"North Sea Commandery City?"
Lei Zhan stood aboard the Dragon-Head Great Ship, gazing from afar at the enormous island, whose end he could not see.
The island seemed to rise straight out of the vast blue waves, wreathed in a layer of seven-colored radiance beneath the sunlight.
On the island, a towering, enormous city stood in stillness, like a primordial beast crouched on the ground.
Though he was still a thousand miles away, Lei Zhan could sense the array formations' fluctuations over the towering city. The waves of power, enough to make one's heart tremble, were as vast as the North Dark Sea itself.
"This commandery city... Just the layers of array formations and restrictions visible to the naked eye make my heart pound with unease." Lei Zhan's eyes held a note of anticipation. A place where so many cultivators gathered would naturally offer far more excitement.
"The major sects, great clans, and even Tianbao Mountain, where I'm headed, are all in the western part of North Sea Commandery City. I'll go straight to the west!" Lei Zhan closed the black book in his hands, then ambled westward.
As the heart of the commandery, North Sea Commandery City had to accommodate a great many cultivators, so the city was naturally enormous.
The entire city was divided into five major districts: the eastern district, western district, southern district, northern district, and the North Sea Marquis's Mansion, which stood at the city's very center.
The western district was the most prosperous part of North Sea Commandery City!
The western district was home to one grand mansion after another, belonging to people of high rank and power or those with overwhelming strength. Of course, there were also branches established there by some of the most powerful clans, major sects, and great religious orders.
The district also had areas devoted to trade and entertainment.
"Those great demons on Lone Dragon Island were savage, and the cultivators I robbed were weak. Until now, I haven't had a proper meal or a good drink." Lei Zhan sighed softly.
"This is the perfect chance to trade in all the magic treasures I don't need, exchange them for Essence Liquid to cultivate, and buy some food and wine."
At the thought, Lei Zhan quickened his pace.
Flying was forbidden in North Sea Commandery City. It wasn't completely prohibited, but anyone who wanted to fly freely above a commandery city had to be at least a Primordial Spirit Daoist.
Otherwise, the layers of array formations and restrictions above the city alone could pin down cultivators whose cultivation fell short, leaving them unable to move.
With swift steps, Lei Zhan soon reached the western district.
"Mm. It certainly lives up to its reputation for prosperity!" The moment Lei Zhan entered the western district, he felt as if the whole world had come alive. Crowds streamed back and forth, and even the weakest cultivators walking about here were at the Purple Mansion level.
Myriad Phenomena True Persons were everywhere, too. Even Primordial Spirit Daoists, who usually sat in their caves cultivating in seclusion, could occasionally be seen.
Of course, though cultivators were everywhere, they all maintained a superficial air of civility. Even when disputes arose, no one showed the slightest intention of fighting inside North Sea Commandery City.
That was because fighting was strictly forbidden within the city!
Of course, it was perfectly fine to fight as fiercely as you liked inside the various mansions or the branches of sects and religious orders... provided their owners allowed it.
"Truly worthy of its name, Tianbao Mountain..." Lei Zhan looked at the mountain standing in the distance, his eyes lighting up. Though Tianbao Mountain in North Sea Commandery City was only a branch, it had a mountain a full eight hundred li high right there in the city, adorned in such splendor that it was recognizable at a glance, even from far away.
Lei Zhan didn't linger. Along the way, cultivators had laid out white cloths displaying all sorts of magic treasures and other valuables.
But Lei Zhan had accumulated far too many odds and ends, treasures, and magic treasures along the way. Trading them all one by one out here would take far too long.
Though Tianbao Mountain charged more than the stalls outside, it was much faster and more convenient.
Deep inside Tianbao Mountain, enormous mirrors formed by Water Mirror Arts covered almost the entire ceiling of the space.
Beneath those mirrors, cultivators bustled about.
"Steward." A cultivator in blue robes spoke respectfully.
"Mm? Has Deacon Yu sent someone to ask again?" The beautiful woman in purple robes, addressed as a steward, glanced at the cultivator, but her gaze remained fixed on the mirrors overhead.
"Yes. It's still someone sent by Deacon Yu." The blue-robed cultivator looked troubled. "Deacon Yu's people are pressing hard, and he's also... a steward of Tianbao Mountain. I had no choice but to ask you to make the decision, Steward."
"Hmph!" The beautiful woman in purple robes let out a cold snort. "As a steward of Tianbao Mountain in the North Sea, he's closely tied to the North Sea Marquis's Mansion. These feudal lords are getting more and more brazen."
The blue-robed cultivator stood silently, pretending not to have heard. His cultivation was low, and even within Tianbao Mountain in North Sea Commandery, he was only one of many ordinary Myriad Phenomena True Persons. Naturally, he didn't dare involve himself carelessly.
After a long while...
"The owner of that black sailboat magic treasure is named Lei Zhan. When Immortal Juhua accepted disciples, Lei Zhan took part in the Purple Mansion-level trial..." Only then did the beautiful woman in purple robes speak.
As she spoke, the blue-robed cultivator took out a booklet and carefully recorded each detail.
"Send this intelligence to the North Sea Marquis's Mansion, as well as the other few houses." The beautiful woman in purple robes gave her orders.
"Yes." The blue-robed cultivator answered respectfully, then slowly withdrew.
