Strolling down the broad avenues of the Grand Profound Empire, Fang Han couldn't help but feel the aura of a true celestial superpower—an empire worthy of being called the Middle Kingdom of Heaven and Earth. Even as a Fifth Heaven cultivator of the Heaven-and-Man Realm, he felt awe ripple through him. This city felt like a dream carved into stone and spirit.
After wandering for a while, he began to grasp the character of this empire and its people. Everyone here seemed robust, sturdy, brimming with life force. They practiced cultivation arts focused on health and vitality. Most astonishing of all—there were no beggars, no starving citizens, none of the desperate scenes common in other kingdoms. Everyone had food. Everyone had clothing. It was a prosperity that stirred genuine admiration in him.
Even ordinary citizens practiced some level of martial training. Frail-looking young women turned out to be at the third or fourth stage of body refinement. They understood techniques, maneuver, and even the basics of Hard and Soft strength transformation. Wealthier families had members at the Fifth Stage—the Divine Strength Realm.
In the Great Li Dynasty, a body cultivator at the peak of the Divine Strength Realm could become a commanding general, leading thousands into battle, earning titles and lands. Here? They were just average townsfolk.
Even the patrolling soldiers were Seventh Stage—Mighty Warrior Realm—an absurdly high standard for common troops. Clearly, the national quality of this vast empire was on a level unmatched by any other.
Fang Han also knew the reason: the ordinary rice planted by peasants here was a special strain—White Sun Rice, provided by the Supreme One Sect itself. It absorbed the essence of the earth, nourished the body profoundly, and yielded fifty to a hundred times the harvest of normal crops. With such abundance, the empire could feed hundreds of billions without hunger.
And its court was filled with hidden dragons.
In many empires, experts at the Divine Ability Realm could ignore royal authority altogether.
But here? Kings, nobles, ministers—many were Divine Ability cultivators themselves.
If the imperial court were considered a sect, it would rank among the Ten Great Immortal Sects of the world.
As Fang Han walked, the white stone streets gleamed underfoot—wide enough for fifty horse-drawn carriages abreast. The gutters weren't ditches but rivers ten meters wide, crossed by bridges every few hundred paces, like tributaries of a grand imperial palace.
Beyond the bridges were rows of lavish shops, decorated as extravagantly as palaces. Behind them lay sprawling estates and towering buildings. In Longyuan City, a four-story building was considered tall; here, buildings soared dozens of stories high like monumental pagodas.
People bustled everywhere. Above them, cultivators flew freely—wrapped in magical robes or gliding with spiritual tools—like nobles traveling in ornate sedan chairs of other kingdoms. Flying marked you as someone of true strength.
Fang Han wandered for half a day, quietly using Black Emperor's Water Sovereign Fist to probe for the three assassins—Star-Annihilation, Moon-Piercer, and Zhu Xian—but unexpectedly sensed nothing.
Then a colossal building caught his eye.
It occupied an entire street more than ten miles long. Its walls were bright crimson, lined with jade-carved qilin statues taller than men. Guards stood before the entrance wearing bright yellow vests, their presence sharp and formidable. Each one radiated the power of the Tenth Body Refinement Stage—Spirit Transformation Realm. They hadn't reached the point of spiritual sentience, but each possessed the strength of five or six raging warhorses.
What stunned Fang Han further was that the yellow vests themselves were low-grade spiritual artifacts.
This place was anything but ordinary.
Above the entrance hung a massive plaque:
Heavenly Dao Pavilion
The three characters danced with draconic force, emanating a grand, overwhelming presence. Just the aura of the handwriting alone told Fang Han the writer stood above him in cultivation.
The Heavenly Dao Pavilion?
He recalled its description from the Feathered Immortal Gate's The Myriad Worlds Compendium:
A mysterious organization bridging righteous and demonic factions, not aligned with either. They dealt exclusively in high-level treasures—artifacts, pills, heavenly materials. Their influence spanned millennia. And most shockingly—
they possessed a Dao Artifact.
