Chapter 2511: Recruiting Talent

At first, this "Tiger Wing General" relied on reasoning to persuade people; everyone felt his proposals made sense and his analysis was quite reliable.

After entering Jade Capital City, he gradually demonstrated powerful adaptability, analytical ability, and command presence, making people feel that following him was right and obeying his decisions was reassuring.

What he displayed last was his own formidable martial strength.

By the time the Du Zhishan Secret Realm neared its end, everyone very naturally handed over the initiative to him — even Sihai True Person, Lingshan's team leader. Because the decisions Jiuyou made were simply better than their own; acting alongside him was worry-free. Otherwise, could they themselves have come up with better plans?

The whole process took only a few hours, yet it caused a complete one-eighty reversal in everyone's mindset. At this point, He Lingchuan no longer needed to explain his decisions; others naturally accepted them wholeheartedly.

People always follow the strong; immortals are no exception.

As a member of the team that had entered the tiger's den, Immortal Mingke's perception was especially direct.

He Lingchuan was decisive in handling matters, but never arbitrary or dictatorial;

He could always pull off unexpected victories, yet never claimed credit arrogantly or lorded it over his teammates.

With him there, the team had a backbone, never lost its way, and would not suffer internal friction. And staying by his side was simply extremely comfortable.

Even setting aside the identity of "Jiuyou Great Emperor," he was still a powerhouse with clear goals, outstanding strategy, and personal charisma who could make people willingly follow him.

And if he continued staying at Lingshan...

The future days would probably be just as dull as ever. Immortal Mingke thought he might miss out on a great many things.

In an era of great contention, choice matters more than effort.

He suddenly found himself standing at the crossroads of his own fate.

The moment "fate" was mentioned, Immortal Mingke thought of the Fate Divinity in Jiuyou's hands.

Indeed, fate is so unpredictable. Following someone like this, life, experiences, and battles should all be very interesting, right?

So he didn't deliberate for long before nodding: "Alright, I'll go."

So readily? He Lingchuan let out a surprised "Huh?": "You haven't even heard my terms yet."

"You won't shortchange me." The spoils Jiuyou Great Emperor allocated to Lingshan were so generous; how could he possibly shortchange his own people?

He Lingchuan laughed heartily, patting his shoulder:

"Good, good, really straightforward!"

"But I have one request."

"Speak."

Immortal Mingke felt a bit embarrassed. They were recruiting him to make full use of his talents, not to let him coast on a salary, but—

"I want to stay at the Earth Mother's place for a while to observe the ruins and secret realms."

There are still so many ruins on the Earth Mother's back, spanning from ancient times to the present; the Panlong Secret Realm couldn't be fully consumed during the great war. Now that the war is over, Immortal Mingke staying here is like a rat falling into a rice jar — overjoyed and not wanting to leave at all.

He Lingchuan was very accommodating: "Sure, the Earth Mother's back is such a huge area, it needs dedicated management anyway; you can just make do. I'll find a way to assign more personnel to you."

He had reached an agreement with the Earth Mother: she would continue her carefree wandering life as usual and didn't need to stay in Cangyan. This meant that if the Earth Mother ran into trouble outside, Cangyan might not be able to send troops to help at the first moment.

Immortal Mingke was very strong and quick-witted; his volunteering to stay behind and guard the Earth Mother added another layer of security for both Panlong Ancient City and the Earth Mother — exactly what He Lingchuan could wish for.

Besides, large tracts of spirit fields and immortal forests would be planned on the new lands outside Panlong Ancient City; with human assistance, the Earth Mother's work would be much easier.

Immortal Mingke blinked: "Is the Earth Mother short on hands? Sihai True Person brought out quite a few people, and I see they admire you greatly; why don't I go put in a good word for you?"

He Lingchuan was delighted: "Deal, then it's up to you."

Since he had already joined Cangyan, Immortal Mingke's shift in stance was seamless and smooth.

After meeting with Jiuyou, Sihai True Person returned to announce the results to all the cultivators; everyone was overjoyed.

This time they brought down the Earth Mother, raised Lingshan's prestige, and reaped rich resources; everyone present had merit.

Amid the cheerful laughter, Ling Jinbao sat at a rear table clutching a wine pot, munching on peanuts from a saucer.

He sat right at the corner of the inn; after the meeting dispersed, from his angle he happened to see several immortals and cultivators sneak upstairs to find Sihai True Person.

After returning to Lingshan, Sihai True Person would have to report the merits, and the higher-ups would then reward according to merit.

Since the authority to allocate merit lay in Sihai True Person's hands, some people had to come curry favor with him before he left, hoping he would speak more favorably for them later.

Human relations, human hearts, human nature.

Sigh, what difference is there between the cultivation world and the mortal world, between immortals and ordinary mortals, in this regard?

They all say the Heavenly Demon is about to descend and a great calamity looms over the mortal world; how come these immortals before his eyes don't feel the urgency, but instead quibble over such petty gains?

Ling Jinbao shook his wine pot and suddenly felt the wine in his hand had turned bland and tasteless.

Just then, someone suddenly appeared beside his table: "May I sit?"

It was actually Bao Chihai.

"Please sit." Ling Jinbao looked up at the sky — hmm, it was evening — "How did you come to be here?"

When he first met Bao Chihai, he had once suspected this man was Shangguan Biao using an alias.

Fortunately, he wasn't.

Bao Chihai had also contributed a lot of precious information to them for verification. Shangguan Biao was ultimately executed on his turf.

These past few days, the Lingshan people were all lodging in Jade Capital City.

Major demolition and construction were underway on the Earth Mother's back; Jade Capital City had only been half-demolished, with many buildings still standing. Jiuyou Great Emperor arranged for the Lingshan people to stay in Shangguan Biao's former mansion — not only was it grand and luxurious, but supplies were also complete.

Bao Chihai sat down generously: "The Earth Mother preserved a place for me and moved it into Panlong Ancient City. From now on, I'm a resident of Panlong Ancient City. Jiuyou Great Emperor personally said he would enfeoff me as the Night Patrol God of Panlong Ancient City, specially tasked with driving away evil and exorcising spirits at night, but actually I can come out during the day too."

He paused: "There are actually over a hundred nether ghosts like me in Jade Capital City; the Earth Mother eliminated several dozen who were disobedient or unusable, and the rest are under my management. We have another task: to keep a tight watch on outsiders and uninvited guests in the city."

Shangguan Biao ruled Jade Capital City for thousands of years; who knows how many people died here with resentment and grievance, so it's not strange that some turned into fierce ghosts. But ghosts also fear the wicked; a considerable portion of fierce ghosts were also cleaned up by Shangguan Biao and the myriad yaos, and the remainder had to accept the Earth Mother's reform.

Ling Jinbao cupped his hands: "Congratulations, Brother Bao, on your official appointment."

There are countless strange and wondrous places and things in Jade Capital City; the Earth Mother won't keep them all — eighty percent will be demolished. Useful materials will be transferred into Panlong Ancient City.

Jiuyou Great Emperor's word is golden; a single enfeoffment turned Bao Chihai from a ghostly nightmare into a Night Patrol God, never again needing to skulk about like he did in Jade Capital City.