Shangyuque

Chapter 317 The Old Man of the Nine Netherworlds Transforms into the Dao, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable Finally Makes His Move, and the Immortal Pendant Arrives in Person.

Cultivation knows no time; a cycle of sixty years is but a fleeting moment.

Both Jade Palace Immortal Venerable and Wild Elephant Immortal Venerable have personally entered the game, or perhaps they are secretly plotting.

As peerless geniuses who have emerged from the extremely cruel world, how could their plans be easily deciphered?
With their cultivation and understanding of spiritual practice, they would not encounter any difficulties, accidents, or uncontrollable factors if they were to take precautions.

It still comes down to the simplest logic—the idea that one can only achieve enlightenment by going through countless hardships and obstacles is a fantasy. A little hardship and obstacle is enough; too much will surely lead to death.

Moreover, blindly rushing forward through difficulties and obstacles is not an efficient method of spiritual practice.

The charisma and talent of Jade Palace Immortal Venerable and Wild Elephant Immortal Venerable are undeniable. First, Little King was tortured by the Four Spirit Realms, and then Wild Elephant was tortured by Little King.

Once both of them became alert, everything naturally went smoothly.

Eighty-five years later, the Pure Land School of Liezhou.

A wisp of cloud landed outside the pavilion atop Mount Ling. Upon seeing this, the disciples naturally understood that True Person Mingxiu had returned to the sect.

Since Elder Linghu entered the True Person Realm more than 80 years ago, the Black Rock Sect has entered a period of rapid development, and its name has been changed to the Pure Land Sect—it sounds nice, has a high-class feel, and is meaningful in some ways.

Today, after many years of development, the Pure Land School has three True Persons: Linghu Laozu, Mingxiu Zhenren, and Yanming Zhenren.

Below the level of True Person, there are over ninety Foundation Establishment disciples and stewards, and over two thousand Qi Refining disciples.

In reality, the Pure Land School is still in a period of rapid expansion. In the future, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators will likely stabilize at around 500, while the limit for True Person cultivators will be around seven.

This is the expansion limit estimated by Immortal Venerable Mangxiang and Immortal Venerable Yuque.

Their cultivation is not the kind of mindless improvement of cultivation level, but rather taking one step at a time and planning for many steps ahead.

Only in this way can we achieve stable and rapid development without confronting other forces or rivals.

It may lack some of the outward grandeur, but when it comes to climbing, it's never about what ordinary people perceive as grandeur.
-
The expression on Mingxiu Zhenren's face, also known as Mangxiang, was somewhat solemn today.

He arrived at the place of cultivation of the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, and seeing that his good disciple had not yet come out of seclusion, he spoke directly.

"Fellow Daoist Yuque, the Murong Dao Court has transformed into the Nine Netherworld Dao, and the Four Spirit Realms have gained another Dao Ancestor!"

The Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, who had been in seclusion, finally opened his eyes and calmly responded.

"With two Dao Ancestors now in Murong Daoting, it will definitely impact the current power structure of the surrounding forces."

Mang Xiang's mind stirred slightly, and he asked.

"Oh? Do you have any plans?"

Old Mang is thinking of making a move.

In Mangxiang's view, the two had been lying low and preparing for nearly a century, and it was indeed time for them to make their move.

Of course, the core reason is still Mang Xiang's cultivation level. He was suppressed by Jade Palace Immortal Venerable. Jade Palace Immortal Venerable was not in a hurry to recover his Golden Core cultivation level, so he had no way to recover.

This is certainly not because Jade Palace Immortal Venerable has any masochistic tendencies, but rather because the situation in the Four Spirit Realms is relatively stable, and Jade Palace Immortal Venerable is happy to cherish every minute and second that can improve his own foundation.

His Purple Mansion and Golden Core were formed far too quickly.

Compared to other cultivators of the same era and age, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable was certainly more powerful, but his opponents were all the Immortal Venerables, from Mangxiang to Bifang and even Wuji Daozhu.

