65: Chapter 65 The Guardians of Morality Come to the Door

"Open up! Guardians of Orthodoxy!"

A scruffy-bearded middle-aged man kicked open the door of the Hai Jiao Chamber of Commerce.

Behind him followed two assisting dog guards of the Guardians of Orthodoxy.

Before anyone arrived, three long-handled, silver-glinting sabers were already placed on the counter.

"Ah, officers! Welcome, welcome!"

As if he had foreseen it, Cen Bolian rose to greet them with a cheeky, grinning face.

The uniforms of the Guardians of Orthodoxy's dog guards bore the four seal-script characters 'Ti Tian Xing Dao' (Act on Heaven's Behalf), gleaming coldly in the candlelight. The leading Tiger Guard stood with his hand on his saber, his brows furrowed into a deep crease: "Cen Bolian, you've been reported for smuggling Yao Beast cores. This is a routine search."

Cen Bolian, dressed in brocade robes with a pale, beardless face, squinted and grinned slyly, the very picture of a slick, unscrupulous merchant.

Not only was he unafraid, he instead pulled three Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his sleeve and pushed them towards the man: "Sir Tiger Guard, you jest. Everyone in Langya Prefecture knows Cen Bolian runs a legitimate business. See, the imported porcelain bowls are still airing right here."

The Tiger Guard did not move, following protocol by using a Yao Detection Talisman to search Cen Bolian's personal storage space, finding nothing.

The dog guards searched the attic, the cellar, the management warehouse, even sweeping every inch of the walls with Yao Detection Talismans, ultimately only finding some ordinary spiritual materials and a few account books.

"Boss, nothing." The two dog guards beside him shook their heads at the Tiger Guard.

Cen Bolian's smile widened, becoming brazen.

The Tiger Guard flipped through the account book, his finger stopping on the page "Purchase of Yao Beast Pelts": "Last week you bought five hundred fox demon pelts from Kongsang Prefecture. The pelts are here, but where are the cores?"

"Ah, that's where you're not an expert," Cen Bolian began counting on his fingers. "Fox demon pelts need tanning, the cores have to be extracted beforehand, otherwise the spiritual energy will seep into the fur and affect the selling price. Those cores were all sold to the Construction and Maintenance Department over there. Look, here's the receipt from the Department. Last Wednesday, three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, not a penny less."

The private seal of the Construction and Maintenance Department's Deputy Director was clearly visible on the receipt he handed over.

The Tiger Guard stared into Cen Bolian's eyes, trying to find a flaw in that smiling expression.

However, after a thousand words, it ultimately boiled down to one command: pack up and leave.

Only when the three figures disappeared around the street corner did the smile on Cen Bolian's face fade slightly.

He returned behind the counter and lightly pressed his fingertip on a vase on the shelves. The shelves slowly slid open, revealing a secret passage in the middle.

Inside the passage, it was already packed to the brim with multicolored Yao Beast cores.

With a slight touch, the cores instantly rolled out like a broken string of pearls.

A vast number of cores fell to the ground, producing crisp sounds, actually forming a small flowing river of light on the floor. The eerie glow meandered along the brick seams, resembling a starry river in the dark night.

Cen Bolian leisurely collected these Yao Beast cores into his Storage Ring.

He had long wrapped the unsent cores in Concealment Talismans and hidden them in his chamber's spiritual materials storage.

But who would have thought the Guardians of Orthodoxy's search would include his warehouse, forcing him to make a last-minute transfer to the secret passage.

"You're still too green to go against me, Guardians of Orthodoxy," Cen Bolian chuckled, crossing his legs.

He idly played with the porcelain bowl, rubbing its surface until it was smooth and glossy.

It just so happened to reflect his thin paper figure body... Kongsang Prefecture, Juxian Pavilion.

This place was originally a wine shop, but now it was gathering young men from all corners of the land, all candidates who had come for the Prefecture Examination.

As the saying goes, when life is good, one must enjoy it to the fullest, and not let the golden cup sit empty under the moon. Naturally, wine became the symbol and spiritual solace for these scholars.

