Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

In the quiet room, Wang Chen slowly opened his eyes.

Having perfected the Great Circulation Heavenly Merit, his body was now full of mana, and his eyes shone with divine light.

Wang Chen stood up and left the quiet room for the outer chamber.

By now, it was broad daylight, and the morning sun was shining on the peaceful courtyard where the dew on the green grass and vines had yet to evaporate.

In a corner of the wall, a solitary purple orchid bloomed in serene splendor.

Wang Chen took a deep breath and felt utterly refreshed!

Today was his third day residing in West Sea City.

Three days ago, guided by a Reception Disciple, Wang Chen arrived at this Inner Sect Immortal City of the West Sea Sect, completed the procedures for joining, and was then assigned this house to live in.

The house was small, but complete with all necessities: courtyard, living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and quiet room, all included. Though situated at the edge, it offered direct views of the vast and misty West Sea just outside the door.

With the sea before the house and flowers blooming in spring, it was truly a seaside room with a view!

Of course, its downside was being distant from the Earth Vein, resulting in low concentrations of nature's spiritual energy.

Otherwise, it would not have been Wang Chen's turn to live here.

But Wang Chen was more than satisfied.

Because the spiritual energy here was already comparable to that of the Purple Mansion Cave Mansion in Cloud Mountain City of his earlier years, it indicated the high grade of the Spirit Vein on the island, perfectly meeting his cultivation needs.

However, this residence wasn't free of charge; Wang Chen had previously paid sixty Merit Points at the Sect Affairs Department.

That was equivalent to two months' rent.

Now, there were only forty Merit Points left on his Identity Plaque.

The Merit Points circulated within the West Sea Sect undeniably held great value, and during these three days, Wang Chen had visited places like the Merit Department and the Dharma Transmission Pavilion, getting a basic grasp of the ongoing rates.

The West Sea Sect set up Thirty-Six Departments Pavilion in West Sea City, each governing different Inner Sect matters, forming a tight and comprehensive internal management system.

Sect Merit Points were one of the foundations of this system!

In short, they were very precious.

But Wang Chen wasn't in a hurry to run to the Merit Department and take on tasks to earn Merit Points.

What he needed most was to plan carefully for the future and prepare for the next steps of his plan.

First of all, of course, was to settle down in West Sea City.

Let's skip over that part.

Next was to join one of the Nine Veins, which was the premise of taking root within the West Sea Sect.

Wang Chen had no intention of leaving in disgrace after three years.

His ultimate goal was to use the platform of the West Sea Sect to find a passage to the Upper Realm and leave the Mountain and Sea Realm destined for a major catastrophe.

The cycle of the appearance, duration, and end of a great natural disaster often spans decades or even a century and doesn't suddenly cover the entire Mountain and Sea Realm at once.

Most importantly, in the early stages of such a catastrophe, the West Sea Sect wouldn't likely collapse unless internal strife occurred.

They might even withstand the entire disaster.

With the protection of the largest Immortal Gates in the Mountain and Sea Realm, Wang Chen would have ample time to prepare.

Once he joined one of the Nine Veins, he would have to start looking for the mysterious Ferryman that Chang Chun had mentioned.

This person was incredibly enigmatic, and the information Chang Chun gave to Wang Chen was very limited; currently, he had no assurance that he could uncover and connect with this individual.

He would have to take a long-term view.

Lastly, Wang Chen needed to raise his Cultivation Level to mid-tier Purple Mansion or higher.

According to Chang Chun, "stowaway" ascension to the Upper Realm required, at the very least, mid-tier Purple Mansion Cultivation Level, with high-tier or perfection being ideal.

Too low a realm could lead to falling en route!

Wang Chen estimated it would take him four or five years to refine and implement this plan.

As for whether he could succeed, that depended on his efforts and also on luck.

Whoosh–

While Wang Chen was pondering, a Flying Sword swiftly approached, hovering in front of him.

Wang Chen felt a tug in his heart and reached out to take the letter attached to the sword.

