Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 387 Inner Domain; An Encounter with Mu Xueyao [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

"Never heard of it."

The one-eyed, black-faced demon shook his head and said through gritted teeth, "Judging from the attack he just made, his cultivation level is definitely more than just the mid-stage of Core Formation."

"Nonsense! How could someone truly at the mid-stage of Core Formation possibly kill this Poisonous Corpse King in a single blow!"

Xiao Xuan rebuked.

Ma Gui has been in charge of the Bone Nightmare Sect for many years. Apart from the Bone Nightmare Old Demon, who has ever reprimanded him in this tone?

So he couldn't stand it when he heard it on the spot.

Choose the sarcastic/unpleasant tone directly.

"Heh, Fellow Daoist Xiao is truly remarkable. Not only did he escape the insect demon, but he also managed to get rid of Mo Tusheng."

"He used a true treasure," Xiao Xuan said coldly. "You'd better not force me to use a true treasure to kill you!"

Ma Gui chuckled, stretched out his right hand, and a genuine treasure appeared in his hand as well.

"A real treasure? As if nobody doesn't have one."

"Alright, stop fighting."

Yan Zhirou stepped forward with a blank expression and said in a deep voice, "The Poisonous Corpse King was snatched away by that Insect Demon, and he was taken to the Inner Domain... Now we only have two paths in front of us."

"We could either intercept and kill the other two zombie kings, but if we go now, we'll most likely have to join forces."

"Either we go our separate ways, continue killing the rotting corpses, and wait for the gate to the inner realm to open."

Upon hearing this, everyone present took out their identity jade tokens and looked at the map in their hands.

"Of the remaining two, Xun Tianji will definitely fight over one of them, that goes without saying."

Xiao Xuan's expression turned somewhat grim when he recalled the battle he had fought against him in the first level.

"Then let's steal the other one!"

Ma Gui insisted.

"But how do you know which one Xun Tianji will steal?"

She turned to look at him from inside the room.

Yan Zhirou, who was standing to the side, remained silent for a moment, then tentatively called out.

"Lord Ghost Messenger?"

"..."

"Would I, your teacher, harm you?"

The voice of Nightmare True Monarch echoed in Qiu Qianhai's sea of ​​consciousness, "You can see it yourself. In this situation, although you have the strength of the peak Core Formation stage, you are far from being among the top. You are useful in this Rakshasa Sea, but you are not very useful if you want to seize the real treasure."

Qiu Qianhai stood above the swamp, watching the scene of the Poisonous Corpse King being surrounded and killed in the distance, his face dark and unreadable.

Nightmare Lord continued to persuade him:

"Besides, I'm only borrowing your body for now; I'll return it to you once we leave the Rakshasa Sea."

"And even if I actually obtained these treasures, who do you think I could use them on? Wouldn't they all be for you?"

"But……"

Qiu Qianhai wanted to refute, but found that no matter what he did, he couldn't find a reason to refute it.

"But what? But my dear disciple, do you intend to refuse your master?"

Nightmare Lord asked in confusion:

"Don't forget who helped you get to where you are today after your relatives and friends died."

Qiu Qianhai remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

"Then I'll leave everything to you, Master."

"No need for trouble, no need for trouble," Nightmare Lord said, gradually taking over Qiu Qianhai's body, which had given up resistance.

As a result, Qiu Qianhai's cultivation level improved step by step.

Late stage of Core Formation.

And then... the peak of Core Formation!

Then he took a step and arrived in front of the Poisonous Corpse King.

Having regained his power, Nightmare Lord pressed down on the head of the Poisonous Corpse King with one hand. Blood energy overflowed and transformed into a cage, trapping the Corpse King in one fell swoop.

Blood-red hair fluttered, and blood-red robes billowed in the wind.

He looked around and grinned maliciously.

"This Corpse King, I, Old Demon Ji, want it! Who agrees? Who disagrees?!"

"..."

Achoo!

