Chapter 435: Chapter 374 Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd! [Thanks to ’Little小博’ for the 10,000 reward! Vote for the monthly ticket!]
Gourd Space.
Seventeen years passed in the blink of an eye. With Chen Jichuan’s cultivation increasing, the Gourd Space expanded from the initial size of ten li to a thousand li in radius, with the land area swelling exponentially by thousands or even tens of thousands of times.
Now, the Gourd Space stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see.
The space still centered around the clear spring and split into two sections: the ’Hundred Herbs Garden’ and the ’Hundred Insect Garden.’
Over these seventeen years.
Chen Jichuan, apart from cultivation, spent time planting various spiritual medicines and breeding low-level spiritual insects. At present, glancing over the garden, all he could see were inferior herbs and a few first-order spiritual medicines.
As for spiritual insects.
Currently, there were only four types.
Among them, three were as mediocre as the ’Musk Orchid Worm.’ The other was a first-order spiritual insect but didn’t provide much help to Chen Jichuan.
Planting herbs and raising insects were simply leisure activities to lighten the mood.
After leaving the Great Zhou Divine Capital.
He dived deep into the mountains.
"The first battle ended in victory!"
Chen Jichuan returned to the Gourd Space, looking at the rows of buildings scattered across the land, his face breaking into a wide smile.
The Great Zhou’s wealth, accumulated over thousands of years and used to sustain its government, had now become his bounty.
This wealth was beyond imagination.
Even the annual salaries of the Great Zhou’s civil and military officials alone amounted to an astronomical figure.
The accumulated treasures of Great Zhou could fund decades or even centuries of salaries.
"Impossible to quantify!"
Chen Jichuan merely counted a few treasure vaults filled with Spirit Stones.
Each vault contained Standard Spirit Stones worth no less than ten billion.
With sixty-four such Spirit Stone vaults confiscated.
Beyond those.
There were treasure vaults storing spiritual medicines, refining materials, pills, magic treasures, talismans...
The quantity was overwhelming, making it hard to catalog everything in one go.
Regrettably, most of these vaults, including the scripture collection halls filled with cultivation texts, might hold surprises for second-order True Persons or third-order Divinity Transformation cultivators.
But for Chen Jichuan — someone already with a ticket to the fourth-order and skilled in various Magic Skills — these assets were mere numbers.
They didn’t even compare to the utility brought by Spirit Crystals and Primordial Stones.
Still, among the resources and texts, especially those related to Xing Dao and Life Dao, as well as documents about this realm, Chen Jichuan found some value.
"Possessing boundless wealth."
"Enough to sustain my cultivation through the third realm and the fourth realm."
"These texts can also help in deepening my understanding of Life Dao and the essence of this realm."
And this was only a portion of it.
During this breakthrough to Divinity Transformation, apart from plundering the Great Zhou Divine Capital, Chen Jichuan now held eighteen third-order captives.
From his knowledge of the Five Immortal Sects, there were not too many third-order cultivators in the sects.
If he offered resources to exchange for their lives, they would likely accept the terms.
The ransom Chen Jichuan demanded focused mostly on Primordial Stones, alongside high-order spiritual medicine seeds, high-order spiritual insects, or spiritual insect eggs.
Additionally, treasures, spiritual medicines, and pills aiding Divinity Transformation cultivation were also on the list.
"Eighteen third-order captives should bring back considerable resources."
"Hopefully enough to sustain me from the third realm to the fourth, maybe even the fourth-order."
If the resources still fell short, he thought: "Once I reach the third realm or fourth realm and exhaust those resources, I can circle back to the Five Sects for another campaign and acquire everything I need."
Chen Jichuan inherited the body of ’Jiangg Xian.’
Jiangg Xian was the son of the Zichuan King, who had been executed by the Great Zhou Court. Behind the Great Zhou Court stood the Five Immortal Sects.
When connecting these dots—
"I share a blood feud with the Five Immortal Sects!"
"Merely demanding compensation without killing anyone is already an act of great restraint."
Chen Jichuan, being kindhearted, didn’t seek life-for-life retribution but required wealth to offset their sins.
...
Gathering the ransom would still take time.
