Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Desert Divine Palace

"Very well."

Zhang Chi nodded slightly. With a wave of his hand, he collected all the supplies.

It was what he deserved.

He could have refused them, but the other party couldn’t fail to offer.

At the same time, however, he couldn’t help but marvel, ’Compared to this Endless Desert Sea, the Great Abyss truly is a small place.’

Putting everything else aside, the reward Patriarch Shang had just given him was equivalent to fifty thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones.

And the Shang Family was just a declining Foundation Establishment Clan on the edge of a small Oasis.

Back in the Great Abyss, even with the Xie Family being attached to the Cangwu Sect, it was unlikely that any single one of their Foundation Establishment Cultivators possessed resources worth that much.

"In that case, I will take my leave and disturb you no further."

Although it pained him to part with the resources, Shang Deyi couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He immediately and respectfully withdrew.

"Please—"

The two Honored Guest Elders tried to beg for mercy.

But Zhang Chi simply reached out, grabbed their heads, and used a Soul Searching Secret Technique.

Their words were cut short as they fell into a dazed stupor.

A moment later, Zhang Chi finished the Soul Search. He had successfully extracted the information he wanted from their memories.

Unfortunately for them, their luck wasn’t great, and their Divine Souls weren’t strong enough. They perished, their souls scattered to the winds.

’So that’s how it is!’

Through the Soul Search, Zhang Chi had not only completely mastered the local language but also learned a great deal about the Endless Desert Sea.

The Endless Desert Sea was home to countless Cultivators and Demon Beasts, as well as an infinite number of Spiritual Veins.

Even Golden Core Masters were not considered truly major figures here.

For example, the innumerable minor oases generally had Tier Three Spiritual Veins, guarded by Cultivators led by a Golden Core Master.

Small Oases, without exception, were home to at least one Nascent Soul Early Stage expert.

Medium and large Oases often had Nascent Soul Middle Stage and Late Stage experts, while Super Large Oases even boasted those at the Nascent Soul Peak.

However, not even Super Large Oases and Nascent Soul Peak Cultivators were the masters of the Endless Desert Sea.

The true ruler of the Endless Desert Sea was called the Desert Divine Palace.

The Desert Divine Palace had three immensely powerful Palace Masters. Although they were all Female Cultivators, their Cultivation surpassed the Nascent Soul Realm—they were the three legendary Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarchs.

Furthermore, the Desert Divine Palace possessed a Tier Five Spiritual Vein.

Countless years ago, the Desert Divine Palace used a Great Divine Technique to merge thirty-six Super Large Oases into an even larger one known as the Central Continent.

For the Cultivators of the Human Race, this Central Continent was the true heart of the entire Endless Desert Sea.

Of course, besides the Desert Divine Palace, the Endless Desert Sea also contained countless other powers of all sizes, such as Sects and clans, but they were all under the jurisdiction of the Desert Divine Palace.

The Desert Divine Palace was like the trunk and roots of a tree, while the myriad other powers were like its branches, leaves, and even the fine hairs on those leaves.

Additionally, the concept of the Nine Patterns of the Golden Core also existed in the Endless Desert Sea.

A Four Patterns Golden Core was still considered outstanding here, but it was far from being a top-tier prodigy.

Putting other places aside, even a small Oasis would typically have eight or ten Cultivators with a Four Patterns Golden Core. A few might even have someone with a Five Patterns Golden Core—what was known in the Great Abyss as a legendary Celestial Grade Golden Core.

The Desert Divine Palace even had prodigies with Eight Patterns Golden Cores, and every thousand years or so, a Nine Patterns Golden Pill would often emerge.

For instance, the three Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarchs had all formed a Nine Patterns Golden Pill back in their day.

Suddenly learning this news, Zhang Chi, a top prodigy from the Great Abyss, felt a bit of a psychological blow.

However, he didn’t let it diminish his self-confidence.

’After all, the Golden Core is just a minor Realm on the path of Immortal Cultivation.’

’Even if other prodigies have more Golden Core Dao Patterns, I’m confident that as my Cultivation increases, I can gradually close the gap and surpass them.’

