Chapter 16: Reencountering Zhang Yunlu

Before the great reform, the Silutang of the Xiang Jianzong was the department responsible for administering punishments and ensuring disciples adhered to the Xiang Jianzong's rules.

Now, it also oversees public order across all territories under the Xiang Jianzong's jurisdiction, similar to a police bureau.

By the way, that's the name used throughout the Alliance of Orthodox Sects.

Lin Qiuxian and the sword cultivator surnamed Feng were detained at the Silutang branch in Xuanjian City; after Li Fengping returned to Xuanjian City and mailed the samples obtained from the Secret Realm, he went directly to visit him.

However, due to the high volume of visitors, he didn't succeed in seeing Lin Qiuxian until late at night—thanks to Silutang's lenient visiting hours.

Under the guidance of a Golden Core Stage Silutang disciple, he arrived at the door of the reception room.

"Go in. Maximum half an hour."

"Thank you."

After expressing his thanks, Li Fengping entered the reception room, while the Silutang disciple stepped into the adjacent room to monitor.

The specially made glass window shimmered with array magic, possessing limited spell-suppressing ability; its hardness was such that even a Nascent Soul cultivator would need considerable effort to break it.

But no one dared do so, unless you wanted to end up on the Zhijian Tang's wanted list—then it would be life and death be damned.

Li Fengping sat down before the window; opposite him, Lin Qiuxian's expression was calm, with a detached air as if he had seen through the illusions of the mortal world.

These past two days, the traffic law education program had replayed endlessly—what good impression could he possibly leave? By the time he was released, the person might already be gone; he might as well just give up entirely.

Lately, too many incidents have occurred in Xuanjian City—even the Sect Master has taken notice, making it impossible for the Lin family to secure his release.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single cautious step.

A moment of reckless satisfaction brings lifelong pain.

Pain—so much pain! Lin Qiuxian had never understood these two sayings so thoroughly before.

"Senior Brother, are you… alright?"

"Sigh~ I've just come to understand some truths. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"…."

How short a time it has been—Senior Brother Lin, once so full of vigor, now looks like this.

"Forget about me—tell me about you. Did you complete your mission by coming here?"

"Yes, Senior Brother. I teamed up with Jiang Jing, an inner-disciple of the Enforcement Hall, and Xu Sandao, an outer-disciple official of Silutang, and completed the mission inside the Secret Realm this afternoon."

Jiang Jing… I think I've heard the name, but I can't recall who exactly she is.

And this Xu Sandao?

"Interesting—a Nascent Soul sword cultivator with a name like that."

"Uh, Senior Brother Xu Sandao is actually quite decent—he helped us block the sword qi when we accidentally triggered it inside the Secret Realm."

"Tell me more."

In truth, Lin Qiuxian wasn't particularly interested—he was just bored out of his mind and treated it like a story.

…………

The next morning, at Xuanjian City's largest mall—Qiuzhen.

Everything from magical artifacts and pills to daily necessities could be purchased here.

Although the overall layout and style resembled those of the malls from his past life, the names of the shops still followed the old tradition.

Like Ganlin Pavilion, Cangfeng Tower, Qizhen Shop, and so on…

Xu Xing walked through the mall, casually scanning the surroundings.

Since his junior disciple was coming, he planned to prepare a small gift and also buy materials to upgrade the array at his residence.

The materials he carried were too valuable to use for upgrading just a small array—it would be wasteful.

Eventually, Xu Xing entered a shop named 【Xuan Yue Pavilion】, which primarily sold spiritual materials such as herbs, ores, and beast blood.

Many people on the Spirit Net had high praise for this shop.

As soon as he stepped in, a saleswoman in a red qipao with a beautiful face greeted him with a bright smile: "Guest, how may I assist you?"

"I'd like to buy some array materials—any type, no need for high grade."

So he's an array master.

The hundred arts of cultivation include alchemy, artifact forging, arrays, and talismans. With the rise of new professions, the profitability of these arts has declined somewhat, but they still far surpass ordinary cultivators.

"For array materials, turn left ahead to the Bing Zone. Would you like me to guide you?"

"No, I'll go myself."

"Very well."

The saleswoman nodded lightly, still smiling, and returned to her original position; a row of several women, each with flawless figures and appearances, looked pleasing to the eye.

It was said this shop once hired charming cultivators from the Hehuan Sect to serve as front staff, and business was booming.

But soon after, competitors reported them, and coincidentally, the new mayor launched a campaign to clean up the city's appearance, so those charming cultivators were dismissed.

Xu Xing walked deeper inside, turned left into the Bing Zone.

Before him, various spiritual materials were displayed in bright glass counters, priced from a thousand spirit coins to hundreds of thousands.

"Not too expensive."

Ten spirit coins equaled one standard unit of spirit stone—a system proposed by an elder of the Alliance of Orthodox Sects, later refined by Shenghuang Yuan, and eventually adopted as the currency standard across the entire Tai Xuan Realm.

One standard unit of spirit stone contained the same amount of Qi as an ordinary Qi Condensation Stage cultivator absorbs in twenty-four hours.

Qi is purchasing power, so counterfeiting is virtually impossible.

Along the counter, Xu Xing examined each spiritual material, eliminating those with diminished Qi, insufficient age, or internal flaws.

"This one, this one, and that one over there—pack them for me."

A transparent blue crystal with white filaments growing inside, a palm-sized bamboo stalk with purple veins, and a stone speckled with pale gold spots.

These three items were among the better-quality spiritual materials.

"Certainly, guest. Please wait a moment." The clerk behind the counter nodded slightly; the three materials were quickly packed into elegant wooden boxes. "Would you like a bag?"

"No need."

"Please keep it safe." The box had barely landed in Xu Xing's hand before it vanished without a trace.

"One hundred seventy-three thousand five hundred spirit coins in total." The clerk took out a device, its appearance nearly identical to the one he'd seen back at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.

Xu Xing drew out a cyan jade tablet and slotted it in.

Xiang Jianzong contribution points could be used directly as spirit coins, though only within the territories under Xiang Jianzong's jurisdiction.

The exchange rate was 1:1000.

After completing yesterday's mission, he'd received one thousand contribution points—converted, that came to a full one million spirit coins.

"Beep! Version too low. Please upgrade before use."

A flat, mechanical voice came from the device. The clerk looked up, casting an embarrassed glance at Xu Xing.

"You see, this…"

The identity tablet for the Xu Sandao alias had, after all, been made before he went into closed-door cultivation. Though the identity itself only activated when used,

the craftsmanship itself was already many generations old. Throughout the entire Great Reform period, Xiang Jianzong's identity jade tablets had been improved countless times.

"Then let's use this."

Xu Xing pulled out the jade tablet and instead produced a storage ring.

After taking it, the clerk extended a sliver of divine sense and saw spirit stones stacked neatly inside, block by block.

Hm? Spirit stones?

She'd assumed they were spirit coins.

"Please wait a moment, miss—I need to go consult the boss."

"Alright."

The clerk hurried off.

*Looks like after I get back this time, I'll have to update all the identity tablets for my aliases. *

Just as he was thinking this, he saw another person walk into the shop.

Oh? It was actually that young lady, Zhang Yunlu.

(End of this chapter)