Chapter 321: "The Celestial Mansion"

Chapter 321: "The Celestial Mansion"

At present, he actually has quite a few means to improve his cultivation.

These methods primarily rely on three key factors.

The first and most common method, used by every cultivator, is the cultivation of heart techniques. He possesses an accelerated cultivation speed, a vast amount of spirit stones, and the Mocking Heaven Palace, a place rich in spiritual energy, suitable for secluded cultivation.

Given enough time, his cultivation can advance rapidly.

However, it is evident that what he lacks the most is time. If granted a few more decades, he might have reached the peak of the Celestial Immortal stage before the Ascension Assembly, allowing him to seek opportunities to break through to the True Immortal realm during this auction. Such an opportunity would make this auction even more meaningful for him.

Currently, he has only cultivated to the seventh layer of Tribulation Crossing.

While this cultivation level is not low in the mortal world, and his combat strength is not weak, it is significantly weaker in the Immortal Realm.

In the Immortal Realm, most cultivators rely on their puppets for combat power when they venture out. Although a puppet's strength may not match a true cultivator of the same cultivation level, fortunately, he has more than enough puppets.

When the quantity is sufficient, a slight deficiency in quality can be tolerated.

The second factor is the "World Tree." Once this World Tree matures, a single fruit can increase his cultivation progress by 10%. In other words, with ten fruits, he can break through a minor cultivation realm.

With a hundred fruits, he can directly break through a major cultivation realm.

If he were to gather a thousand fruits, he could directly transcend ten major cultivation realms.

Well, this is just a fantasy, as the chances of this happening are incredibly slim.

The third factor is his Heavenly Dao Entry Set, which grants him a 1% increase in cultivation progress for each cultivator of the same level that he defeats.

Yes, although he has not yet utilized this Heavenly Dao Entry Set, with just one opportunity, his cultivation can advance rapidly with its aid.

And what he lacks the most right now is time.

"If only there was a treasure that could extend time."

Chen Qiu slightly shook his head with a hint of regret. In his previous life, while reading novels, he often came across stories featuring treasures or secret realms that could prolong the flow of time.

In these secret realms, ten years would pass within, while only a single year would elapse in the outside world.

Using such methods, one could rapidly enhance their cultivation.

Alas.

In this world, not only has he never encountered such treasures, but he has also never even heard of any force possessing them, not just in the mortal world but even in the Immortal Realm.

After a long pause, he shook his head again without giving it much thought. Instead, he led the group, including the Mocking Heaven Palace cultivators, away from the palace and returned to Zhongzhou City. They had only come to plant a tree, and now that it was done, it was time to head home.

With this round trip, one million spirit stones had vanished.

The spirit stones were consumed based on the size of the teleportation array they used. Since he had placed everyone in his small world, he opened the smallest array possible to minimize spirit stone consumption.

At this moment—

Back in Zhongzhou City, Chen Qiu and his group, including Fat Dragon, had settled down beside a rice noodle shop.

"As expected."

Fat Dragon, with a thoughtful expression, looked down at the rice noodles in front of him and said, "I knew that even in the Immortal Realm, there would still be rice noodles, a common food in the mortal world. But surprisingly, the price of these rice noodles isn't too expensive, only a few dozen spirit stones."

If they were in Daxia Kingdom,

a bowl of rice noodles would cost a few dozen medium-grade spirit stones, and it would likely never be sold.

Well, one could never be sure.

If a vendor put on an air of profound mystery, there might be some stubborn individuals who would pay a few dozen medium-grade spirit stones to try their luck, thinking that it might be a great opportunity.

After all, in Daxia Kingdom, many cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment never broke through to the Golden Core stage due to the lack of a few dozen medium-grade spirit stones. Who would spend that much on a bowl of rice noodles?

Even in Xuan Tian Continent or the Vast Continent, this price would be considered outrageous.

But where are we?

We're in the Immortal Realm, the very core of it, in Zhongzhou City, a bustling and prosperous area, and during the Ascension Assembly, when prices are soaring. Yet, a bowl of rice noodles costs only a few dozen spirit stones, truly giving off the vibe of a bustling market.

"It's this taste."

Fat Dragon took a bite and shook his head, "It's okay, but a bit hard to eat."

Chen Qiu didn't say much more. After finishing their rice noodles, he led Fat Dragon and the others to wander around Zhongzhou City. Although their group was large, many other factions were also present, and many of them moved in groups, making Chen Qiu's party less conspicuous.