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable can provide fairness to the lower-level disciples of the Pure Land Sect, but this fairness is something he forcibly creates with his own powerful energy, and he himself has little room for fair development.

Therefore, taking advantage of the pleasant and low-intensity environment of the Four Spirit Realms, one can properly replenish one's foundation, such as nurturing one's natal magic treasure, the Two Elements Cauldron, or working on the foundation of the Great Chaos, or studying one's own water magic abilities. Each of these will require a great deal of time and resources.

Eighty-five years is nothing. If nothing bothers him, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable can peacefully hold his anger for at least another two hundred years.

"Plan? No."

"But have the two Pure Land sect's merchant caravans encountered any mishaps in recent years?"

Houpu Daoting operates a semi-monopolistic resource exchange business in a weak market environment. The core of this business lies in the Daoting caravans escorted by Celestial Realm True Persons.

Most of these merchant caravans belonging to the Daoist court were run by affiliated sects or families.

The specific method is to buy a signboard from Houpu Daoting, gather a bunch of resources from the cultivation world to make goods, and then send one of their own Celestial Realm True Persons to escort them.

Traveling hundreds of thousands of miles, with Houpu Daoting as the center, the Daoting caravan's camel caravans traversed nearly half of the Four Spirit Realms.

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, in his capacity as Linghu Patriarch, entered the Celestial Realm and established the Pure Land Sect as an independent vassal force directly under the Houpu Dao Court, thus gaining the qualification to manage merchant caravans.

This matter was specifically spearheaded by Mang Xiang and Yan Ming Zhenren. It was precisely in order to earn more of these resources that Yu Que Xian Zun gave Yan Mingyue the opportunity to enter the Celestial Realm.

"It's alright, Xiao Yan will just stay among the few forces around the Dao Court and earn the lowest possible profit."

I recently led a team to Hezhou and just returned. The situation in Hezhou is better than we expected.

Currently, among the seventeen states of the Four Spirit Realms, only three have relatively high levels of internal turmoil.

"We were previously in Jinzhou, then Qinzhou was north of Liezhou, and further north of Qinzhou was Sanxianzhou."

The old man with the winnowing basket used the Four Extremes Concealment Platform to observe the changes in the Great Dao within the Great World, thereby grasping the possible movements of the Golden Core Immortals.

Although the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable did not possess the power of the Old Man with the Basket, the Seventeen Provinces Wind and Rain Pavilion and the Ten Thousand Miles Red Sand Water-Seeking Gathering that he erected served a similar purpose.

They gathered intelligence and won over key figures, employing a two-pronged approach to continuously infiltrate the Four Spirit Realms.

Having infiltrated for a full eighty-five years, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable has grasped many of the mechanisms of change within the Four Spirit Realms.

Even in terms of understanding the changes in the Four Spirit Realms in recent years, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable is far superior to some of the native Dao Ancestors of this realm.

"Jinzhou, Qinzhou, Sanxianzhou, ha, that's interesting, Sanxianzhou, Sanxianzhou."

The focus now is on Jinzhou and Sanxianzhou; the situation in Qinzhou is not a concern.

Amidst the chaotic chess game of the Four Spirit Realms, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable made his first tentative move.

Trying, not testing, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable does not seek results, only the process. The gains in the process are the key to future actions. As for how the opponent will react, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable does not care.

It's all a mix of truth and deception. If the opponent is an outsider with a hidden trick up their sleeve, then any reaction can be seen as fake.

If the opponent isn't an outsider, then their reaction doesn't matter.

"This"

Mang Xiang seemed to have some reservations about the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable's idea.

In fact, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable is currently in a rather special state.

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable once served as a leader in the Western Sea, on the front lines of the two sects, and in the Immortal Alliance, as a leader at the executive level.

In the Dripping Water Cave, Red Lantern, Immortal Alliance, and the specific Fourth Faction, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable has often humbled himself and acted as a lackey.

Being a leader is difficult, and maintaining a balance is also difficult, but the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable has come through it all. He can laugh off the past and doesn't need to say more.

However, nowadays, there are hardly any people left on the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable's throne within the Four Spirit Realms.

