Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 227 [Adequate Benefits, Housing Provided, and a Nanny Included] (6800)

Chapter 221 [Adequate Benefits, Housing Provided, and a Nanny Included] (6800)

Although Naxiantai is named after a platform, it is not actually built on any high platform.

It was just a separate side hall built next to the administrative center of Xitai City.

However, outside the hall, a jade platform two zhang high was built, with the words "Naxiantai" (Immortal Gathering Platform) printed on it in golden, flowing runes.

After entering Xitai City, Chen Yan asked a passerby and quickly found this place. Standing in front of this jade platform, he stared at the runes that emitted golden light and felt that they were surrounded by primordial energy and vaguely carried a bit of extraordinary fortune.

Knowing that this was left by a high-level cultivator, Chen Yan took a deep breath and walked into the side hall behind the jade platform.

"Fellow Daoist, what brings you here?"

In the Naxiantai, the seat of Xitai City, behind a jade-carved cabinet, a middle-aged man sitting there calmly asked a question.

He looked at Chen Yan standing in front of him, his tone neither humble nor arrogant, his attitude gentle and calm—but with a hint of curiosity.

The cultivator in front of me looked unfamiliar; he was probably a newcomer to Xitai City. There were 18,647 registered cultivators in the city, a number accumulated over the years. Generally speaking, the number wouldn't change much, and we wouldn't encounter unfamiliar faces very often.

The main reason is that Xitai City is located in the western frontier, and there is not much population movement on weekdays. The appearance of new cultivators is a novel event in the otherwise mundane life.

Chen Yan looked at the middle-aged man and noticed a familiar aura about him—this was the general feeling of low-level bureaucrats in real life.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist. I'm new to Xitai City and have come to register," Chen Yan replied, cupping his hands in greeting.

The middle-aged man nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face: "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment."

After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands, and soon, the jade stones on the wall behind him flipped over, and after a series of crackling sounds, they reformed into a beast's head.

It was about the size of a washbasin and looked like some kind of mechanical puppet beast—Chen Yan thought it resembled the head of a legendary Pixiu or Qilin.

Chen Yan looked at the "Immortal Gathering Platform" with great curiosity. It seemed to be an empty room, but it was surrounded by rich spiritual energy. As a cultivator, standing in such a place, every breath was refreshing.

The spacious room seemed to be sparsely furnished, except for a jade table in front of the middle-aged man. There wasn't even a stool in the room.

However, seeing the jade bricks on the wall flip and reveal a beast head, it was clear that this place was not as simple as it seemed, and there must be complex puppet mechanisms inside.

The middle-aged man touched the beast head on the wall behind him, then with a flick of his sleeve, a piece of white paper appeared on the jade platform in front of him. A writing brush also silently appeared from thin air, floating on the white paper.

"May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?" The middle-aged man looked calmly at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan smiled and immediately replied, "My name is Zhao Shanhe."

Now that he has changed his appearance, the alias Wang Chuyi is no longer suitable for him.

The middle-aged man nodded, and the brush floating on the white paper moved on its own, quickly recording the words on the paper.

"Fellow Daoist, do you belong to any sect? Where are you from?"

"A mere rogue cultivator, my hometown... is Peach Blossom Mountain."

The middle-aged man nodded, and after watching the brush finish writing automatically, he continued to ask, "Fellow Daoist, your cultivation level should be..."

"Return to Origin Realm," Chen Yan replied calmly.

He knew that the other party had used the Qi Observation Technique to see him, and Chen Yan actually had no intention of hiding his cultivation level.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Good, fellow Daoist, your talent is not bad. You have been able to cultivate to the second realm. It is possible that you will break through to the Celestial Realm in the future."

These words sounded like polite greetings—they sounded nice, but lacked sincerity, much like casually saying "Wishing you prosperity" during Chinese New Year. Chen Yan didn't take it too seriously, but still thanked them politely.

The middle-aged man nodded, reached out and picked up the paper on the table, glanced at it, and with a wave of his hand, the calligraphy brush disappeared.

Then, he turned around and stuffed the paper into the mouth of the beast head on the wall. The beast head closed its mouth and swallowed the paper.

The middle-aged man smiled at Chen Yan and said, "Please come closer, fellow Daoist. Reach out and touch the beast's head, silently circulate your vital energy, and inject a trace of vital energy into it... Hmm, not much is needed, just a trace will suffice."

Although Chen Yan didn't understand what was going on, he still stepped forward as instructed and reached out to touch the mechanical beast head on the wall. He felt that it was cold to the touch, and under the middle-aged man's gaze, he poured a wisp of vital energy into it.

