Born with immortal seed

Chapter 165 Expanding the Immortal City
"Brother Jin is truly a rare guest, to be able to take time out of his busy schedule to come to Feiyue Lake."

Bai Zichen planned to spend a few days in peace and quiet at Feiyue Lake before heading to Wanbaoge to purchase elixirs.

Unexpectedly, an uninvited guest arrived at their door the very next day.

"Haha, it seems that Junior Brother Bai has not yet received the news. Last month, I stepped down from my position as the elder of the neighborhood and returned to the main mountain to become the elder of the Alchemy Hall."

Jinlu patted his round belly and laughed like a Maitreya Buddha.

"I just finished attending Senior Brother Tan's funeral and rushed over to Junior Brother's place... I received a task that requires the two of us to complete."

"Sect mission?"

Bai Zichen hadn't fully processed the news of Jin Lu's change of allegiance when he frowned: "It seems I haven't reached the stage of temporary appointment yet, so there shouldn't be any tasks assigned to me."

Newly appointed elders are given ten years to adapt.

There will be no assigned duties or sect missions during this period.

This has always been a tradition of the Qingfeng Sect.

"Junior Brother Bai, please read this warrant first. It was jointly issued by the acting sect leader and the two hall masters..."

Jin Lu took out a warrant, handed it over, and then turned to admire the furnishings of Baiyulou with great interest.

'He gave up his comfortable position as mayor of the town and suddenly became an elder of the Alchemy Hall… But I've never heard of this Senior Brother Jin being skilled in alchemy. He'd be more suited to going back to the main mountain to oversee the Spirit Beast Hall.'

The current market holds an extremely special position within the sect.

Its annual income from spirit stones exceeds that of any of the Five Palaces and Eight Halls, yet it has no official rank and can only be considered a temporary organization dispatched by the sect leader.

However, the position of the town elder is highly coveted, and the spirit stones offered as tribute each year are several times the official salary.

Moreover, Jinlu was a key member who promoted the establishment of the market town, so there was no reason for him to give up the huge profits in the market town and be transferred back to the alchemy hall to become an ordinary elder.

Unless, of course, the latter can bring him greater benefits.

The position of Palace Master is now vacant!

A flash of inspiration struck Bai Zichen, and he felt that he had grasped the key to it.

With Tan Changkong's passing, the position of Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall is vacant and needs to be filled.

Unlike the sect leader, the Five Palace Masters have strict requirements on the level of cultivation of the person holding the position; they must be at least in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Currently, Zhou Suqing is the only late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in the sect who is not a Hall Master.

However, since she entered the Transmission Hall early on, she probably doesn't have any intention of switching to the Alchemy Hall.

As for the elders in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, there are quite a few of them.

The person with the highest prestige to succeed the position of Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall was naturally Han Qing, a second-tier high-grade alchemist, who was also Tan Changkong's preferred candidate before his death.

Judging from Jin Lu's actions, there's probably more to it than meets the eye.

However, both of them are at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, so even if one wins the competition, he can only temporarily assume the position of Palace Master.

Only when one's cultivation level reaches a certain point can one officially assume office and be bestowed the Palace Master's Seal.

The handwritten note contained very little, just a few lines, and it was indeed signed by Gu Xisheng, followed by the seals of Liang Yu and Ying Zhong.

"Going to Zengguang Immortal City to bid for the Thousand-Year Golden Crown Lingzhi at the auction... This task is indeed very important. In previous years, it was always handled by the senior brothers of the Alchemy Hall, but this time it has fallen to Senior Brother Jin and me. Please teach me, Senior Brother."

The Thousand-Year Golden Crown Lingzhi is the most important main ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. Apart from finding it as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack deep in the Black Mountain, the most stable way for Qingfeng Sect to obtain it is through Zengguang Immortal City.

As a city that connects four kingdoms and radiates influence across dozens of countries, Zengguang Immortal City possesses its own secret realm of medicinal gardens.

