King of Creation
Chapter 522 - 516: Black Lotus Pill

Chapter 522: Chapter 516: Black Lotus Pill

In the True Spirit Domain, there are three super Martial Cities of enormous scale, namely Zhaoling, Tongg Yuan, and Qinglan Martial City. However, these three massively scaled super Martial Cities are referred to by the native martial artists of the True Spirit Domain as Martial Capitals, Royal Cities.

The general meaning is essentially Martial Capital or Martial Arts Capital. As for why they are called Royal Cities, the reason is even more straightforward.

Because within these three super Martial Cities, there are Kings of the Establishment Realm stationed, and not just one; although there are few who have seen them.

Of course, this way of referring to them as Martial Capitals or Royal Cities is not taboo.

Because in the True Spirit Domain, due to the extremely rich Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, there are many martial arts masters, and even ordinary people possess immense strength. Over thousands of years of evolution, nations have already disappeared.

In their place have risen numerous powerful Sects and gangs; naturally, the concept of taboo has also disappeared.

This situation is actually easy to understand; it’s just that it has evolved even more thoroughly than in the Black Dragon Domain. Due to the power of martial arts, the imperial authority within the Black Dragon Domain has become very weak.

In places like the Black Water Empire, the change of the Emperor’s throne requires the approval of the Sect Master of the Qiyun Sect. If you, as the Emperor, appoint a Crown Prince, but the Sect Master of the Qiyun Sect doesn’t nod in agreement, it all comes to naught.

If Ye Zhen had not left the Black Dragon Domain, the Emperor of the Black Water Empire would probably have needed to consult an additional person for his opinion when wishing to appoint his heir.

The three super Martial Cities of the True Spirit Domain are all built against the backdrop of mountains, notably mountains rich in Spirit Veins. Take Qinglan Martial Capital, for example; it is constructed at the foot of Lanshan Mountain within the Yunlan Mountain Range, one of the ten major mountain ranges in the True Spirit Domain.

Lanshan is often shrouded in clouds and fog, giving the Qinglan Martial Capital, which keeps ascending up the mountainside and even to the mountain peak where buildings can barely be made out, the feeling of a Mortal Fairyland from a distance.

Ye Zhen was at this moment about twenty miles in front of Qinglan Martial Capital, staring at the seemingly immortal Qinglan Martial Capital in astonishment.

Ye Zhen’s astonishment, however, was due to the scale of Qinglan Martial Capital.

Back in the Black Dragon Domain, the largest city Ye Zhen had seen was the Divine Sect of the Phantom Divine Empire with an outer city circumference of one hundred and eighty miles, which was already considered a grand city.

But as for Qinglan Martial Capital, Ye Zhen, from high in the sky and straining his eye power to the limit, simply could not see the end!

All he saw were densely packed buildings; the sky was filled with streaks of light and figures crisscrossing. Ye Zhen estimated that the city occupied at least several hundred square miles, indicating the opulence of Qinglan Martial Capital.

Indeed, Qinglan Martial Capital was the destination that Ye Zhen had set his sights on after studying the books he had purchased deep in the West River Mountain Range about the True Spirit Domain.

About three hundred thousand miles from the West River Mountain Range and approximately three hundred and seventy thousand miles from Xining Martial City, Ye Zhen traveled nearly six days on the Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten to finally arrive at Qinglan Martial Capital.

Compared to when Ye Zhen had first arrived in Xining Martial City, blind and without a clue, Ye Zhen now, after studying so many books about the True Spirit Domain, could almost be considered a half-native of the True Spirit Domain.

It was not until this moment that Ye Zhen truly understood the intention behind Deviless Luo Yingzi’s previous advice for him to hurry up and join a martial artist force.

In the True Spirit Domain, whether a martial artist is a member of a martial artist force is as important as having nationality in the Black Dragon Domain. In the True Spirit Domain, even a farmer is likely to be a peripheral member of some great power.

By paying a certain amount of dues each year, one can gain the protection of that great force, and martial artists often patrol the area. If members from another martial artist force cause trouble or harm invading members and get captured, it is tantamount to an act of invasion and declaration of war.

