Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 358 Qiu Qianhai's Senior Brother [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"This is the first late-stage Core Formation Yin spirit I've collected. It's somewhat of a memento. Long Zhanye... Thank you for your gift, fellow Daoist."

Ji Yuan made a move.

The Thousand Soul Banner fell back into his hand and was then put into his storage bag.

He turned to look at Xing Shuang, who was somewhat dumbfounded, and smiled.

"What? It hasn't been long, and Miss Xing doesn't recognize me anymore?"

No...no.

Xing Shuang quickly shook her head, "It's just...it's just..."

"Don't just say 'just'."

Ji Yuan took out a storage bag and tossed it over, "This is Su Yuan's storage bag, fellow Daoist, please keep it safe. By the way, could you please take out the Yin Crystal inside? This item is of great use to me."

Xing Shuang accepted it with both hands, but immediately returned it, saying seriously:

"If it weren't for you, fellow Daoist, I would have perished here today. How could I possibly accept this storage bag? Please take it back, fellow Daoist."

"Without Miss Xing, I wouldn't even be able to enter this secret realm."

Ji Yuan chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll keep Ling Juexiao's and Long Zhanye's storage bags, and you can have Su Yuan's. Miss Xing, don't think it's too little."

"this……"

Seeing that Ji Yuan was not joking, Xing Shuang put it away and took out all the Yin Crystals inside, handing them over.

For her, surviving this ordeal meant she would at least have this mid-stage Core Formation storage bag.

That's already a huge profit.

The storage bag was only at the mid-stage of Core Formation, and Xing Shuang was only at the mid-stage of Core Formation herself.

After distributing the storage bags and giving out Yin Crystals, Xing Shuang looked at the man standing before her and finally couldn't help but ask, "Chang Geng shouldn't be your real name, right...?"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this question, Ji Yuan had already guessed what was going on. "Then, Miss Xing, what do you think my name should be?"

"Fellow Daoist, your surname must be Ji..."

Damn it, that damned old devil Ji!

Ji Yuan cursed inwardly, but smiled bitterly, "I knew it, it's my face that's causing this trouble, sigh..." He shook his head, "Miss Xing, now you know why I dare not show my true face, right?"

"That fellow Daoist?"

Xing Shuang asked with some skepticism.

"Liu Changsheng".

Ji Yuan revealed his real name.

Back when he was still in Yun Yuze, he used this name and even had dealings with the Liu brothers, so it's reasonable for him to use it again now.

"Oh……"

Xing Shuang suddenly realized what was going on, and then bowed very seriously to Ji Yuan, "Greetings, Brother Liu."

"Um."

Ji Yuan didn't care whether Xing Shuang believed him or not; he would just deny it. He turned to look at the high platform in front of him, a platform that remained intact even after being bombarded by the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning.

"Miss Xing, could you please tell me what exactly this secret realm is all about?"

Ji Yuan recalled the finger that pressed him back to the ground. If it was really a cultivator who made the move, then it would at least be a Nascent Soul cultivator.

If that's the case, why hasn't he shown up yet?

"This secret realm..." Xing Shuang turned to look at the high platform, and took out the seal from before with a flip of her hand. "With this, you can open a door on this high platform, but I don't know where this door leads. It may lead to a deeper level of the secret realm, or it may teleport you out directly."

"As for the origin of this secret realm, that happened decades ago."

Xing Shuang recalled, "Back then, I was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Once, I came to this Northwest Sand Prison with a fellow Daoist for an adventure. We encountered an extremely terrifying sandstorm, and we were all blown away. I don't know where I ended up. I only know that in the end, a sinner saved me."

"A sinner... Brother Liu should know, shouldn't he?"

"Know."

Not only do I know, but I also have a sinner friend.

"I recovered from my injuries at their home. Later, they told me that there was a group of sand scorpions near their house that were making their lives miserable. So I took action to get rid of the sand scorpions for them. Afterwards, they gave me a treasure map, saying that it was left by their ancestors. Later, after I returned to Winter City, I searched everywhere and eventually found the other half of the treasure map from another Core Formation cultivator."

"Is that the one who used to live in my cave?"

Ji Yuan recalled this incident.

"Exactly."

Xing Shuang's eyes showed a slight disappointment, but the emotion quickly disappeared. "By combining her treasure map and me, I found this secret realm. Also, the secret realm I mentioned earlier, which is the cave where a Nascent Soul cultivator passed away, and the one that a Nascent Soul cultivator used to test his juniors, were actually told by that fellow Daoist."

"What else did she say?"

