Chapter 817

The teleportation arrays in Tianyuan Dao City are mostly built outside the city.

Those arriving from Qianyu Divine City are teleported directly to the array cluster outside Tianyuan Dao City.

When Ding Huan stepped out of the teleportation array, he saw before him the majestic Tianyuan Dao City.

Not to mention anything else, the divine qi concentration here far surpassed that of Qianyu Divine City.

As for the Daelun Bazaar, it was utterly incomparable.

And this was still outside Tianyuan Dao City.

The prosperity of Tianyuan Dao City was far beyond what Qianyu Divine City could match.

Though the cultivators coming and going did not appear crowded, they filled the wide main road completely.

Moreover, sages here had become more numerous—Ding Huan spotted seven or eight Ninth-Transformation Sages.

There was one person Ding Huan suspected to be an Immortal Sage, for the aura radiating from him was too vast; Ding Huan dared not probe with his spiritual sense.

Ding Huan's gaze soon settled on the city gate tower, where a cultivator was nailed to it.

A casual sweep of his spiritual sense told him the cultivator was still alive.

The man was of average height, with disheveled long hair, his body splattered with dried blood turned black.

Perhaps due to being hung there so long, he was extremely emaciated.

What surprised Ding Huan most was that this seemed to be a mortal—his entire being showed no trace of Dao resonance.

He looked utterly ordinary.

But how could that be?

A mortal nailed at the gate of a Dao City?

Ding Huan was deeply curious and carefully observed the man with his spiritual sense.

Indeed, Ding Huan sensed the Dao resonance on the man—he was no mortal.

But his cultivation technique seemed as mundane as a mortal's, lacking the ethereal aura and sharp brilliance typical of cultivators.

In fact, Ding Huan held great fondness for such cultivators.

Without a mortal heart, one could never cultivate this Mortal Dao.

Most cultivators viewed mortals as ants, their lives worthless beyond measure—they could never possess a mortal heart.

His fondness for those who cultivated the Mortal Dao stemmed from certain affinities between his Great Cosmos Art and the Mortal Dao.

His Great Cosmos Art fused the myriad laws of heaven and earth; at its peak, he harmonized perfectly with all existence wherever he went.

For someone to cultivate the Mortal Dao to this extent was extraordinary.

From the faint Dao resonance he detected, Ding Huan was certain this man was an Immortal Realm cultivator!

Given his sensitivity to heavenly laws, he could not be mistaken.

An Immortal Realm cultivator who practiced the Mortal Dao, nailed outside a Dao City's gate—this surprised Ding Huan.

"This man's name shares one character with yours—he's called Guan Huan. When I came here a thousand years ago, he was already nailed here."

Seeing Ding Huan gaze at the man nailed outside the Dao City, Zainan voluntarily introduced him.

"Why is he nailed here?" Ding Huan asked, surprised.

Zainan shook his head: "I don't know. I never inquired."

Ding Huan was about to ask someone else when his spiritual sense brushed against a tall, thin man emerging from the array cluster.

His formidable aura meant little—but the character "Qu" on his robe hem made Ding Huan's spirit freeze; he quickened his pace and rushed into Tianyuan Dao City.

Seeing Ding Huan hasten forward, Zainan instantly sensed something was wrong and dared not delay—he followed Ding Huan into Tianyuan Dao City.

Ding Huan did not use his spiritual sense; as he entered Tianyuan Dao City, he glanced back and saw the tall, thin man being greeted by two Sages.

Because he was being welcomed, the Qu clan's tall, thin man paid no attention to Ding Huan and Zainan's entry.

"Ding Daofriend, is someone from the Qu clan here?" Zainan whispered, his voice trembling.

Ding Huan nodded: "Yes, likely an Immortal Sage of the Qu clan."

Knowing it was a Qu clan Immortal Sage, Ding Huan was not overly concerned.

Unless the Qu clan dared to flaunt their power in Tianyuan Dao City and tear open a dwelling to seize someone, he was safe within the city.

Besides, even if Tianyuan Dao City permitted the Qu clan to tear open dwellings to capture him, he believed he could escape.

That was his confidence in coming to Tianyuan Dao City.

He would not entrust his safety to the unfamiliar Daelun Dao Court.

"Let's hurry and rent a dwelling from the Daelun Trading Association," Zainan urged.

Seeing Ding Huan's questioning look, Zainan quickly explained:

"The Daelun Trading Association is nothing like my Daelun Bazaar.

My bazaar is merely near Daelun Mountain, hence the name.

The Daelun Trading Association is the official trading body of the Daelun Dao Court, with influence spanning the entire Xiao Tian Xu—it's one of the Ten Great Trading Associations of Xiao Tian Xu.

The Daelun Trading Association has Creation Sages among its ranks; even the Qu clan Dao Court dares not touch them.

Moreover, the dwellings of the Daelun Trading Association are protected by the Daelun Dao Court. Once we move in, we'll be safe."

"Then what are we waiting for? Lead the way," Ding Huan said—he only wanted to enter the Immortal Sage Realm as soon as possible.

If the Qu clan Dao Court clung to him like a tick, he wouldn't mind using the Great Gene Assassination Art to wipe out the entire Qu clan.

But now his power was limited; even using the Great Gene Assassination Art, he could not kill those of higher realm than himself.

