According to Zhou Xueying, the "business model" of Transmigrator companies was very simple.
Every Transmigrator's Fate Card came from the Azure Firmament Divine Court and was deeply integrated with the Transmigrator's "Unique Trait."
Within the myriad worlds, Fate Cards could constantly absorb the primal essence of heaven and earth from their respective worlds.
The higher a Transmigrator's cultivation, the more primal essence of heaven and earth they absorbed.
Once they returned to the Myriad Worlds Ancient Boat, the Azure Firmament Divine Court would extract this primal essence of heaven and earth and exchange it for the currency it issued-Chaos Talisman Coins.
These coins could purchase all kinds of treasures from the Azure Firmament Divine Court and were also the common currency among Transmigrators.
The founders of Transmigrator companies leased the Myriad Worlds Ancient Boat, established Transmigrator passageways, and recruited Transmigrators to gather primal essence of heaven and earth for them, splitting the resulting Chaos Talisman Coins fifty-fifty.
In other words, the more high-level Transmigrators a company had, the more Chaos Talisman Coins its founder earned.
Money could move even the gods!
Within the Azure Firmament Divine Court, those were no empty words.
With enough Chaos Talisman Coins, one could even purchase ninth-tier Dharma Treasures and spirit pills, as well as supreme immortal art inheritances, from the Azure Firmament Divine Court, lease passageways between worlds, and hire other Transmigrators to earn money for oneself.
One could even buy an entire undeveloped world to serve as the foundation for attaining the Dao!
Because of the impact the Kunxu Company had made on the Canghuan Realm, new Transmigrators struggled to survive their probationary periods there. The better their talent and the more unusual their identity, the more easily they attracted the early attention of powerful local cultivators, and the more easily they were exposed.
Those with mediocre talent who started out as ordinary Rogue Cultivators were much safer, but these Transmigrators were difficult to nurture, took a long time to develop, and earned little in the way of Chaos Talisman Coins.
Moreover, the "probationary period" was a rule laid down by the Azure Firmament Divine Court and widely supported throughout the myriad worlds. There was no possibility of changing it for the sake of a few companies.
This had made the Canghuan Realm a bad asset in the eyes of many companies, no longer worth investing in or operating in.
"The only good thing about this world is that its passageway rental fees are extremely low."
Zhou Xueying said indignantly, "And that's exactly why some unscrupulous bosses with low cultivation and meager resources put their new recruits in this world to cut costs. There's nothing they won't do to make money."
"Then why don't you switch to another world?" Fang Hong asked casually.
Zhou Xueying replied irritably, "How could it be that simple? Once a Fate Card picks up the primal essence of heaven and earth from a world, it's very hard to change. Even if you draw a new Fate Card, it'll still be deeply bound to that original world."
"Unless you establish your own Transmigrator company and lease a passageway to another world. But even the cheapest passageway costs several million Chaos Talisman Coins, and you also need cultivation at least at the Nascent Soul Realm or above."
In other words, there's no chance of traveling to another world before reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.
That was what Fang Hong thought to himself upon hearing this.
He gradually gained a clear understanding of the relationship between the Azure Firmament Divine Court, Transmigrator companies, and the myriad worlds.
Perhaps because they were both Transmigrators, the two gradually became more familiar with each other as their conversation deepened.
During their conversation, Zhou Xueying spoke at length about her past.
By the reckoning of time aboard the Myriad Worlds Ancient Boat, Zhou Xueying had joined the Hetu Company over a year ago.
In other words, she had already spent more than three hundred years in the Canghuan Realm.
When she first entered the Canghuan Realm, she had possessed the maidservant of a Golden Core Rogue Cultivator. Fortunately, that Golden Core cultivator had been in seclusion attempting a breakthrough at the time and had failed to notice anything unusual about her.
During that time, she had awakened a Hidden Talent that allowed her to communicate telepathically with spirit insects and demonic beasts, along with a natural affinity for them.
An old third-tier turtle kept by the Golden Core cultivator had detected the spiritual signature of the Fate Card within her and kindly warned her, helping her escape.
Afterward, she had lain low in Demon Race territory for a year, safely making it through her probationary period before returning to the Myriad Worlds Ancient Boat to take out transmigration insurance. After using the Azure Firmament Divine Court's [Concealment Incense], she had returned to human territory.
Her cultivation journey had still been fraught with setbacks, however. With poor talent and no guidance from an expert, she had stumbled along, frittering away decades before finally dying at the hands of Bandit Cultivators.
After drawing another Fate Card, she had even lost her Hidden Talent. Her allotted fate had been utterly ordinary as well, and her Dao Path had never shown much improvement.
Over those three hundred-odd years, she had already used up four Fate Cards. She was now on her fifth and had only just managed to break through to Foundation Establishment.
