In truth, the attitude of Xihai Hu, a subordinate of the Shen Guang lineage, toward Zhou Bojiao was highly problematic. Wang Yulou did not let it show on his face, but he was acutely aware of it in his heart.
The West Sea was the remote frontier of the Immortal Alliance. As everyone knew, the authority of governance decayed with distance from the center of rule.
Grand cultivators could easily cover tens of thousands of miles in a single day, and when communicating via grotto-heaven voice transmission divine abilities, distance beca completely irrelevant.
Yet, no matter how abundant a grand cultivator's energy and ti were, within the unimaginably vast territory of the Immortal Alliance system, it still felt like a drop in the bucket. Many matters ultimately relied on those below to execute.
A cultivator's power allowed many things to flow from the top down, but the organization of cultivators inherently contained an inevitable bottom-up dynamic. Neither of these two sets of rules was superior to the other; they simply existed objectively—a reality that had yet to be changed.
Wang Yulou understood that the so-called "Immortal City" system established by the Immortal Alliance—from Lotus Immortal City to Western Sea Immortal City—was rely a low-end replication of the Immortal Alliance headquarters in different regions.
Its practical function was not to strengthen the ruling authority of the Immortal Alliance, but rather to provide local powerhouses with a sufficiently close and representative platform to negotiate their interests.
It acted like a buffer zone, softening the relationship between Golden Core sects like the Red Lantern Illumination Sect or the Sky Serpent Sect and the Immortal Alliance. Faced with these Golden Core sects, whether they were orthodox or unorthodox, the immortal city possessed no absolute authority.
The strength of the Immortal Alliance did not stem from the sheer number of Immortal Venerables present, but from the consensus of interests reached by the grand cultivators upon the Gathering Immortals Platform. However, Yulou had never expected that the authority of the Immortal Alliance would decay so drastically in the West Sea.
Or perhaps, could the legendary Shen Guang Immortal Venerable also be a latent enemy of Patriarch Mangxiang? Yulou could not wrap his head around it.
He only knew that among the list of the patriarch's enemies given to him by Ancestor Jingyi, the na of Shen Guang Immortal Venerable was absent. Another possibility was simply that Xihai Hu held a personal grudge against Zhou Bojiao for so reason, rather than an animosity toward the patriarch himself.
Nevertheless, Xihai Hu's words might not represent everyone. Yulou suppressed the doubts in his heart and asked with a smile about the South City Expansion Departnt Xihai Hu had just ntioned.
"Brother Hu, you ntioned just now that you were recently transferred to the South City Expansion Departnt, and that you've been busy surveying ley lines in the southern outer city with the Second Elder. This South City Expansion Departnt sounds rather extraordinary. Could it be even more influential than the Annex City Enforcent Team?"
Yulou actually wanted to ask who exactly this Second Elder was that Xihai Hu spoke of.
"Hahaha, Yulou, you wouldn't know, but the Subsidiary City we are in right now used to be the only one. The South City Expansion Departnt was specifically established to expand and build the Southern Sub-City."
At this point, Xihai Hu rose solemnly, offering a deep bow toward the southeast.
Afterward, he sat back down with a serious expression beside the petite female cultivator, continuing to chat while amusing himself.
"The ancestor personally entrusted the Second Elder with this task, ordering him to begin the preliminary preparations for the construction of the Southern Sub-City. The Second Elder then transferred from the enforcent team to help out at the South City Expansion Departnt."
This was the second change Yulou observed after arriving in the West Sea. Although Mangxiang might not necessarily be a good person, whenever Yulou encountered trouble while cultivating under the banner of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, ntioning that he was under the patriarch's tutelage was usually incredibly effective.
Even highly extraordinary, seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivators like Yuan Daoshen and Zhuo Yinsheng had to take him seriously. But the West Sea was different.
The ancestor Xihai Hu had just ntioned referred to that Shen Guang Immortal Venerable, who held imnse influence in the West Sea, and was definitely not the sa person as Patriarch Mangxiang.
"Yulou, you don't understand how difficult it is to live in the main immortal city. Property prices there are astronomical, whereas prices in the Subsidiary City are relatively lower. But over the years, as more and more cultivators have co to the West Sea, the Subsidiary City has gradually expanded, to the point where it is almost larger than Western Sea Immortal City itself. Expanding only to the east isn't ideal, so the Southern Sub-City is expanding southward from Western Sea Immortal City. Once it's built in the future, the West Sea will be even more prosperous. Therefore, the South City Expansion Departnt is naturally far more influential than the Annex City Enforcent Team. Your Brother Hu can be considered to have ascended to the heavens in a single stride by following Elder Longhu."
With the number of cultivators in the West Sea steadily rising, and given Shen Guang's unique position there, his influence would naturally expand accordingly. Yulou faintly grasped a hint of the true reality.
This Immortal Venerable could be said to be utilizing the West Sea's function of relieving the internal pressure of Wunan, drawing in the marginalized people under that pressure to build his own system. His thods were undeniably formidable.
He suppressed the thoughts in his mind, rely looking at Xihai Hu with feigned confusion as he asked, "Elder Longhu? Do you an True Person Jin Shan?"
Sword Immortal Feng tossed Yulou a spirit fruit and spoke up to correct him.
"Hahaha, no. The Second Elder is simply nad Xihai Longhu. He has no relation to the West Sea Dragon-Tiger True Man of the Immortal Alliance."
