Chapter 63: Two Updates Combined

The troupe leader led the whole company forward, half-believing and half-doubting, as they followed the assistant Boss Luo had sent. When they reached the Nameless Desert, she probed him for information about Zhaoge.

This assistant had been one of the people who had accompanied Luo Yanxing to lodge in Zhaoge back then. He had personally witnessed how Zhaoge had gone from a small mountain valley in the beginning to the point of building a city today, and he felt quite emotional about it. More importantly, their boss had recently shown interest in moving her business into Zhaoge, so of course assistants like them would have to go along too.

So when the troupe leader asked, he naturally listed all of Zhaoge’s good points. The assistant believed he was not exaggerating, but to the troupe leader’s ears, that was not how it sounded.

What sort of place could possibly have a Golden Core Perfected One holding down the fort, a high-grade spiritual vein comparable to the Immortal Continent, and also be a famous producer of pills and armor plates throughout the surrounding region…

The troupe leader only felt that this assistant was bragging. Why had she never heard of such a wonderful place as “Zhaoge”?

What the troupe leader did not know was that ever since Zhaoge obtained a spiritual vein, the nearest city, Silver City, had intentionally kept the news from spreading. Although a blockade of this degree could not be hidden from the imperial court, it was enough to temporarily keep it from the more distant Feng City.

Thus, at this moment, she did not take the assistant’s claims seriously. Seeing him praise Zhaoge as if it existed in heaven and nowhere on earth, the more she looked, the more she felt something was strange.

“Luo Yanxing, oh Luo Yanxing. Your mother and I are old friends, and it’s because I trust you that I’ve traveled so far to perform at this venue. Don’t let me down.” With no grudge and no conflict, plus their old friendship, the troupe leader did not think Luo Yanxing would harm her, and she believed Luo Yanxing was sincerely looking after her business. But the assistant in front of her was another matter.

Therefore, the troupe leader kept her expression calm on the surface, but once her back was turned, she made a hand signal toward the troupe’s martial lead.

The martial lead was also a mid-level practitioner. In his youth, he had been a famous martial sheng actor. After he grew older, although his martial skills had not grown rusty, his face was no longer as tender as when he was young and did not appeal to audiences, so he withdrew from the stage and went behind the scenes to serve as the martial lead, specializing in teaching newcomers how to perform fight scenes. Occasionally, when there were not enough people, he would paint his face and go onstage to make a guest appearance.

He carried a large saber on his back, his body knotted with muscle. When he saw the troupe leader’s signal, his gaze turned cold. He pressed a hand to the large saber behind him and nodded slightly at the troupe leader. This was a sign that if anything was truly wrong, he would immediately draw his blade and charge forward.

Most of the people in their troupe had cultivation, and there were many of them. This time, dozens of people had set out together, so they were not worried about following others.

By the time they entered the Nameless Desert, it was noon. What struck them as strange was that there was actually a winding road formed of green grass across the desert, and there were quite a lot of people entering the desert along the way.

The troupe leader found it rather novel. “Isn’t it said that the Nameless Desert is both dangerous and short on materials, so not many people are willing to go there?”

“Short on materials” was a common saying in the Longevity Realm.

In ordinary meditation, people mobilized the spiritual power between heaven and earth to communicate with their life-bound artifact until their spiritual power recovered. Once that happened, the meditation session was considered complete. If, after their spiritual power recovered, they discovered there was more in their body than last time, that meant their cultivation had improved.

But to recover, one first had to expend.

The process of cultivation for practitioners was the process of using up spiritual power, then meditating to recover it. Through constant depletion and recovery, the spiritual power inside the body would gather like drops of water, accumulating more and more until the day the water overflowed, which meant they had advanced.

As the saying went, meditation was flowing water, but expenditure was hammered iron. Everyone’s life-bound artifact was different, and the posture used for meditation also differed slightly, but the method of expending spiritual power was the same: use the spiritual power inside the body. If one could use one’s life-bound artifact for practical purposes, then spiritual power would be depleted faster, and one’s cultivation would advance faster as well.

