Though Lan Xiaobu desperately wanted to slap this bastard Fang Zhifan dead and crack open his world right then and there, he still had his wits about him. If he charged in now, it might not be Fang Zhifan who died—he could end up dying even faster.
With his current strength, he could handle a Second-Turn Saint. Against a Third-Turn Saint, he might just barely manage. But facing a Fourth-Turn or even a Fifth-Turn Saint? He wasn’t sure he could even escape. The key problem was that he’d never encountered a Fourth- or Fifth-Turn Saint and had no idea what kind of power they wielded.
The more he wanted to kill Fang Zhifan, the calmer he had to stay.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t follow Fang Zhifan. As long as Fang Zhifan remained on Saint Island, that was enough. Right now, he needed to focus on boosting his strength quickly.
No matter what, if he could step into the ranks of First-Turn Saints, he was confident he could take Fang Zhifan down in the golden Sacred Dao City.
Originally, Lan Xiaobu respected places with rules—without rules, there’d be no order. The cultivation world revered the strong largely because it lacked restraints. Look at Fang Zhifan, casually unleashing grand curse techniques to slaughter countless cultivators, or those practicing grand star techniques, triggering realm-wide calamities.
That’s why he’d wanted to establish a Dao Court—to suppress these things with overwhelming force and create a stable environment.
Saint Island’s rules were also about the strong reigning supreme. Fighting here meant death, no matter the circumstances. Whether you were right or wrong, whether someone attacked you first, even if you stood there with your eyes closed and didn’t fight back—as long as you were part of the conflict, you’d be killed. Rules like that were, frankly, pretty disgusting.
Lan Xiaobu was curious: if he became a First-Turn Saint and killed Fang Zhifan, how would the Mad Saint and Tree Saint punish him for breaking the rules?
He headed to a cave mansion rental shop not far from the general store.
The city had plenty of places renting or selling cave mansions. With a sweep of his divine sense, Lan Xiaobu spotted at least seven or eight shops nearby. There might’ve been more out of sight.
The shop he chose wasn’t large. He picked it because he sensed its location was prime. Though small, it faintly exuded the aura of a hub, drawing in surrounding fortune and heaven-and-earth vitality.
Stepping inside, Lan Xiaobu’s heart skipped a beat. He instantly decided he’d rent or buy this place at any cost and cultivate here.
This shop was undoubtedly one of the best spots on Saint Island for cultivation, just as he’d sensed—endless divine spiritual qi swept in effortlessly. This qi seemed a step above chaotic divine spiritual qi, almost as if…
Lan Xiaobu hardly dared to think it, but the spiritual qi here seemed to carry the aura of a universe’s creation.
Beyond that, it was a place where the rules of heaven and earth were clearest. How could the fortune here be anything less than extraordinary?
“Is the shop owner here?” Lan Xiaobu called out, resolved to secure this place no matter what.
“Looking to rent a cave mansion?” A voice tinged with coldness replied as a black-clad woman abruptly appeared before him.
Lan Xiaobu was a Quasi-Saint powerhouse, yet he hadn’t sensed how she’d appeared. It was as if she’d always been there, just unseen. He was 100% certain she hadn’t been there before, and her arrival caused no spatial ripples—a skill that utterly outclassed him.
She seemed like a rule itself, slipping in unnoticed, like darkness descending silently.
When Lan Xiaobu’s gaze landed on her, a cold sweat broke out down his back.
In that moment, he was almost certain she was a Saint above the Seventh Turn. Against a Fifth-Turn Saint, he might escape. But a Seventh-Turn Saint—one who could appear before him soundlessly? He had no confidence he could get away. Saint Island wasn’t just teeming with powerhouses—it was downright terrifying. He wondered if the Mad Saint and Tree Saint knew a Seventh-Turn Saint was on their island.
“Yes, I want to rent a cave mansion—the best one,” Lan Xiaobu said boldly. At this point, he didn’t dare suggest taking her shop. Though the sweat on his back hadn’t dried, he forced himself to stay calm.
He absolutely couldn’t let her see his fear or hesitation.
