Chapter 405 - 381: End of Cultivation in Seclusion, the Divine Palace’s Arrangement

Chapter 405: Chapter 381: End of Cultivation in Seclusion, the Divine Palace’s Arrangement

"A Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch’s Cave Mansion? Could this be the great opportunity Wang Chongming was talking about?"

Qin Yuyan took the Jade Scroll. After probing it with her Divine Thought for a closer look, her eyes lit up.

"That’s right. Second Sister, are you interested in exploring it with me? Of course, we can bring Big Brother along as well," Zhang Chi said with a nod.

Zhang Chi could have gone alone, but Wang Chongming had already gathered many allies.

Wang Chongming had also made it clear that the cave mansion was extremely dangerous, requiring several Nascent Soul Late Stage or even Peak Cultivators to contend with its perils.

Furthermore, since Qin Yuyan had always been protective of him, Zhang Chi decided to share this great opportunity with her.

"You’d really let my brother and I come along? Third Brother, you’re the best."

Qin Yuyan was overjoyed to hear this.

The two discussed it further. After learning that Wang Chongming was waiting for a Cultivation breakthrough and for Zhang Chi to finish his preparations before they all set out on their Exploration, Qin Yuyan finally returned to her own abode.

That night, to celebrate their successful breakthroughs and thank Zhang Chi for his protection, Qin Susu and Lan Xuan both expressed their gratitude with their actions. Zhang Chi, for the first time, enjoyed the bliss of being with two partners.

Zhang Chi discovered that after Qin Susu’s Cultivation breakthrough, the enhancing effect she had on his aptitude was indeed even stronger.

Afterwards, Zhang Chi took stock of his spoils from defeating Wang Chongming and the others. He found quite a few good items. Although there was nothing of particular use to him, he had still made a hefty profit.

Zhang Chi then entered Cultivation in Seclusion once more. Meanwhile, the two women quickly established new cave mansions for themselves right next to his.

「Fifty years passed in a flash.」

Zhang Chi was now five hundred and fifty years old.

In that year, thanks to an ample supply of Body Refining materials and Evil Qi, Zhang Chi’s Celestial Net Evil Body was the first of his abilities to break through to Tier Four Peak.

At the same time, Zhang Chi also acquired some Star Divine Iron, successfully increasing his number of Flying Swords to one hundred ninety-nine.

Furthermore, Zhang Chi had upgraded every single one of his Flying Swords to the level of a Top Grade Magical Treasure.

This was possible because Zhang Chi’s Artifact Refining skill had already reached Tier Four Peak.

At the same time, the Sword Containment Technique had also greatly accelerated the rate at which these Lifebound Magical Treasure Flying Swords could be enhanced.

In addition to Artifact Refining, Zhang Chi’s other skills among the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation had also reached Tier Four Peak one after another.

If not for the limits imposed by his own Cultivation realm, materials, and the lack of a Tier Five legacy, he might have even broken through to the legendary Tier Five.

His rapid advancement in the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation allowed him to refine more and higher-quality Elixirs, Magical Treasures, and Spirit Talismans, which in turn significantly boosted his income.

Otherwise, even with the vast fortune he had amassed in the Demon Abyss and the materials he had later plundered from Wang Chongming and his group, he would never have been able to support the costs of his Cultivation.

After all, his consumption of resources for Cultivation was extravagant compared to Cultivators of the Same Tier. He always used the best materials available and never had to worry about negative side effects from overuse.

For example, he consumed Elixirs as if they were candy.

This was also one of the main reasons his Cultivation had always progressed faster than that of other Cultivators of the Same Tier.

Meanwhile, Flying Dragon No.1 had successfully broken through to Tier Four Late Stage a few years prior. While not as strong as the Corpse Puppet, its Combat Power had skyrocketed, making it a top contender among those of the Same Tier.

Of course, this was largely thanks to how Zhang Chi fed it. He let Flying Dragon No.1 casually feast on Tier Four Demon Pills and even the Nascent Souls of his enemies. With such a diet, it would have been harder for Flying Dragon No.1 *not* to break through.

In contrast, his other two Spirit Beasts were still at Tier Three, and their remaining Lifespans were not long.