Even his former master, Mangxiang, was arranged by the Immortal King to become a temporary subordinate of the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

Currently, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable may seem to be hiding his cultivation level and merely the leader of a small sect within the Pure Land Sect, but his true state is one where there is no one above to restrain him and the ground below is teeming with vitality.

No one can make the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable obediently smile again; the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable can 'make decisions unilaterally'.

However, this situation, where no one is above to suppress or drive the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, also has certain disadvantages, namely, there is no one to back up the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

When I was cultivating in the Dripping Water Cave, I had the protection of Patriarch Xian Zhou and the protection of Mang Xiang.

When the poisonous influence of the Divine Light was being eradicated in the Western Sea, there was the help of the Mangxiang and the Azure Lotus Immortal Venerable.

When presiding over the Hall of Merit on the front lines in the two cases, the conservative faction of the Immortal Alliance provided support.

When he was in charge of reforms as the vice leader of the Immortal Alliance, he had the support of two top-tier Golden Core cultivators, Shui Zun and Qing Rui.

Within the specific fourth faction of the Immortal Alliance, there is a Rakshasa who can protect the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable and even elevate him to the Golden Core stage, making him the fastest Golden Core legend in the entire world.

It can be said that the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable will never forget the scene when the Water Venerable took the initiative to protect him on the Boluo Conference Dao Discussion Platform.

Even after nearly two hundred years, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable still cannot forget that moment, nor can he forget the feelings he had at that time.

At that time, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, who was still a minor cultivator, fantasized under the protection of Taihe Water Venerable that it would be wonderful if the reform could continue forever.

Haha, looking back now, wasn't that stressful environment a wonderful time?
In the Four Spirit Realms, no one was there to protect the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

No matter how things develop, he has to win.

To defeat those opponents who, even now, haven't revealed a single clue.

"Speak freely, feel free to voice your objections; I always welcome criticism," said the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

This is the core reason why he would give Mang Xiang a way out; Old Mang, at least, is truly capable.

"Yu Lou, I think the focus should be on the Three Immortal States, which are named after three powerful families."

The three factions each have fifteen Golden Core cultivators, with each faction having at least four Golden Core cultivators.

A family with four Golden Elixir cultivators would be considered the Great Tiantai Mountain within the Immortal Alliance.

Do you remember the question you asked me? I can tell you the answer now—yes, the pace of development of the Great World is accelerating.

The fourth faction you belong to is an example: the Purple Extreme Sword Sect. In the era when the Purple Extreme Sword Sect was destroyed, a force with fewer than ten Golden Core cultivators was able to become a key factor in dominating the development of the world's situation.

Gradually, it transitioned from large-scale confrontations to a group of dozens of Golden Core cultivators forming a secondary power, and later developed into the top power in the Great World.

In the world of cultivators, the organizational structure of cultivators is also changing.

This applies to the entire universe, and also to the Four Spirit Realms. The three major powers of the Three Immortal Continents are very likely the result of someone actively pushing things along.

Wang Yulou nodded slightly; he understood what Mang Xiang meant.

With its three sects and fifteen Golden Core cultivators, the Three Immortals Continent has made a great name for itself in the Four Spirit Realms.

The formation of alliances among Golden Core cultivators is a possible development process, but the speed of development of the alliances among the Three Immortal States is significantly faster than that of other states in the Four Spirit Realms.

Even considering the learning costs of replicating the Three Immortal States' alliance model with other forces and Golden Core cultivators.

Even after Jade Palace Immortal Venerable and Mang Xiang investigated for a long time, they discovered that there was no one else behind the Three Immortal States.

The fact that the three major forces in the Three Immortal Continents are forming an increasingly united front, and the possibility that this could change in the future, makes it worthwhile for Jade Palace Immortal Venerable and Mangxiang to make their moves in the Three Immortal Continents.

“You’re right. We still have quite a few disciples. Let’s select another one to enter the Celestial Realm.”

Then he was ordered to lead a new caravan to operate on the northern route, namely Qinzhou and Sanxianzhou, to first establish spies there.

