Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 205 The Mystery of the Merchant Court, Nascent Soul Cultivator [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Uncle-Master, how did the once-powerful Shang Court perish?"

"Could it be that it was destroyed by another force? But no major forces have emerged in our Canglu Continent since then."

Ji Yuan left Water Dragon Island with Master Duocai, but Master Duocai didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave, so he took the opportunity to ask.

Previously, Ji Yuan probably wouldn't have been very interested in this business.

After all, it has been extinct for so many years, and the river of time has long since erased everything.

But now it seems that in the long river of time on the Canglu Continent, this Shang Court is like a stubborn rock, indestructible.

"How did the Commercial Court perish?"

The wealthy master, who was piloting the escape light, slowed down a bit and finally sat directly on Ji Yuan's airship. "There are many different opinions about this matter. Even after nearly ten thousand years, no specific conclusion has been reached."

"If you asked someone else this question, even Junior Brother Xuan Shui might not know the answer, but since you asked me..." Master Duocai stroked his beard and smiled, "Our Li family does know a little about the situation."

I know, because your Li family are the founding members of the Water Dragon Sect, and your ancestors once had a Nascent Soul cultivator... Ji Yuan cupped his hands slightly, "Please tell me, Uncle."

"It's alright, there's no need for such formality."

Master Duocai cast a spell to create a restriction.

Then a streak of azure light enveloped the entire flying boat, and Ji Yuan quickly stopped the flying boat, giving Master Duocai enough time to speak.

Do you know what realm lies beyond the Nascent Soul stage?

"I know, my master told me that above the Nascent Soul stage is the Deity Transformation stage."

Ji Yuan wasn't lying about that.

"Yes, a single Nascent Soul cultivator would be enough to suppress and unify our entire Canglu Continent, but the Shang Court at that time had two."

"What?"

This was the first time Ji Yuan had heard of this, and he couldn't help but be astonished. "Then how could they have been wiped out? Could it be that a powerful expert above the Nascent Soul stage intervened?"

"How could such powerful beings possibly look down on our small Canglu Continent?"

Master Duocai stroked his beard and chuckled, "You know that there are other continents besides our Canglu Continent, right?"

"Know."

"Those two Nascent Soul cultivators, who are also the rulers of the Shang Court, had no rivals after unifying our Canglu Continent, so they left Canglu and went to other continents."

"and then?"

Ji Yuan was completely captivated by this matter.

"And then he never came back. Some say he died overseas, others say his cultivation level improved so much that he no longer looked down on Canglu, or perhaps he was trapped somewhere. In any case, he never came back."

When Master Duocai reached this point, he even seemed a little regretful, sighed, and then continued:

"With the sect leader gone, some of the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators are thinking of seizing the sect's resources in an attempt to advance to the Divine Transformation stage."

Some, however, were thinking of taking some of the resources from their sect and going abroad to live a carefree and unrestrained life.

Others wanted to seize the position of sect leader and unify the world.

In short, everyone had their own ideas, and so began their infighting. The fighting became so fierce that the dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators eventually engaged in a massive battle, shattering the Nine Netherworld Cave Heaven into pieces.

"Without the Shang Court, heroes rose up all over the Canglu Continent, with righteous and demonic forces living together, constantly fighting each other, creating chaos."

"Our founders of the Shangdong Six Immortals Sect, including my ancestor, broke through the encirclement under such circumstances and eventually established our Water Dragon Sect."

This was the first time Ji Yuan had learned about these things, such as the past events of the Shang family, which he couldn't find even in ancient books.

"How did the righteous and demonic paths separate and occupy the east and west sides?"

"Oh, about that."

Master Duocai chuckled and said, "I already knew about this, because my ancestor was also involved in it."

"You're really not being polite, aren't you? You can't stop talking about your ancestors, can you?" Ji Yuan leaned forward slightly, pretending to listen attentively.

"At that time, our Shangdong Six Immortals Sect and Shangxi Three Demon Sects had already been established. Moreover, the initial location of our Six Immortals Sect was not entirely in Shangdong. For example, the Corpse-Driving Mountain and the Joyful Palace were originally in Shangxi, while the White Bone Sect was originally in Shangdong."

"At that time, there were actually more Nascent Soul forces than just the ones we have now; several others were wiped out."

"I can't believe it!"

Ji Yuan was very surprised.