Seeing Sword Immortal Feng explain, Xihai Hu took the opportunity to shift the topic.
"Yulou, you don't know, but the Southern Sub-City is different from this Eastern Sub-City. The Eastern Sub-City was built piece by piece, so many areas aren't as orderly as the interior of Western Sea Immortal City. The Southern Sub-City is a different story. Once our South City Expansion Departnt finishes surveying the ley lines, we will harmonize the spiritual vitality and relocate spiritual veins. It can be said that the Southern Sub-City is being constructed entirely according to the specifications of a main immortal city, yet the land prices are much cheaper than inside Western Sea Immortal City. If you are interested, you should take the chance to buy a plot of land in the Southern Sub-City right now. When the estates are built in the future, not only will it be comfortable to live in, but even if you want to sell it, you can make a tidy profit."
Xihai Hu had a thick, stout fra, and as he made his pitch now, his tone was remarkably gentle, which actually felt sowhat bizarre. He did not know that Yulou was currently researching where to purchase a residence; it was rely the subconscious behavior of soone from the South City Expansion Departnt upon discovering a potential custor.
"Ahem, Fat Tiger, just drink your wine. Can't even a grade-seven flowing radiance nectar stop up your mouth?"
Yulou had initially felt a bit tempted. What Southern Sub-City? It was just a new district of the West Sea, he understood that much. But the mont Sword Immortal Feng spoke up, he also sensed that sothing was amiss.
Western Sea Immortal City was the territory of the Immortal Alliance. Shen Guang Immortal Venerable was indeed powerful, but building massive sub-cities right outside Western Sea Immortal City was practically akin to driving an excavator to undermine the Immortal Alliance day and night.
Building the Southern Sub-City was no different from constructing a new urban district, but building a new district was an official function of the authorities, not sothing a single influential individual could just decide to do. For Shen Guang Immortal Venerable to act like this, how could the underlying matters possibly be simple?
Yes, he was powerful, his cultivation base was formidable, and his influence in the West Sea was imnse. But the Immortal Alliance had plenty of Golden Core cultivators; if he was chipping away at the foundation of Western Sea Immortal City, how could others not have objections?
"Hahaha, I was being presumptuous. Yulou, this is my command token. Since you've just arrived in the West Sea, if you happen to run into any short-sighted little pests, showing this might still be of so use. As for the matter of the Southern Sub-City, Old Feng, I'm not tricking Yulou. Buying late is never as good as buying early. The land prices in the Eastern Sub-City have already skyrocketed more than tenfold compared to the beginning, don't you know that?"
Sword Immortal Feng had no desire to be harvested like crops. With a gentle tap of his finger, the room door swung open, revealing a beautiful woman dressed in brilliant white attire sitting outside, her delicate hands tuning a zither.
"Let's not speak of this. Huai Die, co inside and play."
Huai Die entered the room cradling her zither, looking at Sword Immortal Feng with a mix of feigned anger and affection as she spoke. "Young master, Little Die thought you didn't care for anymore."
"Hahaha, how could that be? This is Wang Yulou, it's his first ti here today. Show us your best skills, don't embarrass , Sword Immortal Feng."
Hearing this, Huai Die naturally did not dare to be careless. She did not know who Wang Yulou was, but to be able to share a table with the Black-hearted Tiger and Sword Immortal Feng ant he was clearly no ordinary individual.
The ethereal and lodious notes of the ancient zither echoed across the banquet. Looking at the pale green flowing radiance nectar, Yulou understood perfectly well in his heart.
Why had Sword Immortal Feng suddenly called Huai Die inside? He had assisted Yulou twice during the banquet. The first ti was a warning, and this ti, he directly used Huai Die's zither playing to interrupt the conversation between Yulou and Xihai Hu. The implications within this were tightly guarded and difficult to voice.
Xihai Hu, the South City Expansion Departnt, Shen Guang Immortal Venerable, and that Second Elder whose na coincided with the Dragon-Tiger True Man—none of them were simple. With this thought, Yulou tucked the command token Xihai Hu had given him into his storage bag.
'Just in case it cos in handy,' he reasoned.
His movent naturally did not escape Xihai Hu's gaze. The portly Fat Tiger raised his wine cup, but Yulou smiled and poured wine for Sword Immortal Feng first, before raising his cup together with him.
"Clink!"
The three of them drained their cups in one gulp and returned to listening to the graceful zither music, though each was lost in his own thoughts.
—
The Black Dragon Steed had just enjoyed a grand indulgence, and was currently pulling the golden carriage with high spirits, its hooves lifting with exceptional cheer. Aboard the golden carriage, Sword Immortal Feng explained,
"Yulou, it's not that he's a bad person. Good or bad, no one can say for sure. Xihai Hu may seem brash, but he plays by the rules. However, the people of the Shen Guang lineage are scattered all inside and outside the immortal city, and it's inevitable that the good are mixed with the bad. It's enough for you to just be acquaintances with Xihai Hu; there's no need to associate deeply until after you've achieved Foundation Establishnt. Furthermore, the business regarding the Southern Sub-City is highly complex. You must absolutely never buy land there on a whim, or your investnt might just vanish into thin air."
Sword Immortal Feng's words were considerably considerate, prompting Yulou to say gratefully, "I understand Senior Sword Immortal's aning. It's just, what kind of Second Elder was Senior Xihai Hu referring to?"
