Northern Holy City
The ancient city is magnificent, like a dragon lying horizontally, stretching endlessly, as if cast from molten iron, shimmering with metallic luster.
Within the Holy City, numerous forces are intertwined, and the strongholds of various holy lands and major religions are all located here.
Furthermore, the Holy City is a place where hidden talents abound. Legendary powerful figures, cultivators, and royalty from the Central Plains, and giants from the Northern Region all gather here and spend their days in the Dushifang.
Nangong Zheng strode directly into this legendary divine city.
It must be said that the Holy City is very luxurious, with not only the Demon King Pavilion and the Holy Lord's Palace, but also gambling stone workshops and the Land of Wind and Cloud.
The Holy City is still bustling, but it's not as lively as it used to be. It's likely that many people have gone to the Southern Region and been attracted by the Bronze Immortal Palace.
Nangong Zheng did not linger in the bustling area but went straight to the Shifang District.
In his view, nothing was more important than extending his lifespan!
He walked straight towards the stone archway of the Dao Yi Holy Land!
Because he remembered that the Emperor's humanoid elixir of immortality appeared in the stone workshop of Dao Yi Realm.
Dao Yi Stone Archway, with its towering ancient trees casting large patches of shade, offers a touch of simplicity amidst the luxurious city.
Many people pass by the stone archway, but there is no noise; instead, it is peaceful and natural, giving people a sense of returning to simplicity.
When Nangong Zheng arrived, many people's eyes were inevitably drawn to him.
Because of his handsome appearance and extraordinary temperament, he attracted a lot of attention, and people couldn't help but speculate about his identity.
Nangong Zheng did not linger in the outer stone garden but went directly to the innermost stone garden.
The deepest stone garden is the Heavenly Stone Garden.
The Tianzihao Stone Garden is filled with incredibly expensive stones; a single stone can be worth a thousand jin of Yuan. Young people rarely visit, and only elders with extraordinary backgrounds frequent the market.
This place is guarded by experts, and ordinary people cannot enter; only those who select stones are allowed to enter.
Inside the garden, an old Taoist nun sat cross-legged on a futon, motionless. Several other elderly people were also talking in hushed tones. They all had white hair and youthful faces, with a restrained spiritual light, and were selecting stones. They all seemed to be extraordinary people.
Nangong Zheng noticed that all the elderly people were at the Saint Lord level. Of course, Nangong Zheng did not recognize those people in his memory.
When Nangong Zheng entered, the old Taoist nun seemed to sense something and actually opened her eyes.
"Senior Nangong Zheng, it's you!" the female Taoist nun said, and immediately stood up to greet him personally.
The old men all looked surprised, clearly having heard of Nangong Zheng's reputation as a top expert among the Eastern Wilderness human race!
"I've come here to cut stones!" Nangong Zheng smiled gently, his appearance dignified and serene, like a deity or Buddha holding a flower.
"Senior Nangong, please!" A strange light appeared in the female Taoist nun's eyes as she patiently introduced some stone materials to Nangong Zheng.
The old men looked somewhat indignant. They were all Holy Lords, so why was there such a big difference in their treatment? When they arrived here, the female Taoist nun hadn't paid much attention to them.
Nangong listened attentively to the female Taoist nun's introduction, nodding occasionally. The nun's explanation was very detailed, giving him a better understanding of the place.
As he scanned the surrounding stones, he was quickly drawn to a very large one.
The stone was very tall, about the height of a person, but the price was not outrageous, worth about three thousand catties of Yuan. For Nangong Zheng, this amount of Yuan was nothing.
He pondered silently and realized that this stone material seemed to match the one recorded in "Covering the Sky" that sealed the immortal elixir of the humanoid Emperor.
"I choose this one!"
Nangong Zheng pointed at the divine stone, which was as tall as a person, and then casually picked out two more stones, paying for tens of thousands of catties of pure source.
Then, Nangong Zheng gestured to Master Yuan in the stone workshop to cut the stone.
Inside the stone archway, the female Taoist nun and several old holy masters were drawn to it.
Master Yuan nodded and began cutting the stone, slowly peeling off the outer layer.
The first stone was quickly cut open, and as soon as it was cut, an intoxicating fragrance wafted out, like orchids and musk, refreshing and intoxicating to the very core.
"What is this?" Everyone was shocked, not expecting that such a good thing would be cut from the very first stone.
Master Yuan peeled off the stone skin, revealing a pink fruit that was about half the size of a fist.
