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The towering Tianyuan City, like a sleeping ancient beast, stands at the intersection of wilderness and civilization.

Runes flowed and flashed with spiritual light on the city walls, radiating a chilling defensive pressure.

The city gate was bustling with people, with cultivators of various races coming and going. Their auras varied in strength, but were generally far superior to those of cultivators in the lower realms. Nascent Soul cultivators were everywhere, and even the auras of Deity Transformation cultivators were not too unusual.

After Suning and his group paid the city entry fee, they did not attract much attention.

After all, there are quite a few Nascent Soul cultivators coming and going to Tianyuan City every day.

However, when they went to the Ascension Hall at the city gate to complete the registration and stay procedures as required by the rules, the situation changed.

Inside the Ascension Hall, a steward cultivator dressed in Tianyuan City's standard armor and at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm simply inquired about everyone's situation with a blank expression.

"Newly ascended cultivators?" The steward glanced at Su Ning and his group, especially when he sensed the still unfathomable demonic aura emanating from Feng Xi and Kunpeng, even after they had subsided. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his cold, businesslike demeanor. "According to the rules of Tianyuan City, all newly arrived Nascent Soul cultivators and above must be given priority to be assigned to either the Qingming Guard or the Tianyuan Guard, serving for a thousand years to deal with the threat of the demon race in exchange for permanent residency in the city. You may choose to join one of the guards."

Serving for a thousand years?

Zi Ling, Ling Yu Ling, Song Yu and the others all frowned slightly upon hearing this.

In particular, the hot-tempered Feng Xi and Kunpeng wanted to lose their temper, but were stopped by a look from Su Ning.

However, they had just arrived in the Spirit Realm and needed time to focus on cultivation, consolidation, and improvement; they were unwilling to be entangled in military affairs.

Su Ning asked calmly, "What should I do if I don't want to serve immediately?"

The steward seemed to have anticipated this, and said calmly, "That's acceptable. You'll need to pay a huge sum of spirit stones upfront in exchange for a hundred years of freedom. However, you'll still need to be conscripted after that. Besides, even if you pay spirit stones, the contribution points or spirit stones required to rent a cave dwelling or purchase resources within the city are far greater than what you'd find outside."

After saying that, he announced an astronomical figure that left even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators speechless.

Su Ning simply smiled and did not get angry.

He already knew from soul searching and some information that these rules of Tianyuan City were nothing more than forcing high-level cultivators to do their part for the human race.

With a flick of his sleeve, a bulging storage bag landed on the table in front of the steward monk.

"I do have some spirit stones. Here is a 100-year supply; please verify."

The steward cultivator scanned the storage bag with his divine sense and immediately gasped!
Inside, piled up like mountains, were all top-grade spirit stones of extremely high quality, and even a few supreme spirit stones brimming with spiritual energy!
Its total value far exceeds the amount he just quoted!
He suddenly raised his head and re-examined Su Ning.

A Nascent Soul cultivator who can so casually take out such a huge sum of money is definitely not an ordinary ascendant!
There must be some amazing background or opportunity behind it!

His attitude became more respectful: "Senior is very wealthy, I admire that. Since you have enough spirit stones, of course you can."

He quickly completed the formalities, handed several jade tokens representing temporary residency status to Su Ning, and added, "Senior, when the hundred-year period arrives, the City Lord's Mansion will send someone to summon you. I hope you will make preparations in advance."

Su Ning accepted the token, nodded slightly, and then asked, "I wish to find a secluded cave with excellent spiritual energy to cultivate and break through the bottleneck of the Void Refinement stage. I wonder where in the city I can find such a place?"

"Trying to break through to the Void Refinement Realm?!" The steward was shocked once again.

In the spirit world, the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm is already considered a master, but the Void Refinement stage is the true threshold to entering the ranks of great beings!
Countless Nascent Soul cultivators are stuck at this step.

This person in front of me has already begun preparing to break through to the Void Refinement Realm?
His attitude became even more respectful, and he quickly said, "If you are looking for a top-tier spiritual site, the area under the jurisdiction of the Jade Pavilion in the west of the city should be the best choice. It is adjacent to a branch of the city lord's spiritual vein, and the spiritual energy there is the most abundant. However, the price is also extremely high, and most of it must be paid with contribution points, while only a small portion can be paid with spirit stones."

Then he looked troubled, explaining that contribution points could only be obtained by completing Tianyuan City missions.

Suning raised an eyebrow slightly; naturally, he didn't contribute any points.

But he was prepared.

“No problem, just lead the way. Spirit stones are no problem.” His tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable confidence.