Ji Yuan had barely regained his footing when he was hit by a musty, stale smell that assaulted his senses and made him instinctively hold his breath.

Immediately, he could see what was around him.

He found himself at the gate of an ancient city. The city wall behind him was covered with moss, and in front of him was a wide street, but the view did not extend very far... Gray fog shrouded everything and obscured everything.

When Ji Yuan saw the scene clearly, he was subconsciously stunned.

...What, this isn't the place to exchange for treasures anymore?

Ji Yuan hurriedly took out his identity jade token and infused it with his magic power.

[Silver Thirteen: 2378]

Upon seeing this long string of text, Ji Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Regardless, it's good that the contribution points are still there.

But... I've cleared the previous level and even arrived in this inner domain. Normally, shouldn't I exchange for treasures first?

Ji Yuan was still thinking of exchanging for the two fourth-tier wood-attribute demon cores first.

But now...

"Senior Ghost Messenger, I don't think I've gone to exchange for the treasure yet?"

Now that things had come to this, Ji Yuan, as the first Core Formation cultivator to set foot in the inner region, naturally asked questions when he didn't understand.

"No, no, no, you can't exchange treasures between the inner and outer domains. You can only exchange treasures after you pass the first level of the inner domain."

As the ghostly aura descended, its voice naturally echoed above Ji Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness.

Ji Yuan, who was familiar with the nature of the ghost messenger, reacted almost immediately.

Normally, passing a minor trial would allow you to exchange for treasures, let alone fighting your way from the outer realm to the inner realm.

Why can't I exchange for treasures?

There is only one reason why he cannot do so: some unseen force is preventing him from doing so, and his purpose in doing so is naturally to incite conflict.

Imagine accumulating so many contribution points in the Poisonous Swamp, only to end up here in the Inner Domain without ever spending them... Ji Yuan didn't even dare to think about it.

Because he put himself in the other person's shoes and thought about what would happen if he encountered other cultivators next.

Each of those walking, mid-to-late stage Core Formation cultivators had hundreds or even thousands of contribution points.

Once you kill them, all the contribution points are yours...

Needless to say, those at the peak of the Core Formation stage can be exchanged for a fourth-tier early-stage demon core simply by killing one.

How can this business not be done?

"What, you're tempted too, aren't you? Hehehe."

The ghost's sinister laughter startled Ji Yuan awake.

"I have to say, senior, that was indeed a ruthless move," Ji Yuandu couldn't help but exclaim.

"Never mind how ruthless it is, just tell me if it's effective or not."

"It's useful, very useful!"

Even though others haven't entered this Rakshasa City yet, Ji Yuan can already foresee that it will be a bloodbath when it arrives.

"What is the situation inside Rakshasa City? Senior, could you tell me about it? I just want to know a little bit in advance so that I can make more contributions to the sect later."

Ji Yuan hurriedly added a sentence halfway through his sentence.

"Alright, I was originally going to let you figure it out on your own, but since you're so dedicated to the sect, I'll say a few words to you beforehand."

The ghost messenger pondered for a moment and said, "Rakshasa City has many treasures hidden inside. Unlike before, where you had to exchange for them, here, as long as you have good luck and enough strength, you can get them."

"Most of the treasure is hidden in these houses, but what you see when you open the door may not be the treasure, but a vengeful ghost that will devour you. So, opportunity and danger coexist in this Rakshasa City."

"But don't worry, the first trial of the inner domain won't come so soon. You'll be given some time to search for treasures and strengthen your power. Once everyone who's supposed to come has arrived, the first trial will begin."

"...I'm afraid it's not about giving us time to strengthen ourselves, but rather time to fight each other," Ji Yuan said.

"It doesn't matter, these are all part of the process anyway."

The ghost messenger said nonchalantly, "But judging from your cultivation level, it seems you're a bit behind. If you really encounter those top-tier peak Core Formation cultivators, your mid-Core Formation stage will probably suffer a lot."

"But unfortunately, I can't break the rules..."

