Necropolis Immortal

Fallen Leaf City was turning out to be a very uncanny location. With the spirit vein beneath the location, it should’ve been under Dark Orchid’s direct control and a military outpost established here.

Yet strangely enough, sects ruled the city and the royal family sent only a figurehead of a city lord. Lu Yun should’ve realized something was amiss a long time ago. He frowned as he thought of the leaders of the Black Tortoises and Azure Dragons. These people were eccentric and their moods unpredictable. It was better to stay out of their way if possible. They must have their own goals in mind to be residing here—it might have to do with the massive formation of illusion in the forbidden zone.

Lu Yun didn’t look back when he left with Long Aotian. The Fallen Leaf Range could be found to the north of Fallen Leaf Mountain. It led to the Great Yellow Range and a few other small cities in the vicinity apart from Fallen Leaf.

They were much smaller, however, and less prosperous. There weren’t many cultivators, but being cities of a fourth rank empire, there were nascent soul powerhouses in residence for even small cities.

“The blackwater snake is a third rank spirit beast, the equivalent of a golden core cultivator. They should be common in Dark Orchid.” Lu Yun led Long Aotian to a city called Boulder Rise. It was a small city in Dark Orchid, but would be second tier in Darklake. Although it wasn’t as bustling as Fallen Leaf, it was still quite affluent since it was close to Fallen Leaf City. This city was occupied by the royal family and no sect was able to find a footing here.

Long Aotian was often in the area, so he was very familiar with the nearby cities. He gave an overview of Boulder Rise after they entered.

“Young master, Boulder Rise is the second largest city in this area, second to only Fallen Leaf. The empire values it highly and its city lord is apparently a descendent of one of the emperor’s brothers,” Long Aotian sighed with appreciation. Such a personage was unequivocally important in Dark Orchid, but he was here as the city lord of a small metropolis!

That also hinted at Dark Orchid valuing Fallen Leaf Mountain more than people would expect. Apart from Fallen Leaf, the city lords of the other four cities around the mountain were all ruled by descendants of the Dark Orchid royals.

Long Aotian peeked at Lu Yun when he finished speaking. If Lu Yun continued to clash with people in this city, it would make for a very sticky situation.

Lu Yun didn’t know what the man was thinking, but would definitely protest with every fiber of his being if he knew. Is this young master such a troublemaker in your eyes?

“Alright, let’s go to the markets first and save the rest for later.” Lu Yun didn’t plan on spending time in Boulder Rise. The enormous formation of illusion around Fallen Leaf Mountain filled him with trepidation, and he was beginning to suspect that someone had planted a herb garden in the one hundred kilometers of cleared land within the formation.

He’d harvested everything in it, which meant trouble would be coming after its master discovered the theft. An ordinary immortal couldn’t have possibly set that formation up. Thus, Lu Yun wanted to leave this dratted place as soon as he obtained the inner core of a blackwater snake. He’d come back for a look after he gained sufficient strength.

At the same time, inexplicable ease filtered into Lu Yun’s heart. With the leaders of the Azure Dragons, White Tigers, and Black Tortoises holding down the fort, whatever was inside Immortal Burial Valley would be somewhat restrained if they emerged.

Despite that, Lu Yun wasn’t in the habit of placing his hopes in others. He needed to do everything possible now to enhance his strength and develop his own faction!

Dragons were one of the strongest existences in the world of immortals. Dragon purebloods were born as dao immortals and became immortal overlords in maturity. The dragon race had answered to his banner when he reincarnated into the world of immortals—their patriarch, the Dragon Immortal King, was second to only Terra Demon.

Lu Yun was able to detect the hint of bloodline in Long Aotian because he’d once been the master of dragons. If it wasn’t for that, he would have no idea what the abnormality within the man’s body was, even upon taking a clear look at it.

The strand of bloodline was too thin.

Additionally, his predisposition toward dragons came from a name in his subconscious—Aoxue. While he had new people that he cared about in this lifetime, the ones from his subconscious had become his obsession.

