6: Chapter 6 A Brief Temporary Stop in the Immortal City, A Pearl Hidden in the Sands

The spirit boat had been sailing at sea for more than half a month. The sea route was calmer than Lu Changyuan had anticipated—aside from a few thunderstorms that came and went quickly, there was only the day-after-day of blue waves and stars. When the Spirit Light Tower on the outskirts of Zhenhai Immortal City finally appeared on the horizon, the Dao Soldiers on duty on the deck finally relaxed their tensed shoulders slightly.

Three checkpoints were set up on the outskirts of Zhenhai Immortal City.

This was a convention from the Star Sea pioneering era, jointly established by the major forces. Ostensibly to maintain order and register passing Cultivators, in reality, it was merely an excuse to collect tolls and line their own pockets.

A long queue had already formed in front of the first checkpoint.

Several Sect Cultivators sat on chairs behind the checkpoint, lazily flipping through the Identity Jade Talismans handed over by passing Cultivators, occasionally making things difficult and demanding extra "registration fees." A ragged Loose Cultivator, lacking enough Spirit Stones, was pushed directly out of the queue and fell to the ground, ignored by everyone around.

Another old Cultivator carrying a medicine basket was clearly in the Star Sea for the first time. He argued a couple of sentences, saying, "The Immortal City's notice clearly states they only charge one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone." Before he could finish, a guard slapped him, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth. The crowd lining up behind him instantly fell silent, not even daring to complain anymore.

Leng Feng stood at the edge of the deck watching this scene, his gaze turning cold. "They don't look like they're guarding a checkpoint; they look like they're robbing the road."

"On the edge of the Star Sea, many rules are originally meant for those without a background," Lu Changyuan said flatly. "Taxing, exploiting, and probing origins—they squeeze out as much as they can. If one is just an ordinary Loose Cultivator, before entering Zhenhai Immortal City, they will likely have a layer of their bones scraped off first."

Lu Changyuan's spirit boat slowly approached and stopped before the checkpoint.

A guard Cultivator looked up. Seeing it was a medium-sized spirit boat, a hint of greed immediately surfaced in his eyes. He stood up, strode over, and said in an arrogant tone, "Who goes there? Report your identity and pay the city entry registration fee. It's five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones per person, and the spirit boat is charged separately—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Lu Changyuan stood on the deck. Without disembarking, he simply took out a token from his sleeve and flipped it gently in the sunlight.

A purple-gold luster, with the seal engravings of the Lu Family.

The guard Cultivator's eyes froze.

He recognized this token. In the entire Star Sea, any Cultivator with a bit of worldly knowledge recognized this token—the identity proof of a direct descendant of the Lu Family of Yunzhou, representing the direct Bloodline of a top-tier aristocratic family of Middle Earth.

The arrogance on his face vanished completely in an instant, replaced by a near-comical panic.

"Lu... Lu Family..." His voice cracked as he hurriedly turned around and shouted toward the back of the checkpoint, "Quick, open the path! Distinguished guests of the Lu Family have arrived, everyone move aside!"

The barrier of the checkpoint rose in response.

The several Sect Cultivators who had been sitting on the chairs stood up almost simultaneously. One of them even stood up so hastily that he knocked over the teacup in his sleeve onto the ground. Ignoring his half-soaked sleeve, he hurriedly bowed and ran to the edge of the Pier, forcing a smile onto his face. "I did not know which Young Master of the Lu Family has graced us with his presence. Just now, this lowly one was blind and offended you. Please forgive my offense."

Lu Changyuan stood on the deck, showing no intention of sparing him even a second glance, merely raising his hand slightly.

The spirit boat thus sailed through the checkpoint amidst a dead-silent gaze.

The surrounding Loose Cultivators queuing up looked askance, watching the spirit boat sail past leisurely, their eyes filled with envy, awe, and an indescribable silence.

Lu Changyuan put the token back into his sleeve, his expression as calm as usual.

Leng Feng stood beside him and whispered, "Is this the benefit of a great clan?"

"This is only the most basic benefit," Lu Changyuan said calmly. "You will see much more in the future."

---

The spirit boat docked at the Marketplace Pier on the outskirts of the Immortal City. Lu Changyuan took Leng Feng off the boat to restock supplies in the Marketplace.

The Marketplace was of considerable scale, with all kinds of cultivation resources available, but the quality was uneven, and the prices were much higher than in Yunzhou, clearly exploiting the pioneers' eagerness to resupply.

Lu Changyuan purchased according to his list without looking around much, until he saw a destitute Loose Cultivator's stall in a secluded alley.