The method most people used to expend spiritual power was to go hunting in the wilderness. They could familiarize themselves with the use of spiritual power, expend their spiritual power, and earn a little something to subsidize the household. Why not?

That was also why practitioners were so enthusiastic about going into the wild. Their prey included ungraded wild beasts and medicinal herbs, as well as graded yao creatures, spirit herbs, and so on. If there were graded old trees, stones, and other such things, as long as they could recognize them and sell them for a price, those were all favorites of theirs. These things were collectively called “materials.”

The Nameless Desert had originally been a place where spiritual power was almost exhausted. It was difficult for even a blade of grass to grow there, and there were also many troublesome insects. Thus, it was famously “both dangerous and short on materials.”

So there was nothing wrong with the troupe leader’s question.

“Hah! That was all in the past.” The assistant said warmly, “Ever since Zhaoge appeared, this place has completely changed. See this Fragrant Grass Road? Zhaoge specially made it to guide people so no one would take the wrong path. Look at those people around us. They’re all going to Zhaoge too.”

As the assistant spoke, he seemed to find it strange as well. “There are a lot more people today, though.”

Beside the Fragrant Grass Road, there were many passersby carrying bundles. Some had brought their families, some were riding livestock, some were practitioners, and some were ordinary people.

It was already noon, yet no one stopped to rest. They were still pressing forward under the blazing sun. After all, not everyone was willing to buy expensive armor. Without armor, once night fell, they would learn how formidable the sandworms of the desert were.

This assistant had traveled north and south with Luo Yanxing, and he was by no means introverted. Since he felt puzzled, he went up and asked. He picked out a second-level practitioner who looked kind.

That person looked at him in confusion. “You don’t know? Zhaoge has opened entry into the city. Right now, as long as someone can work, they can enter the city, and they can bring two dependents. Bring a household registration certificate stamped by the imperial court, and they can change it on the spot to settle in Zhaoge.”

The assistant cried out and jumped up at once. “Wasn’t it said that entering the city required an assessment, and that it was very strict? Don’t fool me. Plenty of practitioners couldn’t get in before!”

That person had a good temper and continued, “Zhaoge’s notice was posted yesterday. It has already spread all over Silver City.” His tone carried envy. “I heard that before, they were selecting clerks to manage city affairs, so it was stricter. Now anyone can enter. It’s just that they can only do construction work.”

He picked up the child tugging at his trouser leg. “I won’t talk with you anymore. I have to hurry. Who knows when Zhaoge will stop accepting people again?”

That practitioner hurried off with the child.

In the past, a second-level Qi Refining practitioner would have disdained going to a construction site to work. Whether hunting in the wilderness or entering a local office to become a petty clerk, such a person would have no worries about food or drink.

But Zhaoge had a spiritual vein! It was said that the spiritual qi there was as dense as on the Immortal Continent, and to go to the Immortal Continent, one had to spend ten spirit stones to take a boat! Besides, without reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining and without family background, who would dare go to an unfamiliar land ten thousand li away to struggle for a future?

Entering Zhaoge was different. The spiritual qi was dense, cultivation speed was fast, and if a child grew up in Zhaoge, the chance of summoning a life-bound artifact would be greater. They would definitely surpass their parents. The family might not hope to produce a cultivator, but if they could produce a mid-level practitioner, that would be enough to change the lives of the whole household.

Once that practitioner had gone far away, the assistant’s thoughts also grew restless.

His own boss had already intended to move into Zhaoge last month, but Zhaoge’s threshold was strict, and it was also rather incomprehensible. Some were clearly ordinary people who had not summoned a life-bound artifact, yet could enter. Some were practitioners, yet could not get in.

Given Boss Luo’s relationship with Zhaoge, she and her dependents could definitely enter, but assistants like them might not be able to. Now Zhaoge had finally opened up. The assistant’s heart flew along with it, and he wished he could immediately run home, pack up his belongings, and move in with his whole family, old and young.

As long as someone had any ambition, who would not yearn for a better place?

The Xingsheng Troupe discovered that the assistant was traveling faster than before, the horsewhip cracking loudly.

