He was extremely nervous as he spoke.

’The Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique is amazing, but the problem is its value—it’s so high that most people can’t afford it.’

’On top of that, my request is unusual. I don’t want Spirit Stones, just survival supplies. The number of traders who could meet that condition is naturally few and far between. At one point, I even doubted I could make a deal at all.’

This person before him was the one hundred and seventh to ask.

The masked cultivator had a bad feeling. ’He’s been silent for so long. It looks like...’

On the other side, Lü Zhong was stunned.

A Secret Skill from a Nascent Soul Sect, one that was never shared with outsiders.

And it was only...

One hundred thousand Spirit Stones!

It took him a good moment to snap out of it, his heart already pounding with excitement.

Glancing at the other man, Lü Zhong forced down the urge to agree on the spot. He began to haggle, "Fellow cultivator, your opening price is a bit outrageous. One hundred thousand Spirit Stones isn’t difficult, but materials worth that much? How many people in this city can afford that? I can only offer materials worth forty thousand, and pay the rest in Spirit Stones."

"This..." The masked cultivator hesitated.

’This Secret Skill... my family fought tooth and nail to get it.’

’We paid a terrible price for it.’

’If my family wasn’t struggling to survive, we would never be selling this.’

"Eighty thousand. That’s my bottom line."

"Don’t be too greedy. Fifty thousand!"

"Sixty-five thousand!"

"Deal!" Lü Zhong heard the man’s tone change, almost reverting to his natural voice. He knew this was the seller’s final offer, so he stopped haggling and agreed immediately.

He immediately tossed out two Storage Bags, one containing Spiritual Objects and the other containing Spirit Stones.

The masked cultivator caught them. Without even glancing at the Spirit Stone Bag, he eagerly probed the Spiritual Object Bag with his Divine Sense. When he saw what was inside, he gasped, completely frozen on the spot.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

"GASP... Spirit Rice!"

An entire Storage Bag full of Spirit Rice, worth sixty-five thousand Spirit Stones.

’With so much Spirit Rice... the family can survive for decades!’

"Fellow cultivator, I still have..."

Snapping out of his shock, the masked cultivator scrambled to his feet, but Lü Zhong was already gone.

He beat his chest and stomped his foot, lamenting the missed opportunity.

...

Lü Zhong rented a cave abode with a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills.

After setting up a Prohibition to prevent anyone from spying on him, he finally took out the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique. Along with the technique itself, there was a vial of milky-white Spirit Liquid.

The Spirit Liquid was called Immortal Luo Juice, and it was the key to mastering the complete Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique.

Of the one hundred thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of value he’d paid, the vast majority was for this item.

The Immortal Luo Spirit Tree, which produces Immortal Luo Juice, was destroyed when the Celestial Net Sect fell. The remaining supply of Immortal Luo Juice was finite, and with each use, there was one less portion in the world. Besides, the Spiritual Object was never produced in large quantities to begin with.

Lü Zhong suspected he might be holding the very last portion.

’Perhaps I’ll be the last person to ever master this Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique!’

He sighed at the thought and began to examine the Cultivation Technique.

Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique.

The name "Celestial Net" was like a heavenly net.

It meant that nothing could escape the Secret Eye.

This was a top-tier Secret Eye Technique of Breaking Illusion. It had no rank like a typical Magic Skill; it remained incredibly potent even for those at the Nascent Soul Stage. The Celestial Net Ancestor Master himself had relied on this Secret Eye Technique to rise to power. He fought his way through all directions, undefeated, and established a reputation so formidable that no one dared challenge him before he founded the Celestial Net Sect.

This technique had a total of five layers.

The first three layers could be cultivated without Immortal Luo Juice.

Upon mastery, one would gain the Celestial Net Eye, making it easy to see through falsehoods.

From then on, all kinds of Illusion Arrays or techniques like the Concealing Breath and Concealing Trace Technique would be completely exposed before the Celestial Net Eye.

A thought occurred to Lü Zhong as he read this.

’If a cultivator who knows the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique has joined the True Central Sect, they might be able to see through my disguise and discern my true identity. That’s a risk I have to guard against!’

The thought was like a bucket of ice water, instantly cooling his excitement.

’If they have someone like that, they’d be posted at the city entrance.’ Thinking of this, Lü Zhong decided to play it safe and check things out after nightfall.

With his Gray Mist Space, he could investigate from a distance without anyone knowing.

’The Western Realm is a strange place. I can’t afford to be careless.’

He suppressed his unease and continued reading.

The last two layers of the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique required Immortal Luo Juice to be cultivated.

After reading on, Lü Zhong finally understood.

He understood why the Celestial Net Sect only passed this technique on to its Nascent Soul Seeds.

Besides them, not even the sect’s True Inheritance disciples had the opportunity to learn this Secret Eye Skill.

’Once you master the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique, your eyesight increases exponentially!’ Lü Zhong was amazed.

According to the scroll, one could eventually condense a Celestial Net Dharma Eye.

With this Dharma Eye, nothing could hide.

By summoning the Dharma Eye during combat, you could easily see every one of your opponent’s movements.

’Everything would be under your control!’

When fighting someone like that, your odds of winning would be terrifyingly high.

Even if you truly couldn’t win.

It wouldn’t be difficult to escape, either.

After all, you could see everything, so dodging attacks would be a breeze.

"It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a Protecting Treasure Skill," Lü Zhong said, taking a deep breath. ’I’ve still underestimated the resources of a Nascent Soul Sect. The Nascent Soul Seeds from Changchun Valley probably have similar secret techniques.’

’Once I master this technique, my ability to protect myself will skyrocket!’

Realizing this, he couldn’t help but laugh.

’This trip to the Western Realm was definitely worth it.’

...

「Late at night.」

A figure appeared near the east gate of Liluo Immortal City.

The area was a stretch of ruined buildings.

They had been blasted to bits by Magic Skills, and dried bones were still visible beneath the rubble.

’The Celestial Net Eye is no match for the Celestial Net Dharma Eye. Unless its user deliberately looks this way, they won’t notice me. Their attention should be on the city gate right now.’

Lü Zhong hoped that things wouldn’t turn out as he suspected.

He began to rewind the scene.

His observation focused on the gatehouse.