Even Nascent Soul Major Sects could not avoid periods when they lacked a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Take the Holy Lotus Sect, for example. During their darkest period, they went nearly a thousand years without a Nascent Soul True Monarch presiding over them.

By relying on their Tier Four Array, legacy Spiritual Treasure, and Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast, the Holy Lotus Sect was still able to dominate the Liang Country and avoid falling into ruin.

However, it was far more difficult to maintain their previous glorious state, where their every call was answered and no sect in the Liang Country dared to disobey.

Besides, a sect with a ten-thousand-year history like the Holy Lotus Sect was bound to have enemies of the same caliber.

They would strike when you were down. A Nascent Soul Major Sect without a True Monarch was like a piece of fresh meat in the wilderness, circled by a pack of hungry wolves.

Their Markets were destroyed, their Ore Veins were seized, and their Sect Disciples walked in constant fear, always on edge, knowing that someone could attack them at any moment.

Even their Core Formation True Men were besieged, with several falling in succession. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

At their most perilous moment, enemies stormed Qii Mountain itself. They only managed to hold on by having their Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast detonate its Demon Pill to heavily wound the invading forces.

Only when the Holy Lotus Sect finally saw the rise of a new Nascent Soul True Monarch were they able to regroup and reclaim their former glory.

For a Cultivation Family, due to the limitations of bloodlines, ensuring the continuation of their legacy was even more difficult than it was for a Nascent Soul Major Sect.

The Zengguang Du Family had produced three Nascent Soul True Monarchs in a row, pushing the Du Family to the pinnacle of all Cultivation Families and establishing Zengguang Immortal City as their eternal foundation.

Unless they were darlings of the heavens, blessed by the Great Dao, or possessed the bloodline of some Ancient Divine Beast, there was no reason why they should find ascending to the Nascent Soul Realm so easy.

"Among True Monarch Du’s descendants, there are eleven Core Formation True Men, but not a single one shows any sign of being able to reach the Nascent Soul Realm... But True Monarch Du has at least three or four hundred years of life left, which is enough time to cultivate his successors!"

Jin Lu clearly knew a fair amount about the Zengguang Du Family, having even learned of the Clan’s recent internal situation.

"As expected of the Cultivation Family that controls the number one Immortal City in the world. On paper, their strength is nearly on par with the Holy Lotus Sect..."

Bai Zichen nodded slightly, but the Zengguang Du Family was too far from the Qingfeng Sect.

This kind of talk about successors to a Nascent Soul True Monarch was on a completely different level from them, and it felt detached from his reality.

If they were discussing the relative strengths of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Core Formation True Men, he might have been more interested in hearing Jin Lu’s analysis.

"Heh heh, although True Monarch Jiulian wields the Holy Lotus Sect’s legacy Spiritual Treasure, True Monarch Du is no weaker. The Du Family’s ancestral Profound Nether Heavy Water weighs over a thousand pounds a single drop, and True Monarch Du has refined an entire river of it... He overwhelms his opponents with sheer force, an unstoppable power. He once performed the incredible feat of using the Profound Nether Heavy Water to completely immobilize a Nascent Soul from the Great Li Country."

Jin Lu’s small eyes lit up, and he was about to launch into a grand discussion of his views on the relative strengths of the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

But when he saw Bai Zichen’s eyelids droop as he assumed a meditative posture, he realized his companion wasn’t interested in the topic and awkwardly fell silent.

"By the way, I still haven’t thanked you for the Blood Flame Bag, Junior Brother Bai... Thanks to this Spiritual Artifact, one of the Spirit Insects I’m raising has finally advanced to Tier Two."

"That’s due to your own skill in Insect Taming, Brother Jin. The Blood Flame Bag was part of a trade we agreed on long ago, so there’s no need for thanks."

The conversation on the Profound Black Banner gradually died down, leaving only the howling of the wind as it swirled past the flag’s exterior.

While steering the Flying Spiritual Artifact, Jin Lu poured out one flesh-and-blood pellet after another from his Blood Flame Bag.

Every time he had a hundred, he would deposit them into a Spirit Beast Bag.

He repeated this process, producing over a thousand pellets in an instant and feeding all the Spirit Insects in every one of his Spirit Beast Bags.

