161: When the false is made to appear true, the true becomes false

“Phew~ That’s done.” Lin Zifeng let out a soft breath, surprised it was so easy.

But then he thought, it was normal.

After all, Lin Zifeng’s cultivation technique was upgraded by the system from White Crane Skill to Spirit Crane Skill, and the quality and total amount of spiritual energy in his body had undergone a qualitative leap. Additionally, White Crane Fist was instantly elevated to a masterful proficiency, greatly increasing its power.

Killing an Ink Wolf Demon was still a cinch.

After Lin Zifeng killed this Ink Wolf Demon, the mayor and the two merchants, along with a group of guards, quickly walked towards Lin Zifeng.

“Immortal! Truly an Immortal! Dealing with demonic beasts is effortless, so easy!” The mayor quickly flattered Lin Zifeng, his fawning expression showing no hint of a mayor’s dignity.

“Indeed, an Immortal!” The two merchants, one fat and one thin, also echoed.

“Hmm, the demonic beast matter has been resolved!” Lin Zifeng nodded to the mayor and merchants and said, “Have someone handle the Ink Wolf Demon’s corpse.”

“No problem, no problem!” The mayor quickly nodded and said, “I will have someone dissect the demonic beast’s materials and send them to you, Immortal. Oh, and about the reward! Peaceful Town is truly too poor, and we don’t have spirit stones for Immortals… We can only gather some silver, a total of 100 taels of silver… Do you think that’s acceptable, Immortal? If not, I’ll gather more!”

“Exactly, exactly! As for the reward, we two…” The two merchants exchanged glances and simultaneously said, “Each of us will give the Immortal 500 taels of silver! Making it a round sum!”

The mayor, hearing this from the side, exclaimed, “Good heavens! 1000 taels of silver! That’s ten times more than what the town is offering!” His face immediately darkened.

Although Immortals don’t really value the silver used by mortals, there was nothing they could do. They simply had no spirit stones, and even if they did, they would immediately offer them to Golden Saber Sect in exchange for some gold and silver, or they might even be swallowed up.

Even though they knew this was a possibility, they still had to do it. Otherwise, if discovered by an Immortal Sect, it would mean death!

An innocent man is guilty because of his treasure!

For mortals, spirit stones were a hot potato.

Immortal Sect members might be a bit better; after all, you’re within their jurisdiction, so they wouldn’t necessarily kill you.

But if you encounter some rogue Immortals… then you just pray you aren’t discovered.

The better ones might “negotiate” with you; the worse ones… would just kill you and take the spirit stones.

Those Immortals and Immortal Sects didn’t care about the lives of mortals at all. Of course, similarly, Immortals generally wouldn’t bother with or care about mortals.

So, in reality, there were very few instances of “indiscriminate killing”; most were “collateral damage” or “when Immortals fight, mortals suffer.”

This was the norm in this world.

“Alright! Let’s go back!” Lin Zifeng nodded and said.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Everyone surrounded Lin Zifeng and returned to Peaceful Town.

Upon returning to Peaceful Town, the rewards were given to Lin Zifeng.

“That…” The mayor looked troubled.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Zifeng looked at the mayor’s troubled expression and asked curiously.

“Immortal, I have an impolite request… It’s about this matter…” The mayor found it hard to speak, mainly because he was afraid of angering Lin Zifeng, as an Immortal was right in front of him.

Lin Zifeng looked at the mayor’s troubled demeanor, and a thought stirred in his mind. He probably understood the mayor’s meaning: “Are you worried about Golden Saber Sect?”

Lin Zifeng had introduced himself as a member of Xian He Men, meaning he belonged to another faction and had entered the territory of Golden Saber Sect. Then he helped a town under Golden Saber Sect’s jurisdiction… This wasn’t a problem. The problem arose because Golden Saber Sect didn’t manage it, Xian He Men did, and then it allowed “propaganda” for Xian He Men, which would be problematic.

The main reason is that most Immortal Sects operate on the concept of “I don’t care, you can’t care either. If you care, you’re interfering with me… If you interfere with me, you’re looking for trouble!”

Unless it's a rogue cultivator; rogue cultivators are not within this scope.

That’s why the mayor found it difficult to discuss this matter with Lin Zifeng.

“It’s fine, just say I’m a rogue cultivator,” Lin Zifeng said with a smile.

After all, Xian He Men was currently in decline, and its sect mountain hadn’t even been established yet. He would talk about it later; it wasn’t time for Xian He Men to appear yet.