...I fucking thought you were going to give me a chance to break through to the late stage of Core Formation!

After waiting for ages, this is what you say to me?

"Senior, I have shed blood for the sect."

Ji Yuan pondered for a moment.

"Alright, stop talking about shedding blood for the sect. Unless you've given your life for the sect, like handing over your powerful soul, I might be able to give you some pointers," the ghost messenger sneered.

"Then let's forget about it..."

"Let me show you the way. If you can get into the core area, I'll tell you where you can find the opportunity to advance to the late Core Formation stage. As for now..."

"Everything for the sect!"

Ji Yuan immediately replied.

"hehe."

The ghost gave a cold smile, and his aura vanished.

Ji Yuan took a deep breath and turned to look at the well-connected streets... The most urgent task now was to search for treasures here before the other Core Formation cultivators arrived.

As for what treasures you might get, that's entirely up to you to open a blind box.

However, Ji Yuan thought, how could there really be no treasures in this huge Rakshasa City that could help one advance from the early stage of Core Formation to the late stage of Core Formation?

How could that be? Even if there really wasn't one, Ji Yuan was prepared to kill a few more people.

When the time comes to clear the first level of the trial and exchange for treasures, we'll see if we can exchange for treasures that can improve our cultivation.

Ji Yuan released his divine sense, and the suppression still existed, but it was even more ruthless.

His initial Nascent Soul stage consciousness was suppressed to the initial Core Formation stage.

That makes sense. If there were no suppression, the divine sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator would probably be able to cover the entire Rakshasa City.

Even if they can't see inside the houses, they'll still be able to know everything that happens in the city, big or small.

But now, Ji Yuan looked around and his gaze was quickly drawn to a house with a sign that read "Essence".

If there really is hidden treasure, then there should be hidden treasure inside this medicine shop, right?

With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan raised his right hand, making a sword-like gesture with his index and middle fingers, and placed it in front of him.

Four streaks of purple-blue sword light shot out from behind him, transforming into four flying swords that hovered behind him.

Then he made a gesture with his left hand.

The Hundred Insect Immortal, who was in the early stage of Core Formation, appeared before him.

"Go open the door."

The situation was still unclear, so Ji Yuan naturally wouldn't take that risk himself.

As a corpse puppet, the Hundred Insect Immortal had no taboos. After receiving Ji Yuan's order, he flashed to the front of the pill shop.

Before he could reach out, Ji Yuan saw a vine hanging down from the eaves, heading straight for the Hundred Insect Immortal's chest.

"Um?"

Ji Yuan frowned slightly as he watched this scene.

Because he kept his divine sense focused on the nearby streets, but he couldn't see the vines coming and going.

Just like now, he clearly saw the vine, but he still couldn't detect it with his divine sense.

So... this is a monster that even divine sense can't detect?!

The moment the Hundred Insect Immortal made a hand seal and a protective aura appeared on his body, the magical treasure "Ten Thousand Blades" appeared around him.

The flying knife magic weapon that I took from Qi Xiu.

Ji Yuan didn't need that many, so he gave them to the Hundred Insect Immortal.

It just so happens that his Golden Light Mirror was also destroyed by Qi Xiu, so now it can be said that karma has come full circle.

The vine lashed out, instantly opening the chest of the Hundred Insect Immortal and sending him flying.

But then he activated the throwing knife.

"laugh--"

A cold glint flashed through the gray fog.

Flash!

Ji Yuan only saw a flash of cold light, and the vine seemed to be in pain, immediately retracting back onto the roof beam.

Ji Yuan took another step and arrived at the entrance of the medicine shop, looking up.

When he saw the vine again, he found that it had disappeared on the rooftop in the distance.

Ran?

Just then, the Hundred Insect Immortal, who had just been thrown into the gray mist, let out a muffled groan.

The battle of wits continues.

Ji Yuan immediately turned around and looked back, only to see that in the gray mist, the Hundred Insect Immortal was activating his magic weapon "Ten Thousand Blades" and fighting with three vines.

