Striking It Rich!

Tianlan Immortal City generally rotated governance once every ten years, following a seventy-year cycle. This duration was entirely unreasonable. Cultivators possessed lengthy lifespans; even a Qi Refining cultivator could live for about a hundred years. Once reaching Foundation Establishment or Golden Core, their lives spanned several centuries with ease. Under such long timescales, a mere ten years was disadvantageous for a major sect's long-term growth. After all, most of the spiritually flourishing lands surrounding Tianlan Immortal City held considerable potential. Given an extra few decades of meticulous development, everyone stood to earn significantly more. Yet an unreasonable system, in a particular historical period, was inevitably the most reasonable of all! The ten-year limit had been established three hundred years ago, when the human race first secured its hold over the Jade Cauldron Domain. Back then, to open up the Jade Cauldron Domain, sixteen sects had paid a tremendous price! The few Nascent Soul superior sects from the outer domains had fared somewhat better. However, the Golden Core sects that intended to settle permanently in the Jade Cauldron Domain suffered catastrophic losses. Of the ten Golden Core sects, three had been wiped out entirely during the War of Reclamation, while another suffered such crippling damage that over the next three hundred years it steadily declined, ultimately losing its standing among the great sects. Only then did the present Seven Jade Cauldron Sects, led by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, take form. When the domain was first secured, every sect had suffered grievously. Thus, they urgently required various resources to recuperate and strengthen themselves. Under these circumstances, granting an extended term to manage the newly founded Immortal City was naturally out of the question. Otherwise, if one sect held it for a century and another held it for a century, hundreds of years would pass before one's own turn came around—by which point one's sect might have already fallen into decline. After all, Golden Core cultivators did not emerge easily. And without a Golden Core Master, a sect could never maintain order over a major immortal city. Hence, the initial duty period for governing the Immortal City was set at ten years. Ten years was just right, allowing every major sect to claim its rightful share of profits as soon as possible. Yet in doing so, numerous shortcomings were concealed beneath these immense profits. Flaws such as underpriced leasing of spiritual land, rampant disorder, subordinates desperately currying favor and climbing the ranks, internecine skirmishes, and tangled conflicts abounded. It was not as if no one saw these flaws. Discerning figures among the major sects naturally recognized the drawbacks, knowing they lost even more profit over repeated rotations. Yet some things were not changed the moment they were recognized. Every system possesses its own momentum. Even a flawed system is often tacitly observed throughout history for many years—unless its flaws erupt completely, threatening the interests of those in power. Clearly, the ten-year rotation had not yet jeopardized their interests. In fact, with the ongoing war between the two Nascent Soul superior sects, some even wished that time would pass faster. At present, Ice Fort and Azure Pill Valley were in the midst of handing over authority across Tianlan Immortal City. Past experience showed that this transition typically lasted a month or two. Only after that would Ice Fort's Golden Core Master, their law enforcement squad composed of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and various managing cultivators gradually depart Tianlan to return to their parent sect. At most, a small cadre would remain behind to manage Ice Fort's local estates and businesses. And these one to two months were invariably the most chaotic period in Tianlan Immortal City. However! This round of chaos proved far more turbulent than in past years. Among all developments, the actions of the newly risen Foundation Establishment power, the Luotian Association, drew the keenest scrutiny. They had developed simply too fast! Before anyone realized, they had already attracted widespread greed. Many had assumed they would be ruthlessly erased during this turbulent window. Yet to everyone's surprise, led by their formidable president, the Luotian Association had held their ground! In fact, far more than merely holding their ground, they were seizing the opportunity to expand! The Hu family had been obliterated by the Luotian Association's vassal, the Li family! Their neighbors, the Geng family, had been slaughtered to the last soul by the Luotian Association's chief formation master—one man, one formation! And the Danyuan Sect, Tianying Peak, and Yuzhen Daoist Temple, having provoked the Luotian Association, met equally grim fates. In just two or three short days, from defense to counterattack, the time had come for the Luotian Association to reap its harvest. Outside Danxia Peak, loose cultivators frequently looked up at the sky, watching medium-grade and high-grade flying boats drift in and out. Each time they departed, the vessels were empty save for the cultivators aboard. Yet each time they returned, they were laden to the brim. "They're going to strip those factions down to the bedrock!" "Aren't those the jade cattail silkworms and ink mulberries from Yuzhen Daoist Temple?" "Good heavens! Did they literally uproot all three thousand ink mulberries Yuzhen Daoist Temple cultivated?" "Look! Look! Are those Tianying Peak's eagle nests?" "One, two, three... seven! All seven eagle nests were hauled back!" "They've struck it rich! The Luotian Association made a massive fortune this time. Tianying Peak took in over a hundred thousand spirit stones each year just from selling spirit eagles. And those ink mulberries—their leaves feed the jade cattail silkworms, their bark makes talisman paper, and the inky-blood mulberries they bear are exceptional Grade One spiritual fruit..." "Wait!" "Aren't those two Qi Refining cultivators the alchemists from the Danyuan Sect?" "Heavens above! The Luotian Association was already skilled in alchemy, and now they've absorbed two more alchemists—aren't they about to soar straight into the clouds?" "What about the Geng family? They were best at processing ores; I heard they possessed several secret formulas for treating ores. Did the Luotian Association take those too?" "The Geng estate was already reduced to rubble yesterday. The Geng family's legacy was probably carted off long ago." Outside Danxia Peak, the idle busybodies along the roads kept their eyes glued daily to the flying boats coming and going. Whenever they recognized something familiar, spirited discussions broke out. As treasure after treasure was carted back, countless onlookers turned green with envy. Yet before those