Guided by the slightly puzzled and envious gaze of the steward, Su Ning and his group arrived at the Jade Palace Pavilion in the west of the city.

The Jade Palace Pavilion itself is a magnificent palace-like magical artifact, responsible for managing the highest-level cultivation spiritual grounds in Tianyuan City.

They were greeted by an elderly man with white hair, a profound aura, and a cultivation level of the late Nascent Soul stage.

Upon hearing that Su Ning desired a top-tier spiritual land to break through to the Void Refinement stage, and seeing that he was followed by three Nascent Soul female cultivators with extraordinary auras and two unfathomable demon cultivators, the old man dared not be negligent and took out a huge jade disc.

The jade disc shimmered with light, revealing a map of the western part of the city. Dozens of points of light, varying in brightness, marked the quality of the sacred sites and whether they were owned.

“Fellow Daoist, please look. There are currently three vacant Grade A spiritual lands.” The old man pointed to the three most dazzling spots of light on the jade wall. “Grade A No. 7 is located on the Azure Wave Pool. The water spiritual energy is extremely rich. The annual rent is 800,000 contribution points, or the equivalent amount of spirit stones plus some contribution points.”

"Number 11, above the Heart of Earth and Fire, a top-quality item with both fire and earth attributes, annual rent of 900,000 contribution points."

"Number A19 is located at the eye of the confluence of spiritual veins. Its spiritual energy is the purest and most abundant, making it especially suitable for breaking through bottlenecks. However, it is also the most expensive, with an annual rent of 1.2 million contribution points! And at least 30% of the contribution points must be paid."

The price quoted by the old man was enough to drive most Nascent Soul cultivators to despair.

Su Ning's gaze immediately locked onto the Jia-19 spiritual land, which was in the best location and had the most abundant spiritual energy, exactly what he needed.

"I'll take number 19, A. Here's the rent." He tossed out another storage bag, the amount of spirit stones inside being enough to cover the entire 1.2 million contribution points, with plenty to spare!

The old man took the storage bag, scanned it with his divine sense, and his hand trembled slightly.

He had lived for thousands of years and had never seen such an "arrogant" ascended cultivator!

This is practically treating spirit stones like regular stones!
"Fellow Daoist...this is against the rules. According to regulations, contribution points are required..." the old man stammered.

Su Ning frowned, and a faint yet chilling pressure spread out: "Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. I urgently need to seclude myself here. If I don't have enough spirit stones, I can add more. If that's not enough, I'll have to find another place."

As he spoke, he made a gesture as if to retract the storage bag.

The old man sensed the unfathomable aura emanating from Su Ning and the unfriendly gazes cast by the two demon cultivators. Looking at the enormous bag of spirit stones—enough to tempt even a Void Refinement cultivator—he gritted his teeth and said, “Fellow Daoist, wait! Rules… rules can be flexible! I will take the liberty of renting this Jia-19 spirit land to you! This is a restriction token; with this token, you can freely enter and exit the spirit land.”

He quickly completed the formalities and handed Su Ning a purple-gold token engraved with dragon patterns, his attitude becoming extremely enthusiastic.

"Thank you." Su Ning accepted the token, nodded in satisfaction, and led the group away.

Watching their departing figures, the old man from Jade Palace wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered to himself, "Freak! What a freak! Where did such a wealthy ascendant come from? And with two such powerful spirit pets. It seems Tianyuan City is about to be in turmoil again..."

Following the token's guidance, Su Ning and his group quickly located Cave No. 19, situated in the core western area of ​​Tianyuan City.

This place truly lives up to its reputation!

The entrance to the cave is hidden behind a bamboo forest shrouded in purple mist. A spring gushes forth in front of the entrance, its water sweet and pure, containing refined spiritual energy.

As soon as you step into the cave, the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so dense it's almost liquid, rushes towards you. Taking a deep breath, you feel your magical power stirring!
The faint rumbling sound of spiritual veins flowing underground could be heard.

The cave dwelling has a vast interior space, complete with training rooms, alchemy rooms, weapon forging rooms, spirit beast rooms, and a medicine garden, all of which are inscribed with powerful spirit gathering and protective formations.

"What a great place! The spiritual energy here is enough to support my breakthrough to the Void Refinement Realm!" Su Ning's eyes showed satisfaction.

……

After selecting Cave No. 19, Su Ning did not immediately begin his seclusion.

Breaking through to the Void Refinement stage is no small feat; it cannot be achieved simply by relying on abundant spiritual energy.

He needs to be fully prepared, especially for the pills and formulas that will help him break through the bottleneck, as well as some special rare and precious materials.