’After reaching Foundation Establishment, because my Divine Sense became so much stronger than my peers, I’ve spent far less time on the Divine Casting Technique...’

High up in the sky, Bai Zichen wasn’t so careless as to circulate the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture and cultivate his Magical Power.

If some sudden incident occurred, causing his Magical Power to go awry and throw his meridians into chaos, spending several months to recover would not be worth it.

He examined himself and found there were still many areas that required slow, patient progress using the Water Grinding Skill.

Unfortunately, his Cultivation Realm had been advancing by leaps and bounds, and he predicted it wouldn’t stop until he reached the Core Formation Realm.

Any other Foundation Establishment Cultivator stuck at a bottleneck with no way forward would have treasured this time as if they had found a Supreme Treasure, dedicating themselves entirely to Cultivation.

The Divine Casting Technique and the True Enlightenment Sword Technique both originated from the Inheritance Stele.

The former was a Secret Technique for cultivating Divine Sense, while the latter was a Complete Sword Manual as vast as a sea of smoke. Both were core inheritances of the Naihe Sect.

Bai Zichen believed that if he chose either one and invested several decades into it, he would make significant progress.

But in that same amount of time, he might have already cultivated the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture to the third level.

It was only because a Guardian Spiritual Artifact of the Sea of Consciousness was so difficult to find that he turned his attention back to the Divine Casting Technique.

’My own Divine Sense is the true foundation. If I can make another breakthrough in the Divine Casting Technique and add the protection of the Soaring Dragon Thought Method... as long as I don’t run into an anomaly like Senior Sister Zhou Suqing, a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s Divine Sense will hold no advantage over mine.’

With this in mind, and knowing the journey was long, he calmed his mind and once again visualized the Heaven and Earth Furnace Map.

With Bai Zichen’s current Divine Sense, he could conjure and dismiss thoughts at will. In an instant, the world within his Sea of Consciousness transformed, shifting into a new scene.

The furnace hammered down, one strike after another, as if it had existed since time immemorial, dyeing the expanse of sky before it a fiery red.

The entire world rose and fell, alternating between light and dark, in rhythm with the furnace.

The only two things unaffected were the Five Crystal Divine Iron and the Glazed Fire Jade, hanging in opposite corners of the sky.

Ever since he had successfully integrated these two Tier Five Spiritual Materials into his Visualization, allowing them to take solid form in his Sea of Consciousness, his practice of the Divine Casting Technique had felt slightly different.

It seemed this visualized world had been influenced by the two Spiritual Materials, becoming more condensed and real.

Bai Zichen couldn’t yet say what benefits this change brought, but at least there were no downsides.

Currently, a full cultivation session of the Divine Casting Technique took nearly ten days—

The moment he felt a trace of fatigue from his Sea of Consciousness, he immediately dispersed the scene of the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

He then placed a few leaves of Tier Two Top Grade Silver Needle Tea in his mouth. A faint bitterness spread across his tongue, and his mind cleared.

Being away from home, he didn’t have the means to properly brew tea. Directly chewing the Spirit Tea was a crude way to enjoy such a fine item.

By the time he had completed his third cultivation of the Divine Casting Technique and was in the middle of recuperating his Divine Sense, he heard a suppressed cry of astonishment.

"We’re finally here... I haven’t been here in over twenty years, but seeing it again still makes my heart surge. I can’t control myself!"

Jin Lu gazed at the city nestled among the distant clouds and mist, a look of fascination in his eyes.

"It’s huge!"

That was Bai Zichen’s first reaction upon seeing Zengguang Immortal City. Shrouded in clouds and mist were countless Pearl Palace and Shell Palaces, with clusters of majestic palace halls forming a circle, like stars paying homage to the moon as they surrounded a thousand-zhang-tall tower at the center.

The Heaven-Reaching Immortal Pagoda, residence of the Du Family’s Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Beyond that was the rest of the Immortal City, a hundred times the area of the palace complex. Even from the air, he could not take in the entire view.

After flying for nearly another half hour, the Profound Black Banner finally reached the entrance to the Immortal City. A powerful Spirit Light flickered on the white city walls, warning any Cultivator who might try to enter without passing through the main gate.

"Zengguang Immortal City has twelve gates like this one. Countless Cultivators pour into the Immortal City through them every day..."

