Innate Immortal Seed

Bai Zichen took this opportunity to clear out all the Demon Beast Materials he had on hand.

Elder Zhang gave them a quick look-over, rapidly quoting prices, all to be settled with Sect Contribution Points.

"Over the past year or so, we’ve collected a huge amount of Demon Beast Materials. As a result, the price of ordinary Tier One Materials is only half of what it was before the Reclamation War began, and Tier Two Demon Beast Materials have also dropped by nearly thirty percent..."

Muttering to himself, Elder Zhang transferred the Sect Contribution Points to Bai Zichen’s Elder Token, then took out an ink-black storage bag and swept all the Demon Beast Materials into it in one go.

"If only the casualties weren’t so high, the Sect’s warehouses would probably have enough of these materials to last for decades. For the ones we collect from Cultivation Families and Loose Cultivators, we don’t even have to pay Spirit Stones. We just record them as reclamation merits, and after the war, they’ll use those merits to choose Spirit Land."

For Bai Zichen’s batch of Demon Beast Materials, Elder Zhang bought them back at the prices from three months ago.

He only handed over items to the Sect once every few months, which gave him some room to maneuver.

In total, he exchanged them for eight hundred Sect Contribution Points, the bulk of which came from the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc.

"Senior Brother Zhang, is that the legendary High-Grade Storage Bag?"

Bai Zichen’s attention was drawn to the ink-black storage bag. It was adorned with complex Cloud Talismans, clearly far more intricate than his own Mid-Grade Storage Bag.

"Legendary? Don’t be so dramatic. At the end of the day, it’s just a storage bag... Now, the Ten Thousand Mother’s Brocade Pouch in Ancestor Ge’s hands, that’s a real treasure."

Senior Brother Zhang chuckled and took out the ink-black storage bag again for Bai Zichen to admire.

In truth, this High-Grade Storage Bag wasn’t his. He had merely borrowed it from the Sect’s Secret Hall to use temporarily while he was responsible for purchasing materials during the Reclamation War.

A storage bag like this, with nearly a thousand cubic meters of internal space, could be called a mobile warehouse. It was already considered a strategic asset for the Sect.

They were rarely sold on the open market, and the refining cost alone was close to two thousand Spirit Stones.

The next level up is the Top-Grade Storage Bag. The entire Qingfeng Sect has only one, worn at the waist by Sect Leader Wei Dao, and it contains three thousand cubic meters of space.

"The Ten Thousand Mother’s Brocade Pouch... what’s that?"

From the sound of it, the Ten Thousand Mother’s Brocade Pouch was a storage item even superior to a Top-Grade Storage Bag.

The higher one’s Cultivation, the more one felt the importance of storage items.

Back then, he had been overjoyed just to have a Low-Grade Storage Bag. Now, even his Mid-Grade Storage Bag was starting to feel tight and insufficient.

"The Ten Thousand Mother’s Brocade Pouch is already in the category of Magical Treasures. I think Ancestor Ge bought it at an auction in Wanlian Square... I can’t say for sure about its specific origins; I only heard Senior Brother Liang mention it once."

Elder Zhang clearly enjoyed playing the mentor, especially in front of a prodigious talent like Bai Zichen.

He was probably aware that in just a few years, this young man’s realm would surpass his own.

If he didn’t put on the airs of a senior now, he wouldn’t have the gall to do so in the future.

"But the space inside is beyond your imagination... Anyway, Senior Brother Liang said that the contents of two or three Top-Grade Storage Bags wouldn’t even fill Ancestor Ge’s Ten Thousand Mother’s Brocade Pouch."

’A storage Magical Treasure... that’s too extravagant...’ Bai Zichen murmured. That was still too far out of his reach.

Besides, for personal use, he felt he didn’t need that much space. Who would carry half the Sect’s treasury on their back for no reason?

In any case, his main goal right now was to get a High-Grade Storage Bag.

"Senior Brother Zhang, do you know if it’s possible to exchange for a High-Grade Storage Bag in the Sect? How many Sect Contribution Points would it require?"

"What are you thinking? The entire Sect only has a few of them, and you expect them to be available for exchange?"