As the frontline megacity where humans fought against demons, Tianyuan City was also a hub of resources. The scale of Tianyuan Market and the abundance of treasures within it far surpassed those of small border towns like Anyuan City.

Ling Yuling, Song Yu, and Ziling were temporarily placed in the cave to familiarize themselves with the environment, while Feng Xi stayed behind to protect the cave's safety.

Then Su Ning, accompanied only by You Tian Kunpeng, who had broader knowledge and a more acute sense of aura, left the western spiritual region of the city and headed towards the massive market town located in the city center.

Upon entering the Tianyuan Market area, one is immediately greeted by the bustling noise of people and the strange aura of various spiritual herbs, magical treasures, and materials.

The streets were incredibly wide, enough to accommodate dozens of carriages side by side, with shops lining both sides, buildings of varying heights, and banners fluttering in the breeze.

A series of streaks of light flashed across the sky, indicating that cultivators were permitted to fly and travel within designated areas. Looking around, Nascent Soul cultivators were everywhere, and Deity Transformation cultivators were also frequently seen. Occasionally, one could even sense a few obscure and profound auras, far surpassing those of Deity Transformation cultivators, flashing by in a terrifying way, which made one's heart tremble.

"As expected of a major stronghold of the human race in the Spirit Realm, it truly harbors hidden talents." Su Ning thought to himself, becoming even more determined to improve his strength as soon as possible.

His goal was clear: he ignored the low-end stalls and headed towards the most prestigious large shops in the market.

Su Ning first chose a shop called Baoguang Pavilion. This pavilion was said to be backed by the City Lord's Mansion and specialized in dealing in various high-level pills, with an excellent reputation.

Upon entering the pavilion, a Nascent Soul stage attendant immediately greeted them respectfully.

Su Ning made no attempt to conceal the spiritual pressure emanating from the late-stage Nascent Soul realm, and the waiter was even more humble, directly leading him to the VIP room on the third floor.

He was greeted by a white-haired alchemist in the early Nascent Soul stage. "What kind of pills do you need, fellow Daoist? Our establishment has just received a batch of Jade Purity Pills, which are of great benefit to Nascent Soul cultivators in advancing their magical power..."

Su Ning interrupted directly: "I, Su, wish to request a pill to help me break through the bottleneck of the Void Refinement stage. Do you have any?"

Upon hearing this, the white-haired alchemist's expression turned solemn. He glanced at Su Ning a few times and pondered, "The pills that aid in the Void Refinement stage are all rare treasures. Our pavilion currently only has one bottle of the Five Elements Void Condensation Pill, which uses five kinds of Five Elements essences as the main ingredients, supplemented with dozens of kinds of ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs. It was personally refined by our pavilion master and can increase the breakthrough chance by about 50%. However, the price..."

“Price is not an issue,” Suning said calmly.

In the end, he bought the bottle of Five Elements Condensing Void Pills, which contained only three pills, for an astronomical price that made the alchemist's hands tremble.

At the same time, he also purchased several top-grade elixirs that could stabilize his cultivation level and quickly restore his mana, just in case.

……

After leaving Baoguang Pavilion, Su Ning and You Tiankunpeng entered another store called Baibaolou, which was famous for dealing in various ancient treasures, materials, and jade slips containing cultivation techniques.

At Baibaolou, Suning's target was the prescription for pills and some special auxiliary materials.

He immediately revealed his identity and wealth, demanding to see the store's prized elixir formula.

The manager of Baibaolou, a plump cultivator in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, personally accompanied the group and took out several jade slips protected by multiple restrictions.

"Fellow Daoist, please take a look. This is the formula for the Seven Apertures Refining Void Pill. It is said to increase the chance of breakthrough by 10%, but the main ingredient is hard to find; it requires the Seven Apertures Exquisite Flower..."

"This is the formula for the Qiankun Guiyuan Pill. Its medicinal properties are mild and can solidify the foundation, increasing the chances by half a percent..."

"There's also this Blood Essence Fusion Technique, which isn't a pill formula, but a secret technique. It can fuse the essence blood of powerful demonic beasts into the body, temporarily increasing physical strength and qi and blood power. It might have a miraculous effect on resisting the Void Refining Heavenly Tribulation, but it's extremely dangerous..."

After carefully reviewing the documents, Su Ning finally acquired the jade slips containing the Seven Apertures Refining Pill and the Blood Soul Fusion Technique at an almost outrageous price.

Although the main ingredient is hard to find, he has the Taixu Realm, so he can try to cultivate it.

And that Fusion Technique is exactly in line with the path of his "Brahma Saint True Demon Art".

