Primordial Era: I, Hongyun, take charge of the literary path

The two chatted for a while longer, and Hongyun matched Qingxuanzi's words with the information the native knew, gaining a deeper understanding of the situation at Yanyang Lake.

Tianbao City is the largest independent cultivator city in the northwest region of Yanyang Lake. The city lord is a Golden Immortal-level independent cultivator with perfect Golden Immortal cultivation, known as "Old Man Tianbao".

It is said that this old man Tianbao not only has high cultivation, but also has the shadow of a powerful force behind him, which is why he was able to gain a foothold in the chaotic land of Yanyang Lake.

Besides Tianbao City, there are nearly a thousand cities of varying sizes in Yanyang Lake. Some of these cities belong to the four races of the Great Sun Moth, the Flame Crow, the Nine-Headed Golden Serpent, and the Flame Griffin in the Polar Day, while others are independent and self-governed by independent cultivators.

Qing Xuanzi suggested, "The spirit-gathering array in Tianbao City is quite effective and greatly beneficial to cultivation."

"Fellow Daoist, if you intend to stay in Yanyang Lake for an extended period, it would be best to purchase a yearly pass from Tianbao City."

"Without an annual pass, you can only stay in Tianbao City for a maximum of seven days, otherwise you will be expelled."

"The annual tokens are very cheap. You can buy a one-year token for three Yang stones, a ten-year token for twenty stones, and a hundred-year token for one hundred and fifty stones."

"The longer the term you buy, the cheaper the price."

Hongyun nodded and thanked her, saying, "Thank you for the reminder."

Afterwards, the two drank a few more cups, and Qing Xuanzi took his leave. Hongyun watched Qing Xuanzi leave, pondering his next plan.

He wanted to obtain the Sunlight Divine Water, but now was not the time. He needed to first understand the details of the Flaming Lake before making any plans, and also find out about Qing Xuanzi's identity.

Yanyang Lake was more chaotic than Hongyun had imagined.

If someone whose identity is unknown shows him kindness, there must be an ulterior motive. No one is kind without a reason. Qing Xuanzi must have seen through his cultivation level.

Thinking of this, Hongyun frowned slightly. He realized he needed to further refine his technique for concealing his aura.

The method Hongyun is currently practicing to conceal his aura is the "Sun-Concealing" technique, one of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Divine Powers.

"Covering the Sun": This is a technique to conceal the secrets of heaven.

If one cultivates the Sun-Concealing Divine Power to its highest level, theoretically even a Taiyi Golden Immortal would not be able to see through Hongyun's cultivation.

However, Hongyun only grasped the basics, so the effect of concealing the sun was not as good as expected; otherwise, Qingxuanzi would not have been able to see through Hongyun's disguise.

Early the next morning, Hongyun left the inn and headed to Tianbao Pavilion, the most famous shop in Tianbao City.

Tianbao Pavilion is the property of the city lord of Tianbao City. It is known as "If you can think of it, you can buy it". The slogan is loud and clear, but whether it is true or not is unknown.

Tianbao Pavilion is a three-story building with carved beams and painted rafters. Two lifelike stone lions stand in front of the gate, and there are faint fluctuations of array formations. Hongyun glanced over and saw that there were at least 3927 array formations protecting it on the surface alone.

As soon as Hongyun stepped through the gate, a beautiful female cultivator with the cultivation level of a Celestial Immortal came to greet him.

"Senior, welcome to Tianbao Pavilion."

"What do you need? Pills, magic weapons, cultivation techniques, spiritual materials—our Tianbao Pavilion has it all."

"I'll just take a look around first."

Hongyun glanced at the female cultivator and said casually.

The female cultivator didn't pester her, obediently stepping aside, but her eyes remained fixed on Hongyun, ready to step forward to serve her or report any unusual activity.

After browsing around the first floor of Tianbao Pavilion, Hongyun found that most of the items were ordinary goods, useful to Celestial Immortals and Profound Immortals, but useless to Golden Immortals.

"Are there any items used by Golden Immortals on the second floor?"

Hongyun beckoned to the female cultivator and asked.

"Yes, senior."

The female cultivator's eyes lit up. "The second floor is the premium section; you need to pay ten Flame Sun Stones to enter."

Hongyun casually tossed out ten Flame Sun Stones.

