"Too expensive, it really is way too expensive," Qi Yuan remarked with feeling.
How many houses could ten thousand spirit stones buy?
Qi Yuan had no idea.
Yet the functions of this jade slip were even cruder than a mobile phone's.
The corners of Jiang Lingsu's mouth curved upward. "This big sister has money."
"Still, it has far too few features. If you added video and voice chat, it would be much better." Qi Yuan spoke with eloquent confidence, even tempted to rip off Tencent QQ. "If you could send red packets and snatch spirit stones, it would be even more fun."
When it came to nitpicking and giving unsolicited suggestions, Qi Yuan was just as adept as any ordinary netizen.
"Senior Brother, you'd better just shut your mouth!" Jiang Lingsu shot him a glare. "Fiddle with it yourself. I'm exhausted, going back to sleep for a bit."
Wrenching her delicate hand from Qi Yuan's grasp, Jiang Lingsu returned to her straw hut that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Qi Yuan, meanwhile, swept his divine sense into the Divine Flower Society's jade slip.
"Pick a nickname?"
"How about 'Faceless Swordsman'?"
"No, when I cut down Chu Tianxiong, I was wearing a mask."
"I created the Qi Yuan Scripture; I ought to be a Dao Ancestor of my own realm!
"I'll be called Origin Heavenly Venerable!"
Qi Yuan changed his nickname and entered the forum.
The forum had three sections in total: the Public Area, the Advanced Area, and the Superior Area.
Qi Yuan gave it a try and found he could only click into the Public Area.
He couldn't access either the Advanced Area or the Superior Area.
"Are my contribution points insufficient to enter the Advanced Area?"
The other areas of the Divine Flower Society required contribution points for entry.
Contribution points were earned by making contributions to the Divine Flower Society.
Qi Yuan currently had zero contribution points, so naturally he couldn't access the other sections.
"Could there be some hidden board?"
Qi Yuan muttered to himself as he entered the Public Area.
Immediately, posts resembling those of an internet forum from his past life appeared before him.
*Flying Swordsman's Cultivation Insights on Foundation Establishment*
*Seeking to Purchase First-Grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Item: Dragon-Shaft Grass*
*Experience and Trials in the Layered Mountain Secret Realm*
"All these titles are quite proper and serious," Qi Yuan evaluated.
He clicked open the first post he saw: the cultivation insights on Foundation Establishment.
The poster went by "Flying Swordsman."
The post mentioned that Flying Swordsman had achieved middle-grade Earth Vein Foundation Establishment.
He shared some of his cultivation insights.
Among them, he mentioned that during Foundation Establishment cultivation, the most important thing was laying a firm groundwork and tempering one's dharmic power until it was vigorous and immense. That way, upon stepping into the Origin Core realm, the coalesced Origin Core would be far more powerful.
Beneath the post, quite a few people replied, all exceptionally polite.
"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist."
"When you have time, Fellow Daoist, do come to my cave abode to share wine and conversation."
Qi Yuan exited the post.
He browsed through other posts as well.
There were numerous posts in the Public Area, spanning every category imaginable.
Cultivation insights, requests to buy treasures and secret arts, shared experiences in secret realms, idle gossip, invitations to spar, and more.
Suddenly, one post caught Qi Yuan's eye.
*Selling Water-Needle Gold Sourced from the Hongyan Realm*
"The Hongyan Realm?"
Qi Yuan clicked in and read through it carefully.
In the post, the author gave a brief introduction of the Hongyan Realm.
The Hongyan Realm was a minor mortal realm adjacent to the Canglan Realm, rich in various metal-attribute treasures.
The Grand Dao Sect controlled the portal leading into the Hongyan Realm and conducted "trade," allowing quite a few unique treasures to flow into the Canglan Realm.
"Sure enough, there isn't just one world. The Canglan Realm neighbors the Hongyan Realm... What about Wangyue Continent?" Qi Yuan pondered.
After thinking for a moment, he searched the four characters "Wangyue Continent."
