Lin Chen stood in the Reception Plaza of the Upper City District.

Looking at everything around him, his heart was greatly shaken.

The feeling that Wenda City gave him, it seemed as if it should not exist in the human realm but be a celestial city above.

Wenda City is divided into three layers, with an overall pyramid shape.

The first layer is the Lower City District, elevated with numerous mortals coming and going...

Here live the descendants and families of cultivators, who, despite having mortal bodies, are engaged in the business of trading cultivator resources.

Because you never know, a seemingly inconspicuous old man might have an ancestor who was a Golden Core Cultivator... or even a Nascent Soul True Man! 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The second layer is where the cultivators live, the Upper City District.

Like the Three Cities of Wendao, Wenda City is also divided into four major marketplaces: east, west, south, and north.

The number of cultivators living in this Upper City District might be in the hundreds of thousands!

As for the topmost part, forming the upper structure of the pyramid, is the three thousand zhang high Wenda Mountain.

This mountain is suspended directly above the Upper City District, thousands of zhangs in the sky.

It is divided into thirty-three regions, with spiritual energy growing more intense as you go up.

The lower eleven levels, with thousands of caves, are open to the public.

As long as one has enough Spirit Stones, one can rent a cave, enjoying abundant spiritual energy and the protection of the Wenda Sect...

In the land of Qing State, as long as the Wenda Sect does not wish harm, a cave residence in Wenda Mountain is absolutely safe.

The middle eleven levels see a further upgrade in spiritual energy, reaching the level of "Blessed Land."

These eleven levels host seventy-two Blessed Lands and thirty-six Caves of Heaven, likewise available for rent.

But only true big shots, such as some Nascent Soul Old Monster, or the Tributors of the Wenda Sect are eligible to live here.

As for the topmost eleven levels, they are the location of the Wenda Sect’s headquarters.

The divisions of Pill Array Artifact Talisman and others... and tens of thousands of Wenda Sect disciples and elders all live here.

This is the entire structure of the Wenda Sect.

With tens of millions of mortals and hundreds of thousands of cultivators providing sources to the Wenda Sect endlessly...

Even relying solely on this city, the Wenda Sect’s position as the hegemon of Qing State cannot be shaken!

"Wenda Sect, the top power of Qing State... If I could cultivate peacefully in this city, it would be a great benefit!"

Lin Chen quietly thought to himself.

He looked up towards Wenda Mountain overhead, thinking about whether he could rent a cave on the mountain.

Not demanding the middle eleven levels’ "seventy-two Blessed Lands, thirty-six Caves of Heaven."

Even just an ordinary cave in the lower eleven levels would greatly aid in cultivation.

"However, a permanent residence certificate of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones... is merely equivalent to touching the threshold."

"Wenda City is vast, not easy to reside in for long..."

Lin Chen slightly shook his head, he had inquired about the prices for the caves on Wenda Mountain.

The cheapest cave costs more than fifty thousand Spirit Stones a year, truly a land where every inch costs gold.

Comparatively, the residences for cultivators in the Upper City District are cheaper, costing less than ten thousand Spirit Stones a year.

But neither privacy nor safety can compare to that of a cave.

As for those one hundred and eight places of Blessed Lands and Caves of Heaven, besides requiring a large sum of Spirit Stones, identity and status are also needed.

Or, one must have made outstanding contributions to the Wenda Sect to have the qualification to purchase.

...

Lin Chen found a pretty well-located inn in West City and walked inside.

"Shopkeeper, I’d like a superior room."

The shopkeeper of this inn was a very prosperous-looking middle-aged man, with a cultivation level approximately at the late period of Foundation Establishment.

The shopkeeper nodded and said:

"Superior rooms in the inn cost ten Spirit Stones a day. How many days would the fellow cultivator like to stay?"

Upon hearing the price, Lin Chen sighed inwardly.

"This Wenda City really is a place where every inch costs gold; staying one month in an inn costs three hundred Spirit Stones... It seems in the future it would be more practical to rent a residence."

"However, time is tight today, will have to find a residence when there’s time later..."

"This inn’s shopkeeper has only late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, yet he can open an inn in Wenda City, so his ancestors are certainly at least Golden Core level cultivators..."

The shopkeeper saw Lin Chen not speaking for quite some time, thinking Lin Chen found the price expensive, and then said:

"Fellow cultivator, our superior room has a Spirit Gathering Array set up within, making the spiritual energy several times more abundant than ordinary rooms, and it also has soundproofing and Divine Sense isolation arrays, ensuring no one can spy on the privacy of the fellow cultivator."

"Of course, if the fellow cultivator feels the price is high. We also have standard guest rooms, costing only three Spirit Stones a day."

Lin Chen shook his head, taking out one hundred Spirit Stones and said:

"It’s not necessary, first I’ll take a superior room for ten days."

"By the way, shopkeeper, is there a place in the city where one can buy a residence?"

The fat shopkeeper accepted the Spirit Stones with a smile and said:

"Fellow cultivator is new to the Wenda City?"

"The trade in North City of Wenda City is most varied, besides gambling dens and places of pleasure, there are also quite a few brokerages."

"If the fellow cultivator wants to buy a desired residence, you could go north of the city to check out the brokerages."

Lin Chen nodded after hearing this, the layout of Wenda City was roughly similar to Human Path City.

"Thanks very much, shopkeeper."

Lin Chen cupped his hands in acknowledgment, heading towards the room upstairs.

Upon entering the room, Lin Chen released his Divine Sense to check around.

Only after confirming the room hadn’t been tampered with did he settle in.

"Ah, indeed the spiritual energy in this superior room is richer, and the secrecy is strong..."