This woman’s cultivation technique was extraordinary—downright frightening. As he spoke, Lan Xiaobu had his Cosmic Dimension Model start mapping the spatial structure of this area. He didn’t dare probe with his divine sense, but he trusted the model could figure it out.
The black-clad woman didn’t even glance at him. With a wave of her hand, a clear price list appeared before him.
Lan Xiaobu’s eyes fell on it, and when he saw the prices, he sucked in a cold breath.
The cheapest cave mansion cost one high-grade divine spirit vein per month—twelve for a year. The best ones were priced in supreme-grade divine spirit veins—one per month, twelve for a year.
Forget him—even Min wouldn’t be able to afford this place.
“So, which cave mansion do you want?” Her tone was calm, but Lan Xiaobu sensed a hint of impatience.
He frowned. “I want the best one, but I don’t have that many supreme-grade veins. I’ve got a chaotic divine spirit vein—would that rent it for a hundred years?”
He wasn’t sure of a chaotic vein’s value. A hundred years was his opening bid—if she agreed to fifty, he’d take it instantly. He didn’t haggle further because he didn’t dare.
“You have a chaotic divine spirit vein?” Her voice carried a trace of excitement, clearly intrigued by it.
“Yes, I do have one. Would you rent me the best cave mansion for a hundred years with it?” Lan Xiaobu said coolly.
“Deal.” She waved away the price list and tossed him a jade token. “This is the activation token for the cave. Give me the vein, take the token, and head over.”
She clearly wasn’t worried about him reneging—or knew he wouldn’t dare.
Lan Xiaobu snatched the token and tossed her a ring.
She caught it, swept it with her divine sense, and, seeing the chaotic divine spirit vein inside, seemed to let out a long breath.
“It’s fine. You can go,” she said, her tone icy as she pocketed the ring.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t waste words. He took the token and stepped out of the small rental shop. After walking a good distance, he looked back with his divine sense—the shop he’d just been in seemed to have vanished.
Incredible, he thought, awestruck. She’d likely gotten her chaotic vein and gone into seclusion. When she emerged, she’d resume renting out cave mansions. To make her shop appear and disappear at will in a city full of Saints—how powerful was she?
Glancing at the Cosmic Dimension Model’s progress, he knew he’d soon have answers. Once it finished mapping the spatial structure of her shop, he’d get a rough idea of her cultivation technique, even if not the specifics.
The token guided him with a route. Following it, he soon reached the edge of the golden Sacred Dao City.
The farther he went, the worse his expression became. He suspected the black-clad woman had ripped him off. The city’s centre, with its clear dao laws, dense fortune, and potent cultivation benefits, was obviously prime real estate. Where was he now? He’d walked a fair distance and only seen a handful of cave mansions.
After another half-incense stick’s worth of walking, he finally reached the cave he’d rented. Without the token, he’d never have known there was a cave here, even standing right in front of it.
Activating the token, the space before him rippled, and an array gate appeared.
Stepping through, Lan Xiaobu was instantly elated. This place was no worse than the woman’s shop—clear dao laws, distinct heaven-and-earth rules, gathered fortune…
Most crucially, it too carried that aura of a universe’s creation.
Something wasn’t right. This spot should be better than her shop. So why rent this out and cultivate in the shop instead?
He quickly figured it out. She wanted to rent cave mansions where there were people. If her shop were here, it’d be a miracle if she rented anything.
Lan Xiaobu hurriedly set up protective arrays—defensive ones, trap-kill arrays, illusion arrays, concealment arrays…
Every array he could think of, he deployed here.
This was a den of ruthless powerhouses—one slip, and someone could sneak in. Sure, the rules forbade fighting, with violators killed regardless of fault.
But Lan Xiaobu reckoned those rules were for the weak. If that black-clad woman killed him, would the island’s rules touch her? And if there were more Seventh-Turn Saints besides her, one could sneak in, snap his neck, and who’d know?
Once everything was set, Lan Xiaobu prepared to embed a chaotic divine spirit vein and take out some divine essence pills for seclusion. Just then, he sensed the Cosmic Dimension Model had finished mapping the spatial structure from the woman’s shop. His divine sense landed on it, and his eyes widened.
Darkness rules? That black-clad woman was a powerhouse cultivating the rules of darkness.
