Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest-Chapter 1188 True Proof (Complete)

After sealing the Mysterious Origin Dark Immortal Mansion, Wang Chen brought Yuanyuan to Luodu.

This time, visiting Luodu Immortal City and letting the little girl try her hand at bargain hunting in the Immortal Market was just incidental. His primary purpose was to find a stable way to earn Spirit Stones, rather than relying on side hustles to sustain the exorbitant consumption of the Fleeting Moment Tower.

The Fleeting Moment Tower was simply an insatiable abyss that devoured Spirit Stones endlessly, no matter how many were thrown in.

However, Bai Susu needed it to recover her Cultivation Level, and Wang Chen, Su Ziling, and even Yuanyuan relied on it to improve theirs.

Previously, Wang Chen and Yuanyuan had amassed a fortune from bargain hunting Ancient Sealed Jade, but now over half of that treasure had been consumed. If they couldn’t find another source of income soon, it wouldn’t be long before they ran out completely.

As the saying goes, transitioning from luxury back to frugality is difficult. Having grown accustomed to the efficiency of cultivating inside the Fleeting Moment Tower, where one day was equivalent to three or five days of outside training, going back to normal circumstances would be unbearable—not just for the proud Bai Susu but even for Wang Chen himself!

For a Loose Cultivator like him, their path to generating income typically came from three domains: artifacts, talismans, or pills.

However, after circling through Luodu’s Immortal Market, Wang Chen was astonished to discover that the prices of Magic Artifacts, Talismans, and Pills had all risen, with higher-tier items experiencing steeper hikes.

Thus, Wang Chen took a trip to the Four Seas Commerce Association to gather some critical information from Manager Chen.

It turned out that over the past six months, while Wang Chen had been cultivating in the Mysterious Origin Dark Immortal Mansion, the Haotian Realm and its subsidiary realms had been devastated by relentless attacks from Outsider Heavenly Demons.

As of now, three subsidiary realms had already fallen, completely becoming hunting grounds for the Heavenly Demons.

Two of these realms belonged to the jurisdiction of the Nine States Immortal Alliance.

The Nine States Immortal Alliance itself was consumed with chaos, as dozens of realm borders under its control were under siege by Outsider Heavenly Demons, resulting in severe casualties among its stationed cultivators.

To recover its strength, the Nine States Immortal Alliance was aggressively recruiting and conscripting cultivators to defend the realm borders from the demons, while pouring out a vast amount of Spirit Stones to procure high-tier Magical Treasures, Talismans, and Spirit Pills.

This caused market prices for resources to spike across the board, including for raw materials!

"True Person Wang, you’d better stay cautious these days and avoid drawing the attention of the Nine States Immortal Alliance,"

Manager Chen lowered his voice and warned, "With the demon invasion, they have the authority to enforce conscription on cultivators within the Immortal Alliance—whether Loose Cultivators, sect cultivators, or family-affiliated cultivators—they’re all within their scope of recruitment."

"If you resist, they’ll kill without hesitation!"

Wang Chen had always concealed his true Cultivation Level during his visits to Luodu Immortal City, so Manager Chen had always assumed Wang Chen was still a Golden Core True Person, not realizing he had long since reached Nascent Soul.

Nevertheless, Manager Chen’s warning was earnest and brimming with goodwill.

After a moment of contemplation, Wang Chen probed, "Manager Chen, what would it take to collaborate with your Four Seas Commerce Association?"

Manager Chen’s eyes immediately lit up: "What sort of collaboration are you proposing?"

The Four Seas Commerce Association never turned away profitable ventures, and Wang Chen was considered one of its major clients in Luodu. The transactions handled by Manager Chen on Wang Chen’s behalf, when converted into Spirit Stones, amounted to a staggering sum.

More importantly, the two had traded multiple times before and developed substantial mutual trust over each other’s character.

That trust laid the foundation for long-term cooperation.

"Artifact refining!"

