Chapter 300: Taking Over the Cave Dwelling, A Chance Encounter (46k, seeking subscriptions)

Along the way, there was no shortage of things to say.

It was mainly Tang Wenren doing the talking.

Having finally caught a peer who didn't need to worry about his status and who also made him feel admiration and awe, he directly transformed into a chatterbox on the spot.

From the various functional hubs of Pivot City to the eight wonders of this place, and from all kinds of top-grade and supreme-grade spells to the various arts and crafts, he talked about everything.

His reputation as a genius was no falsehood, and his foundation was truly substantial, so Du En did not force the conversation; he only provided imperceptible guidance, allowing the other party to speak about content that was useful for him to use as reference.

For instance, the detailed circumstances of various supreme-grade spells, as well as their exchange prices, could serve as a reference for choosing higher-tier versions to switch to later, so as to avoid being completely in the dark when the time came and needing to rely on one's ability to make split-second decisions.

Or, for example.

"This switching of cultivation methods usually has a period of transition and adaptation; even for geniuses like us, this transition period basically spans the entire Golden Core stage. I myself have only just fully completed the transition."

Generally speaking, even those who have long been judged as geniuses will not choose to cultivate supreme-grade methods right from the start; instead, they will first read through various low-grade methods to gain a basic understanding of cultivation, then start with mid-grade methods, striving to master them by the time they reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

In this way, one can grasp their essence and lay a foundation that can be called perfect.

After all, whether one's Dao foundation can be perfect not only directly concerns the first hurdle of immortal cultivation—the collapse and transformation into a Golden Core—but also affects subsequent cultivation; it is truly said that a ten-thousand-foot tower rises from the ground, and what is required is a solid and perfect foundation.

Then, when one reaches the Golden Core stage, one comes to switch to supreme-grade methods and strives to master them by the time one reaches the Nascent Soul stage.

Considering that the speed of cultivation is generally more or less the same, with no major differences, the Golden Core stage has become a common adaptation period for geniuses.

"However, you have not only transitioned and adapted, but you are clearly still making progress. This is something I have not been able to do; it is truly admirable, and you already possess one of the characteristics of a Heaven's Pride, which is even more enviable!"

As Tang Wenren said this, he was truly full of admiration.

Because this belonged to higher-level knowledge that the scripture libraries of small and medium-sized cities could not possibly have, Du En asked without shame: "What exactly is this talk of Heaven's Pride characteristics? Also, where is the scripture library of Pivot City, and can I enter it?"

If possible, he would go and browse the books when he had time, reading everything that should be read, so as to avoid needing to ask without shame when encountering things he didn't know in the future, or worse, being in a bad situation—like an enemy engagement—and being completely ignorant, forced to respond blindly.

"It is right at that location, the tallest tower. With your travel credentials, you can naturally pass. As for these Heaven's Pride characteristics, sigh, one of them is being able to handle the lower four categories of cultivation methods with ease; during the transition, there are almost no obstacles—one read and you understand, one switch and you master it!"

Tang Wenren appeared quite emotional about this, even sighing with a sense of looking up at a high mountain, clearly not feeling that he would be able to step into that position in the future.

In fact, it was indeed disheartening.

Since the founding of the Falling Feather Immortal Sect ten thousand years ago, there have been thousands of Great Cultivators at the Spirit Transformation stage and nearly a hundred True Immortals at the Void Refinement stage, but those who could break through to the Integration stage and be called a Heaven's Pride number only a mere three.

Those three disciples of the Sect Master Supreme, the three current high-level True Monarchs.

As for the other two, they were of supreme talent, even more extraordinary.

Genius seemed to be the end, making it hard to see what lay beyond.

After all, just one basic characteristic of a Heaven's Pride was enough to make one's jaw drop.

The lower four categories of cultivation methods, from supreme-grade to low-grade, handled with ease, understood in one read, and mastered in one switch!

They, these geniuses, work hard and have to spend an entire Golden Core stage just to finish switching from a mid-grade method to a supreme-grade one, and you tell me you can master it in one switch?

