Chapter 453

What a coincidence?

I don't believe it for a second!

Chi Jiuyu quietly grumbled in her heart, strongly suspecting that Xiao Ye and Xiao Zhao were actually trying to take advantage of her.

But despite the complaints, she looked up at the light screen projecting from the fruit.

She saw the images within the screen flickering rapidly, so fast that an ordinary person couldn't even make out what was happening…

Of course, this posed no great issue for the three of them.

It began recording from the moment Zhao Ruoming approached 【Zhitui Xiancheng】, until he encountered a Nascent Soul, whose Primordial Spirit pressure scared him off.

Watching the scene of the Nascent Soul man retreating, Chi Jiuyu clicked her tongue in amazement.

"Tsk tsk! The cultivators in this world are truly talented."

Ye Zhiwei and Zhao Ruohan said nothing, still fixed on the flickering images on the screen.

After scaring off that Nascent Soul, the tower-ship entered the city and docked at the aerial-ship mooring zone, then came the scene of the female cultivator Ziying approaching with a seductive smile.

"…"

Seeing this, Chi Jiuyu glanced at the two of them.

She saw Ye Zhiwei's expression calm, while Zhao Ruohan raised an eyebrow.

Fortunately, in the end, Zhao Ruoming sidestepped Ziying's advances…

After disembarking, Zhao Ruoming, who should have gone directly to the city lord's mansion, suddenly stopped, paused for an instant, and then the scene shifted.

In the sky, a tower-ship with the characters "Ji Shen" on its hull.

But the most striking sight was the figure standing at the bow—radiant as the moon in heaven, beautiful as something meant only to be admired from afar.

All three of them narrowed their pupils, their gazes turning grave.

"Holy shit! It's a Hehuan Sect gender-bender!" Chi Jiuyu blurted out.

"…"

That's a Tianren cultivator, okay? Sure, some Tianren cultivators now use a bit of unorthodox methods, like hormones and such…

But overall, it's still a refined cultivation method.

This idiot talks without restraint and immediately draws hatred—if caught, he'd probably be hunted down!

"It's Wu Zhongfeng, third place in the Soul Transformation division of the last Xian Sect Grand Competition, very powerful," Ye Zhiwei said.

"I know, I know! We checked his profile before the competition."

These Wolf-Extermination Tianren all look otherworldly, but in reality, they're all extreme and brutally ruthless!

After all, they're ruthless even toward themselves!

According to Lingwang, at the very beginning of Tianren cultivation, they must repeatedly endure that kind of pain…

"Hmm… Will he go after Dog Brother?"

After all, we're all contestants, competitors.

Do you expect a Wolf-Extermination Tianren to sit down and have a calm chat with you?

But if they really fight…

This is an opponent even my Hehuan Laozu couldn't defeat—Dog Brother's level certainly couldn't handle it.

"Perhaps, his intentions are unclear for now, but we can't rule out that he'll act," Zhao Ruohan murmured for two seconds, "Let's keep watching."

Tianren minds are unpredictable.

We can't determine what he's planning just yet…

The screen now showed Zhao Ruoming entering the city lord's mansion, where the city lord tried to persuade him to become a "Realm Traitor," promising him the title of "Return-to-Void Venerable."

Then Zhao Ruoming feigned agreement after extracting information, walked out of the mansion, and ran straight into that Tianren, Wu Zhongfeng…

All three froze, a shared thought rising in their minds.

Has Dog Brother already been eliminated?

But the scene ended abruptly, replaced by a single line of text—【If possible, try to seize the "Ji Ling Yi Gui Mi Lu"】

Huh?!

Wait, you're cutting it off right here?!

"What happens next?!"

"That's all."

"…"

"He's probably fine—if he'd been eliminated, my puppet should've lost all contact."

Eliminated contestants are immediately teleported back.

And my innate spiritual ability's puppet can't monitor across worlds.

Hmm…

Honestly, I don't care whether Dog Brother got eliminated—I'm just curious what happened after he met that Hehuan Sect Tianren.

Chi Jiuyu grumbled inwardly.

But she ultimately didn't voice it.

"Xiao Zhao, your puppet's performance feels about the same as those micro-recon drones, right?"

Why not just use micro-recon drones directly?

"…" Zhao Ruohan pursed her lips, "It's more discreet, and I didn't bring any non-spiritual auxiliary devices."

With only a one-million-spirit-coin budget, since the spiritual puppet works fine, there's no point wasting extra coins on those.

