Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

"Yan'er, when you're out and about, you should always listen to your master."

That arrogant nature of his should be changed; he shouldn't cause trouble for Master Shen.

"This storage bag is full of your favorite foods; take it and eat it on the way."

"I found some things that I think you might be able to use. They're a bit messy, so you can sort them out along the way."

"Oh, right... I almost forgot to prepare clothes for all four seasons for you. I'll have someone get them ready right now."

"father……."

Tang Yan gently grasped his father's bewildered hands.

"Father, I possess a pure Yang Dao body, perhaps... your son is unfilial!"

Tang Yan tried to speak several times, but ultimately didn't know what to say. He was about to kneel down when Tang Xiao grabbed him and pulled him back into a hug.

Tang Xiao looked at his son with kind eyes and said gently, "I'm overjoyed that Yan'er can cultivate."

"When I was young, I also longed to cultivate myself. Why can immortals roam freely throughout the world, while we mortals are confined to a small space, stuck in this world for our entire lives?"

"I have never left Jiangnan Prefecture in my life. Go and see for me how big Yunzhou is, and how big my Great Qin is."

"Just remember to come back and visit your father often."

"As for the continuation of our Tang family line... I'm not ashamed of it."

Tang Xiao leaned close to Tang Yan's ear and whispered, "Actually, I've wanted to remarry for a long time. Your mother passed away too early, and she's so lonely. Even if she blames me a hundred years from now, I'll accept it."

He gave several more instructions.

"Father, take care! I will definitely make something of myself!"

"Master Tang, thank you for your hospitality these past few days. I shall take my leave now."

After saying that, Shen Shanshui, along with Shen Lingxi and Tang Yan, turned and left, gradually disappearing into the distance.

Watching the group depart, Tang Xiao stood there silently for a long time, his red and swollen eyes and the torrent of tears telling the story of an old father's reluctance to part.

……

……

"Senior brother, are we heading back to the sect now?"

Shen Lingxi held a crystal cake in each hand, eating it with great relish.

Tang Xiao gave Shen Shanshui a storage bag full of cultivation items, and naturally also gave Shen Lingxi a storage bag.

However, the storage bag given to Shen Lingxi was filled with pastries and delicacies.

Shen Shanshui shook his head and replied softly, "Go to Jiangling City."

"I plan to acquire a pill-making furnace and, while I'm at it, formally register my Heavenly Dao Sect to become a truly registered immortal sect of the Great Qin Dynasty."

"Great! I haven't been to the main city of our Jiangnan Prefecture yet!" Shen Lingxi was very excited. She didn't want to go back to the mountain. It was too boring in the mountains, and there wasn't much good food.

Shen Shanshui shook his head and chuckled, feeling equally excited.

Becoming a registered immortal sect is the first step to strengthening your sect!

If we compare the Great Qin to the Causeway Bay County Government, then the Immortal Sect is like the Hung Hing, a key factor in maintaining stability under its rule.

Immortals breaking taboos with their techniques is not just a saying. Besides the universally condemned demonic cultivators, there are still some unscrupulous cultivators who regard mortals as ants, completely disregarding their lives.

No matter how strong the Immortal Dynasty is, it can never completely overwhelm all the Immortal Sects.

In the cultivation world, the Qin Dynasty has only existed for a few hundred thousand years, but some immortal sects have existed for so long that their existence is impossible to trace.

When the sect is truly facing a crisis of extinction, who knows if a few ancient relics might jump out of some grave?

Therefore, the Qin Dynasty introduced the Immortal Gate Treasure Book.

All sects that are listed in the Upper Ranks of Immortals can receive a subsidy for cultivating immortality from the Immortal Dynasty every year, but they must be subject to the supervision of the Immortal Dynasty. Anyone who acts recklessly will be punished by the people.

Furthermore, the ranking in the treasure book is very particular; it's not solely based on strength, but also on reputation and contributions to the Celestial Dynasty. Higher-ranking sects not only receive more resource subsidies but can also sign agreements with the Celestial Dynasty to cultivate Celestial Officials.

As soon as the precious book was published, countless immortal sects responded.

They knew, of course, that this was a means of control by the Celestial Dynasty, and that once someone was included in this register, they would be subject to constraints everywhere.

For example, if a certain immortal sect is exposed for its scandals, such as cultivators slaughtering mortals, in the past people might just condemn it, and few would bother to interfere.

But now, with the unified control of the Great Qin and the joint supervision of all immortal sects, this may turn from condemnation into the calamity of sect extermination.

Even minor blemishes, if targeted by rival sects, can cause a sect's reputation and ranking to plummet.

Despite this, the immortal sects still flocked to it, mainly because the benefits were indeed numerous.

Putting aside the annual resource supply from the Immortal Dynasty, allowing members of the Immortal Sect to enter the court as Immortal Officials can be seen as a sign of sincerity in jointly governing the world with the Immortal Sect.

Secondly, the establishment of the Imperial Register by the Immortal Dynasty indirectly defined the reputation and strength of an immortal sect.

Those geniuses who haven't yet grown up, and ordinary people waiting to be discovered, may not know the specifics of each immortal sect, but they can look at the rankings.

Whoever ranks first is the strongest. This is almost a universal consensus.

And if this trend continues, it will continuously absorb the top seedlings of immortals, and even if it was originally just a nominal number one, it will eventually become the real number one.

This kind of open strategy doesn't require subtle, underhanded planning; it relies on the unparalleled national strength of the Qin Dynasty.

As long as the world remains stable and the Celestial Dynasty holds the ultimate power of interpretation, there is no solution.

……

Qingyang County Ferry Crossing.

The Cangnan River is a major river that runs through the three prefectures of Yunzhou and is also a major transportation route.

When cultivators travel, few rely on their own two feet. Even someone like Shen Shanshui, a Foundation Establishment cultivator capable of flying, is unwilling to waste spiritual energy in that way.

Ancient cultivators possessed methods for crafting spirit boats, enabling them to traverse the void. These techniques have now been lost, and their numbers are extremely rare. Even those that exist are the foundation of powerful immortal sects.

Therefore, most cultivators would use horse-drawn carriages or demonic beasts for short distances when traveling, while waterways were undoubtedly the fastest option for long distances.

Those treasure ships responsible for transportation were also magical artifacts crafted by great cultivators. Although they lacked the ability to traverse the void, they were extremely fast at sea.

The three arrived at the ferry crossing.

The mighty river came into view, and Shen Shanshui and Shen Lingxi were shocked, while Tang Yan remained calm, probably because he had seen it before.

The river is thousands of feet wide, so vast that even the most observant person could hardly see the opposite bank. Even in the dead of winter, there is no sign of it freezing over, demonstrating its incredible speed.

Those towering treasure ships, some tens of meters high, lay across the river, with thousands of sails passing by, creating a truly awe-inspiring scene.

This can no longer be considered a ship; it's practically a mobile mega-building.

Wow~

Shen Lingxi tilted her head back, her mouth agape in astonishment.

The canal transport has always been a government-run business, even in the cultivation world. After all, in this world, there is no single power larger than the Immortal Dynasty.

The docks were bustling with people, a mix of practitioners and ordinary merchants.

You can often hear vendors hawking local specialties or exotic treasures brought from elsewhere.

Holding the runaway Shen Lingxi in one hand, Shen Shanshui led Tang Yan straight to the Maritime Trade Office.

The three of them spent a total of thirty low-grade spirit stones, which wasn't too expensive.

The main reason is that Shen Shanshui now has a fuller wallet, giving him more confidence when he goes out.

……