Before this, he had already bought three boxes of Water-avoiding Talisman papers, two batches of Hemostatic Powder, over a dozen sets of thick leather armor suitable for Mortals, and several of the most basic Spiritual Grain Seeds. The Spirit Stones spent flowed like water, which finally made Leng Feng truly understand for the first time that so-called pioneering was never as simple as taking a token and finding a deserted island.

"These things are worthless in Yunzhou," Leng Feng whispered.

"But on a deserted island," Lu Changyuan looked at the bustling Marketplace ahead, his tone calm, "a packet of Hemostatic Powder, a roll of talisman paper, and a bag of grain seeds that can sprout are often more life-saving than a fancy Magical Artifact."

There were seven or eight items displayed on the stall, mostly damaged Magical Artifacts and low-quality Medicinal Pills, clearly family heirlooms brought out for sale out of desperation.

Lu Changyuan's steps slowed down.

In the corner of the stall, there was a flag, folded and looking extremely dilapidated. The patterns on the flag's surface were already blurred, and the color had faded into an indescribable grayish-brown.

But within Lu Changyuan's Sea of Consciousness, the heavenly secret jade slip grew slightly warm.

He walked over, squatted down, casually picked up the flag, pretended to flip through it carelessly, and then put it down. He looked up at the stall owner: "How much for this broken flag?"

The stall owner was a middle-aged Loose Cultivator in his forties, with a haggard face. Seeing someone asking, he quickly said, "If you fancy it, Fellow Daoist, you can take it for five Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I don't know what this thing is either; I picked it up."

"Three," Lu Changyuan stood up. "Round it down."

"Sure, sure, you can take it."

The stall owner agreed so quickly, as if he was terrified that Lu Changyuan would back out. As Lu Changyuan casually tossed down three Low-Grade Spirit Stones, his gaze paused for a moment on the back of the stall owner's hand. That hand was covered in old burn scars, the knuckles were thick, and there were calluses on the web of the thumb left by long-term roasting by Spiritual Fire.

That was not a hand an ordinary Loose Cultivator would have.

"Did you use to refine artifacts?" Lu Changyuan asked casually.

The middle-aged Loose Cultivator was startled, and a bitter smile squeezed onto his face. "In my earlier years, I worked as an Artifact Refining apprentice at sea for a few years. Later, my master's Sect disbanded, and I only learned half the craft. Now, I can't afford Spiritual Materials, and I can't maintain the furnace fire, so I can only pick up some junk to sell."

Lu Changyuan nodded and did not press further.

But he kept these words in mind. What the Star Sea lacked was never just treasures; more often than not, it lacked people who could refine and revive those treasures.

Lu Changyuan put the flag into his Storage Pouch, turned, and left.

Leng Feng caught up with him and lowered his voice, "What use is this broken flag? It doesn't even look as good as an ordinary Magical Artifact."

Lu Changyuan did not answer immediately. Only after walking out of the alley and confirming that no one around was paying attention did he transmit his voice via Divine Sense, his voice calm:

"The Core Formation Eye of an ancient Spirit Gathering Array."

Leng Feng's steps paused for a moment.

"Spirit Gathering Array..." He lowered his voice. "Isn't that the legendary Formation that can forcibly gather Spiritual Qi from a hundred miles around and transform a barren land into a grotto-heaven abundant with Spiritual Qi?"

"A damaged version," Lu Changyuan corrected calmly. "But with the Core Formation Eye present, the other Formation Flags can be refined again to complete it."

Leng Feng was silent for a moment. He glanced at Lu Changyuan's back and said nothing more.

He began to realize that this Young Lord's discernment was far from being as simple as it appeared on the surface.

After walking out of the alley, Lu Changyuan did not immediately return to the Pier. Instead, he went to restock a batch of blank Formation Plates used for setting up Formations and several kinds of cheap Spiritual Materials. The items were not expensive, and their usefulness could not be seen at the moment. However, if that damaged flag could indeed be completed as part of the Spirit Gathering Array, these pre-prepared Materials would save him a lot of trouble going back and forth.

Watching him put the miscellaneous supplies one by one into his Storage Pouch, Leng Feng suddenly understood another thing.

Lu Changyuan's bargain hunting was never a matter of only acting when he happened to stumble upon something.

At the same time he recognized that something was valuable, he would already calculate how to use it, repair it, and hide it later.

---

Having finished the purchases, Lu Changyuan put away the list and looked toward the more prosperous area deep within the Immortal City. He said, "Let's go. It's time to meet my uncle who acts like a local tyrant here."

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