Tianji?

World No. 9527,

The hills rose and fell in endless succession, as though they stretched beyond sight.

Amid the mountains stood a somewhat dilapidated ancestral hall, the only man-made structure within a thousand-mile radius.

At that moment, hoarse, dry roars rang through the ancestral hall.

"What do you mean, a thousand years?! My old Chen family has lived in Chen Family Village since ancient times, since the primordial era! We didn't move here from elsewhere!"

The old man spoke with righteous conviction, spittle flying everywhere.

Li Qingshan stood quietly, his gaze passing over the old man to the memorial tablets on the offering table, then to the pillars and walls around them.

The Chen family's memorial tablets began a thousand years ago.

The traces of time upon the pillars and walls likewise did not exceed a thousand years.

He was not the only one who could spot these clues. The old man who had guarded the ancestral hall for so long ought to have known them inside out, yet he was deliberately turning a blind eye, utterly convinced of the "primordial era."

However, Li Qingshan did not argue. He merely smiled faintly.

"Thank you for the explanation, Elder Chen. It seems I was taking things for granted. I shall take my leave first."

"You're leaving already?" The old man froze for a moment, then immediately waved his hand.

"No! You haven't even had a sip of water. If word gets out, people will say Chen Family Village doesn't understand proper courtesy."

"How about this? Stay for a meal before you go!"

The old man took it all upon himself. Li Qingshan did not immediately refuse, instead sweeping his gaze around.

The ancestral hall was the only building within a thousand miles.

Yet inside, there was only incense, candles, and paper money. There were no pots, bowls, ladles, or pans whatsoever.

After looking around, his deep gaze returned to the old man.

"Elder Chen, do you cook for yourself?"

"Who still cooks for themselves these days?"

The old man shook his head as though it were only natural, then pulled out a somewhat worn sound-transmission jade talisman and said proudly,

"Of course I order delivery!"

"I placed the order before you arrived. We'll make do with a meal together, so don't mind it. I ordered from Ruxin Restaurant in the town thirty thousand miles away. That proprietress's figure... no, I mean her cooking..."

As he spoke, the old man could not help slurping at his saliva. He truly looked ravenous.

Li Qingshan fell silent at the unexpected answer, then shook his head.

"Elder Chen, I won't disturb your meal. I'll take my leave first."

As his words fell, he stepped out of the ancestral hall. With his next step, he set foot in the sky.

Looking down, he saw a deliveryman in a yellow-and-blue uniform racing toward the ancestral hall from afar atop a flying sword.

The deliveryman flew extremely fast, far exceeding the speed a first-stage Qi Refining cultivator ought to possess, comparable to a second-stage Rainbow Transformation martial artist flying at full speed.

Yet this did not stem from his own strength, but from the enhancement of the flying sword beneath his feet.

An industrial flying sword reeking of assembly-line production, with no discernible offensive capability, designed solely in pursuit of ultimate speed.

"A Qi Refining deliveryman, riding an industrial flying sword across thirty thousand miles to deliver food to an old man living alone in the wilderness?"

Li Qingshan murmured softly. His gaze ignored the distance and settled on the left breast of the deliveryman's uniform, where he unsurprisingly saw four words.

Tianji Delivery

"As expected of Tianji Group!"

Li Qingshan smiled faintly, took a step, and appeared at the other end of the world...

Chen Family Village... Nansha Ridge... Yuge Bay... Zilan Sea...

In merely a few short hours, the young man's figure seemed to teleport, ignoring the vast gaps of hundreds of millions of miles as he appeared in corners scattered across heaven and earth.

Visit after visit, sight after sight witnessed with his own eyes, confirmed Li Qingshan's earlier suspicions.

Cognitive alteration!

The "primordial era" existed only within people's perceptions. The historical traces left behind in reality went back no more than a thousand years!

At the same time, there was another matter he could not help noticing.

Tianji Delivery, Tianji Express, Tianji Groceries, Tianji Travel...

From one end of the world to the other, no matter how remote the location—even on islands isolated overseas—one could see the presence of Tianji Group.

It had penetrated every aspect of life, leaving no crack untouched!

"Black-hearted capital?"

Li Qingshan hovered high in the air and looked down beneath him.

The waves rolled endlessly, and an island lay directly below.

Only one resident remained on the island: a frail old woman in the twilight of her years.

At that moment, an employee from Tianji Groceries was warmly helping the old woman carry fresh vegetables and fruit.

The scene before him did not fit the profit-seeking nature of "capital." Even the credit points the old woman had used to place the order had been borrowed from Tianji Group.

This loan clearly had no chance of ever being recovered.

"A black-hearted capitalist? A conscientious entrepreneur?"

Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and smiled with interest.

"Or perhaps... a cancer upon the cultivation world?"

He had not coined this term himself. He had heard it along the way.

Tianji Group had embedded itself into every aspect of society, its roots deep and its branches flourishing, but that did not mean there were no voices of opposition.

In fact, even in World No. 9527, its home base, a sizeable current of opposition had already formed.

"Interesting. I just wonder who exactly stands behind Tianji Group?"

A smile curled across Li Qingshan's lips. He strolled through the void, passing over mountains and rivers, towns and marketplaces, before returning once more to the center of the world—Tianji City.

Tianji City, Tianji Museum

"Chicken legs! Chicken legs!"

"Braised chicken legs! Roasted chicken legs! Fried chicken legs!"

"Tianji chicken legs, the old chairman's favorite food while he was alive! Don't miss out if you pass by!"

The cries of hawkers and vendors, accompanied by wafts of fragrance, drifted into the museum.

Groups of young men and women each carried chicken legs in different packaging. Some even gnawed on them as they walked, their mouths slick with oil.

The guide seemed long accustomed to this and continued her introduction without pause.

"As everyone knows, Tianji Group was founded a thousand years ago by our old chairman, Tianji Taoist."

"In merely a thousand years, the reason Tianji Group was able to surpass so many immortal sects, grow to its current scale, and even extend its reach into hundreds of surrounding worlds, was entirely due to the development principles left behind by the old chairman before his death!"

"It was also under the old chairman's guidance that we came to enjoy these good days, where everyone could eat their fill and everyone had immortality to cultivate!"

The guide pointed at the canvases recording Tianji Group's development and spoke with fervent emotion, making many tourists feel deeply moved.

Just then,

"Heh heh!" A cold laugh rang out abruptly. A tall young man folded his arms across his chest and stepped forward.

"Sounds nice, but isn't it all just to mass-produce beasts of burden and have them add bricks and tiles to Tianji Group's development?"

"Shut up!"

The guide's expression changed drastically. With a wave of her hand, the air froze, and a vast pressure like collapsing mountains bore down on the speaking young man.

"Born amid blessings, yet ignorant of your fortune! Do you think you can eat your fill and cultivate in peace because the world is peaceful?"

"No! It is only because you are in World No. 9527!"

"Across the Azure Wave Myriad Realms, open your eyes and take a good look! Which world is not plagued by imperial dynasties waging conquest, immortals and demons locked in war, ceaseless strife, and common people without enough food to eat or clothing to wear!"

"If not for the old chairman, if not for Tianji Group, World No. 9527 would be just like them!"