Born with immortal seed

Chapter 495 The House of Ten Thousand Scrolls

Orioles sing among the trees in the garden, a feast of jade; swallows frolic among the flowers on the altar, the sound of zither music filling the air.

While Honghu Immortal City is not as grand and magnificent as Zengguang Immortal City, its palaces and buildings are still more luxurious and exquisite.

Countless cultivators shuttled in and out, like a long dragon stretching for miles when viewed from high above.

"A single immortal city radiates throughout the entire region, and countless riches flow into the Five Phoenix Sword Sect through it... In addition, this sect follows an elite route, with only one-third the number of disciples compared to other sects of the same level, resulting in even more resources for each disciple."

Bai Zichen gazed at the entire Honghu Immortal City, sighing inwardly, wondering when Qingfeng Sect's market would ever reach this level.

Even if unique products were developed, making the cultivation world stand out, it would still be impossible to form such a scale.

"Unless I achieve the Nascent Soul stage, become immune to the backlash of spiritual energy and the loss of lifespan, and can manifest my divine power before people at any time, I will have no chance to allow the sect's market to transcend the accumulation of time and surpass the immortal city foundation of super sects that has existed for thousands or tens of thousands of years within a few hundred years."

The outer city of Honghu Immortal City has no restrictions, and any guarding cultivators can come and go freely, demonstrating the grandeur of a super sect.

They were confident enough that the name of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect was enough to deter petty villains.

Of course, Bai Zichen believed that if necessary, Honghu Immortal City could activate the great formation at any time to subdue the invading cultivators.

In particular, a True Lord is always stationed in the inner city of Honghu Immortal City to handle emergencies.

Bai Zichen lowered his sword and found a local guide to lead the way. They rode in a flying shuttle and used flying birds for transportation, and it took them a long time to reach the inner city.

If he disregarded the rules of Honghu Immortal City and flew directly through the city on his sword, he could save a lot of trouble.

However, that would be a blatant slap in the face to the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, inevitably leading to conflict.

I just had a very pleasant conversation with Meng Dongye, and there may be opportunities for cooperation in the future, so there's no need to strain the relationship.

“Senior, one must be at least at the Core Formation stage to submit an application for the inner city, and must pass the Sword Sect’s rigorous tests to enter… I can only go this far. If I take another step forward, I will violate the Immortal City’s prohibition and be expelled from the Immortal City, never to enter again.”

The young guide looked quite young, but he had a timid expression, a hunched back, and gray hair.

"You may leave now."

Bai Zichen lost two mid-grade spirit stones, which served not only as a tip for guiding the way but also as the cost of a ride back on a flying spirit beast.

"This senior seems to be visiting the Immortal City for the first time. Do you have any recommendation letter or token? If not, please go to the elegant pavilion to register your information and obtain an Immortal City VIP pass."

At the entrance to the inner city, eight disciples of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, dressed in brocade robes and holding long swords, stood.

The leader was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, so it was impossible to tell his cultivation level. He was respectful but showed no fear or obsequiousness.

As a true disciple of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, Geng Shaobai usually taught Core Formation Realm cultivators within the sect, and even Nascent Soul Realm Lords had been summoned to his presence several times.

With his aptitude, he still has a certain chance of being accepted into the fold of a Nascent Soul True Monarch after he forms his Core. Naturally, he won't panic like an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator when he sees a high-level cultivator.

"Is this item acceptable?"

Bai Zichen held the jade sword-spoon between two fingers and shook it, then said.

"Please wait a moment, senior."

Geng Shaobai's expression turned serious. He took out a bronze mirror from his waist and looked it at the jade sword key. A magnificent phoenix flew out and landed on the plaque at the entrance of the inner city.

"A Celestial Phoenix-level guest! Senior, please come this way. I was unaware of your presence and have been impolite... Is your trip to the Immortal City to visit friends or to make a purchase? I will arrange everything for you."

