Even Han Fei was a little surprised. This person had known their background and the purpose of their trip?

Bai Ranran asked, “Why do you say that?”

The middle-aged man glanced around and motioned for the people who were about to attack to retreat for the time being.

He said, “If you’ve been in the wilderness for a long time, it’s impossible for you not to know the existence of the Sea Monster Fortress. Besides, your strength shows that you are extraordinary. The protective jade slip just now should belong to a super powerhouse in the late Star Transformation realm. It’s theoretically impossible for such a powerhouse to appear in the wilderness. Since you have appeared, there’s only one answer. You are from the Chaotic Wasteland.”

Bai Ranran asked, “So, do you allow us to leave now?”

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, but then said, “You can leave, but you have to pay something. Of course, I can explain some basic knowledge about the wilderness to you in case you know nothing about it. This is a deal.”

Their hearts sank.

Hearing this middle-aged man’s words, Pan Ying secretly picked up another jade slip. “What is a sea monster fortress?”

The middle-aged man chuckled. “In the entire Sea Realm, there are five divine continents, and the one that occupies the largest area is the wilderness. In the wilderness, some special places are formed, such as your Chaotic Wasteland, the Ghost Strait, the Godfiend Sea, the Floating City, the Infinite Mining Area, and so on. It can be said that all the forces in the Sea Realm are actually built on the wilderness. And the wilderness is vast and dangerous. Whether it is itinerant cultivators or the major forces, they have never stopped exploring it. And in the wilderness, the most common kind of wilderness settlement, do you know what it is?”

How did Han Fei and the others know this? Even Bai Ranran had never left the Chaotic Wasteland.

Even Pan Ying, as a core disciple of the number one lord of the City of Scavengers, didn’t know the information of the outside world.

Perhaps the major forces in the Chaotic Wasteland did this on purpose, but in any case, they did know nothing about the outside world.

The middle-aged man knew that Han Fei and the others couldn’t answer him, so he said, “In the wilderness, there are only two situations: hunting and being hunted. The sea monster fortress is a settlement where many strong masters gathered. One is to resist strong enemies, and the other is that it’s convenient for hunting. Its essence is still plunder.”

Bai Ranran asked, “So, Senior, are you going to plunder us?”

The middle-aged man smiled and said, “I know that you have an extraordinary background, but no matter how extraordinary you are, your combat power is limited. I don’t want to offend the powerhouse behind you, but it doesn’t mean that you can leave in front of us without paying anything. Therefore, you have to pay the price you deserve. And I’m not stingy with telling you the rules of the wilderness.”

Han Fei suddenly asked, “How did you find us?”

Han Fei had always been curious about this. Although they could hide in the void, their speed was not slow. It was not easy for the other party to locate them and quietly approach them.

The middle-aged man didn’t avoid the question. He said, “Perception is the power that is most prone to deception. Perhaps you are used to staying in the Chaotic Wasteland and don’t know that in a place where the strong prey on the weak, cultivators can use countless methods to avoid perception. That’s all I have to say. As for how to avoid perception, if you are willing to pay a certain amount of resources, I won’t hesitate to tell you.”

Han Fei’s heart did a flip. He didn’t want to spend money to buy information. As long as he wanted, there were many ways for him to know how to avoid perception.

As for whether Bai Ranran and the others were willing to spend money, he didn’t know.

Bai Ranran asked, “Senior, how many resources do you want?”

Bai Ranran needed to weigh the price. Although she was confident that they could escape, the price to escape was not low.

How could a protective jade slip of the late-stage Star Transformation Realm be obtained so easily? For example, the value of Pan Ying’s jade slip was indescribable. It would be a loss if a few jade slips of this level were consumed just for this battle.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, “There are five of you, a million wisps of Chaotic Qi per person. This is one of them. I heard that the Chaotic Wasteland produces energy crystals. Well, a million crystals per person will do.”

Han Fei’s heart did a flip. From this person’s asking price, Han Fei felt that this person actually had a certain understanding of the Chaotic Wasteland, but not deep enough, indicating that he had never entered the Chaotic Wasteland.

Ordinary peak-level Sea Establishment cultivators probably couldn’t take out a million wisps of Chaotic Qi. Only people like Han Fei had so much Chaotic Qi. Ordinary people still had to absorb it from the endless void.

And who could casually take out a million energy crystals?

This middle-aged man must have seen that Han Fei and the others were talented and strong, so he dared to ask for so much.

“Ridiculous!”

Pan Ying shouted in a low voice, “Do you know how many resources this is? How dare you ask for so much? Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you have seven or eight Sky Opening cultivators?”