Usually,

a group of several dozen people would stand out.

As they walked, they arrived at a teahouse where a storyteller was narrating the tale of Badan. Chen Qiu paused for a moment, a slight smile curling the corners of his mouth.

This was one of the rare occasions when he heard his friend's name from a storyteller.

It must be said.

Hearing a friend's name from a storyteller's mouth felt somewhat uncanny, a unique feeling. Through this storyteller, he also learned that Badan was one of the top forces in the Tide Immortal Plane.

The Maan Clan had become one of the most powerful forces in the Tide Immortal Plane.

This was not necessarily a compliment for the Maan Clan.

After all, the Maan Clan was a race, and their strength should be ranked among other races. However, it was evident that the Maan Clan's power had weakened, causing them to be ranked among all factions.

Nevertheless, Badan remained one of the most formidable Celestial Immortals in the entire Tide Immortal Plane, renowned as one of the most likely to break through to the True Immortal realm.

He didn't know much about the True Immortal realm.

But it seemed that the Celestial Immortal stage was a significant hurdle, as many cultivators were stuck at this level. Some even relied on the Ascension Assembly, an opportunity that occurred only once every ten thousand years, to find a chance to break through.

After listening to the scholar's storytelling at the teahouse for a while, Chen Qiu set off with Fat Dragon and the others to the nearby "Bazaar Street."

As the name suggests, this street was filled with stalls, and in the past, many cultivators would set up their booths here, bartering and exchanging items they desired. On the eve of the Ascension Assembly, following the custom, the street was once again bustling with cultivators setting up their booths, but this time, their cultivation levels were significantly higher.

The items on display were also of much higher grades.

Ordinary cultivators didn't even have the qualifications to set up a booth.

Chen Qiu decided to test his Fiery Eye Insight Codex Entry to see if he could spot any bargains, just like he did back in the Xuan Tian Continent. Ah, it was a distant memory, back in the city of Yuan Cheng, where he relied on his ability to see detailed information about treasures to pick up a few small treasures from the Heavenly Dao.

And so—

After visiting three or four booths—

Chen Qiu pursed his lips, remaining silent. There was no opportunity to find any bargains; he didn't see any treasures on the booths that could be considered overlooked. These cultivators were all extremely familiar with their own treasures, leaving no room for any deals.

The cultivation levels of these cultivators were generally at the Celestial Immortal or Earth Immortal stages, which was a bit outrageous.

With such high cultivation levels, why would they personally come to set up stalls? Why not send their servants or attendants instead?

Perhaps it was due to the customs.

Currently, all the cultivators he saw were of high cultivation levels, and they had come in person, not sending their subordinates or servants. Or perhaps, these people seemed more interested in showing off their treasures than selling them, constantly chatting with each other, creating a pleasant atmosphere.

Just then—

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu's entire body stiffened slightly. He spotted a booth with Essence Entry Slips, and among them, he recognized a familiar one—

"Seventh Level Spell."

Together with the three Multilayer Spell Entry Sets obtained at the auction, he only needed two more Multilayer Spell category Entry Sets to complete the "Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva" Entry Set.

These were the "Seventh Level Spell" and the "Eighth Level Spell."

And now, right in front of him, there was a Seventh Level Spell Entry Slip for sale! This meant that if he could find an Eighth Level Spell Entry Slip, he would have the complete set!

"What's the price?"

"500,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones."

"Deal."

Chen Qiu didn't hesitate and immediately threw over a storage bag. The seller, a middle-aged man with a scar on his face, picked up the Seventh Level Spell Entry Slip from his booth and tossed it into Chen Qiu's embrace before breaking into a grin, "I also have another Multilayer Spell category Entry Slip, do you want it?"

"What?"

"Eighth Level Spell."

"How much?"

"600,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones."

"Deal."

The transaction went extremely smoothly, without any conspiracies, hidden dangers, or even haggling.

". . ."

Chen Qiu looked at the two Multilayer Spell Entry Slips in his embrace, still a bit incredulous. He couldn't believe he had obtained these Entry Slips so easily.

It took absolutely no effort at all!

He truly felt like he had searched high and low, only to find what he sought right before him.

