Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

"My sister, she's been spoiled by our family,"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

After Zuo Xiaolan had left, Zuo Xiaomo said to Wang Chen with a wry smile, "Senior Brother Wang, please don't take offense."

He had introduced Zuo Xiaolan to Wang Chen mainly to expand his younger sister's connections within the Inner Sect.

Zuo Xiaolan's talent was a notch above Zuo Xiaomo's, and she had a good chance of being promoted to the Inner Sect.

But being promoted from the Outer Sect to the Inner Sect is not easy unless one is an outstanding genius.

At critical moments, an extra helping hand could decide success or failure.

In Zuo Xiaomo's view, cultivators like Wang Chen, who came from remote areas without any background or power and relied entirely on their own abilities to enter the Inner Sect, were the most worth befriending.

Because he and Zuo Xiaolan could not reach those senior brothers with status and background.

Unless they were willing to pay a huge price!

Unfortunately, Zuo Xiaomo's painstaking efforts did not gain his own sister's understanding.

Zuo Xiaolan obviously had other ideas and was very indifferent towards Wang Chen, staying only briefly before finding an excuse to leave.

Zuo Xiaomo was helpless and could only apologize to Wang Chen.

"It's alright,"

Wang Chen said with a smile, "Junior Brother Zuo, let's continue our chat."

He didn't care about Zuo Xiaolan's coming or going; in fact, her departure made it more convenient for the two to talk.

Zuo Xiaomo was a member of the Zuo Family of Wanling City, and although he belonged to a collateral branch, there was a Golden Core True Person in his family.

Most importantly, Zuo Xiaomo had a profound family education and was a local native, which was exactly what Wang Chen needed to gain a deeper understanding of the internal and external affairs of the West Sea Sect, to avoid taking wrong turns in the implementation of his plans.

Out of a compensatory mindset, Zuo Xiaomo was forthcoming and exhaustive in answering Wang Chen's questions.

The two talked from the morning all the way until the afternoon.

In the evening, Zuo Xiaomo hosted a banquet for Wang Chen at a nearby restaurant, and their relationship became much closer in an instant.

After the banquet dispersed, Wang Chen declined Zuo Xiaomo's invitation to seek pleasure at the Courtesan House and explored Wanling City alone.

The night in Wanling City was even livelier than the day, with thousands of luminous stone lamps lit along the shops, illuminating the entire street in exquisite detail and reflecting densely packed pavilions and towers.

The pedestrians on the road brushed past one another in an unending stream, and at a glance, cultivators were as numerous as fish crossing a river.

Being in the midst of it all, Wang Chen felt at home in the bustling atmosphere, with an indescribable sense of comfort and ease.

In the end, he still liked lively places.

After wandering the city for half a 'two hours', Wang Chen stepped into a shop.

The name of the shop was simple, just "Sword Shop," and it sold all kinds of swords.

Including Flying Swords and Magic Swords.

"Honored Superior, may I ask what you need?"

The shopkeeper of the Sword Shop was a white-haired old man with the Cultivation Level of Qi Cultivation Perfection, kind-faced and beaming with a welcoming smile.

Wang Chen took out his Wind Thunder Sword from his Storage Bag and asked, "Can this Spirit Sword be modified?"

The Wind Thunder Sword was a piece of spoils that Wang Chen had obtained after slaying the Golden Core seed of the Five Peaks Mountain—Liu Yingxiu.

This second-tier high-grade Spirit Sword possessed the special powers of Wind Riding and Coagulating Thunder and had accompanied Wang Chen from Cloud Sun Old Land to the West Sea Spirit Domain, slaying many enemies.

While the quality of the Wind Thunder Sword was outstanding, it wasn't a perfect match for Wang Chen's elemental affinity.

Wang Chen's primary element was fire, and when using this Spirit Sword in battle, he couldn't wield it as smoothly and naturally as he wanted.

He had always wanted to modify or upgrade the Wind Thunder Sword but had never found the right opportunity.

