191: Chapter 191 The Flow of Wealth Eastward: Choices of Solution

"From today on, the Spirit Talisman Workshop is now the property of your Talisman Tower!"

"Understood!"

Shopkeeper Qian walked forward with a look of pure joy.

He first bowed deeply to Huang Jinglong on the throne.

Feeling that wasn't enough, he actually knelt down.

Thud, thud...

He kowtowed heavily several times, the sound echoing through the hall; his expression and movements were like a pug seeing dog dung.

Seeing this, Xu Changsheng finally understood Shopkeeper Qian's every move since entering the hall.

He had no prior dealings with this man, yet this man harbored the greatest malice toward him.

It turned out he had set his sights on the industry of the Spirit Talisman Workshop, wanting to get back at him for the setback he suffered when the branch shop opened.

He looked toward Chu Linger.

The latter had been watching him; seeing him look over, she gently shook her head.

Her voice came through the Revered Master-servant contract: "Revered Master... my Revered Master followed the clues and found out about Revered Master's industry. Linger messed up and couldn't hide it."

"It has nothing to do with you. Huang Jinglong is the City Lord; if he couldn't even find this out, it would be a joke."

"Thank you for your trust, Revered Master, but how will Revered Master survive this tribulation? Linger feels it's so difficult."

He comforted her: "Don't worry, I have my own plan, but I might need Fairy Chu's help..."

"Please say it, Revered Master. As long as Linger can do it, she will."

"Later."

Xu Changsheng cut off the transmission in his Sea of Consciousness.

By this time, Shopkeeper Qian had already stood up. Turning his back to Huang Jinglong, he immediately swapped to a completely different expression.

His narrow eyes half-squinted, and the corner of his mouth curled up as he walked toward Xu Changsheng with the posture of a victor.

He raised his voice, sounding like a messenger eunuch: "Fellow Daoist Xu, I won't make things hard for you. Just hand over the land deeds for the Spirit Talisman Workshop."

Without hesitation, Xu Changsheng tapped his Storage Pouch, took out two land deeds, and handed them to Shopkeeper Qian.

He whispered: "Keep them safe, Shopkeeper Qian. Don't lose them."

Looking at the three glittering characters 'Spirit Talisman Workshop' on the deeds, Shopkeeper Qian was overjoyed, holding them as if they were rare treasures.

After handing over the deeds, Xu Changsheng's face remained expressionless as he walked straight out of the hall.

He walked through the aisle lined with Cultivators, ignoring the gazes cast upon him, like a lonely hero walking against the wind.

After stepping over the threshold, he turned around and cupped his hands: "Yellow Ox, for your 'care' today, This Xu will surely repay you in the future!"

His voice was powerful, echoing inside and outside the hall.

With that said...

Ignoring the reactions of Huang Jinglong and the others, he left the City Lord's Mansion without looking back.

Anyone could hear the ruthlessness in Xu Changsheng's words, but no one cared.

"Heh, a mere Early Stage Foundation Establishment, only capable of talking big here. What could he possibly repay?"

"Are you stupid? You don't understand what he meant by 'repay'? He's going to cause trouble."

"Hahaha, then he's even more of an idiot. With his cultivation, without that wooden plaque that boosts his Realm, what trouble can he cause? He probably can't even beat me."

Huang Jinglong's eyes narrowed slightly: "Fellow Daoist, don't forget to leave Yellow Ox Immortal City before dark tomorrow!"

"I know."

Walking out of the City Lord's Mansion.

Xu Changsheng stood on the main road of the immortal city, watching the Cultivators hurrying to and fro.

Because he had put on a bamboo hat when he walked out of the mansion, no one recognized his identity.

All his belongings were already packed, but he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he chose a bookstore and dove inside.

...

An hour later.

He walked out of the bookstore, his eyes bright and a hint of realization in his heart.

