Chapter 291: Tianbao City Auction (Part 1)

Once he breaks through to the late-stage of Core Formation Layer Seven, that will be the final stage. Ten strands of spiritual power will condense into one, and after cultivating 9,999 such strands, he can attempt to shatter the Core and form a Nascent Soul.

This viscous spiritual power will be the nourishment for constructing the Nascent Soul's body. The higher its quality, the stronger the Nascent Soul formed.

In other words, this also represents an enhancement of his foundation.

Currently, he has reached the peak of Core Formation Layer Three. Three thousand wisps of spiritual power will eventually condense into three hundred strands, meaning he needs to accumulate another 1,700 strands.

At his current cultivation speed, he can advance to Core Formation Layer Five in at most seven years, which is still incredibly fast.

After all, in the broader environment, others take thirty or forty years to advance one layer. For him to break through in less than ten years is truly defying the heavens.

His cultivation speed is increasing, which is a result of his maximized aptitude. Once the advantage of his Heavenly Spirit Root diminishes in higher-level cultivation, his progress will also slow down.

It is dynamic, not fixed.

Beyond the Heavenly Spirit Root lies the Innate Spirit Body aptitude. With the right cultivation techniques, such individuals are guaranteed to form a Nascent Soul.

So far, Wang Yu hasn't seen a single one.

Even if he had such aspirations, he would have to rely on the Demonic Embryo Profound Origin Secret Incantation. He heard from Zhuo Shouqing that the Acquired Demonic Embryo Body might be a pseudo-spirit body aptitude.

He felt it was worth a shot.

As the pills commissioned by the Blood-Eyed Demon Jiao were delivered in succession, and Yan Ling's commission entered its final stages, Wang Yu finally had free time to go out.

He prepared to ask his partners to send over some pill recipes for breaking through bottlenecks, using the excuse of enriching his variety of pills for discussion.

These actions were all normal and consistent with the nature of an alchemist.

After contacting Yan Ling, Wang Yu's attention returned to his own situation.

His cultivation was stuck at the peak of Core Formation Layer Three. His spiritual power limit was temporarily difficult to raise, and even the placement slots couldn't force a breakthrough. The daily spiritual power growth he received integrated into his existing spiritual power.

The primary focus was on improving quality. Once the standard for breakthrough was met, it would naturally merge into the Golden Core, causing its diameter to surge from 1 *li* to 3 *li*.

In other words, he could break through by accumulating sheer quantity.

Combined with his inherent Heavenly Spirit Root aptitude, he would successfully break through in just a few months, unlike others who might be stuck for decades.

Thinking of this, he simply removed the cultivation techniques from slots 1 and 2, dedicating all six placement slots to alchemy. He was eager to refine a top-grade Exquisite Inner Core.

The faster, the better.

He was about to get a pill to break through a minor realm, so a few months wouldn't make much difference.

When Yan Ling sent someone with the pill recipes for breaking through the bottlenecks of mid and late-stage Core Formation, Wang Yu was preparing to check the sect's treasury to see if he could gather all the materials at once.

Dantai Chan brought him new information.

The Heavenly Treasure City Auction was about to begin!

In the past, Dantai Chan had been targeted by various colleagues for refining top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills. During a trip to Heavenly Treasure City, she leveraged Yu Tangtang's influence to eliminate a large number of ill-intentioned individuals in one fell swoop.

This allowed her to intimidate all sides and protect her own interests.

Heavenly Treasure City is located in the eastern part of Blood Abyss Province, bordering Flowing Rule Province, home to the Heaven Forging Demonic Sect. Both of these dominant powers had carved out a small territory for Heavenly Treasure City.

This place is the headquarters of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. It not only boasts dozens of fourth-tier spiritual veins but also has over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators permanently stationed there. Auctions of various levels are frequently held.

Wang Yu lacked high-level scarce resources, and auctions were an unmissable opportunity. Each event attracted a large number of masters. He felt he could try his luck; his Sea Heart Ring contained tens of millions of low-grade spirit stones, making him almost certainly the wealthiest Core Formation cultivator.

Body tempering, divine sense, and fundamental cultivation all required significant resource investment. With his wealth, there was no reason to miss this grand event. After spending some quality time thanking Dantai Chan until late morning, he began making preparations in full swing.

After returning to the sect for nearly a year, his actions hadn't been particularly grand, yet they had attracted considerable attention, especially his ongoing transactions with Yan Ling.

Yan Ling had continuously provided high-quality spirit pills to win over people's hearts, attempting to gain more influence within the master-disciple faction of Cold Blood Peak. Anyone with a keen eye for observation could easily guess the source of Yan Ling's spirit pills.

Wang Yu was already at the center of attention. One year was too short for the repercussions of killing Luo Chen to subside.

Instead, it intensified as he repelled the Elder of Evil Sword Peak and visited the Black Heaven Talisman Lord, leading people to dig into his past.

At this point, his past as a spirit slave came to light and was inevitably compared to Wei Zhong and Su Yulong, who had caused quite a stir in previous years.

Particularly the latter: Wang Yu had essentially been brought up by Su Yulong, who had never treated him unfairly, though there were minor conflicts with his subordinates.

Such competition exists everywhere, and while the two weren't exactly enemies, comparing them now clearly showed Wang Yu's vastly superior abilities.

Once the news spread, it inevitably raised suspicions of being a smear campaign.

It was easy to make enemies this way, especially since Su Yulong had a close relationship with the Nine Swords Heretic Lord, who was his maternal uncle and the one who had spread the Demonic Embryo Secret Incantation.

