Preparations

"True, everyone in Glory City knows me now, but I have reasons I must go to Gulan City too. I just wonder whether Young Master Chen dares to go with only the few of us."

Who was Chen Linjian? The eldest legitimate son of the Sacred Nether Family, the future Head of the Sacred Nether Family. How could he turn down a thrilling treasure-hunting adventure?

Besides, deep down, he was just like the version of himself on the Sky Screen.

He trusted Nie Li.

"All right. If you dare to suggest it, I dare to go. Just us?"

"Does everyone want to come with us?"

"Hehe, Nie Li, how could you leave us out of an adventure this exciting?"

"I already said before, whenever you need me, I won't even furrow my brow, whether I have to cross mountains of blades or seas of fire."

"Same here."

"Nie Li, I'm willing."

Everyone in the group agreed to go.

"Then it's settled. Just us. A lot of people will be heading to the antiques market over the next little while, so we'll keep it to our group."

Even Chen Linjian couldn't help feeling a thrill.

He was Bronze Five-Star.

Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er were Bronze Three-Star.

Du Ze and Lu Piao were Bronze Two-Star.

Nie Li, Wei Nan, Zhang Ming, and Zhu Xiangjun were Bronze One-Star.

Nine people, none of them even at Silver Rank, were going to explore Gulan City. The more he thought about it, the more exciting it sounded.

As it happened, thrilling treasure hunts were precisely what he loved.

Ye Zong stood nearby, and Ye Xiu looked at him. Were they really going to let these nine go alone?

Surely not?

Ye Zong sent a message directly through soul force, telling Ye Xiu to follow them when the time came, as long as he didn't let them notice.

He would also contact the Sacred Nether Family and ask them to send over one or two Black Gold Demon Spirit Masters.

"Young Master Chen, since you're here, why don't you take a test too?"

Nie Li toyed with the Soul Crystal in his hand.

For anyone joining them, at the very least, he would test their talent and throw in a cultivation technique.

"Thank you, Brother Nie Li."

Chen Linjian held the Soul Crystal and poured his soul force into it.

Lu Piao exclaimed, "Wow! Your soul force is already at five hundred and ninety-one!"

Once one's soul force passed six hundred, one became a Silver Rank Demon Spirit Master.

Chen Linjian was already just a step away from breaking through.

Much of that was thanks to the new pills Nie Li had introduced a week earlier.

Chen Linjian's soul force had originally been five hundred and thirty-two. By constantly taking pills, he had pushed it all the way to five hundred and ninety-one through cultivation.

"Oh! Darkness, Nether Dragon Form. Just like Ziyun's Wind Snow Ice Phoenix Form, this is an extremely powerful soul sea! Let's use this one, the Nine Nether Dragon Art."

Chen Linjian got to experience Nie Li's generosity firsthand.

Merely reciting the incantation of the Nine Nether Dragon Art once had set the soul force in his body circulating. He was even on the verge of breaking through to Silver Rank.

"Brother Nie Li, thank you for this cultivation technique. I, Chen Linjian, owe you a favor. If you ever need my help, I'll make sure it's done."

The debt he owed for this cultivation technique was enormous.

With this technique's support, Chen Linjian was absolutely confident he could break through to Silver Rank that very day!

In the past, he would have needed at least another dozen days of cultivation to break through.

"At your cultivation speed, Young Master Chen, I expect you'll reach Silver Rank today. Once you choose a demon spirit, we'll have an even better chance on our trip to Gulan City."

"Brother Nie Li, you said my soul sea is Darkness with a Nether Dragon Form. What kind of demon spirit suits me?"

"Naturally, a Nether Demon Spirit would suit you, Young Master Chen, though that kind is relatively rare. If you trust me, I'll choose one for you personally."

Nie Li glanced at Ye Zong.

Ye Zong had no objection. The demon spirits in the City Lord's Mansion filled several warehouses, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

They were all demon spirits hunted down or brought along by Legend or Black Gold Demon Spirit Masters who had fled to Glory City over the past few centuries.

They couldn't even identify some of them themselves.

Chen Linjian took out a map. "This is a map of the Gulan City Ruins I found. The place has already been explored, but after what was said up in the sky, plenty of people will head there again to try their luck. Let's see where we should go."

Nie Li studied the map. "Hmm, how about here?"

He pointed at the City Lord's Mansion.

"The City Lord's Mansion has already been explored, and people did find a few things there, but you could hardly call it a rich haul."

Chen Linjian pointed out several more places in succession, all of which had already been explored.

Du Ze noticed something unusual. "Strange. Why would the Drill Grounds be built next to the City Lord's Mansion?"

Ye Zong said, "If they were only meant for drilling troops, there would be no need at all. Unless there's more to those grounds than meets the eye."

Nie Li said, "Impressive, Father-in-law. I also think something must be wrong here. When things stray from the norm, a demon must be lurking. Let's spend two days preparing. Once Young Master Chen reaches Silver Rank and integrates with a demon spirit, we'll set out."

Chen Linjian stayed at the City Lord's Mansion that day.

He looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand, which held twenty Soul-Tempering Pills.

"Now I really owe him an enormous favor."

Chen Linjian smiled, tipped a few pills into his mouth, then immediately began circulating his soul force to cultivate.

Meanwhile, Nie Li had already arrived at a warehouse in the City Lord's Mansion.

Ye Xiu walked beside him. "This is only one of the warehouses. It holds over ten thousand demon spirits, all at least Gold Rank. They're sorted by category, and everything here is a Nether-type demon spirit we've been able to identify."

Looking at the City Lord's Mansion's vast collection, Nie Li clicked his tongue. "Ah, what a shame I never had access to these in my previous life. If I had, there would've been no reason to fear the Hundred-Million Beast Tide that ultimately destroyed Glory City."

Ye Xiu had already made his peace with it. "Haha, it doesn't matter. Being able to change things now is good too."

Nie Li began picking up demon spirits one after another to examine them.

He hadn't forgotten about their growth potential.

The demon spirits he prepared for his companions not only had to suit them best, but also had to have the best growth potential.

If they weren't god-level, they at least had to be exceptional.

Taking out a Soul Crystal, Nie Li began testing them.

A Shadow Tiger with good growth potential.

A Black Swimmer with excellent growth potential.

A Nether Crocodile with excellent growth potential.

A Night Python with exceptional growth potential.

Nie Li's eyes were nearly dazzled by all the choices.

The more Ye Xiu watched, the more astonished he became. There were even Black Gold Rank demon spirits Nie Li dismissed, while some Gold Rank ones held his keen interest.

Could these Gold Rank ones actually be stronger than Black Gold Rank ones?

Nie Li went through tens of thousands of demon spirits as though he never tired.

Three hours later...

Nie Li held a demon spirit in his hand.

It hadn't been easy, but he really had managed to find a Nether-type demon spirit among those tens of thousands.

A Nether-type demon spirit with god-level growth potential: a Shadow Netherwolf.

"This is the one."

After leaving the warehouse, Nie Li stretched. Choosing demon spirits was pretty tiring too.

He then sent the servants of the City Lord's Mansion out to purchase quite a few things.

Arrows, light crossbows, purple mist grass, earthmark flowers, demon-eroding grass...

Ye Xiu also procured quite a few sets of inner armor, one for each of the nine.