Chapter 376: Chapter 54: Heart-Connected Lotus Root
Zhang Deming’s immediate impression upon entering Huayue City was that it was completely different from Celestial Spirit City.
Although many mortals lived in Celestial Spirit City, they were confined to the North District. The other districts clearly marked it as a city of cultivators.
But Huayue City was the exact opposite. Cultivators and ordinary people lived together. Although there were visible status differences, it hadn’t reached a level of extreme indifference.
Most Apprentice Cultivators lived among ordinary people, who at most just maintained a respectful attitude.
Because of this way of life, the entire Huayue City had an extremely strong worldly atmosphere.
’Is this the difference between a city of independent cultivators and a sect city?’
Zhang Deming thought to himself as he observed his surroundings.
’It makes sense when I think about it. Although the divide between immortals and mortals in Hongmeng is especially deep-rooted, for many independent cultivators, they’ve never received a systematic education or long-term indoctrination.’
’Some cultivators just stumbled upon cultivation by chance and continue to live with mortals. It’s more accurate to call them ordinary people who happened to find a cultivation technique than actual cultivators.’
’For all these reasons, it’s perfectly normal that the divide between immortals and mortals isn’t so severe here.’
After wandering around the city by himself for a while, Zhang Deming had a general impression of the place.
Afterward, Zhang Deming chose Huayue City’s signature establishment—the Huayue Spirit Tower—and checked in.
After more than a day of non-stop travel, Zhang Deming felt a little tired. So, once he had chosen his lodging, he went to his room and immediately fell asleep.
Before sleeping, Zhang Deming not only activated the room’s array but also tossed out a few Array Cards, using a special technique with his Tier Three Array Dao Cultivation to activate them in a unique way.
’It’s always better to be cautious when you’re away from home.’
...
The next morning, Zhang Deming got up, and after his daily exercises, he went out to gather information about the upcoming joint auction.
Huayue City belonged to a Three Talents Independent Cultivator influence. Three great Three Talents Independent Cultivators lived in the city, each having founded a Noble Family. These three families respectively occupied Huayue City’s three Two-Star High-Grade Spirit Veins, which were the three mountain peaks surrounding the city.
And this auction was being jointly hosted by these three families.
After learning this information, Zhang Deming frowned slightly.
’Promotion resources should be especially important to independent cultivator Noble Families, and a top-tier promotion resource for the Duality realm—especially one from the Summoning Category—should be even more so.’
’Why would they put it up for auction?’
’Even if it didn’t belong to one of the three families, when the owner brought it in for appraisal, they could have easily intercepted it, made a high offer, and prevented it from ever appearing at the auction.’
’A Duality Cultivator would be a resource that a family like theirs could not afford to ignore.’
After this initial understanding of the situation, Zhang Deming hesitated for a long time before deciding to try and intercept the item beforehand.
But before he could act, his expression flickered. He took out his Identity Card and found a new message inside.
Zhang Deming projected a Light Screen and saw that the message was from Li Shifan.
Li Shifan: "Senior Brother Zhang, I’ve found the Heart-Connected Lotus Root, but I can’t do anything about it. If you need information, please contact me as soon as possible."
Zhang Deming looked at the message, paused for a moment, and his Heart Spirit entered the Spirit Nurturing Space.
In the sky, the Book of All Living Beings was currently shimmering with a faint light.
Zhang Deming waved his hand, and it descended toward him.
The book slowly opened, and the taskbar displayed a message, also from Li Shifan, stating that he had discovered the Heart-Connected Lotus Root.
Zhang Deming looked at the book, then waved to the sky again. Li Shifan’s speck of light flew down, and Zhang Deming reached out and gently tapped it.
The speck of light projected an image, showing Li Shifan’s current location.
At that moment, Li Shifan was standing on a massive, ancient tree, holding an open, illusory ancient book in both hands. He was looking ahead with a slight frown.
He was currently deep in the middle layer of the Hengduan Mountain Range, surrounded by a primeval jungle. Far in front of him, a vast lake was faintly visible.
In the lake were numerous lotus leaves, and among them, several lotus flowers could be faintly seen. The flowers were pinkish-white and unusually large, rivaling the size of their leaves. They looked like lotus platforms, large enough for a two-year-old child to easily sit cross-legged upon them.
On the lake’s surface, an exceptionally beautiful Demon Beast was joyfully leaping and running. It had snow-white fur and the body of a fox, but it was unusually tall. It had deer antlers on its head and a massive tail several times its body length.
Zhang Deming was slightly taken aback by the Demon Beast’s appearance.
’Is that... an Ancient Alien Species, the divine horse Chenghuang?’
’Hmm... no, that’s not right. It doesn’t have a horn on its back. It should just be a variant bloodline. If it were a true Chenghuang, an adult would have the strength of a Peak Three Talents cultivator. That would be some bad luck.’
’But even as a variant, as a carrier of an Ancient Alien Species’s bloodline and an adult Demon Beast, it should at least have the cultivation of the Duality realm.’
’Moreover, as it possesses the Chenghuang bloodline, two abilities are undoubtedly essential: extreme speed and powers of the mind.’
Li Shifan had made it clear that this was a Demon Beast he wanted nothing to do with.
Setting aside the Power of the Mind, which was especially strange for a Tai Chi Cultivator to deal with, even its extreme speed was something Li Shifan felt he couldn’t handle unless his Sword Control Skill reached Tier Four, unlocking true Sword Control.
Otherwise, going up against it would be asking for a beating.
Zhang Deming watched the scene in the speck of light, paused, and contemplated for a moment. He then exited the Spirit Nurturing Space, reopened his Identity Card, and replied to Li Shifan: "Is it urgent? If not, wait for me there for half a day."