A title was highly important; it was a cultivator's label. Gu Qilang was a label for Gu Qilang's status within the Gu Clan, and being under the Mangxiang lineage had long been one of Yulou's ultimate trump cards when traversing the cultivation world—in fact, it was his most vital trump card.
Hearing Yulou's question, Sword Immortal Feng pondered for a brief mont before replying,
"Just call Sword Immortal Feng, it sounds both impressive and familiar. As for the Second Elder... he was referring to the Second Elder of Charity Hall. Shen Guang Immortal Venerable has many forces under his command, but they are all minor factions. In my view, the so-called Annex City Enforcent Team, the Demon-Suppressing Treasure Pagoda, the Myriad Dao Origin Hub, and so forth are essentially divided into only two main factions behind the scenes. One is the Charity Hall lineage; Xihai Hu, his older sister Xihai Long, and their benefactor, the Second Elder Xihai Longhu, all belong to Charity Hall, and they use a specific set of titles internally. The other faction consists of the other disciples under the Immortal Venerable. Compared to the orphans in Charity Hall, those people are greater in number, but few are truly heavily relied upon by the Immortal Venerable; they usually just perform standard duties. When a major event like organizing the South City Expansion Departnt cos up, it's still those with the surna Xihai who step forward to shoulder the heavy responsibilities. However, these matters are very far removed from you, so don't dwell on them. Since Fat Tiger suddenly barged in, we didn't manage to discuss our main business. What did you seek out for today?"
Yulou drew a small pouch containing twenty high-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and pressed it into Sword Immortal Feng's hand, saying, "Sword Immortal Feng, among the Dripdrop Cave disciples who ca to the West Sea this ti, there are two other mbers of the Wang family besides myself. I wish to find rogue cultivators to fulfill the demon hunting missions on their behalf."
Two thousand spirit stones should be roughly sufficient. A decent courtyard within Western Sea Immortal City only cost several tens of thousands of spirit stones. anwhile, a rogue cultivator's first property in the immortal city required a re five thousand spirit stones; two thousand spirit stones were enough to purchase half a residence.
"Eh? Wang Yulou, you aren't treating as a friend, are you?" Sword Immortal Feng pushed away the spirit stones in Yulou's hand with an displeased expression, stating directly, "Your family's business is my business. Rest assured, I will handle this for you shortly. However, your family mbers cannot use anyone with a cultivation base that is too low; they must at least be at the middle stage. How does that sound?"
Seeing that Sword Immortal Feng absolutely refused to accept them, Wang Yulou had no choice but to take back the spirit stones, feeling rather touched in his heart. This Feng Disha had a na that sounded fierce, but his character was actually incredibly righteous. Whether it was genuine or performative, regardless, he certainly seed like soone worth associating with.
"Understood. In addition, Sword Immortal Feng, once the date of my grand wedding is finalized, I will inform you imdiately."
Having Sword Immortal Feng lead the Dripdrop Cave disciples to boost his prestige was rely the surface intent; in truth, Yulou wished to win over the Dripdrop Cave's outer court, thereby taking a step further to cultivate his own people within Dripdrop Cave. He could not make the decisions regarding Dripdrop Cave's Foundation Establishnt resources, but the Wang Clan possessed multiple alchemists who could refine various auxiliary spiritual pills for Foundation Establishnt. When the ti ca and these individuals produced their own spirit stones, Yulou could coordinate with the Wang Clan to sell them cheaper auxiliary pills, which would establish a bond of gratitude. The major shareholders of Dripdrop Cave were True Person Jiusheng and Perfected Man Hongli. Yulou did not seek much; playing a role similar to Old Yuan would suffice.
"Heh, if you ask , it's quite amusing. You, the groom, actually don't know your own wedding date." Sword Immortal Feng was fairly well-traveled, but a situation like Yulou's was sothing he was learning of for the first ti.
"True Person Bojiao set a tifra, but no one from the Zhou family has communicated the procedures to . I'll just have to wait; I haven't even t Zhou Yingxi yet."
Speaking of which, Wang Yulou was also curious. Hopefully, behind Fellow Daoist Yingxi's veil didn't lie a pig's snout—no, the probability of it being a deer's snout was likely higher.
"Strange indeed. However, Yulou, you ought to understand that when marrying a daughter from a True Person's household, the key point does not lie in the bride's appearance." Sword Immortal Feng offered guiding advice. He was afraid Wang Yulou might fail to see clearly; being able to marry the daughter of a Purple Palace True Man ant the future path would undoubtedly be smooth sailing. Mu Changze was a pri example. Born as a rogue cultivator, he had risen to beco the Seal Keeper of Western Sea Immortal City's Punishnt Court, relying precisely on his special relationship with True Person Bojiao.
"I understand..."
The two chatted about the scenery and customs of the West Sea along the way. The golden carriage crossed from the Subsidiary City into the main immortal city and brought them to a halt before the entrance of the Information Gathering Court. The central agencies of the Immortal Alliance in the West Sea were nad "Courts," which actually possessed a long historical origin. In the beginning, before Western Sea Immortal City even existed, the grand cultivators of the Immortal Alliance had led the cultivators of Wunan to resist demonic beasts at the West Sea, and many facilities were thrown together temporarily. At that ti, the Military rit Court, the Demon Distribution Court, and others were just large courtyards, hence the na. After Western Sea Immortal City was established, these nas were carried forward. As a directly subordinate court established later, the Information Gathering Court naturally followed suit and was called a Court.
