You're a shill, trying to trick us into spending money!

Wang Qi wandered aimlessly through the streets.

Half an hour ago, he had been excitedly preparing to find a library or something similar, get some paper and pens, and translate the Unrestricted Daoist's manuscript into mathematical language more familiar to him. He could also analyze the manuscript while he was at it.

However, he was soon greatly disappointed. Xinyue City did have a repository, but it was not open to the public.

Upon hearing that the repository was for Nirvana stage cultivators, Wang Qi lost even the thought of sneaking in.

"It seems the Immortal Alliance's system isn't as open-minded as I imagined. At least, not opening the library means they are very strict about managing knowledge," Wang Qi mused. "This is quite detrimental to scientific research."

And Xinyue, being the main headquarters of the Immortal Alliance, was already considered the largest immortal city. If even here there was no publicly accessible repository, then there likely wouldn't be one anywhere in the Nine Provinces.

Zhen Chanzi saw his disappointment and suggested, "Why not try staying at an inn?"

Wang Qi was startled and replied with a strange smile, "Whoa, old man, you're actually suggesting I use a girl's card to book a room!"

The way he put it did sound a bit lewd.

Zhen Chanzi was confused. "Is there a problem?"

Wang Qi shook his head. People who weren't from Earth wouldn't understand the implied meaning of his words. He thought about it and rejected the idea. "If I bring back a receipt, it might cause unnecessary suspicion. Why would I need to stay at an inn for no reason?"

"Then what do we do?"

"Keep wandering. I mainly want to see how far the current laws and regulations have developed. You analyze the Immortal Alliance's conduct."

Although cultivators in the early Qi Refining stage had weak magical power and couldn't support powerful laws, their physiques far surpassed those of mortals. Wang Qi walked for a long time without feeling tired.

Zhen Chanzi had initially marveled at Xinyue's prosperity. But gradually, a hint of doubt arose. "Kid, there's definitely something wrong here. Have you noticed? They don't sell cultivation techniques or spells."

Wang Qi nodded. "That's right. There are alchemy rooms, but they only sell pills and materials, no pill recipes. I'm afraid the artifact refining pavilions don't have artifact blueprints either. There are a few bookstores, but they only sell cultivation experiences of cultivators, no specific spells—the bestsellers seem to be biographies and novels!"

"The Immortal Alliance seems to be strictly limiting the exchange of knowledge," Zhen Chanzi said, somewhat puzzled. "If the current methods are truly based on summarizing the laws of heaven and earth as the foundation for their path, why would they abolish the exchange that existed in ancient times?"

The situation was indeed more suspicious than he had imagined. Wang Qi analyzed. This level of restriction was far beyond what could be explained by "nerds lacking management skills."

Could it be that the Immortal Alliance's adherence to "intellectual property rights" had reached a pathological level?

That didn't seem right either. Setting aside the fact that after the establishment of an intellectual property system, the paid sharing of knowledge is the best win-win model. Just within the Immortal Alliance, it was unlikely that everyone would be so insistent.

For example, the great mathematician Laplace from Earth was extremely unconcerned about copyright. He not only frequently cited others' academic achievements without attribution but also occasionally gave his own academic achievements to newcomers in academia for them to publish under their own names.

According to that strange correspondence, the carefree cultivator "reincarnated Bai Ze" from the Divine Continent, A Puna, should also have similar traits!

And after eliminating all incorrect answers, even the most improbable speculation becomes the only possibility!

Wang Qi frowned. "External enemies... Old man, should we still join the Immortal Alliance?"

Zhen Chanzi said, "This place is so peaceful. Even if there are external enemies, it's probably something from thousands of years later, or perhaps it only targets high-level cultivators. If you truly want to cultivate the current methods, then you can only join the Immortal Alliance."

Wang Qi stroked his chin, not answering directly, but changing the subject. "What do you think of the current tools and implements compared to ten thousand years ago?"

"Greatly surpassed. And many pills have become unified and standardized, as have magical artifacts."

They put effort into popularizing technology? Wang Qi looked around in confusion.

Just then, a commotion erupted ahead.

"What's going on?" Wang Qi wondered.

Zhen Chanzi judged, "There's no magical power fluctuation with killing intent. No danger."

Hearing that there was no danger, Wang Qi, with the spirit of not minding a bit of trouble, walked forward.

The source of the commotion was a merchant guild. The entire inner city of Xinyue was bustling with people, but compared to this merchant guild, it was likely that most shops here could only be considered deserted.