They were different from the assistant, who traveled light. They only had three horses to pull carts, and the carts were loaded with costumes, prop boxes, stage props, and other performance items. People could only take turns sitting on the shafts. Now that the assistant was hurrying so quickly, they were finding it hard to keep up. Someone complained and said they needed to rest. He wanted to sit on the Fragrant Grass Road, but the assistant stopped him at once.

The assistant looked panicked. “You’ll get yourself killed! You absolutely must not sit on it. You can’t even step on it. Didn’t you see that no one around here is walking on it?”

Everyone was confused, and the troupe leader asked a question.

The assistant said with a solemn face, “This Fragrant Grass Road was created by that Perfected One. It’s said he loves cleanliness to the extreme. Whoever steps on his road, he’ll take off their head!”

The troupe leader lowered her voice. “Is that true?”

The assistant said mysteriously, “It may only be a rumor, but wind does not arise from an empty cave. For everyone’s sake, it’s better to be cautious!”

Everyone nodded in unison. After all, cultivators did not have to pay with their lives for killing people. If the rumor was false, then nothing would happen, but if it was true, that was a major matter concerning their lives! On this point, everyone would rather believe it than not.

Although the troupe leader felt that most of what the assistant said was boasting, she prudently complied. Even though the Fragrant Grass Road in the desert looked soft and fluffy like a soft quilt, she only looked at it and did not go lie down on it to rest.

The group hurried along in fits and starts and finally reached Zhaoge before dusk.

The side of Zhaoge facing Silver City was the east city gate. Looking at the brand-new city wall before them, far more magnificent than those of Silver City and Feng City, the Xingsheng Troupe finally believed what the assistant had said.

Whether there was a Golden Core Perfected One or not, no one knew, but the city was real! It was not some ruined temple or ancient monastery in the wilderness, so their hearts settled back into their stomachs.

The martial lead of the Xingsheng Troupe was finally willing to take his hand off the saber hilt. After pressing it there the whole way, his hand was going numb.

The city gate was extremely wide, guarded by sentries in blue robes and black armor who held spears. To the left of the city gate stood a table, and before the table was a long line.

The troupe leader had sharp ears. She heard the petty clerk holding a brush ask those entering the city their name and place of origin, whether they sincerely wished to settle in Zhaoge, and whether they would do anything disadvantageous to Zhaoge. Only after they answered each question one by one did he issue them a token to enter the city.

It seemed that Zhaoge really was a good place, with so many people scrambling to enter. Could there truly be a spiritual vein inside? The troupe leader could not help feeling a touch of yearning.

She had thought the Xingsheng Troupe would also have to be questioned in turn, but to her surprise, someone was already standing in the middle of the city gate waiting for them. The assistant went up to him and called out, “Steward Tao.” That person then came toward them.

This Steward Tao was not yet thirty. His looks were ordinary, but he smiled very amiably and put on no airs at all. “You must be Troupe Leader Jiang of the Xingsheng Troupe! A pleasure, a pleasure. Everyone must be exhausted from the journey. It has truly been hard on you. Please come into the city with me first and rest!”

As Steward Tao walked, he introduced the place to them.

“Our Zhaoge is a new city. The city walls were only fully completed yesterday. Originally, we discussed holding a lively ceremony, but our City Lord is considerate of the common people and said that many people in the city still haven’t been assigned housing, so construction should come first…”

Tao Dacheng pointed to the planned plots on either side and said, “The roads have already been marked out. In the future, a large market will be designated here in the east city. Only the areas on both sides near the city walls will have some civilian residences built. It will definitely be lively in the future. According to the work schedule, the market can be completed before New Year. When the time comes, everyone is welcome to visit.”

The troupe members of the Xingsheng Troupe looked in the direction Steward Tao indicated and indeed saw flat, empty land divided by straight roads. These roads connected with one another, enclosing neat square plots in the middle. These plots varied in size, marking different uses. The plots along the central main road already showed clear outlines of buildings, and many workers were in full swing.

Troupe Leader Jiang counted. One plot alone had over a dozen workers beginning work at the same time, and there were hundreds of plots in the east city. With such a rough calculation, there had to be at least ten thousand workers. No wonder that assistant said Zhaoge was changing rapidly day by day. With ten thousand laborers starting work at the same time every day, how could the changes not be great?

