Yulan City, Inner City Core Area, within an ordinary cave mansion.
A slightly chubby man with deep blue skin sat watching, a pair of soft antennae on his head and glasses on his nose, grinning as he observed a battle recording within a dossier.
“Tian He, you actually lost to a newly promoted Elder.” The chubby man said with a laugh while looking at Elder Tian He beside him.
“I am wholly convinced by my defeat!” Elder Tian He joked with self-deprecating humor, then he turned to the chubby man, “Workshop Master, aren’t you interested in having a contest with him?”
The chubby man chuckled.
He was the master of the Deceit Workshop.
“There’s no need for comparison. His cultivation base is still relatively shallow and was only relying on an external object.” The Deceit Workshop Master shook his head. At least for that last claw strike Luo Feng revealed, the Deceit Workshop Master was confident he could suppress it.
The primary reason Elder Tian He was willing to join the Deceit Workshop was none other than the Deceit Workshop Master himself! The Deceit Workshop Master practiced two different Dao paths and was even attempting to fuse the two into one.
“Even within the Dark Sacred Realm, there are many who cultivate two or three Dao paths simultaneously. However, it’s exceedingly rare to find those who can fuse different ‘Dao’ paths into one.”
“Among the top twenty powerhouses of Yulan City, in terms of potential, the Deceit Workshop Master is the first.”
Elder Tian He knew his own potential was limited, even forced to choose the Bloodline Path. He naturally needed to latch onto a powerful benefactor and he chose the Deceit Workshop Master.
“Tian He.”
After reviewing all the detailed intelligence on Luo Feng, the Deceit Workshop Master finally spoke with a smile, “Prepare one billion Primordial Crystals and have your subordinates deliver them to Luo Feng as your apology to him.”
“Apology?” Elder Tian He couldn’t help but protest, “We are both Elders; why should I apologize to him? And what I have in Yulan City is only an avatar, why should I curry favor with him?”
Elders generally have the Clone Technique and naturally carry a sense of pride. To admit defeat outside the East City Gate was already a blow to Elder Tian He’s prestige. And now to offer an apology?
“Listen to me,” the Deceit Workshop Master commanded.
Once someone decided to follow him, they needed to do things according to his rules.
If Elder Tian He did not listen to him, the Deceit Workshop Master would only distance himself from Elder Tian He.
Elder Tian He hesitated, but eventually nodded: “Fine! I will arrange the apology!”
“Workshop Master, I don’t understand why we are treating him with such courtesy.” Elder Tian He looked at the Deceit Workshop Master for an explanation.
“Look at the intelligence, he has only been in Yulan City for a little over a thousand epochs.” The Deceit Workshop Master said with a laugh, pointing at the detailed intelligence hovering in front of him, “At the beginning, he seemed to be at the Early Stage Divine Emperor Level, but in just over a thousand epochs, he became strong enough to suppress you. What kind of cultivation speed is that?”
“Workshop Master! The intelligence also stated ‘seemed to be at the Early Stage Divine Emperor Level’,” Elder Tian He argued, “When he first arrived in Yulan City, it wasn’t possible to accurately verify his strength. There was a member of the Insect Nest who attempted to steal from him, but still failed, unable to discern his true strength. Later when Luo Feng openly took action, he singlehandedly defeated our raiding team. At that time, it was clear that his strength was much stronger than that of a mid-stage Divine Emperor Cultivator.”
“In my opinion, when he first came to Yulan City, his real strength should have been at the Mid-stage Divine Emperor Level. Only after acquiring resources from Yulan City did he breakthrough his bottleneck, stepping into the Late Stage Divine Emperor.”
The Deceit Workshop Master gently shook his head: “I don’t engage in speculation, I only consider the facts.”
“The fact is… this Luo Feng, when he first came to Yulan City, was even sharing a lease with Emperor Qing, and he was buying the cheapest materials in the city. Clearly, he was very poor.” the Deceit Workshop Master said, “But in just a little over a thousand epochs, he has become a Late Stage Divine Emperor Cultivator. Think about it, how long did you and I take, how many billions of Primordial Crystals worth of resources did we spend to reach the Late Stage of Divine Emperor?”
Elder Tian He was taken aback.