Chen Jichuan, freshly ascended to Divinity Transformation, was also preparing to consolidate his cultivation.
A sense of urgency drove his breakthrough, largely because the Gourd Space could accommodate the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Yet before his ascension to Divinity Transformation, when the space hadn’t yet expanded to a thousand li, it couldn’t connect to the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.
Unprepared, Chen Jichuan was forced to face the calamity outside the Gourd Space.
After the tribulation, instead of hiding to recuperate, he immediately acted, driven by the resource requirements of Divinity Transformation cultivation.
Simply relying on Source Power or the Spiritual Energy within the Gourd Space for cultivation proved far too slow.
In this venture.
Pillaging the Divine Capital led to instant wealth.
Chen Jichuan now had cultivation resources to rapidly enhance his cultivation. Along with the myriad texts collected, he had enough material to immerse himself in reading for a long time.
This made him double down on cultivation.
"Let’s keep a low profile and first reach the fourth-order."
"During this time, I can journey across the land, but I shouldn’t draw too much attention."
"After all, at the Divinity Transformation Stage, there’s nothing essential enough to compel me to risk recklessness."
"Once I reach the fourth-order safely, even if I’m eventually killed by someone stronger, at least I would’ve experienced being a fourth-order cultivator. Such a death would be honorable!"
Chen Jichuan was determined not to lose his life prematurely at the third-order due to unnecessary risks. That would be an unspeakable regret.
...
Time passed.
Chen Jichuan focused on cultivation and thoroughly delved into the texts.
Soon, his understanding of Life Dao deepened significantly.
"So the fourth-order of Life Dao is called ’Purple Mansion.’"
"Life Dao cultivators reaching the fourth-order develop a Purple Mansion within their bodies."
Chen Jichuan had a sudden revelation.
Xing Dao cultivation starts from mortal realms, proceeding through first-order Night Travel, second-order Soul Condensation, third-order Union, and fourth-order Spiritual Light.
Life Dao cultivation begins similarly, advancing through first-order Core Formation, second-order Soul Refining, third-order Core Forging, and fourth-order Purple Mansion.
Chen Jichuan’s impression of the ’Purple Mansion’ was particularly profound, owing to the treasured gourd acquired from Zhang Yu’s hands—
[Magic Treasure: Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd]
[Level: Fourth-order]
[Description: In the Chongming Realm, ’Mojia Venerable’ scoured the Four Directions Heaven and the Ten States, seeking rare treasures. He defeated thirty-six Martial Arts Great Powers, refining their thirty-six Purple Mansions into this gourd. Later, upon achieving Heavenly Venerate status, he amassed immortal energy at the Nine-layered Heaven Immortal Gate of Chongming Realm, further refining it into the ’Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd,’ transforming it into an Immortal Treasure. This treasure is incomparably marvelous, containing an inner space capable of nurturing life, cultivating spiritual medicines, raising spiritual insects, and controlling countless spiritual insects.]
...
"Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd."
"Fourth-order Immortal Treasure."
When Chen Jichuan first obtained the gourd, his cultivation was low, and the ’Insight Skill’ couldn’t discern its true nature.
Only upon reaching Divinity Transformation could he uncover its essence.
Yet the revealed information remained somewhat vague.
For instance, the term ’Purple Mansion.’
Previously, Chen Jichuan didn’t understand its meaning. Now, after consulting ancient texts, he finally came to understand.
"The fourth-order of Life Dao is the ’Purple Mansion Realm,’ where a Purple Mansion is formed within the body."
"Mojia Venerable defeated thirty-six Martial Arts Great Powers — all fourth-order individuals — and refined their Purple Mansions into the Immortal Gourd, creating this treasure."
Fourth-order Great Powers are exceedingly rare.
This ’Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd,’ containing thirty-six Purple Mansions and crafted from rare materials, was undoubtedly a peerless treasure among fourth-order Magic Treasures.
What made it even more extraordinary—
"Immortal Energy!"
"Mojia Venerable refined immortal energy gathered at the Nine-layered Heaven Immortal Gate into the gourd, upgrading it from Magic Treasure to Immortal Treasure."
"Its potency and mystique ascend to another level."
