“This is the Myriad Manifestation Sect,” Ning Zhuo muttered, his eyes surveying the dreamlike surroundings. A sea of clouds swirled, and numerous peaks stood tall, like an immortal realm.

Most striking were the eight main peaks, each possessing a unique, wondrous sight. All soared into the clouds, majestic and towering, resembling giants standing on the horizon, with clouds gently caressing their waists.

On Chongzhen Peak, mystic light shimmered, forming layers of intricate, semi-transparent array diagrams in mid-air. Each layer of the array slowly rotated, with countless talismans, like twinkling stars or darting fish, weaving between the diagrams. A group of cultivators, all at the Golden Core stage, manipulated talismans, filling the array diagrams, while others conjured their magical power to weave array lines from thin air.

On Wan Beast Peak, tigers and leopards roamed through the forests, while jiao snakes hid in the shadows. As far as the eye could see, there were honeycomb-like beast lairs. From the eastern side of the mountain, a large flock of azure birds gracefully flew out. On the back of the leading azure bird sat a shepherd boy. The boy played a flute, its melodious sound echoing through the clouds.

On Danxia Peak, various alchemical cauldrons operated, creating thousands of streams of alchemical smoke. Some smoke plumes were thick and rigid, rising straight into the sky, while others drifted gracefully, dancing like immortals. Countless alchemical qi and smoke gathered above Danxia Main Peak, occasionally illuminated by the light of opened cauldrons, merging into a vibrant, ever-changing, colorful glow.

Zilei Peak, on the other hand, was entwined with massive chains. The chains were black, coiling around the mountain several times like dragons around a pillar. They connected the main peak and also spanned across the sea of clouds, linking to several surrounding sub-peaks. As the mountain breeze blew, the chains swayed, producing a clanging sound.

On Jianming Peak, a stone sword was plunged into the ground. Sword pavilions lined the mountain, and bamboo forests were dense.

On Baicao Peak, vegetation was lush, and enchanting giant flowers bloomed in the rainforest. When thorny, poisonous vines moved, they resembled a million pythons slithering across the ground.

On Fuyao Peak, fierce winds swept through, sometimes rushing straight into the sky, other times forming swirling green vortexes.

On Liuyun Peak, the cloud cover was the thickest. The mountain seemed to be cultivating, constantly inhaling and exhaling the surrounding cloud qi, forming countless cloud phenomena.

The Eight Main Peaks!

Besides these, there were also sub-peaks, small peaks, and broken peaks.

Ning Zhuo was currently on the side of a small peak, behind him a grand palace containing a large teleportation array.

There were many such small and sub-peaks; Ning Zhuo even saw a hill floating in the clouds.

Some peaks boasted flying pavilions and exquisite jade towers, while others housed flower gardens, medicinal herb gardens, animal pens, and celestial pools.

Countless cultivators traversed these peaks like flying ants. Some flew on swords, some rode demonic beasts or cloud beasts, some piloted mechanical flying boats, and others rode the clouds.

Indeed, it was:
Cloud seals lock the Xuanqiong,
Eight pillars hold the sky, suppressing nine dragons.
Heavy arrays of stars and talismans form a sea,
Myriad beasts nest in clouds, herding azure children.
Elixirs refined nine times, transforming into a bloody glow,
Thunder sealed thrice, chains bind the fierce.
Sword cries hang upside down, tears of all beings,
Vines dance, a hundred herbs devour immortal traces.
Fuyao rages, stirring the cosmos’ qi,
Flowing clouds breathe, emptying myriad kalpas.
Suddenly, jade towers and flying star rain appear,
Then one realizes this realm is no dream!

Wen Ruan-yu, standing beside Ning Zhuo, timely introduced, “The eight main peaks are not for ordinary cultivators to tread upon. Even I, if I wish to ascend them, must report in advance.”

He gestured with his finger, drawing a circle. “But these small peaks house the sixteen halls of the Myriad Manifestation Sect. These will be places your esteemed nephew frequently visits in the future, so it’s best to familiarize yourself with them this morning.”