In addition, he purchased a large amount of rare materials for setting up advanced protective and spirit-gathering formations, almost emptying half of the top-tier inventory of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, which made the fat shopkeeper's eyes disappear with laughter.

……

Finally, Su Ning and You Tiankunpeng headed to a bustling trade fair. This fair, which was organized by numerous independent cultivators, was located in a square in a corner of the market. It was a mixed bag of people, but treasures of unknown origin with peculiar effects often appeared there.

Suning came here hoping to try their luck and see if they could find some unexpected opportunities.

His powerful divine sense quietly swept over each stall.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks in front of an inconspicuous stall run by an old man in the late Nascent Soul stage.

The stalls mostly displayed broken antiques and materials of unknown purpose.

Suning's gaze fell on a grayish stone, about the size of a fist, with natural flame patterns on its surface.

From this stone, he sensed a trace of extremely faint yet exceptionally pure fire elemental power!
If it weren't for his powerful spiritual sense and his mastery of various top-tier techniques, it would have been extremely difficult for him to detect it.

"What is the price of this item?" Su Ning asked calmly.

The old man glanced at Su Ning and said lazily, "One hundred thousand spirit stones, no bargaining."

He clearly didn't see the true value of this item either.

Without saying a word, Su Ning threw out a bag containing 100,000 spirit stones and caught the stones in his hand.

The moment he touched it, the primordial power became even clearer. A thought struck him, confirming that this was very likely a supreme treasure for refining a fire-attribute clone or enhancing fire-type divine abilities...

Fragments of the Primordial Fire Source Stone!

Its value far exceeds 100,000 spirit stones!

Just as he was about to leave, a sinister voice suddenly came from the side: "Wait! This young master has his eye on this stone!"

A young master, dressed in fine clothes, with an arrogant expression and possessing the cultivation level of the early Nascent Soul stage, walked over with several guards, his eyes fixed intently on the stone in Su Ning's hand.

He clearly recognized the extraordinary nature of this item.

"I've already bought this item," Su Ning said indifferently, not even glancing at him, and turned to leave.

"Hmph! In this Tianyuan City, no one has ever dared to snatch anything from me, Lin Xiaoyun! Leave it here!" The young master roared, reaching out to grab Su Ning's shoulder, his hand covered in a sharp blue light.

However, before his hand could even touch Su Ning's clothes, the gray-robed old man who was actually the Kunpeng standing behind Su Ning merely glanced at him indifferently.

hum!
An invisible yet terrifying spatial pressure descended instantly!

Lin Xiaoyun felt the space around him suddenly freeze, as if he had fallen into the bottom of a deep sea. His true essence was instantly suppressed, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air. His face showed a look of horror and disbelief!
The guards behind him were completely unable to move an inch!
"Get lost." Kunpeng's lips moved slightly, uttering a single word.

The solidified spatial force suddenly surged, and Lin Xiaoyun and his guards were struck as if by an invisible giant hammer. They groaned, staggered backward, and fell to the ground in a sorry state, their eyes filled with fear.

The surrounding crowd erupted in an uproar, retreating in shock as they stared at Su Ning and the unfathomable old man in gray.

Su Ning never looked back from beginning to end, as if he had just swatted away a few flies. With Kunpeng by his side, his figure flickered and disappeared into the crowd.

Lin Xiaoyun was left on the ground, shocked and furious, but dared not chase after them again.

After this large-scale procurement and unexpected gains, Suning has now obtained all the necessary supplies.

He didn't linger and quickly returned to Cave No. 19 in the western part of the city.

The cave gate slowly closed, and multiple restrictions were activated, isolating it from all the noise and prying eyes of the outside world.

Ample elixirs, profound elixir formulas, powerful secret techniques, rare materials...

everything's ready.

Su Ning sat cross-legged on the core of the spirit-gathering array in the cave, his eyes firm and calm.

The closed-door cultivation for breaking through to the Void Refinement stage has officially begun.

He quickly assigned rooms, allowing Ling Yuling, Song Yu, and Ziling to each choose a quiet room to cultivate.

Feng Xi and Kunpeng were responsible for guarding the inside and outside of the cave.

After setting up numerous restrictions to completely seal off the cave, Su Ning could finally begin his first long-term seclusion in the spirit realm with peace of mind.

Target – Refinement Stage!

What he didn't know was that during his seclusion, the group of Nascent Soul cultivators he had "let loose" in the human realm a hundred years ago were gradually converging on Tianyuan City through various means...

A storm, stirred up by him, is about to quietly brew in this great human city.

...(End of chapter)