166: Divine Medicine

With a thought from Zhang Sheng, the storage rings on the four corpses flew into his hand.

At the same time, he tapped his fingertips repeatedly, and four scorching fireballs whistled out, instantly engulfing the corpses, which twisted and carbonized in the flames before turning into fly ash.

Watching the four people who had besieged him die in an instant, the young man in red, Li Sheng, finally recovered from his shock, his face flushing with excitement:

"Li Sheng greets you, brother! Thank you for saving my life! Two million spirit crystals, please accept them!" A storage ring flew accurately toward Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng caught it without hesitation and scanned it with his Divine Sense; the number of spirit crystals inside was exactly correct.

He nodded expressionlessly. "We're even." Before his voice had even faded, he had already transformed into a streak of blinding rainbow light and soared away through the air.

"Brother! Wait!" Li Sheng's speed was surprisingly not slow as he hurriedly caught up and flew alongside Zhang Sheng. "You're also going to Heavenly Injury Prefecture, right? Why don't we travel together?" He hadn't expected the other party to be so fast, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Keeping a safe distance while observing Zhang Sheng's expression, Li Sheng said, "I've made a few trips to Heavenly Injury City myself to hunt desolate beasts and gather Spiritual Plants. My luck was just terrible this time, running into bandits. Having a companion on the road means we can look out for each other, right?" He paused and asked tentatively, "I haven't asked for your honorable name yet, brother?"

"Rodi." Zhang Sheng glanced at him. Since this person was familiar with Heavenly Injury City and could keep up with his speed, there was no harm in having a guide.

"Brother Luo!" Li Sheng's face broke into a smile. "Judging by the direction you came from, you must be from the New Prefecture, right? I'm very familiar with Heavenly Injury City! When we arrive, I'll treat you to some authentic delicacies!"

Seeing that Zhang Sheng didn't react much, he changed the subject and sighed. "Sigh, the world is becoming more and more unsettled. On my previous trips to the wilderness, I never saw so many bandits. If this continues, how will we Loose Cultivators survive?"

Zhang Sheng's heart stirred, and he became curious about the reason for the surge in bandits. "Brother Li, do you know the reason for this?"

Happy that Zhang Sheng had responded, Li Sheng immediately said, "It's all because 'god-connecting treasure medicine' is becoming harder and harder to get! god-connecting pills and Spirit-Fusion Pills are now in high demand but short supply!"

Occasionally, if one pops up at an auction, it can fetch an astronomical price! Just a few days ago, one at the Qinglan Prefecture's official auction went for three hundred million spirit crystals! It's terrifying!"

"god-connecting treasure medicine?" Zhang Sheng didn't hide his "ignorance." "What is that?"

Li Sheng realized and explained, "Brother Luo, a Cultivator condenses a True Embryo and Cultivates it, but to Breakthrough from the True Fetus Realm to the Divine Power Realm, one must completely fuse the True Embryo with themselves. In this Fusion process, god-connecting treasure medicine is the key!"

"Only by consuming it can one successfully fuse and break through the realm in one go!"

Zhang Sheng remembered that he hadn't heard this news at the Youyuan Chamber of Commerce or the Qinglan Chamber of Commerce; it seemed they felt he didn't need it for the time being.

"Is there no one who can break through without relying on treasure medicine?" Zhang Sheng asked casually.

"There are! Of course there are!" Li Sheng's tone was filled with awe. "But those are peerless Prodigies that appear once in a hundred million! I heard that the legendary figure 'Chao Xingzhi' forced his way through on the God-Connecting Battlefield, killing a million enemies and completing the Fusion of his True Embryo and Physical Body amidst blood and fire!"

"As soon as he entered the Divine Power Realm, he simultaneously comprehended five peerless Divine Abilities! It was absolutely terrifying!"

He sighed. "So, in the Qinglan Prefecture, Divine Breath Realms are everywhere, and there are many in the True Fetus Realm as well. But Divine Power Realm experts? Not even one might emerge from a hundred thousand in the True Fetus Realm!"

A single god-connecting pill is a natural chasm lying before countless Cultivators!"

What's even more ironic is that the person who auctioned the god-connecting pill a few days ago was intercepted and killed by unknown means before even leaving the Guard City, and the pill was taken... Sigh, how tragic."