—
Stepping down from Sword Immortal Feng's golden carriage, Wang Yulou saw off his friend and entered the towering palace courtyard that bore the plaque of the Information Gathering Court. These offices of the Immortal Alliance, regardless of whether the power they held was vast or their duties nurous, were almost always constructed beautifully. On one hand, it was to display the dignity of the Immortal Alliance; on the other hand, periodic renovations allowed the relevant personnel to line their pockets with small fortunes. This was exactly like the display of artifact fireworks Jiang Baobian had arranged before leaving his post at Clear Stream Market—rely inventing titles to amass spirit stones.
"Hold your steps, Fellow Daoist. May I ask what brings you here?"
Wang Yulou had not expected that an Immortal Alliance office like the Information Gathering Court would actually have a gate guard. This guard was tucked away near the inner wall of the palace courtyard. Inside sat a withered little old man at the peak Qi Condensation realm. Seeing that Wang Yulou was an unfamiliar face, he hopped out to question him.
"Wang Yulou of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, here to take up office. May I know how to address you, Fellow Daoist?"
Wang Yulou noticed that this little old man guarding the entrance for the Information Gathering Court was not only at the peak Qi Condensation realm, but also wore the sea-levee structural robes exclusive to official Qi Refining disciples of Western Sea Immortal City's Immortal Alliance. This person was an official employee; the redundancy within the Immortal Alliance was truly far from optimistic.
"Chen Nian. You can just call Old Chen. Do you possess a command token from the Red Lantern Illumination Sect?"
Old Chen the guard noted Wang Yulou's cultivation base at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. In truth, he didn't harbor much suspicion; his task was to block idle wanderers from entering and disturbing the senior cultivators' quiet practice, and Wang Yulou's young and promising appearance did not look like soone seeking his own death. However, since Wang Yulou had declared his status as a Red Lantern disciple, checking it would ensure absolute safety.
"Here, Senior Brother Chen. This is the Information Gathering Court within the immortal city, is there still any fear of soone causing trouble?"
Wang Yulou naturally possessed the command token of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect. Although it wasn't strictly formal, the relevant authorities within the sect could not possibly make trouble for him.
Chen Nian swept a glance over it, then explained with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Yulou is unaware, but while the interior of the immortal city is safe, there are always quite a few rogue cultivators who fail to see the bigger picture and lack gratitude. They constantly want to stir up incidents. The Information Gathering Court holds a unique responsibility. By keeping watch here by myself, I am effectively executing half the workload of the Information Gathering Court, which should make things easier for you all."
These words left Wang Yulou sowhat speechless. The Information Gathering Court was the product of a rger between multiple courts and stations. It currently held three primary responsibilities: coaxing rogue cultivators into slaying demons to safeguard humanity, gathering and organizing the operational changes of the West Sea hordes, and most importantly, investigating whether mbers of the Immortal Alliance within the immortal city violated official regulations. The first two had nothing to do with rogue cultivators causing trouble. Rogue cultivators causing trouble could only relate to the final point. Chen Nian guarding the door was akin to preventing people from beating the drum of grievances, which could indeed serve a massive purpose. The Immortal Alliance... it had existed for far too long, and those grievances that had never been weighed on the scales had accumulated for far too long as well. Therefore, though this Old Man Chen appeared to be a re gatekeeper, his responsibility was incredibly vital.
"Understood. Senior Brother Chen has worked hard. Yulou shall head inside first."
"Go ahead. Walk straight forward and turn left; that is the courtyard of the Vice Seal Keeper. The Seal Keeper is absent, so you can just report to the Vice Seal Keeper to assu your post. Speaking of which, another individual arrived to take up office today, though they didn't precede you by very long."
Yulou was slightly taken aback and hastily said, "Many thanks, Senior Brother Chen."
Watching Wang Yulou's hurried footsteps disappear around the corner deep within the palace courtyard, the smile on Chen Nian's face slowly faded, ultimately transforming into a suppressed look of resentnt. He spat a hateful mutter, 'The grand cultivators' dogs,' before ducking back into the guard post by the palace wall.
Even among Immortal Alliance cultivators, there were distinct strata. Many who joined the Immortal Alliance could only start from the absolute bottom, and Chen Nian was actually considered part of the cohort that had managed reasonably well. In contrast, the position of an Immortal Alliance Emissary belonged to an entirely different system. The Red Lantern Illumination Sect received three slots for Immortal Alliance Emissaries every fifty years, and those who obtained them could ascend to the heavens in a single stride, entering directly into the core training sequence of the Immortal Alliance.
Though it appeared Wang Yulou had entered the Western Sea Immortal City Information Gathering Court to assu an office, his actual foundation did not lie within the Immortal Alliance, much less within the West Sea. If he wished to climb the ladder through the local hierarchy of Western Sea Immortal City, it would be as difficult as scaling the heavens. However, as a "valued" disciple under the Mangxiang lineage, Yulou's developntal prospects within the Red Lantern Illumination Sect and the Mangxiang lineage were imnse. The Immortal Alliance dined from a communal pot; the base was large, but the number of people sharing it was equally vast. The Red Lantern Illumination Sect dined from a private kitchen; the base was small, but fewer people shared it. The patriarch currently held absolute dominance over the Red Lantern Illumination Sect. For the ti being, those of the Mangxiang lineage enjoyed a specially prepared hearth. So long as the patriarch could break through to the Golden Core stage, this private hearth could be sustained indefinitely. Of course, if viewed from the perspective of securing a Purple Mansion opportunity, the forces within the Immortal Alliance were complex, which paradoxically offered a broader horizon. After all, the number of Purple Mansion cultivators within the Mangxiang lineage was already sufficient. Wang Yulou surmised that the lack of new Purple Mansion cultivators under the patriarch's lineage was not due to a shortage of quotas, but simply because the resources and expansion space of the Mangxiang lineage had reached a certain ceiling. The patriarch was unwilling to see newcors step forward to slice into his own cake.