Even with divine sense, it was still impossible to detect.

Ji Yuan frowned slightly, but he didn't hesitate any longer and immediately pointed.

Countless densely packed Soul-Devouring Bees flew out from behind him, spreading out in all directions in an overwhelming manner.

Ji Yuan's divine sense could not detect the vines, but he could see the spirit-devouring bees.

If the Soul-Eating Bees malfunction in a certain area, it indicates that the vines flew over from that location.

This could easily injure the vines of the Hundred Insect Immortal, so Ji Yuan couldn't afford to take it lightly.

Just like now, he looked at the three vines in the mist, and then three Canglan swords swept out.

The sword tip met the vine, and they joined together.

"Crackling sound—"

To this end, Ji Yuan also activated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder contained within the three Canglan Swords.

The divine lightning struck, instantly severing the three vines, which then fell to the ground.

The remaining vines retreated into the depths of the mist as if avoiding snakes and scorpions.

The Immortal of a Hundred Insects picked up the three vines and returned them.

The part that was struck by the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning now looks somewhat charred, while the rest still looks tender green.

Ji Yuan took it; it felt somewhat cold and soft to the touch.

Ji Yuan felt as if he were holding a piece of... meat, not a vine.

It has a very meaty texture.

He also discovered that the vines that he couldn't detect with his divine sense before could now be seen with it after they were cut.

However, in Ji Yuan's eyes, these were just three simple vines, with no fluctuations of spiritual energy or dissipation of blood and qi.

But since these vines can block divine sense from probing, it means they must be extremely extraordinary.

Ji Yuan glanced at it a few times and finally decided to put it in a separate storage bag, and then put it into Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

After resolving these issues, he returned to the entrance of the medicine shop.

Just to be on the safe side, he still had the Hundred Insect Immortal step forward and open the door.

As soon as the wooden door was pushed open, Ji Yuan's divine sense squeezed in and instantly swept across the entire room.

Inside the house... there was no ghost as the ghost messenger had mentioned. Everything was there, but it all looked very old and dilapidated.

In some places, you can even see signs of decay.

Although there were still more than a dozen bottles of pills on the shelf, they were all covered in dust.

Since there was nothing dirty, Ji Yuan took the four flying swords and went into the house.

He used his magic to manipulate objects, but as soon as his magic touched them, all the porcelain bottles, along with the pills inside, turned to dust.

It is clear that no matter how well these elixirs are protected, they cannot withstand the ravages of time.

But...where is the treasure?

Ji Yuan turned around and continued to scan the entire room with his divine sense. He couldn't find it... so he decided to just destroy it.

"go!"

Ji Yuan urged his flying sword with his thoughts, and a Blood Killing Sword shot out, about to smash the counter to pieces, but before it could even touch it, it was repelled by an unknown force.

"This is... a formation?!"

Ji Yuan stepped forward and looked at the array patterns in the air that had not yet dissipated, feeling slightly surprised.

If that's the case, then it can't be destroyed; you'll just have to find a way to destroy it yourself.

He glanced around the room a few times, his gaze finally settling on a sandalwood box on the shelf.

He used his magic to take it down and directly opened the wooden box.

But the moment he opened the wooden box, a golden pill flew out of the box and hovered in front of him.

"Forge the Golden Elixir!"

Ji Yuan recognized him at a glance.

It's a good item, but he can't use it. He can only exchange it for spirit stones later, or give it away.

Ji Yuan took out a special jade box and put away the Golden Elixir.

Once there are results, Ji Yuan gets excited.

He then thoroughly examined the entire medicine shop, but... found nothing.

In the entire medicine shop, only that one Golden Forging Pill was considered a treasure.

Ji Yuan left, and considerately closed the wooden door behind him.

Instead of going far away, he went to the shop next door.

This time, he didn't let the Hundred Insect Immortal go up again, but instead had him guard the door to watch out for any vines that might appear at any time.

Ji Yuan pushed open the door and entered.