Ning Zhuo, curious, transmitted a thought, asking, “Senior Wen, as a Golden Core True Disciple of the Myriad Manifestation Sect, can you not freely enter and exit the eight main peaks?”

Wen Ruan-yu gave a wry smile. “Even your mother doesn’t have that privilege. Our Myriad Manifestation Sect is vast, with a large population, so there are quite a few Golden Core True Disciples. Furthermore, there are many internal matters involved; your mother didn’t tell you, perhaps because it’s too complicated, coupled with the changing times. I will explain it to you after I complete my duty report.”

He paused, then added, “Of course, I also need some time to ascertain the current situation within the sect. After all, I’ve been away from the mountain gate for too long.”

“Do you truly intend to act alone, not staying in my cave mansion?”

Ning Zhuo shook his head, refusing again. “Since the environment is safe, I prefer to measure this spiritual land with my own feet. After all, this is the sect my mother joined.”

Wen Ruan-yu chuckled, thought of his Senior Sister Meng Yao-yin, and then sighed.

He patted Ning Zhuo’s shoulder, again instructing him before leaving: if there was an emergency, Ning Zhuo should not hesitate to crush the jade pendant to alert him. He would do his utmost to help!

Setting aside other matters, after the journey to the White Paper Immortal City, Wen Ruan-yu had become Ning Zhuo’s most reliable and influential ally within the Myriad Manifestation Sect.

This was not only due to the friendship between Meng Yao-yin and Wen Ruan-yu, and Wen Ruan-yu’s admiration and respect for Meng Yao-yin, but also Wen Ruan-yu’s high regard for Ning Zhuo himself!

After a few more exchanges, the two parted ways in the plaza.

Wen Ruan-yu summoned an azure cloud, hands clasped behind his back, and elegantly departed.

Ning Zhuo, like other cultivators, also left the area.

He was cautious by nature. Upon entering a precious place for the first time, he naturally wouldn’t use his Wanli Youlong—this was typically used by Nascent Soul cultivators. For a small Foundation Establishment cultivator like Ning Zhuo to use it would be too high-profile.

The Myriad Manifestation Sect was about to hold the Flying Cloud Grand Assembly, and a large number of cultivators were flocking in, all with the goal of joining the sect. Therefore, the Myriad Manifestation Sect had specially assigned tasks, dispatching many cultivators specifically to welcome new arrivals.

Ning Zhuo found one of the welcoming cultivators and simply wanted to inquire about directions. The cultivator, however, produced a pile of jade slips: “These are jade slips I made myself. They contain a general map of the sect’s terrain and many detailed introductions. If this fellow Daoist has a need, it only costs ten low-grade spirit stones.”

The welcoming cultivator, only at the Qi Refinement stage, rubbed his hands and had bright eyes as he faced Ning Zhuo, an outsider at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Ning Zhuo paid the spirit stones and bought a jade slip.

The content of the jade slip was a general introduction to the Myriad Manifestation Sect, which was exactly what Ning Zhuo needed most. The Buddha Doctor Meng Yao-yin had left him a jade slip with messages, but it didn’t cover these basic common-sense matters.

Following the map in the jade slip, Ning Zhuo first arrived at a floating cloud.

The floating cloud was not large, with only one palace on it. The plaque bore the words “Tongshang Hall, Twelfth Branch.”

The Myriad Manifestation Sect had eight main peaks and sixteen halls. Among them, the Tongshang Hall was responsible for internal and external trade, managing numerous merchant teams.

The branch hall palace was entirely cast from red copper. The eaves tiles were all shaped like pixiu devouring gold, and bronze abacus beads hanging from the eaves tinkled in the wind.

Ning Zhuo stepped over the azure-golden threshold, treading on floor tiles where auspicious light faintly flickered, and saw that the interior layout of the hall was extremely simple.

All four walls were lined with display cabinets that reached the ceiling. Outside the cabinets were long tables, joined together in a circle. Inside the long tables were cultivators handling transactions, while outside were people observing, bargaining, or selling.