—
Just as he stepped into the Vice Seal Keeper's courtyard, Yulou was escorted into a side hall by a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator dressed in the sea-levee structural robes who served as an attendant here. Within the side hall, a female cultivator sat at the lowest seat. Seeing Yulou being led inside, she offered him a smile and a nod.
This female cultivator wore specialized leather armor-type vestnts. This category of vestnts was a local specialty of the West Sea, combining the practical utility of magical combat with wearing comfort, though it sacrificed aesthetic appeal. It belonged to the class of items that were highly functional but unappealing to the eye, differing greatly from standard robes. It could even be said that it wasn't a standard vestnt at all, but rather a set of clothing-type magical artifacts.
The cultivator guiding the way poured spiritual tea for Yulou, then explained with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, please wait here for a brief mont. Lord Seal Keeper Mo has not arrived yet today, but I have already transmitted a ssage to inform him."
Yulou thought to himself that the Seal Keeper didn't co, and the Vice Seal Keeper didn't co either; the Information Gathering Court was truly an excellent place. However, the question he was truly curious about was entirely different.
"Understood. However, are you also an official of the Immortal Alliance...?"
Seeing Wang Yulou gesturing toward his robes, the attendant naturally understood the underlying aning.
"Ah, Fellow Daoist, you don't know, but we errand-runners are rely assistants hired by the Information Gathering Court. As for these robes on my back, I purchased them with my own spirit stones. It's completely different from you two."
The assistant offered an explanation regarding his status, then bowed and departed. Shaking his head, Yulou found himself thinking of many things. The Immortal Alliance, the Immortal Alliance—it truly possessed so intriguing characteristics. Those holding the seal were not present in the court to wield it. The gatekeeper executed half the workload by himself—by making the work disappear, wasn't the work effectively non-existent? Temporary workers wore the garnts of the Immortal Alliance to openly watch over the magistrate's office on behalf of the seal keeper. It appeared utterly unreasonable, yet so long as the grand cultivators of the Immortal Alliance remained in power, no matter how much resentnt built up below, it would never result in truly catastrophic consequences.
"Do you also find such a spectacle inappropriate?" the female cultivator sitting across from Yulou spoke up.
This young woman's voice possessed a very distinctive quality, carrying an uncommon sense of power. It wasn't a coarse sort of strength, but rather the product of unwavering conviction. The positioning of the two was rather amusing; both had tacitly chosen the lowest seats within the side hall, one on each side, neither attempting to vie for a superior position.
"Ah?" Hearing the female cultivator's question, Wang Yulou was slightly dazed. Sword Immortal Feng was already soone who marched to the beat of his own drum, and now, he had actually encountered another individual with highly unusual thoughts.
One could only say that the West Sea was a place that truly nurtured unique people. There were far too many cultivators with extraordinary innate talent in the world. The grand cultivators had already placed a chokehold at the Qi Induction stage, yet the numbers remained imnse. However, within sects like Dripdrop Cave or the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, no matter how outstanding your talent was, you could only rise through connections. The West Sea was different. Here, as long as a cultivator could slaughter demonic beasts, they stood a chance to advance upward. Of course, they could not advance very far. The Immortal Alliance strictly regulated all Foundation Establishnt resources, guarding against Foundation Establishnt cultivators even more fiercely than against demons.
"Mo Yunshu, under the tutelage of Ancestor Hansong, here to assu office as an Information Gathering Emissary. And you, Fellow Daoist?" Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Mo Yunshu laughed awkwardly and dropped the topics that shouldn't be raised.
'Under the tutelage of Hansong?' True Person Hansong was one of the eight Purple Palace Grand Cultivators who had risen from the local ranks of the West Sea. The husband of Wang Jiahui, the manager of the Flavorful Bistro within Western Sea Immortal City, belonged to a family whose certain Foundation Establishnt Ancestor was a disciple of True Person Hansong. With this realization, Yulou replied with a smile, "Wang Yulou of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect. As for what specific position I am to assu, I am actually not yet entirely clear."
Hearing the ntion of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, Mo Yunshu ca to a sudden understanding. "Did you arrive alongside True Person Haikuo or True Person Bojiao? It ought to be True Person Bojiao, correct?"
"Yes, I am a newly accepted disciple of my master." Wang Yulou nodded, directly disclosing his identity.
Mo Yunshu found herself unable to fully discern Wang Yulou's background now. Ordinarily, the disciples accepted by Purple Palace Grand Cultivators began at the Foundation Establishnt stage, because disciples were ant to perform labor. If a disciple at the Qi Refining stage was accepted, the master might have to bear the burden of providing the resources for their breakthrough to Foundation Establishnt. If a disciple at the Foundation Establishnt stage was accepted, they could be dispatched imdiately to handle affairs; the master would take the lion's share of the earned spirit stones, leaving the smaller portion for the disciple. Finally, when a disciple reached the end of their lifespan and perished, the Purple Palace Grand Cultivator could draw the disciple into their grotto-heaven, utilizing the spiritual energy dispersed upon a Foundation Establishnt cultivator's death to slightly augnt the foundation of the grotto-heaven. Yet Wang Yulou's cultivation base was rely at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, yet he had managed to beco a disciple of the Purple Mansion True Man Zhou Bojiao. This was highly unusual.
