Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Doesn’t That Give Her an Opportunity to Backdoor?

Seeing it was Su Huanli, Song Jiulai immediately said, "I’ll go right now."

They would have to leave Liu Xian City after the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony ended. Su Huanli had previously suggested that Song Jiulai go and pick up a Sect Token.

That way, when disciples of the Longevity Sect traveled far from home in groups, they could bring the Sect Token with them as long as it was within a reasonable area.

There weren’t many rules for obtaining a Sect Token.

A sect just needed to have ten members.

Song Jiulai just had to report it herself; the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect wouldn’t need to specifically investigate.

Because the Sect Boundary Stone was fixed in place, the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect had a special method to directly observe a sect’s situation from the Boundary Stone. For things like paying taxes, even if you underreported, you’d be screwed if the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect found out.

You could underreport, as long as you could bear the consequences.

This wasn’t like an inspection where they’d give you a heads-up. The Ten Thousand Immortals Sect could check whenever they wanted, and it would only take an instant.

So why were the conditions so lenient?

Because obtaining the token required an annual payment of one Mid-grade Spirit Stone.

This trip out had just about wiped out all of Song Jiulai’s assets.

At first, Song Jiulai felt that the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect was trying to scam money out of people at every turn, but she soon changed her mind.

Su Huanli accompanied her to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect’s office in Liu Xian City. After paying the fee, they received a token refined by someone from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect.

It seemed to be made of the same material as a Jade Scroll and was about the size of her palm.

Two characters were carved on it, spelling out "Longevity."

’You have to admit, it looks pretty auspicious.’

’Who doesn’t want longevity?’

’What a great name!’

If the token was crushed, someone from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect would immediately appear to rescue them.

But the token couldn’t be used carelessly. A sect could only use it once, and it was basically meant for when a sect was facing total annihilation.

’Otherwise, would the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect be acting as bodyguards?’

In a way, it was also the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect setting up a security perimeter everywhere. If a sect ran into trouble, they would know who was responsible.

For example, was it a demon beast attack or a move by another power?

’When I think about it carefully, this fee isn’t entirely unreasonable...’

After getting the token, Su Huanli took Song Jiulai to a Mortal Tavern for a meal.

Ever since Song Jiulai celebrated her successful Foundation Establishment, Su Huanli had developed a fondness for mortal delicacies.

But she felt the food in Liu Xian City was rather bland and tasteless.

Coming here now was just to experience the local customs of Liu Xian City.

Mortals had no Spirit Roots and couldn’t sense the difference between cultivators.

In many of these places where mortals gathered, cultivators usually didn’t show up, except during these few lively days.

As she ate, Song Jiulai curiously asked Su Huanli, "Senior Sister Su, do other major sects collect taxes like our Ten Thousand Immortals Sect?"

Su Huanli looked up at her and then shook her head.

She lowered her voice and told Song Jiulai, "I only know that the tax system of the neighboring Tianyang Sect is three times that of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect."

As for what life was really like there, Su Huanli had never been and didn’t know any cultivators from the Tianyang Sect, so she couldn’t really say.

Even at a major event like the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony, the cultivators from other sects were either high-level or exceptionally talented second-generation disciples. In any case, they wouldn’t interact with ordinary cultivators like them, so she didn’t know much about the situation in other sects.

Even so, the moment she heard "three times," Song Jiulai couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath, her scalp tingling.

Although the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect only collected taxes once a year, paying it all at once was still a significant pressure.

Moreover, she and the players had obtained their earnings through training that was practically cheating, not to mention the players were also good at making money.

Other small sects like the Longevity Sect would have probably been driven to ruin by such a high tax system long ago.

"However..."

Su Huanli revealed a secret, "There have always been cultivators from the Tianyang Sect who come over using some method we don’t know about. It’s said that they have to pay a great price. They just don’t dare to reveal their identities."

’Isn’t that just smuggling themselves over?’

After all, the major sects were separated by a Demon Beast Battlefield.

Cultivators without real skill couldn’t possibly cross it.

If you weren’t particularly ambitious, there wasn’t much difference between the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect and the Tianyang Sect—both could drive people to smuggle themselves into another major sect’s territory. Not knowing the full situation, Song Jiulai could only vaguely sense that the Yunzhou Continent might not be as ’peaceful’ as she had imagined.

This was mainly because her birthplace was within the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect’s territory, and she couldn’t possibly learn about the situation in other major sects from just a few travelogues.

What she saw were only the stories that had been passed down throughout the Yunzhou Continent.

Song Jiulai committed all these things to memory, considering whether she should select some of this information to include in a future version update.

This would also let the players gradually understand the Yunzhou Continent along with her.

「On the final day in Liu Xian City, the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony officially began.」

Perhaps Song Jiulai had been too optimistic.

Because she discovered that the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony had absolutely jack squat to do with ordinary cultivators like them.

During this festival, Liu Xian City was just open, essentially providing a networking platform for lower-level cultivators to buy a few things at the black market, and that was about it.

The main location for the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony was in the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect’s Sect City, which Song Jiulai and the others couldn’t access.

As for the sects that had come to Liu Xian City, they were all gathered in that massive sect building in Liu Xian City.

That was the territory of the Sea View Sect. Due to the powerful pressure from the higher-level cultivators, Song Jiulai and the others had no idea what was even happening up there.

All they could see was the building constantly emitting a sky-filling golden light on the last day—and man, was it blinding.

The golden light was so dazzling that Song Jiulai had to squint, not daring to look up at it for too long.

’I’m feeling a power similar to the sun, even in this Otherworld.’

’It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced something so bright it made my eyes water involuntarily.’

She thought, ’When I become powerful in the future, I’m going to get rid of this awful tradition.’

’I’m going to set off fireworks.’

’Fireworks for the whole city!’

’If there’s a big celebration up there, the people down below should get to celebrate too.’

As for those prodigies who only existed in gossip, they were indeed prodigies.

You couldn’t see them at all.

At no other moment had Song Jiulai felt so keenly what the stark class divide of the Cultivation World truly meant.

’Back on Blue Star, at least they televised major holiday celebrations live...’

On the last day, Su Huanli was also looking up at the sky, her face cupped in her hands. Although she also couldn’t stare for long because of the blinding light, the envy on her face was unmistakable. "I’m already very content with reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage in this lifetime. If only I could break through to the Golden Core Stage one day... This great path of Cultivation, I wonder how far I can walk it?"

"You’ll definitely achieve Ascension," Song Jiulai said sweetly, doling out free compliments. "I think you’re an exceptional talent, Senior Sister Su. You’ve reached Foundation Establishment at such a young age, so reaching Golden Core is a certainty for your future."

Su Huanli laughed, amused. "You really know how to talk."

"I know," Song Jiulai said, then asked nonchalantly, "Senior Sister Su, how many people does your Feique Sect have right now?"

"Us?" Su Huanli answered without hesitation. "Including Outer Disciples, just over two hundred."

’Just over two hundred?’

’That’s all the talented cultivators Wang’an County has to offer?’

"Is your Sect Master in seclusion?"

Su Huanli shook her head. "No, our Sect Master left a year ago. The Second Elder is in charge of everything in the sect now. If nothing major comes up, they probably won’t be back for several decades."

Golden Core cultivators had lifespans of several hundred years. It was very common for them to leave and not return for ten or twenty years.

Song Jiulai’s eyes lit up—Biu!

’The boss is out...’

’Doesn’t that give me a chance to raid their home base?’