Chapter 24: Heavenly Blessing, Mystic Realm Reappears

Chapter 24: Heavenly Blessing, Mystic Realm Reappears

Chen Qiu coughed lightly, clenching his fist with a slight lack of confidence. "I'm not an ordinary mortal, but the current Young Master of a prominent family outside the Great Xia Nation. I unintentionally fell into Great Xia, and my cultivation plummeted."

"This caused the Life-Bound Storage Ring hidden in my Dantian to become completely inaccessible due to the lack of Spirit Energy to activate it."

"I must use a secret method to extract Spirit Energy from Spirit Stones to barely create a tiny crack in the Life-Bound Storage Ring within my Dantian, allowing me to retrieve my previous wealth."

"It's not much, just 100 Spirit Stones."

"You two have probably been doing this business in Ask Heaven Market for a long time, right? Have you earned 100 Spirit Stones? Can I borrow them first?"

"Within seven days, I'll give you both the agreed-upon 3,000 Spirit Stones, along with these 100."

". . ."

The three, including Fat Dragon, fell silent, their faces filled with bewilderment. Even Fat Dragon, a man with thick skin, lowered his head, feeling slightly embarrassed as he twitched the corners of his mouth.

"Young Master Chen."

After a long silence, the scholar spoke in a complex tone, "You're even scamming a handicapped person. If you must deceive, could you at least be a bit more subtle? Such a low-quality scam makes me feel insulted."

"I'm being serious."

Chen Qiu himself knew that his words sounded absurd, and he couldn't provide a better explanation. He could only be as sincere as possible, saying, "I can't offer a better excuse. You'll have to make your judgment based on your past experiences."

He genuinely needed 100 Spirit Stones.

With these Spirit Stones, he could purchase two Celestial Path Rewind Talismans, find a corner to hide, and then choose the two Entry options he had previously rejected. By rapidly advancing and then falling back to the First Layer of Qi Condensation, he could obtain a large number of Spirit Stones.

From the First Layer to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Condensation, there are ten stages, and each stage can provide him with three Spirit Stones, totaling thirty.

By repeatedly failing at Foundation Establishment and starting over, he could acquire an unlimited number of Spirit Stones.

With the initial 100 Spirit Stones as capital, he could earn—

1,000, 10,000, or even 100,000 Spirit Stones!

The four stood on the cliff, staring at each other in silence for a long time, and the atmosphere gradually became awkward.

Fat Dragon's face was filled with despair as he scanned the surroundings. It was clear that the negotiation was about to fall apart. In this situation, the other party would most likely leave without a second thought. They were a full twenty li away from Ask Heaven Market! And there wasn't even a proper road in sight.

It was some godforsaken place.

Getting to a populated area would be a significant challenge for them. Could they afford to starve to death in this wasteland?

"Alright."

Just then, the scholar, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly nodded and said, "Young Master Chen, I believe you. I'll lend you the 100 Spirit Stones."

He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like taking a gamble and trusting that these two weren't con artists. Perhaps, after waiting in Ask Heaven Market for years without success, he was starting to feel desperate. Suddenly, a potential lifeline appeared, and he wanted to grasp it even if it might break at any moment.

Just then—

"Heavenly Blessing: In response to the sincere call of the residents, the heavens bestow a blessing. In the Great Xia Nation's Fufeng City, three li west of the western city gate, a Mystic Realm of the Celestial Path will appear in five days. Entry is limited to Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators at the Sixth Layer and below."

The type of this Mystic Realm is 'Challenging'.

A voice from the heavens above echoed in their ears.

"A Challenging type Mystic Realm of the Celestial Path has appeared in Fufeng City?"

A hint of astonishment flashed in the scholar's eyes, and he calmly spoke, deep in thought, "It's strange that I could vaguely sense the presence of several influential forces in Ask Heaven Market. It doesn't make sense. Is there now a way to predict where Mystic Realms of the Celestial Path will appear in advance?"

"It's a Heavenly Principle Clause."

Chen Qiu was in a good mood and smiled, "We received news that the Huang Family in Fufeng City has a Heavenly Principle Clause about to be unveiled. Now it seems that it's likely related to this Mystic Realm. However, with such a grand spectacle, the Huang Family's secrecy efforts over the past few days have probably been in vain."

"A Heavenly Principle Clause?"

The scholar shook his head, "No, no, no. This is a Mystic Realm accessible only to Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators at the Sixth Layer and below, so it's possible for a Heavenly Principle Clause to appear. But a Mystic Realm of this caliber will definitely have more than just a Heavenly Principle Clause; there will be other valuable treasures as well."