As for Jinzhou, I'll have to wait and see; something just doesn't feel right to me.

The Jade Palace Immortal Venerable still did not reveal the speculation about the jade pendant to the wild elephant.

We're not kindergarten kids anymore; there's no need to be so honest.

Honesty is not among the things that Golden Core Immortals pursue.

"It would be difficult to find another Celestial Realm expert. The disciples we've taken in are all good-for-nothings."

Furthermore, the fact that three Celestial Realm experts appeared in the Pure Land Sect in less than a century is still quite conspicuous even in the Four Spirit Realms.

If you make any big moves and attract attention, that wouldn't be good.

My idea is to recruit some disciples from the three major powers in the Three Immortal Continents to join the Ten Thousand Miles Red Sand Water-Seeking Society; that would be sufficient.

Mangxiang disagreed with continuing to pull the oxen and horses of the Heavenly Realm, and instead wanted to do things in the manner of the Seeking Water Society.

He dared to confront Jade Palace Immortal Venerable. For example, when they argued about how to do something, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable would often go along with Mang Xiang's ideas and show him great respect.

Lao Mang is genuinely considering the overall situation while also taking his own interests into account, which is quite reliable.

The wild elephant harbors at least three thoughts of the Bifang, a mythical creature in the vast universe, which is why it is so obedient and human-like.
"you're right."

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable was suddenly stunned. Mang Xiang initially thought that the matter was over and that he would continue to go out and run around, while Xiao Wang would continue to cultivate diligently in the Pure Land Sect.

However.
"Master, you have given me a great gift today."

Mang Xiang stopped in his tracks, as if he were stuck.

No, what kind of sutra is that little bastard going to chant now?

"Fellow Daoist Yuque, what do you mean by that?"

When Jade Palace Immortal Venerable showed a slightly tougher attitude, Mang Xiang immediately called him "Fellow Daoist Jade Palace" and stopped calling him Wang Yulou.

Seemingly obedient, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable didn't believe it at all and remained vigilant—if you take the wild elephant to heart, the wild elephant can rip your heart out and eat it.

However, at this moment, the Immortal Venerable was not thinking about the Mangxiang, but about the Wuji Dao Master and the Outer Heaven.

Seeking Water, Wind and Rain Pavilion, Beyond the Heavens, Five Regions Under the Same Sky Gathering, and Basket Gathering are all, in a sense, the same.

Mangxiang's words, however, helped Jade Palace Immortal Venerable connect a possibility.

In other words, after Jade Palace Immortal Venerable handed over the Water-Seeking Gathering to Mang Xiang, Mang Xiang's strategy was to avoid the Dao Ancestors of the Transformation Realm in the Four Spirit Realms and start with cultivators at the early and middle stages of the Celestial Realm, and even the late and peak stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, to gradually build up the Water-Seeking Gathering's layout within the Four Spirit Realms.

This strategy is limited by the current state of the two individuals and the fact that a bunch of outsiders from the Four Spirit Realms might be holding their breath.

On the other hand, the two of them never needed to reverse the situation by relying on the cultivators in the Water-Seeking Society.

The level and intensity of the confrontation they were involved in were extremely high.

Eighty-five years of calm is only temporary. When the storm arrives, the situation will turn from tranquility into a living hell.

That kind of confrontation, which is a potential hell on earth, is an extension of the ultimate confrontation between Bifang, Boluo Society, and Wuji Daozhu within the Great Heaven and Earth.

By analyzing the characteristics of the Water-Seeking Society and dissecting the layout of the outer heavens within the vast universe, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable discovered that the core of it all has consistency.

This is somewhat similar to 'increasing one's own spiritual level by learning from the experiences of others,' but specifically, what is increased is only a certain kind of understanding.

However, this still brought some gains to the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

For example, his long-held conjecture that the Wuji Dao Master was not powerful enough to crush everything might be correct.

