Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Shortly after, Zhao Sheng entered the living room and met with Zhou Yingze.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Yingze broached the main subject and asked, "Taoist Zhao, what brings you here today?"

Zhao Sheng first took a good look at Zhou Yingze.

Zhou Yingze had a striking appearance, with a pair of molten gold red eyes that exuded an imposing aura even without anger. Coupled with his high and profound cultivation at Foundation Establishment Perfection, his whole presence seemed as unfathomable as a mountain standing at the edge of an abyss.

Although Zhao Sheng held resentment towards the Zhou family, he couldn't help but silently praise, "This man is truly worthy of being a ruler of this territory, possessing quite the ambition and spirit."

Zhao Sheng bowed his hands and said, "Brother Zhou, I have come to bid farewell!"

Zhou Yingze's gaze sharpened, "Hmm? Taoist Zhao, why do you say so? Has my Zhou family wronged you in any way?"

Zhao Sheng smiled and waved his hand, "Brother Zhou misunderstands! The Zhou family has treated me as an honored guest, and I am deeply moved. My visit today is not to resign from the position of Guest Elder, but to return to my hometown to visit old friends. It won't take long, at most a year or two before I return."

Zhou Yingze relaxed inwardly and said with a smile, "I see, that eases my mind.

When you set off for home, I will definitely present a generous gift!"

Zhao Sheng immediately refused, "There's no need! Brother Zhou's heart intent, I have fully appreciated! But the spiritual salary provided by the Zhou family is already quite generous, and I should not accept more, otherwise I would feel uneasy."

Zhou Yingze insisted on giving, but Zhao Sheng adamantly refused.

After several rounds, seeing Zhao Sheng's sincere attitude, Zhou Yingze was very satisfied and thus did not persist any further.

After chatting leisurely for a while, Zhao Sheng suggested leaving, and Zhou Yingze, busy with countless affairs, did not detain him.

Moments later, Zhou Yingze personally escorted Zhao Sheng to the door and watched him fly away on his sword before returning to the mansion.

Three days later, after saying goodbye to Zhou Zhongyu and others, Zhao Sheng maneuvered his Cloud Boat and left Zhou City.

Once past the boundary of Hongyang State, the Cloud Boat suddenly took a sharp turn, pierce through the sky full of wind and sand, and flew toward the southeast with difficulty.

That was where Yongjing was located!

...

Yongjing, Wanbao Square.

The Ten Thousand Treasure Auction House was extremely large, with numerous buildings occupying most of Wanbao Square. Just the shops responsible for receiving the consignment of cultivators' treasures numbered nearly a hundred, forming a Treasure Street.

Treasure Street was bustling with people every day, with a constant stream of people coming and going, and busy crowds moving in and out of the shops on both sides of the street.

Arriving at Treasure Street, Zhao Sheng entered one of the most lavishly decorated shops.

Once inside, an alert servant quickly came up with a smile, "Esteemed senior, do you have a treasure to consign for auction?"

Zhao Sheng grunted affirmatively and said, "Hmm, I have a Spiritual Artifact that I wish to consign! Find me a Second Order Treasure Appraiser."

At the Ten Thousand Treasure Auction House, there were Treasure Appraisers specifically tasked with verifying the authenticity of treasures and estimating their prices.

Depending on the value of the treasures, these appraisers were divided into several different levels.

A Second Order Treasure Appraiser corresponded to Second Order treasures, such as Second Order spirit pills, True Talismans, Spiritual Artifacts, Arrays, and so on.

Hearing it was a Spiritual Artifact, the servant did not dare to delay, quickly leading Zhao Sheng to the back courtyard, into an elegant room.

Sitting behind a table to the north of the room was an elderly man with a spirited and sharp gaze.

After the servant reported the situation and withdrew, the elderly man's eyes flashed, and looking at the seated Zhao Sheng, he asked, "Senior, may this old man take a look at your Spiritual Artifact that you wish to consign?" Your journey continues with empire

Zhao Sheng nodded, took out a dark and small seal from his Storage Bag, and placed it on the table.

