Tianxing City

Three or four months had passed since the incident on Kuixing Island, and Lu Shang was still making his final preparations for Nascent Soul formation.

"In theory, since I have a mutated spirit root, I might not need to prepare too much to form a nascent soul."

"But neither the records nor the original text mentioned many instances of cultivators with lightning spirit roots breaking through. Other problems could easily arise."

"Besides, forming my nascent soul will certainly cause quite a stir. That's what I've been most worried about all along."

"If I form my nascent soul in the Outer Sea, my biggest concern will probably be interference from demon beasts. Still, that should be easy enough to deal with. At worst, I'll spend some time killing every high-rank demon beast within several hundred li. If I encounter a transformed great demon, I'll just run. There's no way a demon beast of the Sea Race could match the speed of my Lightning Escape."

"If I form my nascent soul in Tianxing City..."

Lu Shang paused at that thought, resting his right elbow on his left hand and raising his right hand as he pondered.

"If I form my nascent soul in Tianxing City, the main concern will be the Star Palace."

"The Star Palace wouldn't pay much attention to mere Core Formation, but when it comes to forming a nascent soul..."

"If I form my nascent soul right under the Star Palace's nose, so close to their headquarters, countless high-level Star Palace cultivators will probably surround me the moment the heavenly phenomenon appears."

"Besides, forming my nascent soul in Tianxing City would probably be taken as a sign that I intend to join the Star Palace."

Lu Shang did not want to join any faction just yet. Joining one now would inevitably place restrictions on him.

How carefree it was to be a rogue cultivator! If someone rubbed him the wrong way, he could fight them whenever he pleased. As far as Lu Shang was concerned, without a faction tying his hands, he could live without a care.

For now, nothing in the Chaotic Star Sea could stand in Lu Shang's way, so he had no need to watch every word and step.

Still, Lu Shang wanted to take a look at Tianxing City.

Just not yet.

Lu Shang planned to go after obtaining the formation.

The time that followed would be spent hunting demon beasts.

After pondering for a while, Lu Shang decided to form his nascent soul in the Outer Star Sea after all.

For that, Lu Shang would have to make more arrangements.

Then Lu Shang immediately flew toward Tianxing City.

Two months later, Lu Shang arrived outside Tianxing City aboard an enormous ship.

"This trip to Tianxing City is just to look around and get a residence permit. It might come in handy later."

"Maybe next time I'll fight my way here."

Lu Shang went blank for a moment.

"Forget it. At least my relationship with the Star Palace won't turn too sour within the next hundred years."

Lu Shang stepped off the enormous ship and headed toward a gate.

"Those two wearing Star Palace uniforms must be the ones checking identities."

"But who could two Qi Refining Stage cultivators possibly stop?"

Lu Shang's face was full of puzzlement.

"After what happened on Kuixing Island a few months ago, their security is still this lax."

"Could news from over there still not have spread?" Lu Shang muttered to himself in confusion.

Lu Shang reached the gate and walked straight toward it.

The two Star Palace personnel stopped Lu Shang.

"Fellow cultivator, do you not have a residence ring?"

"That's right," Lu Shang replied.

"Get me permanent residency."

With that, Lu Shang took out a Storage Bag and handed it to one of the Star Palace personnel.

After receiving it, the Star Palace cultivator opened the Storage Bag and carefully inspected its contents before nodding in confirmation.

He then took out a Jade Ring.

"This serves as proof of your right to reside here."

Lu Shang accepted the Jade Ring and went inside.

As he walked, Lu Shang held the Jade Ring before his eyes and examined it closely.

"Other than the lines on its surface, there doesn't seem to be anything special about this Jade Ring."

Lu Shang frowned.

After studying it for a while, Lu Shang finally discovered something.

"These lines are remarkably intricate."

Only after examining them did Lu Shang realize that, though there were merely a hundred lines, they had been carved in a rather peculiar way.

Lu Shang felt that the slightest tampering on his part would shatter the Jade Ring.

Moreover, each line seemed to have been carved using an exceptionally refined magical artifact.

Each line was actually made up of a hundred extremely fine lines combined into one, and these lines were then arranged into a strange formation.

Lu Shang found the exquisite workmanship of these lines quite impressive.

Lu Shang also discovered fluctuations of spiritual energy coming from these little things.

On closer inspection, they actually formed a small formation.

"Hmph! As expected of the Star Palace, they do have some talent for these little trinkets. If their whole operation gets wiped out someday, perhaps they could become merchants and sell these things instead," Lu Shang could not help quipping under his breath.

Jokes aside, the Star Palace did possess both status and strength.

Lu Shang walked along the streets of Tianxing City, looking around.

People from quite a few shops tried to sell Lu Shang their wares along the way, but none had anything he wanted.

Lu Shang had already set his objectives for this trip to Tianxing City before coming.

According to the book, treasurelight grass-originally called demon-luring grass-had no other use. Just as its original name suggested, its sole purpose was to lure demon beasts.

Especially when it was old enough, demon-luring grass could entice even sixth- or seventh-stage demon beasts with the scent it emitted.

Lu Shang planned to buy vast quantities of demon-luring grass, find a secluded island, and use it to lure out and slaughter all the demon beasts there.

Then he would spend a few years killing every high-rank demon beast within a thousand li of the island.

After that, he would use demon-luring grass to construct small formations on other islands nearby to divert attention.

Although demon-luring grass had virtually no means of defending itself, incorporating it into a formation would allow Lu Shang to prevent demon beasts from attacking it directly.

Buying countless stalks of demon-luring grass would allow Lu Shang to construct countless demon-luring formations.

This had two advantages: first, they would be difficult to destroy; second, they could keep attracting demon beasts to one location for a long time.

He would first place countless stalks of demon-luring grass on his chosen island and the surrounding islands to lure out the demon beasts and kill them, then head into the sea to continue the slaughter.

Although sixth- or seventh-stage demon beasts possessed some intelligence, his battles with them during the recent beast tide had shown that their intelligence was indeed limited.

Without an eighth-stage demon beast controlling them, they would probably charge around aimlessly. These seventh- or eighth-stage demon beasts had the intelligence of two- or three-year-olds, or five- or six-year-olds at most, making it almost impossible for them to locate a formation's core.

Of course, if he discovered traces of an eighth-stage demon beast, he could simply leave and find another place.

An eighth-stage demon beast was still beyond Lu Shang's ability to confront head-on.

Even going all out, he could only preserve his life, unless he encountered a severely wounded eighth-stage demon beast like last time.

That would certainly be a windfall for Lu Shang, but it was almost impossible.

Eighth-stage demon beasts were as intelligent as humans. Once injured, they would certainly find a secluded place to recover rather than wander about.

Lu Shang also planned to rent a cave abode here. Perhaps it would come in handy later.

As he walked, Lu Shang arrived before a huge commercial building.

"I hope they have what I need inside."

(The author has nothing to say. I'm wondering whether to add every woman he meets to the harem or only take a few. I've realized my writing is too bashful, so I'll try adding a little spice later. Also, I've found that the novel and the animation are actually quite different. Mostly, I still plan to combine the two; the romantic storyline in the animation feels a little rushed.)