The moment the wooden door opened, a Yin ghost at the early stage of Core Formation pounced out.

"roar--"

Although Ji Yuan had anticipated this, he was still so frightened by the scene that he took a step back.

But he quickly realized what was happening and, looking at the ghost that was blocked by his protective aura, he couldn't help but curse.

"What are you yelling at your dad for?!"

After saying that, he didn't even use the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, but instead directly reached out and pressed it on the top of the Yin Ghost's head.

The Yin Corpse Demon Fire surged from his palm in the blink of an eye.

The ghost was burned to ashes.

With the ghost no longer blocking his way, Ji Yuan stepped inside. After a while, he weighed a half-pound Void Stone in his hand and walked out of the shop.

The Golden Elixir is useless, but the Void Stone is very useful.

Before leaving, Ji Yuan looked back at the shop one last time.

In terms of size, it was similar to the pill shop next door. It didn't have a sign, but once Ji Yuan went inside, he realized that it was just a small shop, or rather, a general store, selling all sorts of things.

...So, the treasure hidden in this shop is also related to the type of shop?

Does that have anything to do with the size of the shop?

With these two questions in mind, Ji Yuan decided to give it a try.

So instead of trying out each shop one by one, Ji Yuan deliberately chose several shops on the street.

Half a day later, he discovered... not every shop had a treasure!

Most shops don't have it!

But the only certainty is that a shop guarded by ghosts must contain hidden treasure.

Shops without ghosts may or may not exist.

Next is the type of shop. This is related, but not absolute, because Ji Yuan found a second-tier pill recipe in a shop run by a male cultivator called "Flowers and Grasses".

Fortunately, it was also a recipe for entertainment.

Next is the size of the shop, which is directly related to the preciousness of the treasure!

In short, the larger and more luxurious the shop, the more precious the treasures inside; but similarly, the stronger the ghosts guarding the shop.

For example, Ji Yuan found a two-story teahouse, killed a Yin Ghost in the late stage of Core Formation, and then found a mid-grade earth treasure that could improve cultivation - Ge Xian Teng.

Now is a good opportunity to find treasure, and Ji Yuan doesn't have time to stop cultivating and refining... The main reason is that this palm-length section of Ge Xian Teng can't help him break through, otherwise Ji Yuan would still be willing to give it a try.

After all, no method is as effective as having cultivation.

It was after finding this treasure that Ji Yuan's enthusiasm for treasure hunting grew even stronger.

Moreover, he had lost interest in small roadside shops; if he was going to do something, he wanted to do something big!

Ji Yuan released his Soul-Devouring Bees to protect himself and searched the vicinity several times before quickly selecting a three-story restaurant... Inside the three-story building, there should be a Yin Ghost at the peak of the Core Formation stage guarding it.

I wonder what treasures are inside.

Having set his sights on this house, Ji Yuan didn't linger. He transformed into a beam of light and leaped up, arriving in front of the restaurant.

To be on the safe side, he didn't let the Hundred Insect Immortal go up and open the door.

If it were a Yin Ghost at the peak of Core Formation, he would be throwing himself away. If he was unlucky, he might not even be able to withstand a single blow.

Under the gray fog, Ji Yuan couldn't even see the third floor clearly. He also noticed that there were a lot of vines outside the building, and there were vines under every eave.

Moreover, the vines seemed to be sentient, as if they could recognize Ji Yuan.

He discovered that whenever his gaze fell upon a vine, that vine would instinctively recoil.

...I really don't know what this thing is, and after cutting it off, it seems to be of no use anymore.

Otherwise, it would be even better if these vines could be used to make a garment from head to toe.

Thinking of this, Ji Yuan leaped into the air, and with a wave of his hand, blue and white array flags flew out from his sleeves and were planted in various places in the house.

As soon as he stood up, the vines that had been climbing all over the house flew up, slashing and stabbing, and one could vaguely see the wood-attribute spiritual energy shining on these vines.

...The living creature is most likely a plant-based demon beast, or some special species that can isolate divine sense.