murderous Luotian Association cultivators, none dared make a reckless move. Gradually, some caught on. "What am I doing standing around watching every day?" "If the Luotian Association is eating meat, maybe I can get some soup!" Quietly, several loose cultivators stopped gawking and gossiping. Instead, they rushed off to the ruined estates of the destroyed factions, hoping to scavenge what was left behind. The Luotian Association's strategy this time was unmistakable: destroy their lineages and take their wealth, while leaving their mountain gates and estates completely untouched. After all, nominally, those lands still belonged to Tianlan Immortal City. Amid these massive upheavals, two powers had fallen into an eerie silence. Mount Xuchen, the Wei Family Manor. Within the opulent estate, clan head Wei Bofan wore an expression as dark as still water. The two Foundation Establishment friends he had invited were looking rather awkward at this moment. "Brother Wei, it isn't that we don't want to help. You see, we've stayed here for two full days already. But the Luotian Association hasn't come knocking. Perhaps they've ceased hostilities and have no intention of dealing with your Wei family," one Foundation Establishment True Cultivator spoke, his intention to leave unmistakable in his tone. The other chimed in, "The fault lies solely with your cousin. Lord Fire Spirit is a reasonable man; he would never vent his wrath upon Mount Xuchen's Wei Family Manor. Since nothing is amiss right now and the two of us must attend to our cultivation, why don't we take our leave? Should an emergency arise, simply notify us with a voice transmission jade token." Watching the pair eager to depart, Wei Bofan suppressed the anger boiling inside him and said, "The Luotian Association hasn't come before only because they lacked the manpower to divide their attention. "Once their hands are free, they will definitely march upon our gates! "Brother Daoists, please stay a few days more. When it comes to spirit stones, I will never shortchange you!" Yet when he said that, the two grew all the more eager to flee! That Lord Fire Spirit Luo Chen was hardly someone to be trifled with. The details of the battle on the Qinhua River had long since spread far and wide. Without even resorting to magic artifacts, he had dispatched the three early Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Hu family with consummate spells alone. Gathering the three of them together now—could they truly hope to match Luo Chen? Following that, the two offered a litany of excuses: a spirit beast in their cave abode was about to hatch and needed their care; matters had arisen in their clan and with things so chaotic lately, they had to return to oversee them, and so forth. In the end, Wei Bofan had no choice but to see them off. Once they had left, a Wei clan elder said worriedly, "What should we do now?" Wei Bofan rubbed his temples. It was all his cousin's fault! Why on earth did he have to covet the Li family's resources? Mount Xuchen had its own business operations, and they were in no desperate need of those resources at the moment. Yet in the end, he had provoked Luo Chen. If the Luotian Association launched a full-scale assault... "Wait!" Suddenly, Wei Bofan realized something. Wei Tuo had coveted the Li family's resources, not those of the Luotian Association. In other words, there was no overt conflict between the Wei family and the Luotian Association. Moreover, Luo Chen had suffered no real losses in that battle. Which meant there was room for leeway and reconciliation! The fact that the Luotian Association had initially bypassed Mount Xuchen and instead struck the comparatively distant Tianying Peak was clear evidence of this. Having reasoned through this, a glimmer of hope abruptly rose in Wei Bofan's heart. He immediately called out to the clan elder: "Ping'an, wait here for me. I will write a letter by hand, and you are to deliver it to Danxia Peak shortly." "Ah!" Second Elder Wei Ping'an was dumbfounded. "Remember, you must deliver it directly into the hands of the Luotian Association's president!" With that, Wei Bofan hurried into his study. He left behind only the second elder standing outside, his face ash-gray. "What kind of curse did I bring on myself by walking up here? Danxia Peak is practically a dragon's pool and tiger's den right now. Sending me to deliver a letter—isn't that asking for my old life?" ... Compared to Mount Xuchen finding hope amidst a desperate plight, the atmosphere inside the Divine Craft Sect was far more oppressive. Sect Master Fei Changqiu, at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment, and the Grand Elder, at the second layer of Foundation Establishment, stared at each other in silence. Neither of them had expected matters to spiral to such a state. They had already been planning to shift their primary business operations away from Tianlan Immortal City to another location. Yet before they could act, Lu Rong had insisted on pulling off one last score. That was indeed well within his nature. But he should have at least succeeded! Now he had breathed his last and departed for the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss, but what about them? "Sect Master, should we run right now, or should we run right now?" Fei Changqiu shot him an annoyed glare. "Run? Run from what? Luo Chen is in the mid Foundation Establishment stage—am I not as well?" The Grand Elder opened his mouth, then hesitated. The moment that man reached mid Foundation Establishment, he had forged the Daoist title of "Lord Fire Spirit" through sheer battle. You've been in that stage for years, yet who has ever heard of an honorable title for you? There was an obvious gulf between their combat prowess. Fei Changqiu could not bear to part with this foundation, especially now that Lu Rong was dead, which meant he could claim an even larger share of the resources. After pondering for a moment, he said hesitantly, "From what I know, the Luotian Association struck in every direction this time, and their methods appeared rather ruthless?" The Grand Elder paused, then swiftly caught on, his eyes gleaming. "You mean..." "For now, we stand as firm as a mountain. I have connections with Iron Sword Hall. If I report this matter up the chain, the Luotian Association won't be able to bear the consequences!" Saying this, Fei Changqiu felt much more at ease. Not only that, but he waved his hand grandly. "Perhaps we can even seize this chance to have the Luotian Association struck from the registry. "When that time comes, we can be the first to move in and seize the territory and assets they took! "I hear there are plenty of treasures. If we get our hands on them, neither of us will lack the resources to cultivate to late Foundation Establishment! Even making a push for Golden Core won't be entirely out of reach!" The Grand Elder grew intensely excited. "A brilliant scheme, Sect Master!"