How much had he sacrificed to become a Divine Emperor at the Late Stage?
“Even if one becomes Half Primordial Level, so what?” Elder Tian He said, “Our foundation lies in the Dark Sacred Realm.”
“No more questions, you will understand in the future,” the Deceit Workshop Master declared.
“Yes, I will go arrange the apology right away,” Elder Tian He stood up to go.
The Deceit Workshop Master watched Elder Tian He leave.
Subsequently, “Woosh—” an invisible fluctuation emerged, and a shadowy figure appeared in midair, a man radiating endless fervor.
“Wei Yang Palace Master,” the Deceit Workshop Master addressed him.
The Wei Yang Palace Master, his face as if carved from stone, deep eyes emotionless, was an extremely dominant and authoritarian figure, a Half Primordial Cultivator, who after eons of trials in the Dark Sacred Realm, had established a foundation in the Nine Rivers Sacred Realm through an avatar.
Upon arriving, he had even managed to suppress the City Builder, the Yuan Xiang Palace Master, to become the most powerful Hall Master in Yulan City. The resources and benefits he received in Yulan City were also the most amongst the three Hall Masters.
“I heard your Deceit Workshop’s Elder Tian He was defeated by one called Luo Feng?” The Wei Yang Palace Master looked at the Deceit Workshop Master, a rare smile on his face. His pride was such that within the city, very few could gain his attention, but the Deceit Workshop Master was clearly one of them.
“This Luo Feng has extraordinary potential. Even if he leaves for the Dark Sacred Realm in the future, it’s very possible he will leave behind an avatar in Yulan City,” said the Deceit Workshop Master, “The Yulan City of the future might very well be decided by him!”
“Oh?”
Wei Yang Palace Master’s spectral figure smiled, “You rate him so highly?”
The Deceit Workshop Master did not say more.
“Yulan City is under the collective control of the three of us Hall Masters, if he is strong enough, then it will simply go from three Hall Masters to four,” said Wei Yang Palace Master with a smile, “But for now, he still has a long way to go in terms of strength.”
“It seems the Palace Master has thought this through very carefully,” the Deceit Workshop Master nodded in agreement.
“Brother Yuan,” Wei Yang Palace Master said, “With your talent, you should have caught up to me by now. The two paths you’re cultivating, you still haven’t had a breakthrough? The next expedition is about to start, you’re still not participating?”
“I’m not participating,” the Deceit Workshop Master said with a slight smile.
Wei Yang Palace Master nodded.
He and the Master of Deceit Workshop were also friends in the Dark Sacred Realm.
Then the communication was abruptly cut off.
“Luo Feng?”
The Master of Deceit Workshop pondered.
He established the Deceit Workshop; inherently, he was not of a kind nature. His ‘Deceit Realm Dao’ was filled with darkness and malice.
“He actually causes my ‘Deceit Realm Heart’ to feel fear?” the Master of Deceit Workshop muttered to himself. When watching the battle footage, the ‘Deceit Realm Heart’ condensed within him was trembling with fear, instinctively afraid of this Luo Feng.
“In the Dark Sacred Realm, there are some cultivators that cultivate both paths, elevating them to the Half Primordial Level,” pondered the Master of Deceit Workshop, “But they still can’t escape the Braided Cage.”
“There is a legend in the Dark Sacred Realm that cultivating both paths is not enough; only by fusing the two paths into one can one undergo a qualitative change and possibly escape the Braided Cage.”
“I have been cultivating and have only managed to elevate my ‘Deceit Realm Dao’ to the Early Stage of Divine Emperor.” The Master of Deceit Workshop shook his head slightly.
He has reached the Late Stage Divine Emperor in his dual cultivation before deciding to follow the path of fusion. The fusion at that stage is too difficult; only after an endless era has the ‘Deceit Realm Dao’ reached the Early Stage of Divine Emperor.
He even slowed down his other two paths, worried about being on the wrong track.
“The path of fusion has a broader future. Just at the Early Stage God Emperor Level… it is comparable to the ordinary path of a Late Stage Divine Emperor. If the fusion path can reach ‘Half Primordial,’ it is indeed likely that one could escape the Braided Cage.” The Master of Deceit Workshop naturally had both ambition and patience.