Chen Yan stepped back, but the middle-aged man stared at him and sized him up. After a while, the mechanical beast behind him made a clicking sound. Chen Yan didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the sound was a bit like the sound of an old-fashioned printer.

Upon hearing this voice, the middle-aged man's eyes revealed a faint sense of relief, and his gaze relaxed as he smiled at Chen Yan, saying, "It's done."

After saying that, he reached out, and the beast head behind him opened its mouth again, spitting out a stream of light that landed in the middle-aged man's palm.

He was holding a jade tablet in his palm.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao Shanhe, a cultivator at the Returning Origin Realm, whose ancestral home is Peach Blossom Mountain, is currently registered in Xitai City and is registered at the Naxiantai, the administrative center of Xitai City."

The middle-aged man casually said to Chen Yan, "Fellow Daoist's information has been entered into the register and has been reviewed by Sendai. There was no record of Fellow Daoist in the register before, and Fellow Daoist has no record of any taboo. So I congratulate Fellow Daoist on officially becoming a registered cultivator."

After speaking, the middle-aged man slowly stood up and bowed to Chen Yan, saying, "I wish you a smooth path to immortality and that you will soon attain the Dao."

Chen Yan was taken aback, but he reacted quickly and immediately returned the greeting: "Thank you for your kind words, fellow Daoist."

The middle-aged man handed the jade token in his hand to Chen Yan: "This is your token. With this token, you can travel freely in all the cities and administrative centers of the realm, and enjoy the same treatment as other cultivators."

"Of course, since you were registered in my Xitai City, your place of origin will be counted as Xitai City from now on."

Chen Yan was also curious—he felt that the registration process was a bit too simple.

If there is no definite and appropriate identity, wouldn't cultivators be able to create many false identities and false disguises for themselves at will?
As for names, hometowns, etc., just say them casually and write them down casually.
“Um…” Chen Yan hesitated for a moment, about to ask a question, when the middle-aged man, who was obviously familiar with the position, smiled and said, “There are some things that, according to custom, I need to give a few words of advice to a newly registered cultivator like you.”

"Please speak." Chen Yan immediately suppressed his doubts and listened attentively.

"Since you have been registered at the Naxiantai in my Xitai City, whatever you are registered today will be your name from now on." The middle-aged man's tone became slightly more formal as he slowly said, "What I mean is... regardless of whether you were called Zhao Shanhe before, from today onwards, you can only be called Zhao Shanhe."

Fellow Daoist, please don't keep this. Don't even think about going to another place to register a new identity, changing your name to something like Zhang San or Li Si, or changing your identity.

This instruction touched on the point of doubt in Chen Yan's mind, but he remained calm and said seriously, "Of course I wouldn't do that."

The middle-aged man smiled faintly, as if he had seen through Chen Yan's thoughts, and slowly said, "Since you were not registered before, you must have made some progress in your cultivation today. Although I don't know why you only registered after reaching the Returning Origin Realm, such things are rare, but they do happen."

"I imagine you've been cultivating in seclusion in remote mountains and rivers, detached from worldly affairs, until you reached this level before venturing out to experience the world. However, there are many things you should clarify before taking any action."

As he spoke, he pointed to the jade token in Chen Yan's hand: "This jade token is your identity verification, issued by the Xitai City government office after you have been registered—but it represents the authoritative certification of the Realm Immortal Platform."

The reason I told you not to try to create a false identity elsewhere is to advise you not to put yourself in danger.

The wisp of vital energy you just entered was part of the identity verification process for fellow Daoist.

Every cultivator's energy circulation is different. Even if they practice the same cultivation method or the same energy transport technique, the energy gathered and cultivated in their bodies will have different patterns when they use it.

These primordial energy patterns vary from person to person, and from person to person, and from person to person. Unless you cultivate to the level of a saint and merge with the Heavenly Dao, you cannot freely modify your own primordial energy patterns. Otherwise, this is something that cannot be faked.

The energy patterns you just entered have been registered here and recorded. Once this record is collected by Xitai City, it will be directly transmitted to the central hub of the Realm Immortal Platform.

Every newly registered cultivator must input their vital energy once. The central authority of the Sendai will keep a record and check the vital energy patterns in the database. If there are duplicates, it means that the same person is trying to create different false identities—according to the laws promulgated by the Sendai, this will be punished!

And if you commit any sins, they will be recorded, fellow Daoist, please remember this!

