Enduring humiliation for three years, seizing the elixir, the treasure, and the holy maiden.

The sea breeze surged, and a towering wave blotted out the sky.

"Boom!"

The giant wave crashed directly onto the protective array of Tian Shu Star City.

In the air, dozens more cultivators' shields flew towards the sea.

Naturally, this was to prepare for battle against the demons from the outer seas.

The cultivators within Tian Shu Star City, however, seemed to have long since become numb to all of this.

No one paid attention to the muffled thud.

After all, this has already happened twelve times this month alone.

This has always been the case here, and this formation has never been broken in the past thousand years.

The shouts and commotion within the city continued...

"Hey, how can you be so rude, young man?"

"I obtained this spirit-gathering formation from the master of the Spirit Refining Pavilion!"

"Selling it to you for 30,000 spirit stones is already a very good deal."

At that moment, a vendor by the roadside was tugging at Wang Mang's sleeve.

"laugh!"

Wang Mang scoffed.

I've been in Tian Shu Star City for quite some time now.

These merchants from within the city love to swindle visiting cultivators.

If the Pavilion Master of the Spirit Refining Pavilion knew you, would you still need to set up a stall here?

"500 spirit stones!"

"I'm not selling, I'm leaving!"

Wang Mang turned and left at that moment.

"No, no, no, bro..."

"Fine, fine, five hundred it is!"

"Just consider it as making friends."

Wang Mang frowned, feeling that judging from the merchant's face, he had probably given him too much, even if it was 500.

I've spent most of my savings just to barely rent a cave dwelling in this city for two hundred years.

If I were to use a spirit-gathering array to gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, I fear my cultivation would soon reach the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

But now that I think about it, Su Chen has probably already started his attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

She did have some regrets. If she had gone back to Luoyan City with Su Chen back then, she wouldn't be in such a sorry state now.

...

A whiff of wine...

"Brother Wang lives alone; it must be lonely."

"Brother, I just came to catch up with you!"

Chi Ling, carrying a pot of spirit wine and some spirit food to accompany it, called out to Su Chen's door.

Speaking of which, Su Chen's place of residence was naturally the most elegant restaurant in the entire Tian Shu Star City.

This place is frequented by the wealthy and powerful.

Chiling was eager to latch onto Su Chen's coattails, and didn't bother hunting any monsters today.

He put the wine on the stone table and then found a stone stool to sit down.

Su Chen did not refuse.

The two drank several cups of wine together.

The spirit wine had a slightly spicy taste as it went down my throat.

"Fellow Daoist Chiling has been in this city for a long time. I have a question I would like to ask you."

"Just what is the background of this Star Luo lineage?"

Su Chen toyed with the wine cup in his hand and asked a question seemingly unintentionally.

After all, the purpose of this trip was to find Xingluo.

Su Chen wandered around for a bit, but still had no clue what to do.

Although Xingluo has its own merchant guild, it deals in things like magical artifacts and elixirs.

However, those low-level Star Luo cultivators knew nothing about the whereabouts of the important figures at the top.

Many people even joined Xingluo's business guild simply because of Xingluo's reputation, and ended up managing Xingluo's business for them.

As soon as Su Chen said this...

Chi Ling's hand, which was holding the wine cup, froze in mid-air.

After a long while, he slowly put it down.

"Brother Wang."

"Don't use the words 'Starry Sky' so easily in the future."

Chi Ling looked around and lowered his voice.

Why?

Su Chen raised an eyebrow.

"For no reason."

Let me put it this way.

"I, Chiling, have been in this Tian Shu Star City for at least two hundred years."

"I haven't even seen a single one of the true inner cultivators of Xingluo."

"Their lineage has been living in seclusion in this city for who knows how many years."

He lived a secluded life and never interacted with outsiders.

"Ordinary rogue cultivators, let alone meeting anyone."

"Even if I wanted to ask a question, I wouldn't know where to begin."

Chiling shook his head with a wry smile.

"That..."

"Is there really no place in this vast Tian Shu Star City that can connect with this Xing Luo?"

Su Chen put down his wine cup and asked another question.

Chiling was stunned.

They seemed not to have expected Su Chen to ask such probing questions.

"If you ask, there is one place."

"Wanxiang Guixu Auction House"

"In the whole city, only that place."

"It allows us to do business with the Starry Sky Dao Sect."

"It also allows me to connect with those legendary figures in Xingluo."

"Even if it's something from the demon race, there will still be someone to accept it."

"It's not for any other reason than that people from Xingluo and Xingkong Daoji Sect want to buy or sell some things."

"And it cannot be separated from this return of all things to nothingness..."

After a few sips of the spirit wine, Chiling felt a slight buzz.

After going around in circles for ages.

It turns out we ended up back at the auction house.

Whether it's treasure hunting or finding someone.

I had no choice but to attend the auction three days later.

Su Chen picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and had already made up his mind.

But it is Chiling.

The more I looked at this Brother Wang, the more I felt something was off.

A rogue cultivator inquired about Xingluo.

They asked the question so matter-of-factly, without the slightest hint of fear.

For ordinary rogue cultivators, using Xingluo as a topic of conversation is one thing.

But there are really not many people who dare to search for Xingluo's whereabouts like this.

If we're really being targeted...

The consequences would naturally seem unimaginable!

...

There were more people in the market than Su Chen had imagined.

A long street lined with stalls and vendors selling their wares.

There are vendors selling talismans and elixirs.

Some were squatting on the ground, with a few spirit stones in front of them, eagerly waiting for a buyer.

"You son of a bitch, is this how you do business?"

"We are not responsible for any issues arising after the guest leaves the premises; that's our rule."

"You're asking for it!"

"No, no, no, both of you should compromise..."

"..."

A Foundation Establishment cultivator argued heatedly with the stall owner over a few spirit stones.

Su Chen walked through the crowd.

The bluestone slabs underfoot were worn smooth by countless footsteps, indicating they had been there for quite some time.

This is how life is for independent cultivators.

They risked their lives for that sliver of opportunity.

They haggle over a few spirit stones.

Su Chen had seen so much that he didn't feel anything special.

He came here to seek materials to help him break through to the Divine Transformation stage.

After wandering around most of the street, I finally found something in a shop at the end of the street.

The shop wasn't big.

An old monk with a white beard was dozing off behind the counter.

Su Chen's gaze fell on a jade box in the corner of the counter.

Inside the box was a small piece of ore that gleamed with a faint light.

"Old man."

"How much is this Spirit-Returning Sand?"

Su Chen reached out and picked up the jade box.

This Spirit-Returning Sand has no other use.

However, it is a good ingredient for stabilizing the soul.

When a cultivator breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, their soul is subjected to the tribulation of heaven, which is extremely dangerous.

Having such material would make forging a magic weapon much more reliable.

The old monk opened one eye and gave a number.

Su Chen didn't haggle and was about to pay with spirit stones.

Suddenly, a group of people rushed into the shop.

The young cultivator at the head of the group wore a long robe embroidered with green mountains and clouds.

He was followed by seven or eight attendants, who surrounded him.

The procession looked more like a group of spoiled, arrogant cultivators from some sect going on a pilgrimage.

"Make way, everyone."

The young cultivator waved his hand, and his attendants pushed Su Chen aside.