Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"Deyi, can this senior really do it? He only practices Body Refining, with no Spiritual Cultivation? What’s his exact Realm? Are you sure he’s reached Tier Two? Did you ask him?"

Along the way, everyone was silent. They all knew the rules for the Spiritual Land competition—even Zhang Chi had familiarized himself with them.

Privately, however, the Shang Family members were conversing via voice transmission, their anxiety palpable.

"Don’t worry, Second Uncle. I may not have asked the senior directly, but he killed a Tier One Peak Desert Eagle with a mere blast of Finger Wind. His Realm has to be Tier Two, no doubt about it. Even among Tier Two Early Stage cultivators, he must be quite skilled!"

Shang Deyi replied via voice transmission.

Though his second uncle had nearly killed him, the man had since sincerely apologized, and the two had reconciled.

Of course, this was primarily due to Zhang Chi’s presence. Not only did he intimidate Shang Deyi’s second uncle, but he also gave everyone a glimmer of hope.

Furthermore, to bolster morale, Shang Deyi had made several promises to the family’s upper echelons.

For example, he promised to help them acquire Foundation Establishment Pills, and if they successfully reached Foundation Establishment, he would help them rent Tier Two Cave Mansions.

"Alright, at this point, we can only pin our hopes on him. If he’s really as strong as you say, as long as we don’t run into the Feng Family, our Shang Family should have no problem placing in the top one hundred!"

Though Shang Deyi’s second uncle and the others were still worried, all they could do was pray for their family.

"Yes. Our luck can’t be that bad!"

Shang Deyi nodded.

But in truth, he wasn’t confident at all.

Zhang Chi, however, was quite relaxed. He continuously scanned the area within a hundred-li radius with his powerful Divine Thought.

As their Flying Boat entered a nearby Immortal City called Black Origin City, Zhang Chi soon picked up on the discussions of countless cultivators.

After filtering the chatter with his powerful Divine Soul, Zhang Chi quickly discovered that no one was talking about the golden light that had fallen from the sky half a year ago.

Furthermore, no one in the Immortal City was asking about cultivators from outside the region.

Evidently, after more than half a year, and given how far this place was from where he had landed, people had long forgotten about the incident.

Even the Desert Divine Palace had likely just recorded the event in its annals instead of wasting significant manpower and resources on a search.

This allowed Zhang Chi to relax a bit.

Of course, he did not completely let his guard down.

’I should continue to speak the local dialect and maintain the local cultivators’ style of dress,’ he decided.

He would certainly never tell anyone he was from the Great Abyss.

That way, people would at most assume he was a Loose Cultivator from some other Oasis in the Endless Desert Sea and wouldn’t grow too suspicious.

After all, the Endless Desert Sea was vast and filled with countless cultivators. It was perfectly normal for them to travel between the various Oases. It wasn’t at all strange for some of the more cautious Loose Cultivators to seem mysterious about their origins.

Black Origin Immortal City was the hub for a large surrounding region, and cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm were a common sight.

Even Golden Core Powerhouses appeared from time to time. The Immortal City’s guardian—or City Lord, as he was known—was a Golden Core Master.

At this very moment, however, this Golden Core Master was respectfully accompanying three visiting cultivators.

The three cultivators all wore identical white robes, matching identity tokens at their waists, and silver masks. All possessed a Golden Core Cultivation, for they were the three envoys from the Desert Divine Palace.

These three envoys were here to preside over the Tier Two Spiritual Land competition for the vast region surrounding Black Origin Immortal City.

Within this region, there were over a hundred Foundation Establishment Level Immortal Cultivation Influences, including both Sects and Immortal Cultivation Clans.

The Shang Family was one of them.

The Shang Family soon arrived at the massive plaza in front of Black Origin City’s City Lord’s Mansion, which was already packed with a sea of people.

In the center of the plaza stood a colossal arena, a hundred zhang across and enveloped by an Array. This was to be the battlefield.

