Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 232 The Southern Palace Appears, Discussing Cooperation

"Boom! Boom!"

Just as the devastating column of tornado was about to crash onto the shore, the wind suddenly subsided!
The mist and gale seemed to be instantly smoothed and compressed by an invisible giant hand, disappearing into nothingness in an instant, as if the world-ending scene just now was just an illusion.

In the midst of the calm and tranquility, a jade boat, pure white in color, shaped like a crescent moon, and radiating a gentle yet undeniably powerful spiritual pressure, silently floated in the air.

A dozen or so figures stood on the jade boat.

The leader was a handsome man dressed in a moon-white robe, who looked to be only in his thirties. He had a faint smile on his lips and his eyes were gentle, yet they seemed to hold the swirling stars within them, making them unfathomable.

The earth-shattering wind just now must have been brought by him.

Behind him stood young cultivators, all dressed in the same style of moon-white robes. The men were handsome and the women were beautiful, their auras were deep and composed, and their cultivation levels had all reached the mid-to-late stage of Foundation Establishment. Their eyes held the arrogance and superiority unique to cultivators from major sects.

Lin Changheng quickly noticed two ancient characters engraved on the sail of the moon-white jade boat—

Far South!

"It's the [Moon-Embracing Immortal Ship] of the Southern Palace!" a knowledgeable cultivator exclaimed, his voice filled with shock.

"The Southern Palace?! Why would they come here?"

"That's... Master Lingfeng from the Southern Palace? He actually came in person!"

"It's over... What chance do we have in this battle for the secret realms..."

The commotion on the shore instantly turned into suppressed gasps and whispers, and most of the people present felt as if a huge boulder was pressing on their hearts.

The Southern Palace is a powerful Nascent Soul-level force that dominates the Song Dynasty, rules the world, and is renowned for its prestige!
His disciples were all incredibly powerful, surpassing not only the cultivators of various families but also the disciples of the Purple Extreme Sect.

Moreover, disciples of the [Southern Palace] rarely appear in a secret realm of this scale, especially since the leader of the group is a well-known mid-stage Core Formation expert, "Master Lingfeng"!
Lin Changheng, whose figure was inconspicuous in the crowd, had a similar question and wondered to himself, "Why is the [Southern Palace] here too?"

Then, upon further reflection, he realized that while the Purple Extreme Sect could disregard any other forces of the same level for its exclusive control of this medium-sized secret realm, it could not afford to disregard the authority of the Southern Palace, the ruler of Song.

Moreover, this quota not only has to be given, but it has to be offered voluntarily.

"Haha, I didn't expect that Junior Sister Luo would be leading the team this time. Ling Feng greets you."

Ling Feng Zhenren's calm eyes swept across the entire scene, but they exerted tremendous pressure on all the cultivators present, like a knife cutting through them or a mountain pressing down. His Core Formation power was fully displayed. Then, he focused his gaze on the Core Formation female cultivator from the Ziji Sect, took two steps to cover a hundred feet, and arrived in front of her with a smile on his face.

"This younger sister greets Senior Brother Ling Feng." The Core Formation female cultivator surnamed Luo also gave a simple greeting, which seemed rather lukewarm compared to the other party's enthusiasm.

"Years have passed since we last met. Junior Sister Luo is even more beautiful than before, and her cultivation has also improved significantly. This is truly a cause for celebration."

Master Lingfeng seemed oblivious, his voice gentle, his smile warm, revealing the joy of unexpectedly meeting an old friend, his tone carrying just the right amount of familiarity and emotion.

Generally speaking, Core Formation cultivators address each other by their Daoist titles, surnames, or given names. Only close and extremely familiar friends would address each other by these names.

Both the Sun and Song families, who were faking their elixirs, referred to the Luo family members who had achieved elixir formation as "Xuanji Zhenren" (True Man of Xuanji).

"Senior Brother Lingfeng, you flatter me. I only obtained this by chance. Since you have come here, it is naturally for the sake of the Jiangzhong Secret Realm. Now that the secret realm is wide open, it would be better to deal with the important matter first. We can catch up later. What do you say, Senior Brother?"

Master Xuanji glanced at the gate below the river and cut straight to the point without much small talk. His tone was indifferent and distant, maintaining only basic courtesy, clearly indicating that he did not want to have much involvement with the other party.

"Haha, of course, we should be busy with important matters."

Master Lingfeng chuckled, then turned to face the assembled cultivators. Without channeling his full magical power, he calmly uttered a single word:

"Enter."

The voice was not loud, and even sounded somewhat understated.

However, what struck the ears and minds of every cultivator present was nothing short of a thunderclap!
Many of the cultivators present moved almost involuntarily and subconsciously.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The brief silence was broken, and the crowd surged forth like a flood, accompanied by streaks of light that shot towards the secret portal beneath the river!
The name "Master Lingfeng" seemed to possess a magical power, and with an absolutely dominant attitude, it announced the official start of the struggle for the secret realm—as if he were the master of this place, possessing the power to issue orders.

After uttering that word, he stood with his hands behind his back again, smiling as he watched the torrent of light surging towards the entrance of the secret realm like rivers flowing into the sea, as if admiring an interesting painting.