Ji Yuan pressed for an answer.

Xing Shuang, who had been looking down, raised her head, looked at Ji Yuan in front of her, and slowly said, "She said that this secret realm is involved in a big secret."

"What secret?"

"She didn't say, or perhaps she didn't know either." Xing Shuang took a deep breath and looked around. "I'm sure Brother Liu can see that, regardless of whether there's any follow-up to this secret realm, the immortal resources and rare treasures we haven't obtained are more than a Nascent Soul cultivator could possibly possess."

"Therefore, this place is definitely not as simple as the cave where a Nascent Soul cultivator attained enlightenment."

"Does Miss Xing know anything else?"

Xing Shuang smiled and turned to look at the high platform. "Instead of speculating so much here, we might as well go and see what's behind this door."

"That's true."

As Ji Yuan nodded, he was also thinking about it.

Regardless of who attacked me behind the scenes, they probably meant no harm. If they had, that single finger strike would have crushed me, or at least allowed them to steal the Lightning Chaser.

But not only did they not do that, they even compensated me afterwards.

Then there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Let's do it this way then. Let's heal and recover first, and then we can open the door and take a look once we're fully recovered," Ji Yuan suggested.

Having witnessed Long Zhanye's unexpected appearance before, it's impossible to be overly cautious now.

"it is good."

Punishment with frost is perfectly acceptable.

The two of them did not linger in the valley basin, but flew back to the cliff at the top of the mountain and silently recovered.

After recovering, Ji Yuan also briefly looked at Long Zhanye and Ling Juexiao's storage bags.

"Miss Xing, is the seal you have absolutely necessary to enter this secret realm?"

"right."

Without the slightest hesitation, Xing Shuang handed over the seal in her hand, saying, "This seal was found in the storage space inside the treasure map after I restored the treasure map with that fellow Daoist."

"I've heard Miss Xing mention that fellow Daoist repeatedly, and I'm quite curious about her. May I ask her name?" Ji Yuan asked, turning to the side.

"Of course it is. Her name is Hua Qianqing, also known as 'Qianhua Zhenren'. At that time, among the female cultivators in Winter City, her appearance was considered one of the best. It's just a pity... it's a pity that someone cruelly destroyed her beauty."

Xing Shuang sighed again.

...Hua Qianqing, the True Man of a Thousand Flowers.

Ji Yuan silently memorized the name.

"I discovered that Long Zhanye's storage bag did not contain this seal."

"It seems he came in with someone else. He's selfish by nature and a bit vindictive, so he probably did something similar to Ling Juexiao, which frightened someone. That person took advantage of his inattention and ran out, leaving him here."

"It's not impossible."

Because Ji Yuan found a large amount of Yin Crystals in Long Zhanye's storage bag, it means that he has been in this secret realm for quite some time.

Then Ji Yuan asked how they could get out.

Xing Shuang said that before the second level, you can always leave by the way you came, but after passing the second level, you will most likely not be able to leave by the way you started.

That's why Long Zhanye is trapped here.

Ji Yuan didn't ask any more questions after that, and Xing Shuang also wisely refrained from pursuing his true identity.

Before long, both of them had fully recovered their magical powers and came down from the mountaintop, landing in front of the high platform.

Ji Yuan stood below waiting, while Xing Shuang, holding the seal, ascended the high platform.

Ji Yuan watched helplessly as she poured magic power into the seal. After the seal lit up, she pressed it hard against the ground as if stamping a document.

In an instant, the entire platform was illuminated by a white light.

Xing Shuang subconsciously tried to remove the seal, but found that it wouldn't budge, as if it had become one with the platform.

Without further delay, she transformed into a beam of light and flew back to Ji Yuan's side.

The two of them looked up at the high platform.

In the blink of an eye, a booming sound rang out, and then the platform split open to the left and right, and a huge stone archway rose from the ground.

The archway has an entrance, but no stone door.

Just as Ji Yuan was wondering what was going on, he noticed a white light screen appear in the middle of the archway, followed by two streams of light flying out from inside the screen and landing in their hands.

Ji Yuan looked down and saw that what appeared in his hand was a new seal.

It was exactly the same as the seal that Xing Shuang had used to open the door.

"This is……"

Ji Yuan saw that Xing Shuang also had one and was about to ask her about it when a strong suction suddenly came from the stone door.

Ji Yuan subconsciously thought of resisting.

But faced with this suction force, he couldn't even blink before being sucked into the stone gate.

In a daze, when he came to his senses, he found himself above a vast ocean, with a biting cold wind blowing all around him.

