Chapter 369 - 352: Central Immortal City

Chapter 369: Chapter 352: Central Immortal City

The Immortal City was not just immense; it floated in the sky. At its center was a solitary, towering peak that soared into the clouds. It was said that the true Desert Divine Palace lay at the very top of this peak.

This Immortal City was named the Central Immortal City, signifying that it was the very center of the Central Continent, and perhaps even the entire Endless Desert Sea.

Of course, not everyone was qualified to enter this Floating Immortal City. Only those at the Golden Core realm and above were eligible.

Cultivators below the Golden Core realm could only gather, live, and cultivate on the ground beneath the Immortal City.

This area was known as the Lower City, while the one in the sky was the Upper City.

But even the Lower City was incredibly prosperous and massive, with abundant Spiritual Qi. Without some connections or financial power, one simply wasn’t qualified to live here.

In fact, many Golden Core Cultivators lived in the Lower City year-round.

Some of the Spiritual Veins in the Lower City were perfectly sufficient for their Cultivation, and there were also various Tier Three Materials available.

As for the Upper City—the true Central Immortal City—one could only imagine how much more prosperous and rich in Spiritual Qi it was.

Furthermore, entering either the Lower City or the Upper City required paying a hefty sum of Spirit Stones, with the fee for the Upper City being even higher.

Therefore, it was nearly impossible to freeload off the Spiritual Qi.

However, Nascent Soul Cultivators could enter the Lower City for free, while only Cultivators from the Desert Divine Palace had the privilege of free entry into the Upper City.

Otherwise, even those at Nascent Soul Peak had to obediently pay the fee.

At this moment, Zhang Chi first sent a message to the Qin Family Siblings, then entered the Lower City to wander around.

He soon discovered that some shops here actually sold Dust Condensing Pills and various Pill Formation Spiritual Objects directly.

Other items, such as various Tier Three Materials, Spirit Talismans, and Magical Treasures of Middle Grade or lower, were also sold here.

Apparently, as long as a Cultivator had enough Spirit Stones, they could rent a Tier Three Spirit Vein Cave Mansion here and cultivate all the way to Golden Core Peak.

Of course, the amount of Spirit Stones required for this would certainly be enormous.

Moreover, the travel expenses just to get here were an amount that many Nascent Soul Cultivators from smaller regions might not be able to gather in their entire lifetime.

Thus, Cultivators from outside the Central Continent basically had no chance of coming here.

In fact, it was extremely difficult for even most Cultivators from the Central Continent to reach this place.

After all, the Central Continent was simply too vast.

It was even said that either the Upper or Lower City of the Central Immortal City was comparable in size to a small Oasis, making them true behemoths.

"Third Brother, you’re finally here! This is great! We thought you were going to stand us up!"

"Yeah, we’ve been waiting for you for many years. Come on, there’s nothing special to see here. Let’s take you on a tour of the Upper City."

Half a day later, Zhang Chi met with the Qin Family Siblings.

The two of them didn’t look much different from years ago, but their Cultivation had grown much stronger.

Not only was Qin Yushan now at Nascent Soul Peak, but even Qin Yuyan had reached Nascent Soul Late Stage.

However, both of them were quite a bit older than Zhang Chi to begin with, and they were both prodigies of the Desert Divine Palace.

This was especially true for Qin Yushan, who had formed a legendary Eight Patterns Golden Core back in the day.

And after he broke through to Nascent Soul Peak, it clearly wasn’t difficult for him to help his younger sister advance.

But even though both had broken through, their attitude toward Zhang Chi hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Now that the three were reunited, they inevitably exchanged pleasantries and greetings, with Zhang Chi congratulating them on their breakthroughs.

"Third Brother, you broke through? That’s wonderful!"

"Haha, just got lucky."

Seeing that Zhang Chi’s Cultivation was also a world apart from what it used to be, the two of them were equally happy for him.

Then, the two of them led Zhang Chi and flew up into the Upper City.