“As for this Luo Feng, let’s take a closer look.” The Master of Deceit Workshop did not want to make an enemy but neither did he want to get too close.
…
In the core area of Yulan City lies a cave mansion, which, in terms of area, is only a few times larger than Emperor Qing’s.
“This is the new cave mansion I’ve rented.” Luo Feng led Emperor Qing, Emperor Ming, Di Fu, and the others as they toured the new mansion.
“The energy supply here is vast.” Emperor Qing sensed the energy that even liquefied into mist in the air, “It should be sufficient for a Half Primordial Level cultivator to absorb at full strength.”
Emperor Ming and Di Fu also felt invigorated.
“I never thought I could live in the core area of Yulan City.” Di Fu couldn’t help but remark with emotion; any cave mansion in this core area was outrageously expensive to rent.
“How much is the rent here?” Emperor Ming curiously asked.
“5000 Primordial Crystals per epoch,” Luo Feng answered, feeling the pinch himself. There was no way around it, as he had already rented one of the smaller ones in the core area.
“5000 Primordial Crystals for just one epoch? Merely staying here for ten thousand epochs would cost 50 million Primordial Crystals?” Emperor Ming and Di Fu were both astounded; such a housing expense is continuous, and without sufficient strength, one really wouldn’t dare rent such an expensive place.
Luo Feng had no choice.
With the increase in strength, he absorbed energy faster and naturally needed to choose a better cave mansion. This cave mansion, at the very least, would ensure adequate energy supply even after ‘Life and Death Dao’ reached the Middle Stage of Divine Emperor.
“Hmm?” Luo Feng suddenly sensed someone knocking at the door.
Just having moved in, and there’s already someone knocking?
“I’ll go check it out.” Di Fu volunteered and went to the courtyard gate.
Di Fu actively went to open the door and saw an elder standing outside. The elder’s aura was restrained, but the slight release of energy still gave Di Fu a bit of a shock.
“Young friend Di Fu?” The elder saw Di Fu, immediately recognized him, and enthusiastically said, “I am here on the orders of my Workshop Master to present Luo Feng Divine Emperor with an invitation. Our Workshop Master will personally visit tomorrow.”
Di Fu immediately took the invitation, and only then did the elder leave with a smile.
“An invitation?” Di Fu quickly delivered the invitation to Luo Feng’s hands.
Luo Feng opened it to see a few simple sentences written on the invitation, mainly expressing an interest in hiring Luo Feng as the Garrison Commander of Yundan Building. Further details would be discussed in person when the Workshop Master of Yundan Building visited the next day.
“This is the third one today who wants to hire me,” Luo Feng laughed as he looked at the invitation.
“Brother Luo Feng’s strength is among the top even among Elders! The forces of Yulan City aren’t fools; some with weaker foundations probably all want to hire Brother Luo Feng,” Emperor Qing said with a smile. “Brother Luo Feng, you should compare multiple offers and see who provides better conditions.”
Luo Feng nodded.
Yulan City seems comparatively safe, but in reality, there are still some crises. For instance, there are Low Level Primordial Life forms that can infiltrate Yulan City, and there are also cultivators who may hurt others in the shadows.
Therefore, the larger the business, the more it needs sufficient martial might for protection.
Even Yulan City itself requires enough martial power! Otherwise, even with the protection of the city walls, they may not withstand an assault from Low Level Primordial Life groups.
…
On the first day Luo Feng moved into his new cave mansion, he received a total of twelve invitations, with the backgrounds of the inviting parties ranging from strong to weak.
The most significant was from one of the three great Hall Masters, ‘Yuan Xiang Palace Master,’ the city builder of Yulan City, who had sent an invitation for Luo Feng to visit his own mansion.
Those with weaker backgrounds were ordinary Elders, not as strong as Elder Tian He! But these ordinary Elders were more willing to spend a great cost to win over Luo Feng.
Apart from the twelve invitations, Luo Feng also received an apology gift from Elder Tian He worth a hundred million Primordial Crystals, which surprised him greatly!
“This Elder Tian He is a powerhouse from the Source World; I pose no threat to him. And yet he would send an apology gift?” Luo Feng looked at the cloth bag in his hand, which contained 100 million Primordial Crystals.