Zhang ShengHe understood,So there's this hurdle to breaking through to the Divine Power Realm..

Why was the medicine so precious yet no one could refine it? He didn't ask Li Sheng this question; he would naturally find the answer once he reached Heavenly Injury City.

As they got closer to Heavenly Injury City, the figures of Cultivators on the road gradually became denser, while the bandits disappeared.

Clearly, those outlaws only dared to operate in the wilderness far from the Guard City.

A few days later, the outline of a giant city, so towering it was breathtaking, finally appeared on the horizon.

Heavenly Injury City!

The thousand-foot-high city walls stretched like a mountain range; the side Zhang Sheng could see spanned over six hundred kilometers, yet he still couldn't see the end.

Even more shocking was that deep inside the city, a giant pillar of immeasurable diameter rose from the ground, piercing the clouds, with a height exceeding a hundred kilometers!

The sight instantly made Zhang Sheng think of the legendary Sea-Fixing Needle from mythology.

"I was also shocked the first time I saw it!" Li Sheng explained at the right moment. "That's called a 'spirit suppressing pillar,' and it's an incredible Magic Treasure! Every Guard City has one. To be precise, the pillars came first, and then the Guard Cities were built. In the entire Qinglan Prefecture, there are thirty-six such spirit suppressing pillars."

"Together, they form the 'Heavenly Dipper Spirit Suppressing Great Formation'!"

It is only thanks to this great formation that the violent Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here can be suppressed and regulated, allowing us to Cultivate in peace.

Otherwise, the Spiritual Qi here would be as mixed and chaotic as in the Desolate Domain. If an ordinary Cultivator tried to forcibly refine it, their cultivation would regress at best, or they would directly suffer Qi Deviation and explode at worst!"

"I see. Thank you for the explanation, Brother Li." Zhang Sheng nodded.

Li Sheng waved his hand. "Compared to Brother Luo saving my life, this is nothing! We should land now; flying is prohibited in the city."

The two of them descended to the ground.

The massive city gate was cast from some unknown material that shimmered with a cold metallic light, with the three large characters "Heavenly Injury City" hanging high above.

As soon as Zhang Sheng's gaze touched the handwriting, an invisible and terrifying pressure suddenly descended, as if he were locked in the cold gaze of an ancient Vicious Beast, making his hair stand on end!

"Brother Luo! Don't look directly at those characters!" Li Sheng quickly warned. "They were written by the Prefecture Governor himself and contain his Divine Ability True Intent! If your cultivation isn't high enough, looking for too long will damage your Divine Soul!"

Zhang ShengImmediately look away.

At the city gate, people flowed like a river, and Cultivators coming and going were endless.

Zhang Sheng noticed that everyone entering the city would pay spirit crystals to the guards.

There were two teams of guards, over thirty people in total, and the aura they emitted was strikingly at least at the True Fetus Realm! He immediately withdrew his Divine Sense to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

"The entrance fee is one hundred spirit crystals per person. To stay in the city, an additional hundred must be paid daily. Divine Power Realm Cultivators are free." A clear voice transmission sounded directly in his ear, coming from a guard.

It costs money to enter the city? Zhang Sheng was a bit surprised, but on second thought, if it weren't for this, this giant city probably wouldn't be able to accommodate the influx of Cultivators.

Screech—!

A sharp, air-tearing shriek suddenly came from high above!

Zhang Sheng looked up abruptly.

He saw three pure white, majestic flying horses with sharp single horns pulling a radiant gold and jade carriage, diving down from the sky!

No aura was detectable from within the carriage, but the fierce aura emitted by those three flying horses was not at all weaker than that of a True Fetus Realm Cultivator!

"Brother Luo! It's a big shot! Quickly, move aside!" Li Sheng's expression changed, and he hurriedly pulled Zhang Sheng to the side of the road.

A streak of light shot out from the carriage and landed accurately in front of the guard captain—it was a token.

When the captain saw the two ancient and majestic characters for "Azure Mist" on the token, his face changed drastically!

Without hesitation, he swung his right hand upward.

Rumble... The massive city gate opened in response, revealing a deep archway.

The guard captain respectfully held the token in both hands, stepped forward quickly, bowed deeply, and returned the token.