If the Dao Lord of Wuji is strong enough, why would he need to go through the trouble of pretending to be dead for so long?
If the Dao Lord of Wuji is strong enough, why would he need to use the Cave Heaven Technique to set up traps little by little?
If the Lord of Wuji was strong enough, why would Xiaohu have died?

The Wuji Dao Master and the Wuji Dharma Venerable Bifang, these two beings who stand at the pinnacle of the Golden Core Immortal Venerable level, both added 'Wuji' to their names, but they have ultimately not yet reached the true Wuji!

So there's nothing to be afraid of. Before, it was Bifang fighting Boluo, and now it's Wuji Daozhu fighting the Biluo Alliance (Damn, I'm thinking of Qiao Biluo).

"The Water-Seeking Society was established based on the Winnowing Basket Society of the Winnowing Basket Elder. If used properly, it can play a crucial role. Master, it was somewhat inconsiderate of me to let you preside over the Water-Seeking Society alone before. We need to work together on this matter."

Upon hearing Jade Palace Immortal Venerable's words, Old Mang's face became as stiff as if he had been fucked by a thousand donkeys.

You said I gave you a great gift, but this is how you repay me. Is that appropriate?

But Mang Xiang suddenly realized that the "great gift" mentioned by the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable might be an implication that he must accept his interference in the Water-Seeking Society and his request to participate in the process of the Water-Seeking Society.

If I don't agree, it means I haven't given Wang Yulou a great gift.
But thinking about it this way, I'm still angry, even angrier.

"Yu Lou, back then we..."

Everyone says that Mangxiang is a disappointment, but Mangxiang really doesn't care about this useless pride. He still tries to use the previous agreement to bind Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

Of course, what takes effect is never the agreement, but the strength of the raging elephant and the rationality of the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable.

"Back then it was back then. If the Three Immortal States become a key node in the future internal situation of the Four Spirit Realms as you predicted, then we must accelerate our planning."

I already have a specific plan for distributing the special magical artifacts of the Wind and Rain Pavilion. Once the first batch is distributed, it will be the era when the great cultivators of the Four Spirit Realms exchange information with each other.

The operation and development of the Water-Seeking Society also need to get on the right track as soon as possible, shifting from a similar nature to a basket-picking society to a more closely integrated cross-sectoral organization!
My idea is that, given our Golden Core level, we can provide the Water-Seeking Society with different methods, magical treasures, talismans, cultivation techniques, and various forms of assistance and feedback, thereby inspiring the members of the Water-Seeking Society to take initiative and dare to act!

Speed ​​up, speed up, enter the game, enter the game, raise the stakes, raise the stakes.

With a single movement, the high-level energy of the Golden Core stage overflowed slightly, transforming the Celestial Realm and Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Water Seeking Society into loyal Water Seeking Warriors!
With the most stable operations and the most upright development, combined with the high potential of Jade Palace Immortal Venerable and Old Mang, we will prepare for the future outbreak of conflicts in the Four Spirit Realms!

"."

However, the only response to the Jade Palace Immortal was Old Mang's silence.

"Fellow Daoist Yuque, I've actually already been doing that."

Wang Yulou's eyes narrowed slightly, and in an instant, he appeared in front of Mangxiang from his seated meditation state.

“Master, you wanted the Water-Seeking Society, so I gave it to you. But you didn’t seem to consult me ​​about further developing the Water-Seeking Society, did you?”

The transformation of the Seeking Water Society from the Basket Society model to the Outer Heaven model was a decisive shift by the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable under the guidance of his cultivation philosophy of ultimate freedom.

But Lao Mang suddenly revealed that he had been doing this behind the back of the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable for a long time.

Well, Lao Mang's little scheme doesn't need much explanation.

This time, it was because Jade Palace Immortal Venerable made a move that he poked Old Mang's unruly little black hand.

"Haha, it's such a small matter, I don't think it's necessary for you to worry about it."

Old Mang pretended to wipe away imaginary cold sweat, but in his heart, he was already cursing Wang Yulou, who loved to play dumb, to the bone.

Screw you, I'm just playing along. Do you really think you're something special?

