Chapter 55: Mistaking the Target

“My lord, we may enter the city now.”

Upon the boundless desert, a newly built city stood abruptly. The chisel marks on the bricks and stones of its walls had yet to be washed by wind and rain. Every edge jutted sharp and keen, just like the city and its owner, both showing their full edge.

Only after hearing the guard’s report did Qian Dingning draw his gaze back from the city wall. He straightened his robes and was just about to get out of the carriage. But the moment half his body poked out, the carriage suddenly started moving, jolting him so hard he stumbled.

Qian Dingning nearly fell to the ground. He flew into a rage at once and slapped the coachman’s back several times, cursing as he hit him. “Didn’t you see that this lord was about to get down? Why are you moving? Why are you moving!”

The coachman did not dodge. He only said, “Guard Ma told me to drive!”

At the side, Guard Ma looked embarrassed. “My lord, you need not get down. The carriage may enter the city.”

Qian Dingning realized he had made a fool of himself, but his tone grew even more aggressive than before. “Of course this lord knows that. This lord merely wished to get down first and stretch his limbs. Is that not allowed?”

Hearing this, Guard Ma reached out to help him down, but Qian Dingning shrank back again, looking perfectly self-righteous. “This lord has changed his mind. Let’s go!”

Guard Ma mounted his horse and raised a hand. The carriage and the dozen or so guards following behind set off together, slowly entering the wide-open city gate. They entered through Zhaoge’s eastern gate, the first one to be completed.

Beneath that magnificent city wall, nine zhang high, whether it was the carriage or the dozen guards following behind it, all seemed as tiny as ants.

When the practitioners guarding near the city wall saw this group enter the city, they could not help discussing it.

“Who are these people?”

“Did you see what those guards are wearing? Brown leather armor and black boots. They’re government soldiers, people from the imperial court.”

“Judging by this display, they’re probably from Fengcheng, right?”

“You can tell that too?”

“Why couldn’t I? See the horses they’re riding? Those aren’t ordinary horses. Their manes and tails are red, and if you look closely, their eyes are dark red too. They’re domesticated yellow-grade middle-rank yao beasts. Only Fengcheng officials can afford to use them.”

“I heard those red-maned horses can travel a thousand li in a day…”

As the practitioners observed the group, Qian Dingning also opened the carriage window and looked around, muttering as he looked. “This city wall looks rather fine, so why is the inside so desolate? The roads aren’t even paved. Wild grass is everywhere.”

After entering the city, everything in sight was empty flat land. There were barely any houses. Instead, there was plenty of wood and stone piled messily on the ground. Qian Dingning had thought a city built by a Golden Core Perfected One must be grand beyond measure. Seeing this, he could not help being greatly disappointed. He pointed here and there. “Look at those laborers. They’re actually sitting there picking their teeth. If they’ve eaten their fill, why aren’t they hurrying back to work? One can see how lax the discipline here is.”

“This godforsaken place where even birds won’t crap, who knows what the Golden Core Perfected One sees in it…”

“Why isn’t there even anyone here to receive us? I am an imperial envoy sent by the court!”

Qian Dingning was still complaining, but Guard Ma’s expression had turned solemn. He said in a low voice, “My lord, lower your voice! This is no ordinary place.”

Qian Dingning did listen to him. Hearing this, he immediately shut his mouth. Only then did Guard Ma explain to him, “The information was not false. There truly is a high-grade spiritual vein here. The spiritual qi is much more active than it was in the former Fengcheng.”

Guard Ma’s gaze was very sharp. He said, “Did you see the row of guards that just patrolled past? Their cultivation was all at the second level of Qi Refining.”

Qian Dingning was very puzzled. “So what? The imperial city guards are all at the third level of Qi Refining.”

Guard Ma said, “They are all very young. From their appearance, they have not yet come of age.”

Qian Dingning did not believe him and hurriedly twisted around to look. Just then, that group of guards patrolled back again. Qian Dingning stared at them with wide eyes and discovered that several of them had immature faces. They looked only sixteen or seventeen. His mouth fell open.