Looking down, the sea surface was black, which looked quite terrifying.

He unleashed his divine sense and eventually discovered an island reef a hundred miles away, covered in wind, sand, and snow.

Xing Shuang was right beside him. After examining each other for a while, Xing Shuang quickly figured out the situation.

"We've been teleported out. This should be the North Sea. To be sure, it's either west or south of the Bone Nightmare Sect... We just need to fly south. Once we return to the mainland, if it's the Sand Prison, it means we're west of the Bone Nightmare Sect. If it's the Desert, it means we're south of the Bone Nightmare Sect."

That makes sense.

Ji Yuan nodded slightly, then looked down at the seal in his hand.

...Having this means that you can return to that secret realm at any time, but there are no other benefits to going back besides killing Yin Beasts.

If that's the case, why give them another seal before leaving?

Furthermore, thinking about the rare treasures and numerous immortal resources that he had not yet obtained, Ji Yuan felt even more that this secret realm was extraordinary.

"This is not a place to stay for long. Let's go back to the mainland first, shall we?"

Xing Shuang suggested.

"it is good."

The two then transformed into streaks of light and flew straight south for about half a month before finally reaching the endless desert. This meant that the sea area where they had previously appeared was located west of the Bone Nightmare Sect.

"So, what are your plans next, Brother Liu?"

Xing Shuang stopped and asked.

Ji Yuan had already planned this on his way back to the mainland: "I still need some Yin Crystals for my cultivation, so I'm planning to go back to that secret realm again now to kill more Yin Beasts. What about you, Miss Xing?"

"I'll skip the secret realm for now. I want to go back to Winter City first. I'm grateful for Brother Liu's help this time, and I've gained some things. So I'm going to go back and trade some materials for my breakthrough."

Xing Shuang knew that Ji Yuan hadn't chosen to use the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning to kill the Yin Beast because he wanted to hide his strength.

Now, I might have considered going back.

If that's the case, then she shouldn't follow them at all.

Xing Shuang has that much insight.

"Oh? Miss Xing is about to break through?" Ji Yuan said with a hint of surprise, "Then I wish Miss Xing a speedy breakthrough to the late stage of Core Formation."

"Thank you for your kind words, fellow Daoist."

Xing Shuang smiled slightly.

"Oh, right." Ji Yuan seemed to have just remembered something and said, "I may have offended some people in Winter City. If anyone comes looking for you after you return, Miss Xing, just say that you are not familiar with me. Otherwise, you will cause trouble for no reason."

"Um?"

Xing Shuang was a little puzzled. What grudge could warrant such caution? But since Ji Yuan had said so, she could only agree.

But then I thought, this person in front of me is most likely the legendary Old Demon Ji. Could the people he offended be ordinary people?

"In that case, farewell. I'll meet with Miss Xing again after I return to Winter City." Ji Yuan clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Alright, Brother Liu, take care on your journey."

After saying this, Ji Yuan continued south, venturing deep into the northwestern sand dunes, while Xing Shuang turned southeast and headed straight for Winter City.

This final piece of advice was, for Ji Yuan, a case of being cautious above all else.

Although the identity, appearance, and aura he used when he killed Zhou Jin were completely different.

However, the Bone Nightmare Sect still managed to find his true identity through some unknown means, especially since they managed to get rid of Ma Gui in the end. It's possible that he might reveal his true identity to the Black and White Temple.

Therefore, it's always good to be prepared.

Ji Yuan also considered telling Xing Shuang not to return to her original cave, but then he thought that doing so would seem like a blatant attempt to cover something up.

While pondering, Ji Yuan walked to a secluded spot and softly called out.

"Chasing electricity".

"..."

at the same time.

The endless sea east of the Bone Nightmare Sect and west of the Soul Refining Hall.

Snow and wind swept across the sky.

But inside one of the unnamed islands, it is spring-like all year round. There is even a small house there, with a few acres of fields in front of the door and a pond and courtyard behind the door.

It's still daytime, and a gentle breeze is blowing, causing waves of wheat to ripple across the fields, creating a very peaceful scene.

There were two people sitting inside the room at that moment.

He was dressed in simple cloth clothes and looked quite young, especially his appearance; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was "exceptionally handsome."

Sitting opposite him was an old man in a white robe with thinning hair and a gaunt appearance. He looked kind, but the occasional flash of ruthlessness in his eyes showed that he was definitely not a good person.

The young man in plain clothes had long been forgotten. Nowadays, everyone in the entire Abyss Continent calls him by another name—the Bone Nightmare Demon.