As for which force to join, Ye Zhen had already made up his mind on the way here.

It was naturally the Stars Tower.

The Stars Tower also has branches in the True Spirit Domain and their power is not weak. It’s said that the headquarters of the Stars Tower in the True Spirit Domain is located right within Qinglan Martial Capital and that the Stars Tower is one of the top five most powerful forces in Qinglan Martial Capital.

Ye Zhen himself has a background in the Stars Tower and joining the Stars Tower would give him a higher starting point. Moreover, the rules of the Stars Tower suit Ye Zhen better.

Of course, Ye Zhen’s choice to come to Qinglan Martial Capital was not solely based on the Stars Tower, but also on considerations for his cultivation.

In the past few days, Ye Zhen had figured out the method for martial artists to safely breakthrough from the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm Fifth Stage to the Soul Sea Realm.

The key to breaking through from the Spirit Transformation Realm Fifth Stage Peak to the Soul Sea Realm is to open up the Soul Sea.

The success rate of opening the Soul Sea mainly depends on two aspects, one of which is the strength of the Divine Soul Power.

If the Divine Soul Power is too weak, there will not be enough support when opening the Soul Sea, leading to failure. However, Ye Zhen is not worried about this at all.

With his Cultivation at the Divine Soul Fifth Realm, he definitely has enough to open the Soul Sea; after all, many martial artists in the Soul Sea Realm don’t possess Divine Soul Power as strong as Ye Zhen’s.

Merely opening the Soul Sea within the Sea of Consciousness at the Spirit Platform using personal strength does not mean that one has successfully stabilized the newly formed Soul Sea and broken through to the Soul Sea Realm.

The Soul Sea must be thoroughly stabilized before it can be considered a successful opening and a breakthrough to the Soul Sea Realm.

Whether the Soul Sea can be stabilized depends critically on the martial artist’s Innate Divine Soul.

The Innate Divine Soul is the foundation for life, present from birth, commonly referred to as the soul by ordinary people and as Divine Soul by martial artists. If the Divine Soul dissipates, even if the body breathes and moves, it’s no different than the dead walking.

The strength of a martial artist’s Divine Soul Power is gradually built up from the Innate Divine Soul through special cultivation methods.

Once the Soul Sea is created by Divine Soul Power, the Innate Divine Soul will merge into it, suppressing the Soul Sea. Under the suppression of the Innate Divine Soul, the Soul Sea gradually stabilizes, and it’s only then that the breakthrough to the Soul Sea Realm is considered complete.

If the Innate Divine Soul cannot suppress the Soul Sea, then the Soul Sea will collapse and the breakthrough will fail. The problem is, if the Soul Sea can’t be stabilized and the breakthrough fails, the origin of the Innate Divine Soul will suffer considerable damage.

The next breakthrough would make stabilizing the Soul Sea even more difficult.

For Ye Zhen, the uncertainty was precisely in this step of suppressing the Soul Sea.

Ye Zhen’s Divine Soul Power was immensely strong, but the Innate Divine Soul was unknown to anyone.

The Divine Soul is the most mysterious presence within a martial artist’s body, and even the kings among Establishers can’t completely understand it.

Therefore, martial artists, especially when suppressing the Soul Sea during breakthroughs to the Soul Sea Realm, largely rely on luck, or multiple attempts.

That’s why many martial artists from the Black Dragon Domain struggle their entire lives at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm Fifth Stage.

However, in the True Spirit Domain, there exists a mutant spiritual plant called the Black Heart Lotus, which needs to be grown in misty lakes with rich spiritual energy and takes nine years to mature, yielding Black Heart Lotus Seeds.

These Black Heart Lotus Seeds are multi-purpose, providing mental stability, calming the mind, and replenishing the Divine Soul, but their greatest effect is said to directly strengthen the Innate Divine Soul and repair damage to the Divine Soul Origin.

In the True Spirit Domain, the great sects and martial arts families with long heritages start giving Black Heart Lotus Seeds to their disciples when their cultivation reaches about the Third Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Taken daily for three years, followed by breakthrough from the Spirit Transformation Realm Fifth Stage peak to the Soul Sea Realm, the process would be unhindered, and success is usually achieved on the first try.

