Chapter 485 - 457: Spirit Platform Palace

Chapter 485: Chapter 457: Spirit Platform Palace

The large merchant ship sailed onward, breaking through the waves as it followed the network of Spirit Veins on the inner sea floor.

The distribution of Spirit Veins beneath the sea was much denser here than at the edge of the outer sea. Every few days, the ship would drop anchor beside small islands that served as transit points along the route, resting and trading with the local island factions.

On the twentieth day of the voyage.

The once-steady merchant ship suddenly began to tremble violently.

The light screen of the Defensive Array surrounding the hull instantly flared to its brightest, letting out an overloaded hum. The seawater abruptly turned as black as ink, and an immense, suffocating pressure slowly rose from the depths, hundreds of zhang below.

A Tier Three Demon Beast.

The Cultivators on deck turned deathly pale in an instant, their breathing becoming labored.

Li Yuan stood before his cabin window, the sensory net of his Dark Evil Insight extending outward. It immediately retracted the moment it touched the edge of that aura.

It was a deep-sea leviathan of immeasurable size. Its aura was no less powerful than that of a Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator, and it possessed the unique savagery and bloodlust of an ocean Demon Beast.

From the core cabin in the ship’s hold, three powerful Divine Senses belonging to Early-stage Golden Core cultivators shot up into the sky and converged above the sea.

After a brief exchange, a deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the ship.

"Turn the rudder. Full sail. Detour two hundred li to the northeast."

No battle took place. Faced with a Tier Three Sea Demon, the three Golden Core Cultivators chose to retreat after their exchange.

Even three Early-stage Golden Core Cultivators were unwilling to face it head-on in the deep sea.

The merchant ship quickly changed course. With its Defensive Array running at full capacity, it safely navigated away from the pitch-black waters.

The night before the grand assembly.

Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the quiet room of his special-class cabin.

A small water-gathering array was set up in the room, filling the air with dense Water Element Spiritual Qi. The blue entry, [Tidal Flow], silently circulated within him, continuously drawing the surrounding Water Element Spiritual Qi into his meridians.

Li Yuan closed his eyes and began circulating the Cold Stream Spirit Fusion Skill.

The cultivation technique’s circuits, at the Great Success Realm, roared to life within him. The Water Spiritual Power surged like a raging river, compressed to an extremely high purity as it constantly scoured the walls of his meridians.

As the final Grand Circulation completed, the vortex of Spiritual Power around his Dantian abruptly contracted before erupting with an even longer-lasting and purer fluctuation.

[Cold Stream Spirit Fusion Skill: Great Success → Perfection]

His Water Element cultivation technique had reached complete perfection.

Li Yuan opened his eyes. The flow of Spiritual Power in his meridians was now completely smooth. Under the harmonizing effect of [Demonic-Spiritual Homology], his Water Spiritual Power and Demonic Qi blended perfectly, resulting in another substantial increase in his combat strength.

The next morning.

The merchant ship finally sailed slowly into an exceptionally vast harbor.

Li Yuan walked out of his cabin. Before him lay a massive island so vast its edges were out of sight. Peaks rose sharply from the island, adorned with countless magnificent buildings constructed along the mountainsides. From time to time, various strange Flying Spiritual Artifacts and Spiritual Birds streaked across the sky.

An outer island of the Kunpeng Alliance.

Li Yuan followed the crowd onto the island. This was just one of the many outer islands of the Kunpeng Alliance, but its prosperity already far surpassed that of any market city in Liangzhou.

Li Yuan walked to a quiet corner and formed a hand seal.

Celestial Divination Skill.

A sliver of his lifespan was drawn out, but the [Celestial Remainder] instantly replenished the loss.

Li Yuan recited inwardly, ’Are there any treasures here?’

A pulse of perception merged into the void. A moment later, the world’s Spiritual Mechanism sent back feedback.

Extremely vague.

A great fog seemed to appear in his sea of consciousness. Countless powerful streams of Spiritual Light intertwined and collided within it, making it impossible to discern any specific direction or whether the outcome would be auspicious or ill-fated.

Li Yuan withdrew the Spell and began walking inward along the wide, stone-paved main street.

From the conversations of Cultivators on the roadside, Li Yuan learned that the real large-scale auction was still half a month away. What was currently underway on the island was a preliminary grand trade fair.

Li Yuan spent the entire day weaving through the outer-ring stalls and small-to-medium-sized shops of the trade fair.

At a trade fair of this level, even the outer ring held quite a few good things.

After most of the day, he had found three ordinary items that carried entries.

A small, crudely polished nautical Compass, a piece of moisture-proof cloth that faintly exuded water vapor, and a light-as-air Floating Cloud Stone.

After paying the Spirit Stones, he held the three items in his hands.

The system prompts sounded one after another.

[Equippable Item Detected: Nautical Compass (Intact)]

[Equipment Entry Preview: Compass Probe (White)]

[Effect: Enhances perception of the direction with the densest Spiritual Qi, aiding in the search for Spirit Veins and resources.]

[Compass Probe (White) has become a permanent entry.]

[Equippable Item Detected: Moisture-Proof Cloth (Intact)]

[Equipment Entry Preview: Water Absorption (White)]

[Effect: Increases the efficiency of absorbing Water Element Spiritual Qi by thirty percent.]