Jin Lu led the way with the ease of experience. A long queue, hundreds of zhang long, had formed at the city gate.

Bai Zichen observed the Cultivators in front of and behind him. Most were at Late-Stage Qi Refining or higher, and he even saw several fellow Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

A man stood atop the city gate wall, seeming to have merged with the array there, becoming its core.

Although he only had an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, if he were to fight, he could probably match a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator by borrowing the array’s power. He was likely a City Gate Official of some kind.

Another person, to his left front, was adorned all over with jade ornaments that chimed softly, making him stand out.

This person did not conceal his cultivation. His Magical Power fluctuations were distinct, and one could tell at a glance that he had a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation.

’As expected of the number one Immortal City in the world. The average strength of the Cultivators here is much higher than at the Ten Thousand Beasts Pavilion...’

The line quickly reached Bai Zichen and Jin Lu. A Compass in front of the gatekeeping Cultivator seemed to display the Realm of the person before them, and the four guards’ attitudes became slightly more courteous.

"Seniors, how many days do you plan to stay in the city? The auction is approaching, so residency must be renewed at a minimum of every ten days..."

"No need to explain, the rules are the same every year, I know... My junior brother and I will each stay for a month. Process it for us immediately."

Jin Lu, too impatient to listen, tossed a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone over.

He turned and explained to Junior Brother Bai, who was visiting Zengguang Immortal City for the first time, "The Immortal City has a rule. For visiting Cultivators like us without residency rights, we have to pay two Spirit Stones for each day we stay in the city."

"I see."

Bai Zichen gave an imperceptible nod. Seeing the flow of people, the daily income of Spirit Stones the Immortal City collected from just temporary visitor fees was unimaginable.

However, Zengguang Immortal City was protected by a Tier Four Array. The daily maintenance costs for an array of this level were astronomical and had to be paid in Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

The city gate guard took out two Rings. As long as one wore them on their finger, they could live in the Immortal City for the corresponding amount of time.

Once the time was up, the Ring itself would generate a repulsive force. One either had to pay more Spirit Stones or leave the Immortal City.

After passing through a long tunnel in the city gate, the space above them suddenly brightened. The roar of a massive crowd filled the air, and countless Cultivators came into view.

"The outer city of Zengguang Immortal City is divided into sixty districts. The auction house we’re going to is in the Ding Chou District... We’ll register our information first, then find a place to stay. After that, Junior Brother, you can have a good look around the Immortal City."

"Isn’t Zengguang Immortal City built on a Tier Four Spirit Vein? Why does the Spiritual Energy Concentration feel about the same as the areas where the Sect’s Outer Sect Disciples cultivate...?"

Bai Zichen had only taken a few steps before he sensed something was wrong. The ambient Spiritual Qi leaking from the periphery of a Tier Four Spirit Vein should not be at this level.

"Ahem... There is indeed a Tier Four Spirit Vein beneath the Immortal City, but the amount of Spiritual Qi a Nascent Soul True Monarch requires is absurd. In order to create a Tier Four Mid Grade Spirit Land, the Spiritual Qi in the Pearl Palace and Shell Palaces where the Du Family Members live—the so-called inner city—dropped from Tier Three Top-Grade to Tier Three Mid Grade."

Jin Lu shook his head as he spoke. In terms of Spiritual Land Tier, what the Du Family’s Core Formation True Men enjoyed was far inferior to that of the two Ancestors of the Qingfeng Sect.

"There are too many Core Formation True Men in the Du Family. Each one establishes a Cave Mansion and draws on the Spiritual Qi... which has caused the Spiritual Qi in the outer city to drop to Tier Two Mid Grade."

This situation had severely impacted the Cave Mansion rental business in the Immortal City, dealing it an almost devastating blow.

The Cultivators who rented Cave Mansions, mainly Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators, were almost all there for a Tier Three Spirit Land.

With the Spiritual Qi in the outer city’s Cave Mansions all falling below Tier Three, who would still be willing to pay?

In the end, left with no choice, the Du Family opened up a portion of the Pearl Palace and Shell Palaces to various factions, allowing them to establish Cave Mansions or set up outposts.

Besides, the Du Family wasn’t populous enough to use so much space themselves anyway.