Chapter 534 - 48: Pure Yang True Fire

In the vast sky, a golden multi-storied ship parted the clouds and pushed through the air, speeding forward.

A spiritual light clung to the ship, dense and un-dissipating. Its Profound Patterns were ancient and simple, giving it an exceptionally sturdy feel.

After two days of flight, the ship arrived above a plain.

Looking out, beyond the mountain ranges, the terrain flattened into a sprawling plain that resembled a tapestry. Fragrant grass stretched out like a continuous carpet, painting the land in shades of green, dotted with sparse woods.

The trees in the woods were all slender and straight, standing tall and elegant on the grassy plain. The tallest reached a height of a hundred zhang, yet were only about two armfuls thick. Their trunks were as black as iron, and their branches were laden with blossoms.

Because the trees were so tall and their branches so dense, each one bore no fewer than ten thousand flowers. They came in only two colors, red and white, and resembled plum blossoms, each about a chi wide.

Fang Cheng stood on the deck, looking down at the brilliant, dazzling glow of the flowers.

Before long, a cluster of buildings appeared on the plain ahead. They had arrived at the Spirit Immortal Pavilion.

From a distance, the Immortal Pavilion was laid out in a Nine Palace Bagua Formation. The marketplace had eight memorial archways serving as entrances and exits, and its inner streets and alleys were aligned with the ley lines of the Grand Array, full of Profound Mechanisms.

And in the very center of the marketplace was a massive protrusion.

Fang Cheng looked closer and realized it was an enormous tree stump!

The entire stump was over ten li in diameter and several hundred zhang tall. Its top was as flat as a platform, as if it had been severed by a single sword strike.

Just by looking at the stump, Fang Cheng could imagine how colossal the tree must have once been!

The entire Spirit Immortal Pavilion had been built around this stump, forming the Nine Palace Bagua Formation.

Aboard the ship, Qiu Wen Si explained to Fang Cheng, "Benefactor, that immortal tree’s stump is the Enlightenment Platform. Legend has it that the Ascender who cut it down for Artifact Refining later attained the Great Dao upon this very stump, leaving his legacy within its grain."

Extreme Jade Heaven was a "newborn" World Heaven. Cultivators from this world who successfully attained the Dao were exceedingly rare. Most of the Cultivation Techniques and Divine Techniques circulating within it had been casually passed down by Great Powers from other World Heavens during their travels through the Outer Void.

For a homegrown Ascender to leave behind a legacy was a rare event, so the cultivators of Extreme Jade Heaven held this place in particularly sacred regard.

Whether or not they could comprehend the legacy left by the great senior, making a "pilgrimage" here was a form of spiritual comfort.

Soon, the multi-storied ship arrived at the Spirit Immortal Pavilion.

The three of them disembarked, paid the Spirit Stone fee at the marketplace’s southern gate, and entered on foot.

Within the Spirit Immortal Pavilion, a specific area had been set aside, gathering hundreds of shops of all sizes and countless stalls specializing in the trade of Taichu Divine Stones and the treasures found within them.

It was known as the Stone Garden.

Qiu Wen Si led Fang Cheng and Qiuyu Tan straight to the Stone Garden to begin their search for clues about the "Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada."

The trio browsed and inquired about news as they walked.

Whenever the two sisters found a Taichu Divine Stone they fancied, Fang Cheng would buy it without hesitation.

Inside the shops of the Stone Garden, regardless of their size, Taichu Divine Stones were piled high.

These Taichu Divine Stones came in all shapes and sizes, but they all had one thing in common: a seven-colored glow swirled within them, obscuring what lay inside.

These Taichu Divine Stones were born from chaos, emerging into the world carrying treasures from Extreme Jade Heaven’s Origin. They condensed deep underground, and the items inside could be good or bad. What treasure one might find was purely a matter of luck.

The average price for a Taichu Divine Stone in the Stone Garden was about one hundred Upper-Grade Spirit Stones, roughly the same as a common Tier Three Lower Grade Talisman.

A Divine Stone might yield a Tier Three or even a Tier Four Treasure, but it could just as easily contain a Tier Two or Tier One item.

After selling a Taichu Divine Stone, some shops would ask if the customer wanted to cut it open on the spot. If a valuable item was revealed, the shop would offer to buy it back to resell.

Fang Cheng was not short on Spirit Stones, so he let the Qiu Sisters indulge their thrill of "treasure hunting."

In less than an hour, the two women had bought over a hundred Taichu Divine Stones.

Unfortunately, even after searching the entire Stone Garden, they found no news of the "Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada."

The treasures within the Taichu Divine Stones were all-encompassing, but the Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada was likely one of the rarest finds.

Fang Cheng hadn’t expected to find the Immortal Cicada so easily anyway.

He led the Qiu Sisters to a plaza in the Stone Garden, casually picked a spot, and, just like the other cultivators, began setting up a stall.

He first spread a black cloth on the ground, then took out a Tier Three Long Banner. He wrote a few large words on it and stood it up next to his stall.

—Trading great treasures for a Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada.

The banner shimmered with spiritual light, and the writing was eye-catching, quickly drawing the gazes of many cultivators.

On the surface, most of the people in the plaza, whether they were stall owners or customers browsing the Taichu Divine Stones, had a cultivation below the Life Soul realm.

Life Soul and Dharma Realm cultivators had mostly concealed their auras and kept a low profile.

