Chapter 44: Building Zhaoge City

On the twentieth day of the ninth month, when the returning Kun Boat landed in Fengcheng, Boatmaster Fan was astonished to discover that the endless gales which had always plagued the city were gone.

At the same time, the concentration of spiritual qi in Fengcheng had clearly fallen by a great deal.

“The spiritual qi here is far less active than before. Strange. Could something have happened to the spiritual vein?”

Standing beside the railing, Boatmaster Fan saw several practitioners in crimson official robes waiting below. The prime minister stood at their head, followed by the ministers of the Six Ministries and a group of officials from the Law Enforcement Hall.

As soon as Boatmaster Fan disembarked from the Kun Boat, the officials of Donglai Kingdom hurried forward to greet him.

“Boatmaster Fan, please report this to the immortal gate. Something has happened to Fengcheng’s spiritual vein!”

Only after listening to their explanation did Boatmaster Fan learn that the city’s spiritual qi had begun behaving strangely more than ten days ago.

At first, the gales had abruptly stopped. The Donglai court had thought nothing of it. After all, the Kun Boat had already been gone for several days, and everyone in the city had been wishing for the winds to weaken.

It was not until the court officials finished work and began cultivating that they discovered the spiritual qi was no longer as active as usual. Its concentration also seemed to have fallen considerably. When the situation remained unchanged for several days in a row, the court finally began to panic.

But none of them were true cultivators. Even the prime minister was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining. They had no ability whatsoever to investigate the spiritual vein buried underground. All they could do was wait day after day for the Kun Boat to return.

They had waited for more than half a month.

Boatmaster Fan asked in surprise, “Since something happened to the spiritual vein, why didn’t you ask your sovereign to investigate?”

The sovereign of Donglai Kingdom was at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

The prime minister smiled bitterly. “Our sovereign sealed the great hall and entered death seclusion in the middle of the eighth month. I’m afraid he won’t emerge for another three to five years.”

For a cultivator to enter death seclusion meant that their lifespan was nearly exhausted.

It was a common enough occurrence. Otherwise, what cultivator with a promising future would remain in an impoverished place like the Easternmost Continent merely to rule a kingdom?

No matter how powerful a mortal emperor might be, it amounted to little. How could such a position compare to true freedom, agelessness, and power capable of reaching heaven and earth?

Entering death seclusion was little different from receiving a death sentence.

After all, anyone capable of advancing would have done so long ago. Why would they wait until their lifespan was nearly spent?

Boatmaster Fan gave a heavy sigh. “I hope your sovereign successfully breaks through and emerges from seclusion.”

In truth, he felt nothing at all. He was even taking a little pleasure in the sovereign’s misfortune.

Sympathy? Regret?

Impossible.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator could live for more than three hundred years. The sovereign of Donglai Kingdom had spent his first two centuries enjoying himself on the immortal continents, then spent the last few decades of his dwindling lifespan enjoying himself in Donglai’s imperial palace.

The man had lived comfortably his entire life.

Boatmaster Fan, meanwhile, was merely an ordinary man at the Qi Refining realm. His lifespan would not even reach a hundred years, and he was cursed to spend every day laboring aboard a ship.

What right did he have to sympathize with the sovereign?

Would that not be even more ridiculous than a slave feeling sorry for his master?

While he silently grumbled to himself, the prime minister and the other officials continued staring at him expectantly.

When he remained silent, they urged him anxiously, “Boatmaster Fan, please make a decision! When will you send word to the immortal gate? They can dispatch an Immortal Master to investigate. If someone has tampered with Fengcheng’s spiritual vein, they can send people to capture the culprit before it’s too late!”

Boatmaster Fan finally came back to himself. He glanced sidelong at the ground and slowly said, “Sometimes a spiritual vein simply becomes less effective after being used for a long time. It may not necessarily mean someone tampered with it underground.”

The imperial palace occupied the finest position along the spiritual vein, while the prime minister’s residence occupied the second finest.

The prime minister’s grandson was even more talented than he was and was currently attempting to reach the fifth level of Qi Refining. With the spiritual qi suddenly weakened, no one was more anxious than the prime minister.

Boatmaster Fan, however, remained unhurried. He waved a hand.

“There’s no rush. I’ll write a letter and have a messenger deliver it to the immortal continent. Everyone can wait patiently for a reply.”

To travel from the Easternmost Continent to the Dongchen Continent, one had to cross the East Pole Sea. Even ordinary cultivators found the crossing difficult, let alone mortals in the Qi Refining realm.

Naturally, the messenger Boatmaster Fan spoke of was not a person. It was a specially trained spirit bird.

To prevent the birds from being caught by yao beasts or shot down by cultivators along the way, dozens of spirit birds had to be released with every message to ensure that at least one reached the immortal gate.

Such spirit birds could hardly be considered precious.

Of course, they were also extremely slow.

The prime minister said, “It may take the spirit birds several months to deliver the message. We must trouble Boatmaster Fan to activate the Kun Boat.”

