Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Profound Nether Stone

Dongfang Yanyu and the others were the top Soul Refiners of Liuyun Kingdom. They were the foundation of the kingdom’s strength and its hope for the future. To ensure the team’s safety, His Majesty Zhao Jing had personally arranged for Chu Yunfei to lead the group to the competition venue in the Water Mist Mountain Range.

This arrangement was made to prevent any accidents during the journey.

There was just over a month until the Floating Light Assembly began. To avoid being late, the team departed from the Royal City after a brief exchange of pleasantries.

The Floating Light Secret Realm was located in a deep mountain range northeast of the Thirteen Nations Alliance. Consequently, the annual Floating Light Assembly was held in the Water Mist Mountain Range, and the gathering point for the teams was in the Celestial Gold Kingdom, which was closest to the mountains.

The Celestial Gold Kingdom was one of the five major powers in the Thirteen Nations Alliance. Although this region was called the Thirteen Nations Alliance, it didn’t actually contain only thirteen countries. The name came from the thirteen stronger kingdoms. In addition to these, numerous duchies and smaller nations were scattered across the area. Some of these small countries were even smaller in area than Ye Xuan’s Tianxu Province territory.

Among the thirteen kingdoms, there were five major powers: the Celestial Gold Kingdom, the Fire Crow Kingdom, the Shizhen Kingdom, the Liuyun Kingdom, and the Dongsheng Kingdom. The other eight kingdoms in the Thirteen Nations Alliance were all somewhat weaker than these five, so the champions of previous years had almost always come from one of them, with very few exceptions.

Although Liuyun Kingdom was ranked among the five major powers, in terms of overall strength, it was only fourth or fifth, on par with the Fire Crow Kingdom. It was weaker than the Dongsheng Kingdom and Shizhen Kingdom, and as for the Celestial Gold Kingdom, it had always been the hegemon of the Thirteen Nations Alliance.

Along the way, after the incident at the Soul Master Tower, the entire team of Soul Refiners’ attitude toward Ye Xuan had completely changed. All the young contestants looked at him with great reverence. As for the once arrogant and haughty He Xuting, he stayed in his own carriage and never came out.

Ye Xuan couldn’t be bothered to pay any mind to the reverent gazes of the many Soul Refiners. He cultivated alone in his carriage. Only when Chu Yunfei, President Dongfang Yanyu, and the others came to consult with him would he stop his training to exchange a few words.

Though it was called an exchange, the conversations between Ye Xuan, Dongfang Yanyu, and the others were more like Ye Xuan giving a lecture. Every word he spoke seemed to possess a magical power, leaving the elders and high-ranking members of the Soul Master Tower deep in thought and benefiting them greatly.

After a month of travel, Ye Xuan’s group finally arrived in Meili City, the host city in the Celestial Gold Kingdom, a week before the start of the assembly.

Meili City was a border city of the Celestial Gold Kingdom and the only major city closest to the Floating Light Secret Realm. A thousand li to the east of Meili City lay the perilous Water Mist Mountain Range. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The Soul Refiner teams from the Thirteen Nations Alliance would gather here first before setting off together for the competition in the Water Mist Mountain Range.

As a frequent host of the Floating Light Assembly, the Celestial Gold Kingdom had long since made ample preparations. As soon as Ye Xuan’s team arrived, they were led into a luxurious estate. The entire estate was filled with rows of private courtyards, clearly arranged for the contestants from the various nations.

The Floating Light Assembly would begin in seven days, so the teams from all the nations were scheduled to depart in three days.

"Ye Xuan, want to go take a look around Meili City?"

As soon as the team had settled in, Yun Aoxue came to Ye Xuan’s room. "I heard that Meili City is holding a large-scale auction every day. All sorts of rare and exotic treasures are supposed to appear. Why don’t we go check it out together?"

Every year, the Floating Light Assembly gathered the most powerful Soul Refiners of the Thirteen Nations Alliance. Naturally, the major merchant guilds of the Celestial Gold Kingdom and the Thirteen Nations Alliance seized this opportunity, holding a large-scale auction in Meili City every day. The treasures that appeared there were generally much more valuable than those at ordinary auctions. The finale items were at least Tier Six exotic treasures, enough to attract every Soul Refiner who came to Meili City.

It wasn’t just genius contestants like Yun Aoxue; even Soul Refiner titans like President Dongfang Yanyu and Vice President Kuchen would go to the auctions to watch and bid on items. It was an incredibly lively affair.

However, Ye Xuan refused. The Floating Light Assembly was only a week away, and he needed to make some preparations. He didn’t have much time to spare for other things.

Besides, having obtained Lv Hao’s Storage Ring, he was not short on resources. A small-scale auction like that held no attraction for him.

Returning to his room, Ye Xuan began his final preparations. From Vice President Kuchen, he had obtained a collection of files: stories about the Water Mist Mountain Range, records of past Floating Light Assemblies, and information on the Soul Refiner geniuses and other powerful experts from the various kingdoms of the Thirteen Nations Alliance in recent years. The information was extremely comprehensive.