The reason for this was their inferior bloodlines.

During that time, Zhang Chi had purchased Demon Beast Eggs on several occasions, attempting to use the Spirit-Seizing Technique to upgrade their bloodlines. However, his luck was mediocre. Furthermore, because their remaining Lifespans were short—making them equivalent to humans who were too old—all attempts at bloodline fusion ultimately ended in failure.

Seeing that it was a lost cause, Zhang Chi didn’t force the issue.

After all, these two Spirit Beasts had started as mere Four-legged Snakes. To have survived for so long, their lives as snakes had already been more than fulfilling.

’Chen Bufan wants to buy Nascent Soul Materials? Is he finally going to break through?’

One day, after finishing his Cultivation, Zhang Chi suddenly received a letter from Chen Bufan, delivered via the Desert Divine Palace.

After reading the letter, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but smile.

’Thinking about it, the timing was about right.’

After all, Chen Bufan was already around five hundred and sixty years old.

Moreover, although Chen Bufan’s Spirit Root quality was poor, he possessed an Innate Sword Bone and had obtained the Star Sword Essence Technique. Given how courageously he had advanced his Cultivation over the years, it would have been strange if he hadn’t reached the Golden Core Limit.

Chen Ling’Er, on the other hand, had slightly lesser aptitude. Despite working just as hard, she was still far from reaching the Golden Core Limit.

The same was true for Junior Sister Wen from the Divine Sword Sect.

Zhong Yu’s progress, however, was slightly faster. In a few more decades at most, she too would be able to attempt Nascent Soul Formation.

This was partly because Zhong Yu’s Spirit Root and Golden Core were of better quality, and partly because she had Zhang Chi’s assistance.

Even so, by the time she was ready, Zhong Yu would be nearly six hundred years old, which was the upper Lifespan limit for a Golden Core Cultivator.

Fortunately, Zhong Yu had already consumed Tiers One, Two, and Three Life Extension Elixirs, so her maximum Lifespan was not exactly six hundred years, but rather a little over seven hundred.

"Granted."

After reading the letter, Zhang Chi replied with just a single word.

「Several months later」

Chen Bufan and Chen Ling’Er arrived together at Zhang Chi’s cave mansion.

Zhang Chi gave Chen Bufan the Nascent Soul Pill he had prepared long ago, along with a complete set of additional Nascent Soul Materials.

In return, the Chen Family Siblings immediately paid him a large sum of Spirit Stones they had prepared well in advance.

"Thank you, Junior Martial Uncle Zhang!"

Even so, the Chen Family Siblings were incredibly grateful to Zhang Chi.

Without Zhang Chi, even with enough Spirit Stones and their status as Desert Divine Palace Cultivators, gathering a complete set of Nascent Soul Materials would have been incredibly difficult and taken them many, many years.

Even Zhang Chi couldn’t help but marvel internally.

’Back when I was going through my own Nascent Soul Formation, I had to move heaven and earth just to gather the materials.’

’But now, I can easily produce more than a full set. This is the advantage of having a high Cultivation base.’

’With me as their backer, Chen Bufan and the others have definitely hit the jackpot.’

’After all, even the likes of Qin Yushan and Cheng Ran probably can’t compare to my personal wealth.’

’Of course, it’s not like I’m losing out on the deal.’

’Most of these materials are spoils of war that I can’t use myself anyway. If I didn’t sell them to Chen Bufan’s group, I’d just sell them to other Cultivators. Might as well help them out in the process.’

Having already made all other necessary preparations, Chen Bufan officially began his Nascent Soul Formation. He broke through successfully in just a few short days, triggering a considerable celestial phenomenon in the process.

Within the phenomenon, the spectral image of a simple, ancient Giant Sword appeared—a manifestation of Chen Bufan’s Innate Sword Bone.

Knowing that Chen Bufan possessed an extraordinary Physique and had a connection to Zhang Chi and the other Disciples of the Palace Master, many Cultivators came to offer their congratulations. Zhang Chi and his companions also congratulated the Chen Family Siblings.

