Wanbao Immortal City

Pei Lun listened to Yang Zhengshan's words, his expression thoughtful.

"What guidance does the True Lord have for me?"

"Guidance? Heh, you're a clever man, and I'm willing to have a casual chat with you!"

"My advice is to abandon most of your clansmen and let a few outstanding ones grow up!"

"Destroy before rebuilding, break before establishing anew. Only then will your Pei Family have a chance to rise again!"

Yang Zhengshan watched him with a smile, waiting for his choice.

Breaking before rebuilding sounded simple, but it was extremely difficult to carry out, because it meant that most of the Pei Family's clansmen would have to die.

As for how to do it, it was simple. Once Yang Zhengshan left, when Pei Lun reached the end of his lifespan, the Pei Family would inevitably be exterminated by its surrounding neighbors.

At that time, Yang Zhengshan would only need to shelter a few Immortal Cultivators.

The calamity of extermination would make them grow rapidly, hatred would provide them with the motivation to cultivate, and revenge would become their firmest goal.

With all that, they would have the foundation to become powerful experts.

Pei Lun's expression shifted between light and dark.

"If you don't want that, it wouldn't be a problem for me to shelter your Pei Family for a hundred years either. I'll arrange for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to be stationed here and announce to the outside world that the surrounding forces must not make things difficult for your Pei Family!" Yang Zhengshan continued.

Arranging for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to hold down the fort here was easy for Yang Zhengshan. There were so many Foundation Establishment Cultivators idling around in the Spirit Source Land that he could find them something to do.

They could rotate every three years, and even a hundred years would not be enough for everyone to complete one rotation.

Of course, letting the Pei Family break before rebuilding would be more convenient. Pei Lun had less than a year of lifespan remaining. Yang Zhengshan only needed to arrange for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to come here, then, after the Pei Family was exterminated a year later, bring a few Pei Family descendants back with him.

The number did not need to be large. Two or three would be enough.

As for whether they could make the Pei Family rise again, that was not something Yang Zhengshan needed to worry about.

Seeing Pei Lun hesitate, Yang Zhengshan said no more and instead turned to look out the window.

The scenery of Pei Family Town was very beautiful, filled everywhere with an antique charm. There were also many Spiritual Trees in the town, lush and green, brimming with vitality.

However, the atmosphere in Pei Family Town was oppressive. The Family Inheritance had lasted too long, causing the internal system to become rigid, and many clansmen had lost their opportunities for advancement.

Pei Lun had protected the Pei Family and deserved credit for it, but he was also a malignant tumor within the family. He had run the Pei Family as a one-man dictatorship and favored his own descendants. The Pei Family had not produced another Foundation Establishment Cultivator for so many years, and he bore a large part of the responsibility.

Thus, dictatorship was unacceptable.

Yang Zhengshan disliked dictatorship. He only managed the overall direction and set the tone for the Spirit Source Land. He liked to be a Hands-off Shopkeeper, leaving matters to the people below him. Although he also looked after his own children and grandchildren, he acted according to the rules he had established instead of doing whatever he pleased.

Pei Lun considered for a long time, so long that Yang Zhengshan was already planning to leave. Yang Zhengshan did not want to waste time here. Although he was not in a hurry to go to Wanbao Immortal City, he could not squander his time here either.

"True Lord, may I ask where you come from?"

"The Western Regions Yang Family!" Yang Zhengshan replied.

"The Western Regions?"

"That's right. The Western Regions are in chaos right now, so I came to take a look around the Central Region." Yang Zhengshan spoke casually.

Pei Lun's thoughts shifted, and he said, "I wonder if the True Lord might select two disciples from my Pei Family?"

Yang Zhengshan looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, his expression seeming to say, Are you joking?

Take disciples?

How could he possibly take disciples now?

Besides, even if he did take disciples, there were so many people in the Spirit Source Land. Why would he need to select disciples from the Pei Family?

"Forget about taking disciples. Tell me about your choice instead!" Yang Zhengshan said indifferently.

Disappointment appeared on Pei Lun's face, but it vanished in a flash. Even he knew that such a thought was wildly unrealistic.

"This old man chooses to break before rebuilding!" he said firmly.

It was a helpless choice, and it was also a choice forced upon him.

Breaking before rebuilding was still better than being directly exterminated.

Although Yang Zhengshan could shelter the Pei Family for a hundred years, after that century, the Pei Family would still be unable to escape the fate of extermination.

Rather than wait to be exterminated, it was better to leave behind a few surviving descendants for the Pei Family. In the future, perhaps the Pei Family could rise again.

"Good! Since that's your choice, arrange the rest of the matters yourself!"

Yang Zhengshan slowly rose to his feet.

"True Lord, what are you doing?"

"I have matters to attend to. I must go to Wanbao Immortal City first," Yang Zhengshan said.

"Then what about my Pei Family?" Pei Lun asked worriedly.

Yang Zhengshan waved a hand, and a figure immediately appeared beside him.

"Greetings, True Lord!" Jingshui emerged, and upon seeing Yang Zhengshan, hurriedly bowed.