He only glanced through the information on the Soul Refiner geniuses. What he focused on were the powerful experts of the Thirteen Nations Alliance, the history of the Water Mist Mountain Range, and the details about the Floating Light Secret Realm.

From materials like the six-colored flower, Ye Xuan could tell that the level of this Floating Light Secret Realm was likely higher than he had imagined. It wasn’t some ordinary, small secret realm. As for how much higher, he couldn’t determine that without entering it.

After spending two days on it, Ye Xuan finally read through all the information on the Floating Light Secret Realm. Once he had a clear understanding, he left his residence and went out onto the streets of Meili City.

The streets were bustling with people coming and going, incredibly lively. Ye Xuan simply strolled about at his leisure.

Compared to the Royal City of Liuyun Kingdom, the buildings in Meili City were not as luxurious, but it had everything one could need and was very lively. Shops were everywhere, and surprisingly, they all sold various materials needed by Soul Refiners.

’Huh? Is that Core-removing Grass!’

At a stall, Ye Xuan saw several stalks of black Lamp Grass, priced at only one hundred thousand Profound Coins, which surprised him quite a bit.

Core-removing Grass was a Tier Four Spirit Medicine that was very effective at dispelling certain special toxins. Due to its strict growth requirements, in some parts of the continent, it could generally only be purchased with Profound Stones, and it was often unavailable even if one had the money. It was virtually impossible to buy with Profound Coins.

Without hesitation, Ye Xuan bought all the stalks of Core-removing Grass. It was then that he finally discovered the benefits of a small place.

Although materials were scarce in the Thirteen Nations Alliance, and many things that were common in the outside world were hard to find here, the reverse was also true. Some items that were highly sought after in the outside world were sold relatively cheaply here because few people understood their value and had little use for them.

With such a good opportunity, Ye Xuan naturally wouldn’t let it pass. He continued on his way, picking out items that might be useful to him later—things that were precious in the outside world but relatively cheap here.

After browsing through many shops, Ye Xuan really did manage to find quite a few good things.

In front of another shop, Ye Xuan saw several black Profound Nether Stones lying in a corner, completely ignored. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately walked over. After a closer look confirmed they were indeed Profound Nether Stones, he suppressed his excitement and asked, "Shopkeeper, how much are these stones?"

"Yinfeng Stones, ten thousand Profound Coins each," the shopkeeper said indifferently after a glance.

"I’ll take all five."

Without hesitation, Ye Xuan took out a check for fifty thousand Profound Coins, but he was secretly shaking his head. ’This shopkeeper, mistaking Profound Nether Stones for Yinfeng Stones. Truly blind.’

Profound Nether Stone was a special material that could stabilize a Soul Refiner’s Soul Power. When Soul Refiners cultivated Soul Power, accidents often occurred, causing their Soul Power to fluctuate and leading to cultivation deviation. Profound Nether Stone could stabilize Soul Power. It only needed to be concocted into a liquid and consumed before cultivation to make a Soul Refiner’s martial soul several times more stable. As long as one wasn’t practicing a particularly bizarre Soul Skill, they generally wouldn’t suffer from cultivation deviation.

Yinfeng Stone, on the other hand, was a material from which Yin Attribute power could be extracted. It could be used in the concoction of some potions. Although it was also quite precious, it was a world apart from Profound Nether Stone.

The two were extremely similar, and it was difficult for an ordinary person to tell the difference. But on the Celestial Profound Continent, there was a very simple method: one could permeate the stone with Soul Power at a certain frequency. If it was a Profound Nether Stone, the Soul Power would feel blocked, but with a Yinfeng Stone, there was no such sensation.

But it seemed this method was not well-known in the Thirteen Nations Alliance. The shopkeeper himself was a Peak of First Grade Soul Refiner; if such a method existed in the Thirteen Nations Alliance, a Soul Refiner like him would certainly know about it.

"Shopkeeper, wait a moment!"

Just as Ye Xuan was about to put the five Profound Nether Stones away, several young men suddenly strode over. Their eyes fell on the stones, and a trace of surprise appeared, quickly followed by a flash of delight.

"We want these stones. Shopkeeper, name your price," one of the young men said in a deep voice, blocking Ye Xuan from the stones.

"Gentlemen, I’ve already bought these stones. Your actions seem a bit improper," Ye Xuan said with a frown.

"He’s right, sirs. These Yinfeng Stones have indeed been bought by this young brother. If you still need them, I can sell them to you when the next batch of Yinfeng Stones arrives in a few days. Or you can discuss it with the young brother yourselves," the shopkeeper said.

But the men didn’t even glance at Ye Xuan. Their eyes were fixed on the Profound Nether Stones. After exchanging a look and nodding to each other, the young man who had spoken first waved his hand and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "We want these Yinfeng Stones. How about this: whatever he paid, we’ll pay double."

A look of delight immediately appeared on the shopkeeper’s face. He said with feigned helplessness, "But this young brother has already given me the money, so..."