If one were to fail, another year of taking Black Heart Lotus Seeds followed by another attempt would almost guarantee success.

Over time, Black Heart Lotus Seeds have become one of the most sought-after spiritual plants for martial artists in the True Spirit Domain at the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Even though Black Heart Lotus Seeds can be cultivated in the True Spirit Domain, the challenging conditions required and the nine-year maturation period make them extremely rare.

Nonetheless, the Black Heart Lotus Seeds are not suitable for Ye Zhen.

Taking them for three years is too long, and Ye Zhen cannot wait.

Ye Zhen’s goal in coming to Qinglan Martial City is the Black Lotus Pill.

The main ingredient of the Black Lotus Pill is the Black Heart Lotus Seed. An expert alchemist extracts the essence of the Black Heart Lotus Seed, combining it with other spiritual medicines to fully unleash its potential.

In addition to the functions of the Black Heart Lotus Seed, the Black Lotus Pill can also heal Divine Soul injuries. More importantly, when a martial artist attempts the breakthrough from the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm Fifth Stage to the Soul Sea Realm, taking a Black Lotus Pill not only significantly increases the chances of success but also, in case of failure in establishing the Soul Sea, ensures that there is no loss to the Innate Divine Soul Origin.

Aside from a few martial artists with particularly weak Innate Divine Souls, most martial artists who take a Black Lotus Pill can break through to the Soul Sea Realm with the help of the pill.

Black Heart Lotus Seeds themselves are very precious, and very rarely seen on the market. Black Lotus Pills are even more valuable, beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists to purchase.

They are usually circulated within great sects or large gangs, occasionally appearing at auctions.

However, Stars Tower has them.

Ye Zhen has been browsing the Ten Thousand Stars Plate these past few days and discovered many items that he urgently needs.

Ye Zhen is in dire need of a Divine Soul Technique manual, and Stars Tower has several Heavenly Level Lower Grade Divine Soul manuals that Ye Zhen quite fancies, with most selling for around five hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals.

There’s also the Black Lotus Pill, which is listed on the catalogue of the Ten Thousand Stars Plate, priced at two hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Crystals each, and they are in stock.

This was also the main reason Ye Zhen made a beeline for Qinglan Martial City.

As long as Ye Zhen finds the branch of Stars Tower, almost all his current cultivation problems could be solved. Moreover, Ye Zhen knew that inside the branch of Stars Tower in Qinglan Martial City, there are Silent Chambers built upon High Grade Spirit Veins available for rent to members of Stars Tower.

The speed of cultivation there would be sixteen times faster than in the Black Dragon Domain.

Ye Zhen’s figure moved as he descended towards the center of Qinglan Martial City.

With such a vast area, it wasn’t easy for an outsider like Ye Zhen to locate the branch of Stars Tower in Qinglan Martial City.

However, Stars Tower has considerable influence within Qinglan City, being one of the five great forces that dominate Qinglan Martial City.

After a meal and a chat with the waiter, Ye Zhen effortlessly found out the location of the branch, concurrently purchasing a map of Qinglan Martial City the waiter was selling.

Despite its simplicity, it was sufficient for Ye Zhen.

Following the map, and casually entering dozens of shops for information along the way, Ye Zhen inquired subconsciously.

Of the nine pill shops he visited, only one had Black Heart Lotus Seeds for sale, merely ten of them, and there was no sign of the Black Lotus Pill.

In addition, the stores specializing in cultivation technique manuals mostly sold Mid-lower-grade Earth Level or occasionally an Upper-grade Earth Level secret manual, which were exorbitantly priced and, most crucially, not of interest to Ye Zhen.

With better options available at Stars Tower, Ye Zhen had no reason to settle for these ordinary manuals.

Following the map, after nearly two hours of navigating Qinglan Martial City, the scenery suddenly darkened, and a towering nine-story pavilion appeared in Ye Zhen’s field of vision.

The three gleaming gold characters of "Stars Tower" on the nine-story building looked warmly familiar to Ye Zhen, who felt almost like he was returning to his hometown as he stepped through the entrance! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your vote or monthly pass, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)