Chapter 167 - 145: Impermanence Inn

Chapter 167: Chapter 145: Impermanence Inn

The Realm of the Four Extremes was stratified.

The cluster of buildings on the surface, located at the very center, served as a transit hub and was classified as the Hub of Dust and Heaven.

Upward from the surface, all the way to the ninth celestial layer, the world was divided into the Thirty-Three Heavens. The Spiritual Qi concentration ranged from Level Four to Level Ten. In the highest layer, the Primordial Heaven, the fee to stay for even a single hour was more than someone from the lower strata could earn in ten lifetimes.

And below the Hub of Dust and Heaven lay the eighteen levels of the Abyss of Eternity.

Within the Abyss of Eternity, the highest concentration of Spiritual Qi was merely Level Four, and that was only found inside the private cultivation chambers of well-funded factions. Outside, the concentration was Level One or Level Two at best.

Yet, this place was home to over ninety percent of the world’s human population, most of whom had only reached the Qi Cultivation Stage.

The greatest goal they could strive for in a lifetime was perhaps breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm, which would grant them the opportunity to travel to the Thirty-Three Heavens and continue to be exploited.

This world’s class structure was even more rigid than that of the most capitalist nations on Zhang Ji’s home, Origin Star.

The upper class monopolized all resources, and society had long been stagnant and lifeless.

Resistance was futile.

The disparity in power and resources was too immense. A single top-tier expert from the upper echelons was enough to suppress everyone in the lower strata.

Zhang Ji retracted his Spirit and arrived within the Realm of the Four Extremes.

To be precise, he had arrived at the Hub of Dust and Heaven, the region on the surface.

The Hub of Dust and Heaven was a transit city. It led up to the Thirty-Three Heavens and down into the eighteen levels of the Abyss of Eternity in the Nine Netherworld Underground.

Of course, ascending was difficult.

To travel to the Thirty-Three Heavens, one had to meet a cultivation requirement—Foundation Establishment at the very least. Even to enter the lowest level, the Lesser Spirit Heaven, one had to pay one hundred Level Three Spirit Coins for a single day’s stay.

And what about traveling down to the Abyss of Eternity?

It was free. Completely free.

The place was an absolute slum. Anyone could go.

Zhang Ji descended, landing on the surface of the Hub of Dust and Heaven. He looked around and saw cultivators zipping through the air, most of them using some form of Spiritual Technology.

These Spiritual Artifacts had a distinctly high-tech feel, a stark contrast to the archaic creations of those suffering ascetics from the Blood and Flesh Ascetic Order.

A colossal transport Immortal Ship passed through the Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations and entered the Thirty-Three Heavens, delivering a massive haul of mined Spirit Stones.

And "massive" was no exaggeration.

The Immortal Ship possessed spatial properties; the space within it was so vast it could probably hold an entire city.

This world was already in the final stages of resource depletion.

The Spirit Veins were nearly exhausted. In fifty years at most, a very long End of the Dharma Era awaited everyone.

A period that would last for at least one hundred thousand years.

However, the general populace was likely still in the dark.

The ruling class was probably just announcing increased mining depths and the discovery of new Spirit Stone veins, claiming there were enough resources to last until the next Spiritual Qi tide.

’The timeline seems to be very early. The Xuanji Array of Ten Thousand Transformations is still active, and that rabble from the Blood and Flesh Ascetic Order haven’t yet shaken the foundations of the ruling class. Does that mean the attack on Celestial Secret City’s Nine-Turned Quantum Furnace hasn’t happened yet? I wonder if Project Skyfall has begun... By this logic, the Dao-Merging Jade Slip hasn’t been used by "Taiyi-Zero," Linghu Yao probably hasn’t risked consuming the Primordial Sword Bone, the Shennong Cauldron in the Void Illusion Realm is still intact, and then there’s the Bodhi Seed... It doesn’t have the world-growing function of a World Tree sapling, but it boosts comprehension and the rate you gain skill experience!’

The more Zhang Ji thought about it, the more excited he became.

When he had played the game, all those items were just briefly mentioned in the lore before being destroyed or used up as part of the plot.

Players could only ever be bystanders.

’No, that’s not quite right. Players did get to use the Shennong Cauldron, but only by having Nangong Zhiqing perform Alchemy for them. The service fee was fucking expensive, and it was a damaged Shennong Cauldron at that.’

’If I could just snatch the intact Shennong Cauldron and perform Alchemy for myself...’

Zhang Ji couldn’t imagine how blissful that would be.

It was a top-tier (Legendary) Spiritual Artifact, a masterpiece that their clan’s ancestors had spent over a hundred thousand years nurturing into existence.

Zhang Ji’s current bloodline enhancements and various supplements had already hit a minor bottleneck; his improvements were no longer as significant as before.

If he could get his hands on that cauldron, he could achieve another massive boost in power.

’Then there’s the Primordial Sword Bone.’

’The stats it grants are absurdly high, and it’s a unique kind of superior Spirit Root. Better for me to use it to boost my own attributes than let it go to that foolish woman who messed up her brain with some student-teacher romance.’

’I need to plan this carefully. The original plan stands: first, master the local language, then find a way to join a local organization. The Blood and Flesh Ascetic Order is a good choice. The barrier to entry is low, and they’re the main resistance faction in the game’s main quest. Through them, I can learn the basics of the Celestial Essence Realm’s technological development and cultivation system. Plus, I can get a lot of stuff just by following their questline...’

Upon arriving in a new world, gathering information is always the top priority.

In a normal human society, Zhang Ji would simply send out Spirit particles to scan and gather information.

But this place was different. Compared to Origin Star, this was a truly Extraordinary society.

In the Thirty-Three Heavens, recklessly using one’s Divine Sense was actually illegal.

So he had to be more cautious.

Fortunately, he already had some knowledge of this world and had made plans before his arrival.

One of the Hub of Dust and Heaven’s lift platforms, which led down to the Abyss of Eternity, was already crowded with people. Zhang Ji followed the flow and stepped aboard.