Zhenyuan City was one of the most vibrant and well-known places in the Eastern Region.
For cultivators, it was almost impossible to travel through the Eastern Region without eventually hearing the name of Zhenyuan City, because unlike many cultivation cities that rose and fell with the fortunes of a particular sect or family, Zhenyuan City had become prosperous because of something far more fundamental.
Its spiritual vein.
Deep beneath the enormous city lay an extreme Rank 4 spiritual vein.
The spiritual vein had existed beneath the land for countless years, continuously drawing in the spiritual energy of the surrounding region and refining it through the natural laws of heaven and earth. Under ordinary circumstances, the spiritual energy released by an extreme Rank 4 spiritual vein was already extraordinarily pure, enough to greatly benefit Golden Core cultivators.
But the spiritual vein beneath Zhenyuan City was unusual.
From time to time, the spiritual energy within its depths would undergo an immense fluctuation, causing a terrifying tide of spiritual qi to surge upward from beneath the city.
During such periods, the spiritual concentration throughout Zhenyuan City would rise dramatically.
The closer one approached the centre of the city, the more astonishing the change became.
At the very heart of the city, the spiritual energy could become so dense that it almost resembled a liquid, hanging in the air like an invisible mist that had been condensed to an extreme degree.
For ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, cultivating in such an environment could be extremely beneficial.
For Purple Palace cultivators, it could significantly shorten the time required to refine their spiritual energy.
For Golden Core cultivators, however, the true value was even greater.
An environment containing such pure spiritual energy could support their cultivation for long periods, allowing them to steadily accumulate cultivation without having to constantly travel in search of better spiritual veins.
Naturally, the Myriad Dao Pavilion would never waste such an advantage.
As the undisputed power controlling Zhenyuan City, it had constructed countless cultivation abodes throughout the city, arranging them according to different grades and requirements so that cultivators of different realms could find somewhere suitable to stay.
The lowest-grade Immortal Caves required Foundation Establishment cultivation before one could register for them.
Even the more improvised cultivation areas surrounding the city weren't completely open to outsiders.
Anyone staying within the city's boundaries had to possess identification.
This identification wasn't something that could simply be obtained once and used indefinitely.
Cultivators who intended to remain in the city had to repeatedly register and renew their identification by paying Spirit Stones, allowing the Myriad Dao Pavilion to maintain a clear understanding of who was entering the city, how long they intended to stay, and whether they had exceeded the period they had paid for.
Temporary identification was monitored even more strictly.
Zhenyuan City was too valuable to allow outsiders to enter, hide somewhere within its enormous streets and cultivation districts, and remain indefinitely.
The Myriad Dao Pavilion had established sensory formations throughout the city, and although these formations weren't designed to interfere with ordinary cultivators, they could detect the movement of people whose identification had expired.
Someone who deliberately remained after their permitted period would quickly discover that the city treated such behaviour very differently from an ordinary cultivator forgetting to renew their registration.
The former could be expelled.
If they resisted or deliberately attempted to conceal themselves, they could even be hunted down.
This was one of the reasons Zhenyuan City had remained orderly despite containing an enormous number of cultivators.
The rules were strict, but they were clear.
As long as one followed them, nobody would interfere with their cultivation or business.
At this moment, a streak of light approached from the distant horizon.
The light gradually slowed as it neared the city.
Lin Sheng stood in mid-air, looking down at the enormous city beneath him.
Even from several kilometres away, he could already see the scale of Zhenyuan City.
The city stretched across an enormous area, with countless buildings occupying the land as far as his eyes could see.
The surrounding mountains had been partially flattened and integrated into the city's structure, while enormous spiritual formations covered the outer perimeter.
Lin Sheng could sense the faint fluctuations of those formations even from a distance.
He didn't enter the city directly.
After all, he was currently pretending to be a reclusive Rank 4 Formation Grandmaster who had been secluded for many years.
There was no reason to behave like someone who ignored the rules of the city.
Lin Sheng descended near the city gate.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the surrounding cultivators barely gave him a second glance.
There were simply too many cultivators entering Zhenyuan City.
A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, a Purple Palace cultivator, or even an unfamiliar Golden Core cultivator wouldn't necessarily attract attention unless they deliberately released their aura.