The other officials echoed him one after another.

“That’s right. It only takes three days to reach the immortal continent aboard the Kun Boat…”

“Please help us, Boatmaster Fan! You will be generously rewarded when you return.”

Boatmaster Fan smiled and held out his hand.

“Now that the gales are no longer lifting the Kun Boat, activating it will require even more spirit stones. The total comes to two thousand three hundred spirit stones. I’ll have to ask you gentlemen to settle the bill first.”

At once, every official of Donglai Kingdom fell silent.

Not long afterward, Boatmaster Fan returned to his cabin, still cursing under his breath.

“What a pack of penniless wretches. They won’t pay a single coin, yet they expect to order people around for free. They’ve got bells in their pockets and think they’re treasure chests—dream on.”

In truth, activating the Kun Boat required only one thousand spirit stones.

But if they wanted Boatmaster Fan to do something for them, there was no chance he would agree without taking a cut.

He was no charitable man.

A deckhand who had been leaning against the railing and watching the entire exchange finally asked, “Boatmaster, are we really not sending word to the immortal gate?”

“The spiritual vein belongs to the immortal gate,” Boatmaster Fan replied. “Naturally, any damage to it must be reported. Go write the letter and find some spirit birds to deliver it.”

Only then did the deckhand leave.

Boatmaster Fan threw himself onto the bed in his cabin and leisurely swung his legs.

“This Kun Boat also belongs to the Tyrant Blade Sect. According to the Tyrant Blade Sect’s rules, the spirit stones earned aboard the ship may not be used to activate it. How could an honest boatmaster like me dare violate the Immortal Masters’ rules?”

“They can all wait here. We’ll activate the Kun Boat whenever the immortal gate finally sends a reply.”

As for the fact that several months would pass before the message made a round trip, giving whoever had tampered with the spiritual vein ample time to escape without a trace—

What did that have to do with Boatmaster Fan?

…

Easternmost Continent, Silver City.

Naturally, no one in Silver City knew what had happened three thousand li away in Fengcheng.

The only thing the city’s residents had been enthusiastically discussing over the past few days was the oasis in the Nameless Desert.

“I heard the Immortal Master in Zhaoge isn’t an ordinary cultivator. He’s a Golden Core Perfected One!”

“Hiss! A Golden Core Perfected One? Even on the immortal continents, someone like that would be an important figure. Why would he come to an impoverished place like this?”

“How could people like us possibly guess what a Perfected One is thinking? Before the news spreads beyond the city, we should hurry to the Nameless Desert and claim a place!”

Inside a teahouse in Silver City, someone asked curiously, “But that place is right beside the Sea of Suffering Path! Aren’t you afraid?”

“Heh. The bold gorge themselves while the timid starve. With a Golden Core Perfected One holding the fort, what is there to fear?”

More and more people in the teahouse became tempted.

Before long, nearly everyone had left, leaving only a sparse handful behind. They were true mortals who had never entered the Dao and could only gaze enviously at the departing practitioners.

Xingchun sat near the teahouse entrance, hawking talisman paper while listening to the customers inside. Her heart was full of hesitation.

Half a month ago, the older sister who often bought talisman paper from her had asked whether she wanted to go to Zhaoge.

Xingchun had not agreed at the time. She had said she needed to think about it.

It was not because she disliked Zhaoge.

On the contrary, she liked it very much.

The people of Zhaoge often supported her business. They had dealt with the Chen clan she hated, and they had even opened the inner region of Luoxia Mountain to every practitioner.

They were the most generous people she had ever encountered.

Yet Xingchun could not bear to leave Silver City for Zhaoge.

Years ago, her mother had endured countless hardships to register the two of them as residents of Silver City.

To earn more money, her mother had taken work with the Chen clan. But the household had withheld her wages. Exhausted from overwork, she had fallen ill, yet had no money for treatment and eventually died at home.

By remaining in Silver City, Xingchun still had the thatched hut her mother had left her.

She could still gaze at the Chen estate from afar.

But if she went to Zhaoge, what would she have?

That had been her thinking before.

But after hearing that Zhaoge’s spiritual qi had surged and that the cultivator overseeing it was a Golden Core Perfected One, Xingchun began to regret her hesitation.

Zhaoge was no longer what it had once been.

Would they still accept her if she went now?

After lamenting for a while, the remaining customers in the teahouse also began considering a journey to Zhaoge.

“I’m still going to Zhaoge.”

“Don’t be mad. You and I are both mortals. Going into the desert is no different from seeking death.”

“Then we’ll find a few practitioners to travel with us. We can spend a little more money and buy armor and pills from Boss Luo. If I don’t go to Zhaoge, I’m afraid I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

“Old Mo, what’s gotten into you?”

“Brother Wu, I’m already thirty, but I still haven’t summoned a life-bound artifact. Zhaoge has a powerful spiritual vein now. Perhaps it can help me summon one.”

“At my age, I no longer expect to become a cultivator. I only hope that someday I can become a mid-level Qi Refining practitioner. Not for any other reason, but so that when I’m eighty or ninety, my mind will still be clear, my legs will still carry me, and I’ll still be able to eat.”