Lin Chen nodded in acknowledgment, this guest room charging ten Spirit Stones a day was fairly worth it.

"But the inn is not a long-term solution, so tomorrow I’ll visit the brokerage to see if I can buy a mansion in the Upper City District..."

Lin Chen estimated that, in the short term, he wouldn’t be able to buy a cave residence on Wenda Mountain.

However, purchasing real estate in the Cultivation Realm is considered an investment.

Hmm, perhaps it’s somewhat like buying a school district house on Blue Star?

The mansions in the Upper City District are richer in Spiritual Energy, greatly benefiting cultivation. I should buy one, just in case it proves useful in the future.

"Within Wenda City, it is indeed safe... but a cultivator cannot live peacefully forever."

"Perhaps... it’s time to expand the underground safehouse plan a bit?"

Lin Chen thought silently.

But Changchun Mountain is really too far from Wenda City, spanning almost half of Qing State, nearly two hundred thousand miles in radius.

Even though Lin Chen is now a Late Period Golden Core Cultivator, enhancing the efficiency of his Earth Escape Technique significantly.

It would still take about twenty years to dig from Wenda City back to Changchun Mountain.

Is twenty years a long time?

For a cultivator, it’s obviously not long.

But the problem is, Lin Chen estimated he would have already reached Nascent Soul by then...

Once he reaches Nascent Soul, he could dig out the underground safehouses from Wenda City to Changchun Sect.

By then, the area covering tens of thousands of miles would be considered safe for Lin Chen.

"Let’s set a small goal first, to dig a thousand underground safehouses... ideally, the entire underground of Qing State should be filled with safehouses, only then can one be invincible."

Lin Chen murmured.

"The preparation for breaking through to Nascent Soul is almost complete; as long as my cultivation reaches the perfection of the Nine Revolutions Golden Core, I can break through at any time..."

"However, the Three Nascent Soul Gates are not easy to pass!"

In Yanlai Country, after all, it is a small sect, and Lin Chen knows too little about Nascent Soul.

But fortunately, the exploration of the Golden Yuan Sect’s ruins left Lin Chen with a valuable fortune.

At least until he reaches Divinity Transformation, Lin Chen doesn’t have to worry too much.

One night of cultivation.

...

The next morning, Lin Chen went to the North City’s brokerage.

He spent twenty thousand Spirit Stones to rent a four-courtyard mansion in the Upper City District, situated in a prime location.

This mansion is located at the intersection of the four districts, where the Spiritual Energy is most abundant, and the surroundings are relatively quiet, equipped with a small Spirit Gathering Array, making it quite suitable for seclusion.

Twenty thousand Spirit Stones are not enough to buy this mansion permanently.

It only suffices to rent it for a hundred years, but for Lin Chen, that’s enough.

After purchasing the mansion, Lin Chen moved in directly.

He first set up a Defense Array and an array to block Divine Sense detection, and after confirming that the mansion had not been tampered with, he settled in with peace of mind.

Having bought a permanent residence certificate and owning his mansion, Lin Chen finally gained a foothold in Wenda City.

In the following days, the neighboring cultivators all heard that a Golden Core Cultivator had moved into the grand four-courtyard mansion.

Many cultivators came to visit.

Lin Chen mostly declined them politely, but he got to know some cultivators.

Afterward, Lin Chen traded within Wenda City, sold many magical treasures, and purchased a large batch of equipment and rare herbal seeds.

...

In the blink of an eye, another half-month passed.

On this day, Lin Chen stayed in the mansion, watching the intelligence brought by the Martial Arts Puppet on the projection.

"Unknowingly, it’s been almost four months since I left the Righteous Alliance!"

"The pills and magical treasures needed for forming the Nascent Soul are almost ready..."

"As for the situation with the Demon Sect and the Righteous Alliance..."

Lin Chen frowned slightly.

In these four months, although he was not within the Righteous Alliance, thanks to more than a hundred reconnaissance puppets, he had a general understanding of the situation in the eastern Qing State.

Since the Righteous Alliance retreated to Wudu, the Demon Sect quickly seized Qinghe and Lingxuan cities.

And rapidly gathered a large number of cultivators, like a tiger among sheep, occupying over half of the northern Fog Country.

Seeing the number of demon cultivators displayed in the intelligence, a look of confusion appeared in Lin Chen’s eyes.

"Strange, how does the Demon Sect still have so many Foundation Establishment Cultivators... and even more Golden Core Cultivators?"

"In the previous battles, clearly many demon cultivators had died. Plus, with the nuclear peace devices I planted in the two cities... the Demon Sect shouldn’t have been able to recover so quickly."

Lin Chen stroked his chin, feeling something was off.

According to the intelligence, in just a few months, the Demon Sect had gained hundreds more Foundation Establishment Cultivators again.

And started wide-scale invasions of mortal cities, blood-sacrificing several towns.

And within the Fog Country, mortals began migrating en masse to the southern part of the country.

The entire northern border of the Fog Country was littered with corpses and utterly barren...

"In just a few months, hundreds of Foundation Establishment demon cultivators emerged..."

"There are only two possibilities: first, the Demon Sect is very well-hidden, with another batch of demon cultivators in hiding, who haven’t acted yet..."

Lin Chen shook his head, thinking this first possibility was unlikely.

In the wars of previous years, the Demon Sect and the Righteous Alliance were locked in conflict to such an extent.

If the Demon Sect had indeed hidden some cultivators, they wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses.

Moreover, the ongoing war between the Orthodox and Demonic Party gave Lin Chen the impression of... a war for war’s sake!

Seemingly without any purpose!

"Then, there’s only the second possibility."

"That being, the Demon Sect must have support from other forces, considering the appearance of those thirty Golden Core cultivators earlier..."