He had entered the bookstore mainly to look at the situation surrounding the Chu Kingdom Cultivation World. Although he roughly knew the names of the places before, he didn't know much about the regional conditions.

Now, he had a basic understanding.

The Chu Kingdom Cultivation World he was in was a borderland in the vast Southern Cultivation World, located on a landmass called the Tiannan Continent.

To the north was the restless Demonic Path Yuan State Cultivation World.

To the south and east were the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World and the Wu State Cultivation World, respectively. Except for the north, he could go in any of the three directions.

But the west was quickly ruled out by Xu Changsheng.

Because going west from Chu State, across a million-mile Gobi desert, was the edge of the Western Regions.

The Western Regions was the territory of Buddhist Cultivators, with a style completely different from the Central Plains Cultivation World. As an ordinary Spell Cultivator, he wouldn't gain any advantages there and might not even be able to Cultivate peacefully.

And the million-mile desert in between was like a natural chasm. The Forbidden Deep Desert at its very center was known as the graveyard of Cultivators. Due to special Heaven and Earth Restrictions, not a single bit of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi could enter it.

In other words, if a Cultivator entered, they had no other means of restoring their magic power except for Medicinal Pill supplies. If they encountered sandstorms, tornadoes, Savage Beasts, or other obstacles, it would be a near-death experience.

The southern option was also quickly ruled out. The Yue Kingdom Cultivation World was good and shared the same origins as the Chu Kingdom Cultivation World.

But because of that, going to the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World was practically the same as staying in the Chu Kingdom Cultivation World; he would constantly face the pressure of Gu Lingye's attacks and the arrival of the Demonic Path.

Currently, he wasn't considering living in an immortal city for long. After today's events, he had realized.

In name, the immortal city said it would give him a home, but in reality, when disaster struck, it thought about seizing his home. Before his strength improved, he planned not to enter an immortal city for the time being.

Necessary Cultivation supplies and resource trading could be conducted through intermediaries.

He want to find a place near the mainstream Cultivation world, but at the same time suitable for hiding himself and escaping when powerful enemies arrived.

Passing through the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World was the Nanjiang region, known as the land of a million mountains, filled with swamps, miasma, poisonous herbs, and insects everywhere.

Xu Changsheng shook his head. While this place was suitable for both hiding and escaping, it wasn't suitable for long-term Cultivation.

It seemed like there were many places he could go, but in reality, only one was feasible.

The Wu State to the east of the Chu Kingdom Cultivation World.

Compared to Chu State, the Wu State was more prosperous and peaceful. Many chambers of commerce traveled here, including the Liusu Chamber of Commerce where Su Tinglan was; its branch for the three kingdoms' cultivation worlds was also in the Wu State.

The Wu State also had chambers of commerce that started locally.

Yipin Chamber of Commerce and Wuyue Trading House were both trading houses with Golden Core True Persons presiding over them.

In addition, there were also Golden Core-level immortal city forces such as Bihai Immortal City and Linhai Immortal City.

However, the Nascent Soul True Lords on the surface within the Wu State were still within the Sects.

Tonghai Sect.

A grand Nascent Soul Sect with countless years of Legacy in the Wu State, rumored to be inherited from the Penglai Immortal Sect deep in the East Sea to the east of the Wu State. Its Daoist tradition was flourishing, and it had two Nascent Soul True Lords.

It was recognized as the number one Sect among the three kingdoms' cultivation worlds, stronger than the Jinyang Sect and the Spirit Gu Sect of the Yue Kingdom.

Even if the Demonic Path truly invaded, the last of the three cultivation worlds to be conquered would definitely be the Wu State.

This was the first reason Xu Changsheng chose the Wu State.

Next was the way out.

There was a vast area called the East Barrens in the northeastern part of the Wu State.

The East Barrens wasn't completely desolate but rather a wild land that hadn't been developed on a large scale by the cultivation world. Spiritual Qi was thin, but there were occasional Spiritual Veins; Yao Beasts ran rampant, and human traces were rare.