The female cultivator took the Flaming Sun Stone, then took out a jade token and handed it to Hongyun, saying, "Senior, this is the access token for the second floor. Please keep it safe."

Hongyun took the token, which had the three large, shimmering characters "Tianbaoge" on it, and went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor is much more elegantly decorated than the first floor.

The number of items on display has decreased significantly, but each piece possesses a subtle, understated brilliance, clearly indicating that it is no ordinary item.

A middle-aged man came forward. Hongyun glanced at him; he was a Xuanxian cultivator with a calm demeanor.

The middle-aged man spoke up, "I am Zhang Yuan, the manager of the second floor of Tianbao Pavilion. Greetings, senior. What do you need? I can help you."

Do you have any Golden Immortal-level cultivation techniques here?

Hongyun's gaze swept over the display shelves on the second floor.

Zhang Yuan looked troubled and continued, "Senior, Golden Immortal level cultivation techniques are extremely rare. Our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion only has three cultivation methods, and they are all incomplete."

"A fragment?" Hongyun asked, frowning.

Zhang Yuan explained, "Yes, senior. Complete Golden Immortal-level cultivation techniques are usually the clan's secret techniques and are generally not leaked out."

"If a rogue cultivator wants to obtain a complete cultivation technique, he must either join a major clan or become an apprentice of a powerful master."

Hongyun nodded slightly. In this era where clans were the standard of conduct, the inheritance of cultivation techniques was monopolized by large clans.

"What about the elixirs? Do you have the Seven-Turn Golden Elixir?"

"Seven-stage Golden Elixir..."

Zhang Yuan smiled wryly and said, "Senior is joking. The Seven-Turn Golden Elixir can enable a Celestial Immortal to become a Golden Immortal."

"Such a heaven-defying divine pill, not only does our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion not have it, but even the four clans might not be able to produce it."

Upon hearing this, Hongyun's heart stirred. It seemed that the Seven-Turn Golden Pill he had refined was a rare commodity in Yanyang Lake.

"What's the best elixir you have here?"

"It is a Six-Turn Golden Elixir, a Breakthrough Pill, which can slightly help a Profound Immortal break through to the Golden Immortal realm."

As he spoke, Zhang Yuan took out a jade bottle. "A bottle contains three pills, priced at ten thousand Flame Sun Stones."

Hongyun shook her head and said, "It's too expensive."

Defeating water beasts below the Golden Immortal level may yield Flame Sun Stones; the higher the cultivation level, the higher the quality.

However, the drop rate is not high. An ordinary person might not get a single Flame Sun Stone even after killing ten water beasts, so the purchasing power of Flame Sun Stones is very high.

Ten thousand Flame Sun Stones are an astronomical price for any rogue cultivator, requiring tens of thousands of years of fighting to amass them.

"Senior, you may not know this, but the formula for this Breakthrough Pill has been lost. Our Tianbao Pavilion obtained it from an ancient relic. Every one we sell is one less available."

Zhang Yuan explained to Hongyun in a tactful way.

Upon hearing Zhang Yuan's words, Hong Yun was surprised. He could write down the formula for the Six-Turn Golden Elixir with ease, but there was no need to reveal it, since it was extremely expensive due to the layers of restrictions imposed by the upper-class clans.

"Do you have any Golden Immortal-grade Blazing Sun Mystic Stones?"

Zhang Yuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Senior is quite lucky. It's also a coincidence that our Tianbao Pavilion happens to have a Golden Immortal-level Flaming Sun Profound Stone, which was consigned by a Taiyi Golden Immortal senior three months ago."

As he spoke, Zhang Yuan took out a jade box from under the counter on the second floor and then carefully opened it.

Inside the jade box lay a fist-sized mysterious stone, deep golden in color, with liquid flowing inside, radiating a rich blazing sun power and solar law fluctuations.

Hongyun's primordial spirit probed into the stone, sensing its quality. He frowned and said, "This stone is of poor quality. It must be from a water beast that just broke through to the Golden Immortal level. There are too many impurities inside, making it time-consuming and laborious to refine."

Zhang Yuan was startled. This senior had a good eye. This mysterious stone did indeed have many impurities, which was why that Taiyi Golden Immortal did not use it but instead put it on consignment.