As he crushed the two Entry Slips in his hand—

A radiant light, containing a seven-colored glow, slowly emerged within his Dantian, forming four large characters: "Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva." This indicated that the Heavenly Dao Entry Set had been embedded in his Dantian.

The effect of this Heavenly Dao Entry Set was simple.

All spells, when released, could be cast a thousand times without any consumption.

It was identical to the effect of the Rainbow Entry "Thousand Layer Spell."

A perfect substitute.

The difficulty of obtaining them varied, and for Chen Qiu, acquiring the "Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva" Heavenly Dao Entry Set was slightly easier. At least, he hadn't seen any hope of obtaining the "Thousand Layer Spell" Entry yet.

Of course, he no longer wished to obtain the Thousand Layer Spell Rainbow Entry.

The Thousand Layer Spell and Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva were conflicting, and only one could be activated at a time. This meant that if he were given the Rainbow Entry Thousand Layer Spell now, it would be a complete waste.

It's worth mentioning that—

This time, upon acquiring the Heavenly Dao Entry Set, there was no sound of the Heavenly Dao Proclamation.

There was no Heavenly Dao Proclamation informing him that he was the first cultivator to obtain this Heavenly Dao Entry Set and receiving any rewards.

This implied that Chen Qiu was not the first cultivator in the Tide Immortal Plane to obtain the Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva Heavenly Dao Entry Set. Although the lack of rewards didn't matter much, it was easy to imagine how difficult it would be for the green Entry "Imperial Decree Regular" to take effect in the Immortal Realm.

Even obtaining a Heavenly Dao Entry Set couldn't get him on the Decree.

After all, the predecessors were too powerful.

In this situation, getting on the Heavenly Dao Proclamation was no simple task.

After Chen Qiu left, the scarred man who had just sold him the two Multilayer Spell Entry Slips was also quite happy. He sat in front of his booth, humming an unknown folk song from his hometown, clearly in a good mood.

"Hey."

At this moment, the neighboring stall owner spoke with a hint of schadenfreude, "Is your information channel that poor? Don't you know that the first item at the Heaven and Earth Auction House was a set of three Multilayer Spell Entry Slips? That set was sold for 15 million Spirit Stones!"

"You've only sold 1.1 million Spirit Stones so far."

"That's quite a loss."

". . ."

The scarred man, who had been humming, glanced at the stall owner beside him and casually replied, "You don't look like a newcomer to the cultivation world. That price at the auction was clearly due to malicious bidding. The actual market price for these items is around what I'm offering. Can you guarantee that you'll always get that price at an auction?

"Moreover, if you want to consign it at the auction, you'll have to wait a long time for the payment."

"I'm not willing to wait that long."

"To be frank, even if it's not a malicious bid, if you want to sell it at a high price, you can only hope that the buyer is trying to complete the Heavenly Dao Entry Group 'Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva' and has all the other Multi-Layer Spell entries, except for the one you have. Only then will there be a chance to sell it at a high price."

"But you saw their cultivation; they don't seem to be trying to collect the Heavenly Dao Entry Set."

"It's fine as long as it's close enough. I think it's a pretty good deal."

Collecting the entries from "Double Layer Spell" to "Ten Layer Spell" will grant you the Heavenly Dao Entry Set "Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva," which has the same effect as the Rainbow Entry "Thousand Layer Spell."

This information is not exactly a secret in the Immortal Realm.

Basically, all cultivators at the Celestial Immortal stage and above are aware of this.

However, very few are willing to collect them.

First of all, to collect these entries, one cannot rely on randomly obtaining one of these entries every time they break through a major realm. That would require incredible luck. Even if one is lucky enough to obtain a related entry with each major realm breakthrough, it would still be a waste.

When others have already mastered all kinds of combinations, having only the "Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva" Heavenly Dao Entry Set is useless.

The only way is to collect the entry talismans.

But this will consume a vast amount of spirit stones and energy. Not only does the acquisition require spirit stones, but investigating where to find these items will also cost a considerable amount of spirit stones.

More importantly!

Even if you exhaust a massive amount of manpower, resources, and wealth to collect them, the effect is still very limited.

This item can only enable a spell to be cast a thousand times.

"Fusion Kill Move" is a calculation spell.

So before reaching the Immortal Human stage, the effect of "Thousand Layer Spell" is quite powerful, and having a thousand Fusion Kill Moves simultaneously is still very formidable.

However—

The Immortal Human stage has its unique method—the Immortal Mansion.

