255: Origin of the World

You feigned a frown: "I am merely a Loose Cultivator, I'm afraid I cannot afford your treasure."

The old man hurriedly held up two fingers: "It is not expensive, not expensive at all. Since I have an Opportunity with you, young friend, I will sell it to you for this much."

"Not expensive? Two hundred Spirit Stones?" You said in a joking tone.

The old man was startled upon hearing the price you quoted—he had actually meant twenty Spirit Stones.

Unexpectedly, you had said two hundred Spirit Stones.

Seeing your playful expression, he assumed the price was too high, so he held up one finger and asked tentatively: "How about... one hundred Spirit Stones?"

After speaking, the old man suppressed his inner excitement and looked at you with great anticipation.

Seeing the old man's expression, you immediately understood the reason.

So you nodded with a smile: "Alright, one hundred Spirit Stones is just enough for me."

The old man was overjoyed upon hearing this.

As soon as you took out a bag of Spirit Stones, the old man quickly took it and shoved the jade bottle into your hand.

Before you could speak, the old man ran off like a wisp of smoke.

Many people nearby saw this and began to laugh in low voices:

"That old man Liu spends all day tricking people with that bottle of Spirit Liquid, I didn't expect him to actually succeed."

"Haven't you noticed? This kid is a new face, looks young, and seems like a naive fool."

"A bottle of Spirit Liquid only costs one Spirit Stone, yet old man Liu actually sold it for one hundred Spirit Stones. It's truly unreasonable."

Some shrewd stall owners immediately pulled out a bottle of Spirit Liquid and walked up to you, looking at you excitedly.

"Young Master, I also have a bottle, would you like to take a look?"

"Young Master, I have one too, only fifty Spirit Stones, take a look."

"Young Master, look at mine. I only sell it for ten Spirit Stones, and it's buy-one-get-one-free. How about it?"

In an instant, you were surrounded by a dozen stall owners, all pushing their Spirit Liquid to you.

You swept your Divine Sense over them one by one; naturally, you had no interest in these ordinary Spirit Liquids.

You smiled and nodded at everyone: "Thank you all for your kindness, but I only need one bottle. If I have need in the future, I will come find you all again."

Everyone looked regretful and disappointed, their hearts aching.

You looked at them with a smile, shook your head slightly, and turned to walk towards a pavilion in the center of the city—that was where the imperial capital handled property transactions.

The eleventh year,

You have been living in this Tianyu City for over a year now.

A year ago, you bought a three-courtyard residence in Tianyu City and have been living there in a low-key manner.

Over this past year, you have gained a deeper understanding of this Shattered Star Continent—

The strongest figures on the entire Shattered Star Continent are three Late Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators: the Emperor of the Tianyu Immortal Dynasty, Ji Wuya; the manager of Langgan Pavilion, Old Monster Xinghen; and the richest man, Old Ancestor Jin Yuan of the Jiang Family.

Besides that, your deepest impression from your observations on the Shattered Star Continent this year can be summed up in two words—backwardness.

This backwardness goes far beyond the thin Spiritual Qi and the low Cultivator Realms; it permeates every aspect, such as the limitations of their cognition—

Countless Mortals live their whole lives thinking that the sky above their heads and the ground beneath their feet are the entire world.

They do not know that there are endless stars beyond the starry sky, nor do they know that completely different civilizations and living beings exist on other continents.

Their world is firmly locked within the radius visible to the naked eye.

Then there is the strict hierarchy—

The entire continent presents a primitive and cruel state of "cohabitation of Immortals and Mortals, with solidified hierarchy."

Cultivators are high and mighty, wielding power and authority, and are the unquestionable "people above others."

Mortals are firmly pressed to the bottom, like ants and blades of grass, their status and life or death often depending on a single thought from a Cultivator.

The social structure here is, in some respects, even more rigid than the feudal era you know, almost semi-slavery.

Living here, you often feel a profound sense of fragmentation—

On one side is the "transcendent" picture of Cultivators pursuing immortality and manipulating Laws.

On the other side is the "ignorant" reality where the vast majority of Mortals are still struggling for the most primitive food and survival, and they see this as a matter of course.

However, you have no intention of changing this.

Because such situations are common everywhere among the countless "Shattered Star Continents" in the Immortal Domain.

Moreover, you plan to leave in six years—because that is when the Mysterious Immortal Palace on Tianyang Star will emerge, and at that time, by subduing the palace's artifact spirit, you will be able to obtain the countless treasures and Spirit Treasures within the hall.

You originally thought about going to Tianyang City, but it is crowded and complex there, and you do not want to attract too much attention.

Furthermore, you feel that Tianyu City is quite good, like a forgotten corner, which is especially safe for you.

For convenience, you have always displayed Foundation Establishment cultivation to the outside world—

Firstly, it can avoid unnecessary trouble, and secondly, it allows you to hear quite a bit of news.

On normal days, besides Cultivating, you often come to Duyan Tower.

Duyan Tower is the place where Loose Cultivators love to gather most, and there are always Cultivators in groups of three or five, exchanging various Opportunities and news while drinking.

You sat in a private booth on the second floor, looking down over the railing—on the central stage, five female Qi Refining Cultivators were dancing gracefully. They were draped in light gauze, their graceful figures appearing and disappearing under the soft light, like Fairies in a painting.

The stage was surrounded by private booths, and beside each booth stood a female Qi Refining Cultivator, pouring tea with plain hands, with lowered brows and submissive eyes.

The waitress beside you was named Lulu, and you have become very familiar with each other over this year.

Seeing that you seemed to have something on your mind, Lulu asked: "Young Master Qin, do you have something on your mind?"

You held the sleeping and snoring Qin Han in your arms, took a deep breath, and a trace of solemnity appeared between your brows. You indeed had a question—you increasingly felt that Langgan Pavilion was unusual in every way.

First, the imbalance of income and expenditure.

This Shattered Star Continent is resource-poor, and the Cultivator Realms are generally not high.

Opening a Langgan Pavilion here, selling mostly low-grade Materials, yields meager profits, and it is even difficult to maintain the Formation of the nine-story pavilion.

It does not look like it is for profit at all; on the contrary, it looks like a long-term stronghold.

Second, hidden murderous intent.

Your Divine Sense has detected many times that Cultivators with hidden auras enter and leave the backyard of Langgan Pavilion through secret passages late at night.

They carry a faint scent of blood, and their style of conduct is completely different from the shop assistants in the pavilion.

You suspect that Langgan Pavilion has secretly cultivated a killer organization here to handle some unspeakable matters.

Third, unknown conspiracy.

You discovered that while Langgan Pavilion superficially acquires various Spirit Materials produced on the Shattered Star Continent, it is secretly using a special Formation to quietly extract the already thin world origin from deep within the earth's veins.

You must know that any world, regardless of size or strength, depends on the world origin for its vitality, Spiritual Qi, and even the fundamental evolution of all things.

If the Origin weakens, Spiritual Qi will dry up, Laws will wither, and all things will perish.

This kind of practice is something no force can tolerate.

Even the Demonic Path rarely does this.