Yang Zhengshan had already transmitted his voice to him and told him to come over and hold down the fort in the Pei Family for ten years.

Jingshui now possessed the combined cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage and a Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist. His strength was far beyond that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Peak Stage cultivator. It could be said that as long as no Golden Core cultivator appeared, he was an invincible existence.

However, Jingshui had little lifespan remaining, and his chances of forming a Golden Core were extremely slim, so slim that they could practically be ignored. He had also abandoned the thought of Core Formation and would at most give it a try before reaching the end of his life.

With him holding down the fort in the Pei Family, it could be considered Yang Zhengshan's sincerity toward the family.

"You'll stay here. If you need anything, you can find him!"

"As for the rest, discuss it among yourselves!"

After saying that, Yang Zhengshan vanished in a flash.

He would not waste time and energy on the Pei Family. Times had changed. When he had first arrived at the Lingxiu Sea, everything had been unfamiliar to him, so he had been forced to choose the Lingxi Yang Family as his foothold and seize the nest, taking control of the Lingxi Yang Family.

But now he was a Golden Core cultivator. Although the Wilderness of Ten Thousand Waters was also unfamiliar to him, he was not without acquaintances there. There was no need to seize another nest, nor was there any need to waste time on an unfamiliar family.

After leaving the Pei Family, Yang Zhengshan continued on his way. A day later, he arrived at Wanbao Immortal City.

The prosperity and grandeur of Wanbao Immortal City still left him utterly astonished.

It was a colossal immortal city extending a hundred li in every direction. From the luxurious Wanbao Street in the center to the seemingly ordinary houses on the outskirts, the distance stretched for a full hundred li.

From the inside out, there were three city walls. Each wall had many watchtowers, and every watchtower radiated a dense spiritual aura.

Yang Zhengshan hovered in the air, overlooking the colossal immortal city below, his expression thoughtful.

Naturally, he was not looking at the surface, but at what lay hidden behind the immortal city.

For example, the three city walls were actually three protective formations. Each one was a Third-tier Formation with powerful defensive abilities.

The Inner City was the core of the Wanbao Sect. The formation arranged there could block the Spiritual Sense probing of Golden Core cultivators. The Central City was home to the Wanbao Sect's vassals. It was said that the Central City alone contained five Immortal Clans, all of them vassals of the Wanbao Sect.

The formation in the Central City could suppress Spiritual Sense, preventing anyone from probing without restraint.

As for the Outer City, it placed no further restrictions on Spiritual Sense. However, its formations should possess many detection functions and could detect various energy fluctuations.

In addition, many Puppets had been placed in the Outer City.

Yang Zhengshan immediately saw the eight enormous Puppets placed atop the Outer City walls. He was very familiar with those eight Puppets, because they were the Lava Divine Generals.

Looking at those eight Puppets, the corner of Yang Zhengshan's mouth could not help twitching.

When Sun Cave Heaven had fallen, twelve Lava Divine Generals had appeared in total, and those twelve Lava Divine Generals had fallen into the hands of different people.

Yang Zhengshan had previously found it strange that such excellent treasures as the Lava Divine Generals appeared so rarely around Great Sun Mountain. Now he understood: the Wanbao Trading Company had bought most of them.

Of the twelve Lava Divine Generals, Yang Zhengshan had one, and Wanbao Immortal City had eight. That meant three were still outside. It was perfectly normal that they were rarely seen.

The key point was that Wanbao Immortal City had actually placed those eight Lava Divine Generals in the Outer City rather than the Inner City.

What did that indicate?

It indicated that the Inner City had things even more formidable than eight Lava Divine Generals. It indicated that they were simply rich and overbearing. So what if they were third-tier Puppets? At most, they were only fit to stand in the Outer City and serve as guard dogs.

Yang Zhengshan could not help sighing again. "As expected of the richest person in the Myriad Flower Domain, the Wanbao Sect!"

After sighing, Yang Zhengshan entered Wanbao Immortal City. Wanbao Immortal City rejected no outsiders. As long as visitors obeyed its laws, the Wanbao Sect would not stop anyone from entering the Outer City.

Therefore, no one guarded the city gate of Wanbao Immortal City, though quite a few cultivators patrolled the city walls.

The population of Wanbao Immortal City was difficult to count. It certainly numbered more than several million, and there were at least ten million people. The city was home not only to Immortal Cultivators but also Martial Artists. It truly fit the saying: Innate Martial Artists were worth less than dogs, Golden Body experts walked everywhere, and even Foundation Establishment Cultivators could be seen at every turn. In fact, not long after Yang Zhengshan entered the immortal city, he encountered a Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist.

The moment Yang Zhengshan stepped into Wanbao Immortal City, he was immersed in the clamor. The bluestone slabs of Main Street gleamed with spiritual luster, jade banners fluttered above shops on both sides, and Flying Boats crisscrossed the sky, their sails embroidered with sect emblems. Spiritual skiffs darted along the ground, carrying cultivators in search of treasures. At the street corners, stalls piled up Cloud Brocade and displayed pill bottles, while little children with bamboo baskets slung over their shoulders hawked Spirit Fruits everywhere.