Moreover, Lin Zifeng also wanted to inquire about Golden Saber Sect’s strength. At that time, there might be a faction war.

After all, Xian He Men was also in this area… competition was inevitable.

“Thank you for your understanding!” The mayor’s face lit up with joy, and he bowed repeatedly.

“That… Immortal, I wonder what your plans are next?” The two merchants exchanged glances and interjected at this moment.

Lin Zifeng put the 1100 taels of silver into his spatial storage, then heard the two merchants’ words, looked over, and knew they probably wanted to “hire” him.

“I don’t have anything to do~ By the way, where is Golden Saber Sect located?” Lin Zifeng asked the mayor.

“Uh… it’s about 300 li to the north,” the mayor told Lin Zifeng.

“Understood.” Lin Zifeng nodded.

Upon hearing this, the two merchants immediately knew that Lin Zifeng might want to visit Golden Saber Sect. Coincidentally, there was Pinghai City near Golden Saber Sect.

The merchant immediately spoke, “Immortal, are you going to Golden Saber Sect? What a coincidence! There’s Pinghai City near Golden Saber Sect, and we’re preparing to transport goods there! If the Immortal doesn’t mind, you could travel with us!”

Lin Zifeng looked at the two merchants with a slight smile: “I’ll have to consider that…”

The two merchants exchanged glances, immediately feeling hopeful. Their current batch of goods had been stalled for a long time; it was a large shipment that could earn them a lot of money, but they had been forced to stay here due to the demonic beast situation.

Now it’s good! The demonic beast problem was finally solved, but they were worried about the dangers of the journey and unexpected accidents.

That’s why they chose to find Lin Zifeng. And after spending a day with him, they felt that Lin Zifeng was very gentle and easy to talk to, compared to other Immortals.

“If the Immortal agrees! We are willing to offer 3000 taels of silver to the Immortal! And outside, we can even carry the Immortal’s Immortal Sect banner!” The two merchants exchanged glances and spoke in unison to Lin Zifeng.

Lin Zifeng listened and immediately felt that these two merchants were truly adept at climbing the ladder.

It was both an offering and something else; he estimated they wouldn’t earn much more themselves, but the problem lay here: they wanted to become affiliated with Xian He Men, to fly Xian He Men’s banner, and act as Xian He Men’s merchant caravan.

When traveling, let alone the dangers of demonic beasts in the wilderness, this banner primarily served to influence people. The merchant caravan would have more convenience for trade between various cities and could also resolve many potential dangers.

You must know, this is an Immortal Sect banner!

Who would dare to provoke an ordinary person! Even the weakest Immortal Sect is still an Immortal Sect! To be able to establish an Immortal Sect means that at the very least, there is an Immortal of the Heavenly Bridge level!

Other Immortal Sects wouldn’t provoke another Immortal Sect without reason, and besides, they wouldn’t care for mortal merchant caravans and their goods; it’s not like they were transporting a cart full of spirit stones.

Although Lin Zifeng knew their intentions, he didn’t feel disgusted. After much deliberation, he felt this was a good opportunity to start.

Power is developed little by little.

Although Xian He Men didn’t even have a sect mountain yet, Lin Zifeng estimated that his master would probably be able to establish one soon… As for the specific situation, Lin Zifeng would return to the sect to check after coming back from Golden Saber Sect.

As for now, Lin Zifeng didn’t mind “raising a big banner.” Anyway, no one knew the specific situation of Xian He Men yet.

As long as no one knew, then, since he dared to speak of it as an Immortal Sect, it would be treated as real! After all, Lin Zifeng himself was an “Immortal” and had genuinely displayed his strength.

By the time others truly wanted to understand Xian He Men, it would probably have already developed.

And Lin Zifeng also believed that his master could handle all of this and prepare for any potential future occurrences.

“Alright!” Lin Zifeng nodded.

The two merchants’ eyes immediately sparkled with joy, and they simultaneously knelt and bowed in gratitude: “We humbly thank the Immortal! From today onwards! We shall be the merchant caravan flying the banner of Xian He Men! All future profits will be submitted 20% to the Immortal Sect!”

“Hmm~ Mayor, then I’ll be leaving now! You two, come here, let’s discuss the specifics.” Lin Zifeng said.

“Immortal, please take care!” The mayor dared not stop him and quickly sent Lin Zifeng and the merchants out.