Mortal's Purple Sky Cave Heaven

Chapter 450 Silent Fall
"Who was that esteemed person before, and why did he treat you so rudely, senior?"

"So you're terrified, aren't you?" the green-robed Nascent Soul cultivator interjected, then said solemnly:
"With a cultivation level of Void Refinement Stage, and a group of Nascent Soul Stage fairies by his side, and their appearances being so unfamiliar, it can only be that Lord Nie."

"It's Lord Nie!" The thin old man exclaimed in surprise, clearly having also heard the rumors.

On the other side, Nie Zhaonan and his group had already arrived at the second floor of the pavilion. It was much smaller than the first floor, but the environment was much more elegant.

Although there was also a rather large screen placed there, there were chairs on both sides of the screen, and four or five people were sitting quietly there, carefully studying the map on the screen.

Beside the screen sat a square-faced man in a purple robe, sitting lazily.

Nie Zhaonan swept his divine sense over the man and found that he was a cultivator at the early stage of the Void Refinement realm, just like him.

As for the cultivators studying the map, they were naturally Nascent Soul cultivators. Behind each of them stood a female cultivator dressed as a maid, around the Foundation Establishment stage, each as beautiful as a flower.

Nie Zhaonan's arrival with nine Daoist companions naturally attracted the attention of everyone present, drawing their gazes and silencing the chatter.

Upon seeing Nie Zhaonan's face, the burly man in purple robes changed his expression, hurriedly jumped up from his chair, and laughed loudly:

"Fellow Daoist Nie has come here, and I was unable to receive you. I hope you will not take offense!"

"Fellow Daoist He, there's no need for such politeness." Nie Zhaonan smiled faintly, his smile as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Fellow Daoist, are you accompanying these fairies to select a sacred site?" The purple-robed man's smile widened as he took the initiative to ask.

“Exactly. However, there’s no need to choose too many; just one place to practice some techniques will suffice.” Nie Zhaonan nodded slowly, speaking in a way that surprised the burly man.

“That’s right. The spiritual energy on the second level is nowhere near as abundant as that on the third level,” the purple-robed man said without any doubt.

Then, turning to the Nascent Soul cultivators on either side of the screen, he gave them his orders without any politeness:
"You all step aside."

These Nascent Soul cultivators immediately stood up without hesitation and scattered, looking at Nie Zhaonan with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, as if they had something to guess about him.

"Come, let me personally introduce you all." The burly man in purple robes led Nie Zhaonan and his group to the screen map and explained enthusiastically:
"This map includes the three mountain ranges under the jurisdiction of Tianyuan City. Among them, 'Cuilong Mountain' has the most abundant spiritual energy and is also the place with the most cave dwellings of Nascent Soul cultivators."

"The other one, 'Tianyun Mountain,' is a bit inferior. It can still meet the cultivation needs of some Nascent Soul cultivators, but it cannot compare with the spiritual energy of 'Cuilong Mountain.'"

"As for the last one, 'Qionglai Mountain,' it was originally a spiritual land for Nascent Soul cultivators to cultivate, but it was only recently converted for use by Deity Transformation cultivators. Therefore, the spiritual energy of this mountain range is somewhat insufficient for Deity Transformation cultivators. However, because of this, the cave dwellings set up on this mountain are the most sparse, and the area of ​​spiritual land it possesses is also extremely vast, capable of possessing a large area of ​​spiritual land spanning tens of thousands of miles on its own."

The burly man in purple robes explained things in extreme detail, much to the bewilderment of the Foundation Establishment stage maids.
The four or five Nascent Soul cultivators watched in silence. This Senior He had previously been too lazy to even glance at them, let alone pay them any attention.

Nie Zhaonan's gaze lingered for a long time on a certain sacred site on Qionglai Mountain, then he pointed to a secluded spot and said:
"This is it."

"It seems you're truly cultivating some great supernatural power, fellow Daoist. This spiritual land is the most inconspicuous and has the thinnest spiritual energy in the entire Qionglai Mountain. However, precisely because of this, to compensate for the lack of spiritual energy, the area it has been designated for is quite large. A region spanning twenty thousand li is more than twice the size of other spiritual lands in the same mountain range." The purple-robed giant said with a smile, and with a flick of his hand, he directly wiped away the blue light spot that Nie Zhaonan had pointed to.

At the same time, he spread his hands, revealing a thumb-sized emerald green crystal, which he then tossed out without a second thought.

"This item is the mark of the spiritual land. Once it is injected into the identity token, this spiritual land will only be reclaimed unless you voluntarily give it up or all the fairies advance to the Integration stage. As for the spiritual land competition that should have taken place, I think it is unnecessary."