Boulder Rise was less than Fallen Leaf, but it was also a hotbed of activity. Treasures and items, such as the inner core of third rank spirit beasts, that were rare in Darklake were common sights here. Some of the larger trading companies and shops in the marketplace had inner cores of third rank spirit beasts for sale, but those went for steep asking prices.

Foundation establishment cultivators could outright refine these inner cores and absorb the energy of the five elements within to strengthen their spirit root. They could also be used to refine pills and treasures. No matter the usage or place, the inner cores of spirit beasts were hot commodities.

Given their high prices, however, ordinary cultivators could only look wistfully at them. Inner cores were produced only in spirit beasts that were third rank or stronger—the equivalent of a golden core human cultivator.

A third rank beast wasn’t a target that an ordinary golden core cultivator could manage. The inner cores of spirit beasts were luxuries in all worlds of cultivation.

Crowds thronged the markets of Boulder Rise City, on par with those of the southern quadrant of Dark City. Sudden regret surfaced in Lu Yun’s mind—he should’ve visited Fallen Leaf’s marketplace when he was in that city.

Seeing as it was his first visit to a fourth rank cultivation empire then, he wasn't very familiar with the situation. It wasn't until he took in the marketplace of Boulder Rise City that he understood there was an unbridgeable chasm between the third and fourth rank empires.

This was all because cultivators of fourth rank nations could enter the Celestial Realm Battlefront. Resources found there were far in excess of what were available in the worlds of cultivation. Each nascent soul cultivator of a fourth rank nation could enter the battlefront—but this was limited to its citizens and required approval from the royal family first.

Lu Yun hadn’t given thought to joining Dark Orchid. For the moment, at least, it was completely infiltrated by the Origin Sect and had become a thorn planted next to the Lu Clan. Lu Yun’s primary goal for his visit was to shave down this thorn and gain more information about the nation.

Currently, he was dressed as a dashing young man. Long Aotian wore modestly luxurious accoutrements and looked like his follower. They didn’t raise much attention in the marketplace as master and servant duos were often seen.

“The Trading Company of the Four Seas?” Lu Yun suddenly stopped in front of a storefront. This was Boulder Rise’s largest trading company and his Eye of Nullification glimpsed an inner core of the blackwater snake within its vaults.

“This is the place.” He was about to set foot inside when three cultivators walked out of its front doors. Their eyes widened when they saw Long Aotian behind Lu Yun.

“It’s you, Long Aotian! We’ve looked high and low for you, but in the end you fall right into our laps!” Their leader was a latter foundation establishment cultivator and was supremely excited to see Long Aotian.

The two next to him were mid foundation establishment and also looked greedily at Long Aotian.

The man subconsciously shrank in on himself, then sneered back at them when he thought of something.

“What’s going on here?” Lu Yun asked as the three approached them.

“Sir, I ran into them when I discovered the treasure. If it wasn’t for me running off so quickly, they would’ve killed me and taken it from me.” The treasure he spoke of was the Purplestar Silver.

Purplestar Silver was so precious that even soul projection cultivators fought over it. Long Aotian didn’t dare reveal it as he felt Lu Yun was no match for soul projection experts.

“Hahaha, I say, found yourself a rich kid, haven’t you? You’ve become a rich kid’s dog, but do you think a kid wet behind the ears can protect you?” cackled the latter foundation establishment as he sized up Lu Yun.

“Wait, it’s you two! Us brothers risked our lives for that Purplestar Silver and you took it from us!” he suddenly cried out.

Passersby blinked and strange expressions crept across their faces. Most halted to look at Lu Yun and Long Aotian.

“Purplestar Silver? Where is Purplestar Silver?” An elder with white hair and a white beard rushed out of the first floor lobby, looking at Lu Yun with agitation.

“Grand steward, when we discovered Purplestar Silver, this master and servant duo took it from us through superior strength! You must uphold justice for us!” The latter foundation establishment cultivator immediately looked at Lu Yun and Long Aotian with a face full of fury when he saw the elder.

“Gentleman, no one can touch the things of the Trading Company of the Four Seas. Since your Purplestar Silver was wrested from our hands, please return it, or we will show you no mercy!” The elder glowered after hearing these words.