Zainan led Ding Huan through several bustling streets to a gate array.

Guards stood before the gate, above which were written the words: "Daelun Trading Association Dwelling Rental."

"Esteemed Daofriend, we wish to rent a dwelling here," Zainan said with a smile.

"Este friend of the Dao, we wish to rent a cave dwelling here," Zai Na said with a smile.

Before these two cultivators of the Divine King realm, Zai Na's tone was extremely respectful.

As he spoke, he pulled out two storage rings and handed them over.

Ding Huan's spiritual sense swept through the two storage rings Zai Na had given him; each contained one hundred thousand supreme-grade divine crystals.

Ding Huan silently thought: Zai Na is generous—handing out one hundred thousand supreme-grade divine crystals as if it were nothing.

"Go in," said the two Divine King guards without further words. After taking Zai Na's rings, they waved a hand, allowing Ding Huan and Zai Na to enter.

Upon entering the cave dwelling zone, Zai Na voluntarily said to Ding Huan:

"The divine crystals you gave them? That's the entry fee. If you don't rent a cave dwelling, these crystals won't be refunded."

So it wasn't a bribe—it was an entry fee.

"Then how much does it cost to rent a cave dwelling here?"

Since the entry fee alone was one hundred thousand supreme-grade divine crystals, Ding Huan couldn't help but pay attention to the rental cost.

"Cave dwellings here aren't rented for divine crystals—they're rented for supreme-grade divine spirit veins and top-grade divine spirit veins. In addition, you must complete tasks for the Great Wheel Trading Association."

"The exact price depends on the quality of the cave dwelling and the difficulty of the task you choose."

Hearing Zai Na's words, Ding Huan was stunned: "That's insane?"

Zai Na chuckled: "That's not insane. Do you think everyone here trains just to soak up the divine spirit energy?"

"Most people here are like us."

The rest didn't need Zai Na to say—Ding Huan understood.

That is, most who rent cave dwellings here are fleeing from assassins.

An hour later, both Ding Huan and Zai Na had rented cave dwellings.

Ding Huan now understood that the price difference among these cave dwellings depended less on location or divine spirit energy, and more on the difficulty of the task chosen by the renter.

Both Ding Huan and Zai Na chose tasks of medium-to-high difficulty, renting cave dwellings at the price of one supreme-grade divine spirit vein per year.

As for duration, both chose a rental period of one thousand years.

Ding Huan chose to pay every hundred years.

Zai Na chose to pay all one thousand years upfront.

Ding Huan planned to set up an array that would automatically transmit divine spirit veins upon lease expiration.

If he left early, the divine spirit veins he paid would not be refunded.

He hadn't chosen a better cave dwelling

because the divine spirit energy here truly didn't matter.

It wasn't that the divine spirit energy here was inherently dense—it was that you could implant your own divine spirit veins.

You could implant as many divine spirit veins into your own cave dwelling as you wished.

As for the tasks, you could choose them at the cave dwelling rental hall anytime within the thousand years.

Or you could ignore them entirely within the thousand years.

But when the thousand years were up, you had to complete a task immediately—or you'd be hunted down.

Ding Huan suspected Guan Huan might have been pinned outside the Dao City because his cultivation period ended and he failed to complete a task.

These weren't things Ding Huan could concern himself with.

At this moment, Ding Huan was implanting divine spirit veins into his own cave dwelling.

He intended to cultivate here for a long time, so he implanted everything he had: chaotic divine spirit veins, top-grade divine spirit veins, top-grade starry divine spirit veins—all of them.

The area permitted the setup of spirit gathering arrays, so Ding Huan also sealed the divine spirit energy within his cave dwelling.

With his array skills, if he set up a grand spirit gathering array, he'd likely draw in all the divine spirit energy from the surrounding area.

Ding Huan didn't plan to take advantage of others, but neither would he let others take advantage of him.

After finishing the cave dwelling setup, when Ding Huan activated the Great Universe Technique for his first Zhou Tian, he realized cultivating here was far easier and more convenient than in the cosmic void.

In the vast void, heavenly laws were shattered, and all cosmic principles were fragmented.

He had to comprehend and fuse these fragmented principles, then construct his own Dao through the Great Universe Technique.

The difficulty of this was secondary for Ding Huan—the main issue was the time it consumed.

Here, however, the heavenly laws were complete; he didn't even need to spend time comprehending them—under the Great Universe Technique, all heavenly Dao principles naturally revealed themselves.

Then he could condense his own Law Star River.

The prerequisite was sufficient heavenly primordial energy.

Ding Huan didn't have much else—but he had plenty of top-grade divine spirit veins.

Now he was enveloped in chaotic divine primordial energy, his entire body bathed in it.

In just half a day, Ding Huan clearly felt his three Law Star Rivers—Wind, Thunder, and Ice—rapidly improving.

If he continued cultivating here, these three Law Star Rivers would be fully perfected in no time.

……

Standing at the entrance of the Great Wheel Trading Association's cave dwelling rental zone, Qu He's face was grim.

Less than half an incense stick's time had passed since he arrived—and these two ants had already rented cave dwellings here ahead of him.

For a moment, he truly wanted to tear open the protective array and drag Ding Huan and Zai Na out to crush beneath his feet.

Reason told him he couldn't do that.