Treading the Immortal Path

"How should we handle this, Brother Qiu?"

Fat Dragon rubbed the smooth head of the young attendant, then tilted his head toward Chen Qiu. He actually wanted to go take a look; he was indeed curious to see what this man could gamble out.

But Chen Qiu was the one calling the shots, so he could not act on his own.

The Flower-Offering Sect was not exactly a righteous sect. The reason he had survived there—and even repeatedly broken through minor realms within the sect—was not solely because of his unique secret. More than that, it was because he knew how to read the room.

Who could refuse a little brother who never opposed you and did whatever you said?

To be an outstanding boss,

you needed to be strong enough, know how to win people over, possess a broad view of the bigger picture, navigate among many powers, give your subordinates sufficient benefits, and so on.

But to be an outstanding little brother,

you only needed to find an outstanding boss and stick close behind him.

Which was easier went without saying.

At least judging by Brother Qiu's current momentum, so long as he did not die halfway through, Fat Dragon felt he would definitely live more comfortably than he had in the Flower-Offering Sect.

"Let's go take a look."

Chen Qiu played with the jade feather fan in his hand and gestured for the attendant to lead the way.

"Right away."

The attendant excitedly waved over a coachman driving a horse-drawn carriage not far away. Around the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Chen Qiu and his group arrived at their destination: Windward City's central square.

It was a square platform around three chi high.

Not a blade of grass could be seen. Yet on its surface, one could vaguely make out mottled bloodstains left behind by time. Whenever the Windward City Lord's Manor had announcements to make, they would be posted here before being passed throughout Windward City.

It occasionally served other purposes as well, such as executions.

And today, the place was already packed with people.

Quite a few small chairs had been arranged neatly around it, many already occupied by spectators chatting among themselves. Temporary railings had also been built atop the surrounding low houses, and their rooftops were crowded with people too.

Along the way,

Chen Qiu noticed that Parent-Child Mirrors had been set up in many corners of Windward City, broadcasting the square's scene in real time.

"Parent-Child Mirrors."

They were a special spiritual treasure. Their only function was to transmit the image from one location through a Parent Mirror to other locations in real time. One Parent Mirror generally came with twelve Child Mirrors, and they were quite expensive. They were somewhat similar to Voice-Transmission Rings, but not quite the same. These were fixed in place and could not be carried around, and their range was shorter, but the image quality was clearer.

"Whoa."

Fat Dragon clicked his tongue as he swept his gaze around. "There really are a lot of people."

Meanwhile, inside a courtyard beside the square,

Liu Attendant was carefully instructing roughly a dozen grimy-looking children before him. "You all remembered what I just said, right? Remember, you must add one more line: many disciples from great lineages and major sects have come."

"Go on, hurry up."

"For every person you bring in, I'll give you one hundred copper coins!"

As soon as his words fell,

the filthy children rushed out the door with excitement in their eyes. To them, one hundred copper coins was no small fortune.

After the children had left,

the middle-aged man standing beside Liu Attendant finally said with a bitter expression, "Liu Attendant, although I handed everything over to you, isn't this a bit too much investment? We're giving gifts and renting all those expensive clothes."

"What if we lose money?"

"Master."

Liu Attendant sighed softly and looked solemnly at his master. "When have I ever made you lose money?"

"Although Windward City has no rule requiring large events to be reported to the authorities, think about it. If we did not report it or offer some benefits, and then stirred up such a huge commotion in Windward City, what do you think the Windward City Lord would think?"

"And without Windward City sending soldiers to maintain order for us, wouldn't some petty scoundrels come and cause trouble?"

"We also have to rent those expensive clothes. Master, do you know what the disciples of these great lineages and major sects fear most? They all carry a sense of superiority in their hearts. What they fear most is being thought to have terrible taste."

"So when we promote this, we must say that many people of the same status as them will also come watch. Otherwise, they may think watching someone chop the bull is something shameful."

"Once they arrive and see that nobody here is dressed cheaply, they will naturally want to blend in with the crowd and no longer feel ashamed. Once people follow the herd, their intelligence is often cut in half!"

"Trust me, Master. We definitely will not lose money this time. With the Spirit Stones we have collected so far, we have already broken even. It is only a matter of earning more or less. Master, just wait for my good news."

"Fine."

The middle-aged man let out a long sigh and patted Liu Attendant on the shoulder helplessly. "Liu Attendant, it is not that I doubt your ability. It is just that I really feel a little panicked inside... Did I ever tell you that I am actually rather afraid of pain?"

"No."

"Oh."

Chen Qiu and the others had already been sitting in the square for over half an hour. More and more people gathered around them, and the chatter grew increasingly chaotic. From their conversations, he also picked up quite a bit of information.

For example, the two people beside him.

"I wonder which lineage that fellow cultivator planning to chop the bull belongs to. He's got some nerve. Randomly drawing eight White Traits or Green Traits—he really isn't afraid of drawing a demonic cultivator trait and getting himself thrown in?"

"Exactly. What if he draws the classic demonic cultivator trait—Treading the Immortal Path one day, first slay father and mother, then kill son?"

"Those Windward City soldiers maintaining order would probably rush over and surround him on the spot. This guy is gambling hard. If it were me, I would never dare gamble in public. How is that any different from gambling with my life?"

"Not necessarily. Only he can see his traits anyway. Wouldn't it be fine if he simply didn't display them?"

"Wouldn't that directly prove he has a guilty conscience? Besides, so many people came to see what traits he could gamble out. He took their Spirit Stones but won't let them see? Is he playing them for fools?"

Through the conversation between those two, Chen Qiu finally learned

that many traits were suited for demonic cultivators and evil cultivators. But those traits would not directly be labeled as suitable for demonic cultivators. Rather, if one wanted to fully make use of such a trait, the methods required would make one a demonic cultivator.

If one did not use that trait and had firmly decided not to become a demonic cultivator, then it did not matter.

So long as one did not expose one's trait in public or go to places where traits had to be inspected, there was generally no issue. After all, holding a knife did mean one could become a butcher, but it did not mean one would certainly become a butcher.

Only when receiving the medicine for breaking through to the first layer of the Qi Refining Realm and obtaining one's first random trait would anyone who drew a demonic cultivator or evil cultivator trait be executed on the spot. At other times, so long as one did not court death, nobody would come looking for trouble.

This was essentially strict laws, lax enforcement. So long as it was not exposed in the open, nobody would bother with you.

Of course,

those who went to the City Lord to collect the medicine were mostly poor people. And once poor people were given such an opportunity, most would rather become demonic cultivators in order to change their miserable lives.

For example—

the most classic trait among demonic cultivators, and also the most widespread and recognizable one.

"Trait Name": Treading the Immortal Path.

"Trait Grade": White Trait.

"Trait Effect": For every direct blood relative within three generations killed, obtain three Spirit Stones.