Immortal of the Nine Realms

"Fang Da, what's your cultivation level?" Xia Ji asked Fang Chen on the way, unable to help himself. The world was a blur around them as they sped through the sky at an extremely high speed. Xia Ji was sure that even his master wasn’t this fast.

Fang Chen smiled. "Twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm."

"Twelfth stage of Qi Refining Realm…” murmured Xia Ji. “I thought you had already reached the Foundation Building Realm."

"Breaking through to the Foundation Building Realm requires Foundation Building Pills, which I currently don't have," explained Fang Chen casually.

His sword body affected his foundation. His immortal veins were at ‘Gold of Supremacy,” which was the second best foundation in Introduction to the Thousand Daos, with the highest being “Source of Authority.”

When his sword body rose to the third rank, it was highly likely that his foundation would reach “Source of Authority.” He would lay himself a very solid foundation for his future cultivation with that.

"Since you’re staying in the Grand Qian Empire, have you heard about the trade conference before?" asked Fang Chen.

Shopkeeper Lin had mentioned that there’s a chance that a yellow rank, peak-grade treasure will be available. Even if a yellow rank, peak grade proved to be too expensive for Fang Chen to buy, he could still purchase a yellow rank, high-grade treasure. Feeding Little Sword spiritual treasures directly was much better than having it eat spiritual materials. It also saved Fang Chen the headache of having to deal with the scrutiny thrown his way when he purchased spiritual materials in bulk.

"The trade conference? I think my master mentioned it some time ago. It's organized by the fourth-tier Azure Cloud Empire. They invited cultivators from numerous fifth-tier empires to participate, and there might even be cultivators from sixth-tier empires. The venue is the hunting ground of the Grand Qian Empire," Xia Ji recalled. "When I left the capital, I heard that the Fang Family, Jue Family, and the imperial family, and many other families were all busy preparing for this trade conference. The Golden Core Realm ancestors of the major sects in the Grand Qian Empire were also eager to participate, they’re constantly collecting resources, after all," said Xia Ji. "Are you planning on participating, Fang Da?”

"My master should know. We can ask him,” said Xia Ji. “As long as one has enough spirit stones, then a trade conference such as this could be life changing,” he sighed. "I heard that many rare elixirs, treasures, spiritual materials, and herbs that can’t even be found in fifth-tier empires will be available. There will also be highly renowned pill masters and artifact masters attending. If someone is lucky enough, they might even be able to become their disciple and rise to prominence in one go!"

"You’ll tag along with me when I go. We can buy you a few pills for your cultivation, which can shorten the time you spend meditating every day," suggested Fang Chen.

Xia Ji nodded. "I would’ve only been able to go and join in on the excitement from the sidelines before. But now I can really buy some of the good stuff with the three thousand you’ve given me,” he said. “Perhaps I can even advance to the eighth or ninth stage within a year."

Normally, he’d only have around ten spirit stones to spend on his cultivation every month. At such a rate, it would’ve taken him at least twenty years to reach the eighth or ninth stage—which was already much faster than the average cultivator, who’d need at least forty years.

Xia Ji was confident that with Fang Chen’s support, he’d be able to cut down the time from twenty years to just one or two years. Having resources was sometimes far more important than having talent.

A thought suddenly crossed Xia Ji’s mind. "Oh, right, there will be twenty Foundation Building Pills available for the various factions to compete for. Not only the Grand Qian Empire, but other fifth tier or even sixth-tier empires will be competing for it, so as you can tell, there are many cultivators eyeing them,” he said. “I'll return the three thousand spirit stones to you. You can use them to buy Foundation Building Pills. The price of one can go as high as five thousand spirit stones. You might not be able to buy them in the future if you miss the chance to buy them now, even if you have spirit stones. Not to mention, five thousand is just the base price. There will be at least hundreds of factions vying for them, so there will definitely be some markup. You need to be fully prepared."

"Foundation Building Pills…." pondered Fang Chen. If he could buy one during this event, it would save him the trouble of looking for it later. However, he wasn’t in any rush to reach the Foundation Building Realm. To him, advancing his sword body was much more important for now.

"It's alright. Three thousand spirit stones won't make a dent in my plans. I can buy whatever I need. Don't worry about me," said Fang Chen with a smile.

"Damn, you're so rich.” Xia Ji gasped. “How rich are you exactly? Three thousand spirit stones won’t make a dent?"

"Have you forgotten? I'm proficient in talisman crafting, and selling talismans brings in a considerable income. Speaking of which, take a look at what kind of talisman this is," said Fang Chen, taking out twenty peak-grade Purple Lightning Talismans and handing them to Xia Ji.

"These are…."

Xia Ji touched the peak-grade Purple Lightning Talismans and faintly sensed an explosive aura emanating from them.

That aura seems to be on the verge of erupting, possessing an offensive power far beyond the ordinary five elements.

Xia Ji’s brow scrunched up, and he looked at Fang Chen. "Could they be Purple Lightning Talismans?"

"Yes, they are peak-grade Purple Lightning Talismans. Even a cultivator at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm would have to tread carefully around these. If all twenty are used at once, instantly killing a cultivator at the twelfth stage shouldn’t be an issue" Fang Chen chuckled. "Is there anyone in the Grand Qian Empire who can craft these?"

The Grand Qian Empire was a fifth-tier empire and should be different from those sixth-tier empires. Even in the Qinghu Empire, there were masters who could produce yellow rank mid-grade talismans. The Grand Qian Empire should also have cultivators studying talisman crafting.

"Yes, but the production of peak-grade Purple Lightning Talismans is extremely difficult. They're not easy to come by. Even if someone puts them up for sale, they will be snagged by the various factions quickly. They consider these talismans as strategic resources and occasionally distribute them to their disciples." Xia Ji nodded solemnly. "A single peak-grade Purple Lightning Talisman is priced at at least thirty low-grade spirit stones."

Fang Chen nodded slightly.

Thirty low-grade spirit stones. This price was neither high nor low. He still had about a hundred peak-grade Purple Lightning Talismans in his storage ring, which could fetch around three to four thousand low-grade spirit stones. If he added them together, he could buy a yellow rank, mid-grade treasure with close to seventy-two Soul Imprints.

As for yellow rank, high-grade treasures, their starting price should be over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. He would have to see how many spirit stones he’d be able to gather before coming to a decision.

"Fang Chen, did you make all these Purple Lightning Talismans?"

Fang Chen nodded with a smile. "Yes, they're yours now. Keep them for self-defense."

Xia Ji couldn't help but sigh again. "What fat pockets you have."

Xia Ji could hardly believe it; he had transformed from a destitute cultivator who needed to flee the Grand Xia Empire into someone with deep pockets.

***

Several days later.

Finally, the two of them reached the imperial capital after traveling day and night without rest.

The first thing that caught their eyes was the vast and magnificent city wall, adorned with fluttering flags. These flags were extraordinary, emanating rich spiritual energy. It was clear that they were part of some formation.

Outside the city wall stood countless buildings, bustling with people. Occasionally, they spotted demon cultivators swaggering around, as well as many cultivators sitting on the ground, setting up stalls.

The majority of the people walking around were ordinary mortals, but almost every one of them was a martial artist, with cultivation levels ranging from the first stage of Qi Condensation to even the Heaven Profound Stage.

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