With them leading the way, Zhang Chi passed directly through the white Array Light Curtain that enveloped the Immortal City, completely bypassing the need to go through the city gates, let alone wait in line and pay Spirit Stones like other visiting Cultivators.

Upon entering the Upper City and looking around, Zhang Chi immediately sensed that it was indeed far superior to the Lower City.

The Spiritual Qi here was noticeably richer, and there wasn’t a single weakling among the Cultivators coming and going.

The various materials sold in the shops here were clearly of a higher grade and more precious.

Many Tier Four Low Grade materials were even sold directly.

Furthermore, as long as one had enough Spirit Stones, they could directly rent a Cave Mansion with a Tier Four Low Grade or even a Middle Grade Spiritual Vein.

Of course, for an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator, even if they didn’t rent a Cave Mansion and just found a random spot to sleep on the street, the effects of their Cultivation would still be excellent.

However, under normal circumstances, one had to pay a fee of Spirit Stones for every day they stayed here.

So even freeloading off the Spiritual Qi came at a high cost.

At that moment, the three happened to come across a shop holding an auction, so the Qin Family Siblings took Zhang Chi inside to see it.

After witnessing it, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but marvel once again at how different the Central Immortal City was.

Nascent Soul Materials actually appeared at the auction. Although the price was exorbitant, it was completely unlike other places where there was simply no way to obtain them.

The trade fair that followed was even more so.

After that, the two took Zhang Chi to the City Lord’s Mansion to register.

This was done specifically to participate in the Desert Divine Palace’s Demon Abyss trial.

Once he passed the trial and became a Core Disciple, he could live directly on the mountain peak in the center of the Immortal City.

The Spiritual Qi there was the most abundant, and there was no need to spend a large amount of Spirit Stones on rent.

After all, although Zhang Chi was currently well-off, his Cultivation consumed a huge amount of resources, and he also had the Eye of the Spirit Spring waiting to be upgraded.

If he had extra Spirit Stones and precious materials, he could also upgrade his Corpse Puppet and Spirit Beast.

The registration went very smoothly. First, the Cultivation Zhang Chi revealed was already at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and the age he reported wasn’t very high.

Second, he had the help of the Qin Family Siblings.

Then there were the Merit Points. Qin Yushan paid them for him directly, and in return, Zhang Chi gave Qin Yushan some Demon Beast Materials and other resources.

This was equivalent to a trade.

After all, for any person, the more Merit Points, the better. Even with their sworn relationship, Zhang Chi couldn’t possibly let the other party pay the Merit Points for free.

The fact that Qin Yushan was willing to trade with him was already a huge help.

Other Cultivators would have to pay at least double the price to obtain that many Merit Points on their own.

Without Qin Yushan’s recommendation, outside Cultivators wouldn’t even have been qualified to register directly.

Besides Zhang Chi, Qin Yuyan also registered for this assessment.

Zhang Chi’s main goal was to take this opportunity to return to the Demon Abyss, while Qin Yuyan’s objective was the same as her brother’s had been: to become a disciple of one of the three Palace Masters.

After registering, Zhang Chi learned that many Nascent Soul Cultivators would be participating in this assessment. They were all prodigies from the major Immortal Cultivation Influences of the Central Continent, and some, like Qin Yuyan, were already Cultivators of the Desert Divine Palace themselves.

By the time Zhang Chi registered, the total number of registered Cultivators had already reached several hundred thousand.

These Cultivators were at least at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

This was because they hailed from the Central Continent, so the Cultivation threshold for registration was relatively low.

If an outsider was qualified to register, they needed to have at least a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivation.

Of course, among the registrants, those with a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivation were much rarer than those in the Early Stage—only about one in a hundred.

As for the Nascent Soul Late Stage, there were some, but they were even rarer, averaging only one in every ten thousand registered Cultivators.

As for Nascent Soul Peak, there were none at all.

For one, those at Nascent Soul Peak who wanted to join the Desert Divine Palace would have done so long ago and would already hold some status.

For another, this assessment didn’t just require high Cultivation; it also stipulated that candidates could not be too old. They had to be prodigies with potential.