"Thank you, fellow Daoist." Nie Zhaonan expressed his gratitude. Since it would save him some unnecessary trouble, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

With a wave of his hand, he snatched the crystal out of thin air, glanced at it, and then placed it in Nangong Wan's palm beside him.

Nangong Wan nodded slightly in understanding, took out the Azure Pendant, and then patted the crystal onto the jade pendant, whereupon it disappeared without a trace.

Finally, after chatting with the cultivator surnamed He for a few more minutes, Nie Zhaonan headed back towards the third floor of the pavilion.

As for Nangong Wan and the other women, they had no intention of following, and naturally waited silently on the second floor.

Out of the corner of his eye, the burly man in purple robes surnamed He secretly clicked his tongue in amazement and envy:
"Tsk tsk tsk, this Fellow Daoist Nie is truly blessed with good fortune. Not only are all his Daoist partners stunningly beautiful, but some of them are even otherworldly in their beauty. No wonder that guy Huang Bao didn't even want his life."

"Fortunately, I am not very interested in women. Otherwise, even Huang Bao, who was at the peak of the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm, was almost killed by three punches. I am afraid I would not have been able to withstand even one blow."

"They are all ascended cultivators, and their rate of advancing to the Void Refinement stage is much higher than that of native cultivators in the Spirit Realm. And this Fellow Daoist Nie is no ordinary person either. With his help, I'm afraid all of his Daoist partners will have a chance to advance to the Void Refinement stage."

"It's always good to cultivate good relations," the purple-robed man finally thought.

The third floor of the attic was a small living room. Apart from the map screen that was the same as before, there were a few more elegant wooden tables. The place was very quiet, with only one person sitting cross-legged on a futon.

This was a bald monk in a monk's robe, whose size was as large as four or five ordinary people, which was extremely strange.

Nie Zhaonan subconsciously scanned the area with his divine sense and couldn't help but change his expression slightly. This person actually possessed the cultivation of the peak of the Void Refinement stage. Such a level of cultivation was second only to the elders of the Elder Council in the entire Tianyuan City.

"You must be Fellow Daoist Nie, right? You're only at the initial stage, but your spiritual sense is even stronger than mine! I am Ranweng, a disciple of Zen Master Jin Yue." As if sensing someone's arrival, the fat monk raised his thick eyebrows and slowly opened his eyes, which were devoid of joy or sorrow.

"So you are a disciple of Zen Master Jin Yue. No wonder your cultivation is so high. You must be just one step away from breaking through to the Integration Stage," Nie Zhaonan said calmly.

"Just one step away? It sounds simple, but this one step has trapped the vast majority of those at the peak of the Void Refinement stage, preventing them from ever breaking through to the Body Integration stage. This humble monk has also sat here in meditation for ten thousand years, yet still sees no sign of a breakthrough." Sitting cross-legged on the futon, the old man spoke slowly. "Sitting in meditation seeking a breakthrough?" Nie Zhaonan wondered, wondering if Buddhist cultivators could truly break through bottlenecks in this way, but since he hadn't cultivated any similar Buddhist techniques, he naturally had no interest in asking further.

Knowing the purpose of Nie Zhaonan's trip, Ran Weng slowly began to speak, introducing:
"The Void Refinement cultivators who serve in Tianyuan City all reside in a mountain range called 'Falling Wind Mountain.' Over the past few decades, two fellow cultivators failed to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation and perished, leaving two excellent spiritual lands vacant."

Upon hearing this, Nie Zhaonan looked up and indeed saw two bright green lights near the center of the map, which were clearly the two spiritual lands that Ran Weng had mentioned.

“However, I, Nie, have always preferred quiet, so I am not suited to living in the center. I think that spiritual place is quite good.” Nie Zhaonan raised his hand and pointed to the southeast corner.

"Good." The old man clasped his hands together, then separated them again, and a purple crystal slowly flew out.

"Thank you."

He reached out and grabbed the crystal in his hand. After thanking him, Nie Zhaonan took his leave without lingering.

Watching his figure disappear into the stairwell, just as the old man was about to close his eyes again and meditate, his eyelids twitched, his sleeves flicked, and a communication jade pendant shot out.

"Why did Meng Tianwei send me a message at this time?" Looking at the jade pendant, Ran Weng's heart stirred. At the same time, a spell flew out from his fingertip and disappeared into the jade pendant without any obstruction.

The next moment, a burst of spiritual light emanated from the jade pendant, and Meng Tianwei's urgent voice came through:
"Huang Bao died suddenly in his cave, his physical body unharmed, but his nascent soul vanished without a trace. I suspect that Fellow Daoist Nie left a powerful contingency plan within his nascent soul. Not only was Huang Bao completely unaware of it, but I was as well."

