Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

「Half a month later.」

Returning to his room, Zhu Ju opened his storage bag, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

’This trip was well worth it!’

The trade fair hosted by the Celestial Yu Sect this time had attracted nearly every power from the Righteous Immortal Alliance.

All sorts of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, Mysterious Skills and Secret Techniques, were a dazzling sight to behold.

Yesterday, a ten-thousand-year-old treasure even appeared in the marketplace, claimed by a Golden Core Grandmaster from the Profound Clarity Sect.

Of course, the truly good items, like Tier Three Demon Cores, were beyond his reach, but Zhu Ju’s haul was still quite bountiful.

Sixty Foundation Establishment Pills!

With the Demon Dao’s invasion steadily approaching, the major sects no longer had the spare capacity to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

But they were indispensable.

This caused the price of Foundation Establishment Pills to rise daily.

Zhu Ju hadn’t bought so many Foundation Establishment Pills for his Sect or disciples; it was mostly for investment.

’Spiritual Medicine is becoming scarcer, so the price of Foundation Establishment Pills will only get higher. They’re hard currency now, with a stable ten percent annual increase in value. The key is that they can be used at any time to trade for whatever I need.’

Core Formation Spiritual Objects were a similar case.

However, the price of Core Formation Spiritual Objects had been driven up too high recently, nearly double what it was a few years ago.

’Can’t afford them!’

’Besides, all the major powers have their eyes on these things. With my current strength, I’m not qualified to get involved.’

Three broken Arrays.

Among them, the Celestial Yu Sect’s Tier Three Broken Array, the Twelve Celestial Star Array, was the highest grade.

’It has a complete Array Map, despite being a broken Array. If I combine the materials from the other two Arrays, I should be able to assemble a Tier Two High Grade Array.’

’A Tier Two High Grade Array... if I activate it with my full power, I might even have a chance to trap a Golden Core Grandmaster.’

Of course.

A Golden Core Grandmaster who could be trapped by a Tier Two Array definitely wouldn’t be very strong.

But Zhu Ju had a real chance of repairing the Twelve Celestial Star Array, at which point it would become a Tier Three Grand Array.

Additionally.

There were ten bottles of Elixirs that could aid the Cultivation of Dao Foundation Cultivators.

Two of these were High Grade Elixirs. The others weren’t high grade, but they could still save ten to twenty years of arduous Cultivation.

Stroking the Elixir bottles, Zhu Ju smiled.

’Spirit Stones have never been the problem. As long as I can save time, any amount of Spirit Stones is worth it.’

There were also two Tier Three Spirit Talismans.

One was a Heaven Escape Talisman, which, when activated, could grant its user a Flying Escape speed comparable to a Golden Core Grandmaster’s for a period of time.

The other was a Void Illusion Sword Spirit Talisman, capable of manifesting three Illusory Flying Swords that also possessed the Might of the Golden Core.

...

His gains were immense!

Likewise.

The storage bag that had been bulging when he arrived was now completely empty.

”You’re leaving, Fellow Daoist Zhu?”

Upstairs in a tavern, Tang Ruhe of the Seeking Immortal Sect and Li Xingzhi of the Hundred Flowers Sect looked surprised to hear that Zhu Ju was leaving.

”Why not stay a few more days?”

Li Xingzhi spoke up:

”In a few more days, that Innate Spiritual Artifact, the Skyscraping Mystic Fire Sword, will be revealed. Aren’t you going to stay and have a look, Brother?”

The Bright Void Sect, Hundred Flowers Sect, and Seeking Immortal Sect were all on good terms, and the three of them had once traveled to the Void Secret Realm together.

Having run into each other here, they naturally got together often.

This was especially true for Li Xingzhi, who was exceptionally polite to Zhu Ju for having saved Dong Yuelan.

”No.”

Zhu Ju shook his head.

”I’ve already gotten everything I came to buy. Staying any longer would just be a waste of time.”

”As for that Innate Spiritual Artifact...”

”It’s not something people like us can hope to obtain.”

”It never hurts to look,” Tang Ruhe said, taking out a few Jade Tokens and gently tossing them into the air with one hand.

”Mountain below, Water above. This is the hexagram of Obstruction.”

His brow furrowed as he said:

”The hexagram shows high mountains and deep waters—a path fraught with difficulties and dangers. It suggests one should stop when faced with peril to protect oneself.”

In other words, it was not a good time to travel far.

”Brother Zhu.”

Putting away the Jade Tokens, Tang Ruhe said:

”The hexagram is inauspicious. Why not wait a few days and travel with us? We can watch out for each other on the road.”

”Heh...” Zhu Ju chuckled.

”When the Jian hexagram is used for divination of direction, it favors traveling southwest. It also indicates that disaster can be turned into safety, a sign of great fortune following a calamity.”

”I happen to be heading southwest. Isn’t that perfectly suitable?”

”Oh!” Tang Ruhe raised an eyebrow.

”I wouldn’t have thought Brother Zhu was also versed in divination.”

The Seeking Immortal Sect was most skilled in the art of Feng Shui and the Divination Method, making them something of an outlier in the world of Cultivation.

Tang Ruhe’s Magical Treasure was a set of jade tokens; he always performed a divination for fortune and misfortune before every trip.

”I don’t know divination.”

Zhu Ju shook his head.

