Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest-Chapter 1193: Things of the World

Jiuzhou Immortal City, Flying Cloud Pavilion.

In an elegant private chamber, Wang Chen met Du Jiuniang once again.

This Nascent Soul True Immortal was still extraordinarily beautiful, yet a faint fatigue lingered in her expression, adding a trace of fragility.

Without changing his demeanor, Wang Chen bowed slightly: "Taoist Friend, we meet again."

Du Jiuniang rubbed her temples and gave a faint smile: "Taoist Friend Wang, long time no see. Hmm?"

She froze for a moment: "You’ve achieved True Proof?"

Wang Chen nodded: "Indeed."

In his travels, he was accustomed to concealing his cultivation level and aura.

But in front of Du Jiuniang, Wang Chen made no deliberate attempt to hide himself, so it was natural for her to discern as much.

"Impressive!"

Du Jiuniang unconsciously straightened her posture and murmured, "After I broke my Golden Core to condense my Nascent Soul, it took a full hundred years to achieve True Proof. Compared to you, I’m far inferior."

"Wait."

Suddenly, she furrowed her brows: "Did you achieve True Proof in the Lower Realm?"

Wang Chen nodded again: "Yes."

Even he silently admired his own audacity.

Du Jiuniang was even more astonished: "You’re far too bold."

The flow of time between small worlds and vast worlds often differed greatly. However, the cultivation environment in the former was vastly inferior, and the limits of the power it could bear paled in comparison.

Achieving True Proof profoundly shaped the future path of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Every True Immortal treated this decision with utmost caution, never attempting it lightly without full confidence.

For this reason, those who dared to achieve True Proof in the Lower Realm were incredibly rare, as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Yet Wang Chen succeeded!

Wang Chen replied modestly, "It was merely a risky gamble."

Du Jiuniang shook her head.

She didn’t think Wang Chen was the type to gamble recklessly. It was likely due to unique circumstances that he chose the Lower Realm for True Proof.

But as this concerned Wang Chen’s secrets, she refrained from probing further.

Du Jiuniang picked up the teapot on the table and personally poured a steaming cup of Spiritual Tea for Wang Chen.

After a moment of contemplation, she said, "True Person Wang, this time I returned to the Haotian Realm for official duties and will only stay in the Nine States for five days before returning to the Mountain and Sea Realm."

"Currently, the situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm is extremely dire. The demonic calamity is rampant, and evil wraiths proliferate. More than half of the Immortal Cities have already fallen."

"Of the twelve Realm Borders in the Mountain and Sea Realm, five have been lost. The Outsider Heavenly Demons could devour this Lower Realm at any moment. The time left to us is running out!"

Wang Chen’s expression grew increasingly grave: "Is there any hope of salvaging the situation?"

Du Jiuniang gave a bitter smile and shook her head: "This apocalyptic calamity is sweeping across many worlds. If we can hold the Haotian Realm, that would already be considered an accomplishment. The most elite forces will certainly be withdrawn to guard the Haotian Realm Borders, making it nearly impossible to care for the Lower Realms."

Wang Chen’s heart sank.

The Mountain and Sea Realm was the first realm he had traversed and reincarnated into—essentially his second homeland.

Although this small world could no longer accommodate Wang Chen, it still held an irreplaceable place in his heart. Let alone Xu Xinlan was still there.

"Taoist Friend, I must trouble you again to help me deliver—"

Before he could finish, Du Jiuniang interrupted him: "Taoist Friend Wang, delivering messages is not a problem, but all the channels between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Haotian Realm have already been closed and sealed."

"If you’re thinking about smuggling your Dao companion up here, it’s simply impossible!"

Wang Chen was rendered speechless.

He realized the gravity of the situation and was forced to consider one final option: letting Xu Xinlan do as he did years ago and smuggle into the Haotian Realm.

Though smuggling to the Upper Realm carried immense risks and uncertainties, it was still better than awaiting death in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

But it seemed even that path was now severed!

Recalling the promise he made to Xu Xinlan, Wang Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Taoist Friend, I’ll offer five thousand Immortal Alliance merits to request that you help her ascend when the time comes."

Du Jiuniang had once mentioned that she held the quota to escort cultivators from the Lower Realm to the Haotian Realm.

The price was one Supreme Spirit or five thousand Immortal Alliance merits.

But Wang Chen had no way of obtaining a Supreme Spirit, so he could only choose the latter.

Du Jiuniang raised an eyebrow: "You’ve already amassed five thousand merits?"

"Not yet,"

Wang Chen replied straightforwardly. "But I’ll head to the Realm Border immediately. If you’re not reassured, I can use a Magical Treasure as collateral."

"It’s not that I don’t trust you,"

Du Jiuniang said. "I’ve already promised this quota to someone else. Besides, five thousand merits are far from enough now—you’d need at least three times that amount."

Wang Chen felt a chill in his heart.

He hadn’t imagined that in just a year or two, the situation had worsened to such an extent. The magnitude of the changes left him caught off guard.

Wang Chen didn’t suspect Du Jiuniang of deceiving him or raising the price arbitrarily—True Immortals had their pride!

For the first time, he felt a sense of powerlessness.

The atmosphere in the private chamber grew silent and oppressive.

Du Jiuniang suddenly asked, "Taoist Friend, is this Dao companion of yours truly so important to you?"

Xu Xinlan was neither a peerless beauty nor a prodigious talent, and she merely had a Purple Mansion cultivation level.

Wang Chen, a Nascent Soul True Immortal, was preoccupied with a mundane woman from the Lower Realm—truly incomprehensible!

Wang Chen replied calmly, "I made her a promise."

A trace of an unusual light flickered in Du Jiuniang’s eyes. She said, "If I were to break my promise and give this quota to your Dao companion instead, what price would you be willing to pay?"

Wang Chen responded without hesitation: "Name your terms, Taoist Friend!"

Du Jiuniang stared at him in a daze, then suddenly laughed.

Her laughter was charming and alluring, yet carried a hint of understanding and delight: "So, in this world..."

In the next moment, the Nascent Soul True Immortal flipped her wrist, and a radiant, dazzling pearl appeared in her palm.

"Taoist Friend, do you recognize this item?"

Wang Chen’s gaze sharpened: "Could it be a Worldly Item?"

Worldly Items were treasures capable of connecting to other worlds.

Wang Chen’s Cangqing Ring was one such item, as was the Questioning World Bell owned by the Fox Empress.

However, the luminous pearl in Du Jiuniang’s hand clearly contained a wisp of domain aura, strikingly similar to the Questioning World Bell!

"That’s correct."

Du Jiuniang explained, "This Passing World Pearl was something I came upon by chance..."

She spoke at length, leaving Wang Chen increasingly astonished as he listened.

This was because the Worldly Item Du Jiuniang held wasn’t connected to a small world like the Cangqing Domain or the Mountain and Sea Realm, but to a major world.

A vast world and a small world were entirely different concepts.

According to what Du Jiuniang described, this Passing World Pearl wasn’t unique; the major world it connected to was called the Starry Seas Realm, whose laws of heaven and earth were entirely different from those of the Haotian Realm.

Du Jiuniang had once ventured to the Starry Seas Realm alongside other True Immortals who possessed Passing World Pearls. However, they were met with utter defeat. Not only did she gain nothing from this grand world, but she even lost a precious substitute life Magical Treasure.

As for the True Immortals without substitute life treasures, they perished outright!

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Here is the first update.