As for Xiaohei, her fist blades that had evolved to the Earth-grade Divine Weapon level, its imperial majesty was now completely restrained. It had transformed into a cold ring around her finger bone, looking like a piece of rusty iron.
While eating hotpot, Su Yueli silently cataloged all her gains from this secret realm trip in her mind:
Over one thousand eight hundred high-grade spirit stones, and twelve Earth Meridian Essence Stones radiating a rich, earthy aura.
A heavy, fist-sized core demon core of a Ninth Realm demonic leech, and a mass of Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Marrow that looked like gold-red mercury.
And over a dozen space rings and storage bags forcibly stripped from the Great Wei commander and those unlucky cultivators, stuffed with various immortal cultivation techniques, flying swords, magic treasures, and healing spiritual medicines.
This was a massive harvest. Holding such a fortune, any ordinary mortal martial artist would probably wake up laughing from their dreams.
Now, her foundation at the early stage of the Heaven-Shaking Realm was completely turned to gold. The golden marrow brought her blood-generating capacity and physical defense to an incredibly absurd dimension.
Based on her current combat power, those ordinary Eighth Realm grand cultivators in the Great Li Imperial City were no different from chives in a field to her; a single punch could wipe out a whole crowd.
Even if she encountered a Ninth Realm early stage expert wielding high-grade magic treasures, she could completely overpower and kill them head-on.
But was this enough for her to return and seek revenge?
Su Yueli popped a piece of cooked mutton into her mouth, but her eyes gradually grew cold.
The Cangyun Sect and Blue Moon Sect of the Great Li Imperial City were immortal cultivation giants that had stood tall on this land for thousands of years.
The foundations of these super sects were unfathomably deep.
On the surface, their sect masters and elders only possessed Eighth or Ninth Realm cultivation at most. In reality, the ancestors of past generations who were nearing the end of their lifespans and lingering on in coffins through secret techniques were at least Tenth Realm entities.
There might even be heaven-defying old monsters of the Eleventh, Twelfth, or even Thirteenth Realm guarding the deepest forbidden areas of the sects.
The further one went along the immortal path, the wider the gap between each realm became.
In the eyes of those old monsters who had lived for thousands of years, a minor martial artist like her who had just entered the Heaven-Shaking Realm would likely end up as blood food for their protective sect arrays if she got careless and exposed herself.
“I’m pursuing a path of longevity. Rushing to risk my life against a bunch of dying cultivators would just be plain stupid, like delivering my head on a silver platter.”
Su Yueli was very clear-headed.
No matter how high a cultivator's realm was, there would eventually come a day when their lifespan ran out and heavenly tribulations descended.
And time was the one thing she did not lack.
Going head-to-head with a bunch of old monsters with little lifespan left was a foolish move only hotheads would make.
A true top hunter always waited until they completely out-leveled their prey before executing a flawless, effortless slaughter.
“Isn't it just laying low? I can do that too.”
Su Yueli sneered inwardly.
She immediately decided not to rush back to the imperial city. She needed to exchange all the immortal magic treasures, flying swords, and techniques she had plundered from the grand tomb—even the one thousand eight hundred-plus high-grade spirit stones—for resources that a martial artist could use.
Then, she would find some desolate mountain range where the spiritual energy was so thin that even cultivators wouldn't spare it a second glance, and enter absolute seclusion.
If the early stage of the Heaven-Shaking Realm wasn't enough, she would keep pushing her limits.
Until she tempered her physical blood qi to the pinnacle of the martial path—where she could beat a peak Thirteenth Realm old monster to death with her bare hands—she would absolutely not emerge from seclusion!
The day she stepped into the Thirteenth Realm and achieved physical sainthood, whatever bullshit protective sect array they had would be nothing more than rubble she could shatter with a single punch.
When that time came, she would make sure all the ancestors of those two sects couldn't even keep their coffin lids shut.
With her mind made up, Su Yueli picked up her teacup and swallowed the last high-grade Eighth Realm blood medicine she had seized from the grand tomb as if it were a candy.
