Library of Heaven’s Path

Zhang Xuan was not trying to brag. Those were his honest feelings regarding his breakthrough.

Even though it might appear that he had only cultivated for ten breaths to the Phosphor Armored Beast, in truth, he had spent nearly twenty-eight hours in the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn.

He had needed a day in order to make a breakthrough!

The flow of time in the Great Codex of Spring of Autumn was ten thousand times faster than that in the Firmament. As long as he immersed his consciousness into it, he would be able to hasten the flow of his divine energy in the real world, allowing him to cultivate much faster than before. It was for this reason that the artifact was so overpowered.

It was also due to this artifact that he had been able to become a God within ten breaths while facing off against Kong shi_s done, thus achieving a victory in that dire situation.

Given his past experience of cultivating using the Heaven’s Path Golden Body, he had thought that it would only take him two to four hours in order to advance a single cultivation realm, but it had actually taken him an excruciating twenty-eight hours in order to get to advance from low-tier God to high-tier God.

He found it hard to accept that his rate of cultivation had gotten so slow. He had never been so slow before while cultivating the Heaven’s Path Divine Art!

This was probably the slowest he had ever cultivated, and it would surely remain a dark stain on his history. He could only pray that no one else learned about this, or else he might just die from embarrassment!

It seemed like his self-created cultivation technique was still lacking in some ways compared to the Heaven’s Path Divine Art.

Forget it. At least I managed to grow much stronger than before!

Choosing not to worry too much about the slowdown in his rate of cultivation, Zhang Xuan gazed at his fist as he relished in the newfound strength harnessed within his body.

Even though he did not manage to temper his physical body beyond the level of a Celestial God, in a close-quarter battle, he was confident that he would at least be able to stand his ground against a low-tier Celestial God.

This was especially so with his enhanced defense. After being tempered by the blood of the Phosphor Armored Beast and the Zizhen Fruit, his body was at least as tough as a low-tier Celestial God artifact. In other words, even a full might attack from a high-tier God would not be able to harm him at all.

It was due to this that he had been able to force back the Phosphor Armored Beast earlier with his punch.

Ever since arriving in the Firmament, he had felt pressured by his weakness. He was afraid that he would not be able to protect his parents and his direct disciples in times of crisis, and that left him deeply anxious. However, with this breakthrough, his fears had lessened a bit.

In this world filled with experts, he was no longer in the bottommost echelon anymore.

Based on the books he had read so far, Celestial Gods could be considered as elites in most cities. Such strength should be enough for him to plant his foot in the Firmament.

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Xuan stowed all the Zizhen Fruits into his storage ring before saying, “Let’s return to Twilight City.”

“But my defense…” The Phosphor Armored Beast was still a little if¥y about this.

He would lose his constant supply of Zizhen Fruits if he left the area. Would he grow weaker as a result of that?

“Don’t worry. I resolved that issue for you while you were making your breakthrough earlier,” Zhang Xuan said.

The effects of the Zizhen Fruit could only be said to be semi-permanent. Once the Phosphor Armored Beast stopped consuming it, his defense would slowly regress back to its original level.

So, Zhang Xuan had used his Heaven’s Path zhenqi to reinforce its scales earlier, turning the effects from semipermanent to permanent. As such, his defense would not regress as a result of not eating the Zizhen Fruit anymore.

“Thank you, Master!” The Phosphor Armored Beast heaved a sigh of relief.

It was actually delighted by such an outcome. Ever since its birth, its movements had mostly been limited to this valley due to the Zizhen Fruit. It was glad that it was finally free of its restraints and able to travel the greater world out there.

Not too long after leaving the valley, Zhang Xuan quickly found the aerial divine beast that he had tamed from the Divine Beast Market. At this moment, the Phosphor Armored Beast had also transmogrified into its human form. The two of them got onto the back of the aerial divine beast and made their way back to Twilight City.

Ye Qiuyan was a special envoy of the Sky of Drifting Specter to Twilight City.

Even though she was only a high-tier God, due to her background, not even City Lord Wu Fangqing would dare to rebuke her decisions.

That being said, most of the matters she handled were relating to the policies and edicts passed down from the Sky of Drifting Specters. She was not so arrogant as to overstep her boundaries to interfere in the internal management of Twilight City.