The Earth Immortal stage has its unique method—the Immortal Mount.

The Celestial Immortal stage has its unique method—the Immortal World.

These three are not spells, which means that in the Immortal Human, Earth Immortal, and Celestial Immortal stages, the effect of "Thousand Layer Spell" is almost negligible. It cannot be applied to these unique methods of the cultivation realms and can only affect spells.

Even with a thousand layers of spells, they cannot break through the defense of an Immortal Mansion.

The higher the realm, the more powerful the unique methods of that realm become.

Unless one reaches the True Immortal stage, where the unique method is a calculation spell. At that time, with this entry set, their combat power will significantly increase.

It is also for this reason.

In the entire Tide Immortal Plane, it's not that no one has collected this Heavenly Dao Entry Set, but most people don't have a good outcome. They waste a lot of time and energy, either failing to complete the collection or finding it useless after succeeding.

Chen Qiu was completely unaware of these facts. At this moment, he was walking among the stalls with a smile on his face. After finding a bargain, he was in a great mood. He wasn't actively searching for the "Thousand-Handed Bodhisattva" entry set.

He didn't even ask the Bai family to gather intelligence on it.

He hadn't paid attention to it himself.

But for some reason, everything just fell into his lap. He couldn't refuse, and he effortlessly completed the set, and it was surprisingly easy. Naturally, he was quite satisfied, as people tend to be happy when good things happen to them.

His mood was excellent, and even if someone had unknowingly provoked him, he would have laughed it off.

However, it seemed there were no more bargains to be found.

It's not that he had to find a bargain; he was willing to pay a premium for something he needed. But as he walked around, he didn't see anything he required.

After completing a full circle, the sky was turning dark. He was about to find an inn when Badan contacted him through a sound transmitter ring.

It was an invitation for Chen Qiu to stay in the Maan Clan's courtyard tonight.

"Did you guys buy this?"

Fat Dragon was amazed as he looked at the courtyard, which occupied a considerable area. The interior was decorated in a charming ancient style, and various spirit plant arrays were also present. This was especially impressive in Zhongzhou City, where real estate prices were sky-high.

He hadn't expected the Maan Clan to be so wealthy.

After all, they are an entire race; how could they lack such income?

"Ahem."

Badan's voice came through the sound transmitter ring, sounding slightly embarrassed: "Well, Brother Fat Dragon, this courtyard wasn't bought by our Maan Clan. We seized it from the Beast Tribe. How could we possibly buy such a small courtyard?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Fat Dragon looked up at the giants outside the city and clicked his tongue: "Yeah, I forgot about that. So, you guys are sleeping outside the city tonight?"

"Yeah, the city is too small, and we can't all fit. We'll sleep in our own Immortal Mansions."

Chen Qiu didn't say much more and just found a guest room to stay in. He had too many places to stay, and even if he didn't go to an inn, he could go to a small world. The main reason he didn't go to his small world was that he wanted to immerse himself in the atmosphere of the Ascension Assembly, which felt quite lively.

His small world was rather quiet and lonely.

He had also purchased an item today.

Or rather, a jade slip, an informational jade slip. This jade slip was prepared for disciples who had just left their sects to travel the world. It contained some common knowledge about the Tide Immortal Plane, which was quite useful for Chen Qiu, who was unfamiliar with these matters.

First, the "Immortal Mansion"!

A unique method exclusive to those who have reached the Immortal Human stage, this "Immortal Mansion" method, will accompany you for a long time, even if your cultivation is high, but in the wild, you still have to live in your own Immortal Mansion.

The Immortal Mansion has only two effects, one is defensive, and the other is for living.

Yes.

Unlike purely offensive methods like "Fusion Kill Moves," the "Immortal Human Mansion" is more like a comprehensive method, a portable mansion that has strong recovery abilities and allows for quick restoration of spirit energy and physical injuries within its confines.

The strength of these three effects is determined by the grade.

This is the foundation of the "Immortal Human Mansion" and its basic effects.

Furthermore—

The "Immortal Human Mansion" not only has various grades, such as First Rank to Twelfth Rank, but also comes in different styles, each with its unique special effects.

When anyone breaks through to the Immortal Human stage, the mansion they acquire is the basic style, which only has the three fundamental effects.

To obtain other styles of Immortal Mansions, one needs some opportunities or luck.