As the warm medicinal power entered her stomach, the golden bones inside her body trembled slightly, absorbing all of it.
She stood up, tossed a few copper coins onto the table to pay for the meal, and strode out of the restaurant.
Outside, the cold wind of the border town whipped the fine strands of hair across her forehead.
Su Yueli paused briefly. Her cold gaze pierced through the noisy, bustling market streets, looking far toward the east where the Great Li Imperial City lay.
“Cangyun Sect...”
A somewhat cruel curve formed at the corner of Su Yueli's lips as she murmured softly, “Just wait...”
Stepping forward in her black cloth shoes, her figure flashed through the bustling crowd. Completely concealing her Ji Dao blood qi, she vanished into the twilight like the most ordinary commoner.
...
Blackstone City, on the border of Great Li.
Because of its location at the border of the two countries, this city was a chaotic melting pot where low-level loose cultivators and mundane bandits gathered. This environment had given rise to the city's largest underground trading venue—the Treasure Pavilion.
As night fell, Su Yueli, dressed in her blue-and-white dress, stepped through the doors of the Treasure Pavilion.
The lighting inside was dim, and the air was thick with the scent of cheap incense and damp mold.
The trading hall deep underground was divided into individual private booths, surrounded by simple arrays designed to block divine sense sweeps.
With a cold expression, Su Yueli did not linger outside. She walked straight through the hall and pushed open the door of the VIP room at the very end, which bore the sign "Heaven Class".
Behind the door, a middle-aged cultivator in red robes with a plump, protruding belly sat cross-legged behind a tall mahogany counter.
This man was the master of the Treasure Pavilion, Wan Fusheng.
Though dressed like a merchant, the faint spiritual energy fluctuations radiating from him revealed his Eighth Realm early stage cultivation.
“Are you here to sell, or to have something appraised?” Wan Fusheng raised his eyelids, casting a lazy glance at Su Yueli.
When he realized that the young woman before him did not possess even a shred of spiritual energy, a flash of disdain crossed his eyes.
A mere mortal.
Su Yueli remained expressionless, not even bothering to say a word.
With a wave of her pale hand, over a dozen dull-looking space rings and storage bags clattered onto the mahogany counter, piling up into a small hill.
“Exchange all the magic treasures, flying swords, and sect techniques inside for ancient herbs used for tempering a martial artist's body. Also, there are over one thousand eight hundred high-grade spirit stones here. Exchange all of them as well,” Su Yueli said coldly.
Wan Fusheng had been rather indifferent, but the moment his divine sense swept over the pile of space rings, his body froze instantly, his small eyes widening in shock.
“This is...”
In disbelief, he grabbed the topmost storage bag, wiped away the weak residual divine sense on it, and peered inside.
In the next instant, Wan Fusheng's breathing turned heavy.
The personal sword of a Great Wei blood-armored guard commander, the vital magic treasures of core elders from Great Li sects, several complete immortal path techniques that could be cultivated directly to the Eighth or Ninth Realm, and a mountain of over one thousand eight hundred high-grade spirit stones radiating pure spiritual energy!
The sheer weight of this wealth was enough to buy half of Blackstone City!
Wan Fusheng's plump hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
He stared at the pile of space rings, and then his greedy gaze slowly shifted to Su Yueli.
A mortal martial artist without a shred of spiritual energy actually held a staggering fortune that would make countless old sect monsters green with envy.
There was only one explanation: this girl had struck gold, scavenging the relics of those fallen grand cultivators in the ruins of the Myriad Bones Wasteland!
“An ordinary man's innocence is no shield against the lure of a treasure. A mortal holding onto these is simply tired of living.”
Wan Fusheng's mind raced frantically at this moment.
In a normal transaction, not only would he have to take a massive commission, but he would also have to bleed himself dry to gather so many martial path resources.
But if... he simply eliminated this woman right here, then this staggering wealth would belong entirely to the Treasure Pavilion—entirely to him, Wan Fusheng!
Rate on N.U.
