The Mountains and Seas Tower stood on Azure Emperor Street, at the end of which lay the Misty-Wave City sect headquarters.
At nightfall, sect leaders and renowned veterans from elsewhere arrived one after another outside the sprawling three-story building, where Misty-Wave City disciples in brocade robes received them.
Xie Jinhuan stood at the mouth of a nearby alley, looking the place over. Most of those entering were still sect leaders local to Dragonbone Shoal.
Under the division of territory after the Witch Cult Rebellion, Shang Lianbi presided over all of Dragonbone Shoal. But however numerous the Misty-Wave City disciples were, they could not manage such a vast territory. They also needed to draw cultivators in to settle and pay the blood tax. As a result, Dragonbone Shoal Local Sects were no fewer than those within the passes. The Hundred Flowers Grove, the Demon Soul Sect, and others were all forces that had attached themselves to Misty-Wave City and then been allotted territory where they supported themselves.
The Mountains and Seas Tower was a trading house operated by Misty-Wave City, selling various scarce resources produced in Dragonbone Shoal. Local sects normally purchased their cultivation supplies here. Now, however, the emergence of an opportunity had drawn a great many stinking beggars from elsewhere, so it had temporarily become an auction venue. Anyone entering needed standing, lest idle outsiders unafraid of death sneak inside and spoil the patriarchs' enjoyment.
Xie Jinhuan was currently the Blood Rain Tower Sect Leader. With a faction backing him, he could simply present his invitation and enjoy treatment as an honored guest.
But like everyone else who had come here, Xie Jinhuan considered spending money secondary. His main purpose was to observe his opponents.
After all, everyone here addressed one another as fellow Daoists, and they could still