117 Pei Luanjing

Not long after, Sixteen walked out of the shop and returned to his own establishment.

In a remote region countless trillions of miles away from the East Sea, a grand and majestic immortal city stood atop a mountain peak. Beyond the city, the sky was shrouded in boundless crimson clouds, obscuring the sun throughout the year. Within these crimson clouds, flashes of lightning erupted from time to time, accompanied by rolling thunder that shook the heavens and the earth. Beneath the clouds stretched an endless expanse of black Gobi desert, dotted with strange boulders, towering mountains, and twisted, eerie trees. The spiritual essence between heaven and earth was chaotic, and the vital energy was in constant flux.

Inside the immortal city, within a heavy and magnificent hall, a portal of light appeared out of thin air. Sixteen stepped out slowly. He walked to the throne at the head of the hall, sat down, and commanded in a deep voice, "Come here!"

A moment later, a graceful figure emerged silently from the shadows of the hall, arrived in the center, and knelt on one knee. "What are your orders, City Lord?"

The woman was dressed in black, her face covered by a black veil. Though her figure was slim and delicate, the aura she exuded was not weak; she was clearly a cultivator at the Golden Core stage.

Sixteen opened his hand, and four jade slips flew out, hovering before the black-clad woman. He said indifferently, "Place these four cultivation manuals on the Taiyuan Merit Ranking."

The woman was slightly startled. A sweep of her divine sense revealed that the four jade slips contained four Golden Core-stage cultivation techniques, all of them powerful, lethal manuals capable of reaching the late Golden Core stage:

The Six Imperial Demon Sword Manual of Heaven and Earth
The Divine Firmament Lightning Method
The Maha Demon-Subduing Art
The Blood Demon Scripture

Where did the City Lord obtain so many high-level manuals? The woman was filled with unutterable shock. Within the entire Taiyuan Immortal City, there were only ten Golden Core-stage manuals in total. Three were held by the City Lord’s Mansion, five were controlled by the five great clans, and the remaining two were in the hands of two reclusive masters. Of those ten, only two could lead one to the late Golden Core stage; the rest could at most reach the mid-Golden Core stage. The sudden appearance of four manuals capable of reaching the peak of the Golden Core stage would surely cause a massive sensation throughout the city.

Sixteen said in a low voice, "Divide each of these four manuals into three parts—Breath-Eating, Dao Foundation, and Golden Core—and open them for merit exchange separately. Anyone who accumulates enough merit may exchange for them."

The woman nodded and asked, "City Lord, there was previously only one Golden Core manual on the merit list. Should we use it as a reference?"

Sixteen thought for a moment and said, "Lower the requirements. Ten thousand merits for the Breath-Eating part, one million for the Dao Foundation part, and ten million for the Golden Core part. Cultivators of the City Lord’s Mansion receive a twenty percent discount."

The woman was stunned at first, then realized his intent. She exclaimed, "City Lord, are you trying to cultivate a group of experts for our immortal city?"

Sixteen sighed, "The Great War of a Thousand Cities is only three hundred years away. Our Taiyuan Immortal City has always been in the mid-to-lower tier. If we do not seize this opportunity now, I fear we will not survive until the next one."

The woman’s expression dimmed, and she remained silent.

Sixteen added, "Increase the merit exchange price for superior-grade spirit stones by twenty percent."

"As you command." The woman responded and quietly left the hall.

Sixteen looked at the empty hall and muttered to himself, "This world is infinitely vast. I wonder when I shall be able to break free from these shackles and roam the heavens..."

...

At the Cloud Peak Cave Abode, Pang Yue sat in the quiet room with four items laid out before him. Two were stone boxes, each containing a Cold Chi egg. Playing with a jade slip, he mused, "With this formation, I can hatch these two Cold Chi within ten years. I recall a secret technique from the Heavenly Demon Illusion Realm that can cause the bloodline of a demonic beast to revert to its ancestors; perhaps I can give that a try."

He waved his sleeve, putting away the stone boxes, and turned his attention to the other two items. He had purchased both from Shop Number Seven. The massive piece of ore was none other than Supreme Profound Iron. With it in hand, he had enough to refine the Profound Mirror to the level of a Dharma treasure. Beside the iron sat a jar; inside, countless sharp spiritual rays flickered like smoke, yet it possessed a feeling of immense weight. This jar of Tai-White Geng Metal Essence had cost him two hundred superior-grade spirit stones! However, with this, he would not have to worry about practicing the Tai-White Geng Metal Sword Art for some time.

He put away the Supreme Profound Iron and tapped the jar. A brilliant, thread-like white light drifted out. Pang Yue opened his mouth, swallowed the Geng Metal Essence, and silently circulated his sword art to refine it. Before him, a thumb-sized spirit stone with a platinum luster floated in the void. Its surface shimmered with light, and countless golden specks, each the size of a needle tip, surged from the stone before bursting into pure Metal-attribute essence. Pang Yue’s body exerted an invisible force, greedily absorbing the massive spiritual energy from the stone.

Using this superior-grade spirit stone for cultivation, a single incense stick’s worth of time was equivalent to half a month of bitter practice. Coupled with the Geng Metal Essence, his magic power rose at a noticeable rate. The reason this avatar’s cultivation had been low was that it had only been refined for thirty years; rising from Breath-Eating to Dao Foundation was already no small feat. Another reason was that the Cloud Peak cultivation technique was unique; to improve, one had to find Geng Metal Essence. In the vast Heavenly Sword Sect, with its tens of thousands of sword cultivators, the price of this essence had long been driven to astronomical heights. The cultivators of Cloud Peak were constantly traveling the world specifically to hunt for it. Now that his resources were complete, the avatar’s cultivation began to rise steadily.

...

A sword light streaked across the sky and landed on Cloud Peak. The light dissipated, revealing a woman in white. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyelashes long and drooping, her nose delicate and high, and her willow-leaf brows perfectly arched. She possessed a pair of exceptionally bright and clear apricot eyes, full of spirit. Suddenly, her gaze fell to the foot of the mountain, and a flash of joy crossed her eyes. She couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Senior Brother is back?"

As the words fell, the sword light flashed and vanished.

Pang Yue was in the midst of his practice when he heard a clear sword chime from outside the cave. He had no choice but to stop. In his memories, there was only one person on the entire Cloud Peak who dared to do such a thing outside his abode. The Master of Cloud Peak had taken twenty-three disciples in his lifetime. Besides this avatar, there was only one other who, like him, was an orphan raised on the mountain. The two were childhood sweethearts with a deep bond. Time had flown, and his former playmate had long since grown into a stunning beauty. This woman was Pei Luanjing, one of the "paramours" of this avatar.

Pang Yue opened the cave’s protective barrier. A graceful figure drifted in, accompanied by a faint fragrance.

"Junior Sister..." Before Pang Yue could finish, his right hand was already held by two soft, snow-white, and boneless hands.