"Oh." Chi Jiuyu didn't think much of it and immediately brought up the matter, "Dog Brother told us to steal the 'Ji Ling Yi Gui Mi Lu'—this won't be easy."

We only have a vague time window—when will the 【Jile Xiancheng】 team arrive? Today or tomorrow morning?

None of this is clear.

We can't even find the people—where are we supposed to rob them?

"I can set up a few more puppets to monitor who enters and exits Zhitui Xiancheng," Zhao Ruohan said.

Going out to search actively is impossible.

Even a Tianren from the Huanhuan Sect has appeared—there's no telling what other competitors might be around.

We're not dumb protagonists from some stupid movie who split up despite knowing there's danger.

If they run into another competitor in their current state, they're truly done for.

It's better to keep healing than waste time on this.

"Fine. If the timing's right, we strike; if not, we don't. Either way, the city lord will be handed over to Dog Brother tomorrow."

In just a few words, the three reached agreement.

Ye Zhiwei, though she hadn't spoken much, gave a slight nod.

With a thought from Zhao Ruohan, her eyes shimmered with immortal light.

Outside the cave, two of the purple fruits hanging on either side suddenly sprouted facial features and limbs.

Then they strained to break free from their stems.

Boom!

Boom!

After rolling twice on the ground, the fruits immediately scrambled up and scurried away on their short little legs.

It looked quite comical.

…

…

In an instant, the sky darkened.

Under the moonlit, star-sparse night, the skull-shaped Zhitui Xiancheng glowed with mystical lights streaming from its eye sockets, nostrils, and mouth.

It looked eerie yet absurd at the same time…

Resource convoy teams arriving from all directions still stretched into an endless line.

The Tianji Palace's "Offering Day" lasts three days total; smaller immortal cities dare not delay and arrive immediately.

But larger immortal cities are different.

Some things are rented or loaned out—every second is money, so the later they arrive, the better.

Zhi Tui Xiancheng, for instance, is one of the larger cities beneath Zhitui Xiancheng, and traditionally arrives late.

This year, it came early only because of Zhao Ruoming's intervention.

At this moment, inside Zhitui Xiancheng.

The quarters assigned to Zhao Ruoming.

Inside the room, walls were inlaid with countless round, translucent pearls, casting a soft glow that illuminated the entire space.

On either side stood incense burners, emitting wisps of spiritual incense, fine and woven like silk.

In the center sat a small table, upon which rested several translucent crimson crystals and nine jade vials.

Behind the table sat a young man clad in a black robe, one hand gripping a luminous jade slip, the other using magic power to restrain dozens of gilded characters.

"The Celestial Track Ritual… transforms the spirits of all beings into one's own," Zhao Ruoming murmured softly.

The jade slip in his hand was precisely the "Mystical Phase Celestial Track Secret Record" taken from the city lord.

And these gilded characters…

Made him recall the seven-colored rainbow light that had risen with the bell's chime.

If he remembered correctly, the spiritual energy, true qi, and magic power that had surged upward at the time had all been absorbed into these gilded characters.

The yin-yang fish pattern in his eyes rotated slowly as he gazed at the object in his palm.

"Pure and immense power…"

Yet when absorbed, their quality had been uneven.

Now, the power within the gilded characters seemed refined—leaving only a single, purest, yet unusable form of "cultivation."

According to the "Mystical Phase Celestial Track Secret Record," these were "Third-Class Mystical Phase Characters."

When used with the Celestial Track Ritual, they could instantly grant Foundation Establishment—or, when used during Jin Dan advancement, nine could exchange for one chance to form a Jin Dan.

In this world, every breakthrough of a major realm is a risky "investment."

If one fails, those with family support may still survive; if not…

If one cannot repay the Mystical Phase Celestial Track loan, their body and soul are seized as collateral!

By the way, cultivators in this world have no such thing as "Nine-Transformation Jin Dan." Most only know the three grades—

Lower grade: Void; Middle grade: Turbid; Upper grade: Solid.

But there is one grade above upper: True—Superior True Jin Dan!

Yet even that is only equivalent to a Three-Transformation Jin Dan of the Tai Xuan Realm…

"Huh~"

Zhao Ruoming exhaled gently, set down the jade slip, and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

Because of his superior origins and perspective far beyond that of this world's cultivators, after studying the "Mystical Phase Celestial Track Secret Record," he finally gained some understanding of this world's strange peculiarities.

All problems stem from the Mystical Phase Celestial Track—more precisely, from its creator, the Daoist Xuan Qi.

The Mystical Phase Celestial Track permeates every corner of this world, as if it had "kidnapped" the entire realm.