It was just like back then. He had merely possessed a Middle Grade Spirit Root, yet the quality of his Golden Core and the speed of his Cultivation had ultimately surpassed many with Top Grade Spirit Roots and even Celestial Grade Spirit Roots in the Great Abyss.

Having understood the situation, Zhang Chi immediately set a small goal for himself: first, occupy a minor Oasis.

Alternatively, he could go directly to a medium or large Oasis to rent a high-quality cave mansion for Cultivation in Seclusion.

This way, he could reach the Golden Core Limit as quickly as possible.

At the same time, he would also have to collect enough Nascent Soul Materials along the way to successfully undergo Nascent Soul Formation.

However, for now, occupying a minor Oasis seemed more suited to his current situation.

First, it would offer more freedom and independence. He wouldn’t have to worry about powerful Cultivators discovering his secrets, and he could have a Tier Three Spiritual Vein all to himself.

Second, a smaller place would be relatively safer.

After all, the larger the Oasis, the more experts there were, and thus, the more dangerous it would be.

Third, renting a quality cave mansion in a medium or large Oasis was extremely expensive, the competition was fierce, and they were also very far away from his current location.

Therefore, he planned to first reach the Nascent Soul Realm, then head to the medium and large Oases, and finally, make his way to the Central Continent, the heart of the Endless Desert Sea where the Desert Divine Palace was located.

However, while Spiritual Veins were endless in the Endless Desert Sea, they were almost all occupied by powers of various sizes, powerful individuals, or even strong Demon Beasts.

Therefore, occupying a Spirit Vein Cave Mansion was no easy task.

Generally, even for high-tier rentals, there was a waiting list, and it was rare to find a cave mansion with an ideal location and Spiritual Vein.

Another option was to join one of the various powers.

One could either join from a young age or join midway through as an Honored Guest Elder or something similar.

Finally, there were two other methods.

One method was to venture alone into oases not occupied by humans and pioneer a new Spirit Vein Cave Mansion.

That’s right—because the Endless Desert Sea was so vast, not all oases were occupied by humans. Many remained in a wild state, entrenched with powerful Demon Beasts.

These types of oases were extremely numerous, making up over eighty percent of the total number of oases in the Endless Desert Sea.

However, these oases were concentrated in the northern part of the Endless Desert Sea, relatively close to the deadly Black Desert on the border of the Great Abyss. Zhang Chi, on the other hand, was currently closer to the southern part of the Endless Desert Sea.

Therefore, even though Zhang Chi considered his Combat Power to be decent, he knew full well it was impossible for him to successfully pioneer a territory deep in Demon Beast lands.

Even if he did try to pioneer, he could only choose a place on the border between the north and south, and it would take several hundred years to truly establish a foothold.

Typically, only the Major Immortal Cultivation Clans and Major Sects would attempt such a thing.

After all, they could work together for generations. Once they occupied an Oasis, they would report it to the Desert Divine Palace and establish it as their legacy foundation.

The second method was to establish a clan or Sect and participate in the competitions for Spiritual Land or even entire oases, which were regularly hosted by the Desert Divine Palace.

If one won a Spiritual Land within an Oasis, they would have to pay a large sum of Spirit Stones to the Master of the Oasis on a regular basis.

If one won control of a region on the edge of an Oasis, or even an entire Oasis, they would be responsible for guarding it. In that case, the amount of Spirit Stones they had to regularly hand over would be much smaller.

The Master of the Oasis, in turn, would submit Spirit Stones to the Desert Divine Palace.

Under certain special circumstances, they might not even need to hand over Spirit Stones and could instead receive rewards from the Desert Divine Palace.

However, guarding these fringe locations or an entire Oasis was not an easy task.

This was because in the Endless Desert Sea, even in the southern regions where oases were occupied by human Cultivators, there were still countless Demon Beasts. They would even periodically form Beast Tides to attack the oases.

After all, to human Cultivators, Demon Beasts were walking treasures. And to Demon Beasts, human Cultivators were a great source of nourishment.

What’s more, Demon Beasts also preferred to live in oases where the Spiritual Qi and food were more abundant, and the environment was better.

And Zhang Chi intended to take this last approach: to seize guardianship over a minor Oasis.

However, he had no intention of establishing his own power. Instead, he planned to find some random faction to serve as his Puppet.

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