The beautiful woman in purple robes kept her head raised, watching the countless water mirrors overhead. "To kill a great demon in the late Myriad Phenomena stage while at the Purple Mansion level... Even though he cultivates the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map, the foremost God-Devil Body Refining technique, his talent is still rather intriguing!"
The Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map was incomparably powerful. Once one broke through a major stage, it forged the most perfect divine body. A cultivator on the God-Devil Body Refining Path in the late Purple Mansion stage could rival an ordinary cultivator in the early Myriad Phenomena stage.
And cultivators on the God-Devil Body Refining Path were invincible among those of the same rank. Ordinarily, killing a Qi Refining Path cultivator in the middle Myriad Phenomena stage was already the limit for someone in the late Purple Mansion stage.
To kill a late Myriad Phenomena cultivator—and one from the Demon Race, at that—usually took a disciple from one of the great clans, someone who had learned profound arts and secret techniques from childhood and possessed extraordinary talent.
"But if he really is that Immortal Juhua's only disciple... could this stagnant North Sea be stirred into turmoil?"
"That would certainly be something to look forward to!"
Inside a restaurant in Tianbao Mountain...
Lei Zhan sat at a large table, with all kinds of spirit fruits and vegetables, a huge platter of meat, and a jar of fine spirit wine laid out before him.
This spread wasn't the finest, but it had still cost Lei Zhan ten jin of Essence Liquid.
Ten liang of Essence Liquid made one jin, so ten jin amounted to a hundred liang.
A single Earth-Grade Magic Treasure could be bought for about that much. It would only be one of the most common, ordinary low-grade Earth-Grade Magic Treasures, of course.
But if he wanted a better Earth-Grade Magic Treasure, ten mere jin of Essence Liquid wouldn't be enough. A good one, such as a high-grade Earth-Grade Magic Treasure, cost several times more. The usual price ranged from eighty to around a hundred and twenty jin.
The Earth-Grade flying sword magic treasure that Heishui Fang had brought out was one such example.
Lei Zhan had killed the Lone Dragon Demon King and the hook-nosed Myriad Phenomena True Person, and had obtained quite a few Earth-Grade Magic Treasures. The Demon Race was poor, but the cultivators who frequently pillaged the waters of the North Dark Sea had amassed a modest fortune.
Lei Zhan had also killed more than ten demons and cultivators at the Purple Mansion level. Each one hadn't carried much, but added together, their spoils still amounted to a decent haul.
Lei Zhan sold off all the treasures and magic treasures he had brought to Tianbao Mountain. He kept only a set of Rahula Divine Needles he had obtained from the Hall of Treasures, and the Dragon-Head Warship he had taken from the hook-nosed old man.
He exchanged everything else for Essence Liquid and three Small Teleportation Dao Talismans.
"I've exchanged my treasures for Essence Liquid and Small Teleportation Dao Talismans. For me, the God-Devil Body Refining Path has the Cold Shadow Divine Spear, the Qi Refining Path has a set of Rahula Divine Needles, and I have a puppet warship for traveling. For emergencies, I have three Small Teleportation Dao Talismans. That should be enough." Lei Zhan devoured the delicious food and drank the fine wine as he considered the matter in silence.
"That Myriad Phenomena True Person had two high-grade Earth-Grade Magic Treasures, along with some mid-grade and low-grade Earth-Grade Magic Treasures and other valuables. I sold them for more than eight hundred jin of Essence Liquid."
"Adding in all the magic treasures and valuables from those demons, and even the great demon corpse of that One-Horned Demon King, I got three Small Teleportation Dao Talismans, plus the few from those cultivators..."
Just as flying sword magic treasures were extremely common among cultivators, Small Teleportation Dao Talismans were essential for Purple Mansion cultivators and even Myriad Phenomena True Persons.
They could only teleport one to a random location ten thousand li away, but in a life-or-death moment, even teleporting ten li could be enough to escape with one's life.
If Lei Zhan hadn't been so powerful, those several groups of Purple Mansion cultivators—and even the hook-nosed Myriad Phenomena True Person—might have had a chance to escape with these Small Teleportation Dao Talismans, had there been no sealing formation.
"More than twelve hundred jin of Essence Liquid. That should be enough to raise my Qi Refining Path cultivation to the peak of the Purple Mansion stage."
Lei Zhan thought to himself, "Ordinary immortal-level Qi Refining techniques usually hit their limit after absorbing several hundred jin of Essence Liquid to break through from the early Purple Mansion stage to the peak. But the Nine Directions Fragment is more powerful and far more profound. From the middle Purple Mansion stage to the late stage..."
As Lei Zhan thought about it, he suddenly felt uncertain. Ever since he broke through to the Purple Mansion stage, the speed at which he cultivated and absorbed the world's energy had increased more than tenfold compared to the Xiantian stage.
"I've cultivated for a little over a year, which is about equal to absorbing three or four hundred jin of Essence Liquid. That would be enough for other cultivators to reach the peak of the Purple Mansion stage. But if I want to reach the peak myself, more than twelve hundred jin of Essence Liquid should be about right." Lei Zhan sighed softly.
For Lei Zhan, reaching the peak of the Purple Mansion stage was only the beginning.
To break through to the Myriad Phenomena True Person stage, his understanding had long been sufficient, but he still needed to find a top-grade Earth-Grade Magic Treasure and gather a large amount of Essence Liquid before he could break through successfully.