Now that he had finally settled down, the idea resurfaced.

And the "Sword Shop" was not randomly chosen by Wang Chen; he had previously made a point of asking Zuo Xiaomo, who recommended to him this shop that was said to be backed by a Golden Core Refinement Grandmaster.

"A fine sword,"

The shopkeeper took the Wind Thunder Sword with both hands, his eyes revealing admiration.

He was clearly a person who loved and understood swords, and promptly held the sword with his left hand and flicked the sword's spine gently with the fingers of his right hand.

The Wind Thunder Sword immediately emitted a clear and distant resonance, with strands of lightning vaguely appearing on the blade.

After admiring it for a moment, the sword shopkeeper asked, "This Wind Thunder Sword comes from a distinguished source and has reached the high tier, may I ask how the Superior wishes to modify it?"

Wang Chen replied without hesitation, "My main element is fire."

The sword shopkeeper immediately understood and said, "I see."

After thinking for a while, he said, "Our shop has recently acquired a piece of Thunder Fire Essence. If it's fused into this Wind Thunder Sword and reforged, it can add thunder and fire properties to it, and the tier could also be raised to the top tier."

"However, after the reforging, there would be no further possibilities for enhancement."

It could really work!

Wang Chen ignored the last two sentences and asked directly, "How many spirit stones would it need?"

The sword shopkeeper stroked his white beard and said with a smile, "One thousand five hundred middle spirit stones."

He added, "Our shop does not bargain."

One thousand five hundred middle spirit stones?

Wang Chen's eyelid twitched.

According to standard rates, one middle spirit stone is worth one hundred low spirit stones, so one thousand five hundred middle spirit stones would be one hundred fifty thousand low spirit stones.

But in reality, one hundred low spirit stones absolutely won't exchange for one middle spirit stone.

Observing Wang Chen's reaction, the shopkeeper continued, "If you add in three taels of Pure Ding Fire Essence, the fire attribute of this spirit sword can be strengthened by another thirty percent, and the power of any fire aspect spells would at least double!"

"Three taels of Pure Ding Fire Essence for only one thousand middle spirit stones."

Wang Chen looked up to confirm that the sign hanging on the shelf indeed read "Sword Shop."

Not "Rip-off."

Yet he felt his wallet's impending sorrow.

He had budgeted three thousand but was now looking at a cost of ninety-eight thousand!

He had originally planned to spend a few tens of thousands of spirit stones to modify his Wind Thunder Sword a bit and enhance his combat capabilities.

To settle in the Western Sea Sect's Inner Sect, cultivate, and exchange for cultivation techniques and resources, one needed to use Merit Points.

Merit Points can only be acquired by completing Sect missions.

This meant he would frequently face intense battles, so naturally, the stronger his equipment, the better.

But he never expected to fall right into a deep pit!

"Okay!"

Wang Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Two thousand five hundred middle spirit stones, I won't bargain, but you have to throw in a messaging flying sword for me."

Messaging via flying sword requires the use of specially made flying swords. These types of flying swords serve as professional courier tools, possessing little offensive capability, but are fast and have an extensive range, surpassing Messenger Cranes by a hundredfold.

The Western Sea Sect's Mountain Gate is simply too vast; in the future, communicating with others via Messenger Cranes would be too slow and not very secure.

Purchasing a messaging flying sword is an essential need.

The sword shopkeeper pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Agreed."

Two thousand five hundred middle spirit stones, according to the current market rate of spirit stones, are equivalent to three hundred thousand low spirit stones.

Wang Chen first paid half of the deposit.

One hundred fifty thousand spirit stones.

To be honest, it was absolutely impossible not to feel the pinch.

To know that this half of the deposit was also higher in value than the Wind Thunder Sword itself.

But as the saying goes, you can't catch the wolf without parting with the child; for the sake of long-term considerations, Wang Chen still bit the bullet and made a significant investment.

He just hoped it would be worth the money!

-----------

The first update delivered.