This scene also allowed her to witness Zhaoge’s wealth.

Among all the workers she could see, not a single one was thin and exhausted. Almost every face had flesh on it, and every arm had strength. Troupe Leader Jiang even deliberately looked a few more times, but did not discover anyone with a poor complexion. Among them were even some practitioners. It seemed Zhaoge paid well in food and wages.

To provide food and wages for tens of thousands of people every day—what an enormous sum that must be! That alone was more than Troupe Leader Jiang could earn in a lifetime.

The troupe members of the Xingsheng Troupe also discussed in low voices, all feeling that the City Lord was rich.

Tao Dacheng continued his introduction. “After the east city is built before the New Year, construction on the south city will begin after the New Year. So our Zhaoge is very short on workers. If you find this place good, please help spread the word when you return. This Tao would be deeply grateful.”

As he spoke, he even cupped his hands toward Troupe Leader Jiang. Troupe Leader Jiang felt rather overwhelmed by the favor and hurriedly supported him, saying she did not dare accept such courtesy.

She was also a mid-level practitioner. The farther inside she walked, the more she felt that the spiritual qi here far surpassed other places. The troupe members’ faces also revealed a look of satisfaction, as if they had just eaten a good meal.

How could such a place lack people? Troupe Leader Jiang thought he was joking, but then she heard Tao Dacheng say, “Our City Lord said that before the New Year, Zhaoge’s population must rise to one hundred thousand. Right now, we are still short by more than seventy thousand!”

Troupe Leader Jiang was somewhat startled.

Then she heard Steward Tao continue, “The place has already been prepared. Rest fully tonight. You may also walk around, but there are two places you cannot go. First is the small residence in the inner city. That is our City Lord’s dwelling. The Xuanyuan Guard patrols there day and night. They are highly suspicious, so if you get too close, you might be captured as spies.”

“Second is the Jade Dragon Platform in the north of the city. That is where our Zhaoge trains soldiers, and it is also a place you cannot approach or spy on.”

Troupe Leader Jiang was not so ignorant as to fail to understand such rules, but she still thanked him appreciatively.

Tao Dacheng then smiled with slight pride. “Everyone need not be nervous. Although our City Lord is a Perfected One, he is the most considerate of his subjects. He himself does not like extravagance, but he cannot bear to see his people lonely through the long nights, so he ordered me to invite an opera troupe to help everyone pass the time. I do not usually enjoy watching opera and do not know which troupe performs well. I heard that inviting an opera troupe requires booking half a month in advance. This time, it was all thanks to Boss Luo making the connection that we could invite you here. If you meet Boss Luo when you return, please thank her for me. It’s thanks to her that I was able to complete this errand so quickly.”

The Xingsheng Troupe, which had not been able to sell opera tickets for a long time: …

Troupe Leader Jiang’s smile, however, was straightforward and showed not the slightest oddity. She chatted and laughed easily with Steward Tao and even mentioned some amusing things about arranging plays, bluffing the layman Tao Dacheng until he was stunned.

Tao Dacheng felt that he got along quite well with them and originally wanted to escort them to their resting place, but midway, a certain Chief Steward Qiu called him away, so he ordered a servant to lead them over instead.

After traveling for several days, the Xingsheng Troupe was already exhausted and should have immediately gone to sleep. However, once they reached their lodging, not one of them dared to rest.

There was no other reason. The pressure was enormous.

The Xingsheng Troupe had not had a major patron for a long time. This time, when they heard the place they were going was rather remote, they had assumed that the villagers had little experience and that their skills would be enough to win a full-house ovation. But when they arrived, they saw that while it was remote, it was nothing like what they had imagined.

Although this was a new city, the population had all come from Silver City. It was not as if the people of Silver City had never seen the world. The local opera troupe in Silver City had a dan actor who portrayed Immortal Lord Lingyuan with exceptional brilliance. That dan actor alone was beyond their troupe’s reach even if they whipped their horses to catch up.