”But Brother Tang seems to have forgotten that I am a Tier Two Array Master. Arrays also involve the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams.”

”Oh!” Tang Ruhe lightly tapped his forehead.

”Now that you mention it, Brother Zhu, I had indeed forgotten. A Tier Two Array Master...”

”In that case, I wish Brother Zhu a safe journey.”

”Drink!”

”Bottoms up!”

*

*

*

A mountain pass somewhere.

A figure slowly descended.

”Fellow Daoist Xiong.”

A Cultivator in a white robe tilted his head up in greeting.

”You’re not going to that Secret Realm?”

”You jest, Brother Hong,” Xiong Chu grinned.

”If I went to the Secret Realm, I would be stuck there for the rest of my life. I’d rather not live such a stifling existence.”

”Granny Jiu.”

He turned his head to look at an old woman in colorful clothes not far away, his eyes narrowing instinctively.

”We meet again.”

”CACKLE CACKLE...” Granny Jiu let out a strange laugh.

”It’s rare for Brother Xiong to think of this old woman, so of course I had to hurry over. Who’s the target this time?”

”The target’s identity is still unclear. His Cultivation is most likely Mid-Stage Dao Foundation, but it could be Late-Stage Dao Foundation,” Xiong Chu said, rubbing his chin.

”The man is quite wealthy; he acquired a Tier Three Broken Array from me. And it’s highly likely he’s a Demonic Cultivator.”

”A Demonic Cultivator?” Fellow Daoist Hong raised an eyebrow.

”People from the Demon Dao can still sneak into your event?”

”Heh...” Granny Jiu chuckled lowly.

”What’s so strange about it?”

”Forget a mere Secret Realm used for trading—wasn’t the main hall of the Celestial Yu Sect’s own garrison infiltrated?”

Xiong Chu’s expression darkened.

His own sect’s patriarch had been assassinated in the main hall by the Six Paths Demon Monarch. This was a colossal humiliation for the Celestial Yu Sect.

He was a disciple of the Celestial Yu Sect; naturally, he was displeased to hear someone joke about such a matter.

”No matter.”

Fellow Daoist Hong, reading the mood, smiled.

”Whether he’s a Demonic Cultivator or not, we’ve done this sort of business a few times. We welcome all comers.”

”If he’s a Mid-Stage Dao Foundation, it’ll be easy to handle. If he’s Late-Stage Dao Foundation, we’ll have to rely on you, Granny Jiu.”

Among the three of them.

Granny Jiu’s strength was the greatest. She was at the Late-Stage Dao Foundation, and with her unique Cultivation Method, her power was astonishing.

He and Xiong Chu were both Mid-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivators, but their methods were not to be underestimated. With the three of them working together, they wouldn’t fear even a Dao Foundation Perfection Cultivator.

”CACKLE CACKLE...” Granny Jiu cackled strangely.

”Rest assured. As long as the loot is divided as we agreed, this old woman will make sure he never returns.”

”You two,” Xiong Chu said suddenly.

”He’s here!”

”Hm?” Fellow Daoist Hong raised an eyebrow.

”So soon?”

...

CRACKLE!

A flash of electricity.

The Wind and Thunder Blade Wings unfurled behind Zhu Ju. Amidst leaping arcs of electricity, his figure shot forward a hundred zhang in an instant.

As his Cultivation had improved, controlling a Magical Treasure had become commonplace for him.

”Hm?”

As he flew over a place of high mountains and deep waters, Zhu Ju’s heart skipped a beat.

’Don’t tell me that fellow Tang Ruhe was actually right. ”A path fraught with difficulties and dangers.”’

SWISH!

With a flash, his figure changed direction and sped away.

At that moment, six beams of iridescent light shot up from the ground like six massive pillars of light, enveloping the entire area of several li.

An Array!

The Six Harmonies Trapping Array!

This was a relatively easy-to-deploy Tier One Array. Its power was not great, but it was still capable of momentarily impeding a Dao Foundation Cultivator.

”Fellow Daoist!”

Three figures soared into the air, surrounding Zhu Ju. One of them spoke slowly:

”Since you’re here, what’s the rush to leave?”

”The three of us siblings have no intention of fighting you to the death, Fellow Daoist. Just leave your belongings behind...”

”Xiong Chu!” Zhu Ju suddenly spoke, looking directly at him.

”As a disciple of the Celestial Yu Sect, you’re secretly acting as a Tribulation Cultivator? Aren’t you afraid of punishment from your Sect?”

Xiong Chu fell silent.

He hadn’t expected his identity to be seen through so quickly.

”CACKLE CACKLE...” Granny Jiu laughed strangely.

”Fellow Daoist Xiong, since you’ve been recognized, there’s no need to hide it anymore.”

”Hmph!” Xiong Chu snorted coldly.

”The Celestial Yu Sect is said to be a leader of the Righteous Immortal Alliance alongside the Profound Clarity Sect, but our cultivation resources are hardly abundant.”

”If I hadn’t sought out other means, it would be questionable whether I could have even reached the Dao Foundation stage!”

?

’Not enough resources, so you rob people?’

Zhu Ju looked astonished. He had never seen a Tribulation Cultivator act with such self-righteousness.

”Further talk is useless,” Fellow Daoist Hong said.

”Brother Xiong’s identity has been exposed. At this point, we definitely can’t let him leave here alive.”

”Attack!”