"That's right. Later, we ancestors all felt that continuing to fight like this was not a solution. If we kept fighting until the Nascent Soul ancestors got really angry, it would be another massacre."

Duo Cai Zhenren's tone was somewhat sorrowful.

But why would a Nascent Soul cultivator fear widespread bloodshed?

They're probably just afraid of dying themselves.

Ji Yuan could understand the meaning behind the words, but he didn't say anything.

Master Duocai continued, "Later, the Nascent Soul cultivators from various immortal sects gathered together and held a grand meeting at the top of Mount Shang. It is said that the meeting lasted for a whole year. Afterwards, they signed an alliance, dividing the righteous and demonic paths with Mount Shang as the boundary. This is known as the 'Alliance of Mount Shang'."

"So that's how it is..."

Ji Yuan suddenly realized.

"But actually..."

Master Duocai stroked his beard. "The land in Shangxi, whether it's spiritual veins or various resources, is actually more barren than our Shangdong."

"Were they willing to accept this division back then?"

Ji Yuan couldn't help but ask, "This isn't like the Demonic Path at all."

"There was no other way. At that time, the demonic forces were no match for us. Whether it was the overall number of demonic cultivators or the number of Nascent Soul cultivators, they were inferior to our righteous path. So we had no choice but to go to the west."

"Then how come they've now taken the lead over us?"

Hearing Ji Yuan's question, Master Duocai said meaningfully, "Because... they are from the demonic path."

Master Duocai pointed towards the Ancestral Hall, "If our Water Dragon Sect's strongest elders, the First Elder and the Third Elder, were demonic cultivators, what right would we have to speak?"

Ji Yuan smiled awkwardly. There were some things Li Gang could say, but he couldn't.

"Don't worry about so much, kid. With the treasures the sect has bestowed upon you this time, your safety is not a problem. As for those scales, if you use them and come back for more, we will still give them to you. After all, they are what you deserve. As for the book pages, forget about them. Those things are really gone."

Ji Yuan was about to speak.

Master Duocai waved his hand, "No need to say more, just go back and cultivate diligently."

"I said the same thing to Changhe, and I'm saying the same thing to you now: break through as soon as possible and try to form your core before the demonic invasion. Only after forming your core will you have a chance of survival."

"Yes, thank you, Uncle-Master."

Ji Yuan, who had been sitting down, stood up and bowed deeply to Master Duocai.

"Yes, if you need anything in your cultivation and feel that my Li family can help, you can come to me at any time, or you can go to Changhe."

Master Duocai had already stood up.

"For example, if you want to condense the Azure Wave Sword embryo, and you want to go to places like Icefire Island or Thunderclap Marsh, you can come to our Li family before you set off."

"Although our Li family has declined, we still have two or three friends near those places where sword embryos can be condensed. If you ask our Li family for help, it will save you a lot of trouble."

That's really considerate of me. They're giving me the Li family's cultivation techniques, and I can even use the Li family's connections to practice.

They treated him like their own nephew or niece.

Ji Yuan bowed again.

This time, however, no thanks were given.

Master Duocai stepped forward and helped Ji Yuan up. "In the end, the world belongs to you young people. If this old body of mine is gone, then I'm afraid you'll have to take care of that kid Changhe."

Ji Yuan quickly said:

"Uncle-Master, what are you saying? I still need Brother Li to take care of me."

Master Duocai looked at him, but pointed to his own eyes.

"In my life, I, Li Laocai, have neither the courage nor the strength to bring glory to the Li family, but my eyes are the only good ones; I never misjudge people."

"You, Ji Yuan, are his benefactor in life."

"In the future, I mean if Changhe really encounters a life-or-death crisis, and you, Ji Yuan, happen to have the ability to save him, I would like to ask you to save his life, is that alright?"

Ji Yuan remained silent for a while before nodding in agreement.

Master Duocai visibly breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily, saying, "Good, good, with you here, my dear nephew, I can rest assured."

Ji Yuan didn't know what he saw in him that made him think he would be able to save Li Changhe in the future, but since they were destined to meet, and Li Changhe was a good person, Ji Yuan thought it was a good idea.

Let's try to save them then.

After all, as Master Duocai said, one must have the strength to do so. If one cannot even save one's own life, then there is no way one can save others.

Duocai Zhenren has passed away.