"Junior Brother Yulou actually possesses such an opportunity; your future breakthrough to Foundation Establishnt is undoubtedly assured, and your prospects are boundless."
The two chatted idly for a good while longer, allowing Yulou to gradually co to understand this future colleague of his. Although Mo Yunshu was a mber of the direct lineage of True Person Hansong's family, True Person Hansong's thod of nurturing clan disciples was even harsher than that of the Wang family. The Wang family channeled their mbers based on aptitude; those with a chance at Foundation Establishnt were required to undergo ten years of tempering in the West Sea after reaching the tenth layer of Qi Refining. True Person Hansong demanded that every single disciple in the clan, regardless of talent or the closeness of their bloodline, must head to the frontlines to hunt demons alongside the rogue cultivators the mont they broke through their Qi Refining layers, continuing until they reached the late Qi Condensation stage. Only those who managed to survive until the late Qi Condensation stage were deed to possess value worthy of cultivation. Naturally, those who managed to survive were never very nurous. It carried a profound sense of refining true gold through fierce flas.
Mo Yunshu was precisely such an individual. After breaking through to late Qi Condensation, she had returned to the clan to cultivate, and her cultivation base had currently reached the peak Qi Condensation realm. Taking advantage of the opportunity where Li Haiping and Zhou Bojiao were inserting personnel into Western Sea Immortal City, True Person Hansong had squeezed her into the Information Gathering Court as well. However, she differed from Wang Yulou. Wang Yulou had entered the Information Gathering Court rely to secure a position and draw a salary, avoiding demon hunting missions while accumulating credentials within the Immortal Alliance; he would sooner or later depart from the West Sea. Mo Yunshu was born under the Hansong lineage and would develop within the West Sea in the future without leaving, aning the two were not competitors. Once this point was established, their conversation beca entirely free of burdens.
"Yunshu, I sustained so injuries deep within the West Sea so ti ago and was unable to co until recently, causing you to wait for so long."
As the two were conversing, Mo Xunzhou, the Vice Seal Keeper of the Information Gathering Court, walked inside. He also belonged to True Person Hansong's family, making him a senior relative of Mo Yunshu. This Vice Seal Keeper was likewise a seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivator, dressed in the celestial alignnt vestnts exclusive to Immortal Alliance Foundation Establishnt deacons. His entire body exuded a bluish aura, and even his eyebrows carried traces of frost; there was a high probability that he was also in a state where his mastery of the Limitless Spiritual Opportunity was not sufficiently deep. When Foundation Establishnt cultivators cultivated divine abilities, they almost always comnced with the Limitless Spiritual Opportunity; both Wang Xianmao and Yuan Daoshen had displayed this divine ability before. This divine ability was highly useful and easy to learn, to the point where its prevalence among the cohort of seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivators was no different from a common commodity.
After offering a brief explanation, Mo Xunzhou looked toward Yulou and smiled. "You must be Wang Yulou, correct? Liang Zhuor has already ntioned your matter to . Like Yunshu, you shall serve as an Information Gathering Emissary. Compared to other offices, our Information Gathering Court can be considered the one with the least lucrative benefits; the sole redeeming feature is that it is leisurely. Minor and major tasks are handled by the assistants, and an Information Gathering Emissary practically possesses only a single duty: to occasionally seek out rogue cultivators and emphasize the significance of demon hunting. At all other tis, you don't even need to co to the Information Gathering Court; just focus on your cultivation."
To receive a salary without having to perform labor was naturally sothing Wang Yulou would not find disagreeable. The ti saved from official duties could easily be utilized for artifact refining or cultivation, allowing him to amass more resources and solidify his rapidly elevated cultivation base, ensuring an early breakthrough to Foundation Establishnt. Initially, Li Haiping had already arranged for a multitude of Wondrous Peak Mountain disciples under the Red Lantern banner to enter Western Sea Immortal City, and Zhou Liangzhuor had given Wang Yulou three choices. The Divine Artifact Platform was an option because Zhou Bojiao could decide it with a single word. The Punishnt Court was avoided because it was dangerous and the waters ran too deep; no one was willing to go there. Thus, the Information Gathering Court was likely selected precisely because it lacked lucrative benefits. Wang Yulou was currently the general manager of the Wang family in the West Sea, with no shortage of industries and manpower under his control. He possessed the confidence to earn spirit stones on his own, so whether the Information Gathering Court had lucrative benefits was not of great concern to him. Furthermore, wherever there were lucrative benefits, there would be strife. Struggling internally within Dripdrop Cave was backed by Patriarch Mangxiang standing above, aning the danger was minimal. As for the West Sea... though True Person Bojiao and True Person Haikuo—these two True Persons from the Red Lantern Illumination Sect—were present, the situation remained labyrinthine. It was better to maintain a low profile at certain tis.
"Yulou respectfully obeys the Seal Keeper's imperial edict," Wang Yulou replied respectfully.
