As they entered the formation leading to the third floor, Lin Sheng immediately felt several divine senses sweep across his body.
They were not probing him openly, nor did they linger for more than a breath, but the sheer number of them made it obvious that the third floor was nothing like the lower levels. There were Golden Core cultivators hidden throughout the building, some concealed behind walls, some within private chambers, while others were protected by the formations that covered every corner of the Myriad Dao Pavilion, and the moment those divine senses touched Lin Sheng, he could tell that they were merely checking his identity and cultivation rather than deliberately provoking him.
A few breaths later, they withdrew.
Lin Sheng remained expressionless.
He had already expected this.
The third floor dealt with matters concerning Rank 4 cultivators, and anyone capable of entering this place was either extremely wealthy or possessed a cultivation realm high enough to warrant the attention of the Myriad Dao Pavilion. Allowing strangers to wander through such a place without surveillance would have been foolish.
The moment Lin Sheng took another step, a figure approached from the depths of the hall.
It was a middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue robe embroidered with the insignia of the Myriad Dao Pavilion, his appearance ordinary enough that he would have been easily overlooked in a crowd, but the aura concealed beneath his calm expression was anything but ordinary.
Purple Palace.
Moreover, he was not at the early stage.
Lin Sheng's divine sense swept over him once before withdrawing.
The attendant's cultivation had reached the middle stage of Purple Palace.
Roushi immediately noticed the change.
Her expression showed a trace of envy as she quietly stepped backwards, bowed towards the newcomer and retreated towards the edge of the hall after receiving a subtle signal from him.
She understood what this meant.
Her position was not high enough to accompany a customer of this level.
The middle-aged man stopped several steps away from Lin Sheng and smiled politely.
"Senior, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mo Yucheng, and I am responsible for receiving distinguished guests on the third floor. May I ask what you are looking for today?"
His attitude was neither excessively humble nor arrogant.
That was precisely what one would expect from someone representing a Nascent Soul-level power.
Lin Sheng glanced around the third floor before turning his attention back to him.
"I am looking for divine abilities."
Mo Yucheng's smile deepened.
"I see."
There was no surprise in his expression.
Someone capable of walking directly onto the third floor while concealing his cultivation was clearly not here to purchase ordinary Rank 4 materials.
"Then please follow me."
Lin Sheng nodded.
The two walked deeper into the pavilion.
As they passed through the various sections, Lin Sheng's eyes swept across the treasures displayed behind layers of formations.
Rank 4 materials were everywhere.
There were bones from Rank 4 yao beasts, spiritual medicines that radiated astonishing vitality, refined metals capable of supporting Golden Core treasures, ancient talisman materials, bottles of spirit liquid and sealed jade boxes containing pills whose medicinal fragrance alone caused the surrounding spiritual energy to fluctuate.
There were also cultivation methods.
Some were recorded on jade slips, others on ancient animal skins, while the most precious ones were sealed within special crystal containers surrounded by several layers of Rank 4 formations.
Lin Sheng quietly examined them as they passed.
The formations protecting these treasures were considerably stronger than those he had seen on the lower floors.
Most had already reached the level of a formation grandmaster.
Some were even interconnected, forming defensive formations within defensive formations, clearly designed to prevent both theft and destruction.
Even a Golden Core cultivator would find it extremely difficult to forcefully break through the protection and escape with a treasure.
Lin Sheng's eyes flashed with interest.
The Myriad Dao Pavilion truly deserved its reputation.
Eventually, Mo Yucheng brought him into another hall.
The surrounding walls were covered with jade tablets.
Each tablet contained the information of a divine ability.
"These are the minor divine abilities currently available for trade," Mo Yucheng explained. "The pavilion has many more inheritances, but those are either reserved for specific customers or are not currently available for direct exchange."
He raised his hand and activated several formations.
One jade tablet after another began floating in the air.
"The Mountain Suppression Divine Body, a defensive divine ability that uses earth attribute spiritual qi to strengthen the body until it becomes as immovable as a mountain."
Another jade tablet illuminated.
"The Golden Sun Body, a fire attribute body-refining divine ability capable of transforming the cultivator's flesh and blood into something comparable to refined spiritual metal."
Another appeared.
"The Azure Ocean Shield, a water attribute defensive divine ability that allows the cultivator to form layers of condensed water essence around the body, reducing the force of incoming attacks."
Mo Yucheng continued without pause.
"The Great Wind Escape, a movement divine ability that allows the cultivator to merge with the wind and greatly increase both travel speed and combat mobility."
"The Nine Heavens Thunder Body, a lightning attribute body-refining divine ability capable of tempering the flesh with thunder."
