Previously, the shop assistant was startled by the news. She even thought she had misheard. After repeated confirmation, she finally believed that the price mentioned was indeed ten thousand purple cards. This assistant was curious about what kind of force the Demon Spirit Mountain, which Qin Hanchu was inquiring about, was.
"This is the price given by headquarters. As for why the pricing is so high, I'm not sure either," the assistant said apologetically.
Qin Hanchu suppressed the shock in his heart, then turned and walked out of the Myriad Realms Pavilion. At this moment, Qin Hanchu began to doubt the information previously provided by the Myriad Realms Pavilion. Was the strongest of the Demon Spirit Mountain truly only at the Spirit God realm? Even the ancestor of the Twin Extremes Sect was at the Spirit God realm. If the strong individuals of the Demon Spirit Mountain were truly only at the Spirit God realm, what qualifications would they have to be the hegemonic force of the entire main continent?
A precise address costing ten thousand purple cards showed how mysterious the Demon Spirit Mountain was. With Qin Hanchu's current capabilities, where could he get ten thousand purple cards? It seemed there was only one way. That way was to continuously strengthen his own power. As his strength grew, the circles he could access would become increasingly high-level. By then, perhaps he could learn the address of the Demon Spirit Mountain without ten thousand purple cards.
Thinking all the way back to the inn, Qin Hanchu had to consider what to do next. The man in black had been watching nearby. As soon as he left the city, he would be attacked. Qin Hanchu could feel that the spiritual power of this man in black was stronger than his own, at least at the Spirit Venerable level. Even with the Snow Eagle helping him, he would still not be an opponent of a Spirit Venerable.
To leave safely, there were only two methods. The first was for him and the Snow Eagle to reach the Spirit Venerable level. The second was to find someone to escort him out of the city. After much thought, Qin Hanchu decided to go into seclusion to cultivate. If he could cultivate the Ice Heart Art to a profound level, he might be able to fight across realms. Even if he couldn't defeat a Spirit Venerable, with the Snow Eagle's help, he might be able to retreat safely.
Upon returning to the inn, Qin Hanchu taught the Ice Heart Art to the Snow Eagle. The Ice Heart Art was a method for purifying profound ice power and did not involve acupoints, so even spirit beasts could cultivate it. The Snow Eagle's strength already far surpassed that of its peers. With the addition of the Ice Heart Art, it had a better chance than Qin Hanchu of fighting across realms.
Apart from eating and purchasing cultivation resources, Qin Hanchu remained in the inn cultivating. Time flew by, and two years passed. In these two years, Qin Hanchu cultivated day and night, and the Ice Heart Art had reached the peak of the Spirit King realm. If he wanted to purify profound ice power further, he could only advance his cultivation to the Spirit Venerable realm. However, the realm of the Spirit realm was not the level of profound ice power. To reach the Spirit Venerable realm, he needed to improve his spiritual power.
The Northern Cold Profound Emperor had not given Qin Hanchu any techniques for tempering spiritual power, and Qin Hanchu, now without a sect, could not obtain such techniques. Although the Myriad Realms Pavilion had such techniques, they were prohibitively expensive. In these two years, Qin Hanchu's funds had been depleted. If he didn't leave soon, Qin Hanchu wouldn't even be able to afford the inn.
On this day, Qin Hanchu left the inn. He planned to find an opportunity to leave the Heaven Shaking City. As he walked down the street, a group of people suddenly ran forward. This scene attracted the attention of many people.
"Fellow Daoist, where are you all going?" a martial artist asked someone he intercepted nearby, full of curiosity.
"Don't you know yet? The City Lord's daughter is holding a martial arts tournament to choose a husband." After saying that, the intercepted martial artist hurried away.
A martial arts tournament to choose a husband? Qin Hanchu hadn't expected to encounter such an event. Since he couldn't leave anyway, he might as well go and watch the excitement. Perhaps amidst the crowd and chaos, there might be an opportunity to escape.
Seeing Qin Hanchu following the crowd, Wang Zhonghe followed coldly behind. By this time, Wang Zhonghe was losing his patience. He had expected Qin Hanchu to leave Heaven Shaking City quickly, but he had stayed for over two years. For these two years, even as a Spirit Venerable martial artist, he had found the high cost of living in Heaven Shaking City somewhat unbearable. If Qin Hanchu didn't leave soon, he would not be able to hold on. However, he did not dare to reveal himself. Once Qin Hanchu knew of his presence, Qin Hanchu would be even less likely to leave the city. He hadn't expected that Qin Hanchu had already reached the Spirit King realm and sensed his prying.
In fact, if Wang Zhonghe had been more careful, Qin Hanchu would not have noticed him so easily. After all, Wang Zhonghe's spiritual power was much stronger than Qin Hanchu's. It was just that Wang Zhonghe assumed Qin Hanchu was in the War God realm and did not use his spiritual power cautiously.
The square in Heaven Shaking City was very vast. In the center of the square stood two golden essence stone statues hundreds of meters tall. Golden essence stone was a very expensive material for refining artifacts. To carve statues of the City Lord and the City Lord's wife with such large amounts of golden essence stone showed how extravagant the City Lord and his wife of Heaven Shaking City were. From the statues, it could be seen that the City Lord was very majestic and imposing, while the City Lord's wife was exceptionally beautiful.
At this moment, the square was teeming with people.
Boom!
Just then, the two statues suddenly emitted golden light. This radiance transformed into a golden bridge that extended towards the City Lord's mansion. A moment later, hundreds of city guards in golden armor appeared on the golden bridge with neat steps. From a distance, everyone could see six white spirit beasts pulling a golden carriage approaching. Three people were seated in the carriage: besides the City Lord and the City Lord's wife, there was a woman. In the world of martial artists, women generally had good figures. However, this City Lord's daughter was a bit too plump. At a glance, she looked to be around two hundred catties. No wonder there was a martial arts tournament to choose a husband.
Withdrawing his gaze, Qin Hanchu casually glanced at Wang Zhonghe behind him. Qin Hanchu weaved through the crowd, trying to shake off Wang Zhonghe's pursuit. Seeing Qin Hanchu move forward, Wang Zhonghe hurriedly followed. While the two were playing hide-and-seek, the City Lord's family had already arrived in the air.
Although the City Lord's daughter was plump, everyone present dared not make any comments. Even if there were whispers, they were insincere praises. "The City Lord's daughter is truly blessed. Whoever marries her will surely have good fortune." Everyone who praised the City Lord's daughter was flattering her. Of course, some people genuinely wanted to marry the City Lord's daughter. Although the City Lord's daughter was a bit overweight, it was easy for martial artists to lose weight. The most important thing was that the City Lord's daughter had a pair of good parents. If one married the City Lord's daughter, they would be the successor of Heaven Shaking City. With a father-in-law and mother-in-law at the Spirit God realm as their backing, who would dare to provoke them?
"Silence!" At this moment, a strong individual at the Spirit Saint level spoke sternly. With this person's words, everyone in the square fell silent. Those who had been moving also stopped. Seeing that everyone had stopped, Qin Hanchu also stopped. The perception abilities of the Spirit Saint and Spirit God realms were very strong. If Qin Hanchu continued to move at this time, he would definitely be considered disrespectful to the City Lord. Qin Hanchu did not have the strength to oppose a Spirit God realm expert at this time.