After a busy day at work, she stretched her back to loosen her stiffened joints before sitting before her dressing table to examine her right cheek.

There was a glaring crimson scar that looked as if a centipede was climbing up her face.

As a famed beauty, she had always been rather proud of her appearance. Yet, this centipede-like scar had marred her beauty, destroying the overall aesthetics of her face.

“Sigh!”

Ye Qiuyan shook her head helplessly.

This scar came from a battle with an enemy some time ago. As the wound had been inflicted through a unique power the enemy possessed, she found that she was unable to remove the scar no matter what she tried.

On top of that, her cultivation had also fallen from Celestial God to high-tier God due to the severity of her injuries. Eventually, she had chosen to leave Royal City to serve as a special envoy in this remote city.

She quickly dolled herself up a little before covering her face with a veil.

Walking out of her room, she glanced at the elder standing guard outside and asked, “How is the investigation going?”

The elder clasped his fist and replied, “Envoy Ye, I have confirmed the existence of a black market within Twilight City. The person heading the black market is Qi Ling-er, and she’s from Royal City’s Qi Clan!”

The Qi Clan is a distinguished clan that wields great power even within Royal City. The fact that their old ancestor, Qi Meng, is a Conferred God King is more than enough to cement their standing. Why would their descendant open a black market in a remote place like this?” Ye Qiuyan frowned.

“Does she not know that such an act is an infringement of the laws of the Sky of Drifting Specters?”

“I don’t really know the details, but I think it might be something related to the lower worlds…” The elder paused for a moment before revealing his thoughts.

“Lower worlds…” A deep frown formed on Ye Qiuyan’s forehead. “His Majesty has found a particularly pure soul in recent days, and he made a special exception to allow it to recuperate in the Netherworld Lake within the royal palace. According to some sources, the soul originated from the lower worlds. However, this is something that only happened twenty days ago whereas Qi Ling-er should have been here for several years now.”

“That’s indeed the case. However, the place the Heaven Subjugating Monarch first appeared happens to be this Twilight City as well. I feel that the movements of the Qi Clan could be related to that,” the elder said.

The God Monarch of the Sky of Drifting Specters, Demon Monarch Qiankun, had never really been too interested in the governance of his territory. As such, he delegated the responsibility of governance to the Conferred God Kings under him, resulting in them amassing a great deal of power.

As such, despite the seeming peace in Royal City, there was a great deal of political rivalry.

The rise of the Heaven Subjugation Monarch was one thing that no one had ever expected, and it was a game-changer.

Other than the Nine God Monarchs who had lived since time immemorial, no one had ever come close to reaching them before. As such, it became common knowledge that it was impossible for any being to become a God Monarch, thus making Conferred God King the highest level that any cultivator could ever reach.

However, the Heaven Subjugation Monarch had shattered these conceptions and become an existence on par with, if not stronger than, the God Monarchs.

As such, everyone wanted to know what he had gone through to uncover the mystery behind his ascension.

For the past forty years, the investigation had never stopped.

Aside from financial benefits, the black market was also a place where a great deal of information went around, making it a strategic location to build an intelligence network.

Ye Qiuyan pondered for a moment before saying, “Tell Qi Ling-er that I’ll turn a blind eye if she’s just using the black market to gather information, but she would do well not to go overboard. If she goes too far, regardless of whether she’s a member of the Qi Clan or not, she’ll be punished strictly in accordance with the laws of the Sky of Drifting Specters.

“Also, I need you to continue keeping a lookout on what she’s up to. If you notice anything suspicious, make sure to report it to me as soon as possible.”

It was true that the Qi Clan was a powerful faction in Royal City, but she was the special envoy in Twilight City. She represented God Monarch Qiankun himself. No matter how powerful the Qi Clan was, they would be wise not to supersede her authority here.

There was no greater sin in the world than sullying the honor of a God Monarch.

This was something that anyone who had any semblance of common sense in the Firmament would know.

“I understand.” The elder nodded before walking out.

Some time later, the elder returned with a perplexed look on his face, suggesting that he had just uncovered news that even he could hardly believe to be true.