"I will return to the Golden Core stage in fifty years."

Master, when that time comes, I will take back control of the Water-Seeking Society.

We must take down the Four Spirit Realms for His Majesty and the elders of the Winnowing Basket Society.

I need to have control over all the forces in order to allocate them effectively.

There's no room for discussion on this.

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable ultimately took a half step back, having full confidence in his own strength.

Eighty-five years of accumulation have transformed him completely.

After all, the starting point was too low.
Okay, I understand, I understand.

Oh, right, you've just come out of seclusion too.

One year later, it will be the Jiazi Grand Market of Houpu Daoting.

It is said that at this time, cultivators from the seventeen states would gather in the Daoist Immortal Realm.

All sorts of treasures are available; you and I can go and participate together. Who knows, we might stumble upon some amazing opportunities.

Mang Xiang understood Wang Yulou too well. Was Wang Yulou's decision to take back the Xunshui Society after fifty years due to his kindness? Was it out of respect for his master?
neither!
Xiao Wang lacked confidence in defeating Mang Xiang in Mang Xiang's Cave!
The current gathering of the Seeking Water Society must be held in the cave heaven left by the Wild Elephant outside the Four Spirit Realms. Since the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable has not entered the Golden Core stage, how can he easily find a new hiding place or a way to hold the gathering?
Cross-faction organizations are not something ordinary people can handle. The Seventeen States Wind and Rain Tower has not been able to achieve the same effect as the Five Regions Heavenly Gathering in communicating intelligence through the Five Regions Heavenly Book, precisely because it is too difficult.

The Wuji Palace in the Outer Heavens captures people using the supernatural power of the Wuji Dao Master.

The Void Gathering of the Basket Society is a gathering of the Basket Elder and the top Golden Core cultivators who are strong enough.

The Immortal Alliance has the Immortal Platform, but the Purple Mansion also needs the secret pivot of the Immortal Platform to project its own Great Dao into the Immortal Platform.

Okay, I'll go take a look.

Master, you've worked so hard. Yulou understands how difficult it is for you.

Fifty years, and when I say fifty years, I mean fifty years.

Fifty years from now, I will have attained the Dao Ancestor realm!

The rivalry and cooperation between the two immortal venerables have once again returned to a honeymoon period.

After the fuss, there's still a lot of important business to attend to.

"Yu Lou, how do you plan to distribute the special magical treasures of Feng Yu Lou to other great cultivators in the Four Spirit Realms?" Mang Xiang asked.

The Seeking Water Society held its gathering at the Mangxiang Cave, a rather secretive affair. Old Mang also set it up with great style, much like a cultivation version of the Fools' Gathering.

However, the Seventeen States Wind and Rain Tower is still just an ordinary intelligence organization, and the key magical artifacts similar to the Five Regions Heavenly Book have not yet been distributed.

This matter is very complicated—neither Jade Palace Immortal Venerable nor Wild Elephant Immortal Venerable want to expose it.

“The Daoist Master Houpu likes to do business, and I plan to negotiate a deal with him.”

"It's not easy to deal with; it's very shrewd. I always avoid it."

"Haha, it's alright. Houpu is already one of the strongest Golden Core cultivators in this world, at least at the level of a half-step Golden Immortal."

The stronger a being is, the more they understand reverence—reverence for the cruelty of heaven and earth, and reverence for their opponents in cultivation.

Old Mang always felt that the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable was giving him a warning.
Six months later, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable rode a koi carp demon at the peak of the Great Demon Realm and entered the Houpu Dao Court Immortal Realm Formation.

The earthworms and golden core cultivators of the Four Spirit Realms all refer to their own Daoist courts as celestial realms.

Ultimately, they are just spiritual lands. By leveraging the power of the grand formation and extracting resources from the territory, the spiritual energy in the fairyland is more concentrated, and the water element is more abundant. Basically, they all follow this approach.

But for Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, who has seen countless Golden Immortals and top-tier Golden Core Cave Heavens, to put it bluntly, having seen the Forbidden City, seeing the Korean royal palace would only make him think of it as a landlord's mansion at the edge of a village, both rustic and shabby (which it actually is).