As it turned out, there wasn't a single piece of information regarding Wangyue Continent, which left Qi Yuan somewhat disappointed.
"Looks like this game isn't very popular."
With that in mind, Qi Yuan prepared to make a post of his own.
After pondering for a while, a post went live.
*SHOCKING! Having Achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, My Fate Is Actually So Fraught with Hardship! Seeking Help from the Big Bosses!*
Qi Yuan felt their post titles were far too proper, written in a conventional style, so he decided to introduce some clickbait.
"Greetings, everyone. Ever since I captured the Heavenly Dao and established my foundation, I have felt lost about the road ahead.
"Cultivating after Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment is too difficult, and suitable cultivation methods are hard to come by. I implore you esteemed big bosses to bestow upon me an Earth-grade or Heaven-grade technique, or a technique that strengthens the divine soul. I, Origin Heavenly Venerable, will surely repay you handsomely in the future; details can be discussed.
"By the way, does anyone know of Wangyue Continent? That realm is the place where I attained the Dao. Longing for my old stomping grounds, I wish to revisit it."
Qi Yuan's post was very simple. To put it bluntly: *I am Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, v me techniques.*
After making the post, Qi Yuan exited the Divine Flower Society's communication jade slip and continued cultivating the Hundred Temperings Soul Augmentation Art to strengthen his divine soul.
Meanwhile, the post Qi Yuan made had already caught quite a few eyes.
In the Eastern Lands, Cuiyun Immortal Continent.
Inside a cave abode, a handsome young man was clad in golden garments, looking extraordinary at a single glance.
His consciousness probed into the Divine Flower Society's jade slip.
Every day, he would stroll through the Public Area to see if there were any posts of interest.
Unfortunately, those seniors and fellow daoists were far too dull.
To this day, he had only made two like-minded friends in the Divine Flower Society and formed a small communication circle with them.
As he browsed through the posts in the Public Area, a post with an unusually long title suddenly caught his attention.
"So long? Shocking? Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?"
Seeing the title, the gold-robed youth was stunned.
"Could another direct descendant of some old monster have joined our Divine Flower Society?"
The gold-robed youth had achieved Earth Vein Foundation Establishment himself, so he knew full well the difficulty of Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
It required capturing Heaven Vein Qi.
And to catch Heaven Vein Qi, an old monster of the Yin God realm, or even the Yang God realm, had to step in.
Yet such old monsters hadn't appeared in Cuiyun Continent for who knew how many years.
Now, seeing someone claim Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, he naturally assumed it was some doted-on grandson of an old monster who hadn't hesitated to expend cultivation and waste precious years just to catch Heaven Vein Qi for him.
Content this sensational was definitely worth clicking on.
"Captured the Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment? Origin Heavenly Venerable, Heaven-grade techniques?"
The gold-robed youth stared in bewilderment.
This had to be a fake Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!
Suddenly, he slapped his thigh.
"This guy is a genius! How come I never thought of adding 'Shocking' when making a post?"
After a moment's thought, he sent a friend request to Origin Heavenly Venerable.
Then, he made a post of his own.
*SHOCKING! After Three Hundred Years of Seclusion, Ancestor Xiangyun Gains an Eighteen-Year-Old Son!*
Ancestor Xiangyun was an old nemesis of the gold-robed youth.
Since he couldn't beat him in a fight, what else could he do but this?
...
Night fell, and Qi Yuan entered the jade slip once more.
Returning to the forum, he was slightly startled.
The previously well-mannered forum now had several eye-catching posts that began with the word "Shocking."
There were only a handful of such posts, but their engagement seemed very high, accumulating plenty of replies.
Qi Yuan navigated to his own post.
He wanted to see if he had encountered someone fated.
As it turned out, the comments below gave him a slight surprise.
"So young, yet you don't learn proper things, doing nothing but bragging."
"Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment isn't achieved like that. Does your sect or clan possess a Yin God or Yang God?"
"Fellow Daoist is truly an extraordinary character."
All of these comments expressed disbelief toward Qi Yuan.