The energy pattern you input is the sole record of your identity!

Well, real-name verification and the so-called recording of "vitality texture" are just like putting DNA into a database.

No wonder the written data registration was so hasty—it turns out that with the input of the vital energy texture, something so unique is very difficult to fake.

Chen Yan nodded and said, "Now that I'm registered, I won't do anything wrong, so please rest assured, fellow Daoist."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist has a kind face. Judging from your fortune, you have accumulated a lot of killing karma, but you have no sins or karmic debts. I think you will not do anything illegal."

Chen Yan nodded: "I... came back from Xueya Pass."

"No wonder." The middle-aged man laughed, "It turns out that the killing karma you accumulated in your destiny was from the battles at Snow Cliff Pass to suppress the ferocious beast clan. This kind of killing karma can actually be considered a merit."

After a pause, the middle-aged man looked at Chen Yan with a more intimate gaze and said with a smile, "Your cultivation at the Returning Origin Realm is already quite remarkable. According to the rules of our Xitai City government, you can obtain a residence in the inner city, and six mortal servants will be assigned to serve you. I wonder if you have any special requirements for your residence or servants? You can tell me all of them here, and I will have someone arrange it for you."

Sure enough, they were allocated housing and a nanny was also provided.

Chen Yan thought to himself how well the Celestial Dragons of the Realm were treated.

He wanted to decline, but then he thought that he wouldn't hear from anyone for another five days about taking a flying boat to the southern border—and even if he did hear from someone in five days, there might not be a boat available immediately.

Before leaving Xitai City, I will stay here for a while longer—why should I spend my own money to stay at an inn when there is free accommodation?
Chen Yan shook his head and said, "There are no special requirements. Let's do it as usual."

The middle-aged man smiled and nodded, then said in a seemingly nonchalant tone, "Fellow Daoist Shanhe, after being registered, do you have any intention of serving my Xitai City government?"

Chen Yan looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man slowly said, "There are no vacancies in the administrative offices and various departments in the city. If you are willing to wait, it will probably take some time. However, I see that you have a lot of killing karma in your destiny, and I have heard that you came from Xueya Pass. You must be proficient in the art of warfare. If you are willing, there is a vacancy in the garrison of Xitai City, which is short of a guard general."

My Xitai City Guard is responsible for the defense of both inside and outside the city. Each unit consists of one hundred men, with one unit commanded by a centurion. Ten units form a guard, each led by a guard commander.

A military general leading a thousand men?
Chen Yan was somewhat surprised.

A position that can command thousands of cultivators? They actually recruited people for this position so casually?

In Xueya Pass, being able to lead thousands of cultivators is already considered to have reached the threshold of a high-ranking military officer!

However, he soon realized he was wrong.

“Ordinary soldiers in the garrison are mortals. Each unit consists of 100 men, and all the soldiers in a unit are mortals. Only the generals of the 100-man units are cultivators. The garrison general is nominally in charge of ten units and a thousand men, but in reality, the cultivators under his command are only ten generals of the 100-man units.” The middle-aged man laughed. “However, the treatment is not bad. The monthly salary is five hundred coins, and every quarter there is also a portion of cultivation pills sent by the garrison.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan felt that the salary was not high—five hundred a month, which was only worth the heads of two ferocious beastmen.

However, this position is vacant. Logically, there should be cultivators in the city who are supported to fill the vacancy, so why is no one doing it?
This middle-aged man was very shrewd. Seeing Chen Yan's doubt, he took the initiative to say, "To be honest, fellow Daoist, serving as a guard general doesn't really mean much in the city. Ordinary people don't dare to cause trouble, and the residences of cultivators in the inner city won't be disturbed either. We cultivators value strength above all else. We can tell who is higher or lower just by looking at their cultivation level. Few people would cause trouble, especially since there are high-level cultivators stationed in the city."

The duties of a guard general often involve leading men out of the city to patrol and inspect the medicinal fields and estates of various sects. In short, they are the head of a patrol team. While there's no real danger, it's certainly a bit of a hassle.

Other cultivators prefer quiet to activity; they'd rather meditate and cultivate in their caves than travel frequently, as they feel that such a vacancy would hinder their progress. Therefore, this position has been vacant for quite some time, but no one has been willing to accept it.

Understood.

Little money, lots of work.

No wonder nobody wants to do it.

If it weren't for my burning desire to go to the Southern Frontier Ghost Clan's territory to find the old lady... being a guard in Xitai City would have been a decent starting point for conquering the realm.

Although Chen Yan was somewhat tempted, his feelings quickly turned to regret.