The Jade Palace Immortal Venerable's internal strife skills are beyond question; with the help of the Wild Elephant, the Pure Land Sect has been completely unscathed for eighty-five years.

Within the Houpu Daoist Court, both Patriarch Linghu and the Pure Land Sect were thriving.

There were certainly some twists and turns in the process, but it was not difficult at all. In short, Linghu Laozu is now a favorite of Houpu Daozu.

Riding the most top-tier water-attribute koi carp mount in the Four Spirit Realms, Ancestor Linghu flew all the way to Houpu Village before stopping.

Houpu Group is the power that Houpu Daozu started with. Similar to Yang Zhao's journey from a small merchant to the king of all waters in Qunqing Plain, this old man Deng started as a small merchant and worked his way up to become one of the leading merchants in the Four Spirit Realms.

His dojo was named Marketplace, but in terms of grandeur, it was exactly the same as the mountain gates of powerful forces in the world, only the name was retained.

When the Jade Palace Immortal arrived, he was naturally greeted by a kind-looking, robust-looking True Man Zhongdeng.

"Fellow Daoist Linghu, it's been a long time. Have you just emerged from seclusion?"

Master Zhimo, a junior disciple of Dao Ancestor Houpu, with a late-stage Celestial Realm cultivation, and a close friend of Ancestor Linghu.

"Yes, I have some questions about cultivation, so I came to ask the Dao Ancestor for guidance."

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable naturally demonstrated Hou Dajiang's stance as one of his own.

"Come with me. Master hasn't been in a good mood lately. If things don't look right, ask fewer questions."

Master Zhimo led the way while giving instructions.

"Haha, Dao Ancestor is about to take another step forward, that's why he's encountering trouble."

The cultivation talent that Linghu Laozu inadvertently revealed was enough to enlighten Zhimo.

"I see. Now I understand why you are so highly regarded by your master. No wonder that among the new True Persons of Houpu Daoting in recent years, your master has only taken a liking to you."

"Senior brother, you flatter me. Linghu was just doing his duty."

After traveling all the way to the depths of Houpu Village, the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable finally met the Houpu Dao Ancestor.

The old Deng of the Four Spirit Realms are like this: they endure in the heavens and earth of the Four Spirit Realms every day, waiting for the tribulation lightning to strike them.

As long as you want to see them and are qualified to see them, you can see these old Dengs anytime.

However, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable noticed that Houpu Dao Ancestor had other guests today.

Houpu, with the arrogant air of a young prodigy, nodded slightly to Wang Yulou upon his arrival before continuing his conversation with the female cultivator sitting opposite him.

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable stood at a distance, not daring to use his divine sense to scan the area, but from the female cultivator's back, he felt a slight sense of déjà vu.

As for what the two were talking about, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable naturally couldn't hear it.

After a long while, the female cultivator finally stood up, bowed to Old Deng, and said goodbye.

Only then did the Jade Palace Immortal realize that he had finally seen the true form of the Immortal Pendant again.

The last time I saw her was in the Blood Bone Dao Court.

At that time, Xianpei brought the Dao disciples of the Hundred Hands Dao Court to communicate with the Dao disciples of the Blood Bone Dao Court. On the day she left, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable caught a glimpse of her back from afar.

A glance spans a century; the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable has cherished it for a century, pondered it for a century, and been cautious for a century, his immortal pendants and ornaments swirling around him.

The female cultivator turned around, nodded politely to the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable, and then quietly left.

The Jade Palace Immortal noticed that the Immortal Pendant had four eyes, a naturally unique physique, and belonged to the top level of talent in cultivation.

If it's a jade pendant, it wouldn't be surprising if it follows the path of a prodigy. In fact, it would be just right.

This matches up with what Jade Palace Immortal Venerable guessed.

"Linghu, you little fox, you always come here to beg for money. So, what is it?"

Houpu Daozu rearranged the tea table in front of him and invited Yuque Immortal Venerable to take a seat.