His voice carried an undisguised apprehension, and upon hearing this, the old man's expression changed. After a long silence, he slowly spoke:

"This Fellow Daoist Nie's spiritual power surpasses even that of this humble monk, and the spiritual techniques he cultivates are far beyond ordinary methods, possessing unparalleled sophistication. This humble monk suspects that a trace of his divine sense was left within Huang Bao's nascent soul."

"What! It's stronger than your spiritual power! But you cultivate the Buddhist 'Dry Zen Technique.' Even if you haven't mastered this spiritual technique yet, your spiritual power is still second only to a Nascent Soul cultivator, right? In that case, in terms of spiritual strength, you're actually a notch weaker than Fellow Daoist Nie! Fellow Daoist Nie is only an early-stage cultivator!" A surprised voice came from the jade pendant.

"That's the truth. Great opportunities are not uncommon in the world, and the 'Dry Zen Technique' is only somewhat famous among our human and demon races. As an ascended cultivator, Fellow Daoist Nie was able to return to the race as a Void Refinement cultivator after being stranded elsewhere, which shows how profound his good fortune is." As a Buddhist cultivator, Ran Weng paid special attention to the cultivation of his mind, and in just a short while, his expression returned to normal.

Upon hearing this, Meng Tianwei smiled wryly:
"Fellow Daoist, you only need to cultivate the 'Withered Zen Technique' to its fullest extent to have a chance to break through the bottleneck of the Integration Stage. As for me, I don't even know how many years it would take to raise my cultivation to the peak of this realm, let alone find an opportunity to advance to the Integration Stage. I wonder if I will ever have the chance to glimpse the mysteries of the Integration Stage in my lifetime."

“Cultivating the secret art of divine sense is easier said than done.” He replied in a calm tone, then slowly closed his eyes, stopped transmitting his voice, and waved his hand to put away the jade pendant.

Meanwhile, news of Huang Bao's death spread like wildfire throughout Tianyuan City. The first to receive the news were naturally the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Guards of both the human and demon races. Everyone who saw the news was shocked. Everyone would have guessed that this was a contingency plan left by Nie Zhaonan. But surprisingly, no one spoke up for Huang Bao. Even his close friends were silent at this time.

Of course, some well-informed Nascent Soul cultivators also quickly received the news. While they were astonished, they also labeled Nie Tianwei, whom they had not yet seen in person, as someone not to be trifled with.

For a time, Tianyuan City became strange. Some high-level cultivators who used to be fond of beautiful women, liked to pester them, or used methods to coerce beautiful female cultivators all restrained themselves.

Nie Zhaonan naturally had no time to pay attention to all of this, but he was certain that Huang Bao was dead, and that it was indeed Huang Bao's doing.

He was born with a powerful divine sense. When he was in the human realm, he had already mastered the Great Evolution Technique and had also taken the Soul Nourishing Pill, a spiritual pill that nourished his divine sense. After obtaining the Lieyuan Technique, he cultivated it to the sixth level in one go. Although he was only a Void Refining cultivator, his divine sense was already comparable to that of a Body Integration cultivator.

Given the wondrous nature of the Lieyuan Technique, leaving a hidden trick in Huang Bao's Nascent Soul would be an easy task. How could a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage possibly see through it? At most, they would only have some guesses.

Even if this speculation is true, without solid evidence, who would be willing to cause trouble for a dead person?

Even with evidence in hand, no one would be unwise to make an enemy of him.

After the Jade Palace Pavilion matter was settled, Nie Zhaonan led his group of Daoist companions and flew over a giant wall tens of feet high in Tianyuan City, heading towards the plains outside the city.

The Azure Spirit Shuttle flew slowly through the sky at an incredible speed, covering tens of thousands of miles in an instant. In just two hours, it arrived safely before a giant, lush, green mountain range.

This is the so-called Qionglai Mountain.

After arriving above the sacred land spanning twenty thousand miles, Nie Zhaonan steered the Azure Spirit Shuttle to descend swiftly and began to circle at low altitude.

"My husband specifically chose this sacred place and searched it so carefully. Is there something wrong with this place?" Nangong Wan asked curiously in a slow voice.

She wouldn't believe her husband's earlier explanation that he needed to practice his martial arts and supernatural powers in a vast and spiritual place.

The Purple Cloud Cave is a vast expanse of 100,000 square miles, and it is extremely safe, making it the perfect place to practice martial arts, and it is also extremely secluded.

"There are no problems, of course, but there is an opportunity," Nie Zhaonan chuckled, not hiding anything as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, knowing the mystery surrounding her husband, Nangong Wan did not ask any further questions.

Suddenly, Nie Zhaonan's expression changed, and his gaze fell on a bare, rocky mountain.

"found it!"

“So this is the place my husband was looking for. Indeed, it is strange that such a barren place exists here, as it is located on a spiritual vein.” Nie Ying’s face showed a thoughtful expression.

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(End of this chapter)