Zhishou Tower

This was a standalone building hidden within an alley.

The building wasn't large, only two stories high. Its entrance was open, but a black curtain hung at the doorway, blocking the view of passersby and preventing easy peeking inside.

There was no sign on the building, making it impossible to tell what it was for.

Lu Qingshan stood before the building, his gaze flickering.

Since his starting village in his previous life wasn't in Yuanshan City, he had searched through many alleys to find this particular building.

Familiar with the plot of "Nine Heavens," he understood that while the building before him appeared ordinary, it was actually the largest faction players could access in all of Yuanshan City.

It was Yuanshan Tower, a branch of Zhishou Tower stationed in Yuanshan City!

Zhishou Tower was the only faction among humans that could rival the Seven Great Dao Sects.

Zhishou Tower was also the oldest faction in human history; it had existed even before the Great Xia Imperial Family emerged.

After the Great Xia Imperial Family unified humanity, Zhishou Tower submitted to the imperial family and concealed its influence underground.

Over the past twenty thousand years in Chang'an, Zhishou Tower's presence had gradually faded among humans.

But Lu Qingshan knew that twenty thousand years had not weakened Zhishou Tower. Instead, with the full support of the Great Xia Imperial Family, it had become even more prosperous.

Zhishou Tower's branches were like those of the Great Xia Trading Company, spread across every human city. However, the Great Xia Trading Company operated in the open, while Zhishou Tower remained in the shadows.

Zhishou Tower only began to surface and officially open to players in the "Underworld Demonic Shadow" version.

However, in his previous life, there were always some lucky "European Emperors" who, through various coincidences, unlocked the Zhishou Tower faction early.

Due to Zhishou Tower's low profile and its discreet operations, players who unlocked the Zhishou Tower faction at that time generally believed it to be a minor, insignificant sect.

But who would have thought that with the "Underworld Demonic Shadow" version, Zhishou Tower would suddenly become the leading human faction of that era?

"Damn, I hit the jackpot and drew an SSR!"

Soon, some players, unable to suppress their smugness, uploaded their methods of unlocking the Zhishou Tower faction to the player forums.

Each player's path to unlocking the Zhishou Tower faction was different, with countless bizarre and varied methods. However, they all shared one commonality: opposing Demon Cultivators.

This was because Zhishou Tower was specifically established to suppress and eradicate the influence of demons within Great Xia.

Lu Qingshan had never intended to be a Rogue Cultivator.

In the impending turbulent and chaotic "Nine Heavens," choosing to be a Rogue Cultivator without the protection of a sect or faction would result in an extremely high mortality rate.

Throughout the main storylines of various versions, the number of Rogue Cultivator NPCs who inexplicably met their demise due to plot-driven events was countless.

Every time a major version update was released, Lu Qingshan would log back in and, upon reviewing the update logs, would always find a sentence like this: "Countless Rogue Cultivators became victims of this disaster..."

Furthermore, for cultivators to grow rapidly, they require a significant amount of resources.

"Law, companions, wealth, and land!"

These are the four essential elements of cultivation.

Firstly, high-level Cultivation Methods and Sword Skills are invaluable. Moreover, profound knowledge is not easily shared, and often, these things cannot be obtained even with money.

Therefore, Rogue Cultivators typically practice common, low-quality Cultivation Methods and study ordinary techniques.

However, if one can attach themselves to a powerful sect, by accumulating enough sect contribution points, they can exchange them for various high-level Daoist arts required for cultivation.

"Companions" doesn't just refer to a romantic partner for dual cultivation; it also includes fellow disciples and masters. Learning alone without friends will inevitably lead to ignorance.

If one can join a cultivation sect, not only will they have fellow disciples to cultivate with, but they will also have experienced masters for guidance and protection, naturally making their growth speed incomparable to that of Rogue Cultivators.

"Wealth" refers to the various cultivation resources and materials needed by cultivators, such as Spirit Pills, Spirit Artifacts, Spirit Stones, and so on.