At that moment, everyone who looked toward Fang Cheng subconsciously overlooked him, their attention stolen by the two devastatingly beautiful female cultivators at his side.

One of the women was at the Life Soul Realm, the other at the Peak of Life Talisman. Their elegant and dignified auras made it clear they came from extraordinary backgrounds.

Fang Cheng sat calmly behind the stall with the two women. Just as Qiuyu Tan was about to ask if he planned to sell Taichu Divine Stones, she saw him leisurely pick one up and begin to cut it open.

A seven-colored light dispersed, revealing a mass of cyan vapor flowing like water within the Divine Stone!

Looking closely, countless flickering runes seemed to dance within the cyan vapor, giving it a sense of endless vitality.

A Tier Three Upper-Grade Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Object: Cyan Cloud Essence.

This item could be used for Artifact Refining or Talisman making, and could also be directly used to cultivate cloud-type Divine Techniques. It had many wondrous uses and was worth at least five hundred Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.

Fang Cheng didn’t take out the Cyan Cloud Essence. Instead, he casually placed the opened Taichu Divine Stone on his stall’s cloth.

Then, he picked up another Taichu Divine Stone and began to cut it on the spot.

The surrounding stall owners saw this and were instantly intrigued. Curious gazes drifted over from all directions.

Passing cultivators who noticed the scene couldn’t help but stop in front of the stall and look at the Divine Stone in Fang Cheng’s hands.

As another burst of seven-colored light faded, a soft gasp came from the crowd.

Inside the second Divine Stone was a palm-sized piece of Profound Celestial Geng Gold, radiating brilliant, shimmering golden light.

A Tier Four Artifact Refining Treasure Material, worth more than twenty thousand Upper-Grade Spirit Stones!

Qiuyu Tan glanced at her sister. She remembered that this Taichu Divine Stone was the one Qiu Wen Si had picked out in a shop not long ago.

It had only cost one hundred Upper-Grade Spirit Stones then, and now, in the blink of an eye, it had yielded a two-hundred-fold return.

Qiu Wen Si’s lovely brows furrowed slightly. She asked in a low voice, "Benefactor, isn’t this a bit too... ostentatious?"

Fang Cheng unhurriedly set down the Taichu Divine Stone and picked up a third. As he started cutting it, he said, "When you’re doing business, you can’t be afraid of drawing attention. This is called advertisement."

Qiu Wen Si bit her red lip. Recalling Fang Cheng’s methods during the Black Sun Wind Disaster, she realized she was worrying for nothing. She nodded slightly and said, "Then I will do as you say, Benefactor."

Qiuyu Tan, however, was full of excitement, looking at the third Taichu Divine Stone with great anticipation.

This Taichu Divine Stone was only the size of a watermelon and looked unremarkable among the others, but she had a mysterious feeling about it. Her intuition told her there was a treasure inside.

Fang Cheng cut a corner off the Divine Stone. When the seven-colored light dissipated, a cluster of purple mist was revealed, and within it was a constellation of stars shaped like a canopy.

"The Four Pillar Divine Fiends?"

Fang Cheng raised an eyebrow, recognizing the origin of this purple, star-lit mist.

Someone in the crowd commented, "It’s the ’Canopy’ destiny-star from the Four Pillar Divine Fiends! Artifact Refiners and Alchemy Masters who obtain this destiny-star are guaranteed to improve their skills and break through bottlenecks. To think this Daoist Brother has opened three great items from three Divine Stones in a row!"

Immediately, another person said, "Daoist Brother, I’ll take that ’Canopy’ destiny-star. Name your price."

Fang Cheng pointed to the words on his Long Banner and said, "Only for trade, not for sale."

"What exactly is a Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada? Would other treasures that can refine and suppress demonic creatures count?" someone asked.

Fang Cheng smiled. "Only for a Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada."

As he spoke, he cut open another Taichu Divine Stone.

The moment the seven-colored light faded, a blindingly white light emerged. For an instant, everyone’s vision was completely whited out, unable to see a thing.

A dark light flickered in Fang Cheng’s eyes. After seeing the treasure inside the Divine Stone, he couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. ’I really have underestimated the Qiu Sisters’ ability.’

He took out a Talisman and placed it on the Divine Stone, and the blinding white light immediately receded.

Once everyone’s vision returned, they looked over curiously and saw a flawless white flame inside the Divine Stone.

The flame seemed both real and illusory, burning fiercely. It felt as if it contained an infinite amount of Spiritual Power, yet its terrifying and vast might seemed to be sealed away in another dimension.

A Tier Five Pure Yang True Fire!

With the appearance of this fire, even more onlookers gathered.

This was practically a priceless treasure.

’No wonder the Qiu Family was coveted by others,’ he thought. ’Who wouldn’t be green with envy over such a heaven-defying ability?’

Forget Dharma Cultivators; even a Tribulation Realm Great Power would be moved by the sight of this Pure Yang True Fire.

From the crowd, a man said in a deep voice, "Stall owner, don’t cut the next Divine Stone. Sell it to me. I’ll offer ten thousand Upper-Grade Spirit Stones."

"I’ll offer twenty thousand."

Someone immediately started raising the price.

Fang Cheng pondered for a moment, then flicked his finger at the Long Banner beside him, adding more words after "Demon-Suppressing Immortal Cicada."

Tier Five Flying Sword!

’At this rate,’ he mused, ’the Qiu Sisters might be able to help me trade for quite a few Tier Five Flying Swords...’