Once any living being in this world begins cultivation, escape is inevitable.

All beings are his poison-gu insects in a poison jar—or cattle and sheep in a pasture—and as he harvests them, he deliberately cultivates stronger poison-gu insects.

That is, returning to emptiness…

But what is the purpose of doing this?

Advancing to Union with the Dao?

Zhao Ruoming kept pondering, growing ever more curious.

And ever more eager to test whether he could solve this matter himself.

Although during this time, under Zhiwei's guidance, his mindset had calmed considerably, some traits were destined to never change.

Just like how he once stubbornly refused to use his primordial divine ability.

Now he was again digging himself into a corner.

Tap! Tap-tap!

Three sharp knocks suddenly sounded. Zhao Ruoming frowned slightly, suppressed his thoughts, and asked outwardly in a low voice: "Who is it?"

Boom!

The tightly shut door suddenly flew open.

Cold moonlight wove with the glow of the luminous pearl, and there stood before the door a figure of ethereal grace.

"It's me."

Two different vocal tones overlapped and echoed.

Wu Zhongfeng!

Zhao Ruoming's scalp prickled.

Fuck!

This Huanhuan Sect cultivator… how did a Celestial find me?!

Although Wu Zhongfeng stood silently at the door, revealing no trace of aura, Zhao Ruoming still felt immense pressure.

There was no way—he truly couldn't win against this one!

He forced calm, clasped his hands, and sealed away the gilded miniature characters: "What do you want?"

"Cooperate. The city's spiritual artifacts: seven for me, three for you."

Huh?

This person speaks in such a strange way.

Zhao Ruoming paused. Had he been recognized? Or was this just a bluff?

He was currently disguised.

After thinking it over, he probed: "You must be a Celestial from beyond the heavens. Why seek cooperation with a local Soul Transformation?"

Wu Zhongfeng said nothing, his clear black-and-white eyes gazing at him calmly.

"… "

Alright, he was definitely recognized.

Zhao Ruoming dropped the pretense and spoke directly: "I thought you'd come to strike me down… why seek cooperation?"

Wu Zhongfeng's gaze flickered slightly, and he stepped forward.

Boom!

The door, moments ago wide open, slammed shut with his movement.

He walked straight to the opposite side and sat down; his pale, delicate skin appeared nearly translucent under the soft glow of the luminous pearl, his lips thin and faintly colored, harmonizing perfectly with his tranquil eyes.

"And the other contestants—they cooperate. I seek you. To cooperate."

How do you speak in such halting bursts?

"You mean there are other contestants in the city?"

Besides this Huanhuan Sect Celestial, there are others?!

Where?!

"Mm." Wu Zhongfeng gave a slight nod.

"How many?" Zhao Ruoming blurted out.

But the moment he asked, he regretted it—such vital intelligence, how could He reveal it so easily?

Yet Wu Zhongfeng answered directly: "Of those I know, besides you and me, seven."

Seven people?!

Are you guys seriously holding a team battle here?!

"Have they all teamed up?"

Even if there are only seven—if they've all allied, we should flee right now.

"No."

That's a relief!

"Do you know when they plan to act?"

That's the most critical point—he was still waiting to obtain the "Secret Record of the Soul-Draining Ritual" tomorrow!

"They…"

Wu Zhongfeng was about to answer when he suddenly fell silent. Zhao Ruoming also turned toward the door.

Tap… tap-tap!

Three knocks, identical to the earlier ones, sounded again.

This time, without opening the door, both saw who stood outside—a woman dressed similarly to Wu Zhongfeng, her aura equally cold and detached.

"By order of the City Lord, I have come to serve the Immortal Lord," she said, her expression tinged with a hint of "humiliation."

Maybe he doesn't like Zhiying's obsequiousness—perhaps he prefers this kind of attitude?

It was because the city lord had suffered a loss at Wu Zhongfeng's hands during the day, so he found this person to court Zhao Ruoming while also getting some revenge for himself.

After all, directly causing trouble…

Was simply too frightening.

Huh?!

Fuck!

Zhao Ruoming stood dumbfounded, silently cursing inside his mind.

You fucking piece of shit, did I ever provoke you? How dare you frame me like this!

He quickly turned to look at the expressionless Wu Zhongfeng before him, ready to explain.

Yet, Wu Zhongfeng spoke first: "They will strike tonight."

He never holds grudges against the dead.

In the instant the words faded.

Boom!

Boom—boom—boom!

Amid the deafening roar, the room shook violently, and the entire 【Zhitui Xiancheng】 trembled. (End of chapter)