Chapter 257: Limitless Mirage Realm

In the Spirit Creek Battlefield, the spiritual energy was rich, and the scenery everywhere was exceptionally beautiful. A person, a spirit, and a tiger traveled and observed along the way. In terms of firsthand experience of the battlefield's various locations, probably no other cultivator of his caliber had seen more than Lu Ye.

He had left Green Cloud Mountain at Spirit Creek Realm Layer Two, embarking on his journey back to the Bloodmist Sect, a trip that took him over five months until he reached Spirit Creek Realm Layer Five.

This time, starting from the territory of the Skytower Sect, he began another long journey.

While other cultivators occasionally traveled, most of their time was spent cultivating. Lu Ye's extensive travels and observations naturally broadened his horizons.

In a marketplace, a dust-covered Lu Ye arrived with Yiyi.

Unlike the outer circle markets, this place was far more prosperous. After all, those coming and going were no longer the lower-level cultivators of Layers Three or Four; those qualified to operate in the inner circle were at least Layer Six and above.

The name of this market was also simple: Tianji Market. It was a market centered around the Tianji Merchant Alliance.

Such markets were ubiquitous throughout the inner and core circles.

While cultivators could spend merit points to purchase rare items from the Tianji Treasury, they generally avoided using their valuable merit points for daily life or routine cultivation needs, as merit points were hard-earned.

Where there was trade, markets naturally arose to facilitate it.

Lu Ye had visited a few markets in the outer circle, but this was his first time in an inner circle market. Walking around, he found it significantly different from the outer circle ones.

At the very least, the buildings here were neater, the streets cleaner, and many lone cultivators and sect members moved in and out.

There were lone cultivators in the inner and core circles as well. These cultivators did not join any sect, either due to ingrained habits, personal aspirations, or other undisclosed reasons.

Moreover, for sects, these lone cultivators, generally at Layers Seven or Eight, were less ideal to recruit. No one knew if their backgrounds were unblemished, and it would be disastrous to recruit a spy from a rival sect.

Furthermore, it was difficult to guarantee their loyalty.

In the outer circle, cultivators at Layers Three or Four still had a chance to join a sect. However, the higher one's cultivation, the more difficult it became to join.

Therefore, lone cultivators existed not only at the Spirit Creek Realm level, but also among those who had originated from the Cloud River Realm, True Lake Realm, and even the Divine Sea Realm.

Most lone cultivators chose to cultivate at a sect's outpost because of the rich spiritual energy there. However, a very small number chose not to affiliate with any sect, as affiliating with others offered no practical benefits beyond enjoying the spiritual energy in the outpost; instead, they would have to follow orders.

These lone cultivators mostly lived around Tianji Market, earning their own cultivation resources.

It's worth noting that the lives of these lone cultivators were often austere, but they enjoyed a certain freedom.

Lu Ye came to Tianji Market primarily to rest for a night and update his Ten-Point Map.

He had invested heavily to buy the map originally, and it had been almost a year, so there must have been many changes.

He also needed to deal with unused loot, such as items acquired from Silverlight Isle. These items were taking up space in his storage bag; most had already been sold to the Tianji Treasury at Silverlight Isle, with only a small portion left to exchange for cultivation resources.

He gracefully entered the Tianji Merchant Alliance. The internal layout was the same as the alliances he had visited before. Led by a steward, he entered a private room.

He stated his requests, took out the items he wanted to trade, and the steward took them away.

While waiting, Lu Ye poured himself a cup of spirit tea. This brought back some memories; he recalled how he used to gorge himself on the tea every time he entered the Tianji Merchant Alliance, because this spirit tea contained spiritual power that could be used to boost his cultivation...

At that time, he was truly impoverished. The spirit pills he used for cultivation had to be counted every few days, afraid of running out.

Now, he no longer had to worry about spirit pills. If he ever ran low on cultivation supplies, he could simply acquire them. He had even amassed a significant amount of even valuable merit points.

After waiting for about the duration of an incense stick burning, the steward returned, handing back the updated Ten-Point Map and a bag of spirit stones and spirit pills.

Lu Ye briefly checked, and the transaction was settled.

He then requested accommodation from the steward and was properly attended to.

A moment later, in the Tian-class room on the third floor of the Merchant Alliance, Lu Ye sat cross-legged, checking for changes in the Ten-Point Map, but he couldn't discern any notable changes.

Presumably, the changes were not significant.

However, judging by his current location, he was only half a day's journey from entering the territory of Windflower Pavilion.

Having learned from previous experience, Lu Ye decided to be more decisive this time and head directly for another's mining area. Previously, he was at Layer Seven and new to the inner circle, so he couldn't be too high-profile. Now that he was at Layer Eight, being a little more assertive wouldn't matter much; after all, if he couldn't win, he could always escape.

He decided on that course of action.

Putting away the Ten-Point Map, Lu Ye took out a thick book, flipping through it while constructing and deciphering spirit patterns on his palm. His diligent daily practice made him much more skilled at this than before, which also meant that his mastery of the path of spirit patterns was gradually improving.

The night passed quickly.