Not to mention the even more exaggerated "understood in one read"!

They are simply natural immortal cultivators, truly the pride of heaven; thus, the name "Heaven's Pride" is absolutely not false or empty!

"I don't have the 'understood in one read' part, but this 'mastered in one switch,' I can indeed do."

Du En glanced at his panel.

Relying on it, when switching cultivation methods, it was indeed "mastered in one switch"!

In this way, he invisibly gained more accumulation time than other geniuses, able to start accumulating from the early Golden Core stage.

Like this Tang Wenren, who is also a genius; in the early Golden Core stage, because he had more resources and foundation, his strength might have been much higher than Du En's, but now, he has already been left behind by him. Not to mention anything else, just the quality of the Golden Core shows a clear gap!

Moreover, this situation will continue. When it comes time to switch to supreme-grade cultivation methods later, he will be able to further seize time to accumulate more... when he reaches the third great hurdle of the Integration stage, he will definitely be able to pile up enough and then leap across it!

Therefore, he did not have the worries that Tang Wenren had. As long as he followed the steps, moved steadily, continued to work hard, and continued to grind, then the future would eventually be promising!

So, when he arrived in front of his own cave dwelling, Du En spoke very directly: "Many thanks for guiding me, Excellency. I have just arrived and have not yet organized or familiarized myself with the place, so it is inconvenient to host guests now. When I have time later, I will invite you to visit."

"Easy, easy, I shall wait."

Tang Wenren did not yet know that this "when I have time" basically meant "never." He just smiled, bid farewell, and left with a fairly good mood.

Du En took out the cave dwelling key he had received as a reward and channeled his magic to activate it. The cave's defensive array opened its core point, allowing him to leave his mark and complete the final step of the ownership process.

With this, he could be considered to have a home here in Pivot City.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

The door, resembling a Dragon-Severing Stone, rose, and he stepped into this fifth-tier cave dwelling.

Seen from the outside, it was a classic cave-style dwelling located on a small hill, facing east. From the viewing platform on the cliff, one could see one of the so-called eight wonders of Pivot City: "Purple Clouds Coming from the East."

In fact, it was just because the defensive measures of the southern Pivot City operated rhythmically to a certain point, causing a refraction of the morning sun at that time, which created this so-called one of the eight wonders.

Anyway, Du En didn't care; he was currently familiarizing himself with the situation inside the dwelling.

It looked very classic from the outside, but it was not a real cave inside.

Arranged with methods to contain space and time, the interior was clear and bright, with many pavilions and towers, and all kinds of exotic flowers and trees growing lushly; it was an exquisite garden villa.

These were not the key points. The key point was that it was clearly very compatible with Du En's methods, with various secret arrangements. Although the quantity and quality of the spiritual energy were only at the fifth tier—matching the dwelling's grade and not considered unusual compared to the city—the actual performance was very unexpected.

"... So that's how it is. It's similar to the layout of a Spirit-Nurturing Land, but there are many differences. Could this be... an arrangement for gestating wonders?"

Relying on his Spirit-Seeking skills, while probing the cave dwelling, Du En couldn't help but have this thought.

Regardless of whether it was or not, staying here to cultivate would allow him to achieve higher results.

To put it intuitively, his basic cultivation efficiency increased by another twenty percent on top of the original foundation!

Moreover, he didn't need to consume spiritual meals or worry about the insufficiency of his dharma robes to easily maintain this cultivation efficiency and speed!

"This is still because my low-grade spiritual root is truly too poor. However, living and cultivating here for a long time, it seems that even my spiritual root can be improved?"

Having quickly finished his assessment, Du En wasted no time. Without moving any of the furnishings, he directly began to cultivate.

After a few cycles of circulating his energy, relying on the keenness of his Inexhaustible Azure Spirit Body, he noticed that his spiritual root was indeed being nourished; given time, it would definitely be improved.

One can only say, it is worthy of being a fifth-tier cave dwelling in Pivot City!