Birth, aging, sickness, and death were barriers ordinary mortals could not cross.

From the moment they were born, they were already walking toward death.

Death itself was one thing. But as mortals reached old age, their bodies decayed day after day. Some became confused or even lost their minds.

Old Mo and Brother Wu had both seen people who had once been shrewd and capable, only to grow old and lie senseless in beds fouled with their own waste.

Given a choice, who would willingly spend their final years stripped of all dignity?

Brother Wu stopped trying to dissuade him.

“All right. Then we’ll go together!”

The customers gradually walked into the distance.

Xingchun finally made up her mind as well.

She was different from the customers in the teahouse.

She still wanted revenge against the Chen clan. She still wanted to watch the Chen clan suffer.

She wanted to live for a long, long time.

She could not end up like those customers, already so old yet still unable to summon a life-bound artifact.

Even if Zhaoge was no longer accepting people, she would drop to her knees and shamelessly beg.

She would crawl there one step at a time if necessary.

Her knees were flexible, and she was not afraid of hardship.

Xingchun packed up her things and returned home.

She prepared a lidded carrying basket and carefully placed the plump white silkworm inside.

She had once believed the silkworm was an unparalleled treasure. She had been terrified someone would steal it and kill her to silence her.

Only later had she discovered that the people of Zhaoge had already purchased a whole batch identical to it.

“It seems you’re worth a little money, but you’re not that extraordinary after all. If nothing else works, perhaps I can offer you to them in exchange for permission to enter Zhaoge.”

As she spoke, the huge white silkworm suddenly raised its head and bit her, drawing blood from her arm.

Although the bite hurt, Xingchun was delighted.

She thought the little creature could not bear to part with her.

After soothing the white silkworm and feeding it a handful of grass, Xingchun finished packing and set off.

Before leaving, she went to the Swift Wind Trading Company and very reluctantly bought a single pill.

…

Business at the Swift Wind Trading Company had been excellent lately.

The shop was packed every day, and the assistants worked from morning until night until they scarcely knew whether it was light or dark outside.

Yet the smile on Luo Yanxing’s face diminished with each passing day.

She was a merchant, and she did not lack foresight.

She understood perfectly well that Zhaoge was continuously drawing in the surrounding population. Once everyone intending to go there had finished purchasing equipment, the Swift Wind Trading Company’s business in Silver City would reach its end.

“Either withdraw from Silver City and do business elsewhere, or go to Zhaoge and seek a place there.”

Luo Yanxing did not need long to consider the question.

She already had her answer.

…

Nameless Desert, Zhaoge.

Tie Di had been invited into the small residence.

When she met the Perfected One again after several days, her expression was even more respectful than before.

Chi Yixuan asked how she had been adjusting to life in Zhaoge over the past few days and whether there was anything unsatisfactory.

“Everything is wonderful,” Tie Di replied. “The children are very happy. It is all thanks to the Perfected One’s protection.”

Chi Yixuan thought, You’re still a child yourself!

He said nothing more and instead led her to a table, where a map of the Nameless Desert had been spread out.

He pointed to one location.

“This is the valley where Zhaoge is situated.”

His finger traced a circle around the outside of the valley.

“I plan to enclose this entire area and build a city. In the future, the valley will become the inner city, while the land outside it will become the outer city.”

“That is exactly what should be done,” Tie Di said.

Chi Yixuan continued without pausing.

“I’ve thought it over. Zhaoge could never have reached its current state without the spiritual vein you gave us. Therefore, I’ve decided to build a children’s home here. All your younger brothers and sisters under the age of fifteen can live there and be cared for until they grow up.”

Tie Di was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor and hurriedly refused.

“Senior has already done so much for us. We truly would not dare accept any more.”

Besides, they had not given him the spiritual vein. It had been a transaction.

“At your age, you should be concentrating on cultivation,” Chi Yixuan said. “Constantly looking after children is a waste of your time.”

Tie Di repeatedly insisted that she could manage both.

They had always cared for and protected one another, and she was not the only person looking after the children.

Their senior had already given them more than enough. She feared that if he gave them any more, they would never be able to repay him.

Chi Yixuan went back and forth with her for a while.

When he saw Tie Di growing increasingly frightened, he finally lost patience. He waved his hand.

“I’m building the children’s home no matter what. When it’s finished, you’ll bring the children and move in.”

“That’s settled. You may go.”

Tie Di was speechless.

She left in a daze, barely understanding what had just happened.

Chi Yixuan rubbed his hands together as he studied the map.

Building a children’s home would create some jobs and earn him reward points. Although it would cost a considerable amount of money at the beginning, it was still an extremely profitable undertaking.

“More and more people are crowding around the valley to freeload off the spiritual qi. We need to speed up construction of the city and enclose the entire surrounding area.”

“Anyone who isn’t a citizen of Zhaoge will not be allowed to freeload off my spiritual qi!”

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