“Envoy Ye, Qi Ling-er isn’t in the underground black market at the moment. Instead, she’s in the Twilight Market!” “Twilight Market?” Ye Qiuyan was surprised by the news as well.

What in the world was the boss of the underground black market doing in the authorized marketplace of Twilight City?

Was she trying to wash her hands clean and retire from the underground world?

“She has gathered some of the more distinguished female cultivators in Twilight City, and it seems like she’s going to sell something… I think it’s called the Beauty Pill!” the elder said.

“Beauty Pill?” Ye Qiuyan scoffed. “Ridiculous! When the most famous apothecary of the Firmament, Master Fu Jiangchen, visited Royal City, I had the opportunity to talk to him, and he said that one’s appearance is something predetermined by the heavens, and nothing can change it. There’s no such thing as a ‘Beauty Pill’ in the world. If so, I wouldn’t have allowed the scar of my face to remain till now!”

The elder nodded in agreement.

If there was truly something like a ‘Beauty Pill’, it would have long made its name all over the Firmament!

The higher a person’s cultivator was, the longer they would be able to live. Living a long life was enviable, but it would be even more so if one could maintain a youthful appearance while at it.

If there was really such a thing in the world, cultivators would have already gone crazy over it!

“Are we going to interfere in the matter?”

“There’s no need for that. The city lord will deal with it on his own…” Ye Qiuyan shook her hand as she walked back to her room to rest. But barely after taking a few steps, she changed her mind and said, “Never mind, let’s head there to take a look!”

After saying those words, she swiftly left the room.

Twilight Market was the largest market in Twilight City. All kinds of treasures were placed on sale there, attracting the greatest crowd within the city. As such, it was viewed as the symbol of prosperity of Twilight City.

Concealing her face with a veil, Ye Qiuyan swiftly arrived in the event venue where the Beauty Pill was sold. Through her connections, it did not take her too long to secure an entry pass to enter the area.

The event venue was already filled with people by the time she entered. Even with a swift glance, she could tell that there were at least a thousand people in there.

Nearly all of them were female cultivators, and even the weakest of them was a low-tier God.

“It seems like Qi Ling-er has quite some connections in Twilight City…” Ye Qiuyan harrumphed.

Despite being the boss of an underground black market, she was still able to gather so many people within hours. Furthermore, there were a few distinguished figures among the crowd. One would require some means in order to pull something like that off.

“Have you heard? It seems like the Beauty Pill is going on sale today!”

“Is there such a pill in the Firmament?”

“I have never heard of it before. It seems like it’s a new product by a formidable apothecary…’ “It’s still too early to tell whether it’s real or not. I just came by to join in the commotion…”

There was a slight hint of anticipation and curiosity in the atmosphere. It would appear that most people had gone there out of curiosity to see what was going on.

“Ladies, may I have your attention?”

A shout echoed from the forefront of the room. Following that, a tall and beautiful lady walked onto the stage with widened strides.

It was none other than Qi Ling-er.

Taking a seat on a posh chair placed on the stage, Qi Ling-er got straight to the point. “You must be curious as to why I have gathered all of you here today.”

She immediately caught everyone’s attention with her confident demeanor.

“I live by the motto that everyone’s time is precious, so I won’t bother boring you with unnecessary pleasantries. As you might have heard, my apothecaries have recently forged a new kind of pill that is particularly effective in beautifying a person’s appearance. So, I have invited all of you here today in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Beauty Pill to you. If any of you are interested in it, you may approach me after the event to make reservations.”

After saying her piece, Qi Ling-er calmly raised her hand, and a lady swiftly carried an elaborately ornate box onto the stage.

The box was made of the precious Ink Jade, which was well-known for its ability to completely seal off spiritual energy. This made it ideal for storing precious medicinal herbs or pills without degrading its medicinal effects. However, this material was extremely rare and expensive to purchase as well.

Just the one over there would likely cost at least ten Divine Coins.

Qi Ling-er rose to her feet and opened the box. There was a pill placed neatly within that emanated concentrated spiritual energy.

“Isn’t that just an ordinary God Essence Pill?” A middle-aged lady among the crowd stood up and berated Qi Ling-er. “Not to mention, it’s a low-tier one… If that’s the Beauty Pill you’re talking about, I must say that you are really taking us for fools!”