[Water Absorption (White) has become a permanent entry.]

[Equippable Item Detected: Floating Cloud Stone (Intact)]

[Equipment Entry Preview: Levitation (White)]

[Effect: Grants the ability to float for a short period. After Foundation Establishment, flight speed is increased by thirty percent.]

[Levitation (White) has become a permanent entry.]

Three faint glows dissolved within his body.

His perception of high-concentration Spiritual Qi grew sharper, his absorption speed of Water Element Spiritual Qi increased once again, and his body faintly gained a sense of lightness, as if escaping gravity’s pull.

Just as Li Yuan was preparing to venture deeper into the trade district, an indescribably terrifying pressure suddenly swept out from the center of the island.

The presence was extremely brief, like a sudden clap of thunder flashing across the night sky.

It was completely unconcealed, utterly pure, and overwhelmingly dominant.

The entire outer trade district instantly fell deathly silent. All the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Qi Refining Cultivators involuntarily froze in place, their faces filled with awe.

Nascent Soul.

This was not a warning, but a declaration—a declaration of absolute control over the island, meant to intimidate anyone with ulterior motives.

Only after the pressure dissipated did the noisy chatter return to the streets.

Li Yuan entered a teahouse that specialized in selling information, ordered a pot of Spirit Tea, and listened quietly to the discussions of the surrounding Cultivators.

The scale of this auction was exceptionally high. The inner market at the island’s center was not only backed by the full might of the Kunpeng Alliance, but would also feature true Nascent Soul Level resources for sale.

For this reason, among the hegemonic powers of the outer sea, both the Coral Palace and the Dragon Abyss Pavilion had each sent a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator to prevent any unexpected incidents.

And the provider of these Nascent Soul Level resources was none other than the Celestial Peak Sect.

Li Yuan held his teacup, lost in thought.

’Why would the Celestial Peak Sect bring Nascent Soul Level resources to the outer sea to sell?’ Strategic resources of this caliber would normally be kept for internal use within the Sect, or reserved as a foundation for their own Golden Core Cultivators.

’Unless the Celestial Peak Sect is in desperate need of something specific, or they need to liquidate assets for an enormous sum of Spirit Stones and other high-tier currency.’

Combining this with the intelligence sent by the Evil Slaying Sect, the answer was obvious.

’That Nascent Soul Ancestor from the Celestial Peak Sect is really going to attempt to break through to the Divinity Transformation realm.’

Li Yuan drained the last of his tea and rose to leave the teahouse.

As he continued to wander around the island, Li Yuan discovered an interesting phenomenon.

On this outer-sea island, the boundaries between the major factions seemed to have become very blurred.

He not only saw disciples in Celestial Peak Sect attire running stalls, but also a few Primordial Yang Sect Cultivators speaking animatedly with others in a tavern. A few streets away, he even clearly sensed several fluctuations of pure Demonic Qi.

Those Demon Cultivators, dressed in black robes, were swaggering down the street picking out Spiritual Materials. The righteous path Cultivators and local island factions around them didn’t seem to find it strange at all, showing no signs of ostracism or any intent to attack.

As long as you followed the island’s rules of trade, it didn’t matter if you were from the righteous path or the Demon Dao—here, you were a customer.

Night fell.

Li Yuan stopped at a high-end inn district near the inner ring.

The architectural style in this area was remarkably uniform; everything was carved from single, massive pieces of blue jade that radiated a soft Spiritual Light.

Li Yuan paid a high price to rent a private cultivation chamber.

He pushed open the blue jade door and a wave of pure Spiritual Qi, far denser than that outside, washed over him. The room’s furnishings were exquisite, with interlocking Arrays providing defense and soundproofing comparable to the immortal’s cave of a Golden Core Cultivator.

The moment Li Yuan stepped into the room, his perception within a three-chi radius jolted. A purple entry.

The panel popped up automatically, and a line of text, completely different from before, appeared in his vision.

[Special Equippable Item Detected]

[Note: Item does not belong to user. Cannot be equipped. Detailed information cannot be viewed.]

Li Yuan froze for a moment.

He glanced around. This room wasn’t an ordinary building; it was part of some enormous Magical Artifact.

Spirit Platform Palace.

That was the name of the entire inn district. The whole inn was, in itself, an incredibly astonishing special equippable item.

Suppressing his surprise, Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array in the middle of the room.

’Since I can’t equip it, there’s no point thinking about it.’

Li Yuan closed his eyes. Instead of circulating Magic, he focused his consciousness on his physical body.

The Qi Blood in his body surged like a great river.

The circulation pathways for the Golden Body Skill and the Mystic Iron Bone Forging Skill began to race madly through his meridians and bones.

He forcibly drew upon the Spiritual Qi from his six personal Spirit Veins, using it as fuel to temper his physical body.

Time flowed by quietly amidst his cultivation.

「Ten days later.」

An extremely deep, muffled thunderclap echoed from within the room—the resonance of his marrow vibrating violently.

Li Yuan opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

[Mystic Iron Bone Forging Skill: Minor Achievement → Great Success]

[Golden Body Skill: Great Success → Perfection]

The faint golden, metallic luster on the surface of his body completely receded, and his skin returned to its normal color. But the terrifying power contained within every inch of his muscles and bones had reached its absolute peak.