Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

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Mysterious Intent Taoist was a Purple Mansion cultivator, and also the years-long leader of the horse bandits.

When Wang Chen got his hands on the Sumeru Ring, he had a premonition he would strike it rich.

And indeed, he got an even bigger surprise!

First were the Spirit Stones, white and shiny, so numerous they almost blinded his gold-spending eyes.

Through divine sense inspection, he counted exactly thirteen thousand five hundred and seven Middle Spirit Stones.

Awesome!

Wang Chen couldn't help but give a thumbs-up to Mysterious Intent the local tycoon.

Your journey continues at empire

What did thirteen thousand five hundred and seven Middle Spirit Stones signify?

According to the current market rate, they could be exchanged for one million six hundred thousand Low Spirit Stones!

Enough to pile up into a mountain of Spirit Stones.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But that wasn't all.

Next to the more than ten thousand Middle Spirit Stones, there were also thirty-nine lustrous, white jade-like Spirit Stones, brimming with spiritual character.

Their spiritual energy was considerably denser than that of Middle Spirit Stones.

Superior Spirit Stones!

Mysterious Intent Taoist actually had Supreme Spirit Stones hidden away, which was a huge surprise for Wang Chen.

Spirit Stones were the universal currency in the world of immortal cultivation, divided into Low Spirit, Middle Spirit, Upper Spirit, and Supreme Spirit.

But Supreme Spirit Stones were considered precious treasures of heaven and earth, far beyond the scope of normal circulation, making Upper Spirit the highest grade Spirit Stones one could normally see on the market.

In fact, Upper Spirit Stones were rare even for middle and lower-tier cultivators.

If one Middle Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one hundred and twenty Low Spirit Stones, then how many Middle Spirit Stones could one Upper Spirit Stone be exchanged for?

This actually touched upon Wang Chen's area of ignorance, because he never had Upper Spirit Stones before, so why would he concern himself with the exchange rate? He only knew that True People and True Immortals of high tiers often used Upper Spirit Stones for trading.

Wang Chen also knew that, in addition to their high currency value, Upper Spirit Stones were also the energy source for powering high-tier flying warships, arrays, and magic artifacts!

Without windfall profits, a man does not grow rich, and with so many Spirit Stones, Wang Chen immediately felt his wallet swell.

His courage grew three sizes!

From now on, he would have no problem tossing back bowl after bowl of Spiritual Wine.

But there were surprises beyond just Spirit Stones.

In Mysterious Intent Taoist's Sumeru Ring, there were also a large number of talismans and pills.

Of these, there were fifty-seven bottles of Purple Essence Pills specifically for Purple Mansion cultivation, amounting to five hundred and seventy pills!

At the same level as Purple Essence Pills were second-tier Spirit Pills like the Golden Marrow Pill, Union Qi Pill, Fasting Pill, Preserving Youth Pill, Nourishing Soul Pill...

They encompassed effects such as Nourishing Origin and Soul, Strengthening Spirit and Mind, Healing Wounds and Recovering Vitality, Preserving Beauty and Rejuvenation, and so on.

Most of the talismans were also second-tier Spirit Talismans.

These pills and talismans would support Wang Chen's cultivation and combat needs for a long time.

He also found a set of high-tier portable complex arrays, combining gathering of spiritual energy, defense, and concealment all in one!

Last were three Spiritual Artifacts!

They were the Purple Lightning Flying Boat, Soul Snatching Rope, and Five Dragons Flame Cover.

The Purple Lightning Flying Boat was a high-tier Spiritual Artifact, sleek in design with smooth lines, and faint purple electric light swirling around it, clearly an extraordinary mode of flying transport.

The Soul Snatching Rope, a Middle-tier Spiritual Artifact.

The Five Dragons Flame Cover was also a high-tier Spiritual Artifact.

This Spiritual Artifact had a unique design, similar to the ancient seismoscope from Wang Chen's previous life, with a Golden Bell covering where five dragons clung, its surface engraved with countless mysterious True Seal Talisman Scripts, heavy and substantial when held in the palm.

Wang Chen was especially interested in this Spiritual Artifact and began to try refining it.