"The Earth Vein Armour, a defensive divine ability that draws upon the power of the earth to construct an invisible armour around the cultivator."
"The Scarlet Flame Divine Hand, an offensive fire attribute divine ability."
"The Profound Water Sealing Art, which specialises in restricting opponents and suppressing their spiritual qi."
"The Golden Edge Divine Light, an offensive metal attribute ability capable of condensing extremely sharp spiritual qi into blades."
"The Thousand Mountain Suppression Seal, an earth attribute offensive ability that can condense mountain-like force into a single attack."
"The Heavenly Wood Rebirth Art, a wood attribute divine ability that greatly enhances recovery and vitality."
Lin Sheng listened quietly.
There were many more.
The catalogue of the Myriad Dao Pavilion was astonishing.
Some divine abilities focused on attack, some on defence, some on movement, some on recovery, while others specialised in suppression, soul attacks or battlefield control.
For an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, obtaining even one of these could significantly increase their combat power.
Yet Lin Sheng remained calm.
These divine abilities were valuable, but most were not suitable for him.
His current path was already extremely different from that of an ordinary cultivator.
His Golden Body had been forged through the Five Elements Body Forging Art, and the cultivation method itself was already beginning to produce a divine ability seed within his body.
This was one of the most important characteristics of Rank 4 cultivation methods.
Once a cultivator successfully broke through into Rank 4, the cultivation method would gradually sublimate within their body or Golden Core, transforming the deepest essence of the technique into a divine ability seed.
That seed would eventually become the foundation of the cultivator's divine ability.
However, the process was not instantaneous.
For most cultivators, forming a complete divine ability seed after entering Rank 4 required somewhere between five and ten years.
The exact duration depended on one's comprehension, cultivation method and foundation.
Lin Sheng's situation was somewhat different.
He had already reached the Golden Body Realm, and the divine ability seed produced by the Five Elements Body Forging Art was currently forming within his body.
He could faintly sense its existence.
It had not yet completely condensed, but the process had already begun.
It would not be long before it became complete.
Once that happened, his Golden Body would possess its first true divine ability.
Five Elements.
That was the direction naturally produced by his cultivation method.
But one divine ability was not enough.
A Golden Core or Golden Body cultivator at the early stage only needed one divine ability seed, but advancing further required more.
The mid stage required three, the late stage required four, and reaching the peak required five.
That meant Lin Sheng would eventually need at least four additional divine abilities if he wanted to reach the peak of the Golden Body Realm.
And that was precisely why he had come here.
He could not rely entirely on the divine ability produced naturally by his cultivation method.
He needed to prepare for the future.
Mo Yucheng continued introducing the available inheritances, but Lin Sheng's attention remained relatively indifferent until a particular jade tablet appeared.
The inscription upon it was different from the others.
Yin-Yang Treasure Robe.
Beneath the name was another title.
Water-Fire Immortal Cloth.
Lin Sheng's eyes paused.
Mo Yucheng immediately noticed the change.
"Senior is interested in this one?"
"What does it do?"
"The Yin-Yang Treasure Robe is primarily a defensive body divine ability," Mo Yucheng explained. "Unlike ordinary defensive techniques, it does not simply create an external barrier. Once cultivated, the water and fire attributes will circulate through the cultivator's flesh, forming a special defensive cycle that protects the internal organs, meridians and bones while simultaneously strengthening the physical body."
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
That was suitable for him.
Mo Yucheng continued, "The Water-Fire Immortal Cloth is quite famous among Golden Core cultivators. Its defensive ability is extremely strong, and because water and fire form a cycle of opposition and harmony, it can defend against many different types of spiritual techniques."
"Many?"
"Almost all common offensive techniques have some degree of resistance against it, although naturally, nothing is absolute. A cultivator with overwhelming cultivation or a divine ability specifically designed to break defensive techniques can still penetrate it."
Lin Sheng nodded.
That was reasonable.
A defensive divine ability that could truly defend against everything would have long since become an inheritance coveted by Nascent Soul cultivators.
"What is the price?"
Mo Yucheng's smile remained unchanged.
"If this were an ordinary transaction, the price would be two thousand five hundred high-grade spirit stones."
Lin Sheng's expression did not change.
Inside, however, he sighed.
Expensive.
A normal minor divine ability was already around one thousand high-grade spirit stones.
This one was more than twice that price because of its defensive nature.
One high-grade spirit stone was equivalent to one thousand mid-grade spirit stones, while one mid-grade spirit stone was equivalent to one thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Two thousand five hundred high-grade spirit stones therefore represented two million five hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones.
It was an enormous fortune.
