Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Chapter 282 The City That Never Sleeps

Upon hearing the question, Guan Xun did not immediately respond. Instead, he lowered his eyes to look at the stone pavement beneath his feet, his fingertips slowly tracing the patterns on his cuffs.

Elder Mud Granny was getting a little anxious, afraid that she would refuse, so she quickly added: "Girl, if you still have that snow lotus, you don't need to go to the trading market to mess around. Just tell me what you want, whether it's pills, spiritual weapons or anything else, as long as this old woman can get it, I guarantee I'll get it for you!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a greasy porcelain bottle from his pocket, shook it, and said, "Look, I still have a whole bunch of disguise pills here. They're super effective; you can change into any appearance you want."

“I don’t need the disguise pill right now, as there’s no need to conceal my identity.” Guan Xun glanced at the porcelain bottle, shook his head slightly, paused for a moment, and then said, “As for other rare items, there are plenty in the True Inheritance Hall’s treasure vault, so I don’t need them for the time being.”

These words made Elder Mud Woman's smile fade a little.

"However, I do have some snow lotus."

"Ah... I knew it! It's good to have it!" Elder Mud Woman's eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly asked, "So what do you want? Just say the word. As long as we can get the Snow Lotus, I'll discuss any conditions with you."

After a moment's thought, Guan Xun raised his eyes and a serious expression appeared on his face: "I wonder if Elder Mud Granny knows of any way to quickly improve one's strength in a short period of time?"

Methods that can quickly improve one's strength are not ordinary things; most people would not even know about them, let alone have heard of them.

Although Elder Mud Granny looked slovenly, she possessed a shrewdness. This old woman had lived to such an old age and was the chief elder of Shangju Pavilion. Her knowledge and experience far surpassed those of others, so she must have some secrets or connections.

"A way to quickly increase your strength?" Elder Mud Woman narrowed her cloudy eyes and couldn't help but tease, "You want to take a shortcut to cultivation? There are many shortcuts, the most common one being taking pills, which can increase your strength to an unimaginable level in a very short time."

"However, you need to think this through. Using external objects to raise your cultivation level is very superficial. At the same level, someone who has truly cultivated can easily defeat you in one move."

"Strength is something that can only be truly solidified by taking one step at a time; there are no shortcuts."

Hearing these earnest words, Guan Xun raised an eyebrow slightly. When she asked that question earlier, the old woman had clearly paused for a moment before turning to these words of advice.

Clearly, he knows something, but he's unwilling to reveal it easily.

In that instant, she felt more confident.

"I am well aware of this matter. Elder Mud Woman should know what I mean by asking this question. The so-called method of quickly improving strength is provided that there are no adverse side effects on oneself."

"To be honest," she said with a knowing smile, "among the few snow lotuses I obtained back then, there were also a few Heavenly Immortals."

"Celestial Maiden?!" Elder Mud Woman's voice rose instantly, her face full of disbelief. She rubbed her wrinkled hands and paced back and forth a few steps. "You really have that treasure, girl? It's a wonderful thing that condenses all the essence of the snow lotus, and its effects are more than ten times stronger than the snow lotus itself! You're not trying to fool this old woman, are you? I don't believe it unless you show it to me."

“Alright.” Guan Xun didn’t waste any words. He took out a small box from his storage ring. The moment he opened it, a wisp of clear spiritual energy, accompanied by a faint halo, overflowed out.

Elder Mud Woman immediately stepped forward, stared wide-eyed for a long time, and then slapped her thigh heavily: "It really is a celestial fairy! It really is that treasure!"

Seeing this, Guan Xun smiled and said, "If Elder Mud Woman really has a way, why don't we make a deal? I'll give you this fairy afterward."

"Is...it really true?"

"nature."

Elder Mud Woman's face, covered in grime, flushed with excitement. She stared intently at the celestial fruit, unable to look away. It took her a while to calm down before she clicked her tongue and said, "There is indeed a method, but it's not exactly a shortcut. In the end, you still have to rely on your own efforts."

Seeing that the other person's expression did not change, she clenched her fist and put it to her mouth as if to cough twice.

"Or you could go to the city that never sleeps."

"The City That Never Sleeps?" Guan Xun frowned, having never heard of this place before.

"Hmm." Elder Mud Woman turned around, put her hands behind her hunched back, and a trace of solemnity flashed in her eyes. "That is not a good place. The territory of the City That Never Sleeps is not a dragon's den or tiger's lair that ordinary people can enter. It is located in the north of the continent. Nine out of ten people who go in will lose their lives there, and only one in a hundred can come out alive."

"But this is also the fastest way to improve one's strength in the world. Licking blood from the edge of a knife, rolling on the line between life and death, who among those who can crawl out of that hellish place hasn't been reborn and had their strength skyrocketed?"

The fact that even the mud-covered woman could show such a solemn expression shows that the City That Never Sleeps is truly dangerous to the core.

But you're right. Anyone who survives a brush with death is a ruthless character who sends shivers down your spine.

The old woman paused, then said in a deep voice, "There, you either climb up by stepping on corpses, or you rot in the mud and become someone else's stepping stone."

Upon hearing this, Guan Xun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Elder Mud Woman, have you also been to that place?"

The old woman was slightly taken aback, her eyes darting around before she waved her hand and said, "I didn't, but there really was someone who broke out of that godforsaken place in Zhongtan Holy City."

Guan Xun narrowed his eyes slightly, and then the Mud Woman slowly uttered four words: "Holy Spirit Goddess".

Upon hearing this, a piercing light instantly ignited in Guan Xun's eyes. It was Guan Qi.

In that case, she would be even more determined to go.

Otherwise, at her current cultivation speed, let alone a year and a half, even if she encountered her sister in twenty or thirty years, she wouldn't be able to fight back.

"Thank you, Elder Mud Woman." She raised her hand and tossed the small box over.

The old woman instinctively caught it, and when her fingertips touched the cool, translucent material, she was first delighted, then her expression changed slightly, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath: "Girl, are you really going? That place is no joke."

"You're still so young, there's no need to rush to improve your strength. You have plenty of time to cultivate. In ten or twenty years, it will be easy for you to surpass me. With the resources of the True Inheritance Hall, plus the support of the Upper Residence Pavilion after you won the championship, your future is limitless. There's no need to go to that hellhole to die."

Guan Xun slowly shook his head: "I have my own plans, and I will definitely not do anything foolish that would get me killed."

After saying this, he gave a perfunctory bow to the Mud Woman and then left without saying anything more.

"Hehe." A rare hint of helplessness flashed in the eyes of the old woman as she muttered, "I didn't expect this girl to be so stubborn. It would be a pity if she were to perish there."

As she spoke, she opened the small box in her hand. When she saw the celestial jelly, the melancholy in her heart instantly vanished, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.

"Little baby~ Little baby~"

She stroked the fairy's body with a beaming smile, then turned around with light steps and walked away humming an off-key tune.

……