Elian's thoughts churned as he reflected on the information he had gradually uncovered over the years.
He had come to understand that the Eastern Wilderness and the Eastern Sea cultivation realms were only developed within the last ten thousand years.
In ancient times, this region was dominated by demonic cultivators and monster clans. During that era, humans living in this vast domain were nothing more than blood sacrifices for the demons and monsters.
Clearing his mind, Elian flew into the Flame Abyss Sea.
The Flame Abyss Sea was a desolate land devoid of life.
As soon as he entered, he felt an overwhelming killing intent sweep over him, forcing him to focus his spiritual sense in resistance.
In this battle of attrition, his spiritual sense was constantly consumed, yet, unbeknownst to him, it was also growing stronger.
"This environment constantly presses on the spiritual sense, making visualization techniques feel much more tangible."
"No wonder Haoran True Monarch said training divine soul arts here yields twice the results with half the effort."
Elian ventured 100,000 miles into the Flame Abyss Sea and found a mountain ridge where he began cultivating the Great Sun Visualization Technique, a divine soul technique.
Sitting cross-legged, his mind entered a meditative state. In his vision, a massive sun hung in the sky, descending and unleashing endless flames of pure Yang, transforming the world into a fiery abyss.
"Fallen Sun Ridge."
The visualization technique synergized with the Flame Abyss Sea, forming a new visualization diagram—Fallen Sun Ridge.
In a moment of inspiration, Elian consumed a Spirit Nourishment Pill and began cultivating rapidly.
Before long, his divine soul cultivation had made tremendous progress, breaking through to the seventh layer of the Purple Mansion stage.
This was only the beginning. In this environment, his divine soul cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Within just four years, he broke through two more layers, reaching the peak of the Purple Mansion stage.
The divine soul is critical for a cultivator. While most would be ready to attempt breaking into the Golden Core stage upon reaching the peak of the Purple Mansion, Elian was not satisfied.
His steady progress without relying on external aids, combined with the refinement of his four natal treasures, had made his spiritual power exceptionally pure.
To ensure success in forming his Golden Core, he planned to cultivate his divine soul to the Golden Core stage first.
"I can't continue for now."
One day, Elian opened his eyes and halted his cultivation.
Divine soul techniques place a heavy strain on the soul. He had only three Spirit Nourishment Pills when he arrived, and now they were exhausted.
To proceed with his divine soul cultivation, he would need to purchase more Spirit Nourishment Pills.
Having concluded his divine soul training, Elian didn't immediately leave. It had been over nineteen years since he reached the mid-stage Purple Mansion realm. With his spiritual power fully accumulated, it was time to advance to the fifth layer.
Breaking through to the fifth layer posed no bottleneck for him. After refining a significant amount of spiritual stones over the course of a month, he successfully ascended.
"It's done."
With both his divine soul and cultivation base having advanced, Elian ended his training in high spirits.
Since his training was complete, he decided not to linger in the Flame Abyss Sea. He planned to return after acquiring more Spirit Nourishment Pills and a Sun Crystal at the upcoming trade conference.
Leaving the Flame Abyss Sea, he flew directly to Qinyuan Market.
Yuan Kingdom's territory was several times larger than Chu Kingdom's, and its number of Purple Mansion cultivators was proportionally greater.
Chu Kingdom had only around 150 Purple Mansion cultivators, while Yuan Kingdom boasted 700 to 800.
With so many cultivators, trade was frequent. Unlike Chu Kingdom's trade conference held every thirty years, Yuan Kingdom's occurred every ten years.
Elian had waited five years for the Yuan Kingdom's Purple Mansion Trade Conference to begin.
The conference was held in Qinyuan Market under the Qin family's jurisdiction. Given the large number of participants, the conference offered two modes of trade.
Purple Mansion cultivators could present up to three rare items for auction. Alternatively, they could display goods with fixed prices, allowing others to purchase them outright if they found the terms agreeable.
Upon entering Qinyuan Market, Elian ran into a familiar face.
Yu Qingyan approached with a man and a woman, smiling as she said, "Daoist Brother, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Fairy Yu."
Elian returned her smile and covertly sent a sound transmission.
"I have some enemies in Yuan Kingdom. I hope you can help me remain inconspicuous. My current name is Wei Chongyang."
"Understood," Yu Qingyan replied, startled but quick to adjust.
At that moment, the woman beside her asked, "Sister, who is this?"
"This is Brother Wei," Yu Qingyan replied with a smile, continuing, "I traveled from the Heavenly Spine Mountain Range with him as my companion."
She then introduced her companions to Elian.
"This is Fairy Qingyan, whom I mentioned, and this is Daoist Qingci, the master of Peach Blossom Mountain."
"Pleasure to meet you both," Elian greeted courteously.
He quickly realized that Yu Qingyan and Fairy Qingyan had likely become close friends initially due to the similarity of their names.
He observed the two and noted that Fairy Qingyan was a third-layer Purple Mansion cultivator, while Daoist Qingci was at the sixth layer, on the cusp of breaking through to the seventh.
Daoist Qingci seemed aloof, merely nodding in acknowledgment without speaking.
The group entered the trade conference venue together. Yu Qingyan asked, "Daoist Brother, are you here for a Sun Crystal?"
"Yes," Elian replied calmly.
"And you?"
Daoist Qingci, surprisingly, spoke. "I'm here to see if I can find a Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pill." (A pill that can help reach late stage Purple Mansion stage, it was mentioned a lot of times before attacking Qingyang Sect, but I know how many names there are in this novel so I help you remember sometimes :D)
After a brief chat, the trade conference began.
Elian observed that over 200 Purple Mansion cultivators were participating.
The sheer number of participants explained why Yuan Kingdom could host trade conferences every decade. It was indeed a vast and thriving cultivation nation.
The first presenter, naturally, was the Qin family.
The Qin family offered three items for auction, all of which were valuable fourth-tier treasures.
Elian glanced briefly before losing interest in bidding. The Qin family's offerings included a fourth-tier magical treasure, a Golden Core Formation Pill, and a Creation Green Origin Pill.
The fourth-tier treasure sold for 1.3 million spirit stones, while the Gold Core Formation Pill fetched an astronomical 2.8 million. It was ultimately purchased by a Golden Core clan.
The Creation Green Origin Pill was exchanged for a fourth-tier spiritual herb.
Subsequent presenters, including other Golden Core clans, also showcased exceedingly valuable items—far beyond Elian's current means.
...
85+ chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D