Chen Jichuan didn’t know if the Chongming Realm was the same as his current world, nor was he certain whether Mojia Venerable was still within this realm. Similarly, the location of the Nine-layered Heaven Immortal Gate remained a mystery.
Nonetheless, judging by the ’Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd,’ Mojia Venerable must have been a remarkable figure.
Even as a fourth-order cultivator, he must have been at the pinnacle of his level.
Chen Jichuan leaned toward believing Mojia Venerable was likely a fifth-order Great Power.
"Heavenly Venerate!"
"What a resounding title!"
Chen Jichuan couldn’t help but feel inspired, yearning to reach such heights in this lifetime.
Returning his focus to the ’Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd.’
"This treasure surpasses all other fourth-order Magic Treasures I’ve seen or handled in the Starry Sky World."
Comparing the ’Purple Mansion Immortal Gourd’ to the ’Seven Treasures Pond,’ ’Inverted Eight Gates Immortal Suppression Banner,’ and ’Five Thunders Hurricane Mother Car,’ it was clear the gourd was the pinnacle of refinement.
At the same time, Chen Jichuan grew increasingly intrigued by the Nine-layered Heaven Immortal Gate and the immortal energy it contained.
"Nine-layered Heaven."
"Immortal Gate."
"Immortal Energy."
Chen Jichuan continued reading through ancient texts, absorbing knowledge and expanding his horizons.
With each text he completed, Chen Jichuan gained greater insight into this world and, in particular, the Great Zhou Cultivation Realm.
A year later.
Reading through a volume titled Chongming Mountain and Sea Records, he encountered this passage: "The world we dwell in is called ’Chongming.’ The Chongming world divides into ten layers, with the Earth marking the first and split further into ten continents. The remaining nine layers belong to the Heavens, divided into the Four Directions."
"Four Directions Heaven."
"Ten States Down Below."
"Chongming Realm."
Chen Jichuan’s heart trembled!
...
Unfortunately.
The texts stored in the Great Zhou Divine Capital offered too little information about this realm.
Most consisted of vague and exaggerated myths about celestial beings creating the world.
Others were pure speculation.
Details about the ’Chongming Realm,’ ’Four Directions Heaven,’ and ’Ten States Down Below’ were sparse.
While reading these texts,
Chen Jichuan also questioned Jia Yi and the eighteen third-order captives.
Gradually.
His understanding of this realm started to take shape—
"The Chongming Realm splits into two layers: the mortal layer and the immortal layer."
"Mortals reside on the Earth, which divides into ten continents. The Great Zhou occupies a region called ’Tu Continent.’ Tu Continent spans vast territories and sustains countless living beings. Regions like Great Zhou number in the thousands across the Tu Continent."
"Beyond Tu Continent lies the sea. Across the sea are nine other continents teeming with powerhouses."
"Fourth-order cultivators from the ten continents are called ’Upper Immortals’ and can ascend to the Four Directions Heaven, also known as the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning Immortal Realms. Upper Immortals dwell freely in the Four Directions Heaven, roaming the Nine-layered Immortal Realm, seldom returning to mortal lands."
...
The accounts from Jia Yi and others offered a more structured explanation.
But even they only grasped the general outline, unable to delve into the details. Aside from the fourth-order ascension, they had no clarity about how to enter the Four Directions Heaven.
Even fourth-order ascension to immortality was shrouded in hearsay and inherited lore.
None had seen it firsthand or could provide concrete examples.
"Fourth-order."
"Immortal Realm."
Chen Jichuan felt anticipation building within him.
With the fourth-order within reach in this life, he was eager to seek out fourth-order figures for sparring and exchanges. Learning about ’Four Directions Heaven,’ a haven of fourth-order Upper Immortals, brought him joy.
But for now, cultivation remained the priority.
"Upper Immortals dwell above."
"Few fourth-order cultivators remain in the mortal lands."
Learning that the fourth-order mostly resided in the heavens emboldened Chen Jichuan.
Previously determined to raise his cultivation to Divinity Transformation Second Realm before negotiating with the Five Immortal Sects, he revised his plan—
"The Five Immortal Sects lack fourth-order figures overseeing them; no need to delay further."
Chen Jichuan wasted no time in taking action.
...