Chen Xiao had never imagined that revealing his Immortal Spirit Root this time would bring him such tremendous benefits. Chen Fengyang now had the City-Suppressing Seal, so surviving his tribulation was no longer a problem. But even that paled beside the great bow Chen Xiao had received, which had sent his heart pounding.
This was a genuine immortal artifact! The fluctuations of immortal power within it were subtle, but Chen Xiao could still sense them clearly.
"Damn, the authorities really are more reliable. In my last life, I joined the Immortal Martial Sect because of my Immortal Spirit Root, and all I got was a superior-grade spirit artifact and a patch of land to cultivate on. That's nothing compared to the Glazed Heaven Palace's generosity. They practically gave me a whole city and two immortal artifacts. Heh..."
Chen Xiao licked his lips. In his previous life, although he had obtained the Flowing Light Flying Moon Talisman, he hadn't known much about the things in the Golden Immortal Kingdom, so it had taken him a long time to get the Ten Thousand Jade Heavenly Dragon Pill. When he finally took it, he happened to be near the Immortal Martial Sect. The sect caught him right as his Immortal Spirit Root awakened, and the Glazed Heaven Palace never found out.
Moon-Gazing City was now the Chen Clan's private property. Even the Spirit Vein in Mingyu Mountain had become the Chen Clan's private possession, and they could mine it as they pleased.
At that moment, the heads of the various families in the city gaped up at Chen Fengyang, who was hovering in midair. Their feelings were impossible to put into words.
Originally, several families in the city—the Nangong, Beiyu, Canghai, and Li families—had already joined forces. They were just waiting for Chen Fengyang to fail his tribulation before making their move and swallowing up the Chen Clan.
But now, never mind whether they could swallow the Chen Clan whole. The odds of Chen Fengyang failing his final tribulation were already vanishingly small.
The City-Suppressing Seal was a sixth-grade immortal artifact. With one of those protecting him, surviving the tribulation would be a piece of cake.
Immortal artifacts were divided into nine grades: the lower three, middle three, and upper three. Sixth-grade artifacts stood at the pinnacle of the middle grades. Even some ordinary Heavenly Immortals and High Immortals didn't possess a sixth-grade immortal artifact.
Immortal artifacts weren't things cultivators could ordinarily control. If Chen Fengyang had received some other sixth-grade artifact, he might not even have been able to lift it, let alone use it.
But the City-Suppressing Seal of Moon-Gazing City shared the same origin as the city itself. Unlike other immortal artifacts, any cultivator could refine it. They couldn't unleash its full power, but it was still an immortal artifact.
With an immortal artifact protecting him, even if someone deliberately interfered during his tribulation, Chen Fengyang would still have a very good chance of succeeding.
Besides, the Glazed Heaven Palace had recognized the Chen Clan's status. Who would meddle in Chen Fengyang's tribulation for no reason? If the Glazed Heaven Palace took offense, the interfering faction would be wiped off the map.
Nangong Shenhe felt a bitter pang. He'd thought the Glazed Heaven Palace might bestow some rewards on the Chen Clan, but he hadn't expected them to hand over the entire Moon-Gazing City.
Was an Immortal Spirit Root really worth this much effort to win someone over? And the secret hidden in Mingyu Mountain outside Moon-Gazing City wasn't much of a secret among the Immortal World's upper echelons. The Glazed Heaven Palace naturally knew about it.
By doing this, the Glazed Heaven Palace was clearly giving that secret to the Chen Clan. But could a mere Chen Clan—a family of commoners without a single immortal—really hold on to it?
Nangong Shenhe's mind was full of questions, while the other major families in the city were already weighing whether to pledge their loyalty to the Chen Clan.
After the High Immortal left, Chen Xiao's eyes shone.
"So that's a High Immortal—the highest rank of immortal. I wonder when I'll be able to reach that level of cultivation."
Chen Xiao swallowed. Cultivating to immortality was easy; becoming an immortal was hard. In his previous life, it had taken him fifty years to advance from Qi Refining to the late stage of tribulation. But the Mahayana Realm that followed was an exceedingly long stage. Some cultivators could spend thousands of years in it, until their lifespans ran out, without ever breaking through to the True Immortal Realm.
After all, it was a transformation of life, from mortal to immortal.
Even Chen Xiao, with his Immortal Spirit Root and destiny to become a Golden Immortal, couldn't help longing for that realm after seeing a true immortal—and a High Immortal at that.
"The Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue and the Immortal Spirit Root... One day, I'll surpass everyone and stand at the pinnacle of the Immortal World."
Chen Xiao drew a deep breath, determination shining in his eyes.
Today was a double blessing for the Chen Clan. Not only had Chen Tiannan taken in an adopted daughter, but Chen Fengyang had also become the de facto lord of Moon-Gazing City. The banquet, which had been somewhat perfunctory before, turned lively in an instant.
On the spot, the Beiyu and Canghai families pledged their loyalty to the Chen Clan, swearing to serve them forever and contribute to Moon-Gazing City's development. The other major family, the Li Family, was a vassal of the Nangong Family and made no particular show of support.
When Nangong Wenyue appeared at the City Lord's Mansion, Chen Xiao seized the opportunity to slip away. Nangong Wenyue looked extremely grim. Not only had he lost the treasure in the depths of Mingyu Mountain, but his cultivation had also run into serious trouble recently. He hadn't made any progress; in fact, there were even signs of regression. It left him deeply frustrated.
The moment the Innate Kui Water Talisman had entered Nangong Wenyue's body, it had turned into Kui Water essence and hidden itself within him. How could he possibly have discovered it? The more Nangong Wenyue cultivated now, the greater the damage he would do to himself. Sooner or later, he would suffer cultivation deviation and have his cultivation completely crippled.
Still, using an Innate Kui Water Talisman against a Nascent Soul cultivator—if anyone found out, they would probably curse Chen Xiao for being wasteful.
Chen Xiao returned to his small courtyard. Mengmeng and Cai Di had already come back by then. After the High Immortal appeared, they were no longer the center of attention at the banquet.
Under Cai Di's guidance, Mengmeng was now switching her cultivation method to Ten Thousand Poisons Return to Sect and awakening the Xuan Sha Yin Meridian within her. As she practiced the technique, the hideous blue-black birthmark on her face had begun to fade.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly to the two of them, then returned to his room. After setting up a barrier to block fluctuations in spiritual energy, he began cultivating as well.
His cultivation had long since stabilized at the middle stage of the Golden Core Realm, but the Breath-Concealing Talisman on him still hid his true level.
In Chen Xiao's dantian, crimson clouds gathered at its center. Above them floated a vermilion Golden Core, its surface wreathed in tiny bolts of lightning.
A closer look revealed that the bolts had scales and claws. They were seven Thunder Dragons, each representing a divine ability, projected from the inside of the Golden Core where they had transformed into seeds of divine abilities.
Once he reached the Nascent Soul Realm and the seven Thunder Dragons fully transformed into divine abilities, Chen Xiao would be able to use them.
Above Chen Xiao's Golden Core was the Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book. Golden light radiated from it, enveloping his Golden Core and the crimson clouds below, concealing the true state of his dantian.
Beside the Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book floated the great bow, glimmering with a green light. Now, Chen Xiao was going to refine this immortal artifact.
Although Chen Xiao had an Immortal Spirit Root and couldn't yet use immortal artifacts, he had no great difficulty refining them.
Chen Xiao's divine sense slowly flowed into the bow, sensing the immortal power within it.
Taiyi Dry Dragon Bow.
Suddenly, this name appeared in Chen Xiao's mind.
,!