With that said, Pan Ying held a jade slip in one hand and said, “Believe it or not, I can penetrate you and make it impossible for you to get any resources.”

“Hahaha!”

The middle-aged man laughed. “Little girl, no bluff, OK? How many of such full-strength attacks can you have? I can say bluntly that I can still resist three. Perhaps you still have a fourth, fifth, or even a tenth. However… don’t forget, you have just left the Chaotic Wasteland. If you use these powers today, what will you do if you encounter other enemies in the future?”

Before Pan Ying could scold him back, the middle-aged man continued, “You may be able to resist the Sea Monster Fortress, but what about the mobile castle? It’s a kind of large wilderness settlement composed of multiple Sea Monster Fortresses. It has at least dozens of Sky Openers and hundreds of Sea Establishers. Some mobile castles even have Monarchs guarding it. How can you scare them with your jade slips?”

At this time, someone sneered. “Little kids, it’s good for you to suffer a loss now. Keep the treasure for future use. Why waste it here?”

Someone said disdainfully, “Girl, do you really want to fight to the death?”

Bai Ranran looked at Pan Ying and Han Fei, and then at the middle-aged man. “30% of the resources you just mentioned is the limit I can bear. Otherwise, let’s fight! I guarantee that none of you will survive.”

The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly. “Little girl, don’t be so tough. Thirty percent is really too little. At least sixty percent.”

However, Bai Ranran snorted. “Pan Ying, Li Shenhao.”

Immediately, five or six jade slips appeared beside each of them. Bai Ranran sneered. “What will happen to us in the future is a matter for the future. Now, I’m willing to give you face. Don’t be greedy.”

Bai Ranran originally wanted to say that she would only give him 20%, but after thinking about it, if she only gave him 20%, the other party might choose to fight first.

At that time, they might be able to defeat them, but it would definitely not be worth it. Just as this middle-aged man said, they had just left the Chaotic Wasteland and still had a long way to go. If they used all their trump cards, what should they use in the future?

Therefore, such a battle was meaningless. Why should they fight?

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment and suddenly smiled. “Fine! Young people these days are really difficult to deal with! 30% it is!”

This time, Bai Ranran shouted, “Give the resources to them!”

They could indeed give these resources, but they felt a little aggrieved. Especially Pan Ying, she really wanted to go up and kill all these people.

Han Fei, on the other hand, was different. He could understand this kind of looting. They were just like pirates. They robbed as much as they could. As long as they scared you, you could get some resources. Everyone had their own rules of survival. If possible, not everyone would be a pirate.

However, no matter what, this middle-aged man had robbed Han Fei, and Han Fei was never a person who could be robbed.

After Han Fei and the others gave their resources, the middle-aged man nodded slightly. The people who surrounded Han Fei and the others all returned to the back of the big octopus. Then, the surrounding void twisted and they all disappeared.

The middle-aged man looked at Han Fei and the others with a smile and said, “I look forward to our cooperation next time.”

With that said, the big octopus’s body turned transparent, its tentacles extended into the void, and its huge body drilled in. In a moment, it disappeared without a trace.

Pan Ying asked, “Sister Ranran, what should we do now? If we keep encountering this kind of sea monster fortress along the way, won’t we be broke sooner or later?”

Bai Ranran said, “There’s a loophole in his words. This wilderness can’t be full of this looting kind of sea monster fortresses. At least, special places like cities will be born, which can be used to exchange for supplies and provide rest for the wilderness wanderers. This person deliberately made the wilderness sound cruel.”

Li Shenhao asked, “Then our top priority is to find a large settlement for wilderness wanderers?”

Bai Ranran nodded. “Yes! We are too unfamiliar with the wilderness now. We can’t go on like this.”

Han Fei said indifferently, “I think we can split up.”

“Split up?”

Pan Ying immediately said, “If we split up and encounter such a sea beast fortress again, we won’t have anywhere to run.”

Han Fei said casually, “He didn’t answer my question. How did he find us?”

Pan Ying said, “Maybe they just bumped into us?”

Bai Ranran shook her head. “That’s not right! With our strength, even if the perception of a Sky Opener sweeps past, we can sense it. Therefore, we first ruled out that the other party detected our location with perception.”

Li Shenhao suddenly said, “Could it be that the creatures in the surrounding sea are their spies and tell them that we were here?”

Pan Ying said, “How is it possible? Then how many spies do they have to have in this endless wilderness? They are mobile all the time.”

Bai Ranran suddenly said, “It’s the Sea of Stars. They must have observed us through the Sea of Stars.”

Han Fei nodded. “This is why they are all hiding in the Origin Sea of the sea beast.”