"Thank you for your kindness, fellow Daoist. However, I will have to leave Xitai City soon, and I am afraid I will fail to live up to your expectations."

A hint of disappointment flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. After thinking for a moment, he smiled bitterly and said, "Then forget it. It wouldn't be good to disturb your affairs, fellow Daoist. I'll find someone else to fill the vacancy."

Subsequently, Chen Yan felt that the middle-aged clerk at Naxiantai was quite kind, so he asked him about the way to get to the Southern Frontier.

After the middle-aged man gave his introduction, which was similar to what the waiter in the tavern had said, Chen Yan knew there was no better way. After exchanging pleasantries, he prepared to take his leave.

The middle-aged man took out a jade tablet and handed it to Chen Yan: "Since you don't have any special requirements for your accommodation and servants, I won't make any other arrangements. This jade tablet is the access pass for your accommodation. Just take it to the Inner City's Gathering Immortals District, and someone will take you there."

After accepting the gift and expressing his gratitude, Chen Yan left.

·
Just register, and you become a Celestial Being.

They even provided a house... and there were six free servants in the house.

Well, I have an extra fifty coins in my pocket—actually, it's more like a subsidy.

As Chen Yan walked through the inner city of Xitai City, he roughly discerned the purchasing power of jade coins in this realm.

The subsidy given to monks in Xitai City is fifty coins every ten days.

That's about right. This amount of money is enough for food—of course, not eating out. If I were to go to the tavern at the dock that I visited today, that would obviously be a high-class restaurant.

That little bit of money is gone in a single meal.

However, if one lives at home and has ordinary servants buy groceries and cook, fifty coins will be enough to last quite a while.

A mortal's servant earns about ten jade coins a month.

Jade coins are a form of currency used among the Celestial Dragon cultivators. Ordinary people can exchange jade coins for the currency used in the outer city's mortal residential area, which is generally made of precious metals such as gold and silver.

Six servants cost sixty jade coins a month.

The remaining ninety coins were enough for food—but only enough for food.

If I had accepted the offer to become the head of security (guard general) patrolling outside the city, my monthly salary would have been five hundred coins.

After deducting the servants' wages, there are still four hundred and forty coins left each month.

So besides food, you can also use some money to buy elixirs and other cultivation supplies.

The income isn't high, but it's stable, and most importantly—there's no risk!

Unlike the lowly cultivators, they don't have to risk their lives outside Snow Cliff Pass.

Cutting off the head of a ferocious beastman might earn you 250 coins—but that's money earned through risking your life!

There is no vital energy outside the pass, so magic cannot be used. Going to fight the ferocious beast tribe in this situation... every penny is truly earned by risking one's life.

Moreover, the pills distributed by the government every month are a stable and risk-free source of income.

Of course, with an official position, one's income would certainly be more than this. After all, these are only "subsidies" rather than "salaries".

It is said that after one obtains an official position, there are many ways to make money, but Chen Yan does not yet know the specifics.

He walked into the inner city and found that the streets there were noticeably wider and cleaner.

The magic array within the city gathers and nourishes the moisture from the surrounding heaven and earth. Nourished by this moisture, the temperature within the inner city is cool and pleasant, unlike the scorching heat outside.

Moreover, even the vital energy is three times more concentrated.

The inner city is spacious, but the buildings are noticeably less dense—clearly, this inner city, with only a mere 18,000 official residents, is much more spacious and comfortable than the outer city, which has 800,000 ordinary households.

However, there are mortals in the inner city as well, only they are more cautious.

Chen Yan observed that the mortals walking on the road all stood with their hands at their sides and were respectful. If someone wearing a wide-sleeved robe and clearly of high status passed by, regardless of whether that person was a cultivator or not, the mortals would immediately stand up and bow their heads.

In Xitai City, it is a rule that mortals are not allowed to wear immortal robes—the so-called immortal robes are actually cultivator robes, which are somewhat similar to the wide-sleeved ancient robes that Chen Yan had seen.

Ordinary people's attire mostly consists of narrow-sleeved short shirts.

Despite Chen Yan's attire, few people bowed to him.

We walked all the way to Juxian District in the inner city. The name sounded very nice. The neighborhoods were very spacious and the buildings had a rather peculiar design.

It seems that the monks living here modified it according to their own preferences.

After entering the neighborhood, Chen Yan arrived at a cluster of mountain houses...

The so-called mountain retreat amazed Chen Yan.