A very long time ago, the world had already summed up a pattern: the denser the spiritual qi in a place, the higher the probability of summoning a life-bound artifact. In the immortal continent, summoning a life-bound artifact around the age of ten was considered utterly ordinary. Among immortal gate clans, there had even been geniuses born with life-bound artifacts in hand.

But in the mortal world, most people could only summon a life-bound artifact after adulthood. Of course, it was not as if there had never been children who entered the Dao and cultivated at a young age, but those were one-in-ten-thousand exceptions, extremely rare, so much so that the world had no way to summarize any pattern from them.

Easternmost Continent had once produced a genius who summoned a life-bound artifact at eighteen and even made an immortal gate lower itself to recruit him. Unfortunately, that person was crippled less than two years later. By now, he might have died on the road to exile.

Therefore, when Qian Dingning saw these even younger second-level practitioners, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Such geniuses—in Zhaoge, there was actually a whole group of them, and they could only serve as small soldiers? Heavens, this was a whole group of future Foundation Establishment cultivators!

Qian Dingning shrank back into the carriage, his fingers trembling nonstop. He asked in a small voice, “They didn’t hear me complaining just now, did they?”

Guard Ma said, “Please rest assured, my lord. Those below Foundation Establishment do not have divine sense. From such a distance, they could not hear.”

Only then did Qian Dingning relax. He said to Guard Ma, “Good thing I have you. Otherwise, a piece of trash like me without a life-bound artifact would have no idea how many times I’d get beaten up.”

Guard Ma said helplessly, “My lord, there is no need to cling to me. I will not abandon you.”

Only then did Qian Dingning withdraw his hand, but his mouth remained stubborn. “You have misunderstood. This lord was not clinging to you. Just now, it was your arm sticking to this lord’s hand and refusing to let go.”

Guard Ma: “…”

The convoy continued on toward Zhaoge’s inner city.

Meanwhile, that squad of Xuanyuan Guards, who had already circled nearby several times, stopped. One of the young girls spoke up. “Brother Jiujin, are we not going anymore?”

Jiujin looked at the convoy that had already gone far away and pulled off the ill-fitting Xuanyuan Guard uniform on his body. “We’re not going. Steward Qiu said this is enough.”

…

After witnessing that squad of underage second-level practitioners, Qian Dingning became much more cautious. Even after entering the inner city and discovering that it was not much better than the outer city, he no longer dared to utter a single word of criticism.

Guard Ma did not forget to remind him, “When you meet that Perfected One later, you absolutely must not make any mistakes.”

Qian Dingning said, “Don’t worry. This lord may not be good at anything else, but I’m very skilled at trampling the low and flattering the high.”

Guard Ma: “…”

At last, someone came to receive them in the inner city. They were two young men in their twenties. One introduced himself as surnamed Qiu, and the other introduced himself as surnamed Ma.

Qian Dingning exchanged pleasantries with them. To Qiu Ping’an, he said, “I hear you do not have a life-bound artifact. How pitiful!”

Qiu Ping’an: “…”

The thing Qiu Ping’an cared about most was the fact that he still did not have a life-bound artifact. Hearing this, his complexion faintly turned blue.

Qian Dingning then said to Ma Hongxuan, “You are also surnamed Ma. What a fortunate meeting. I also have a guard surnamed Ma.”

Ma Hongxuan said good-naturedly, “Lord Qian, I am not a guard. I am the Market Director of Zhaoge’s market office.”

Qian Dingning looked envious. “Market Director? That’s a fat post! You must have pocketed plenty of grease, I imagine!”

Ma Hongxuan’s face also faintly turned blue.

By the time they entered the small residence, Qian Dingning had already drawn quite a bit of hatred.

Behind him, Qiu Ping’an said in a low voice, “Do you want to hit him?”

Ma Hongxuan sounded a little regretful. “I do, but we cannot.”