"Moreover, the emergence of the Celestial Path Secret Realm is absolutely unpredictable, and only Heaven knows where it will appear."

"The value of the Heavenly Principle Clause is very high, priced at a minimum of 1,000 Spirit Stones, and it's a type of Entry that can be passed down through bloodline relationships."

"It's passed on to male descendants, and only direct male bloodline heirs can inherit it. Females are unable to inherit it, which is why most families' Heavenly Principle Clauses are generally quite stable, and there's no worry of it being passed to another family through marriage."

"The effects of the Heavenly Principle Clause are entirely random; it can be both a curse and a blessing."

"For example, it might be an Entry that increases the speed of cultivating body-refining Techniques by thirty percent."

"Or it could be an Entry that doubles the speed of Sword Mastery."

"Or perhaps an Entry that reduces Sword Mastery speed by half, and so on."

"Huh?"

Fat Dragon, somewhat perplexed, asked, "Are all Heavenly Principle Clauses like this? Are there no other types of Effects, like having three heads?"

"No."

The scholar calmly explained, "Heavenly Principle Clauses provide either beneficial or detrimental effects to the 'cultivation speed' or 'Technique effectiveness' of a specific type of Technique."

"Whether it increases or decreases by a certain percentage is entirely random."

"It's a double-edged sword, all depending on luck."

"Moreover, Heavenly Principle Clauses are independent and rarely have any synergistic effects with other Entries."

"For instance, there's an Ancient City located three hundred li away, within which resides a family called the Qiu Clan. In the past, their ancestors obtained several Heavenly Principle Clauses, one of which reduced Sword Mastery speed by ninety percent."

"Heavenly Principle Clauses are deeply rooted in bloodlines and cannot be removed. As a result, the Qiu Clan members can only rely on Flying Demons and official roads for travel. Not a single one of them practices Sword Mastery, as their flying speed is barely faster than walking."

"It's been centuries since a Sword Cultivator appeared in their clan."

"Most families inherit Heavenly Principle Clauses that come with both advantages and disadvantages. First, their combat style and cultivation direction are fixed, and most direct descendants can only follow the same path as their ancestors."

"The benefit is that the family has walked this path countless times, making it smooth and easy. The drawback, however, is that their weaknesses are glaringly obvious."

"I recall that only one great family in Great Xia has all their Heavenly Principle Clauses with beneficial effects, and not a single one with detrimental effects. That family is the Xia Clan, the current Imperial Family of Great Xia."

"For the Xia Clan to have consecutively obtained over a dozen Heavenly Principle Clauses, all with beneficial effects and not a single detrimental one, it can only be said that their ancestors were blessed by the Heavenly Principles. There's no other explanation."

"Some smaller families greatly desire these Heavenly Principle Clauses."

"Selling them for around 1,000 Spirit Stones is not a problem."

"Especially for a Foundation Establishment family like the Huang Family in Fufeng City, this is already considered a significant opportunity. The Huang Family's annual income probably doesn't even reach 1,000 Spirit Stones, so whether they use it themselves or exchange it for Spirit Stones, it's a great deal."

"But..."

The scholar paused before speaking softly, "If the news you're telling me is true, then there are two things to consider. First, the Huang Family has indeed found the opportunity of an upcoming Heavenly Principle Clause. However, the emergence of the Heavenly Principle Clause is completely silent."

"It's a matter of fate."

"As for this 'challenging' type of Celestial Path Secret Realm, it just happens to be a blessing for Fufeng City."

"Within a short span of a few days, two Celestial Path Secret Realms and an additional Heavenly Principle Clause have appeared in Fufeng City. This is quite strange. Could it be that something significant is about to happen in Fufeng City?"

After pondering in confusion for a while without finding an answer, he continued, "The 'challenging' type of Celestial Path Secret Realm is a trial-type realm. Each trial offers abundant rewards and a low risk of death, and these realms often accommodate a large number of participants."

"Within the next five days, many powers within a few hundred li will likely send people here, allowing their disciples to enter and seize opportunities while undergoing trials."

"The next five days will be bustling with activity."

"Mhm."

Chen Qiu nodded, taking the Storage Bag handed to him by the scholar. After taking a deep breath, he looked towards the horizon and said softly, "Let's head back to Ask Heaven Market first."

With his current strength, he was not yet capable of seizing opportunities within this Celestial Path Secret Realm.

However, this Secret Realm would only open in five days.

What the situation would be like in five days was hard to predict.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end