This should have been prepared for a Great Cultivator; who would have thought that Du En could move in so early, and it was clearly specially and meticulously modified to be incomparably compatible with him.

Since that is the case, cultivate with all one's heart!

And so, time passed like a white horse galloping past a crack, and in the blink of an eye, it was the first ten days of the first month of the New Year.

During this time, besides going to the Scripture Depository to cram all sorts of knowledge, Du En spent his time in seclusion within his own immortal cave, neither stepping out the front door nor crossing the second, and he did not neglect his practice of spells.

Because the space here was large and the conditions were good, it was sufficient for practicing spells, and there was even an extra bonus that allowed him to maintain his daily practice volume at a minimum of six hundred times.

As of today, he had already grinded the Giant Cannon Art to the point of absolute perfection.

Next, he should switch to something else, switching to the Wind Sand Art.

Because the Wind Sand Art had a lower consumption of magic power, and unlike the Giant Cannon Art, it did not have such great destructive power, so in the time to come, by squeezing effort from every aspect, he might be able to reach the point of practicing eight hundred times a day...

Hum!

A sound, specially set to be very loud, suddenly rang out, indicating that a guest had come to visit.

Du En turned from a pile of rubble; with a rustling sound, tiles and sand kept falling from the half-ruined garden pavilions, and the whole structure was teetering on the verge of collapse.

He did not pay it any mind, simply walking over to open the door.

Rumble, rumble, rumble~

The Dragon-Severing Stone rose, and the glow of purple clouds shone in; it was precisely one of the Eight Sights of Shucheng.

That was quite a coincidence.

Du En glanced at it, considering it a finished appreciation, and then looked at the visiting guest.

Unsurprisingly, it was Tang Wenren.

His gaze at this moment appeared somewhat resentful.

Wasn't it agreed that you would invite me when you were free? How has it been so long, and you still aren't free?

"Your Excellency..."

Tang Wenren was just about to speak, but at this moment, as if triggered by the movement of the Dragon-Severing Stone stopping, the garden structures inside finally could not hold on and began to collapse in large sections.

Amidst the dense rumbling sounds, this garden villa, which was a world of its own, directly collapsed by eighty or ninety percent.

Dust and smoke filled the air, stopping behind Du En.

He looked calm, speaking righteously and sternly: "As you can see, I am not free."

"Uh, this..."

Tang Wenren was dumbfounded; looking past him, all he saw was a ground full of ruins and debris, and it could be said that not a blade of grass remained.

How did this perfectly fine immortal cave get ruined like this?!

However, this actually did not matter; as the damage reached the reaction interval set by Du En, this fifth-tier immortal cave began to self-repair once again.

"Your Excellency, please."

Du En invited Tang Wenren inside; the other party's expression was very subtle, but he still followed as Du En turned and walked into it.

As the two walked, this garden villa was like time flowing backward; the ruins on the ground flew back and reassembled, and the desolate, barren mess became lush and green once again.

When they reached the guest pavilion, the entire immortal cave had already recovered as it was, looking brand new.

Du En did not stint on his praise: "This fifth-tier immortal cave is truly good. Had I known it was so durable and had such high bonuses, I would have definitely come to take it over sooner, even if it meant needing to go into seclusion for a while before taking on your challenge, Your Excellency, that would have been fine too."

Tang Wenren looked at the calm, matter-of-fact, and straightforward person before him, and his mouth corners could not help but twitch.

Because he could not help but imagine that if things had developed that way, his own state of mind at that time might have been even more indescribable.

As for now, watching Du En casually draw water, boil it, and brew tea using the leaves of the third-tier low-grade Red Leaf Wutong as tea leaves, he felt that his current state of mind was actually quite strange as well.

"A cup of coarse tea, I hope you do not mind."

Anyway, all the good things had been eaten up, and now only some scraps remained.

Thanks to the bonuses of this immortal cave being effective, he was able to maintain his cultivation efficiency even without spirit meals; it was just that, correspondingly, he could not ruin it too excessively and had to take some time out every now and then to let it recover.