Lin Sheng suppressed his cultivation aura to the level he had chosen for his current identity and walked toward the registration area.
There was already a line.
He calmly joined it.
After waiting for some time, it was finally his turn.
A cultivator responsible for registration looked at him and said, "Temporary identification?"
"Yes."
"Three days?"
Lin Sheng nodded.
"Ten mid-grade Spirit Stones."
Lin Sheng casually took out ten mid-grade Spirit Stones and handed them over.
Ten mid-grade Spirit Stones was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.
For an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, this wasn't necessarily a small amount.
Yet for Lin Sheng, it was nothing.
The registrar accepted the Spirit Stones, activated the registration formation, and a faint spiritual light swept over Lin Sheng's body.
His identity information was recorded into the formation.
A small jade token was then handed to him.
"Temporary identification, valid for three days."
The registrar's expression remained indifferent.
"If you intend to stay longer, renew it before the expiration."
Lin Sheng accepted the token.
"What happens if someone doesn't renew it?"
The registrar glanced at him.
"They'll be asked to leave."
"And if they don't?"
The registrar's expression became even colder.
"Then they'll be treated as an unregistered cultivator."
Lin Sheng nodded.
He didn't ask anything else.
He stepped forward.
The moment he passed through the city gate, he felt something different.
It was almost like walking through an invisible veil.
The sensory formation surrounding the city brushed across his body, confirming his identification before allowing him to pass.
Then the spiritual energy struck him.
Lin Sheng's footsteps slowed.
His eyes narrowed.
The spiritual energy inside Zhenyuan City was astonishingly pure.
He could sense it directly.
It wasn't merely a dense concentration of spiritual qi.
The quality itself was different.
The impurities normally present within the spiritual energy of the outside world had been reduced to an astonishing degree, leaving behind a spiritual force that felt almost transparent as it flowed through the surrounding space.
Lin Sheng took a slow breath.
The spiritual energy entered his body through his pores and meridians, and even though he wasn't deliberately cultivating, he could feel his body instinctively reacting to it.
"This is..."
His gaze shifted toward the centre of the city.
The spiritual energy was coming from there.
More precisely, it was rising from the depths beneath the central region of Zhenyuan City.
And at that location stood the main branch of the Myriad Dao Pavilion.
Lin Sheng's eyes flashed.
The Myriad Dao Pavilion had clearly chosen the most valuable location in the entire city.
That wasn't surprising.
A force possessing such enormous financial power would naturally make full use of every advantage available to it.
Lin Sheng began walking toward the centre.
The streets of Zhenyuan City were remarkably clean.
There were many cultivators, but surprisingly few vendors.
There were no endless rows of temporary stalls filling every street, nor were there countless cultivators shouting about their treasures.
Lin Sheng wasn't surprised.
Who would dare establish a major cultivation store in the most financially powerful city of the Eastern Region without sufficient backing?
A shop couldn't simply open here because someone possessed a few treasures.
The city belonged to the Myriad Dao Pavilion.
Anyone wanting to establish a permanent business had to have sufficient resources, sufficient connections, and sufficient confidence that their business could survive beneath the eyes of one of the Eastern Region's most deeply rooted powers.
Most independent cultivators naturally preferred to conduct their business through the existing channels.
As Lin Sheng walked deeper into the city, he occasionally saw cultivators entering and leaving Immortal Caves.
Some caves were built into mountainsides, some were hidden beneath formations, and others had been constructed into enormous underground cultivation districts.
Further ahead, there were cultivation mansions belonging to Purple Palace cultivators.
The buildings became increasingly grand as he approached the centre.
Lin Sheng's perception spread subtly.
He didn't deliberately probe anyone.
He merely allowed his perception to blend into the surrounding environment.
The number of cultivators was astonishing.
Foundation Establishment cultivators could be seen almost everywhere.
Purple Palace cultivators appeared occasionally.
As for Golden Core cultivators, they were rare, but Lin Sheng could still sense their auras scattered throughout the city.
He didn't find that strange.
This was precisely what the Grand Elder had described.
Zhenyuan City wasn't merely a place for ordinary cultivators to trade.
It was a genuine gathering place for cultivators throughout the Eastern Region.
Eventually, Lin Sheng arrived before an enormous building.