A series of coincidences collided, giving the whole affair a humorous and farcical air.

Many people were now keeping an eye on Wang Yu. If he wanted to go out, it would be best to disguise himself before descending the mountain. The Earth Net Ghost Mask would be effective for this, and since he hadn't had enough time to practice his divine abilities recently, using a breath-concealing artifact was perfectly suitable!

Several days later.

In the wilderness of Blood Abyss Province, Wang Yu traveled alone, speeding towards Heavenly Treasure City. The city wasn't far from the Holy Sect's main gate; at his current speed, he could reach it in about a dozen days of flight.

Although both the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and the Golden Full Mansion spanned two regions, they ultimately belonged to the Scarlet Kite Demonic Domain, so their influence in Taihu was inevitably much weaker.

The Golden Full Mansion was primarily run by the Jin family, a quintessential family enterprise.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, on the other hand, was an alliance-based commercial organization. It prioritized ability, maintaining an excellent system of healthy competition. Internally, it was divided into five main factions, which served as permanent directors.

Every three hundred years, the director-general position would rotate, and many important decisions were made by this council.

Among the five families of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, the Star River Lin clan had a close relationship with the Holy Mountain Yu clan. Heavenly Treasure City was located here due to a decision made by the Lin clan when they held the director-general position.

Not only did it have close dealings and shared interests with the Reversal Spirit Blood Sect, but its central location in Scarlet Kite also made it a transportation hub, facilitating convenient travel for all parties.

Along the way, Wang Yu pondered the relevant information.

Since he wasn't planning to reveal his identity, he put away items like the Cold Blood Ring. Disguised as a cultivator from the Yellow Springs Temple, his spiritual power was incredibly pure.

He could even use the signature Yellow Springs Great Hand Seal, making it the perfect disguise.

Deceiving outsiders might still lead to suspicion.

But deceiving people from the Yellow Springs Temple was foolproof; no one understood the prerequisites for cultivating this divine ability better than them. While traveling, Wang Yu occasionally transformed into a streak of aurora, swiftly covering a distance for several seconds before stopping, considering it a small practice session.

The supreme evasion technique would be sufficient for him for a very long time.

It was also the method that would replace the Frost Moon Wing. Unfortunately, he was still some way from mastering it, and despite its difficulty, its effects were truly remarkable. The technique of transforming into an aurora for evasion not only allowed him to avoid enemy attacks but also achieved extreme speeds that few could react to.

More than ten days later, Heavenly Treasure City—he had arrived!

From a distance, it was arguably the most magnificent city Wang Yu had ever seen in his life. Throughout the entire Scarlet Kite territory, it ranked among the very top tier. All those coming and going were cultivators; there were no mortals.

Its permanent population exceeded a million, with a floating population numbering in the tens of millions. Its sprawling area stretched beyond the horizon, and Wang Yu dared not rashly use his divine sense to scan it.

Living here permanently required considerable capability.

The essence of rogue cultivators, the outposts of major sects and families, a dazzling array of shops, and buildings of diverse styles all showcased the most flourishing aspect of the current cultivation world before him.

In the sky, twenty to thirty floating mountains hovered.

Connected by iron chains, cloud bridges, and jade pathways, each one served as a Nascent Soul cultivator's dojo, subtly incorporating the profound principles of both array formations and geomancy.

If activated, even ordinary Nascent Souls would likely be unable to withstand them.

Without lingering to observe too much, he descended to the city gate, paid the entrance fee of ten low-grade spirit stones, and merged into the endless stream of people like a grain of sand.

He was completely inconspicuous.

According to information gathered beforehand, Heavenly Treasure City had four types of auction houses: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

The Heaven-grade auction, held once every three hundred years, was suitable for Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation cultivators. Its timing coincided with the rotation of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's director-general, serving not only as an event to maintain influence but also as a fixed procedure to build momentum for the new director-general, and it was rarely held early.

The Earth-grade auction was the one Wang Yu was attending.

It was suitable for Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators. Its timing was not fixed, but it was always held once within two hundred years, filling the gap when the Heaven-grade auction was not active.

The Profound-grade auction was primarily for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators. It was held every decade or so, quite frequently, and consistently auctioned treasures like Foundation Establishment spiritual items and Core Formation spiritual items.

Occasionally, top-grade Core Formation spiritual items would appear, offering one of the few opportunities for rogue cultivators in Scarlet Kite to break through realms.

The Yellow-grade auction was the lowest tier, suitable for Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators. It was held every ten to fifteen days, and the city had the most Yellow-grade auction houses.

Rare low-tier spiritual items often appeared there.

If Wang Yu had cultivated in Heavenly Treasure City back then, his speed in breaking through to Foundation Establishment would certainly have been much faster. The number of law enforcers maintaining order here exceeded fifty thousand.

Their strength was among the strongest in their respective realms.

They were responsible for enforcing Heavenly Treasure City's extremely strict rules. They valued order more than the Reversal Spirit Blood Sect's main gate and were willing to invest significant effort and resources to maintain it.

Most basically, murder was forbidden within the city, as was destroying buildings, manipulating others with secret techniques, or engaging in public indecency…

In short, if caught, one would face imprisonment and fines at best, or immediate execution at worst. Even members of demonic overlord forces were not exempt; the resolve to protect order was incredibly firm.

Wang Yu's goal was clear. He spent several hours touring the city.

While feeling his horizons broadened, he also managed to gather a set of materials needed to break through minor bottlenecks. He could start refining them later, prioritizing his realm breakthrough first.

Main venue for the Earth-grade auction.