Rogue Cultivators spend most of their time rushing around to obtain cultivation resources, leaving them with insufficient time to practice Cultivation Methods or study techniques.

In contrast, cultivation sects, in order to nurture their disciples, will regularly distribute a certain amount of cultivation resources to them.

Moreover, many precious elixirs and artifacts can be obtained by sect disciples at an extremely favorable price.

These disparities in resources often quickly translate into disparities in strength.

"Land" refers to the place of cultivation. Sects are established on Spirit Veins, where the concentration of spiritual energy far surpasses that of other places, making them veritable spiritual treasures for cultivation.

A day of cultivation in such places yields twice, or even more, the efficiency of cultivation in ordinary locations.

As for Rogue Cultivators, they wander the world. In the current cultivation world, with its advanced development, how many suitable places for cultivation remain undiscovered?

Let alone finding a spiritual treasure land for cultivation, many Rogue Cultivators are often discovered while in secluded cultivation and then murdered for their wealth. However, within a sect, such worries never arise.

In the cultivation world, ninety-nine percent of the cultivators at the top are from renowned great sects. True powerful cultivators who emerge from the ranks of Rogue Cultivators are exceedingly rare, highlighting the importance of sects.

Although Lu Qingshan had great confidence in his ability to grow stronger, with the impending chaos, being alone and weak would be extremely dangerous in a turbulent world.

He needed the protection of a major power.

Zhishou Tower was not the major power he had in mind, but it had one advantage.

Zhishou Tower was not a sect but rather a type of official organization, so it imposed few restrictions on the freedom of its members.

Zhishou Tower members were still allowed to join other sects without violating Zhishou Tower's regulations.

Undoubtedly, Zhishou Tower was an excellent secondary faction.

Lu Qingshan lifted the black curtain at the entrance and walked into the small building.

The first floor of the small building was a large hall. Several wooden support pillars divided the space into several sections. The windows of the small building were tightly shut, and coupled with the dark alleyways deep within the building, the entire indoor space appeared very dim.

"Who goes there? State your business," a somewhat deep male voice rang out.

Lu Qingshan looked inside. A hollow staircase made of brown sandalwood led directly to the second floor. Beside the staircase was a counter.

Seated at the counter was a middle-aged male cultivator with messy hair, a stubbled face, and a generally disheveled appearance.

This was the middle-aged male cultivator who had just spoken.

"I'm looking for the owner of Yuanshan Tower."

A sharp glint flashed in the middle-aged male cultivator's eyes.

Lu Qingshan vaguely felt as if he were being spied upon.

Lu Qingshan knew that the middle-aged male cultivator was scanning him with his Spiritual Sense.

A cultivator at the Qi Refining Second Layer, you can't just meet the Pavilion Master whenever you please.

"Underworld," Lu Qingshan said, not offering further explanation, slowly spitting out two words.

The middle-aged male cultivator's pupils contracted. "What did you discover?!"

I can only tell the original poster about this matter.

After a brief silence.

The middle-aged male cultivator's deep voice sounded again, "Alright, wait here."

Lu Qingshan nodded.

The middle-aged male cultivator left the counter and headed straight for the second floor.

After a short while.

"Come upstairs," a pleasant female voice called from the second floor.

He hadn't expected the Tower Lord of Yuanshan Tower to be a female cultivator.

Lu Qingshan found it amusing.

Without hesitation, Lu Qingshan quickly walked up the stairs.

At the end of the staircase was a very long corridor with individual rooms on either side.

"The one at the very end."

He could only hear the voice, not see the person.

Lu Qingshan walked unhurriedly to the end of the corridor and pushed open the door.

Lu Qingshan's eyes suddenly brightened.

Unlike the dimness of the rest of the small building, the room was very bright and filled with a pleasant, faint fragrance. And in the room, there was also a... very beautiful woman.