The Small Mountain Seal was a low-grade Spiritual Artifact, and since Zhao Sheng had advanced to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, it had become somewhat inadequate for him.

Zhao Sheng had come to the Ten Thousand Treasure Auction House this time both to use the Small Mountain Seal as a prop and to conveniently sell it off.

Some might have guessed.

The main purpose of Zhao Sheng's visit today was not to consign treasures for auction, but to make an "appearance."

In order to attract the attention of certain individuals, he had deliberately reverted to his appearance and attire from two years earlier.

Before long, the Treasure Appraiser confirmed the rank and condition of the Small Mountain Seal, and casually offered an estimated price.

Zhao Sheng nodded indifferently and agreed to send the Small Mountain Seal for consignment.

After the two of them had agreed on some finer details of the auction, Zhao Sheng left the shop.

He didn't linger there and quickly left Treasure Street.

The next day, Zhao Sheng suddenly appeared at an auction and bought most of the items on offer, creating quite a stir on the spot.

Two days later, he appeared on Treasure Street again, entering and exiting several shops in succession, consigning three or four treasures.

Five days later, a special auction for talismans ended, and Zhao Sheng walked out of the venue.

He hadn't gone far when suddenly he grunted, his figure staggered, and he came to an abrupt stop.

Zhao Sheng's heart shook, and he looked up to see a bald old man with a smoking pipe about ten paces away, smilingly gazing at him.

Feeling a tremendous oppressive force firmly suppressing his Spiritual Power within his body, Zhao Sheng felt not fear but joy and thought to himself, "That was quick!"

Although he was "walking into a trap," he still had to play his part in this performance.

With a look of terror, Zhao Sheng faced the unfamiliar Golden Core Master and tried to remain calm, "The True Immortal sees clearly, I have never met the True Immortal before and do not know how I might have offended you?"

The bald old man took a few puffs of his pipe, exhaled a purple smoke ring, and said indifferently, "You haven't offended me! But someone wants to see you. They were just afraid you'd run, so they asked me to step in. Are you going to come willingly, or do we need to beat you half to death first?"

After hearing this, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but bitterly smile, then promptly nodded in recognition of the situation, "Junior will follow the True Immortal!"

"Hmm, you have some sense. Let's go."

As soon as those words fell, Zhao Sheng felt lightened, the whistling of wind in his ears, and all he could see was a swirl of purple smoke.

Shortly after, when the smoke in front of Zhao Sheng dissipated and he could see the outside world, his spirits lifted; the building before him was very familiar—it was the Black Ice Platform of the Five Weapon Square.

Moments later, Zhao Sheng was led to a dark, enclosed underground chamber with no daylight.

At this time, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, who would instantly blend into a crowd, was inside the chamber.

Looking at the middle-aged man dressed in black, Zhao Sheng's eyes twitched slightly, the murderous aura emanating from this person was the heaviest he had ever witnessed in his life. More importantly, this person was indeed a true Golden Core Master.

Because behind him, the Void was an absolute darkness that not even light could escape.

And within this darkness, there "sprouted" a dense cluster of blood-red eyes,

These eyes, the size of glass beads, all stared intently at him, with each gaze filled with naked killing intent.

As Zhao Sheng was enveloped by the endless killing intent and his body instinctively trembled slightly, the middle-aged man spoke: "Name?"

Just two words, but they sounded in Zhao Sheng's ears like thunderous Tribulation Swords, or like the clash of golden spears and iron horses, with a thick stench of blood emanating from the voice.

That instant, the twin blood-red eyes within the Golden Core Phenomenon brightened significantly, and an unknown terror suddenly descended upon him.

In this moment, Zhao Sheng instinctively knew he could not lie in front of this man.

"Zhao Zhiqin!"