Ji Yuan first returned to Wuyou Island, but before a day had passed, the cultivators from Sifang Island came to his door.

Yes, upon meeting Master Xuanshui, Ji Yuan mentioned to him that he needed to ignite the earth fire on Wuyou Island in preparation for refining weapons.

Master Xuan Shui would naturally not refuse such a trivial matter, saying that he would make arrangements and that Ji Yuan should go back and wait.

Ji Yuan originally thought it would be very troublesome. He had also gone to Sifang Island to see the process. In order to ignite the earth fire on his private island, he had to first "pass the test" on Sifang Island, obtain the certificate of a second-level weapon refiner, and then submit an application, etc.

The entire process would likely take six months to a year to complete.

Ji Yuan thought he should ask Master Xuan Shui to put in a good word and see if things could be done faster.

Unexpectedly, it happened so quickly... Without saying anything, the Foundation Establishment cultivators from Sifang Island came over, along with several Qi Refining cultivators from the Weapon Hall. They fiddled with the setup and quickly succeeded.

Ji Yuan, being very polite, prepared a small gift for each of them.

With this matter settled, Ji Yuan wasn't in a hurry to open the [Weapon Refining Room].

Just like Master Duocai said, in the end, it all comes down to cultivation level. So instead of upgrading the [Weapon Refining Room] here, we should refine the third sword embryo first.

Ji Yuan then returned to Misty Island.

The trip to Tianzhu Peak was neither troublesome nor far; it was just like going on a sightseeing trip.

Even so, Ji Yuan was still fully armed, bringing not only his righteous equipment but also demonic equipment such as the Yin Ghost Flag and the Thousand Soul Banner.

As for spirit beasts, they also brought along the Frost Dragon and the swarm of bees.

in case the emergency.

After tidying up, he gave Tu Yue a few more instructions, telling her not to forget to feed the fish and the spirit bees. If any corpse puppets crawled out of the [Mass Graveyard], he told them to have them dig up some soil and remodel it.

The specific tasks will have to wait for Ji Yuan to return and arrange them.

Not long after.

The airship rose from Misty Island and disappeared into the clouds, then headed straight southeast. After leaving the Cloud Rain Marsh and arriving above the Pear Blossom River, Ji Yuan looked at the river again.

This time, everything was calm and peaceful.

There was nothing unusual.

Ji Yuan then affixed a shape-changing talisman to himself, changing his appearance from his original one to that of "Qiu Qianhai," and into that of a middle-aged man.

Nothing special.

He calculated that this trip south to Tianzhu Peak would take about twenty days if there were no delays along the way.

It may take about ten days to reach the summit of Tianzhu Peak, and then another twenty days to return.

Overall, it's not bad.

Moreover, after going out and coming back, Misty Island has produced many more "low-income" people.

"Tianzhu Peak isn't too far from Maple Leaf City. Shall we stop by and visit Senior Sister Dong?"

The thought flashed through his mind, but Ji Yuan quickly dismissed it.

If it had really been several years since we last met, then it would be appropriate to go and see each other. But since we've only been apart for a short time, there's no need to make this trip.

Heading south, I will continue my spiritual practice along the way.

This trip was different from the previous ones. I didn't have any mission or urgent business to attend to. In short, it was a trip that I took on a whim.

So Ji Yuan was in a great mood throughout the journey south, and whenever he saw a beautiful view, he would land his flying boat to take a look.

I'll also go into big cities when I come across them, hoping to find some good deals.

While you're at it, buy some local specialty wines and spirits. Once you get back, have them blessed by the [Wine Cellar], and they'll be perfect gifts for guests or your master.

Nearly a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

When Ji Yuan could see the towering mountain peak above the clouds, he knew that they had arrived at their destination—Tianzhu Peak.

He immediately sped up, and in just one hour...

Ji Yuan then arrived at the foot of Tianzhu Peak.

He was already above the clouds, but now he still had to look up to see the summit of Tianzhu Peak... still nearly a thousand meters above.

Logically speaking, with such a height, the mountaintop should be covered in snow.

However, as far as Ji Yuan could see, even the summit of Tianzhu Peak was covered in lush green grass. There was no snow-capped mountain, not even a pebble beach.

This is completely different from what Ji Yuan knew in his previous life, and can only be attributed to the wonder of the Xianxia world.