It was a cluster of houses built layer upon layer, stacked up like an interlocking pile, originally built against a mountain. Separated by layers of magic arrays, the courtyards and buildings were built against the mountain, almost completely filling and hollowing out all four sides of the mountain.

Chen Yan took out his jade token (identity card). The guards at the gate were all ordinary people. Upon seeing it, they quickly bowed and watched Chen Yan enter.

Upon arriving at the foot of the mountain house, a cultivator dressed in a wide-sleeved robe came out. After looking at the jade token in Chen Yan's hand, he cupped his hands and smiled at Chen Yan, saying, "Fellow Daoist, are you new here? Greetings! I am Zhao You, the manager of this area."

Chen Yan handed over the jade token, and Zhao You flicked his finger, causing a line of faint runes to appear and fall into the air.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Zhao Shanhe. In that case, we're from the same clan." Zhao You's attitude was very warm. He smiled and said, "Your jade disc is from the B-class area. I'll take you there."

As he spoke, he led Chen Yan up the mountain house. Along the steps, many exotic flowers and plants that Chen Yan did not recognize were planted on both sides. He could also see mortal servants in short shirts and narrow sleeves tending to the flowers and plants.

"There are gardeners looking after everything in this mountain retreat, cleaning and tidying it up every day, so you don't need to worry about it. If you have any mundane matters to attend to, you can send your servants out to make purchases. If your servants can't do it, you can send someone to the steward's office downstairs to find me. I'm there on odd days of every ten days, and on even days, there's another steward named He."

Zhao You's attitude was very enthusiastic, which made Chen Yan feel a bit like a property manager in the real world.

However, judging from this guy's cultivation level, it shouldn't be high. Chen Yan used his Qi Observation Technique to take a look and confirmed that the other party should still be in the Entry-Level Realm.

Chen Yan followed him to the middle of the mountain and stood outside the gate of a courtyard. However, Chen Yan clearly sensed the fluctuations of a restrictive magic array on the courtyard gate and wall.

As Zhao You waved Chen Yan's jade tablet in front of the door, the magic array immediately dissipated.

After the courtyard gate was opened wide, Zhao You led Chen Yan inside.

The courtyard wasn't very large, about half an acre in size. There was a row of three to five side rooms on one side, which were for the servants' living quarters and the kitchen.

The owner's dwelling, however, was dug into the hillside, creating a cave dwelling.

There is a stone gate on the outside, and inside are three stone chambers.

One room was for resting, another for practicing martial arts, and the third contained a furnace for alchemy and some simple tools for crafting artifacts.

Chen Yan noticed that a magic array had been set up on the ground floor of the training room, and there was a bronze Bagua plate on the wall.

"Fellow Daoist resides in Room B, where a magic array provides vital energy for cultivation for four hours each day. However, if you wish to activate the array beyond four hours, you will need to pay extra. There is a sound transmission array outside the cave; you can have the steward activate it. Just have a servant deliver the money down the mountain."

After giving a brief introduction, Zhao You looked at Chen Yan and asked, "Fellow Daoist, is there anything you are dissatisfied with?"

"No, it's fine." Chen Yan was genuinely quite satisfied with this place.

Located halfway up the mountain, under the influence of the formation of Xitai City, the surrounding area is shrouded in water vapor, and the air is cool and humid. Flowers and plants grow all around the mountain, but they are all very neatly built.

Good view, open and spacious. Good air quality, fresh and clean.

Moreover, it's a detached villa with its own yard.

In the real world, this kind of house would definitely be considered a luxury hillside residence.

It's right here, damn it, free!
He also sent six servants...

"By the way, what are your requirements for servants, fellow Daoist?"

Chen Yan originally had no requirements, but at this moment, a thought suddenly occurred to him: "I need someone with good cooking skills, the rest is up to you."

Zhao You nodded and noted it down. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Chen Yan, he bowed and took his leave.

Zhao You turned and left the courtyard, while Chen Yan was about to turn back to his cave to take another good look.

Suddenly, an angry shout came from outside the courtyard!
"You scoundrel surnamed Zhao! You look down on me! Do you think I can't afford that little bit of energy array?!"

Chen Yan initially paid no attention to the rebuke, but a thought struck him.

That voice and tone sound somewhat familiar.

He stopped abruptly as he was heading towards the cave, turned around and walked toward the courtyard gate. After taking only two steps, he heard Zhao You's helpless voice from outside.

"Fellow Daoist, you are wise. I would never dare to show the slightest contempt! It's just that the money you owe for the magic array hasn't been settled for a month..."

·
(End of this chapter)