These people had low cultivation and weak aura, looking like ordinary citizens. But no matter how they disguised themselves, the power of faith they carried was impossible to conceal.
Long Chen had dealt with the Blood Killing Hall for so many years. When the distance was close, he could tell their scents even with his eyes closed.
Long Chen killed Empuda's most beloved disciple, Ji Wuming. It seemed Empuda was truly furious. He secretly came to the Vermilion Bird Empire and was discovered by them. In other words, Empuda had already mobilized all his informants and was ready to take action personally.
But Long Chen wasn't afraid. This was the Vermilion Bird Empire, full of experts. Among the Sanhua-level experts Long Chen knew were Yu Xiaoyun and his two empresses.
Inside the palace, the elder was as old as could be. Long Chen couldn't discern his cultivation; this man was unfathomable, probably not just a simple old man.
Moreover, the grand formation in the Vermilion Bird Imperial Capital was the most terrifying formation Long Chen had ever encountered. If Empuda dared to appear in the capital, it would be no different from courting death.
It was merely to gather whereabouts; Long Chen didn't care. As long as Enpuda didn't personally come to the Vermilion Bird Imperial Capital, Long Chen feared no one.
Upon entering Huayun Trading Company, Long Chen directly exchanged thirty million silver coins. These coins were not ordinary silver coins, but Vermilion Bird Star-patterned Silver, a type of mithril produced only within the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Empire.
Although Vermilion Bird Star-patterned Silver is rare, it has no practical value. Using it to mint coins is the most suitable choice. If it is too valuable, the coins can easily be lost, since the reserves of Vermilion Bird Star-patterned Silver within the Vermilion Bird Empire are not large.
Beneath the silver coins, there are copper coins, which are refined from the unique copper ore of the Vermilion Bird Empire. Whether silver or copper, they are all engraved with the Vermilion Bird Empire's Vermilion Bird totem. Within the territory, these totems exhibit strange fluctuations that are easy to identify and cannot be faked.
Above silver coins, there were gold coins, but gold coins were not for commoners; they had to be members of the royal family, scholars at the Hanlin Academy level or above, or high-ranking officials.
If a civilian receives gold coins, they can only exchange them for silver or copper coins at designated places; they cannot use them directly.
Long Chen's current status was just that of the lowest commoner in the Vermilion Bird Empire, mostly using copper coins and rarely silver coins. However, Long Chen was wealthy and handed over a magic crystal from the Ancient Demon Corpse to Huayun Trading Company, directly receiving thirty million silver coins.
According to the prices within the Vermilion Bird Empire, one silver coin can buy one hundred Immortal King Crystals. Thirty million silver coins means three billion Immortal King Crystals. Keep in mind, the salaries of princes and princesses are only thirty thousand silver coins a month. Long Chen could be said to have instantly become a wealthy man.
With the help of Huayun Trading Company, Long Chen didn't even need to leave home to sign up for the Vermilion Bird martial artist selection. He needed to participate in the arena matches held every seven days to showcase his strength and elevate his status.
Martial arts, like literature, are divided into many levels, but Long Chen didn't bother to study those levels. He signed up for the martial artist selection and also applied for the literary cultivation selection.
Anyway, this is fine as long as you register—go if you want, don't go. Long Chen just signed up for fun.
After it was settled, there would be a martial arts competition that very afternoon. Because of Huayun Trading Company, Long Chen was scheduled to have a match that afternoon.
After Long Chen took the stage, he was stunned when he saw a Divine Fire Realm cultivator before him, and his opponent was also stunned when he saw Long Chen.
"You're already an Immortal King expert, and you're still applying for the martial artist exam?" The man was both shocked and angry, and full of grievance.
"What the hell can I do?" Long Chen was speechless too. Can you blame me for this?
"I look down on you."
That person threw out a sentence and ran off. With such a big gap in cultivation, what's the point of competing? They're on a completely different level.
There were many onlookers around the arena. Most of them were cultivators at the Divine Fire Realm, with few even at the Divine Lord Realm. Long Chen, an Immortal King Realm expert, here looked just like an adult living among a child.
Because the arena is held every seven days, Long Chen needs to fight three times before he can enter the next level. So after this time, Long Chen has to wait another seven days.
Long Chen also took the opportunity to improve his cultivation. After Yu Qingxuan returned from the Three Thousand Worlds, his realm had already reached the third level, while he himself was still at the initial stage of entering the Immortal King realm.
It must be said, Yu Qingxuan's talent is incredibly strong, and her promotion speed is too fast. Long Chen also has to work hard.
Long Chen directly rented the most luxurious training room. The rent here was one thousand silver coins per day, and it contained all kinds of formations, including cultivation, alchemy, sparring, testing, and other functions.
Here, even Divine Venerable-level experts can fight with full firepower. Because in the imperial capital, aside from the arena, most areas are strictly forbidden martial arts, so the training rooms here are exceptionally busy.
From the lowest-level training rooms to the most top-tier, the prices vary by hundreds of times.
Long Chen's training room was fully equipped with pill furnaces, training puppets, forging equipment, and more. If he wished, he could even pay powerful fighters to train with him, and if the money was right, Supreme Geniuses could be the training partners.
It is said that the princes and princesses of the empire often pay to hire sparring partners, but to become sparring partners, one must be a super strongman; otherwise, they simply have no right to earn that money.
Countless powerful figures wanted to be training partners for princes and princesses, hoping to soar to new heights through their connections.
Most of the strong figures around princes and princesses were former sparring partners who were selected because they demonstrated great strength and potential.
Being able to serve as a bodyguard for princes and princesses is not only a symbol of status and honor, but also allows them to receive royal stipends, and royal resources are also tilted in their favor.
After entering the training room, Long Chen immediately turned the alchemy array to its maximum. This way, the spiritual energy in the room would be extremely dense, and the array would draw out the laws of heaven and earth, which would be more beneficial for pill refining and increase the chances of success.
Long Chen ordered the Demon Moon Furnace and the Molten Moon Star Refining Furnace to go all out, going all out to refine the Immortal King Pill. Long Chen had already gathered all the materials, but he just hadn't had time to refine them.
Not long ago, the pills refined from the Demon Moon Furnace and the Molten Moon Star Refining Furnace were all for the Luo family disciples. Within the Three Thousand Worlds, Long Chen had Qin Feng take all the piles of pills back and hand them over to the Luo family.
Now he was about to start refining pills for himself. The requirements for the Immortal King Pill weren't high. Long Chen demonstrated several times, and with the Demon Moon Furnace and the Rongyue Star Refining Furnace, he could cooperate with Huo Ling'er to refine pills on his own.
The alchemy task was entrusted to the Demon Moon Furnace and the Rongyue Star Refining Furnace. Long Chen's mind sank into the chaotic space, his soul sitting cross-legged beneath the Seven Treasures Glazed Tree. The tree's divine radiance descended, enveloping Long Chen's soul. At that moment, it was as if his mind had been cleansed, and he was instantly emptied.
In Long Chen's mind, seven enormous stars appeared, with hundreds of thousands of stars circulating behind them, forming a star map.
"It's time to calm down and study the future path of Jiuxing."
Long Chen looked at the star map. He needed to deduce a path of his own. In an instant, the chart kept changing and evolving into various patterns. He wanted to find a suitable star chart among these endless patterns to serve as his own Seven-Star Pattern.
During Long Chen's three days of seclusion, someone came knocking.