Every few years, hundreds of thousand-year-old spiritual herbs are offered as auction items, attracting cultivators from all sides.

Golden Crown Ganoderma is one of them.

Without the thousand-year-old golden crown lingzhi, there is no Foundation Establishment Pill, which directly affects the number of newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect.

Therefore, the seemingly ordinary auction of Zengguang Immortal City is of great importance.

Tan Changkong was in charge of it personally in the past, but in recent years the responsibility has been transferred to Han Qing.

"Here is a letter that Senior Brother Liang asked me to give to you. Junior Brother Bai, you can take a look."

Bai Zichen took another letter from Jin Lu's hand; it was indeed written by his senior brother Liang Yu.

While handwriting can be forged, it is difficult for others to imitate magical imprints; it is something that only cultivators of a higher realm can achieve.

"When does Senior Brother Jin plan to depart?"

Bai Zichen read much slower this time. After finishing, he rubbed his fingers together and burned the letter to ashes.

"The sooner the better... According to the pattern, the next auction in Zengguang Immortal City is in a few months, and if we go too late, we might miss the deadline!"

Jin Lu sat up, speaking urgently.

"Three days from now, I still have some things to prepare..."

After a moment's thought, Bai Zichen gave an answer.

"Alright, I'll come back to find Junior Brother Bai in three days."

Jin Lu patted his belly, laughed heartily, and left Baiyulou.

"I never thought that after all this time, I would still have to go to Zengguang Immortal City... only it has changed from a private matter to a public matter."

Bai Zichen watched Jin Lu's departing figure and thought about what his senior brother Liang Yu had said. He felt that it was indeed a trip that was both public and private.

Liang Yu planned to appoint Bai Zichen as supervisor two years later, and then transfer him to the position of supervisor of the inner palace within five years.

In the Hall of Law Enforcement, the Elder of the Abode is considered the third-in-command, second only to the Hall Master and the Senior Elder. He has the responsibility of overseeing the constitution and managing the prohibitions.

Liang Yu was worried that Bai Shidi's rapid promotion would cause other elders to have opinions, which would affect his future reputation.

Even if they force him into the position, there will be even greater resistance when he takes over as the temple master.

Therefore, the task of escorting the Golden Crown Lingzhi was arranged so that Bai Zichen could gain a merit before entering the Law Enforcement Hall and shut others up.

Anyway, the route to Zengguang Immortal City mainly passes through the territory of the Righteous Alliance, which is in the opposite direction from the Demonic Sect, so it is not very dangerous.

Qingfeng Sect has participated in dozens of auctions in Zengguang Immortal City without ever encountering any problems.

The letter also pointed out that Junior Brother Bai should be wary of Jin Lu, as this person has the support of several elders.

At this sensitive time, he was transferred to the Alchemy Hall and also took the opportunity through the ancient and mysterious channels to secure a position in Zengguang Immortal City. His intentions were obvious to everyone.

To avoid getting too involved and getting caught up in the power struggles within the Alchemy Hall.

"I originally planned to cultivate the Glazed Body and then go to Zengguang Immortal City to protect myself. However, after obtaining the most important flying sword, I was no longer in such a hurry... I'll take this opportunity to see the style of the so-called number one immortal city in the world."

Bai Zichen was worried about not being able to spend all his spirit stones, so he decided to go to Zengguang Immortal City to find two spirit artifacts that suited his taste.

"However, there are two things to do before we set off."

Bai Zichen summoned his sword, and with a flash of silver light, flew straight towards the market, where he stayed in the Wanbao Pavilion for an hour.

I went back to the mountain gate again and walked around the General Affairs Hall and the Law Enforcement Hall.

When he returned to Baiyulou, his storage bag was much fuller.

The cultivation-enhancing pills have all been replaced with Earth Flame Spirit Pills this time, which are indeed superior to Spirit Enhancement Pills for cultivators using fire-based techniques.

I bought twenty bottles at once, which should last me for a while.