The vast majority of those at Nascent Soul Peak were already approaching the end of their lifespans and could naturally not be called prodigies.

In the following days, Qin Yushan arranged for Zhang Chi to stay in his own Cave Mansion to wait for the start of the Demon Abyss trial.

’This Cave Mansion is really something else!’

Qin Yushan’s Cave Mansion was located on the central mountain peak of the Immortal City, very close to the summit and the true Desert Divine Palace that sat atop it.

Not only was the surrounding environment excellent, but one could also see the Nine Heavens Gang Wind in the distance.

More importantly, the Spiritual Qi was extremely abundant, and the Cave Mansion was large enough.

Qin Yuyan usually lived here.

And this wasn’t considered a violation of the Desert Divine Palace’s rules.

After all, the Cave Mansion belonged to Qin Yushan, and he could arrange it as he pleased.

However, taking in other Cultivators would somewhat affect his own Cultivation speed.

As his biological sister, Qin Yuyan had relied on him for survival, and they had supported each other to this day, which was why she received such treatment.

This was also one of the reasons why Qin Yuyan’s Cultivation had progressed so quickly.

If Zhang Chi hadn’t saved Qin Yuyan and thus become their sworn brother, he certainly wouldn’t have had the chance to stay here.

Even so, this living arrangement was only temporary, for a few years.

But Zhang Chi was already quite satisfied with this.

In the following days, Zhang Chi waited while entering Cultivation in Seclusion.

At the same time, he often chatted with the Qin Family Siblings, and from them, he learned a lot about the reclamation efforts.

Decades ago, the Desert Divine Palace began a reclamation campaign, and it was still in full swing.

The Qin Family Siblings had both participated in it before, only returning to the Central Immortal City because the Demon Abyss trial was approaching.

According to the Qin Family Siblings’ speculation, this reclamation would likely continue for several hundred years.

The reclamation campaign was full of both opportunity and danger. Countless prodigies rose to prominence in this great tide, but even more Cultivators were severely injured or even perished as a result.

Besides this, Zhang Chi would occasionally wander around the city to trade for some Cultivation Materials.

He gradually sold off, in batches, some of the items that had been inconvenient for him to dispose of before.

At the same time, he also collected many of the materials he needed.

However, his Cultivation had skyrocketed, and the materials he needed were all Tier Four Upper Grade, which were precious resources even in the Central Immortal City.

Many items only appeared occasionally at the auctions of major shops.

For example, he obtained some Tier Four Upper Grade Spirit Wood and successfully refined a Three-headed Puppet.

It was humanoid, a form he was accustomed to refining, and was equipped with a sword, a shield, and a bow, making it capable of both ranged and close-quarters combat.

Additionally, he managed to buy some Star Divine Iron. Although it wasn’t much, it was still a pleasant surprise.

Then there were the Tier Four Upper Grade Alchemy Materials.

In other places, these were controlled resources of the major Immortal Cultivation Influences, which were very difficult for ordinary Cultivators to collect.

Even here, the amount Zhang Chi purchased was only barely enough to sustain his Cultivation for a short period.

This was only possible because his own Alchemy skill had long since reached Tier Four Upper Grade, and also because he had obtained a good number of corresponding-level Elixirs from killing that Nascent Soul Late Stage Cloaked Cultivator.

’Looks like I really do have to join the Desert Divine Palace, or I won’t even have enough Elixirs to consume. I’ll also have to reveal my skill in Alchemy to obtain more materials.’

If he joined the Desert Divine Palace and became a Core Disciple, purchasing various Tier Four Upper Grade materials would be much cheaper, and the supply would be more plentiful.

They even distributed Elixirs.

This was undoubtedly one of the important reasons he chose to come and participate in the trial.

After all, since he wasn’t afraid of Pill Poison, his demand for Elixirs was especially high.

"Third Brother, quick, the trial is about to begin! Come with us!" Just then, Qin Yushan’s voice suddenly rang out from outside.