The Strongest Dandy in the City-Chapter 1253 - 1246: Short on Money! Start Artifact Refining!

After leaving the Fifth-Rank Sect, Hanbing Sect.

Ye Chenfeng and He Ping, along with the others, headed southward. Ye Chenfeng was unfamiliar with the Earth Profound Realm, so he could only slowly learn about it from He Ping and the others. However, He Ping and the rest were previously disciples of the Eighth-Rank Qingyang Sect, so their knowledge of the Earth Profound Realm was also quite limited.

After traveling day and night, Ye Chenfeng and his group took a brief rest in a dense forest. From He Ping and the others, Ye Chenfeng learned that the Earth Profound Realm was vast in area, with countless nations across its domain. Many of these nations depended on powerful sects. In the Earth Profound Realm, the strength of sects far surpassed that of nations. Simply put, nations were essentially subordinate to sects.

The Qingyang Sect, an Eighth-Rank Sect, originally had a small nation under its protection. When a sect acquires a subordinate nation, that nation can help the sect gather various heavenly treasures and resources. In return, the sect is obligated to safeguard the subordinate nation.

Ye Chenfeng sat on a large rock, holding Little Bai in his arms, gently stroking its head. Little Bai shut its eyes, looking utterly content.

He Ping, Huang Chongyi, and Xiang Xiaoyi sat beside Ye Chenfeng. Huang Chongyi asked, "Boss, what are your plans for the future?"

Ye Chenfeng fell silent for a moment before saying, "Work hard to improve my strength. I aim to enter the Yinming Sect within a year and rescue a woman. Another woman of mine was also taken by a sect in the Earth Profound Realm, and I need to find her as soon as possible." Images of Lin Xinyi and Xia Zining flashed in Ye Chenfeng’s mind.

Upon hearing that Ye Chenfeng had come to the Earth Profound Realm for two women, He Ping and the others displayed peculiar smiles on their faces. They naturally knew that Yinming Sect was a Fifth-Rank Sect. But wasn’t Hanbing Sect also a Fifth-Rank Sect? In the end, their boss not only took advantage of Hanbing Sect’s little princess but also walked out of the sect openly. Now, in their eyes, wasn’t a Fifth-Rank Sect nothing to their boss? They believed that their boss would eventually take down the Yinming Sect entirely.

It must be noted that the reason Ye Chenfeng managed to leave Hanbing Sect smoothly was due to two factors: First, Little Bai, the Nine Nether Ice Lion, played a significant role. Second, the evolved Ice Devouring Bug in Ye Chenfeng’s Dantian proved decisive at a critical moment. Without the Ice Devouring Bug, Ye Chenfeng might have truly perished in the Ice Holy Land.

After all, Hanbing Sect’s Sect Master, Ning Batian, was a Reincarnation Realm expert. Even the evolved Ice Devouring Bug couldn’t injure him. Ning Batian endured grudges only because of his daughter and three core elders, forcing him to swallow his humiliation.

Ye Chenfeng’s thoughts turned to Sun Hengfei and Sun Xiaoli. He wasn’t sure if they had been captured by Liu Wuyuan from White Snow Villa. Ye Chenfeng decided he needed to visit White Snow Villa soon.

"He Ping, do you know the precise location of White Snow Villa?" Ye Chenfeng asked.

He Ping nodded and replied, "To get to White Snow Villa, we must pass through Tianyao City. Tianyao City is a city of cultivators, and its City Lord is a Nirvana Realm expert. Even Fifth-Rank Sects, or those above them, dare not stir trouble within Tianyao City. Additionally, there’s a clear regulation in Tianyao City: once inside, no one may engage in physical combat within the city. Violations will lead to severe punishment from the City Lord’s Mansion. Heading to Tianyao City seems like a wise choice as well. Who knows if people from Hanbing Sect might suddenly chase after us? It only takes two days to reach Tianyao City from here."

Since they needed to pass through Tianyao City to get to White Snow Villa, Ye Chenfeng and his group decided their next destination would be Tianyao City.

Two days later.