There was also an extra jade box in the storage bag, containing three hundred mid-grade spirit stones, which he had exchanged for a full 30,000 contribution points in the General Affairs Hall.

Sect disciples generally agree that one point of contribution is worth one and a half spirit stones, an estimate based on the vast majority of items that can be exchanged for.

However, the sect buys back the items at a ratio of one hundred contribution points to one mid-grade spirit stone.

Bai Zichen was worried that there would be too many good things in Zengguang Immortal City and he wouldn't have enough spirit stones, so he simply exchanged some of them.

Through his senior brother Liang Yu, he obtained a third-tier talisman as a means of survival.

The Taiyin Star Escape Talisman draws upon the power of the Taiyin Star, allowing one to travel by stepping on the stars. The body can gather and disperse, and in a short time, one can travel more than a hundred miles away.

This one-time use talisman cost him a full three thousand contribution points.

It was only out of respect for Senior Brother Liang Yu that the Talisman Hall was willing to take this talisman from its treasured third-tier talisman collection for him to exchange.

However, there's a reason why it's expensive; in a crisis, this Star Escape Talisman can save a life.

As long as you don't leave a divine mark, even a Core Formation cultivator can't catch up with you.

No matter how safe it may seem on paper, Bai Zichen only believes in the power of facts, and it's always right to plan for the worst.

"After the war between the righteous and the demonic, the relationship between the Righteous Alliance and the Qingfeng Sect has warmed up, and they are almost like half-allies... It is unlikely that we will encounter danger on their territory. Moreover, Zengguang Immortal City is suppressed by a Nascent Soul True Monarch, so no villain would dare to act recklessly."

Bai Zichen chuckled self-deprecatingly, realizing he had been far too cautious.

However, having a third-tier talisman like the Taiyin Star Escape Talisman on your person is like having an extra trump card, especially since it's an extremely rare escape talisman.

If it weren't for Senior Brother Liang Yu's influence, how could the Talisman Palace have parted with it?

……

Jin Lu's flying artifact was a black banner that billowed in the wind, expanding to several feet in diameter, and then fluttered away.

"Junior Brother Bai, you haven't been to Zengguang Immortal City yet, have you..."

Jinlu held his belly, and the black banner automatically bulged out, just enough for him to lie down comfortably.

"Since I established my foundation, I've been there twice, and it left a deep impression on me! It's an immortal city with walls that stretch for miles and seem to have no end. If you can think of it, you can definitely buy it in the immortal city... treasures and cultivation techniques, pills and spirit beasts, rare treasures from overseas, and even demonic magic weapons, dual cultivation furnaces, etc., can all be found at the auction."

“I’ve heard about it many times, and this time I’ll finally see it for myself.”

The journey was long and the place was unfamiliar, so Bai Zichen left Gun Gun at home.

The black banner flew at a speed similar to his colorful white cloud-patterned robe, and it would take at least a month to reach Zengguang Immortal City.

"I've heard that Zengguang Immortal City isn't controlled by any sect, but was founded by a cultivation family. Does Senior Brother Jin know anything about this?"

Zengguang Immortal City was built on a fourth-order spiritual vein, and with the terrifying number of spirit stones it absorbs and releases every day, the city has hundreds of thousands of cultivators, making it a foundation that any Nascent Soul sect would envy.

Bai Zichen had seen a rough introduction in a travelogue, and it turned out that the person in charge of this number one immortal city in the world was actually a family of cultivators.

"The expanded Du family, five feet from the sky..."

Jin Lu murmured to himself, a hint of longing in his voice.

"Since the Du family established the Zengguang Immortal City, the clan has produced a continuous stream of Nascent Soul True Monarchs, with three already emerging in succession!"

“Cultivators all over the world have regarded the Zengguang Du family as the darlings of heaven and earth. Otherwise, how could there be a succession of Nascent Soul True Monarchs born in their family? Being born in the Du family is indeed closer to the heavenly palace.”

(End of this chapter)