The architecture was imposing without being excessively extravagant.
It had several towering floors, each covered in intricate formations, and the spiritual energy around it was visibly denser than the surrounding streets.
Above the entrance hung an enormous plaque.
Myriad Dao Pavilion.
Lin Sheng looked at it for a moment before walking forward.
Several guards stood before the entrance.
They weren't ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Even after suppressing his divine sense, Lin Sheng could still sense that these guards possessed considerable cultivation.
One of them stepped forward.
"Identification."
Lin Sheng took out the jade token he had received at the city gate.
The guard inspected it, and a formation beside the entrance immediately confirmed its authenticity.
"Please enter."
Lin Sheng nodded and walked inside.
The moment he crossed the threshold, his expression changed slightly.
The spiritual energy became even purer.
It was as though the moment he entered the main branch, the outside world had been separated from him.
The spiritual energy here had almost no obvious impurities.
Every breath contained an astonishing amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy.
Lin Sheng's eyes swept across the surroundings.
So this was where the Myriad Dao Pavilion's true strength was displayed.
The main branch had clearly been constructed directly above the centre of the extreme Rank 4 spiritual vein.
Cultivating here would be extremely beneficial to Golden Core cultivators.
For peak Golden Core cultivators attempting to break through to Nascent Soul, the value was even greater.
Lin Sheng could already imagine the amount of wealth required to maintain such a place.
An ordinary sect might spend countless years fighting for control of a Rank 4 spiritual vein.
The Myriad Dao Pavilion had effectively built its main headquarters directly on top of one.
It wasn't merely a source of spiritual energy.
It was the foundation of the city's prosperity.
Lin Sheng slowly walked deeper into the building.
He could sense several extremely powerful auras hidden within the main branch.
Some were concealed behind formations, others were deliberately isolated from divine sense, but Lin Sheng's perception was far beyond that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
Peak Golden Core.
There was more than one.
His eyes flickered.
As expected, a place capable of dealing with Rank 4 resources naturally had people of that level protecting it.
However, Lin Sheng wasn't worried.
At his current strength, unless a Nascent Soul cultivator personally appeared, there were very few people in the Eastern Region capable of forcing him to reveal his true cultivation.
He continued walking.
The spiritual energy became denser with every step.
Lin Sheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
No wonder so many cultivators wanted to stay in Zhenyuan City.
Even renting an ordinary cultivation cave here for a few years would probably provide benefits far beyond what could be obtained from cultivating elsewhere.
And this was only the Rank 4 spiritual vein.
A Rank 5 spiritual vein was an entirely different matter.
Natural Rank 5 spiritual veins could no longer be found openly on the continent.
The reason was simple.
Once a spiritual vein reached Rank 5, it became valuable enough that the major powers capable of manipulating space would never allow such a treasure to remain exposed beneath an ordinary mountain or city.
Nascent Soul cultivators could already tear through space and travel enormous distances.
Their understanding of spatial power allowed them to do things that ordinary cultivators could only imagine.
When a major power discovered a Rank 5 spiritual vein, they would usually find a way to extract it, move it, or seal the surrounding region and transfer its core to a place under their absolute control.
Secret realms were particularly suitable for this purpose.
A Rank 5 spiritual vein hidden within a secret realm could continuously produce pure spiritual energy without being exposed to outsiders.
More importantly, the force controlling that secret realm could monopolise the entire spiritual vein.
No wandering cultivator could simply arrive, build a cave nearby, and absorb the spiritual energy.
That was why natural Rank 5 spiritual veins were practically impossible to find openly on the continent.
They had already been claimed.
The truly powerful factions had gathered them into their own secret realms, sect headquarters, ancestral lands, and other heavily protected locations.
Lin Sheng's gaze slowly swept across the Myriad Dao Pavilion.
The deeper he went, the more clearly he understood the meaning behind the Grand Elder's words.
The Myriad Dao Pavilion wasn't powerful merely because it possessed wealth.
Its wealth was the result of its position.
It controlled trade, possessed access to resources, maintained countless branches, occupied cities built around spiritual veins, and had connections with cultivators throughout the Eastern Region.
All of those things reinforced one another.
Lin Sheng's lips curved slightly.
"It seems I really did find the right place."