Even Lin Sheng felt his wealth shrink considerably just thinking about it.
He possessed a considerable amount of wealth, including the spirit stones he had accumulated from the Martial Continent, and his spirit stones alone were roughly equivalent to four thousand high-grade spirit stones.
But if he purchased several minor divine abilities of comparable quality, that wealth would disappear rapidly.
He still possessed the Rank 4 yao serpent's remains.
The skeleton could be refined into an excellent treasure, the skin could be used as high-grade talisman material, the blood could become precious spiritual ink, and the core could even serve as an extremely valuable cultivation resource.
But Lin Sheng had no intention of selling them.
Those materials were useful to him.
He also possessed pieces of Divine Void Stone.
That was even more impossible to sell.
A treasure of that level would play an important role in his future plans.
After calculating everything silently, Lin Sheng looked at Mo Yucheng.
"I'll take it."
For the first time, Mo Yucheng's expression changed slightly.
Even though he had expected it, hearing Lin Sheng agree so casually still surprised him.
"Of course."
He immediately activated the formation.
A jade tablet sealed within a transparent crystal slowly floated towards Lin Sheng.
"The inheritance is contained within this jade. Once the seal is opened, the divine ability will directly imprint itself into the sea of consciousness of the first person who comprehends it. It cannot be casually transferred afterward."
Lin Sheng nodded.
That also explained why divine abilities were rarely sold openly.
The value was not merely in the technique itself.
The inheritance was essentially a single-use opportunity.
Once someone comprehended it, another person could not simply take the jade and inherit the same divine ability.
Lin Sheng reached out and accepted the jade.
"Do you have any Rank 4 talisman inheritances?"
Mo Yucheng's eyes brightened.
"We do."
He immediately brought out another jade slip.
"However, this one is incomplete."
Lin Sheng looked at it.
"Wind and Thunder Wings."
Mo Yucheng nodded.
"This inheritance allows the cultivator to condense a pair of wind and thunder wings, greatly increasing both travel speed and combat speed. At its complete level, the increase can reach several times the cultivator's original speed."
Lin Sheng's eyes showed interest.
"Why is it incomplete?"
"The original inheritance has been damaged. We possess only the portion suitable for Rank 4 cultivators."
Mo Yucheng smiled.
"It is still quite valuable, however. Once a cultivator reaches the Nascent Soul Realm, spatial abilities become increasingly powerful, and ordinary movement divine abilities become less important. Therefore, this inheritance is primarily valuable to Rank 4 cultivators."
"How much?"
"One thousand high-grade spirit stones."
Lin Sheng thought for a moment before nodding.
"I'll take it."
Another thousand high-grade spirit stones disappeared.
Lin Sheng silently calculated his remaining wealth.
He was beginning to understand why Rank 4 cultivators often described themselves as poor.
The moment one reached this realm, the resources required for advancement became terrifying.
He had originally thought that his wealth was considerable.
Now he realised that if he truly wanted to collect enough resources to advance rapidly, his current fortune was merely the beginning.
After completing the transaction, Mo Yucheng personally escorted him towards the exit.
Before Lin Sheng left, he suddenly said, "Senior, our pavilion will be holding a hundred-year auction soon. Since you have already become a distinguished customer of our third floor, we hope that you will consider attending."
"A hundred-year auction?"
Lin Sheng paused.
"Yes. Many treasures that normally cannot be purchased directly will appear during the auction, including Rank 4 resources and certain rare inheritances. There will also be treasures brought by outside Golden Core cultivators."
Lin Sheng considered it briefly before nodding.
"Then I'll attend."
Mo Yucheng smiled.
"We will naturally reserve a place for you."
Lin Sheng did not say anything else.
He turned and walked away.
Behind him, several hidden divine senses quietly followed his figure for a moment before withdrawing.
Within one of the concealed chambers, several Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances.
"Should we follow him?"
One of them asked quietly.
Another Golden Core cultivator shook his head.
"Not worth it."
"Why?"
"We don't know his identity, we don't know his background, and we don't even know whether he has already left the city."
The others fell silent.
The cultivator continued, "His aura disappeared the moment he left the third floor. Either he possesses an extremely powerful concealment technique, or someone of a much higher realm is protecting him."
The chamber became quiet.
After a moment, the first cultivator slowly nodded.
"Then forget it."
None of them noticed that several streets away, Lin Sheng's figure had already disappeared into the crowd.
His expression remained calm.
He had come to Zhenyuan City intending to find a way to obtain Rank 4 resources.
He had accomplished more than he expected.
But the hundred-year auction had also given him another opportunity.
Perhaps this time, he would finally discover something truly useful to him.