After landing, the Shang Family members put away their Flying Boat and escorted Zhang Chi into the main hall of the City Lord’s Mansion to register.

"Name, Cultivation, Identity."

The cultivator on duty, a white-haired elder at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, glanced at the Shang Family, his brow furrowing slightly before he asked in a cold, indifferent tone.

"Zhang Chi, Foundation Establishment Early Stage, Honored Guest Elder of the Shang Family from Yanxia Mountain," Zhang Chi replied casually.

BOOM!

As he spoke, his body gave a slight tremor, and he instantly unleashed the Spiritual Power fluctuations of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator.

"That’s sufficient. Here is your entry credential; it has your number on it. When your number is called, you may enter the stage to compete. Remember, you may injure your opponents, but you may not kill them."

"Even an accidental death will result in punishment. And don’t think you can get away with feigning an accident. The City Lord and the three Divine Palace Envoys are all Golden Core Masters; they will know if you are lying."

When the elder saw that Zhang Chi was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his attitude immediately softened, and he even offered a few extra words of advice.

"Thank you for the reminder, fellow cultivator."

Zhang Chi gave a slight nod.

’It’s not that he feared the City Lord or the Divine Palace Envoys, but there was no need to kill for the Shang Family’s sake.’

He then took the white Jade Token from the elder and walked out of the hall with the Shang Family.

The number on the Jade Token was one hundred and twenty-eight.

This meant that even if each Immortal Cultivation Influence sent only one representative, there were already over a hundred cultivators participating.

Furthermore, their ranks spanned from Foundation Establishment Peak all the way down to Foundation Establishment Early Stage, making it an extremely difficult challenge for an ordinary Early Stage cultivator.

After all, according to the rules, only one hundred Spiritual Lands were up for grabs in the Black Origin City region each year.

Any Immortal Cultivation Influence that failed to place in the top hundred would be eliminated. If they wanted a Tier Two Spiritual Vein, they would have to find another way or settle for competing for a Tier One Spiritual Land.

Even if they entered the top one hundred, a low rank meant they could only choose the worst Tier Two Spiritual Land.

The Shang Family’s Yanxia Mountain, for instance, wasn’t the absolute worst, but it was ranked near the bottom.

Of course, since the Shang Family were the incumbent holders of Yanxia Mountain, as long as they placed in the top hundred, they could almost certainly keep their Spiritual Land—unless an influence with a much higher ranking specifically chose it.

However, that was an unlikely scenario; such an influence would surely have better options.

‎

"Senior, you actually have a Spiritual Cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage? This is wonderful!"

"That’s right! With Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Body, the senior’s Combat Power must be formidable, even among those of the same Tier."

"This means we only need to win a single match to secure a spot in the top hundred! We could even choose a Super-Micro Oasis with a Tier Two Low Grade Spiritual Vein."

Having left the City Lord’s Mansion, the Shang Family members finally relaxed. Flushed with excitement, they began to exclaim joyfully.

The next moment, however, they all fell silent. A group of cultivators was swaggering toward them.

These cultivators all had aggressive auras. Their leader was a young man at Qi Cultivation Peak, handsomely dressed and good-looking, but with a flippant expression.

Nestled beside him was a gorgeous, curvaceous young woman in yellow robes, a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage.

"Well, what a coincidence. If it isn’t our friends from the Shang Family. Finally decided to register? Your family doesn’t have a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator of its own, but you managed to find a Foundation Establishment Honored Guest Elder. How lucky for you."

"But you’d better be careful in the competition later. If you run into someone from our Feng Family, and our Foundation Establishment Powerhouse happens to... accidentally... cripple your Honored Guest Elder, don’t blame this Young Master for not warning you."

Seeing the Shang Family, the young cultivator immediately blocked their path and spoke in a taunting, passive-aggressive tone.

The cultivators behind him all chimed in with agreement.

Clearly, these were cultivators from the Feng Family, and the young man was none other than the Feng Family’s Young Master.