’A palm-sized Three-Orifice Stone costs one thousand Spirit Stones. Perhaps this is a business opportunity...’ Lü Zhong looked at the strange, face-like stone in his hand, pondering how he might profit from it while using his Purple Nether Extreme Fire to burn away the Crimson Spiritual Qi inside his body.

The only problem was that the origin of these Seven-Aperture Stones was unknown.

He had specifically looked for information about them back when he was in the Southern Barbarian lands.

He’d found items with similar names, but they were completely different things that lacked the ability to absorb Crimson Spiritual Qi.

’Oh well, no use overthinking it.’

Seeing little potential, he put the Seven-Aperture Stone away.

He sat down on the spot, cross-legged, and closed his eyes to meditate.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Lü Zhong set out once again.

Perhaps because he was approaching Liluo Immortal City, he began to see more and more cultivator settlements along the way.

He came across several fights between cultivators, but he always chose to steer clear of them. He had no intention of trying to profit from their conflict; he was here specifically for Cultivation Secret Techniques and saw no need for unnecessary complications.

And so, he arrived safely at Liluo Immortal City.

...

Liluo Immortal City.

It was originally called Celestial Net and was the largest cultivator settlement in the Celestial Net Domain.

After the cataclysm in the Western Realm, the Celestial Net Sect was the first Daoist Lineage to be wiped out by the True Central Sect.

The Celestial Net Domain was thus renamed the Liluo Domain.

Celestial Net Immortal City naturally became Liluo Immortal City.

This was a Cultivation City on a scale comparable to Changchun Immortal City.

Judging from the city’s remaining structures, this place had once been a magnificent cultivation metropolis, its skyline crowded with towering buildings and grand halls, a symbol of immense prosperity.

Here on the streets, Lü Zhong saw droves of mortals.

Their circumstances could only be described as tragic.

They were dressed in rags and never had enough to eat.

Their eyes were utterly numb, devoid of any hope for the future.

All they knew was to work themselves to the bone, hoping to receive a few more rations from the Immortal Masters.

The corrosive Crimson Spiritual Qi meant few plants could grow normally in the Western Realm, and even fewer were edible for mortals. Although a Grand Array protected the city, there was precious little land available for growing crops.

As a result, not only were mortals starving, but even most cultivators looked pale and gaunt from malnutrition.

Cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage had not yet formed a Leakless Body, so they had to replenish their Spiritual Qi every day. But the ambient Spiritual Qi was tainted with the terrifying Crimson Spiritual Qi. Their only options were to consume Spiritual Objects or absorb the energy from Spirit Stones.

The low-level cultivators who had neither Spiritual Objects nor Spirit Stones could only take the risk of absorbing nature’s spiritual energy directly.

One can imagine their fate.

Consequently, the corpse carts that occasionally passed by carried not only stacks of mortal remains, but also a fair number of cultivator corpses. Their bodies had clearly been drained of all value, though it was unclear where they were being taken.

On both sides of the street, shops did their utmost to attract customers.

They resorted to every trick imaginable to catch people’s attention.

Yet in the face of the cataclysm, everyone had to struggle with all their might just for a slim chance of survival.

Who would be willing to spend their precious few Spirit Stones on anything other than basic necessities?

Only the shops selling Spirit Rice and spiritual flesh had perpetual long lines, crowded with cultivators clutching Spirit Stones. They all stared at the price boards, which changed several times a day, but none dared to voice their anger.

This scene was a true reflection of life in the Western Realm.

’From the Ye Ling Domain to this Liluo Domain, mortals and cultivators alike are struggling just to survive. Yet even so, they can’t see a sliver of hope.’ Lü Zhong’s gaze swept over the Spirit Suppression Arrays lining the street. Their Seven-Aperture Stones hadn’t been replaced in a long time, so the arrays had long since stopped working. The cultivator responsible for replacing the spiritual materials hadn’t been seen for ages.

The concentration of Crimson Spiritual Qi was slowly rising.

’At this rate, I’m afraid Liluo Immortal City won’t last much longer.’

’I really hope those folks in the Western Border Alliance can develop Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology. Otherwise, the Western Realm...’

He sighed internally and pushed the thought aside.

’The cataclysm is an unstoppable tide.’

’I’m just a minor Core Formation cultivator. What could I possibly change?’

Remembering his purpose, Lü Zhong began to take action.

He wasn’t in a hurry to make a purchase. Instead, he first spent some time walking around to get a sense of the local prices.

Cultivation Secret Techniques were a dime a dozen, while Spiritual Objects and Spirit Rice were priced astronomically high.

Without the Upper Sects to control their distribution, and with the increasing scarcity of other resources, it was as easy as buying groceries for ordinary cultivators to acquire cultivation techniques and magic skills.

Even so, it was still incredibly difficult for Lü Zhong to find a suitable Tier Three Secret Technique. It had been nearly impossible to acquire one in the Southern Barbarian lands; here in the Western Realm, his chances were only slightly better.

A Secret Skill was still a Secret Skill, after all, and always retained its value.

Especially a Tier Three Secret Technique that would meet his standards!

「A year and a half later, at a secret underground trade meeting.」

"Fellow Daoist, this complete scroll of the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique was once the ultimate secret of the Celestial Net Sect," a masked cultivator in a black, figure-hiding robe said in a hoarse voice. "Only True Disciples were qualified to practice it, and even they received an incomplete version. Only a Nascent Soul Seed personally selected by the Celestial Net Sect was permitted to cultivate the complete Celestial Net Secret Eye."

Before the cataclysm in the Western Realm, something like this would never have been leaked. If it had, a True Monarch from the Celestial Net Sect would have hunted it down and retrieved it. Any cultivator who laid eyes on the Secret Skill would have been killed, regardless of whether they were a Loose Cultivator, from a Cultivation Clan, or even a Golden Core Sect.

Only a Nascent Soul Sect of equal standing would have had any room to negotiate.

But now, after spending a year and a half searching, Lü Zhong had actually managed to find it.

"What’s the price?" he asked.

The masked cultivator paused for a moment, then stated the price via voice transmission.

"I don’t want Spirit Stones. If you have enough Spirit Rice, or pills that restore Spiritual Qi, you just need to provide Spiritual Objects worth one hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and this scroll of the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique is yours!"