He read through the letter, then wrote a reply and attached it back to the sword.

After the flying sword departed, Wang Chen also left his home headed for the Sect Main Hall.

The Sect Main Hall was located in the center of West Sea City, governing the Thirty-Six Departments Pavilion and over a hundred thousand disciples of the Nine Veins.

With Wang Chen's current status, he did not have the credentials to enter the Main Hall, at most he could run around within the departments.

The place he was actually going to was the Teleportation Tower belonging to the Main Hall.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The one who had sent the Flying Sword Messaging to Wang Chen was Zuo Xiaomo, an Outer Sect disciple Wang Chen had just met not long ago.

Zuo Xiaomo lived in Wanling City, and Outer Sect disciples were not allowed to enter the Inner Sect, so if the two wanted to meet, it had to be Wang Chen going over.

The distance from West Sea City to Wanling City was over ten thousand li, and even Sword Flight would take a long time.

The round trip was truly troublesome.

Wang Chen did not want to exert so much effort either.

He couldn't help but complain that the West Sea Sect's gates were really too vast; the Inner Sect and Outer Sect were actually tens of thousands of li apart, and even traveling by Flying Artifact to visit each other took a day or two.

Fortunately, there were Transmission Arrays in West Sea City, and one could teleport to the Outer Sect by paying with Merit Points.

Previously, Wang Chen had found out that a single teleport only required one Merit Point, so this time he decided to "splurge."

Upon arriving at the Teleportation Tower, he paid a Cultivator guarding the tower one Merit Point and informed them of his destination.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Chen appeared in Wanling City.

There was a corresponding Transmission Array on the Wanling City side, and outside was the bustling and noisy main street.

A wave of warm vitality hit him in the face!

Wang Chen found it a bit unfamiliar.

Even though Wanling City was an Outer Sect Immortal City and ranked below West Sea City, both in terms of city size and population, it outshone the latter.

By comparison, West Sea City was truly much quieter.

But Wang Chen did not dislike the hustle and bustle of Wanling City; after all, he was still deep down that young man from a modern mega-city in his previous life.

It was just that his soul was gradually being assimilated by this world.

Wanling City had restrictions in place that forbid casual aerial flying, so Wang Chen hailed a passing carriage.

He headed to the place where he was supposed to meet Zuo Xiaomo.

To his surprise, when he arrived at the private room in the teahouse, Wang Chen discovered Zuo Xiaomo had not come alone.

Beside the West Sea Sect's Outer Sect disciple sat a beautiful and charming young girl with bright eyes and white teeth.

"Senior Brother Wang!"

Upon seeing Wang Chen, Zuo Xiaomo immediately greeted him with a beaming smile, "Congratulations, Senior Brother, joyful tidings!"

Wang Chen replied with a wry smile, "Thank you."

He had previously told Zuo Xiaomo about passing the entrance examination through a Crane Message.

After all, Zuo Xiaomo was the only fellow sect member Wang Chen knew in the West Sea Sect and had also given him considerable help.

"Let me introduce you."

Zuo Xiaomo said with a smile, "This is my younger sister, Zuo Xiaolan, also an Outer Sect Disciple of West Sea Sect."

There were over a million Outer Sect disciples in West Sea Sect.

Unlike him, Zuo Xiaolan was a formal Outer Sect disciple with the Cultivation Level of Qi Cultivation Perfection!

"Xiaolan, this is Senior Brother Wang Chen whom I've told you about!"

The young girl's eyes danced as she gave a curtsy to Wang Chen, "I have the pleasure of meeting Senior Brother Wang."

Wang Chen returned the greeting, "Disciple Sister Zuo."

He secretly guessed, could Zuo Xiaomo be trying to set him up with his sister?

Wasn't that a bit too hasty?

But as it turned out, Wang Chen was overthinking; Zuo Xiaomo had no intention of using his sister to ensnare Wang Chen.

Because after sitting together for a short while, Zuo Xiaolan bade them goodbye and left.

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The second update is here.