"Ancestor, was that female cultivator born with an unusual physique, or did her acquired cultivation techniques influence her Dao body?"

"I don't know. I can't ask about the Hundred Hands people."

However, she reached the late stage of the Celestial Realm at just two hundred years old, and there's hope for her to achieve the Dao Transformation.

Houpu Daozu also had his troubles. Houpu Dao Court had four Daozus. His second disciple was one, and the other two were guest Daozus who were "joined".

It's only because Lao Hou made the sect resemble a large merchant alliance that this unique organizational model exists.

However, as the three major powers in the Three Immortal States stabilized, other state Dao Courts, represented by the Murong Dao Court and the Hundred Hands Dao Court in Jin State, began a process of joint governance by multiple Golden Core cultivators, and the organizational advantage of the Houpu Dao Court was being rapidly squeezed.

In theory, this squeezed situation can be resolved by increasing the number of Dao Ancestors within one's own power.

However, with an additional Dao Ancestor at the Transformation Realm, the complexity of the internal strife will increase, making it much more troublesome.

"Understood, Dao Ancestor. Linghu has come to pay his respects to you today to offer advice."

Jade Palace Immortal Venerable had no intention of extracting any information from Lao Hou. He only made a brief, tentative probe before getting down to business.

"Speak," Lao Hou said as he poured tea for Xiao Wang.

He liked Xiao Wang's humble yet assertive spirit, which he saw as a potential talent.

A true master is never afraid of subordinates with ambition; on the contrary, he is afraid of subordinates who are cowards.

"The Jiazi Grand Gathering has been held so many times, each time with a different grand finale treasure, attracting cultivators from the seventeen states, but ultimately it's all a bit... well, outdated and lacks originality. I'm sure you're not satisfied with that."

Xiao Wang is truly unafraid of Lao Hou. Lao Hou is a cultivator who started out in the merchant guild and is extremely knowledgeable about the art of trade. As long as Jade Palace Immortal Venerable is his subordinate and can provide him with value, Jade Palace Immortal Venerable can ride roughshod over him.

"You, just release it!"

Houpu Daozu himself knew that the Jiazi Grand Gathering was unoriginal, but originality is not necessarily a good thing.

Just like with reform, those who are mindless will subconsciously think that reform is a good thing, and that new ideas are a good thing. In reality, whether something is good or bad is always relative, not absolute.

Seeking stability is never a wrong strategy. Hasn't the Jade Palace Immortal Venerable been seeking stability for nearly a hundred years?
"Haha, Ancestor, Linghu has a little immature idea."

Every time a grand gathering is held, many real people from other states come over, and many of them come with missions from their Dao Ancestors.

Such a grand event is also an opportunity to make a fortune.

Besides the market fair, we can definitely come up with other revenue-generating projects.

"I said, just release it."

"Yes, yes, I was thinking that we could create an 'artificial secret realm,' set up some grand formations, some challenging obstacles, and even some demon generals and demon kings."

Put some treasures inside, and let the real people who come to participate in the Jiazi Grand Gathering crawl inside and tear each other apart.

The winner gets both the treasures that are already in the secret realm and the spoils of war obtained by defeating the opponent.

Win twice.

This kind of good deal, as long as the costs and the number of people entering the secret realm are controlled, is guaranteed to be profitable and will also increase the attractiveness of the Jiazi Grand Market to cultivators at the Celestial Realm level.

There aren't that many wild secret realms in the cultivation world. Jade Palace Immortal Venerable is creating artificial opportunities for many Celestial Realm cultivators.

Given the habits and common beliefs of cultivators in the Four Spirit Realms, there's no worry about a lack of visitors.

"Should we also put in one of our own strong people to ensure we don't lose out?"

Houpu Daozu's eyes shone with an eerie light. From the perspective of a shrewd businessman, he thought that Yuque Immortal Venerable's proposal was absolutely brilliant.

"No one is wiser than our ancestor, hahaha."

"Linghu, you little rascal, have some tea, have some tea."

(End of this chapter)