In the center of the hall was an octagonal counter, forming a Bagua array pattern.

The octagonal counter was very large, encircling at least fifty cultivators within it.

In the center of the counter stood a white jade stele, with writing visible on all four sides. As the text on the stele scrolled, it displayed real-time prices. Ning Zhuo glanced at it, seeing terms like “Heavenly Fire Sand,” “Profound Ice Marrow,” “Flowing Cloud Tea,” and so on.

He had the welcoming jade slip he bought earlier and knew that this octagonal counter in the Myriad Manifestation Sect was called the Eight Directions Treasure Appraisal Platform.

The cultivators within the platform were all responsible for appraisal.

Some used measuring rulers to gauge the age of medicinal herbs, some used water basins to trace the origin of magic treasures, and others used the “Discern Authenticity, Preserve Truth Array” above their heads. Wherever the array light swept, the authenticity of the goods would be revealed by various colored rainbow lights.

Ning Zhuo looked around and walked to the counter in the southwest corner, stating his needs and inquiring about prices.

What he wanted to buy was still information.

Of course, the Tongshang Hall also dealt in information.

The cultivator quoted Ning Zhuo five price tiers. After asking a few questions, Ning Zhuo fell into thought.

The highest tier was extremely expensive, which Ning Zhuo immediately ruled out.

He also didn’t want to pay for the second tier.

Even for the third tier, he estimated his current cash on hand would be quite strained.

When Ning Zhuo was in the White Paper Immortal City, he had fully invested in forming the Azure Scorching Army, basically exhausting the war wealth from two nations on it.

Although he ultimately thwarted the Hundred-Year Conspiracy of the Lord of Wangchuan Prefecture and collected the spoils of war.

These spoils of war could pile up into a small mountain, but converting them would take a lot of time and a relatively long process.

This was because these spoils were all items from the underworld. Taking them out in large quantities would inevitably cause market fluctuations and a huge sensation.

It would be too conspicuous!

And it would reveal many of Ning Zhuo’s secrets.

Although Ning Zhuo had formed an alliance with the White Paper City Lord, he hadn’t used her channels to convert this batch of spoils on a large scale.

His previous explanation to the White Paper City Lord was that the Azure Scorching Army had fought in the underworld for a while and then immediately returned. How could he explain producing a large amount of spoils now?

The Azure Scorching Army still needed to cooperate closely with the White Paper Immortal City. Showing an untruthful side right after forming an alliance would definitely be harmful, not beneficial.

Before leaving, Ning Zhuo exchanged some spirit stones with the White Paper City Lord for yang qi. Although he knew that yang qi was very important to the White Paper City Lord, he didn’t take the opportunity to inflate the price, fully demonstrating his sincerity in cooperation.

Ning Zhuo consumed a portion of his spirit stones by using Wanli Youlong for travel. Paying the teleportation fees consumed most of the rest.

The usage fee for teleportation arrays was not based on the number of people, but required an actual measurement. The higher a cultivator’s cultivation, and the more treasures they carried, the more the fee would increase.

Ning Zhuo’s Wanli Youlong at his waist, as well as Qing Chi, Sun Ling-tong, and Chef Lao hidden within it, along with numerous mechanical platforms and so on, all had to be included in the price.

Of course, Wanli Youlong itself possessed the ability to travel through void, and Sun Ling-tong had also absorbed the marrow of a void evil god. With these advantages, the fee Ning Zhuo paid was still lower than the regular price.

Cultivators with such abilities had an advantage when using teleportation arrays. If a cultivator often traveled around, had no fixed residence, and frequently used teleportation arrays, this accumulated advantage could save a very substantial amount of spirit stones each year.

Ning Zhuo hesitated between the third and fourth highest price tiers.

Just as he was about to inquire further from the selling cultivator about the difference between these two price tiers, two cultivators approached him.

One of them smiled and initiated conversation, “Fellow Daoist, I am Shen Xi, and this is my cousin Su Ling-kou. We are both from the Nine Palace Immortal City.”

Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred slightly. He quickly recalled that they seemed to be cultivators who had arrived with him on the same batch of teleportation array.

One of Ning Zhuo and Wen Ruan-yu’s transit points was the Nine Palace Immortal City.

“I am Ning Zhuo, and it’s a pleasure to meet you two fellow Daoists,” Ning Zhuo greeted them.

Shen Xi stated his purpose, “It’s not that I intentionally spied, but our purpose is the same as yours; we also wish to purchase information about the Myriad Manifestation Sect here.”

“In my humble opinion, why don’t we pool our resources and buy a third-tier jade slip? What do you think, fellow Daoist?”

Ning Zhuo carefully observed the two individuals before him.

Shen Xi was lean, his complexion like cold jade, his eyes gentle as if lightly brushed with ink. His right palm was covered with a thin callus, and he was currently toying with a round jade pendant, constantly rubbing it.

His hair was tied with an ebony hairpin, its tip inlaid with a Sumeru Mustard Seed Stone, emitting the aura of a magic treasure. He wore a plain blue robe over a dark silkworm cloud-patterned jacket, the corners of which were adorned with a Taiji glazed button, naturally emitting a protective clear light. The jade pendant in his hand was also a magic treasure array disc.

Shen Xi’s cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment stage, much more profound than Ning Zhuo’s.

On the other side, Su Ling-kou had a delicate complexion and bright, lively eyes.

Her hair was tied with a plain silver chain buckle, and she wore a honey-colored, diagonally buttoned short top with a moon-white pleated skirt. Both her wrists were tied with colorful ropes.

She was also at the Foundation Establishment stage, and the magic treasure aura of her hair tie was not concealed.

Their appearances were only above average, but they possessed the demeanor of noble families.

Magic treasures were usually used by Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, yet these two each carried one or two, revealing considerable wealth. Their entire outfits were spirit artifacts, and their auras were connected, clearly indicating they were a set. This outward appearance alone was enough to make them stand out from the crowd.

In comparison, Ning Zhuo’s appearance, apart from his prominently large head and a handsome aura, was quite unremarkable, whether it was his clothes or his treasures (although the mechanical flying dragon was wrapped around his waist, it was covered by his outer clothes and its aura had been suppressed).

Ning Zhuo smiled at the two cultivators, “That’s a good suggestion!”

But then, he looked troubled at the selling cultivator, asking if two-party joint ventures complied with the rules of trade.

The cultivator waved his hand, saying it was fine, but also warned Ning Zhuo of the inherent risks. For example, if one cultivator viewed it first and then secretly used their divine sense to erase some key information, and had the means to do so without anyone knowing.

Upon hearing this, Shen Xi proactively extended his hand to Ning Zhuo, saying, “The jade slip can pass through Fellow Daoist Ning’s hands first.”

Ning Zhuo didn’t stand on ceremony, expressing his thanks.

With the two parties collaborating, the jade slip was handed to Ning Zhuo by the selling cultivator. He immediately took out a blank jade slip and began to copy its contents.

Shen Xi then asked the selling cultivator, “Since the content of this jade slip can be copied, wouldn’t it severely impact the Tongshang Hall’s information business if multiple parties jointly purchase it and then resell it at a higher price? Isn’t there a rule against this in the Myriad Manifestation Sect’s regulations?”

The selling cultivator waved his hand, “Our Myriad Manifestation Sect’s scale and population are among the largest of the super sects, but our sect rules are remarkably few.”

“It is precisely because they are few that such a vast number of disciples can fully utilize their potential, allowing our Myriad Manifestation Sect to remain the number one sect in the Flying Cloud Nation!”

“Of course, such situations of buying low and selling high have happened. After a period, they are suppressed and severely punished.”

“You are clearly new arrivals. Allowing you to do this is my personal decision. Of course, you might also be trying to deceive me. But overall, it’s just one piece of information like this.”

The selling cultivator’s answer was quite generous, and Ning Zhuo, who was inscribing the jade slip, took it to heart.