A majestic city gate appeared in Ye Chenfeng and his companions’ line of sight. Standing at the entrance were two warriors clad in armor. Ye Chenfeng quickly sensed the strength of the warriors—they were at the Peak of Ocean Gathering Realm, Third Level. Even gatekeepers were so powerful, proving Tianyao City’s formidable reputation.

Approaching the city gate, they saw that the notice board nearby said: All entrants must pay one Middle Grade Spirit Stone per person.

Ye Chenfeng had no concept of Spirit Stones, and his Space Ring only contained Earth Flame Crystals. Upon seeing the words on the notice board, He Ping and the others’ expressions grew uneasy. Huang Chongyi grumbled, "Why is entering Tianyao City so expensive? One Middle Grade Spirit Stone per person?"

Huang Chongyi accidentally spoke too loudly, causing the two Ocean Gathering Realm warriors at the city entrance to glare at Ye Chenfeng’s group with unfriendly looks, making Huang Chongyi shudder involuntarily. freeweɓnovel-cøm

He Ping immediately searched through his belongings. After a long search, he finally pulled out five fist-sized, dark-gray stones, which were Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

In the Earth Profound Realm, Spirit Stones are categorized into Lower Grade, Middle Grade, and High Grade. Lower Grade Spirit Stones are brown, Middle Grade Spirit Stones are dark gray, and High Grade Spirit Stones are black. Spirit Stones serve as universal currency and contain concentrated Spiritual Energy, which aids cultivators in their cultivation.

He Ping and the other two were captured and taken to Hanbing Sect by Ning Xuening and other sect disciples, leaving their possessions back at Qingyang Sect. So by now, Qingyang Sect had likely been plundered long ago, and their belongings would no longer be intact. As for the five Middle Grade Spirit Stones He Ping carried, it was only because of his habit of carrying Spirit Stones with him. Without them, Ye Chenfeng and his group would not even be able to enter Tianyao City today.

After He Ping paid four Middle Grade Spirit Stones, Ye Chenfeng and his group smoothly entered Tianyao City. Once inside, Ye Chenfeng sought clarification about the use of Spirit Stones, and he immediately felt destitute—extremely destitute. Back in the Secular World, Ye Chenfeng never needed to worry about money. Just the wealth from his various industries would have been enough for several lifetimes. But here in the Earth Profound Realm, he almost couldn’t afford to enter a single city. Such a fall from grace!

"Boss, this is the first time we’ve come to Tianyao City ourselves. We didn’t expect the entry fee to be one Middle Grade Spirit Stone per person. Back at Qingyang Sect, I only earned three Middle Grade Spirit Stones per year."

"Ah!" He Ping sighed before continuing, "By the way, Boss, I nearly forgot one thing. I heard that when leaving Tianyao City, you must also pay the same amount of Spirit Stones as the entry fee. It seems the rules are consistent."

After hearing He Ping’s remarks, Ye Chenfeng truly felt exasperated. Now that He Ping only had one Middle Grade Spirit Stone left, it seemed they wouldn’t even be able to leave Tianyao City. What an absurd predicament!

The only thought on Ye Chenfeng’s mind now was earning Spirit Stones—lots and lots of them. So he asked, "He Ping, is there any way to earn Spirit Stones?"

He Ping replied, "Boss, earning Spirit Stones is extremely challenging. Only Artifact Refiners, for example, can craft various Magic Artifacts and auction them to earn fair sums quickly and efficiently."

"He Ping, have you forgotten that our boss is an Artifact Refiner? There must be an auction house in Tianyao City," Huang Chongyi exclaimed excitedly.

To be honest, Ye Chenfeng knew next to nothing about Artifact Refining. However, the shadowy figure Jiang Yuntian had mentioned that Ye Chenfeng should be able to easily craft storage rings. So Ye Chenfeng asked, "If I crafted storage rings, what price could they fetch at an auction?"

"Boss, storage rings can only be crafted by two Artifact Refiners within the Refining Sect. The Refining Sect exclusively supplies storage rings to Sixth-Rank Sects and above, in limited quantities. Thus, storage rings never appear at auctions. If you truly managed to craft storage rings, they would surely fetch an astronomical price at auction." He Ping trembled with excitement, seemingly envisioning mountains of Spirit Stones before him.

...(to be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)