After his breakthrough, Chen Bufan’s Combat Power surged. He did not, however, linger in the Central Immortal City. Instead, he collected his supplies from the Desert Divine Palace, received some pointers from Zhang Chi, and then bid farewell once more, taking a Teleportation Array to the reclamation front lines.

He clearly wanted to help Chen Ling’Er raise her Cultivation level as quickly as possible.

During the time the siblings were back, Zhang Chi and his group also received some firsthand intelligence from the reclamation front lines.

The fighting on the front lines was as fierce as ever. Every day, prodigies of every tier emerged, while experts of every tier fell in battle.

In recent years, Qin Yushan, Cheng Ran, Xie Yulin, and Xiao Yunhong had all been making a name for themselves out there.

The first three, however, were stabilizing pillars of the community and rarely made a move themselves. Xiao Yunhong, on the other hand, was one of the main combatants in the Nascent Soul Realm.

On the Demon Beast front, many Great Demons had been spotted, and even the Heaven-defying Alliance was showing signs of a resurgence.

Notably, there was a Tier Four Peak Leopard Demon on the side of the Demon Beasts that was incredibly elusive and extremely savage.

This Leopard Demon was said to have come from the very same Oasis Ruins that Zhang Chi had explored years ago.

As the Desert Divine Palace had a standing bounty on this Leopard Demon, Qin Yushan and his group had specifically organized to hunt it down.

Unfortunately, every attempt had failed. The beast either detected them in advance or used a Secret Technique to escape.

After the Chen Family Siblings departed, Zhang Chi and his companions continued their Cultivation in Seclusion.

「Another five years passed quickly.」

SWOOSH!

One day, Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan were discussing their Cultivation Experience while Qin Susu and Lan Xuan listened in. Suddenly, four message talismans flew toward them—they were from the Sect.

’We’re to participate in the reclamation effort?’

"Even you received the summons, Third Brother, and you’re an Artifact Refiner and Alchemist. It seems the Divine Palace is really serious about accelerating the reclamation!"

Zhang Chi and the others each took one of the messages and found their contents were nearly identical, ordering them all to the northern frontier.

"Yes, but this is fine," Zhang Chi said. "The Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch’s Cave Mansion is in the north, and we were planning on going there anyway. Now that we’re being assigned there by the Divine Palace, we can kill two birds with one stone."

Zhang Chi wasn’t too surprised or resistant.

For one, he couldn’t disobey an order from the Desert Divine Palace unless he was prepared to defect immediately.

For another, he was already planning to go there to explore the Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarch’s Cave Mansion and prepare for his own future advancement to the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Wang Chongming had broken through years ago and had already gone on ahead to the north to wait for him.

And finally, after a century of Cultivation, his personal supply of Cultivation Materials was nearly exhausted.

Even if he could continue his Cultivation in Seclusion, the income from the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation alone would not be sufficient, and his progress would be severely hampered.

The north might be dangerous, but that was fine with him. It was home to numerous untamed oases; as long as they could conquer one, he wouldn’t have to worry about finding a place to continue his Cultivation in Seclusion.

If he could occupy a Tier Four Peak Spiritual Vein, he could continue to use it even after his Cultivation reached the Nascent Soul Peak in the future.

"Alright, then let’s prepare and leave together in a few days!"

Qin Yuyan was more than prepared for this. Even without the Desert Divine Palace’s orders, she had intended to go north to find Qin Yushan and the others.

With Zhang Chi accompanying her, she felt a much greater sense of security.

As for Lan Xuan and Qin Susu, they had no objections whatsoever.

Wherever Zhang Chi planned to go, they would follow.

Besides, participating in the reclamation was a good opportunity for them to acquire more cultivation resources.

And so, the group made their preparations. Three days later, at the crack of dawn, they boarded a Teleportation Array and left the Central Continent.

SWOOSH!

After a dizzying sensation, the world spun back into focus, and the group found they had arrived in the far-flung north.

They stood on the receiving end of the Teleportation Array. It was situated in the center of a vast plaza, which had been formed by a sharp blade slicing the top clean off a mountain that towered into the clouds.

Standing on the plaza, they gazed into the distance and immediately saw an Oasis spread out below the mountain.

To the north of the Oasis lay the Endless Desert, stretching to the horizon and exuding an aura of desolation and savagery.