The Celestial Phoenix level guest slots were limited to only a few dozen by the Honghu Immortal City, and only the six Nascent Soul patriarchs of the sects were qualified.

Each distinguished guest is either a Nascent Soul True Monarch or a prodigy who can be considered a master in a certain field.

"I need to purchase top-tier cultivation techniques and formations. Where in the city is the most suitable place?"

"For cultivation techniques, there's the Myriad Scrolls House; for formations, there are the Heavenly Phoenix Pavilion of our sect and the Zhou Tian Sect... As the highest-ranking VIP in the Immortal City, you automatically receive the top-level treatment no matter which shop you visit."

Without hesitation, Geng Shaobai gave his answer.

He has been stationed in the Immortal City for ten years, accumulating merits to exchange for Core Formation spiritual items. In his spare time, he often wanders through each shop, comparing the price fluctuations of Core Formation spiritual items.

He knows every shop in the Immortal City like the back of his hand.

Wanjuanwu is a very unique shop. The owner is Qixuan Shangren, a well-known rogue cultivator in Dali, with a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation level. He has a past relationship with Ma You Dazhenjun.

His own lineage originated from a magical grotto, and he inherited a total of 388 volumes, including cultivation techniques, various arts of immortality, astrology and divination, covering a wide range of subjects.

After achieving the Nascent Soul stage, Master Qixuan had hundreds of disciples, each of whom received a different inheritance.

Only those who achieved something were listed as his personal disciples.

He never sought to glorify his lineage or expand his family's prestige; his greatest interest was collecting all kinds of ancient books from around the world, especially rare and secret editions.

Later, because he had collected too many cultivation techniques, he simply opened a Ten Thousand Scrolls House in Honghu Immortal City.

They claim to possess ten thousand volumes of books and welcome cultivators from all over the world to exchange their own books.

Other cultivators also copied cultivation techniques and various inheritances, as long as they paid spirit stones.

However, when ordinary cultivators come to the door, they can at most choose cultivation techniques that can be cultivated to the peak of Core Formation and third-level skill inheritance.

However, a VIP of the Heavenly Phoenix level should be able to get the master cultivator in charge of the Myriad Scrolls House to bring out his most treasured techniques. It's just a matter of whether that will satisfy the VIP in front of us.

"A few years ago, our sect took in a disciple with a water-type celestial spiritual root, but he had a pure yang body. Originally, we were going to train him to be a holy son, but his spiritual root and spiritual body clashed. When he refined a wisp of water-type spiritual energy, the vigorous pure yang energy in his body would rise up. The two collided, and his cultivation speed was even slower than that of a disciple with three spiritual roots."

Geng Shaobai cited a real-world example of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect to strengthen his persuasiveness.

"The sect elders tried countless methods, but none could solve the problem. In the end, it was Elder Yang who couldn't bear to see such a talented person die young, so he brought her to the Myriad Scrolls House. He asked Master Qi Xuan to match her with a complete set of cultivation techniques. When she practiced the two techniques at the same time, she achieved a miraculous harmony and recovered to the cultivation speed that a Heavenly Spiritual Root should have. It seems that that junior sister had already established her foundation last year, and she even made a special trip to the Myriad Scrolls House to choose a new cultivation technique for the foundation-establishment stage."

"Zhou Tian Sect is famous for its array formations. If you were to ask which sect in the cultivation world has the most fourth-tier array formation masters, it would be the top choice. Perhaps the Morality Sect could be compared, since they have the most True Monarchs in the world and they also value the Dao of array formations, so their number of fourth-tier array formation masters should not be small either."

"As for the Heavenly Phoenix Pavilion, in addition to the various array formations collected by our sect, there are two array diagrams drawn in the Great Virtue Phoenix Script, which possess incredible supernatural powers. Even the Supreme Elder of the Zhou Tian Sect has visited us many times, just to ask to see the Great Virtue Phoenix Script array diagrams in the hope of gaining something."

Bai Zichen recognized the two shops as Wanjuanwu and Zhou Tianzong.