Unexpectedly, their whispering was actually heard by that Guard Ma. He came over in a few steps, cupped his fists, and said, “My lord has a straightforward nature. Whatever he thinks in his heart, he says aloud. He absolutely bears no ill will. I hope the two of you will be magnanimous.”

Qiu Ping’an answered perfunctorily, “Magnanimous, magnanimous. We are magnanimous about all of it.”

The next moment, his hand sank. A heavy pouch had landed in it.

Guard Ma looked perfectly amiable. “These are twenty spirit stones. A small token of our regard. Please accept them.”

Ma Hongxuan was somewhat surprised. Twenty spirit stones was no small sum, yet a guard could casually take out so much.

Guard Ma was clearly not handling this kind of matter for the first time. “Please do not misunderstand, you two. This comes from my lord. He also knows that his words are unpleasant and offend people, so he specially opened a storeroom for me to smooth things over outside. This is not only for the two of you. The coachman my lord slapped a few times earlier also received gold and silver as comfort.”

Qiu Ping’an and Ma Hongxuan: “…”

They were not quite sure what sort of person this was, but he was indeed worthy of the surname Qian!

…

Soon, Qian Dingning met the Golden Core Perfected One of rumor.

He saw Chi Yixuan dressed in blue, leaning against a soft couch while eating melon by a window that faced the garden. One look showed that it was spiritual fruit. Its color was a brilliant red, its juice abundant, and the entire room was filled with the spreading fragrance of fruit.

Qian Dingning behaved honestly and gave a bow. “Greetings, Perfected One. May the Perfected One live ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years.”

Chi Yixuan: “…”

Qian Dingning endured and endured, but failed to hold back. “Perfected One, what variety of melon is this? It has so much juice, yet not even one drop falls. This must be heavenly palace immortal melon, something only a Perfected One may enjoy.”

Chi Yixuan: “…”

What a joke. If juice did not drip while eating melon, was that the melon’s credit? It was obviously this Perfected One’s credit for making skillful use of spiritual power!

No, wait. Why was he talking like this too? He must have been infected by this fellow.

Chi Yixuan thought, If I’d known, I wouldn’t have watched the livestream of the envoy from Fengcheng.

He did not speak, which made him look rather deep and unfathomable. Qian Dingning also did not dare to say anything more. He did not even dare sit down, and stood properly at the side to wait.

Only after Chi Yixuan finished eating the melon and wiped his hands dry did he carefully observe this envoy. The man looked to be in his early twenties, not tall, with fair skin, a round face, and large black eyes. Unexpectedly, he was actually rather likable in appearance.

However, Chi Yixuan would not become friendly just because of that. He did not let him sit, either, and asked what had brought him to Zhaoge.

Only then did Qian Dingning draw a jade slip from his sleeve and present it to him with both hands.

After Chi Yixuan finished reading the contents of the jade slip, his expression immediately became a little strange. “You wish to invite me to inspect Fengcheng’s spiritual vein?”

Qian Dingning cupped his hands. “Perfected One, there is something you do not know. Fengcheng’s spiritual vein suffered an incident not long ago.”

Chi Yixuan thought, No, I know far too well.

Qian Dingning briefly described the changes that had occurred to Fengcheng’s spiritual vein, then continued, “Several days ago, our nation’s crown prince went to the immortal continent to seek aid. Unexpectedly, he ran into walls everywhere. He then went to the Tyrant Blade Sect to request an audience, but received terrible news. The Tyrant Blade Sect will actually no longer concern itself with our Fengcheng’s spiritual vein.”

Even Chi Yixuan had not expected this. “Why?”

Qian Dingning’s expression filled with indignation. “Because that shameless king of the neighboring East Sea Kingdom bundled up all his sons and sent them to serve as human furnaces for a cut-sleeve elder of the Tyrant Blade Sect!” He launched into an endless denunciation of this shameless act, and went on at great length describing the details.

Chi Yixuan thought, I do like eating melons, but this is not the kind of melon I like!