Mo Xunzhou smiled and said nothing further, instead turning his gaze toward Mo Yunshu. "Yunshu, take Yulou with you to the Dragon Tiger Platform to collect the relevant items for Immortal Alliance disciples."
Mo Yunshu felt that things were moving a bit too rapidly and asked in confusion, "Fourth Uncle, what should we do after collecting the items?"
The Lord Vice Seal Keeper had already taken up the magic seal and stamped it upon the official decree of the Information Gathering Court. He flicked the decree and handed it to Mo Yunshu, saying, "Go back and cultivate. The Information Gathering Court has nothing for you to do; the greatest task I've perford this year was arranging the assumption of office for you two. Take this decree and seek out the Seal Keeper of the Dragon Tiger Platform to have it stamped again. Once that is done, you will officially beco mbers of the Immortal Alliance. The purpose of the Immortal Alliance is to serve all cultivators between heaven and earth; you must keep this in mind at all tis. It's just that there are far too many cultivators between heaven and earth, so for now, we shall first serve the grand cultivators, hahahaha."
As he reached the end, Mo Xunzhou actually cracked a joke, and Yulou laughed along with him. Mo Yunshu naturally followed suit with a laugh, yet deep within the recesses of her eyes lay a profound sense of skepticism. 'The Immortal Alliance serves only the grand cultivators... but what about those rogue cultivator friends who hunted demons alongside and helped reach where I am today? What do they count for?' She could not find an answer. Or perhaps, she actually understood, but was simply unwilling to admit it.
—
Yulou smiled and exchanged greetings with Old Chen the gatekeeper before departing from the Information Gathering Court alongside Mo Yunshu. The regulations of Western Sea Immortal City were unique. This location served as the frontline where the Immortal Alliance engaged in warfare against demonic beasts, resulting in a vast number of Foundation Establishnt cultivators. Consequently, flight was not only prohibited, but even Foundation Establishnt cultivators were forbidden from flying. Furthermore, due to the sheer abundance of demonic beasts in the West Sea, it had beco highly fashionable for the cultivators here to rear spirit beasts. Thus, within the immortal city, cultivators favored riding spirit beasts to travel. This point was sowhat akin to a West Sea specialized version of riding spiritual cranes. The West Sea did not look at vestnts or spiritual cranes; it only compared spirit beasts.
Fellow Daoist Yunshu was quite a fascinating individual; her spirit beast was a white-armored bear at the early stage of the Small Demon Realm, weighing a full 1,350 kilograms and standing nearly three ters tall even when crouching. This bear was entirely dark yellow with a glossy coat, bearing a massive white bone plate upon its chest, which was why it was nad the white-armored bear. Its physical flesh was remarkably powerful, and rely by standing there, it exuded a wild and ferociously sinister aura. Mo Yunshu had neglected to warn him when she summoned it, nearly giving Yulou a fright. The colossally sized white-armored bear possessed a pair of tiny green eyes. Yulou stared at it repeatedly, only to discover with a sense of dejection that his little stone turtle was barely the size of one of the white-armored bear's eyes. With a mount like that, let alone riding it, Wang Yulou wouldn't even be willing to bring it out into the open. 'Comparison truly breeds misery!'
"Oh? Then let us walk over together, Junior Brother Yulou." Mo Yunshu realized Yulou's awkwardness in hindsight and spoke up hastily.
The two proceeded on foot toward the Dragon Tiger Platform, though it was rather pitiful for that white-armored bear; having just been summoned by its master to catch a breath of fresh air, it was promptly stuffed back into the spirit beast bag.
"I understand titles like the West Sea Treasure-Wielding True Person or the Gate-Guiding True Person, but the Dragon-Tiger True Man sounds sowhat peculiar. Why would the Immortal Alliance na it so?" When a man and a woman walked together, even if it was to perform official business, they still needed to find topics for conversation, so Yulou proactively initiated a query.
Born into the family of True Person Hansong, Mo Yunshu belonged to the most standard definition of a local West Sea snake, so she naturally understood these matters perfectly and explained what she knew in detail.
"When the Immortal Alliance was newly established, Wunan had already been in chaos for a very long ti, and the cultivators along the West Sea coast had already been driven back to the Western Sea Levee, with no further path of retreat. Consequently, the Western Sea Levee is also known as the West Sea Pass. When the Immortal Alliance was ford later on, the title of Gate-Guiding True Person ca into existence. The Treasure-Wielding True Person is sowhat special, as they wield the high-grade spirit treasure known as the Vajra Pillar. The might of this spirit treasure is extraordinarily potent; legend has it that when deployed properly, it can suppress and slaughter even a Demon King upon its arrival. As for the Dragon-Tiger True Man, being the most formidable among the three True Persons, the title corresponds to the capability of capturing dragons and subduing tigers, and it is always assigned to a Purple Mansion True Man of imnse strength. The Dragon Tiger Platform is the genuine core nexus of Western Sea Immortal City. Once our appointnts are stamped by the Information Gathering Court, they must be stamped once more at the Dragon Tiger Platform before they can officially take effect. Word has it that your Red Lantern Illumination Sect's True Person Haikuo even ended up in a fierce argunt with True Person Jin Shan a few days ago, seemingly because the number of personnel he was inserting was too large, leaving True Person Jin Shan rather dissatisfied."