I just don't know what level it is. Level three is unlikely, and level four is too exaggerated.

Ji Yuan had no choice but to activate the four flying swords around him, which spun around him and transformed into a ball of light that surrounded him.

The vines struck the sword light, producing a clanging sound like metal clashing against metal.

This time, Ji Yuan didn't waste the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning. After blocking the attack of these vines, Ji Yuan planted the last array flag, accompanied by the lighting of a silver barrier.

The inverted Big Dipper formation took shape.

With Ji Yuan's mental command, the vines were instantly trapped in the formation.

The first level of the Inverted Big Dipper Formation: the Heavenly Pivot Killing Formation!

At first, tiny specks of starlight drifted down from the sky, and then they landed around the house.

These starlight rays immediately transformed into countless dense sword lights, filling the entire house and cutting through everything inside and out. The vines fought back fiercely, but ultimately, they were no match for the overwhelming force.

Countless sword flashes, but finite vines.

A moment later, Ji Yuan, having broken through the first barrier, gathered up the vines that had fallen onto the eaves and houses, and went to the second-floor entrance.

The doors and windows on the second floor were also tightly closed, and the city's protective array isolated the inside from the outside, so Ji Yuan couldn't even sense the slightest presence inside the house.

Immediately, with a thought, he sent all the densely packed Spirit-Devouring Bees outside the formation into the formation, where they landed on Ji Yuan and transformed into a black-gold Spirit-Devouring Armor.

With the armor on his body, Ji Yuan immediately felt a deep sense of security.

He reached out and pushed the door open forcefully.

Behind the door... there was nothing there; no terrifying ghosts appeared.

Could it be on the first floor?

Ji Yuan's divine sense naturally invaded the room, but at that moment, a beam of silver light shot out from inside.

someone!

Without saying a word, Ji Yuan sent out one of his Canglan swords to meet the silver light head-on.

Just as the two were about to collide, Ji Yuan was preparing to strike them down with the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder.

He then saw the silver light explode, transforming into countless tiny blades that flew out from inside the newly opened door and window, attacking Ji Yuan outside from all directions.

There are no blind spots, and there's no way to avoid it!

But the moment Ji Yuan saw the magic weapon disperse, he seemed to recognize something and hurriedly shouted:

"Mu Xueyao!"

Upon hearing this, the throwing knives that had already reached Ji Yuan and were no more than a finger's width away... all stopped abruptly.

Immediately afterward, in Ji Yuan's divine sense, a hidden door on the third floor opened, and a figure darted out from it, then transformed into a streak of light, descended the stairs, and landed in front of Ji Yuan.

"Brother Ji... Brother Ji?"

Still with golden hair and blue eyes, still with a youthful face, and still with a heart as heavy as mountains and abysses, Mu Xueyao fought and shouted.

"it's me."

Ji Yuan used a hand seal to dispel the shape-changing talisman on his body, and also put away the head armor of the Soul-Devouring Armor, revealing his original appearance.

The moment he revealed himself, Mu Xueyao let out a soft "woof" and rushed forward to hug him.

"Brother Ji, I thought I would never see you again."

Holding Nuanyu in his arms, Ji Yuan was somewhat stunned before reaching out to hug her back and gently patting her back to comfort her.

"It's alright, we've seen him."

Being a Core Formation stage cultivator, he quickly regained his composure after a brief display of emotion.

Mu Xueyao raised her jade hand, and her natal magic weapon, the Thousand Blade Pagoda, was put away. She wiped the corner of her eye.

"Brother Ji, how come you've entered the inner domain so quickly? I heard from my clansmen that most cultivators are still in the outer domain... Oh right, Brother Ji, you'd never guess who's here."

As Mu Xueyao spoke, her voice suddenly rose, tinged with a hint of shock.

"Who?"

Ji Yuan asked instinctively.

Mu Xueyao stared into his eyes and said, word by word:

"The Old Demon of Schemes!"

(End of this chapter)