Elder Zhang shot him a look, speaking with the air of a wise old senior.

"For something this good, you either have to place a special order in advance through the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion—and even then, they’d have to be willing to do you a favor, as you might not get one even at double the price... or you could go to Zengguang Immortal City. They definitely sell High-Grade Storage Bags there."

Bai Zichen fell silent. ’Zengguang Immortal City again.’

It seemed he would have to add another must-buy item to his future trip to Zengguang Immortal City.

"Junior Brother Bai, are you short on storage items? I have a spare one. Here, I’ll give you this Mid-Grade Storage Bag."

Elder Zhang took out a cyan storage bag and, allowing no refusal, pushed it directly into his hands.

"I didn’t give you a gift for reaching Foundation Establishment, so just consider this a belated one... I heard Senior Brother Pei gave you a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact. I don’t have his deep pockets, and I still have a few disappointing descendants who need me to sponsor their resources. If you don’t accept it, Junior Brother Bai, you’re saying my gift is too humble."

Bai Zichen tried his best to refuse but couldn’t, so he could only accept it and tuck it into his robes.

"Junior Brother Bai, you’ve only just reached Foundation Establishment and have barely begun refining your Liquid Magical Power, yet you were able to slay a Golden-Winged Thunder Roc on your own. What layer has your Sword Dao Realm reached?"

Senior Brother Zhang asked curiously. In the Qingfeng Sect, Bai Zichen and Luo Guangwu were the only two who truly used a Flying Sword as their primary weapon.

That Luo Guangwu bragged all day about how incredible Sword Cultivators were, but from day-to-day interactions, at most his Sword Light was a bit sharp. He didn’t show any of the rumored peerless killing prowess that supposedly made Sword Cultivators number one among those in the same realm.

"I suppose I’ve barely reached the Perfection of the first layer, and I’m moving toward the second?"

Bai Zichen felt a bit embarrassed; it was truly hard to describe.

It was all the Star River Sword Monarch’s fault. He only mentioned the Five Realms of Sword Dao and didn’t divide each one into early, mid, late, perfection, half-step, or anything like that. It made him sound like a Beginner of Sword Dao, still stuck on the first rung.

However, he was already on the right path. The actual destructive power of his Sword Light when activated with seventy percent of his Magical Power was the same as when he used his full strength.

When he could use just thirty percent of his Magical Power to unleash a Sword Light with one hundred percent of its power, he would have stepped into the Second Realm.

Every swing of his sword would be accompanied by a booming thunderclap, stirring the wind and lightning, and gathering the nature’s spiritual energy.

"How is that possible! Luo Guangwu always boasts that he’s already at the Fourth Layer of Sword Dao Realm and that he hopes to reach the perfection of the fifth layer within thirty years, climbing toward that Supreme Sword Dao Realm of Sword Qi Thunder Sound... If you, Junior Brother Bai, are only at the first layer, doesn’t that mean he hasn’t even started?"

Elder Zhang jumped to his feet, absolutely refusing to believe it.

From his perspective, based on the combat strength Bai Zichen had shown by killing the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, and considering his own Cultivation level, he should be at the Fifth Layer of Sword Dao.

The Fourth Layer of Sword Dao Realm?

Upon hearing this phrase, Bai Zichen almost thought he had misheard.

The Fourth Realm of Sword Dao was the realm of Sword Light Division, where One Sword Births Ten Thousand Techniques.

The Star River Sword Monarch, who created the Star River Sword Array and single-handedly fought five Nascent Soul True Monarchs and dozens of Late-Stage Core Formation True Men, was at this very realm.

If Luo Guangwu had reached such a realm, even if he was only at Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, there would be no need to trouble the two Core Formation True Men for this Reclamation War.

With just him and his sword, and the reclamation army acting as his support, he could have taken down all the Demon Beasts in Feiyue Lake.

After Senior Brother Zhang’s explanation, Bai Zichen finally realized that the Qingfeng Sect’s description of Sword Dao Realms was vastly different from the records in the true interpretation of the Taibai Sword Sect.