It just so happened that this gap was a good time to go to the Scripture Depository to flip through books.

Nothing was wasted at all, and because of this, when he switched to the much less destructive Wind Sand Art for his subsequent spell grinding, he would not have to worry about this and could increase the number of repetitions.

Tang Wenren ultimately drank the Wutong tea in silence.

Smacking his lips, he could not help but speak: "Your Excellency is truly, uh, unconstrained by trifles."

"I am indeed someone who prefers to be direct whenever possible."

Du En maintained his true colors, without a ripple.

Tang Wenren was even more speechless upon hearing this, feeling quite unaccustomed to it, but fortunately, he quickly eased up, then noticed that although he rarely saw this kind of behavior from Du En, it was clear that he was not ruining the immortal cave for fun or mischief.

It was daily, diligent, and arduous practice!

Because there was no need to deliberately conceal his own changes, he could naturally sense that Du En's Golden Core perfection was clearly even more perfect, still able to improve further from an already high level!

This could not help but make one click their tongue; after all, having already reached the realm of perfection, being able to maintain such progress clearly meant that his cultivation technique and other aspects were still constantly advancing!

Diligent and arduous practice, so the noise from just now...

Unconsciously, Tang Wenren thought of that giant cannon, which was like a falling meteorite.

It was likely that thing that smashed the interior settings of this immortal cave.

Although he appeared maverick, not only was his talent admirable, but he could also be so hardworking and diligent... Tang Wenren, who had not been very diligent lately and was actually quite distracted, could not help but feel a bit ashamed.

But this could not be blamed on him, because Golden Core perfection was perfection; under normal circumstances, cultivation during the perfection stage could basically only maintain one's current level, making it difficult to make progress unless one broke through the realm.

But was it that easy to break through?

Besides daily accumulation to maintain one's level, it required an appropriate opportunity.

Of course, since his cultivation base could not be raised for the time being, he could put effort into studying techniques and spells.

Seeing a peer genius still striding forward, Tang Wenren, in addition to his shame, could not help but think that after he went back, he should follow suit!

It was just that, regarding this spell practice, should he learn it?

If he really followed suit completely, his master shouldn't reprimand him, right?

Or, should he still go to the city and rent an immortal cave that could be used for rote practice?

His thoughts drifted far away, and Du En, seeing this, pulled them directly back: "Since you came to visit so directly, Your Excellency, I assume you don't just want to drink this cup of my coarse tea; why not be open and speak your mind?"

"Ahem!"

Tang Wenren snapped back to his senses, realized he had been rude, and took the opportunity to steer the conversation, speaking bluntly: "It's like this: a very opportune moment has just appeared in the city, a chance to get merit for free!"

Opportune moment?

You certainly have a thick skin when you talk.

Facing the look in his eyes, Tang Wenren's expression stiffened somewhat.

But he still continued in a formal, measured tone: "A prison has just been completed, and in order to prove his methods to his colleagues and superiors, and to prove that it is truly reliable, the overseer has put up a heavy reward, inviting all Golden Core colleagues in the city to go and verify its reality on-site!"

Quite a lot of tricks.

Du En thought to himself, then asked directly about the main point: "How heavy is this heavy reward?"

"One Upper-Ding grade merit, and one thousand top-grade spirit stones!"

"It is indeed very heavy, but isn't it a bit too heavy?"

Since the other party was playing it by the book, Du En decided to play along.

Tang Wenren was no longer embarrassed at this point, simply saying: "If it were anyone else, there might be something strange about it, but the person responsible for the construction this time is none other than the Overseer of the Construction Bureau, Yang Dong!"

The Overseer of the Construction Bureau.

Du En already knew by now that in the Southern Hub City, there were sixteen bureaus in charge of various affairs, and three guards, each with their own duties.

The heads of these bureaus and guards were all great cultivators at the Soul Formation stage, and various positions were set up within them.

However, for this Overseer Yang Dong to hold a position identical to the name of the bureau, he was clearly quite extraordinary; he must be quite outstanding in his professional duties to be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility!

(End of chapter)