Chapter 2150: Beauty Elixir Debuts (Part 1)

Zhang Xuan wasn't trying to show off; he was genuinely sighing with emotion.

The Armored Phosphorus Beast had seen him cultivate for only about ten breaths, but in reality, inside the Spring and Autumn Annals, he had already cultivated for nearly twenty-eight hours—more than a day and a night.

The flow of time within the Spring and Autumn Annals was ten thousand times faster than in the Divine Realm. Furthermore, cultivating inside it did not conflict with the outside world; as long as one's consciousness entered, the True Qi within their body would circulate according to this accelerated flow. This was precisely why this magical artifact seemed so extraordinary.

For this very reason, during his battle with Master Kong's clone, he had already broken through to the Divine Spirit realm and completely consolidated his cultivation in just ten breaths.

He had initially thought that cultivating his physical body would be similar to his previous experiences with the Path of Heaven cultivation techniques, allowing him to advance a major cultivation rank within one or two hours. To his surprise, it had taken a full twenty-eight hours—fourteen hours in the Spring and Autumn Annals—to progress from a Low-tier Divine Spirit to a High-tier Divine Spirit.

It was indeed too slow.

He had never experienced such slowness when using the Path of Heaven cultivation techniques!

He had set a new record for the slowest cultivation, feeling utterly ashamed.

Self-created cultivation techniques, it seemed, still had some speed disparity compared to the Path of Heaven techniques.

"Never mind that, my strength has indeed improved significantly!"

No longer dwelling on the slow cultivation, Zhang Xuan looked at his fist, felt the power surging within his body, and his eyes lit up.

Although this period of cultivation hadn't allowed his physical body to break through to the Celestial God realm, in close combat, he might not be weaker than a Low-tier Celestial God!

Especially his defense, which, after being tempered by the Armored Phosphorus Beast's blood and the True Seed Fruit, was now comparable to a Low-tier Celestial God Artifact. A full-power attack from a High-tier Divine Spirit couldn't even scratch him.

It was precisely because of this reliance that he was able to repel the Armored Phosphorus Beast with a single punch, even when it used fifty percent of its strength.

He had always carried the pressure of protecting his family and students. Before, he was weak and constantly anxious, but now, with his powerful defense, he truly possessed the ability to protect himself.

Even in the Divine Realm, teeming with countless powerful cultivators, he was no longer considered too weak.

According to the books he had read, a Celestial God was considered a formidable figure in most cities, capable of establishing a foothold in the Divine Realm.

"Let's go back!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Xuan collected all the True Seed Fruits into his storage ring.

"If we leave here, my defense..." The Armored Phosphorus Beast sounded concerned.

The Armored Phosphorus Beast was somewhat worried.

If it left this place, it wouldn't be able to consume True Seed Fruits anymore. Would its defense decrease as a result?

"Don't worry," Zhang Xuan said. "When I helped you break through just now, I also took care of that potential issue for you."

It was true that its defense would decrease if it left the valley and stopped consuming True Seed Fruits, but during its breakthrough, Zhang Xuan had used the True Qi of the Path of Heaven to help clear its meridians, resolving this problem. From now on, its defense would only grow stronger with cultivation and would never weaken.

"Thank you, Master..." The Armored Phosphorus Beast finally let out a sigh of relief, filled with excitement.

Trapped in this narrow valley since birth, it could finally go out and explore the outside world.

Not long after leaving the valley, they found a flying divine beast. The Armored Phosphorus Beast transformed into a young man, and together with Zhang Xuan, they rode on the beast's back, soaring directly towards Nightfall City.

Ye Qiuyan was a special envoy of the Underworld Heaven, stationed in Nightfall City.

Although her cultivation was only at the High-tier Divine Spirit realm, her esteemed status meant that the City Lord, Wu Fangqing, dared not refute many of her decisions.

Of course, she only handled policies and orders conveyed by the Underworld Heaven, never interfering with the city's internal rules and management.

Stretching languidly, revealing her graceful curves, Ye Qiuyan sat by a mirror and looked at her right cheek.

A deep red scar was exposed, resembling a centipede crawling on her skin.

"Sigh!"

A soft sigh, full of helplessness.

This scar on her face was left from a battle, containing a unique power from her opponent that no method had been able to remove. It greatly diminished the beauty of someone who was originally a stunning beauty.

Because of this, and with her cultivation having dropped from the Celestial God realm to the High-tier Divine Spirit realm, she had voluntarily requested to leave the Imperial City of Underworld Heaven and come here to serve as a special envoy in a remote small city.

She tidied herself up and once again covered her face with a veil.

With a graceful twist of her body, she stepped out of the room and looked up at an elder standing before her. "How's the investigation progressing?" she asked.

"Reporting to the Special Envoy," the elder said, bowing his fists. "I have thoroughly investigated. There is indeed a black market in Nightfall City, and its proprietor, Qi Ling'er, is from... the Qi family in the Imperial City!"

"The Qi family is a prominent and influential clan in the Imperial City, and their ancestor, Qi Meng, is even a Conferred God King expert. Why would one of their descendants come here to open a black market?" Ye Qiuyan frowned. "Do they not know that underground dealings violate the laws of the Underworld Heaven?"

"As for the specifics... I do not know," the elder paused before continuing, "Perhaps it has something to do with the lower realms..."