The next day, Lu Ye, fully rested, having even bathed and changed into clean clothes, walked down from the third floor, refreshed and invigorated.

The main hall was surprisingly deserted; he didn't see any other cultivators besides the Merchant Alliance staff.

Lu Ye didn't think much of it and led Yiyi out of the Merchant Alliance. Looking outside, he found that there weren't many people in the market either.

It seemed that most of the cultivators here had left overnight.

Lu Ye frowned, perplexed by the situation.

Yiyi said, "Shall I go ask?"

Lu Ye nodded.

She then turned and walked up to the female attendant at the entrance and sweetly asked, "Sister, what happened here?"

The female attendant said, "I heard someone say that some Immeasurable Mirage has appeared."

"What is that?"

The female attendant shook her head. "I'm not too sure myself." She was only a low-level cultivator at Layer Four; if not for her connection to the Tianji Merchant Alliance, she wouldn't normally be allowed in the inner circle.

Lu Ye had already stepped back into the Merchant Alliance and casually found a steward. "Do you have information about the Immeasurable Mirage?"

The steward smiled broadly. "Of course we do. What level of detail would the guest prefer..."

"The most expensive!"

Things were different now. In the past, he had to steel himself just to buy a Ten-Point Map; now, Lu Ye had ample funds.

"Please wait a moment, honored guest." The steward quickly left.

He returned shortly, handing a jade slip to Lu Ye. "That will be nine hundred spirit stones."

This price... was indeed ridiculously expensive.

Lu Ye said nothing, counted out nine hundred spirit stones from his storage bag to hand to the steward, and walked to a side to examine the information on the Immeasurable Mirage.

After a short while, he put down the jade slip. Noticing Yiyi's gaze, he handed the jade slip to her, and Yiyi also began to examine it.

According to the information revealed in the jade slip, the Immeasurable Mirage was an independent small space, similar to the Chess Sea, but not as vast.

Moreover, there was more than one type of Immeasurable Mirage; there were many kinds. Some had beautiful environments, some were eerie and gloomy, and others were ever-changing.

But without exception, every Immeasurable Mirage contained valuable treasures, be it rare natural resources, secret arts, or ancient texts. Some even acquired Heaven-grade cultivation techniques within them.

Cultivation techniques in Kyushu showed a polarized trend. Below Heaven-grade cultivation techniques, including Earth-grade techniques, were widely available. This was also why Lu Ye was able to buy the "Crimson Lotus Soaring Sky Art" from the Profound Gate for just a few spirit stones.

When an Earth-grade cultivation technique was actually sold, it would only fetch mere dozens of spirit stones; it was not expensive.

However, Heaven-grade cultivation techniques could not be bought externally; they could only be obtained by redeeming them with merit points from the Tianji Treasury.

To redeem a Heaven-grade cultivation technique, at least a thousand merit points were required. Furthermore, due to the Tianji's strict regulations, Heaven-grade cultivation techniques redeemed from the Tianji Treasury could not be taught to others; otherwise, the Tianji would exact a penalty.

A thousand merit points was not much for Lu Ye, as he could easily defeat enemies, and with his status as a Garrison Chief, he occasionally had access to special perks and a monthly stipend.

However, many cultivators, even if they accumulated merit points from Layer One to Layer Nine, might not gather enough for a Heaven-grade cultivation technique. There were many cultivators whose cultivation stagnated at ordinary Layer Nine because they couldn't afford a Heaven-grade cultivation technique.

Yet, one could not do without it, because Heaven-grade cultivation techniques were key for cultivators to break through the Spirit Creek Realm and advance to the Cloud River Realm. Simply put, without a Heaven-grade cultivation technique, one could not advance to the Cloud River Realm.

This was also why cultivators from the two major factions were willing to fight each other: killing enemies earned merit points, and merit points were tied to one's future.

Therefore, the Immeasurable Mirage held great appeal for cultivators; acquiring a Heaven-grade cultivation technique inside it was equivalent to a windfall of a thousand merit points.

The information about the Immeasurable Mirage sold by the Tianji Merchant Alliance was very comprehensive. Every time an Immeasurable Mirage appeared, they would spend spirit stones or spirit pills to buy information from surviving cultivators, then compile and record it.

Hence, its high price was justified.

According to the jade slip, the Immeasurable Mirage could randomly appear anywhere in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Given the vastness of the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield, even if its appearance rate was not low, encountering one was still a matter of luck.

Normally, once an Immeasurable Mirage appeared, nearby cultivators would enter it to seek benefits.

This was also why the market had suddenly become so deserted.

However, the Immeasurable Mirage's appearance time was very short, lasting only about one day from its emergence to its disappearance. Given the time it took for discovery and news to spread, not many people could enter each time an Immeasurable Mirage appeared. There was even one instance where an Immeasurable Mirage was only discovered just before it was about to disappear; by the time the discoverer reached the location, the Immeasurable Mirage had already vanished, leaving that person with deep regret.

After digesting the information he had obtained, Lu Ye led Yiyi out.

After asking a few more questions of the female attendant at the entrance, Lu Ye brought out his small boat spirit artifact and, with Yiyi, soared into the sky.