"It's actually the Human Essence Fruit!" Everyone was shocked.
The Human Essence Fruit is a divine medicine for prolonging life. If it were in the hands of a master alchemist, it could be refined into a divine pill. If it fell into the hands of the old Holy Lord, it would be enough to extend his life by fifty to one hundred years.
Nangong was overjoyed. He hadn't expected such an unexpected gain. Among the stones he had casually picked up, there was actually a Human Yuan Fruit!
Ordinary elixirs are basically useless to the Holy Lord; only this kind of thing can help someone of Nangong Zheng's level!
At that moment, Nangong Zheng took out a jade bottle and put the pink Human Essence Fruit inside.
The old Holy Lords all looked on with fervor. This thing was too precious; to them, it was priceless.
"Fellow Daoist, could you part with it?!" Several old Holy Lords' eyes shone brightly, their expressions burning with fervor, and they immediately surrounded them.
"On behalf of the Palace of Illusion, I wish to purchase this celestial treasure!"
"Fellow Daoist, I come from the Myriad Tribulations Sect!"
"Fellow Daoist Nangong…"
Several old holy masters introduced themselves and offered their conditions, all wanting to buy the Human Yuan Fruit.
"I'm sorry, this item is of great use to me, and I don't intend to part with it!" Nangong Zheng said calmly, refusing without any politeness. This was his life-extending artifact; how could he possibly part with it?
The old men, including the Holy Lord, were somewhat unwilling, but also quite helpless. The other party was determined and remained unmoved by any of their proposals.
"Please continue cutting the stone!" Nangong Zheng said calmly.
Master Yuan nodded and continued cutting the stone, but unfortunately, there was nothing in the second stone.
In contrast, Nangong Zheng didn't care, since obtaining the Human Essence Fruit was already an unexpected surprise!
Next, Master Yuan started cutting the last piece of stone, a piece as tall as a person!
"The elixir of immortality in human form should be inside this stone!" Nangong Zheng's eyes flashed, his expression full of anticipation and eagerness.
Immediately, Nangong Zheng began cutting the stone. Soon, a dazzling light shot out, followed by a beam that arched into the sky.
"My God, what is that?!"
"It looks like a human figure. Did someone fly out of the stone?!"
"A fairy descends from the stone!"
Several old holy masters were dumbfounded, looking at everything before them in disbelief. Generally speaking, only when a peerless treasure is cut out could such a strange phenomenon occur.
Immediately, Nangong Zheng took action, using his great magical power to seal the area and prevent the divine object from escaping!
"Keep cutting!" Nangong Zheng instructed Master Yuan to cut the stone without changing his expression.
Master Yuan was very excited; his body even trembled. He longed for this kind of sight when cutting stone. He then peeled away the layers of stone skin, and soon, he actually cut out a piece of exotic source, the Ice and Snow Source.
Everyone knew that there must be something inside, because although the source of ice and snow was precious, it could not create the scene of a fairy flying in the stone!
Soon, the sealed object in the Ice and Snow Source came into view. Inside was a plant, emitting a faint, incredibly mysterious fragrance.
"What a pity!"
"How could this be!"
Everyone was greatly disappointed because it was not a complete plant, missing the crucial plant parts.
"The Emperor's humanoid elixir of immortality!" Nangong Zheng's eyes flickered slightly.
His heart burned with excitement. In his eyes, the humanoid immortal elixir of the Emperor was even more valuable than the Qilin seed. After all, throughout history, there was only one humanoid immortal elixir, which could perhaps be called the number one immortal medicine in all of history!
Before anyone could examine it closely, Nangong Zheng put it away.
Nangong Zheng understood perfectly. These old guys were all Saint Lord-level figures. If they continued to watch, they would most likely realize that it was a divine medicine. He did not want the whole world to know, so he put it away before everyone could react and forcibly interrupted the spell.
In this world, divine medicines are nowhere to be found, and even the holy lands cannot find them. If others were to learn that he possesses a divine medicine, even if it is incomplete, it would likely arouse their covetousness, which is not the outcome he desires.
"Let's refine the Human Essence Fruit first!" Nangong Zheng made up his mind to first increase his lifespan.
Having obtained the Emperor's elixir of immortality in human form, we'll postpone acquiring the Qilin seed for now. We'll refine the Human Essence Fruit first to avoid causing a major disturbance.
He plans to find a place to refine his essence and go into seclusion!
Immediately, he left the divine city.
After traveling thousands of miles, he discovered that he was being watched by several people; several terrifying auras had locked onto him...