"Walk."

The cultivators of the Purple Extreme Sect did not look good. Seeing that True Person Xuanji did not express any opinion, they all gritted their teeth and fled into the secret realm in a swarm.

"You guys go too."

The fake alchemy ancestors of the Sun and Song families also quietly gave instructions.

"Yes."

Soon, more than 90% of the cultivators present were gone.

They all entered that secret realm through the portal.

Only the cultivators from the South Pole Palace and some cultivators who didn't enter the secret realm but only came to buy things remained.

"You can come in too."

At this moment, Master Lingfeng gave a casual instruction, and the group of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Southern Palace in their moon-white robes obeyed without question, disappearing into the secret realm.

Seeing that no one else was entering, Master Xuanji withdrew his magic and temporarily closed the entrance to the secret realm.

Then came the long wait.

Lingfeng Zhenren originally intended to continue the conversation, but Xuanji Zhenren, using the excuse that she had exhausted too much magical power and needed to recover, flew aside to meditate and cultivate. Upon seeing this, Lingfeng Zhenren frowned, somewhat displeased, but still did not retaliate. He gracefully flew a short distance away and also began to meditate.

The two fake cultivators from the aristocratic families exchanged a glance, but made no move forward.

It's still necessary to meet and greet the Core Formation cultivators of the Purple Extreme Sect, since occasional interactions are necessary and they will treat you with courtesy.

However, the South Palace was too far away, and this person hadn't even given them a second glance. They also had the pride of being Core Formation cultivators and heads of noble families, and they wouldn't try to curry favor with someone who wouldn't listen.

It carries a hint of "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."

……

Lin Changheng didn't pay much attention to anything, he just sat quietly and waited for the secret realm to open.

Like the remaining twenty or so cultivators.

Only then will it be my turn to shine.

"The secret realm will probably be open for about half a month. The cultivators from those two major sects will definitely not be able to take out any good stuff. They will hand over a portion, use a portion themselves, and exchange a portion internally, so very little will be released."

"The only way to get a spot is through family cultivators or independent cultivators who are affiliated with families to obtain a Foundation Establishment position... If I can get something and it's not enough, I can try to exchange for it."

"Moreover, the expectations and vision of family cultivators and independent cultivators are lower than those of sect cultivators. They might not even look at the roots or stems of some precious herbs, but they might dig them up. This is my main target group."

Lin Changheng secretly made a plan.

……

Three days later.

A fat monk approached Lin Changheng and struck up a conversation.

"What's the matter, fellow Taoist?"

Seeing the other party's smiling face, Lin Changheng keenly sensed the other party's mid-Foundation Establishment aura and asked in surprise.

"Hehe, may I ask which faction or merchant guild you have come from?"

The fat monk didn't answer; instead, he asked a question.

“I come from the Immortal City of Floating Life.”

Lin Changheng thought for a moment and then said directly.

"Floating Life Immortal City? That's a great place. It's the number one immortal city for rogue cultivators, in no way inferior to the immortal cities of other major powers, and only slightly inferior to the number one immortal city in Song territory, [Extreme Mountain Immortal City]."

The fat monk was extremely quick-witted; once he started talking, he spoke in rapid succession without stopping.

Lin Changheng didn't reply, but just looked at the other party with a half-smile. This expression made the fat cultivator immediately shut up, scratch his head and smiled awkwardly, "My purpose is very simple, I want to make a deal with you, fellow Daoist."

"A trade? Fellow Daoist, have you come to the wrong person? I'm also here to buy items from the secret realm..."

Lin Changheng's expression immediately turned strange.

"Hehe, I naturally know that. What I mean is, let's exchange a list of what we need, and then we can each use our own methods to go and buy it separately. If we see anything the other needs, we can take it too, and then we can do some internal trading later..."

"In that case, we're more likely to receive what we need, aren't we?"

The fat monk immediately laughed and rattled off his plan.

"This...sounds feasible, but..."

Lin Changheng rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought, looking hesitant.

"How are you, fellow Daoist? If you have any concerns, please feel free to speak up, and we can discuss and resolve them. If it's a matter of spirit stones, we can also barter for them later."

The fat monk seemed to approve of his plan and exuded confidence.

Lin Changheng seemed to be influenced by him and was somewhat tempted. He then asked, "Is it just the two of us working together? Wouldn't it be better to find more people? Wouldn't that increase our chances of success?"

"Having more people is good, but there are also problems along the way. The probability of overlapping needs is also higher, and with more people, there are more gossips. If it gets out, and it attracts the attention of cultivators, wouldn't that be extremely bad?"

The fat monk had clearly considered this as well.

"Then how can we ensure that the other side doesn't attract the attention of the raiders?"

Lin Changheng looked at the fat cultivator and spoke incisively.

"Hehe, just make a vow. We're both in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, with a bright future ahead and promising paths. There's no need to create unnecessary inner demons, is there?"

The fat monk said indifferently.

"Is that so?"

After another round of reasoned persuasion, Lin Changheng finally relented and nodded in agreement.

“Excellent!”

The portly cultivator clapped his hands with a smile, and then the two exchanged lists of the resources they needed and made identical oaths of faith...

(End of this chapter)