The Heavenly Phoenix Pavilion was merely something this disciple of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect added to save face for his sect.

The most praiseworthy point is the two battle formation diagrams drawn in the Great Virtue Phoenix Seal script.

The Great Virtue Phoenix Script, which is on par with the Great Mighty Dragon Script, is indeed a divine script of the demon race and possesses incredible supernatural powers. It is possible to comprehend extremely powerful formations from it.

But what Bai Zichen wanted was a fourth-order formation that could be plugged in and used immediately, instantly boosting the Qingfeng Sect's defensive capabilities by a level.

Even the Supreme Elder of Zhou Tianzong couldn't fully understand the Great Virtue Phoenix Seal, so giving it to him wouldn't be of much use.

Besides, the Heavenly Phoenix Pavilion wouldn't agree to sell those two array diagrams; at most, they would just visit and learn from them.

After exchanging a few words with his fellow disciples, Geng Shaobai transformed into a guide, leading Bai Zichen through the inner city until they arrived at a semi-circular building.

A giant ancient book looms over the building. Inside, rows of bookshelves are filled with ancient books and scrolls.

After some negotiation by Geng Shaobai, who introduced Bai Zichen's distinguished identity, a beautiful woman with a lingering charm appeared, walking gracefully like a ripe peach.

"I was unaware of the presence of the True Lord and did not come out to greet you. I hope you will forgive me. I am Pei Lan'er, and I am here to guard the Ten Thousand Scrolls House at the behest of my master."

Pei Lan'er bowed gracefully to greet him, her slender figure revealing exaggerated curves.

She was a Core Formation cultivator, and upon first glance, she sensed the fluctuations of a Nascent Soul cultivator, knowing that the newcomer was a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Among Master Qixuan's disciples, Pei Lan'er was a marginal figure who was not highly regarded.

He first tried divination, but failed; then he studied alchemy, but gained nothing; finally, he could only choose the most obscure method of physiognomy, and at least made some progress.

By observing a person's facial features, one can predict their fortune and future prospects.

Although it is far from being a divine calculation, and is only vaguely understood and extremely rare, it still has some value.

He was given a spiritual item for forming a Golden Core, and after successfully forming his Golden Core, he was assigned to the Myriad Scrolls House in Honghu Immortal City.

"Get up and speak... You sell the highest-level cultivation techniques here, so bring them to me, with fire-type techniques given priority."

Bai Zichen cleared his throat and got straight to the point.

"Yes, I will fetch it right away."

Pei Lan'er mustered her courage and glanced at the Nascent Soul True Monarch in front of her, already using the method of physiognomy to calculate.

"With the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, with skin as white as jade and bones as celestial, how could such an incomparably noble face exist in this world... Even my master's face is far inferior to this person's!"

Her heart trembled violently. The art of physiognomy has never yielded clear answers; it relies more on guesswork and deduction.

This places extremely high demands on the skills of every fortune teller.

But Pei Lan'er had never seen such a face before; she had only seen similar descriptions in ancient books.

Her slender, white fingers moved rapidly, calculating repeatedly, when suddenly her eyes rolled back and she almost fainted.

'How is this possible? Judging from this person's face, their future achievements are shrouded in mystery... Once one has mastered physiognomy, even if there are cultivators who cannot see through them, their future will only be completely obscured by a misty haze, not vanished like this!'

In front of Master Qi Xuan, Pei Lan'er actually concealed part of her physiognomy skills, saying that the Nascent Soul True Monarch was protected by the Great Dao and could not be clearly seen at all.

In fact, with her keen eye, she has already successfully identified a large number of Nascent Soul cultivators.

The last one to fail was Han Chaoxuan, a newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator from the Five Phoenix Sword Sect. His future was shrouded in white mist, with only the sound of swords echoing.

But no matter how miraculous it may be, it shouldn't mean there's no future at all, and nothing can be seen.

(End of this chapter)