"Whoa, what are they selling that's so popular..." Wang Qi pushed his way through the jostling crowd. Then, he looked up and saw a plaque above the merchant guild, bearing the words "Sheng Da Xiang."

Wang Qi curiously tugged at the clothes of a Qi Refining stage cultivator beside him and asked, "Brother, may I ask what they are selling here that so many people are buying?"

The person heard him and became furious. "You kid came to cut in line without even knowing what's going on here?"

Wang Qi said, "Just curious."

That Qi Refining stage cultivator said, "Today is the release day for Wuding Card's new booster packs! Who knows how many people have been waiting for this day!"

Wang Qi's mouth twitched. "New booster packs..."

The cultivator said with devout reverence, "Mhm, the theme is about the moon's demons and devils falling into the mortal world..."

Wang Qi's mouth twitched again. "What happened to 'conforming to reality'..."

Upon careful inquiry, he learned that this merchant guild was the only legal vendor of Wuding Cards, and their money-grubbing methods were extremely sophisticated.

The basic pack of Wuding Cards that Wang Qi had used contained a cultivator card of a generic cultivator from the current methods, and most of the cards for common spells and artifacts of the current methods. Cards of rarity five and above, meaning high-level spells and artifacts with a real-world power value exceeding five, were all hidden in various separately sold card packs, given away randomly. On the birthdays of certain important figures, limited edition character-themed cultivator cards would be released. Then, Sheng Da merchant guild would release themed expansion packs periodically, and each theme was the once-popular Ancient Method!

It turned out that according to Lu Renjia's weighting algorithm, no spell from the Ancient Method had a weight exceeding four, and apart from the renowned Immortal Weapon, there were few artifacts with a weight exceeding seven. However, with the Ancient Method's accumulation of eighty thousand years, even if only one out of a thousand spells was innovative enough to catch the eye of current method cultivators, many good spells would still be introduced into the current method system.

These expansion packs not only greatly enhanced the game's playability but also provided countless current method cultivators with unexpected inspiration. It was precisely because of this that the game became popular in the immortal world, loved and hated by countless players.

Looking at the fanatically devoted cultivators, Wang Qi silently covered his face. The phrases "cultivation world's otaku are terrifying" and "shut-ins are disgusting" kept looping in his mind.

"The Aji people and ship-dogs of the immortal world... Forget it, I should leave... Huh?"

Suddenly, within "Sheng Da Xiang," a violent magical power fluctuation erupted.

This magical power fluctuation was extremely abrupt, and soon, a chilling killing intent burst forth!

"Holy crap, what's going on?" Wang Qi quickly grabbed someone next to him to ask.

The cultivator's expression was calm. "Probably someone drew a card rarer than seven. Burn it!"

Holy crap, cults are terrifying!

Just then, the commotion ahead intensified.

"He's a plant! He just wants to trick us into spending money!"

"Nonsense! I drew a miracle with this pull!"

"Ten plus one packs, four rares!"

"Definitely a plant!"

"You're the plant! Your whole family are plants!"

"Leave the cards!"

"Burn! Burn!"

"We can't be friends anymore!"

"Burn burn burn!"

"Burn!"

"Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!"

At first, Wang Qi could faintly hear a young voice arguing with cultivators as dark as Kunlun slaves. But when the crowd's voices merged into a single "Burn!", the murderous intent filling the air finally boiled over!

Then, several cultivators in front of Wang Qi were sent flying sideways as if struck by something. Wang Qi's vision went black as a blue-robed cultivator flashed past him like a black shadow!

What happened next was incredible. Under Wang Qi's gaze, the blue-robed cultivator stepped, twisted his waist, and channeled power from an impossible angle, darting around Wang Qi like lightning. As a wave of Magical Power surged, a black afterimage separated from the blue-robed cultivator and continued in his original direction.

If not for the specific distance and angle, Wang Qi wouldn't have seen it at all. He quickly understood what was happening and, feeling playful, prepared to shout out the blue-robed man's escape route to the pursuing cultivators behind him. However, the blue-robed man circled around to his back even faster. Then, Wang Qi felt a tingling sensation in a major acupoint on his back, and he was subdued by the blue-robed cultivator!

Damn it!

Wang Qi watched angrily as the crowd chasing the lucky person passed by him.

Apologies, dear readers. This Daoist had too much fun today and only managed one update.

I will make up for it with three more chapters this week.