Chapter 22: Donghua Immortal Court, Jiuyong City

The God Soul Continent stretched out endlessly as Qin Shu found himself enveloped by a golden light, which transported him to the foot of an unfamiliar mountain.

“This isn’t anywhere I recognize,” he muttered.

He quickly scanned his surroundings but detected no immediate danger.

A glowing orb floated in front of him.

“Not another cultivation tool?” Qin Shu thought, feeling his luck wasn’t holding up. He reached into the orb, encountering a smooth, curved surface.

As the golden light dissipated, he found himself cradling a deep Cyan egg, roughly the size of an ostrich egg.

“A monster pet egg! Why did it have to be one of these? And who knows what rank it is?”

This item couldn’t be stored in either his space ring or Qiankun pouch.

Recalling the Qiankun pouch, Qin Shu patted his waist. The loss at the farm hadn’t been entirely uncompensated; this pouch alone was worth tens of thousands of spiritual soul coins—a small advantage gained from the academy.

As for his token, its signal had already faded due to the vast distance.

His communicator watch also failed to reach any contacts—his family must be worried now.

Qin Shu sighed heavily, realizing he didn’t even know where he was.

Only one thing was clear: he was on the God Soul Continent.

Unable to contain himself, he let out a furious roar towards the heavens:

“Fucking hell!”

For now, at least, he seemed safe. He placed the monster pet egg on the ground and began the blood pact ritual.

Having a companion on this cultivation journey wouldn’t be so bad, he mused.

Awakened beings could bond with monster pets without restriction, provided they could afford their upkeep. Moreover, these pacts could only be formed when the creatures were either hatchlings or chicks.

Of course, dealing with an egg was even more convenient—you just needed a drop of blood.

Qin Shu dripped his blood onto the eggshell, which quickly absorbed it entirely. He then channeled true fortune essence into the egg, nourishing the embryo within.

Since the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed hadn’t yet transformed, it offered no feedback. To break through, he’d have to continue cultivating on his own.

The Cyan Lotus took root in his sea of consciousness, stabilizing his spiritual world.

Holding the bird egg gently, Qin Shu rose on his sword, soaring into the sky. From above, he gazed down upon the earth below.

He dared not fly too high; the wilderness of the God Soul Continent wasn’t as safe as the Abyss World. Here, beasts ruled supreme.

It was only because these creatures hadn’t formed a cohesive race that humans were able to inhabit this land. If they had, humanity would likely have been wiped out long ago.

Within the demon race, each species constituted a distinct ethnicity; it was only humans who lumped all non-human races under the umbrella term “demon.”

For instance, the tiger race comprised solely tigers, and the dragon race consisted entirely of dragons—simple as that.

The landscape stretched for hundreds of kilometers without a single trace of human presence.

Qin Shu selected what he believed to be the most likely location for encountering people and transformed into a streak of sword light, soaring through the air.

Flying Sand Sword far outpaced Spiritual Acuity Sword in speed but at a greater cost of energy. Qin Shu dared not push his vessel to its full potential, maintaining a velocity roughly one-and-a-half times the speed of sound.

After more than an hour of flight covering nearly two thousand kilometers, he finally spotted vast fields of spirit rice arranged neatly below. The verdant green was tinged with a hint of yellow.

Though no cityscape was visible yet, at least there were signs of human activity.

Diving down, Qin Shu appeared just outside the protective formation surrounding the farm. He triggered the array, waiting for the farmer to emerge.

Several long moments passed before ripples spread across the formation.

A mechanical voice spoke, clearly altered, “Who are you?”

“I apologize,” replied Qin Shu, “I inadvertently lost my way. Could you please inform me which nearby city is closest and how far away it might be?”

“You’re not from our Nine Yong City?”

“No, I was unexpectedly teleported here from the Abyss. I’m not quite sure where I am. May I ask if this place is still within the Nine Provinces Holy Court?”