Looking at them, Qi Yuan couldn't help but say, "Sure enough, true geniuses are always met with widespread skepticism."
Qi Yuan continued scrolling through the comments.
Unfortunately, no one was willing to give him Earth-grade or Heaven-grade techniques.
One comment caught Qi Yuan's attention.
"Wangyue Continent. With 'Wangyue' in its name, it might be a world belonging to Moon Goddess Yuanjun.
"In the northernmost reaches of the Canglan Realm, there is a sacred sect known as the Moon Sovereign Palace, which belongs to the lineage of Moon Goddess Yuanjun."
The respondent was anonymous.
Qi Yuan quietly read the contents above, countless thoughts racing through his mind.
He hurriedly replied with a question: "May I ask Senior, who is Moon Goddess Yuanjun, and where is She? How can one contact Her?"
Before long, the anonymous poster replied.
"She has manifested into ten thousand incarnations, and ought to be enthroned within the heavenly realms above the Great Void spoken of in legend."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan fell silent inside.
*Looks like it will be necessary to pay a visit to the Moon Sovereign Palace in the future.*
In Wangyue Continent, there was a Moon Sovereign Clan. Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was not.
"Moon Goddess Yuanjun..."
Qi Yuan recalled the remnant thought he had heard when obtaining the Daytime Fantasy Art.
Great Sun had encountered a foreign enemy and was ultimately defeated by them, left with no choice but to drag out an ignoble existence hiding in Dijue.
Could that foreign enemy have been Moon Goddess Yuanjun, or perhaps someone related to Her?
Back then, when Qi Yuan faced only a sliver of Great Sun's remnant soul, he had already paid such a massive price.
One could well imagine just how terrifyingly powerful the opponent Great Sun faced in his prime truly was.
Matters involving immortals and gods felt far too distant to Qi Yuan.
"I'm only at Foundation Establishment right now; it's far too early to dwell on these things. I'll need to reach at least Golden Core first."
Thinking of this, Qi Yuan felt helpless.
His Qi Yuan Scripture had no path forward!
He had to obtain some high-grade cultivation methods to perfect his own technique.
"White moonlight, a white moonlight like Zhu Lianhua, where on earth are you?" Qi Yuan yearned for the gaze of a white moonlight.
Qi Yuan hoped a white moonlight would come softly, just like Miss Clove Zhu Lianhua, delivering all sorts of cultivation techniques.
Before any white moonlight arrived, Qi Yuan noticed he had received two friend requests.
"Spirit Maiden?" Qi Yuan paused. "Is that Junior Sister?"
He accepted the request and sent a message over.
"Junior Sister, I concealed myself so well and even changed my nickname, how did you find me?"
"Senior Brother, your aura shines like the stars. If I couldn't find you, I wouldn't be your junior sister."
Qi Yuan sighed helplessly. "Sure enough, even though I've kept a low profile, I still can't hide the brilliance upon me."
He glanced at the second request on the list.
His pupils shrank.
"Great Sun isn't dead, and he even ascended dimensions into the real world to hunt me down?"
The nickname of the one requesting to add him was Great Sun Flame Emperor.
"No, it might just be a coincidence."
After a moment's consideration, Qi Yuan accepted the friend request.
In Cuiyun Continent, the gold-robed youth saw the request accepted, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"Fellow Daoist is truly an extraordinary individual. With just a single post, you drew over a hundred replies.
"I posted dozens of messages in the Public Area, yet barely anyone answered.
"I copied Fellow Daoist's style, and nearly a hundred people replied to me as well. Fellow Daoist is truly my benefactor."
Reading this, Qi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed to be a coincidence after all.
This Great Sun Flame Emperor was not that damned Great Sun.
"Since I'm your benefactor, how about gifting me a few Heaven-grade techniques? Or Earth-grade would do as well!"
"...Origin Heavenly Venerable, do you really need techniques?"
"Yes, urgently."
"I have a small exchange group here. Seeing that we hit it off, would Fellow Daoist like to join?"
"...Sure."
Before long, Qi Yuan was invited into a place resembling a chat group.
