He had finally reached the Heavenly Fate Realm!
However,
The first stage of the Heavenly Fate Realm was still too low. He needed to reach at least the second stage before he'd be qualified to venture into the greater world beyond.
Once he'd entered the Heavenly Fate Realm, cultivation progressed rapidly as long as one had sufficient spirit stones. Nie Li's strength was growing at a furious pace every single day.
Today the weather was pleasant, the breeze gentle and the sun warm, with flowers blooming everywhere.
Nie Li was cultivating peacefully in
"Nie Li, I've got news! Some disciples from the Divine Melody Sect and the Fire God Sect have come to visit. Apparently, the Divine Melody Sect is entirely female — and many of them are stunningly beautiful. Wanna go check them out?" As Gu Bei spoke, his eyes lit up and a thrill of excitement spread across his face.
Nie Li paused for a moment. Disciples from the Divine Melody Sect and the Fire God Sect were here at the Heavenly Spirit Academy?
The moment the Divine Melody Sect was mentioned, Nie Li thought of Ziyun and Ning'er. He wondered whether they had come along. It had been several months since they'd last seen each other, and he missed both of them dearly.
"Sure, let's go take a look," Nie Li nodded.
"The Divine Melody Sect and Fire God Sect disciples visit the Feather God Sect once a year. Besides sparring among the geniuses, they also trade and buy things from one another. The Divine Melody Dew brewed by the Divine Melody Sect is an absolute treasure for boosting your cultivation. The Divine Melody Sect is different from the Feather God Sect — every single member from top to bottom is female. Only a handful take on partners from outside, and they do so on a purely transactional basis. Because of this, the sect is incredibly unified, and its strength keeps growing. It's second only to the Fire God Sect. As for the Fire God Sect — its power has surged in recent years, and it's already become the top of the Six Great Sects!" Gu Bei chatted away as they walked.
Nie Li and Gu Bei also called
Xiao Yu was nowhere to be found, but she was always busy with her own affairs, so Nie Li and Lu Piao didn't worry about it.
The main hall of the Heavenly Spirit Academy was packed shoulder to shoulder, a bustling sea of people. The three of them couldn't even squeeze their way in.
Word had spread that the Divine Melody Sect and Fire God Sect had arrived, and no one knew what they were really after. Disciples from every branch of the Heavenly Spirit Academy had flooded in.
But Gu Bei clearly had his connections. He led Nie Li and Lu Piao through a side hall. The guards recognized him and let them pass without any resistance.
"Those people outside are just ordinary disciples. The noble scions and geniuses from the major sects always gather in this side hall," Gu Bei explained with a smile.
Sure enough, there were far fewer people inside — only a few hundred.
"During the annual exchange between the Great Sects, the noble disciples and geniuses each bring out rare treasures to auction off. I put the twenty outstanding-grade Dragon Blood Demon Spirits with growth potential that you asked me to sell onto the auction anonymously," Gu Bei said in a low voice. "This is a great chance to unload them."
Hearing this, Nie Li couldn't help but smile. Outstanding-grade Dragon Blood Demon Spirits with growth potential were indeed hard to move under normal circumstances — not only were buyers hard to find, but the transaction could attract unwanted attention. Putting them up at an auction, however, was far less conspicuous.
Still, Nie Li wasn't particularly concerned about how the auction was going. His gaze was sweeping the room, searching for two familiar figures. Had Ziyun and Ning'er come?
Inside the side hall, cups clinked and conversations flowed as the noble disciples and geniuses of the various Great Sects exchanged pleasantries.
The six orthodox Great Sects were currently in an alliance, competing against the Three Dark Sects in the greater world for control of the Divine Pools. To keep that alliance intact, exchanges between the younger generation were essential — nobody wanted the allied sects fighting each other out there.
So every year, the Great Sects paid each other visits.
In the corner of the side hall, a beautiful figure sat quietly. Her features were delicate and refined, like a lotus rising from the water, drawing the attention of many disciples nearby who couldn't help but marvel at just how lovely she was.
"Ning'er, do you think Nie Li and Lu Piao will come?"
"I don't know,"