Hearing
Nie Li remained calm and said to Xiao Kuang and Xiao Yang, "Gentlemen, I've finished purchasing everything I need. I'll take my leave for now!" Nie Li didn't want to linger here any longer—after all, time was pressing, and he needed to get back to his cultivation.
With that, Nie Li departed.
After Nie Li left, a long silence settled over the place.
"Xiao Yang, do you think what this Nie Li said is true?" Xiao Kuang spoke up.
Xiao Yang looked at Xiao Kuang with a hint of surprise. Xiao Kuang was usually arrogant and domineering—him actually lowering himself to ask for his opinion was rare indeed. Xiao Yang smiled faintly. "Whether it's true or false, Young Master Xiao Kuang should be able to tell for himself. There's absolutely no reason for anyone to lie to us—our Tianyun Tribe is so destitute. Even if Nie Li offered one bag of rice for a hundred Purple Smoke Stones, people would still flock to give him stones. Yet he's willing to exchange one bag of rice for only ten Purple Smoke Stones. Is he a fool? Obviously not. He simply sees that the people of our tribe are pitiful and is trying to help us out!"
Xiao Kuang lowered his head in thought. "It seems that the
"That should be correct. But Young Master Xiao Kuang, if we migrate as a whole tribe, you'll no longer be the young chief of a tribe. After all, once we arrive there, we'll be living under someone else's roof!" Xiao Yang said. Given Xiao Kuang's arrogant personality, being on someone else's turf would probably not sit well with him.
Xiao Kuang raised an eyebrow. "Fine, Xiao Kuang is certainly a scoundrel—I won't deny that I've done my share of bullying people. But do you think I'm clinging to this position of young chief? Our Tianyun Tribe is so poor that people starve to death every day. If we could relocate the whole tribe to a prosperous land, then even if it means kneeling and groveling like a grandson, so what? I'll personally lead a group along this route to the City of Radiance to see for myself. If such a place truly exists, then I'll use every means necessary to convince the old man to move the tribe. That's still better than letting everyone starve to death in this wretched place!"
Hearing Xiao Kuang's words, Xiao Yang was stunned. For the first time, he felt a trace of respect for this arrogant young chief.
"If you're heading to the City of Radiance to investigate, then take me along!" Xiao Yang said proudly. Though the journey would be dangerous, he would absolutely not back down.
"Deal!"
"It's a deal!"
Meanwhile, Nie Li had already ventured deep into the Tianyun Plateau. The plateau spanned hundreds of miles, surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs. It was extremely dangerous, and most Demon Beasts couldn't make it up here, which was why the Tianyun Tribe was able to barely survive. Still, some Demon Beasts did roam the Tianyun Plateau. Those beasts weren't particularly strong though, and with Nie Li's current survival capabilities, he had nothing to worry about.
Nie Li ventured deeper into the plateau, to the spot where the sunlight was most intense. He stopped on a flat, massive boulder, then used several hundred Purple Diamond Stones to set up a formation. He carved one mysterious Runic Pattern after another into the stones, and then sat down on the boulder to cultivate.
Nie Li had been collecting these Purple Diamond Stones precisely to boost his cultivation and break through to a higher realm.
The scorching sunlight struck the Purple Diamond Stones, refracting dazzling rays of colorful light. Then wisps of purple smoke slowly rose from the stones, and under the gathering effect of the formation, they enveloped Nie Li's body. The purple smoke grew thicker and thicker, gradually obscuring even Nie Li's silhouette.
Nie Li took a deep breath, and the purple smoke was suddenly drawn inward, as if vacuumed away—it was swallowed into his stomach by Nie Li.
Nie Li began his refinement. The Soul Power within his Soul Sea constantly expanded. The Shadow Demon Spirit and the Tiger Fang Panda within his Soul Sea greedily devoured the Soul Power as well, continuously growing and strengthening.
The mountaintop of the Tianyun Plateau, despite its frigid temperatures, received sunlight for more than three-quarters of each day. This gave Nie Li ample time to cultivate.
The purple smoke contained potent toxins.
Nie Li felt countless threads of Soul Power piercing through his Soul Sea, making the veins across his entire body bulge. The pain—like being stabbed by countless needles—made him grimace. However, Nie Li endured the agony, gradually expanding his Soul Sea bit by bit to increase its capacity.
Nie Li noticed that the vine connecting the Tiger Fang Panda and the Shadow Demon Spirit within his Soul Sea had grown even more robust. To his surprise, a leaf was slowly budding beside it.
He had no idea how this vine had formed. It was made entirely of Soul Power, nourished and grown by Soul Power—a truly wondrous thing.
As time passed, Nie Li felt his entire Soul Sea detonate with a thunderous boom. Amid excruciating pain, waves of Soul Power surged into his limbs and meridians, bursting out at various points throughout his body. Nie Li could feel his power continuously growing.
Originally, his cultivation had already reached the peak of Gold Two Star. Now, catalyzed by the Purple Diamond Stones, it finally began a qualitative transformation.
His muscles and bones crackled with bursts of explosive sound. His Soul Power had crossed into the Gold Three Star level, and his physical strength had been enormously enhanced as well.