As he expected, the Five Dragons Flame Cover had been refined by Mysterious Intent Taoist, but since the original owner was dead, the seals within were like water without a source or a tree without roots—it would only take some time to erase them, just like the Sumeru Ring.

It took Wang Chen less than two hours to completely wipe away the restrictions Mysterious Intent Taoist left behind.

When he infused his mana into the Spiritual Artifact again, a series of Heart Method mantras instantly reflected in his Sea of Consciousness.

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This is the exclusive ritual and mastery method for the Five Dragons Flame Cover!

Many high-tier Magic Artifacts have such methods sealed within them to facilitate their owners to quickly learn and use them.

Wang Chen roughly followed this method to refine the artifact once and had basically mastered the usage of the Five Dragons Flame Cover.

"Rise!"

He uttered in a low voice, suddenly tossing the Five Dragons Flame Cover upward.

The Five Dragons Flame Cover instantly expanded dozens of times, turning into a semi-transparent golden bell that enveloped Wang Chen, with five fiery dragons spiraling on its surface, spewing scorching flames.

The Five Dragons Flame Cover is not only a powerful defensive Spiritual Artifact but it can also counterattack autonomously, as long as it is not forcibly broken or the master's mana is not exhausted, it can operate continuously.

Wang Chen augmented it for half a two-hour period before he was satisfied enough to retract it.

This high-tier Spiritual Artifact, he planned to keep for his personal use.

In the past, Wang Chen had slain many Cultivators, including the Purple Mansion Superior, and the Magic Artifacts he obtained were mostly sold off.

Because these Magic Artifacts were either of low tier or unsuitable for his use, keeping them was pointless.

But the Five Dragons Flame Cover was different, firstly because its tier was high enough, suitable even for the peak of Purple Mansion level.

Secondly, it was extraordinarily compatible with Wang Chen, able to unleash its full potential in his hands.

With this Spiritual Artifact for body protection, Wang Chen's defense could be said to be exceedingly well-rounded.

As for the Purple Lightning Flying Boat and the Soul Snatching Rope, he also planned to keep them.

After all, he was not lacking in Spirit Stones now.

After checking the Spirit Stones, Magic Artifacts, Pills, and Talismans in the Sumeru Ring, Wang Chen began to organize the miscellaneous items.

Spirit Rice, Spiritual Wine, and other living supplies were all of quality suitable for someone at the Purple Mansion Superior's level, plentiful in quantity and not low in value.

These items, Wang Chen naturally accepted with a smile—his own daily necessities were not even this good!

In the end, at the very bottom of the Sumeru Ring, Wang Chen found a Jade Box.

Initially, Wang Chen thought that the box contained Cultivation Techniques on a Jade Slip, because he had seen similar items before, but when he opened it, he found that it was filled with letters.

Wang Chen casually took out one letter and unfolded it to read.

His expression immediately turned solemn!

After spending the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Wang Chen finished reading all the letters in the Jade Box.

He felt like what he held in his hands were not mere sheets of paper, but potentially explosive bombs!

After some thought, Wang Chen took off the Sumeru Ring from his ring finger and strung it together with the Creation Cauldron, keeping them hidden in front of his chest.

He then stood up and left the Cultivation Chamber.

It wasn't long before Zuo Xiaomo, who had received the Talisman Message, hurried over.

"Senior Brother Wang, did you advance in tier?"

Facing Zuo Xiaomo's eager greeting, Wang Chen said with a wry smile, "My mind was unsettled, so I failed to break through."

Zuo Xiaomo scratched his head, "Then..."

"It's alright."

Wang Chen waved his hand and said, "Let's first complete our task. How many people did you manage to recruit?"

This time it was Zuo Xiaomo's turn to smile wryly, "Not... not many."

Although they were under the banner of the West Sea Sect, the number of Loose Cultivators who had come to apply during this period was very large.

The problem was that the quality was also very poor.

With a spirit of preferring quality over quantity, Zuo Xiaomo, after careful selection, had only chosen a few Cultivators that were barely acceptable.

As a result, one ran away yesterday.

It was a tearful tale!

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The first installment is delivered.

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