Yulou mused with a wry smile, offering no statent of stance. Li Haiping belonged to Wondrous Peak Mountain, and the Wang Clan maintained an excellent relationship with Wondrous Peak Mountain. Wang Xianzhou had once led the Wang family to Wondrous Peak Mountain to assist in warfare, during which they had done no small amount of slaughtering on behalf of Wondrous Peak Mountain. The reason Wang Yulou had been able to amass so many spirit stones when he established the Great Goods Store at Clear Stream Market back then was precisely because Wang Xianzhou's god-of-war level capabilities on the frontlines between the two sects were highly unique. His innate talent was originally that of a heavenly genius; if things had proceeded smoothly, he would at least be a seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivator. As a result of being trapped at the Qi Refining stage, he had naturally beco a god of war among those of the Qi Refining stage. He fought on behalf of Wondrous Peak Mountain, while Wang Yulou utilized Wondrous Peak Mountain's warfare to earn spirit stones. It could be said that True Person Li Haikuo of Wondrous Peak Mountain was practically half a mber of their own circle. Jin Shan was a grand cultivator of Immortal Alliance origin, so it was entirely normal for his interests to diverge from Li Haiping's.
"So, the specific function of the Dragon Tiger Platform can be understood as the City Lord's Manor?" Yulou inquired. Matters concerning the True Persons were things one should just listen to without offering personal comntary.
"Mhm... roughly so. Ah, we've arrived. Look, the Dragon Tiger Platform."
The two turned a corner, and across a distance of one kiloter, Mo Yunshu pointed toward the elevated platform in the distance. The Dragon Tiger Platform possessed no dragons and no tigers; it was rely an exceptionally tall elevated platform, bearing a slight resemblance to the monster-resisting platform Wang Yulou had constructed at River Bend Fishing Port. However, the configuration here was vastly superior to Yulou's monster-resisting platform. The Information Gathering Court possessed only a single withered Old Man Chen to guard its entrance, whereas outside the Dragon Tiger Platform stood two rows totaling twenty-four Foundation Establishnt cultivators. They wore suits of armor consisting of grey plates and white surcoats, with spiritual rhythms hidden beneath the surface, yet leaping eagerly between the plates of the armor, as though itching to throw themselves into a fierce battle imdiately.
"Those seniors belong to the Dragon Tiger Guard. Although the frontlines of the West Sea have already drifted far from the immortal city and pierced deep into the West Sea, the Dragon Tiger Guard has been preserved. If those West Sea outposts encounter danger, they can provide reinforcent at a mont's notice. I myself was once saved in the nick of ti by the arriving Dragon Tiger Guard; I nearly perished that ti." Mo Yunshu spoke with a casual air, as though the person who had nearly died back then wasn't her, causing Yulou's heart to tighten slightly as he listened.
The demons of the West Sea differed from those within Wunan, and they differed from those within Dripdrop Cave as well. The demons of the West Sea possessed a heritage. Within the West Sea lay a multitude of Demon Generals and Demon Kings, while Great Demons were simply beyond count. The thirty thousand cultivators within Western Sea Immortal City constituted rely a fraction of the frontline resisting the demonic beasts. Near those outposts, and upon the West Sea levee guarded by the Sky Serpent Sect and the Withered Wood Hall, cultivators resisting demonic beasts were scattered everywhere; only through such ans could the current frontline be maintained.
"Yes, it is truly not easy. It hasn't been easy for Fellow Daoist Yunshu, and it isn't easy for every single demon-hunting cultivator keeping watch over the frontlines of the West Sea," Wang Yulou replied with sighing emotion.
In truth, what Wang Yulou was genuinely thinking was that only by pouring human lives into the West Sea to release the pressure could the strain upon the bottom-tier cultivators of Wunan be alleviated to so extent. If the West Sea did not exist, the current rule of the Immortal Alliance could not possibly persist within Wunan. Sending people to the frontlines of the West Sea to et their deaths was inherently devoid of morality. However, if one viewed them as a portion of the price required for the grand sche—as a sort of sacrificial offering exchanged for the peaceful existence of the hundreds of millions of common mortals in Wunan—then such matters did not seem quite so cruel after all. Compared to millions or tens of millions of people being ground into at and dust at every turn, the annual death of several thousand or tens of thousands of Qi Refining cultivators didn't seem quite so terrifying. Wang Yulou could not find a clear answer; this was akin to a higher-order version of the trolley problem. Every system required individuals to serve as nuts and bolts, occupying ecological niches within the system that were far from comfortable. Such issues had accompanied organizations and groups from the very mont of their birth, appearing to possess no possibility of resolution.
"Wang Yulou, perhaps you have never experienced the life of a rogue cultivator. It is a completely different level of hardship. When rogue cultivators face hardships, what can be observed by others is a re three parts. When you and I face hardships, what can be observed is thirty parts. And when the grand cultivators face hardships, what can be observed is three hundred parts." Aboard the Dragon Tiger Platform, as Mo Yunshu walked, she spoke with a hint of lancholy.
Wang Yulou arched an eyebrow. He realized that Mo Yunshu was even more unusual than Sword Immortal Feng. Sword Immortal Feng belonged to the type who would voice grievances when things were unfair, full of righteous camaraderie. Mo Yunshu was different. Due to True Person Hansong's thod of nurturing, she had spent many years embedded among the rogue cultivators, hunting demons alongside them deep within the West Sea, ultimately returning alive. The aning revealed within her words was so distinctive that Wang Yulou gazed deeply at her silhouette from behind, at a complete loss for where to begin an answer or what to say.
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