.
But it wasn't without any gains.
They had met a relatively friendly human cultivator who told Ning Beichen and the others that not far ahead, there was a Star Sea stronghold established by humans, where they could seek clues.
So, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying were now flying towards the Star Sea stronghold.
Not long after, they discovered a huge meteorite, and a brilliant light emanated from the meteorite. This should be the Star Sea stronghold they were looking for.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying immediately flew towards the meteorite.
But before they could step onto the meteorite, they saw several people holding swords blocking their way.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" the swordsmen asked them vigilantly.
Ning Beichen had already learned about some of the rules here from the person who had told them about the Star Sea stronghold.
So, Ning Beichen did not force his way in. Instead, he and Luo Yingying hovered in the air and explained.
"We are here to adventure. We learned that this is a stronghold for human cultivators, so we came here specifically to rest, resupply, and gather some information."
"You know the rules, right?" asked the swordsman.
"Yes, everyone who enters needs to pay three Star Stones." Ning Beichen replied, and took out six Star Stones as proof that he was not here to cause trouble.
"Good. Once you enter, you must abide by the rules. Even if you are enemies, you cannot fight within the stronghold, nor can you damage anything in the stronghold. Also, if there is an attack by Star Beasts on the stronghold, you must help defend it." the swordsman warned Ning Beichen.
"We understand. We will abide by the rules of the stronghold." Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying both promised, and after paying the six Star Stones, they flew down into the stronghold.
Before they came, they had learned from that person that this stronghold was not a free place. It was a place established by a Venerable named Tian Qi, considered his private property. Therefore, no one dared to cause trouble inside.
Unless you had the strength to defeat a Venerable.
Because to deal with a Venerable, unless you were a Venerable yourself, it was not enough to have a large number of people. When one reached the Venerable realm, having more people became meaningless.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying naturally did not have the strength to deal with a Venerable, so they could only abide by the rules set by others.
What they didn't expect was that this human stronghold in the Starfall Sea, after years of development, had become a small town with relatively complete facilities.
There were places to stay and eat here, but the prices were not cheap. They didn't use ordinary currency, but Star Stones, because Star Stones were the most valuable things here.
Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying found a place that offered accommodation and food. They spent a total of six Star Stones for the two of them to stay, and this six Star Stones only covered three days' expenses.
Although Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying were heartbroken, they gritted their teeth and endured the pain to pay the six Star Stones in order to gather more information.
Fortunately, these six Star Stones already included their accommodation and food expenses for three days. If they had to pay extra for food, Ning Beichen and Luo Yingying truly couldn't afford it.