Suddenly—
whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Several streaks of light descended from the sky—Divine Ability cultivators and disciples clad in refined magical robes. They landed before the pavilion and entered respectfully.
Voices drifted through the crowd:
"This is the Heavenly Dao Pavilion's annual Grand Auction—one of the three largest treasure conventions in the empire! Countless magical treasures and pills will be sold."
"I brought all my savings. If I can get a few pieces of Profound-Shadow True Iron, I might finally form my Great Gold Qi…"
"I want a high-grade alchemical furnace."
"I'm hoping for premium Nascent-Infant Pills. Enough for a year. If I can refine my mana for twelve months straight, I may finally break into the Divine Ability Realm…"
Fang Han nodded to himself. So this was a major gathering to trade cultivation treasures. Perfect timing. He needed earth-attuned materials to strengthen his Yellow Emperor's Earth Sovereign Dao.
He stepped forward—only to be blocked.
A guard in yellow vest raised a hand.
"Do you have an invitation? The Grand Auction requires an invitation to enter. Without one, please go back."
"Oh? Even I can't enter?" Fang Han lifted a finger. Daoist force swirled at the tip, forming a tiny rotating formation of pure qi.
The guard staggered back several steps, eyes widening.
"A Heaven-and-Man Realm expert!"
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"Divine Ability Fifth Heaven?"
"A Heaven-and-Man Realm cultivator—those are rare!"
"He must be here to buy high-grade elemental essences for five-element divine arts!"
Common people rarely saw such figures. In the eyes of the crowd, Fang Han was already a lofty master.
"Step aside! I will receive the senior!"
A crisp voice rang out. A woman in a flowing gown rushed forward. Her eyebrows bore a faint green tint, and Fang Han noted she was a Divine Ability cultivator—though only at the First Heaven.
She bowed deeply.
"Senior, I am Greenbrow, a steward disciple of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion. Of course you qualify to attend the auction. Please do not blame the guard for failing to recognize you."
She respectfully handed him an invitation.
The card was pure gold, its lettering forged from cold-iron essence. Waves of magic pulsed faintly from it—this was an artifact in itself, impossible to counterfeit.
"Senior's cultivation places you among our honored guests. Please, allow me to guide you to the VIP chambers."
As they walked, Fang Han praised the pavilion generously.
"I've long heard the Heavenly Dao Pavilion is one of the three great commercial alliances of the Grand Profound Empire, capable of trading even Dao Artifacts. I wonder if the rumors are true?"
Greenbrow shook her head modestly.
"A Dao Artifact is the pinnacle of all treasures—beyond buying or selling. Our pavilion does possess one, but only for stabilizing our fate. It cannot be bought. Outsiders exaggerate."
The admission shocked Fang Han.
So they truly had a Dao Artifact…
Before he could speak, she asked gently,
"May I know where Senior hails from? And what you seek at the auction?"
"I need heavenly materials infused with pure elemental essence. I am cultivating the Five-Element Divine Arts and require significant elemental qi." Fang Han kept his expression cold. "As for my background—I am a solitary cultivator."
"And your currency?" Greenbrow asked, smiling. "The Grand Profound Empire uses the Profound-Yellow Coin among mortals, but the Heavenly Dao Pavilion does not. Our hard currency is the top-tier mortal pill—White Sun Pills."
She continued,
"If Senior has magical treasures or spiritual tools to sell, we can exchange them for White Sun Pills, which you may then use to bid on five-element treasures. For a Heaven-and-Man Realm expert like yourself, we can offer very favorable terms."
Fang Han nodded.
White Sun Pills were indeed valuable—made from White Sun Rice and numerous auxiliary herbs through dozens of elaborate steps.
A single pill could nourish the body for days.
If a Spirit Transformation cultivator with decent talent had proper techniques and consumed a White Sun Pill daily, after twenty to thirty years of relentless cultivation, there was a fifty percent chance they could step into the Divine Ability Realm.
Fang Han's eyes were already deep with calculation.
He was here for earth essence—
and the Heavenly Dao Pavilion was exactly the place to get it.