The scene actually looked no different from an ordinary mortal city.

Wanbao Immortal City did not prohibit flight, but it prohibited flying at high altitudes. Flying Boats could also fly directly into the city, but someone would guide them, and there was a designated Flying Boat parking area.

Although the entire immortal city appeared incredibly busy, everything seemed orderly.

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the Flying Boats strung across the sky like a long dragon, then at the cultivators flying roughly within a hundred zhang of the ground, and finally at the Strange Beasts and Demonic Beasts weaving back and forth along the streets. He could not help marveling at Wanbao Immortal City again.

At that moment, he was like a country bumpkin who had arrived in a great metropolis, finding everything astonishing.

Of course, beneath his amazement, he was thinking about the immortal city's system of administration.

Judging from the Flying Boats in the sky, they should be following fixed routes. The cultivators flying through the air clearly showed that Wanbao Immortal City also had regulations limiting flight altitude. The carriages, horses, and Strange Beasts on the streets proved another thing: Wanbao Immortal City had a complete set of traffic rules, and those rules had thoroughly taken root in people's hearts. The vast majority of people followed them.

For an expansive immortal city, complete traffic rules were undoubtedly extremely important. Without such rules, the immortal city would have descended into chaos long ago.

Seeing one leaf revealed the whole tree. Through the traffic rules alone, it was possible to see that the Wanbao Sect had highly distinctive methods and means for managing Wanbao Immortal City.

Moreover, the Outer City of Wanbao Immortal City rejected no outsiders. This showed that the Wanbao Sect possessed absolute confidence and was not afraid of anyone causing trouble within the immortal city.

Yang Zhengshan wandered around the city, taking in the sights for most of the day. In the end, he chose an inn near the Central City and temporarily settled there.

Immortal Fate Inn!

The name was quite nice.

However, this was no ordinary mortal inn. Inside, there were not rows of Guest Rooms, but courtyards one after another.

The courtyard was not large, consisting of just three main rooms and a yard of more than thirty square meters. There was also a Spirit Fruit Tree in the yard.

The entire courtyard was enveloped by a formation that could block Spiritual Sense probing and energy fluctuations.

"How does the True Person find this place? If the True Person is dissatisfied, this humble one can change the courtyard for you!"

In the small courtyard, a Pageboy dressed in a blue-gray short jacket watched Yang Zhengshan with an ingratiating expression.

This Pageboy was no ordinary person. He was a Martial Artist, specifically an Innate Martial Artist, and he was only Thirty Something Years Old.

A Thirty Something Years Old Innate Martial Artist would not be considered mediocre anywhere. One had to know that in the Spirit Source Land, the average age at which people currently reached the Innate Realm was around thirty-eight.

In other words, this Pageboy was far ahead of the average age for reaching the Innate Realm in the Spirit Source Land.

Yet here, he could only work as a Pageboy.

Of course, there was nothing bad about being a Pageboy. To work as one in a sizable inn like this showed that he had some background.

Yang Zhengshan did not know how much the inn paid him, but he estimated that it should be enough to satisfy his cultivation needs.

If so, his Martial Dao prospects were quite promising.

He might not become a Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist, but if he worked for several decades and saved enough Spirit Stones to buy a Spiritual Item, breaking through to the Golden Body Realm should not be difficult.

"Mm, this place will do." Yang Zhengshan restrained his aura. From the outside, he looked like someone who had only just reached Foundation Establishment.

This was not because he wanted to Play the Pig to Eat the Tiger, but because there was no need to be too high-profile.

Although there were many cultivators in Wanbao Immortal City, Golden Core cultivators still stood at the peak of the pyramid.

If an unfamiliar Golden Core cultivator appeared in the Inner City, it would not cause a commotion, but it would attract quite a bit of attention. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Yang Zhengshan had chosen to restrain his aura and pretend to be a cultivator who had just succeeded in Foundation Establishment.

"Does the True Person need anything else? If you do, please feel free to command me!" the Pageboy said with a fawning smile.

Yang Zhengshan stepped into the room. The furnishings were very simple. There was a tea table in the main hall, the east room was a bedroom that could also serve as a cultivation room, and the west room was a study that could be used for other matters as well, such as drawing Talismans.

The three rooms were few, but all of them were spacious and bright.

"I've just arrived in Wanbao Immortal City and want to learn more about it. Do you have any suggestions?" Yang Zhengshan casually tossed him a Mid-grade Spirit Stone and asked.

"What aspect does the True Person wish to know about? This humble one will tell you everything I know!" The Pageboy caught the Spirit Stone, his face blooming with delight.

"Let's begin with the distribution of forces within the city." Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment before speaking.

"Within the city? Does the True Person mean the Inner City or the Outer City?"

Although Wanbao Immortal City had three city walls, it actually had only an Inner City and an Outer City. The Inner City was the core area occupied by the Wanbao Sect. Aside from Wanbao Street, it was not open to outsiders.

The Outer City was everything outside the Inner City. As for the Central City, the people within the city preferred to call it the Immortal Clan District—the place where the Immortal Clans lived.