Wang Chen answered without hesitation, "To be frank, I have a good amount of expertise in artifact refining, but I don’t have the time or energy to engage in commercial dealings. That’s why I hope to collaborate with your commerce association."

Wang Chen’s idea was straightforward.

The Four Seas Commerce Association would provide the materials required for artifact refining and place orders for Wang Chen to create specified Magical Treasures. Once Wang Chen delivered completed and quality-assured items, he would receive the corresponding remuneration in return.

This effectively made Wang Chen an external Artifact Refiner for the Four Seas Commerce Association.

The Four Seas Commerce Association certainly had its own Great Refiners on staff. Under normal circumstances, Wang Chen wouldn’t seek such cooperation—there wouldn’t be much benefit or profit.

However, the current situation was far from normal. The Nine States Immortal Alliance was under immense pressure on the frontlines, leading to skyrocketing demand for high-tier Magical Treasures. Moreover, the cultivators conscripted to defend the realm borders also needed such items, further driving up their prices.

The profit margin was considerable.

The Four Seas Commerce Association’s Great Refiners weren’t machines that could be readily procured in bulk to boost production.

Wang Chen’s timely proposal gave him leverage in bargaining.

Sure enough, Manager Chen was deeply intrigued.

Having dealt with Wang Chen before, he had zero doubt that Wang Chen wouldn’t boast recklessly.

Wang Chen wouldn’t suggest such cooperation unless he was confident in his abilities.

Given the Four Seas Commerce Association’s current shortage of Magical Treasures, both parties swiftly saw eye to eye.

However, as the negotiation delved into specific terms of collaboration, Wang Chen and Manager Chen engaged in a heated back-and-forth. After rounds of haggling, they finally settled on the conditions.

Wang Chen obtained his first batch of artifact refining materials, along with the Four Seas Commerce Association’s specific artifact orders.

The association required high-quality Magical Treasures, primarily weapons and armors of the Supreme Yang and Utmost Rigidity type.

Such treasures were highly effective at restraining Outsider Heavenly Demons and greatly in demand on the battlefield, albeit subject to rapid wear and tear. This made them the most popular commodities on the market at the moment.

While fourth-tier Spiritual Treasures were superior, their exorbitant cost made them impractical beyond the means of even Nascent Soul True Immortals to use as dispensable items.

When Wang Chen returned to the Mysterious Origin Dark Immortal Mansion with Yuanyuan, Bai Susu had already finished her secluded cultivation.

"You’ve achieved True Proof?"

The celestial lady’s eyes sparkled with unmistakable shock as she looked at Wang Chen, who had just returned.

"Indeed,"

Wang Chen responded with a faint smile, "Susu-jie, you seem to have recovered quite well too."

His perception abilities had vastly improved compared to before, allowing him to pinpoint the subtle fluctuations in Bai Susu’s spiritual energy.

Even though she concealed it deeply.

"Still not as impressive as you,"

Bai Susu’s gaze flickered as she remarked with a hint of envy, "You humans truly are blessed by fate!"

"Let’s not dwell on that..."

She waved her hand and said, "The spiritual energy in the Fleeting Moment Tower is running dry again. Hurry up and earn more Spirit Stones."

Wang Chen couldn’t help but retort, "Susu-jie, I’m already doing my utmost. But I can’t be running around earning Spirit Stones every day."

Bai Susu also realized her request might be excessive, considering all the Spirit Stones she required for her cultivation in the Fleeting Moment Tower were solely supported by Wang Chen.

After some thought, she flicked her wrist, and a thick stack of golden scales materialized in her palm.

With a sigh, Bai Susu said, "Take these True Dragon Scales and sell them. They’ll fetch a considerable amount of Spirit Stones."

It was obvious that she cherished these Dragon Scales greatly and was reluctantly parting with them out of necessity.

Wang Chen calmly accepted them, "Alright."

Bai Susu’s approach this time was correct—keeping valuable items hoarded would not foster a long-lasting partnership.

After all, Wang Chen didn’t owe her anything.

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Second Chapter delivered.