Qi Yuan took a look. Including himself, there were only four people in the chat group.
The group owner was Great Sun Flame Emperor.
The other two were Rogue Immortal Venerable and Ice Mountain Tyrant Maiden.
Rogue Immortal Venerable: "Whoa, a newcomer?"
Great Sun Flame Emperor: "This brother is the fellow from the Public Area who did the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment."
Rogue Immortal Venerable: "Whoa, a big boss! Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, a fellow traveler on the path.
"A pity, I've already been at Foundation Establishment for a hundred thousand years, yet I only achieved Immortal Grade Foundation Establishment and cannot cultivate anew. The lifelong regret of my existence."
"Big boss, since you're so powerful, drop a Heaven-grade technique to show your strength," Qi Yuan said humbly.
"Ahem, I don't have Heaven-grade techniques, but since you've joined our exchange group, you're our brother and fellow traveler.
"In the exchange group, there are some techniques we've uploaded.
"There are three Earth-grade arts and seven Jade-grade arts in total; you may take them and read them," Rogue Immortal Venerable said.
Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. "How could I impose on you like that?"
He had already navigated to those three Earth-grade arts and seven Jade-grade arts.
"We're all brothers. If you have any techniques, you can share them with us as well. We walk the Grand Dao together and will advance side by side in the future," Great Sun Flame Emperor said.
"You big bosses are all good people." Qi Yuan thought for a moment, then transcribed the Resplendent Sword into the exchange group.
He also swiftly opened those cultivation techniques and memorized them quietly.
"Origin Heavenly Venerable, you're ferocious! You can even get your hands on the Resplendent Sword? That belongs to the Palace of Light." Great Sun Flame Emperor set aside his earlier slight disregard.
Being able to produce an Earth-grade technique, and the Resplendent Sword at that, proved that Origin Heavenly Venerable possessed genuine capability.
Even though they enjoyed bragging, they still had real strength.
"Not at all, I'm just an ordinary Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"And I'm just an ordinary Immortal Venerable," Rogue Immortal Venerable said, feeling that his previous way of speaking lacked class compared to Origin Heavenly Venerable's engaging style. "Just slaying some demonic, crooked paths in my spare time."
"Big boss is formidable! Back when I was on Wangyue Continent, I once faced three thousand extraterrestrial demons. To keep them from bringing disaster to the common people, I pinned them down in a forbidden deadland, cutting off all ages alone! It took me an entire month of relentless slaughter before I wiped them out!"
"Cutting off all ages alone? That phrase has flavor! Would you mind if I borrow it for later use?" Great Sun Flame Emperor asked excitedly.
"No problem at all," Qi Yuan replied.
After securing the techniques, Qi Yuan exited the jade slip.
He couldn't shake the feeling that although those two in the group were very nice people, was there something slightly wrong with their heads?
They spoke so strangely.
He promptly began studying those Earth-grade and Jade-grade arts, using his eyes to refine and perfect his own technique.
"Finally, I've perfected the Qi Yuan Scripture to near middle Foundation Establishment. What a shame it cultivates so slowly.
"At this rate, it will take at least five years before I can step into middle Foundation Establishment."
These techniques far surpassed what he had looted from the Black Mountain Sect.
Qi Yuan sighed inwardly. The Great Shang State was still too small, a mere village-tier cultivation entity, far inferior to those grand places.
With just a few techniques, the Qi Yuan Scripture had gained substantial additions, yet he still felt somewhat helpless.
His cultivation was simply too slow.
Five years from early Foundation Establishment to middle Foundation Establishment sounded fast.
Yet to Qi Yuan, it was dreadfully slow.
Who knew when Old Demon Black Chicken might suddenly awaken, having advanced to late Divine Infant?
Facing a Divine Infant old monster, Qi Yuan was still timid.
Though he had achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, he always felt that beating up that fellow in the wooden cabin during his dream hadn't resulted in a complete victory, even if he had taken up residence in the cabin afterward. It had left behind unresolved trouble.