"The talented Transmigrators get snapped up by big companies long before unscrupulous little companies like ours can get a turn."
Zhou Xueying sighed, then continued, "The Canghuan Realm is vast, and many places are cut off by natural barriers. My colleagues are scattered so far apart that none of us have managed to meet up yet."
She asked about the Donglai Sea Region where Fang Hong lived, but she had never even heard of it.
"There is one colleague who's also in the South Sea, but she's in the Jinyuan Sea Region."
Likewise, Fang Hong had never heard of the Jinyuan Sea Region.
According to the Donglai Gazetteer, the South Sea's cultivation world was boundlessly vast. Its various sea regions were separated by all kinds of natural barriers and powerful sea beasts, impassable even to Golden Core cultivators.
Only Nascent Soul powerhouses had the strength to cross multiple sea regions and travel the seas.
Back then, Zhou Xueying had happened to pick up a talisman decree in this hall, which had allowed her to contact the Hetu Company's boss and become her assistant, earning a monthly bonus in Chaos Talisman Coins.
She had never met the boss in person. She only knew that the boss was also a woman and guessed that her cultivation must be at the Nascent Soul Realm, since she could not have afforded to establish the company otherwise.
Fang Hong noticed that although this woman had spent three hundred years in the Canghuan Realm, she seemed inexperienced in worldly affairs. She was still little different from the young people of Blue Star, straightforward and uncomplicated, with little guile.
She was much like the junior female graduate students from his previous life who had only recently graduated and started working.
Only after they had chatted for a while did Zhou Xueying arrange Fang Hong's transmigration insurance.
She brought out a five-colored altar within the hall, then took out a handful of talisman coins wreathed in immortal light and placed them upon it. Without any apparent action on her part, the coins on the altar turned into streaks of light that rose and vanished into the void.
The next moment, three masses of treasure light descended from the void.
"These are our company's employee benefits: Reincarnation Dew, Concealment Incense, and Azure Sky Divine Armor."
Zhou Xueying introduced them.
She first took hold of the first mass of treasure light and handed it to Fang Hong.
After accepting it, Fang Hong examined it closely and saw that it contained a dazzling, crystalline drop of immortal dew.
"This is Reincarnation Dew. Once you swallow it, it will merge with your Fate Card and preserve your 'Unique Trait.' Even if you die in the Canghuan Realm, you can revive in this hall and draw another Fate Card."
"And this is Concealment Incense. It can conceal your Fate Card's spiritual signature. No one below Spirit Transformation will be able to detect your identity as a Transmigrator."
The second mass of treasure light contained a stick of incense, and Zhou Xueying patiently instructed Fang Hong in its use.
Within the third mass of treasure light was a majestic divine statue cast from black gold, over a foot tall, with a jet-black base color, gilded patterns, and accents of reddish-gold lightning.
Zhou Xueying continued her introduction. "This is Second-Tier Azure Sky Divine Armor. Once refined, it can turn into close-fitting armor that covers your entire body, raising your magical power, Divine Sense, and defensive capabilities to the Foundation Establishment level."
"If you load it with the corresponding Second-Tier Divine Ability Talisman Seal, you'll be comparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. But this thing consumes enormous amounts of spirit stones. You can study it properly yourself later."
"One more thing: some Canghuan Realm powerhouses have long since labeled this thing as belonging to 'Extraterrestrial Wraiths.' You'd best avoid using it in crowded places and keep local cultivators from finding out about it as much as possible. Otherwise, it'll bring considerable trouble."
"These things must be expensive, right?" Fang Hong asked casually as he put away the three masses of treasure light.
Zhou Xueying smiled. "Not too bad. The Reincarnation Dew and Concealment Incense are distributed to the companies by the Azure Firmament Divine Court, so they didn't cost the boss much. After all, Hetu counts as one of the Azure Firmament Divine Court's suppliers."
"The Azure Sky Divine Armor was a little more expensive, costing over a thousand Chaos Talisman Coins. It's manageable early on. The real expense comes from upgrading it later."
As she chatted and joked, she put away the five-colored altar.
"All right, my work is basically done. Outside this hall is the Myriad Worlds Ancient Boat's public area. You can meet Transmigrators from other companies there and buy and sell things. Have a look around yourself. I won't be joining you."
Zhou Xueying pointed at two bronze doors on one side of the hall as she spoke.
"Thank you, Sister Zhou." Fang Hong smiled.
Zhou Xueying patted his shoulder and said, "You've only just joined, and you have a long road ahead. Work hard. I'll head back first."
With that, she said goodbye to Fang Hong, walked toward her own great cauldron, and leaped inside.
Fang Hong watched her retreating figure, lost in thought.
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