Among the drinkers, the one with the highest cultivation was a refined Young Master, who had even reached the Mortal Transformation Realm.

"How outrageous! This is a moment of racial crisis, a matter of survival! How can there be such vile people! For a little personal gain, they abandon the safety of their own kind!"

Jiang Zhiqiu flew into a rage, smashing the wine cup in his hand onto the ground.

His action drew the attention of other candidates in the Juxian Pavilion.

"Fellow Daoist speaks the truth! The morale on the front lines is being corroded by these maggots!" A man in green robes echoed in agreement.

"Alas, back then I should have become an Inspector. The Inspector's duty is to investigate injustices within the prefecture! To expose all those maggots under the bright sky of the Righteous Path!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiqiu glanced at him, as this aligned perfectly with his own thoughts.

"Fellow Daoist has an impressive bearing. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"I am Ren Wuchang, a man who never changes his name!" Shen Yi clasped his fists, introducing himself.

The Deputy Director's token of the Construction and Maintenance Department gleamed brightly at his waist... "Good, Shen Yi has also managed to connect with the Jiang Family line."

After entering Kongsang Prefecture, Shen Yi's jade mana indeed triggered this line connected to Xu Mingxuan.

Just like in the previous life, he became the Deputy Director of the Construction and Maintenance Department.

However, this time, Shen Moyan had enough Spirit Stones, so Xu Mingxuan directly transferred the official position to him, without making him operate under Xu Mingxuan's name.

This attitude was also Gao Sheng indirectly greeting the Jade Sword Sect behind Shen Moyan.

Shen Moyan was, of course, more than willing.

"As for Cen Bolian over there, hopefully he can handle it."

Cen Bolian was a cunning old fox who wouldn't get caught, but Shen Moyan was different. As for his Demonic Technique... well, it was best not to let the Guardians of Orthodoxy find out.

Deep beneath the Hai Jiao Chamber of Commerce.

Jade mana coalesced into a glowing orb, illuminating the way forward.

Shen Moyan drifted on a small boat through a dark, lightless cavern.

Within the cavern, the end of this murky river was nowhere in sight.

Corpses of uncertain age floated beside the boat, a grim sight.

This was the backdoor Cen Bolian had introduced.

Not using teleportation arrays, but taking an ancient, abandoned trans-boundary route.

Because it was abandoned, there were risks. One could get lost in spatial distortions and trapped in other planes.

Shen Moyan was leaving Yu'e Prefecture, heading to meet the ferryman.

He had paid the fee, so the ferryman should be waiting at the agreed location.

"There's still some time before arrival. Might as well use it to review the gains."

"Shen Moyan had already converted the earned 18.8 million Spirit Stones into Fortune Points."

"He immersed his consciousness into the Wanbao Net."

A dazzling array of items appeared before his eyes.

"Notes of a Pill Grandmaster." Buy.

"Thousand Winds Talisman Compendium," containing methods to craft a thousand Talismans. With sufficient mana, one could draw them in the air. Buy!

"Records of Magical Artifacts," encompassing methods to craft various artifacts like Puppets, swords, and armor. Buy buy buy!

To hesitate would be an insult to the 18.8 million Spirit Stones.

Browsing the Wanbao Net, Shen Moyan's consciousness flitted between numerous items, selecting without restraint.

Suddenly, a particular item caught his attention.

"Hiss... This thing is actually on the Wanbao Net?" Shen Moyan looked at it and took a sharp breath.

Human Yuan Ginseng.

This is something that happens when a person with a Spiritual Root 'accidentally' Cultivates the old immortal dao. For a Xian Dao Cultivator, it is a great supplement.

After a moment's thought, Shen Moyan sneered.

What a fine 'accidental' cultivation. It seems the Holy Court is also full of hypocrisy.

"Let's see the price... 500 Spirit Stones each. Buy!!"

Shen Moyan didn't even blink.

He bought over ten thousand high-quality plants.

Delivery was instantaneous.

Shen Moyan compared the ones he bought to the ones he had harvested from Dongshan.

The quality was worlds apart. One from the Net could match several from Dongshan.

"As expected, the Holy Court really knows how to play the game."