Occasionally, streaks of light could be seen moving away or coming from all around; these were mostly Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Ji Yuan piloted the flying boat upwards, and in no time at all, he had arrived at the summit.

"Hey, there are quite a few people here."

Ji Yuan didn't dare to release his divine sense, but instead scanned the area with his naked eyes. He estimated that there were probably dozens of people, most of whom were Qi Refining stage cultivators, and there were also Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, probably around ten.

Fortunately, the mountaintop is large, so even with so many people here, it doesn't feel crowded.

At the very center of the mountaintop, which is also the highest point of Tianzhu Peak, some kind-hearted immortal built a pavilion.

The inscription reads: "Zhuxian Pavilion".

The name is quite good.

Once the plan was completed, the flying boat automatically stored itself in the storage bag.

Several Qi Refining cultivators who were chatting nearby stood up to greet him after sensing his cultivation level.

Ji Yuan, dressed in a blue robe, smiled and nodded as a greeting, then headed towards the Zhuxian Pavilion at the top of the mountain.

Walking on the grassy mountaintop with a cobblestone path underfoot, surrounded by a sea of ​​clouds, is a rare and beautiful sight.

Ji Yuan proceeded slowly.

They encountered a pair of immortal cultivators, two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, who were making their vows of eternal love atop Tianzhu Peak.

The man said he wanted to establish his foundation together, while the female cultivator said she wanted to create her own Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan.

The man then whispered a few words in the female cultivator's ear, causing her earlobes to turn red. She kept snuggling into his arms and gently pounding his chest.

He seemed a little angry.

Others might not be able to hear it because they haven't released their divine sense.

Ji Yuan, whose physique is well-established, possesses hearing far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Although the man was whispering, it was almost indistinguishable from speaking into Ji Yuan's ear.

He said, "Then we'll have to have children. Why don't we go back and start a family first? It'll be good preparation for our Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan."

Ji Yuan watched the departing immortal couple, judging from their attire and the fact that they were able to express their love on Tianzhu Peak.

These two are likely from humble backgrounds, probably from a Foundation Establishment family.

They wouldn't even be considered low-level in the cultivation world.

Ji Yuan continued upwards, and when he arrived at the Immortal Pavilion, he found that the three people sitting there were all Foundation Establishment cultivators. They looked familiar with each other and were laughing heartily as they talked about some happy event.

Upon seeing Ji Yuan approach, they briefly sensed his cultivation level. One of the young men, dressed in a black robe, stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "It is fate that we meet. Why don't you come over for a chat, fellow Daoist?"

"I am Xue Nanshan from the Xue family of Lin'an City. I pay my respects."

Ji Yuan feigned surprise and quickly returned the greeting.

"I am Qiu Qianhai, a rogue cultivator. I greet Fellow Daoist Xue and these two fellow Daoists."

Xue Nanshan was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, while the other man and woman were at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. Judging from their appearance, they should be a couple... Ji Yuan glanced around and saw that there were no late-stage cultivators. Feeling a little relieved, he dared to enter the pavilion and sit down.

Afterwards, Xue Nanshan introduced the couple to Ji Yuan.

The man's name was He Tianming, and the woman's name was Mu Lulu.

The two were cultivators from the island in the middle of the river, and could be considered independent cultivators. Although they had the cultivation level of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, they had not developed their own forces and were just cultivating together on the island.

They were considered a famous couple in the Tianzhu Peak area.

Ji Yuan greeted her politely, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the woman seemed somewhat fearful in her gaze and didn't dare to look up at him...

There's probably some history between the two of them.

Having understood this, Ji Yuan only chatted for a few words before taking his leave.

He didn't want to get involved in trouble, so keeping his distance from it was an excellent approach.

After leaving the Zhuxian Pavilion, Ji Yuan piloted his flying boat downwards and disappeared into the sea of ​​clouds, but he didn't go far; he flew close to the mountainside.

There are no caves at the top of Tianzhu Peak, but once you go down into the sea of ​​clouds, you'll find many caves left by our predecessors.

Some areas are already occupied, while others remain empty.

Ji Yuan found an uninhabited cave nearby, went inside to check it out, and after confirming that there were no problems, he activated the [Cave] effect and set up the Starry Cloud Barrier Array.

He officially began his life of cultivation in his hermitage on Tianzhu Peak.

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(End of this chapter)