“Nine Provinces Holy Court? What’s that? We’re in the Donghua Immortal Court here.”

“Donghua Immortal Court?” Qin Shu was stunned; he wasn’t even within the Nine Provinces Holy Court anymore.

As for this Donghua Immortal Court, he genuinely had no idea what it was.

“You’re actually not from our Donghua Immortal Court either!” The voice from the farm sounded even more shocked.

The two fell silent for a good while before the voice from the farm spoke again, “Five hundred and thirty kilometers east of Nine Yong City, and I won’t come out any further.”

“Alright, many thanks!” Qin Shu didn’t linger either, transforming into a streak of sword light with his flying sword technique.

“A Foundation Establishment cultivator, how enviable! But it’s too dangerous. For me, I’ll pass on that opportunity.”

He flew swiftly along. After several hours, Qin Shu caught sight of the city’s outline.

Like Yangzhou City, it had a modern aura and was enveloped by a powerful spell formation.

Qin Shu dismounted from his Flying Sand Sword early and entered Nine Yong City using the Hurricane Step.

The formation was designed to repel powerful beasts, not people, so Qin Shu could pass through safely.

This city was roughly the same size as Yangzhou City, perhaps even larger.

Since he had no status within the Donghua Immortal Court and couldn’t fly with a sword inside the city, Qin Shu could only move forward on foot.

Although it was an unfamiliar place, his communication watch detected a network signal and allowed free access, so he wouldn’t be completely lost.

On the way, he had already planned out how to proceed after entering the city.

First, find the Money God Shopping Mall.

With enough spiritual soul coins, the Money God Shopping Mall could turn someone into an immortal in a single day, complete with post-purchase services like arranging teams for abyssal immortal tribulations.

Under the guidance of his communication watch, Qin Shu used the Hurricane Step to cover three hours of walking before reaching the Northyan District’s Money God Shopping Mall in Nine Yong City.

Along the way, he didn’t encounter any inquiries.

Upon seeing him holding a monster egg, a group of female servers approached, bowed together, and said, “Welcome!”

They then stood still, awaiting Qin Shu’s instructions.

Although the servers at the Money God Shopping Mall lacked cultivation, each one possessed abundant spiritual energy and exceptional physical attributes.

To reach the Qi Refinement stage required both body and spirit to meet certain thresholds.

On the God Soul Continent, there was no such thing as ordinary people; after all, everyone grew up eating spirit food from a young age.

In addition to meditation techniques, schools also taught physical training methods.

As a result, these meticulously selected service staff were all exceptionally healthy, with fair skin, striking features, and long legs.

Qin Shu picked one who caught his eye and said, “I’ll take you.”

“I’m He Zhiwei, but please just call me Xiao He, guest.”

“Excellent!” Qin Shu nodded. “Lead me to the fourth floor for item appraisal.”

He Zhiwei unconsciously glanced at the monster egg in Qin Shu’s hand, thinking to himself, We’re rich! We’re rich! Yet on the surface, he remained perfectly composed, saying, “Please follow me.”

They rode the elevator to the fourth floor.

Qin Shu had already familiarized himself with the process back in Yangzhou City. Upon reaching the window, he directly took out the Ruyi Golden Rod and said, “Senior, I wish to appraise and sell this treasure.”

Inside the window was a middle-aged man who nodded and said, “Go ahead, place it here.”

The machine began scanning, and an electronic voice rang out:

Ruyi Golden Rod, crude spiritual artifact. Material Tier 3, Spirituality Tier 8, overall assessment top-tier Rank 5. Recommended purchase price: 200,000 gold. Recommended selling price: 250,000 gold.

“It’s indeed a fine treasure. Are you sure you want to sell it?”

Qin Shu replied without hesitation, “Yes.” He needed money desperately now, and the Ruyi Golden Rod wasn’t of much use to him, making it perfect for exchanging into cash.

“Do you have a spiritual soul card?”