But since the other party had not come to collect taxes, his attitude became much more amiable. After listening with great relish to Qian Dingning’s gossip, which had probably been embellished any number of times, he pressed, “And then?”

Qian Dingning sighed. “At the time, our crown prince did not know about this matter. He went to beg for help, but the East Sea Kingdom’s crown prince was serving at the elder’s side. Seeing that our crown prince was as beautiful as a flower, his jealousy erupted on the spot. He instigated the Tyrant Blade Sect elder into beating our crown prince.”

Chi Yixuan was puzzled. “If the East Sea Kingdom’s crown prince went to serve the elder, how will he inherit the throne in the future? Is he not afraid of being mocked?”

Qian Dingning said, “As long as this sort of thing is not spoken aloud, how could the common people below know? Besides, without a male crown prince, there can still be a female crown prince, who can ascend the throne and inherit the position just the same.” As he spoke, sorrow colored his face. “Perfected One, you live above the dust of the mortal world and do not know that in these times, people laugh at poverty, not prostitution. So what if East Sea Kingdom’s crown prince spends a few years as a human furnace? Since he has followed a Tyrant Blade Sect elder, he will have no lack of cultivation resources. In a few years, he will reach Foundation Establishment and become a cultivator. By then, he will not care about a mere king’s position.”

Chi Yixuan was puzzled. “What does this have to do with the spiritual vein?”

Qian Dingning sighed. “It has a great deal to do with it! The Tyrant Blade Sect has decided that from now on, the East Sea Kingdom’s capital will be used as the kun-boat docking point. They will also add a yellow-grade spiritual vein to East Sea Kingdom. In the future, the kun-boat will never stop at Fengcheng again.”

Hearing this, Chi Yixuan’s expression cooled. “Is that not very good? In the future, the common people of Fengcheng will no longer be blown away by the wind.”

Qian Dingning said, “Perfected One, you do not know. In the past, with that spiritual vein in Fengcheng, many merchants spent gold and silver each year to rent homes there. The common people in the area around Fengcheng could earn a sum each year by renting out their houses, and they could also make money from the endless stream of practitioners entering Fengcheng. Without that spiritual vein, and then without the kun-boat traveling back and forth to the immortal continent, who knows how many common people will fall back into poverty.”

Chi Yixuan was not going to fall for that. “If the common people are poor, that is because your king fails to act. It does not have much to do with the spiritual vein, does it?”

Qian Dingning stammered, “It does. It does. Once the spiritual vein is broken, it becomes even harder to enter the Dao and cultivate. If one’s cultivation cannot rise, one cannot find a good post. If one cannot find a good post, one cannot earn money, and then one is poor. Furthermore, we must offer tribute to the Tyrant Blade Sect every year, and the national treasury is also very tight.”

Chi Yixuan: “…”

Qian Dingning added, “If the Perfected One is willing to go to Fengcheng and inspect the spiritual vein, the imperial court is willing to offer a heavy reward.” He raised one finger. “The imperial court is willing to offer five hundred spirit stones. I will personally add another thousand spirit stones as thanks.”

Chi Yixuan did not speak. Instead, he heard the life-bound artifact give a heh, though he could not tell whether it was mockery or ridicule.

Chi Yixuan tapped the ground with his foot. In truth, he felt a little regretful. From the looks of it, there would be no fight with Donglai Kingdom. They were not going to collect taxes from him either, so he had no reason to rebel.

He said, “Add one more condition. This entire desert will be permanently placed under my name.”

This time, however, Qian Dingning looked troubled. “Other places might be negotiable, but this place is near the Sea of Suffering Path and falls under the Tyrant Blade Sect’s jurisdiction. For this, you would have to go to the Tyrant Blade Sect!” He even added a word of advice. “Perfected One, be careful. The Tyrant Blade Sect has always been greedy. Seeing your place developing well, they may come to demand a high annual tribute from you.”

Chi Yixuan: “…”

Careless of me. So I mistook the tax collector!

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