Arrival in Yan Kingdom, Ice Spirit Root

"Thousand Stars Island".

Chen Nianzhi looked at the islands marked on the map, her expression shifting slightly.

Thousand Stars Island spans 30,000 li, making it a rare and enormous island even within the Yan Kingdom.

This island does not belong to the Deng Immortal Clan, but is Spirit Isle belonging to the Yan Kingdom Immortal Clan Alliance. Every ten years Exchange Fair is held here.

It can be said that Thousand Stars Island is one of the top three Cultivation Market in the Yan Kingdom. In terms of status, it is no less than Azure Sun Market of the Azure Sun Sect. Therefore, every time the conference is held, it will attract a large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Yan Kingdom.

It is said that in every Exchange Fair, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators participating is never less than two hundred, and precious third-tier treasures often appear at the conference, so it almost always attracts Purple Mansion cultivators.

Thousand Stars Island is a full 300,000 li away from Yan Mountain Market. This time, Chen Nianzhi unleashed his speed and flew on his sword, covering 30,000 li in a single day. It only took him a little over ten days to reach Thousand Stars Island.

Upon arriving at Thousand Stars Island, Chen Nianzhi had just entered the Thousand Stars Island Marketplace when she heard a voice.

"S-Senior." He looked down and saw a dirty little girl looking at him timidly, her face full of nervousness. "Senior... do you need a guide?"

Seemingly frightened, the little girl's eyes were almost overflowing with tears as she counted on her fingers.

"Just one... two, just two steamed buns will do."

Chen Nianzhi's brow twitched slightly. She casually bought a few steamed buns, squatted down, and handed them to her, asking, "How old are you?"

"Seven years old."

"Seven years old?"

Chen Nianzhi shook her head and chuckled, took out a Spirit Stone, thought for a moment, then exchanged it for several silver ingots and handed them to her. "Take this and buy some food."

The girl, munching on her steamed bun, took the silver and clutched it tightly, saying, "Grandpa told me I can't take other people's things for free."

"Let me show you the way; I know all the roads here."

"Alright, then lead the way."

Chen Nianzhi smiled slightly. Under her guidance, they found the Ethereal Spirit Pavilion, where each Exchange Fair was held, only to discover that the next Exchange Fair would not be held for another three years.

When the little girl heard that he was going to stay on Thousand Stars Island for three years, she quickly led him to the cave rental and sales office on Thousand Stars Island.

He rented a Tier 2 Spirit Spring cave dwelling, and after looking around inside, he nodded in satisfaction.

Then, as he was about to say goodbye to the little girl, he thought for a moment and asked, "Have you had your Spirit Root tested?"

"Testing Spirit Root..." The girl shook her head timidly and said, "It's expensive... it costs Spirit Stone."

"Hold out your hand."

Chen Nianzhi shook his head helplessly, reached out and grasped her wrist, channeling his True Essence into her body.

As soon as a True Essence entered her meridians, Chen Nianzhi felt an icy chill that penetrated to the bone, making him feel cold.

"This is."

His eyes flickered, revealing a hint of surprise, and he quickly activated his True Essence to test again.

As expected, he was not disappointed; icy Spiritual Qi once again seeped into the little girl's meridians.

"Ice Spirit Root."

Chen Nianzhi revealed a look of joy. Variant Spirit Root is one in ten thousand, Yu Commandery might not produce one even in a hundred years. He never expected that a long journey would lead him to encounter such a promising talent.

As he finished the test, the little girl looked nervous, a mixture of anticipation and fear.

Chen Nianzhi smiled, patted her head, and asked, "What's your name?"

My name is Ya Ya.

It seemed that the Variant Spirit Root had been stimulated by his True Essence, and the little girl's face turned red from the cold as she shivered and spoke.

"Ya Ya," Chen Nianzhi used her True Essence to dispel the cold from her body, then asked, "Where's your grandfather?"

"Grandfather."

The little girl, her eyes red, looked at a small bottle on her chest and said...

Chen Nianzhi then realized that the little girl's grandfather had passed away, which explained why she was homeless and so excited about just one or two steamed buns.

Patting the little girl's head, Chen Nianzhi smiled and said, "In that case, you'll be following me from now on."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle." She clenched her fist excitedly.

"We met on Thousand Stars Island. Since your name is Ya Ya, let's call you Chen Xingya from now on."

"..."

He adopted a little girl with Variant Spirit Root. It's hard to tell whether Chen Nianzhi had a great fortuitous opportunity or the little girl was blessed with good fortune.

After all, if she hadn't happened to meet Chen Nianzhi, she might have unknowingly frozen to death in a corner of the Marketplace. A prodigy with Variant Spirit Root could very well have died an unknown and premature death.

After adopting the little girl, Chen Nianzhi passed on the Bright Abyss Dao-Grace Art to her and began to teach her.

For Chen Nianzhi, it was not too difficult to enlighten young children about cultivation. After all, he had raised Xian Ling Xian Yan himself, so taking care of another child with a Variant Spirit Root was not troublesome either.

Ya Ya is very smart and matured at a young age. She learns very quickly and knows to ask Chen Nianzhi for guidance after he finishes his cultivation, so it doesn't affect Chen Nianzhi's cultivation too much.

And so time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

That year, the Spiritual Qi in Chen Nianzhi's Spirit Spring cave surged, and a large amount of Spiritual Qi rushed out from the Spirit Spring. Chen Nianzhi absorbed it into his meridians, and it eventually transformed into True Essence, breaking through an invisible barrier.

"Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment".

Chen Nianzhi opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and then revealed a look of joy.

Less than eight years have passed since he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and his cultivation has taken another small step forward, breaking through to the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment, bringing him much closer to the Purple Mansion Realm.

After consolidating his cultivation somewhat, Chen Nianzhi emerged from the Spirit Spring Seclusion Chamber.

Ya Ya had been waiting for a long time. When she saw Chen Nianzhi emerge from seclusion, she quickly said...

"Uncle Nianzhi, the Exchange Fair is about to begin today."

"Um."

Chen Nianzhi nodded. If the Exchange Fair wasn't about to begin, he would still be in seclusion consolidating his cultivation.

After instructing Ya Ya not to leave the cave easily, Chen Nianzhi went straight to the Ethereal Spirit Pavilion.

This Thousand Stars Island Exchange Fair truly lived up to its reputation as one of the grandest Exchange Fair in the Yan Kingdom. After entering the venue, Chen Nianzhi quickly glanced around and discovered that there were more than 260 participants, the weakest of whom were all Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Several figures possessed extremely powerful auras, making Chen Nianzhi feel somewhat troubled; they were clearly cultivators at the Purple Mansion Realm.

Generally speaking, very few cultivators, especially those at the Purple Mansion level, participate in the Exchange Fair among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The fact that the Thousand Stars Island Exchange Fair could attract several Purple Mansion cultivators clearly proves that this level of Exchange Fair is extremely valuable.

Chen Nianzhi knew very well that the number of the Purple Mansion cultivators was extremely small, and such Exchange Fair among cultivators was usually held only once every few decades.

For example, the Purple Palace Barter Assembly in the Chu Kingdom is usually held only once every thirty years. This is because there are only about a hundred Purple Mansion cultivators in the entire Chu Kingdom. If it were held once every ten years, the number of participants would be greatly reduced each time.