Or rather, the entire Cultivation Realm of Liang Country used this standard to classify the levels of Sword Cultivators.

In the writings of the Star River Sword Monarch, concepts like Sword Light Transformation and Body and Sword Unity, as well as all complicated Sword Techniques and every variation of Swordsmanship, were all categorized under the First Realm of Sword Dao.

In the Liang Country Cultivation Realm, what the Taibai Sword Sect saw as the First Realm of Sword Dao had been broken down again into five layers.

According to this classification method, Bai Zichen compared his own progress and realized he could indeed be called a Sword Cultivator at the Perfection of the Fifth Layer of the Sword Dao Realm.

And on the surface, Sword Qi Thunder Sound was already considered the Supreme Sword Dao Realm.

The Sword Dao Powerhouses within the few Sword Cultivation Sects were only at this realm.

’Is the Taibai Sword Sect too strong, or are the Sword Cultivators of Liang Country too weak? The gap between them is simply immeasurable...’

Bai Zichen was slightly speechless. He figured it was most likely that the Taibai Sword Sect was just too strong.

After all, it was a super-sect that had once been the undisputed leader of all cultivation sects on the entire continent. Nowadays, most Sword Dao Sects in the Cultivation Realm could trace some indirect connection back to the Taibai Sword Sect.

The fact that the Liang Country Cultivation Realm broke down the First Realm of Sword Dao into five layers was also a matter of necessity.

Otherwise, ninety-nine percent of Sword Cultivators would spend their entire lives stuck in the First Realm, with no idea how far they were from the Second Realm.

With this division, at least the path of progress was a bit clearer.

"The Fifth Layer of the Sword Dao Realm... In the great battle three days from now, you’re sure to shine, Junior Brother! I’ll be waiting to see your performance."

When Elder Zhang learned that Bai Zichen’s Sword Dao Realm, when converted, could be considered the fifth layer for a Liang Country Sword Cultivator, he was ecstatic.

***

The Qingfeng Sect’s preparations for the Reclamation War were comprehensive, covering all aspects.

Even at the foot of Monkey Mountain, they had set up a temporary camp, and every Foundation Establishment Cultivator was assigned a Mountain and River Pavilion.

This was a type of mobile Cave Mansion developed by the Artifact Refining Hall, specifically for cultivators to use in the wilderness when traveling.

However, due to its high refining cost and the fact that it needed to be returned to the workshop for re-refining after an average of ten uses, it had too many problems and was never officially mass-produced.

But for occasional use, it was still quite convenient.

The palm-sized miniature pavilion would instantly transform into a normal-sized building after Magical Power was injected into it.

It was equipped with a Tier One Top Grade Defense Array and a Tier One Top Grade Gathering Spirit Array. The interior was decorated in a simple and elegant style, with one hall and one room.

The only drawback was that running it for twelve hours cost one hundred Spirit Stones.

Bai Zichen stayed in the pavilion, not taking a single step outside, and focused on the Visualization of his Glazed Fire Jade.

After his experience entering the Secret Realm, he had a feeling that he was just a hair’s breadth away from entering the second layer of the Five Crystal Glaze Body.

For other cultivators, this "hair’s breadth" might represent years or even decades of unattainable progress.

But for him, it was a real, tangible line.

He could cross that line in a month at most.

His Elder Token vibrated. Bai Zichen knew the time had come. He left his temporary Cave Mansion and saw that the entire camp was in motion.

A full five thousand cultivators—seeing a Battle Array of this scale unfold before him truly had a momentum that could swallow mountains and rivers.

Following the pre-arranged plan, battle formations unfurled one after another, advancing toward Monkey Mountain along several routes.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators each had their roles. Some flew in the air to support the battle formations, while others formed assault squads to deal with a few troublesome Tier Two Apes.

Of course, the most important figures were the three Late-Stage Foundation Establishment powerhouses standing behind the battle formations.

Only if the three of them could firmly pin down the Jade-Eyed Golden-Eyed Ape could this battle truly be won.

Bai Zichen let out a long breath, his heart burning with anticipation. The first Reclamation War he would participate in was finally about to begin.