Not to mention that Zhaoge had invited them over but had not given them a list of requested plays, only saying they could perform whatever they wanted. This…

Troupe Leader Jiang made a prompt decision. Before the sky had fully darkened, she sent several people out to inquire about what plays the locals liked to watch. No matter what, catering to their tastes could not be wrong.

However, before long, everyone sent out to ask returned dejected.

Troupe member one said, “I asked a few old women. They said anything is fine. They like everything.”

Troupe member two said, “I asked a few young people. They said they’ll watch whatever we perform and aren’t picky.”

Troupe member three said, “I asked a few children. They asked me what opera is.”

Troupe member four said, “I specially picked out a few plays and asked which one they wanted to watch more. They said they wanted to watch all of them.”

The troupe members were the odd-job workers in the opera troupe. They usually did all kinds of miscellaneous work, and sometimes they went onstage as guest maids or young servants. The Xingsheng Troupe was not large; all told, it had only a few dozen people. Sending out these four troupe members was already the limit. The other troupe members were busy organizing trunks and arranging costumes.

But with all four people saying this, it was enough to give the entire troupe a headache.

No requirements were the greatest requirement. Even Troupe Leader Jiang could not help wanting to complain after hearing it. The people here were truly picky!

In reality, after the inner city residents had been cared for in Zhaoge for this period of time, they had long since shed their former timidity. Their complexions were also no different from ordinary commoners, and not the slightest trace of their slave origins could be seen.

Some of them had become slaves midway through life, while others had been born slaves. The former had not had such entertainment as watching opera for a very long time, and the latter had never had the qualifications to watch opera at all.

Hearing that the City Lord was worried they would be bored at night and had specially invited an opera troupe, they were too grateful and excited to know what to do. How could they possibly pick and choose?

However, how could the Xingsheng Troupe from out of town know so much? They only thought the inner city residents were picky and hard to serve. With truly no reference to go by, after discussing it for a moment, they decided to bring out the skills they had accumulated over their whole lives and make absolutely sure to perform this show well!

Troupe Leader Jiang said, “Our Xingsheng Troupe has not opened for business in a long time. This new city of Zhaoge may be our only chance to turn things around. There’s no other competition here. If we still can’t win them over, then our Xingsheng Troupe might as well disband! Listen carefully. Pull yourselves together and bring out your greatest skill!”

“The master of Zhaoge is so rich. If we can win a full-house ovation here, there will be no shortage of money for us to earn in the future!”

…

At this moment, in Fengcheng several thousand li away, Chi Yixuan was watching the Xingsheng Troupe’s movements from afar.

After all, this was a troupe invited from elsewhere with money, not commoners who wanted to settle in the city, so it would not be appropriate to test them with the Book of Truth. Usually, it would not matter, but now Chi Yixuan was not inside Zhaoge, so he inevitably had to keep an eye on them. If someone with ill intentions had slipped inside, he could discover it in time. After all, Zhaoge was filled entirely with his live points!

Seeing that the Xingsheng Troupe made no abnormal moves, Chi Yixuan reassuredly turned off the image.

However, Troupe Leader Jiang’s words had left an impression on him after all.

“I should be pretty rich now, right?” Chi Yixuan had his life-bound artifact call up the account book with some anticipation. The next moment, the red ink filling the screen made his complexion look green instead.

“It’s fine. I have Qiu Ping’an!”

Chi Yixuan closed the game panel and once again lifted his snacks. “What can dispel worry? Only eating another jin.”

Life-bound artifact: …

After he finished eating another jin of snacks, the imperial court officials of Fengcheng finally came out to welcome him. They had laid out a red carpet all the way to receive the convoy inside.

Chi Yixuan was just about to criticize them for extravagance and waste when his divine sense suddenly discovered that their red carpet was being reused. After the convoy traveled a stretch of distance, practitioners immediately rushed over to bring the red carpet to the front and lay it out again.

Perhaps to avoid being discovered by him, the practitioners responsible for collecting the red carpet ran until their faces were red, in what could be called a life-and-death sprint.

The scolding words in Chi Yixuan’s mouth suddenly would not come out. After holding them in for a moment, he spat out one sentence.

“Forget it. Why should one poor ghost make things hard for another poor ghost?”

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