"The lower realms..." Ye Qiuyan's brows furrowed deeply. "His Majesty gathered a pure soul and, breaking all precedent, allowed it to recuperate in the Underworld Pool within the Imperial Palace... It's said to have come from the lower realms! However, that happened over twenty days ago... This Qi Ling'er has been here for several years already, hasn't she?"

"Yes, it has been several years... but the first appearance of Emperor Tianzong was right here in Nightfall City. Perhaps... the Qi family came for that reason," the elder said with some hesitation.

The Underworld Heaven Emperor, Qiankun Demonic Emperor, rarely involved himself in matters, leaving most affairs to the Conferred God Kings. Therefore, while the Imperial City appeared calm on the surface, it was actually fraught with hidden currents.

Emperor Tianzong had risen unexpectedly, and everyone wanted to know what he had experienced and where he had come from.

Thus, various investigations had never ceased.

Intervening in the black market could yield more unknown information and provide greater room for manipulation.

After a moment of thought, Ye Qiuyan said, "Tell her that investigating information is fine, but she must not overstep in other matters... Once she crosses the line, regardless of whether she is from the Qi family, she will be subjected to the laws of the Underworld Heaven! Also, go find out what she is doing right now... Report any anomalies to me immediately!"

The Qi family was indeed powerful in the Imperial City, but in Nightfall City, she was the special envoy, representing Emperor Qiankun. No matter how strong the other party was, they had to obey her.

The Emperor's dignity was not to be blasphemed.

This was an unchangeable iron rule of the Divine Realm.

"Yes!" The elder nodded, assented, and walked out. A short while later, he returned, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if he had received news he couldn't quite fathom. "Special Envoy... Qi Ling'er is not in the underground black market at the moment. She is at... the Nightfall Merchant Guild!"

"A merchant guild?" Ye Qiuyan was taken aback.

You, someone who runs an underground black market... what are you doing at a legitimate merchant guild?

Is she perhaps trying to go legitimate?

"It seems she has gathered some well-known female cultivators from all over Nightfall City, intending to sell some... Beauty Pills!" the elder paused before saying.

"Beauty Pills?" Ye Qiuyan scoffed. "What a farce! The most renowned alchemist in the Divine Realm, Fu Jiangchen, visited the Underworld Imperial City, and I specifically asked him about this. He stated that one's appearance is predetermined by heaven and unchangeable... There's no such thing as a Beauty Pill. If there truly were, this scar on my face wouldn't still be here. I would have found a way to heal it, no matter the cost!"

The elder nodded instinctively.

The Special Envoy was right. If Beauty Pills truly existed, they would have long since swept across the entire Divine Realm.

Cultivators in the Divine Realm live longer as their cultivation deepens. Who wouldn't want to possess a beautiful appearance and eternal youth?

If such a thing existed, people would undoubtedly be scrambling for it.

"So... should we intervene?"

"No need to intervene; the City Lord will naturally handle it..." Ye Qiuyan shook her head, about to return to her room for a rest, when she suddenly waved her hand. "Never mind, let's go take a look!"

With that, she led the way out.

The Nightfall Merchant Guild was the largest guild in Nightfall City, offering a vast array of treasures and boasting the highest foot traffic in the entire city.

Wearing a veil, Ye Qiuyan quickly arrived at the venue where the female cultivators were gathered. She obtained a pass and entered.

By then, the spacious room was already packed with people, thousands of them, densely packed.

Almost all of them were female cultivators, with even the weakest having reached the peak of the Low-tier Divine Spirit realm.

"It seems this Qi Ling'er has quite a strong appeal..."

Ye Qiuyan snorted coldly.

For someone who runs an underground black market, operating in the shadows, to gather so many people in just a few hours, it had to be said that Qi Ling'er truly possessed some capability.

"Have you heard? They're selling Beauty Pills today?"

"There's no such pill in the Divine Realm, is there?"

"I've never heard of it either. It seems a powerful alchemist just successfully refined it..."

"I don't know if it's real or not, but it doesn't hurt to come and see, since it doesn't cost anything..."

Murmurs of discussion rose from all around.

It seemed many people, like her, had come with a curious mindset.

"Quiet!"

As she was musing, a shout rang out from the front of the crowd, and then a tall, beautiful woman strode forward.

It was none other than Qi Ling'er, the proprietor of the black market.

"You must all be wondering why I've gathered you here so late..."

Sitting down on the raised platform at the front, Qi Ling'er cut straight to the point without much preamble.

Everyone looked on in unison.

"Everyone's time is precious, so I won't waste it with idle chatter or excessive pleasantries... The reason I've asked you to come is that I have developed a new pill here that has excellent cosmetic effects for women! I've specifically come to demonstrate it to you. If you are interested, you can pre-order!"

After speaking, Qi Ling'er gestured, and a woman carrying a box came before the crowd.

The box was entirely carved from precious dark jade, which had the effect of containing spiritual energy, preventing any aura from leaking out. Apart from anything else, this box alone was likely worth at least ten or more divine coins and was not easily acquired.

Standing up, Qi Ling'er opened the box, revealing a pill that shimmered with circulating aura and emitted a rich spiritual energy.

"This is merely an ordinary Divine Essence Pill, and only a low-grade one at that... Beauty Pill? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" a middle-aged woman in the crowd stood up and said, her voice filled with doubt.