He is both the sect leader of the Bone Nightmare Sect and its ancestor.

The white-robed old man sitting opposite him was the Hall Master of the Soul Refining Hall, whom everyone called the "Hall Master of the Soul Hall".

At this moment, these two men, whose combined strength was enough to shake the entire northern border of the Abyss Continent, sat in this unremarkable house, looking at the wheat fields by the door and drinking a little wine.

They were as carefree as two ordinary people visiting each other's homes.

After a few sips of wine, the Soul Palace Master put down his cup, smacked his lips like an old farmer, and said, "Bone Nightmare, do you think those people from the Black and White Temple, who have been busy in this Northwest Sand Prison for so long, have found Rakshasa Sea yet?"

"Your Soul Palace methods are unorthodox, why are you asking me? Shouldn't you know more about soul searching and refining?" Old Demon Bone Nightmare chuckled.

"So this isn't the first time I've come to ask you out, just to have a chat." The Soul Palace Master seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in the Old Demon Bone Nightmare's words.

"without."

The Bone Nightmare Demon didn't keep anyone in suspense and spoke frankly from the start.

"Rakshasa Sea is, after all, the sacred ground of the Yin Ghost Sect and the foundation of the Black and White Temple..." Old Demon Bone Nightmare chuckled. "It's more like picking up scraps from others. Besides, if we really found Rakshasa Sea, we couldn't have done it so quietly."

The Soul Palace Master nodded slightly. "You, Bone Nightmare, are not in a hurry. You have plenty of lifespan and may have a chance to break through in the future. It's just that we old bones don't have much time left to live."

"Nowadays, everyone is waiting for the Rakshasa Sea to return to the world, so that they can go in and try their luck to see if they can obtain the treasure that prolongs life."

"That's not how you say it."

The Bone Nightmare Demon denied it, saying, "This Rakshasa Sea not only holds the secret to Nascent Soul formation, but also the legendary secret to Deity Transformation. If it were truly opened, which Nascent Soul expert on the Extreme Abyss Continent wouldn't be tempted?"

"That's true."

The Soul Palace Master nodded and said, "The fact that the Yin Ghost Sect's remaining holy land has driven us Nascent Soul cultivators so crazy is truly unimaginable. Back when its power dominated the entire Extreme Abyss Continent, it must have been a truly magnificent sight."

"Heh, with the resources of the two continents, Qiongji Abyss and Cangluo, used to pursue the dominance of one power, how could they not be strong?"

The Bone Nightmare Demon stood up and sighed, "If the Yin Ghost Sect hadn't plundered so thoroughly back then, would we, their successors, be facing such hardship?"

"But I've heard that the Black and White Temple has actually obtained a clue. Conservatively speaking, the Rakshasa Sea will appear in the world in less than fifty years."

The Lord of the Soul Palace suddenly spoke.

The Bone Nightmare Demon turned to look at him, "Didn't you say eighty years?"

The two looked at each other for a few seconds and then smiled.

They then tacitly stopped discussing the matter.

"Do you think that the Nascent Soul Ancestor of the Black and White Temple has really passed away?" The Bone Nightmare Demon changed the subject, revealing the thing that the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Extreme Abyss Continent feared most.

"It's possible, but who dares to gamble? Bone Nightmare, you're young, why don't you give it a try and attack the Black and White Temple to see if you can force that Nascent Soul Ancestor out?"

The Lord of the Soul Palace offered a suggestion.

The Bone Nightmare Old Demon thought about it seriously, and then started counting on his fingers, "I am only in the middle of the Nascent Soul stage now, and my wife is in the early Nascent Soul stage. The two of us together can barely dominate in the middle of the Nascent Soul stage. The Black and White Temple has at least five mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivators, and above them are the Black and White Twin Fiends, two elders in the late Nascent Soul stage."

"Finally, there is the ancestor of the Nascent Soul Realm."

"If I go there, the probability of my death is 100%, and the probability of successfully defeating the Nascent Soul Ancestor is zero."

"I'm not going."

The Bone Nightmare Demon shook his head.

"What a pity." The Soul Palace Master sighed, then continued, "But as of now, our Soul Refining Palace has uncovered two pieces of information."

"Oh? Tell me more."

The Bone Nightmare Demon seemed to have taken an interest.

"One of them is that this Nascent Soul Ancestor has truly passed away. Otherwise, given the nature of the Black and White Temple, they would have already started a massacre long ago, instead of hesitating and allowing us, the Eight Holy Lands, to test them."