"Oh game, just when can you open!" Qi Yuan felt that fighting and killing in the game was a much faster way to boost his cultivation.
Cultivating step by step by the book was far too slow.
"White moonlight, please bring me a white moonlight with a soul-strengthening technique!" Qi Yuan prayed devoutly toward the heavens.
A single Hundred Temperings Soul Augmentation Art only bolstered his soul by a limited amount each day. He needed more techniques so he could refine and remodel them into an even stronger art.
"My soul has strengthened quite a bit as well. Let's try touching that game icon again!" Suiting action to thought, Qi Yuan extended his divine sense toward the game jade slip.
...
In the Liufeng Realm.
The demonic maiden Ning Tao still wore her black dress, standing atop a lofty mountain.
Her body bore heavy injuries.
Five formidable figures exuding terrifying auras surrounded Ning Tao.
If Qi Yuan were here, he would discover that all five of these individuals were Heavenly Domain-level powerhouses.
"Demonic maiden, hand over the treasures on your person, and we shall leave your corpse intact!" an elder with an immortal countenance and daoist bearing spoke, his eyes filled with greed.
In a mere century, this demonic maiden had reached the same realm as them.
Naturally, they believed she possessed supreme treasures that enabled her to cultivate so rapidly.
The other four looked at Ning Tao, their eyes similarly dripping with greed.
At this moment, Ning Tao stood at the summit of the mountain, the wind rustling the delicately embroidered hem of her dress. Compared to her past self, her figure was taller, her waist slender, and the swell of her chest rounded like inverted jade bowls, perfectly filling a single grasp.
What drew the eye most was her fair skin, forming a striking contrast against the black dress—an exaggerated, snowy white, like moonlight shining upon pristine snow at night.
She looked at the five of them, a trace of aloof arrogance in her gaze. "Is it possible that I relied on my own talent?"
"Humph, dogshit talent!" a burly man barked, glaring at Ning Tao. "Where is the man behind you? Call him out!"
Over the years, Ning Tao had risen rapidly without being swiftly suppressed precisely because rumors claimed a grand cultivator backed her, which made everyone wary.
Yet no one knew who that grand cultivator was.
"In this old man's view, there is no so-called powerhouse behind her at all. It's purely her own fabrication!" a sinister woman sneered, glaring viciously at Ning Tao.
The five of them were the rulers of Blood Slaughter City. Every year, they offered three hundred virgin boys and girls to the City of Sin, and in the past, Ning Tao had been one of those children.
The five slowly closed in on Ning Tao.
Ning Tao looked at them with a charming smile. "To kill you, why would I need my husband?"
When she first heard that strange voice, Ning Tao had seized the opportunity to slaughter those besieging her.
Yet toward the owner of that voice, she harbored immense fear.
Her mother had once told her that if you call a man your husband, that man will temporarily put aside his urge to kill.
Back then, young and desperate to survive, she had called out toward the heavens, addressing him as husband.
Yet a century had passed, and Ning Tao was no longer the frail girl of old.
She had long since grown up and possessed the power to protect herself.
She no longer needed to live in trembling dread of a strange voice.
Today, on the surface, the five rulers of Blood Slaughter City were besieging her; in reality, she had planned this to exterminate these five arch-nemeses.
"Today shall be the day you die!" Ning Tao held the Scythe of the Death God in her hand. The wind stirred her hair, letting it brush against a face enchanting enough to bewitch all living beings.
A mighty aura spread forth at this moment.
Right then, a thunderous sound suddenly echoed across the heavens.
"Lousy game, you dare block me? Die for me... Ah, I'm not your husband!"
*Boom!*
That voice rang out inexplicably.
It was as if a god above the firmament was rebuking the mortal realm from the heavenly court, exploding in their ears like a crack of thunder.
The five powerhouses looked up to see origin qi churning across the heavens, coalescing into purplish-red lightning.
"Origin Divine Ability, a Fifth-Realm Sovereign!"
Horror surfaced on the faces of all five.
Was this a Sovereign taking action?
Did this demonic maiden truly have a powerhouse behind her?
Chapter 83