Some special mansions, like the "Peach Blossom Mansion," are extremely suitable for Alchemy Dao cultivators, enhancing their understanding of the Alchemy Dao when residing or cultivating within.

Similarly, the "Ten Thousand Sword Mansion" is, as its name suggests, a mansion tailored for Sword Dao cultivators, enhancing their understanding of the Sword Dao.

For instance, the last time the Heavenly Dao version changed, nine new styles of "Immortal Human Mansions," nine "Earth Immortal Mounts," and nine "Celestial Immortal Realms" were added, providing more options. If one can obtain a special mansion that suits them well and has a high enough grade, they will essentially be unbeatable among their peers, and it will also greatly benefit their future cultivation.

Additionally, the Immortal Mansion is connected to one's spiritual consciousness. If the mansion is destroyed, the cultivator will also suffer severe injuries.

Hence, it's not uncommon to witness scenes of two cultivators crashing their Immortal Mansions into each other, indicating that they've gone berserk and are willing to take each other down in a mutual destruction.

After understanding these basic facts about the Tide Immortal Plane, Chen Qiu's anticipation for breaking through to the Immortal Human stage grew even stronger. With his "Chosen of Fate" Codex Entry, his Immortal Mansion would be guaranteed to start at 200th Rank.

This is a bit exaggerated.

The normal limit for others is the 12th Rank, while his starting point is already 200th Rank.

As he continues to acquire more limited-time Rainbow Entry Talisman, his starting point and limit will increase. The "Chosen of Fate" Heavenly Dao Entry Set is clearly much stronger than the "Tao's Reward for Diligence" Heavenly Dao Entry Set, by several times.

One might even say they are not on the same level.

Moreover, the Chosen of Fate Entry Set also comes with a Rainbow Entry, making it even more powerful than the Tao's Reward for Diligence.

Within the Immortal Mansions, there are only two distinctions: ordinary and special. Special mansions don't have a detailed grading system, but their prices vary greatly. Another advantage of the Immortal Mansions is that they contain a small world inside. The external space appears small, but the internal space is spacious and can be expanded by consuming Spirit Stones.

This feature is extremely friendly to the Maan Clan.

Otherwise, with their large physiques, they would have to sleep in the wilderness without the mansions.

Immortal Human Mansions can also invite friends and family to stay, which is perfectly fine and poses no issues. However, it's generally not done in the Tide Immortal Plane, as one of the basic etiquettes is to not visit others' Immortal Human Mansions.

It's unsafe for both parties.

Immortal Human Mansions are extremely sturdy against external attacks, much stronger than one's own defenses. However, when attacking from the inside out, they become extremely fragile. If a friend or family member invited into the mansion suddenly attacks it from the inside, causing it to shatter, the cultivator will be severely injured, and what happens next is self-explanatory.

Even if they are friends and family...

In this day and age, many people die at the hands of their friends and family.

Interesting.

After absorbing all the information from the jade slip, Chen Qiu reclined in a rocking chair in the courtyard, gazing at the starry sky above. He casually tossed the jade slip into Fat Dragon's embrace, which not only mentioned the "Immortal Human Mansion" but also the "Earth Immortal Mount."

Hey, these two cultivation-exclusive methods are truly fascinating.

These two methods cover two aspects of daily life: living and traveling.

The Immortal Human Mansion is for living, and the Earth Immortal Mount is for traveling.

When he arrived, he saw people using various unique methods to travel, all of which were Earth Immortal Mounts. However, no one was using the basic model, which is a small wooden horse. Everyone was using special mounts.

This thing.

When traveling long distances, it's absolutely faster than using one's own movement techniques, and it's also less tiring and more spirit energy-efficient. The speed varies depending on the grade, with higher grades offering greater speed.

Additionally, if it's a special mount, it will have unique effects.

Regardless of the effects, the "Earth Immortal Mount" doesn't possess significant offensive power. Its primary functions are for traveling and escaping.

The "Immortal Human Mansion" also lacks significant offensive power, and its main functions are for survival and living.

These two methods are exclusive to certain cultivation stages, but they seem a bit out of place when compared to methods like "Essence Refining Domain" and "Fusion Kill Move."

As for that "Immortal World"...

Chen Qiu remained silent, thinking that it could be considered an offensive method.

He felt that the Immortal Human, Earth Immortal, and Celestial Immortal stages seemed a bit weak, more like foundational stages with inadequate combat power!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end