"Secondly, the Nascent Soul Ancestor did not pass away peacefully, but his lifespan was also nearing its end."

"The news of his passing was released by the Black and White Temple themselves, with the aim of testing our Eight Holy Lands to see who is willing to step forward."

The Lord of the Soul Palace spoke slowly.

That makes sense.

Bone Nightmare Old Demon nodded in agreement, "In short, we just need to wait. Once Rakshasa Sea appears, regardless of whether that Nascent Soul Ancestor has passed away, the Black and White Temple will be exposed."

"Indeed." The Soul Palace Master picked up his wine cup, slowly rubbing it in his hand, and then, as if he had thought of something, slowly said, "I've heard that recently, Tian Sha Mountain has been getting quite close to the demon race."

"Um?"

The Bone Nightmare Demon seemed to have just learned of this, so he said with some disbelief, "If the Palace Master said that the Xuan Snake Mansion is close to the demon race, that would be understandable. But this Heavenly Fiend Mountain... didn't that Lord of the Sea Ruins cause a ruckus in the Western Border City a few years ago? How could he possibly be close to the demon race?"

The Lord of the Soul Palace chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.

"But considering that the Black and White Temple actually cooperated with the Heavenly Fiend Mountain to build an intercontinental teleportation array... this would have been impossible in the past. Perhaps the Nascent Soul Ancestor is really gone."

The Lord of the Soul Palace seemed to care about this matter very much.

Unfortunately, the Bone Nightmare Demon only picked up his wine cup and drank, and did not respond.

Seeing this, the Soul Palace Master casually changed the subject.

"In recent years, there has been no news of Ji Yuan throughout the entire Abyss Continent. It's possible that he really did escape to Cang Luo."

"A mere pseudo-Core Formation cultivator is nothing but a clown. Even if he truly forms his Core, so what? He can be easily killed with a single slap." The Bone Nightmare Demon didn't take him seriously at all, and sneered, "The saying that those below the Nascent Soul stage are all ants is not just for show."

"No, no, no."

The Soul Palace Master quickly shook his head, then looked at the young man in front of him with a strange gaze.

"What I mean is, many people feel that Ji Yuan seems to have the shadow of your master."

Upon hearing this, the previously calm Bone Nightmare Demon's eyes darkened, his brows furrowed, and a faint pressure descended from his body.

But he quickly covered up his embarrassment.

He casually remarked, "Leaving aside the fact that that rebellious master died at my hands long ago, even if he did return, what difference would it make?"

"The Nightmare Sect has become the Bone Nightmare Sect. Everyone in the sect only recognizes my Bone Nightmare Sect. Who recognizes his Nightmare Sect? Unless he can make a strong comeback with the cultivation of the late Nascent Soul stage, then I really have nothing to say."

"As for the current situation on the Abyss Continent, the desire to produce another Nascent Soul cultivator... hehe."

The Bone Nightmare Demon chuckled and then said:

"Let's talk about the Rakshasa Sea instead."

The Soul Palace Master hummed in agreement. "The Black and White Temple has been setting up for so long, it must have collected quite a few rings from the Yin Ghost Sect. By then, most of the Yin Ghost Sect members will be from the Black and White Temple. As for us, we will either have to integrate into the group or remain outsiders... There are advantages and disadvantages to both, so we need to consider them carefully."

When this matter was brought up, the Bone Nightmare Demon King's relaxed and casual expression vanished, replaced by a serious one:

"This is a matter of great importance. To be on the safe side, let's first finalize our plans and then discuss them with the other sects. We can't let the Black and White Temple take all the benefits."

As the two spoke, the island gradually disappeared into the sea.

That makes sense.

The Lord of the Soul Palace picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Anyway, there's still plenty of time. The most urgent task is to cultivate a few more powerful Core Formation disciples. Otherwise, even if we enter the Rakshasa Sea, we'll lose the initiative."

"That's true," said the Bone Nightmare Demon. "I've heard that your third disciple is quite remarkable; he's almost at the peak of the Golden Core stage."

"Aren't the demons the same? Over the years, your disciples, the Old Demon Bone Nightmare, have certainly made quite a name for themselves in this far north." The Soul Palace Master clicked his tongue in admiration.

Hearing this, the Bone Nightmare Demon showed no joy, only saying calmly:

"The more the better."

"..."

at the same time.

In the Northwest Sand Prison, within a secret realm, Ji Yuan, sitting cross-legged on the ground, looked at the storage bag in his hand and sighed.

"Jiyuan Points Storage Bags - The More the Better!"

(End of this chapter)