Wu Qi escorted Daoist Yun Zang as they went for a walk in the Green City Manor.
It was full of beautiful scenery that changed with every step they took. In order to design this Daoist rite temple, Wu Qi had dug out all the brilliant design ideas from Le Xiaobai's memory, the memory when Le Xiaobai was constructing a traditional southern Chinese garden. It might be inappropriate to describe it like this, but one might be even frightened with every step taken, as it would always bring one a completely different feeling.
Daoist Yun Zang's face was fresh and rosy, shining with a faint gleam. With a pleasant and relaxed mind, he toured the manor with Wu Qi guiding next to him. It was remarkably beautiful and surprisingly excellent. The magnificence and luxury of the Daoist rite temple were simply one hundred times more than his expectation. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected that with Wu Qi's help, he could actually own a Daoist rite temple like this in just three short months.
He was especially blown away by the furniture and objects placed in the palaces and pavilions. All the beds, chairs, tables, and even the writing brushes, brush holders, paperweights, bookmarks that were placed on the writing tables, or the axes placed in the kitchens to split firewood, they were all antiques of the finest quality, made with precious materials. Among them, the various objects looted from Euphoria Heavenly Palace were exceptionally rare and precious. His eyes were dazzled by the bright gleams that shone from these objects, and he was too amazed for words.
Euphoria Heavenly Palace was a sect of the Evil League, an evil sect which focused specifically on the practice of dual-cultivating technique between men and women. In addition to that, Lady Qiao was a lady who was fond of an extravagant lifestyle. Therefore, all the decorations in her palace were the most luxurious. For example, the cloud bed currently placed on top of the dais in the first main hall, it was hewed from a whole piece of Purple Jade Essence which measured about one hundred feet in circumference. Furthermore, right at its core was a piece of 'Purple Mansion Divine Jade Essence', which had the effect of gathering energy and nourishing vitality, providing a great benefit to the immortal soul of an Immortal cultivator.
The Purple Mansion Divine Jade Essence was about ten feet in size. There was one with a similar size in Green City. However, it was cut into twenty-odd hassocks and given to a dozen Sect Elders and a few core disciples. But in Euphoria Heavenly Palace, the whole piece was hewed into a cloud bed, and was only to be used by one person!
Just offering this Purple Mansion Divine Jade Essence to those Sect Elders in Green City would be a tremendous credit for Daoist Yun Zang, and he would definitely be handsomely rewarded with various cultivation techniques, immortal pills, and immortal items. Moreover, there were nearly countless objects of similar rarity and preciousness in all eighteen clusters of palaces within the Green City Manor. This proved that Pangu Continent was abundant in products, and how tremendous were the gains those immortal sects such as Euphoria Heavenly Palace had gathered after setting their foothold in Pangu Continent.
Daoist Yun Zang had secretly calculated in his mind that if he were to work hard by himself, taking step by step to create such a significant foundation, it would at least take him several Periods of time. But now, with Wu Qi's help, he was able to accumulate a significant foundation in just three short months!
His hands and feet were shaking, while his heart was pounding fast. Daoist Yun Zang began to envision the rewards he would receive after showing this Daoist rite temple to his Seniors in the sect. At the same time, his impression of Wu Qi had changed completely. From disdain at the beginning, it changed to appreciation, then was added with a little bit of gratitude. And now, he even began to take Wu Qi as his best friend.
Of course, Daoist Yun Zhang was aware that Green City was the reason that made Wu Qi do all this for him. Still, it was a great favor, so much so that Daoist Yun Zang was too ashamed to come up with the offer of taking Wu Qi as his disciple. In his opinion, a capable man such as Wu Qi should be recommended to his Master.
Daoist Yun Zang had his own planning. If he took Wu Qi as his disciple, he would have a capable disciple who could provide a tremendous help to him. However, if he could bring himself a Junior Brother, who was capable and having a very good relationship with him, while being greatly appreciated by his Master, wouldn't that just bring him even greater advantages?
In Green City, it was a totally different concept of having a capable disciple and having a capable Junior Brother who was on friendly terms with him.
Upon thinking about the advantages he could potentially bring himself, Daoist Yun Zang could not help but burst into laughter. Wu Qi had just brought him into the last palace, and was gesturing and explaining all the various benefits of the palace. Startled by the sudden laughter, Wu Qi asked hastily, "Senior Immortal, why are you laughing?"
After laughing for a while, Daoist Yun Zang patted Wu Qi's shoulder and praised, "Fellow Daoist Greed, do not address me as Senior Immortal in the future, as that makes me feel like you are treating me as a stranger! Mm, I really appreciate your help this time. Here's a small gift from me. I hope fellow Daoist can accept it!"
He reached out his hand to perform a grabbing gesture, pulling out a crimson immortal sword from the void, which had numerous dazzling sparks darting out. Then, he pointed at the sword in a complacent manner and said with a smile, "This is an immortal sword personally crafted by me, and it has been following me for ten Periods of time. Its item spirit has cultivated itself to an overall strength of Thirty-third Tier Spirit Immortal. However, nobody has ever refined it before. It is yours now!"
Wu Qi was taken aback. He quickly assumed a look as if he were overwhelmed by an unexpected favor. "No, no, I can't accept it! It is an immortal item!" Wu Qi cried out loudly, "What good have I done to deserve such a heavy gift?"
Daoist Yun Zang pretended he was annoyed as he said, "Senior Immortal again? Just address me as fellow Daoist! This is Flaming Magpie. If fellow Daoist takes me as your friend, you have to accept it! I refuse to be rejected by you!"
Wu Qi kept rejecting for a while. But in the end, he put on a look as if he could no longer resist the generous offer and took the Flaming Magpie with humble reverence and awe. Under Daoist Yun Zang's advise, Wu Qi activated the item spirit with his blood essence, then branded a thread of his divine will in it. As the immortal sword was personally crafted by Daoist Yun Zang, Wu Qi did not face any obstacle in refining it. The item spirit was very obedient and obeyed all the orders, so it did not require too much of his effort and energy.
On one hand, Daoist Yun Zang was inclined to draw Wu Qi over to his side, and on the other side, Wu Qi was intentionally currying favor with him. With Flaming Magpie as a catalyst, the conversation between both men became livelier. Daoist Yun Zang kept boasting some deals he made in the outer heavenly realms, and Wu Qi was telling him about Pangu Continent's secrets which he learned from Yu Hehuan and Reverend San Le. Eventually, both men simply went to sit under the great Banyan tree near the entrance of the valley, throwing themselves a banquet as they drank to their heart's content.
When they were slightly tipsy, Wu Qi once again mentioned the suggestion of inviting those Seniors from Green City to participate in the launching ceremony.
Daoist Yun Zang applauded and agreed to Wu Qi's suggestion. However, when it came to the talk of actual execution, he showed a sign of reluctance, frowning and not uttering a word for a long while. At last, he lowered his voice and began to tell Wu Qi the difficulty he was facing with a bitter smile.
This time, a huge vacuum had appeared within the powers in the regions around An He City, and Daoist Yun Zang had arrived at Greenwood Mountain to seize a territory in just days. In fact, he was sent here by someone. The person who ordered him to seize a new territory in Greenwood Mountain was his Senior Brother, Daoist Yun Han. Daoist Yun Zang himself was a Twenty-seventh Tier Heaven Immortal, while Daoist Yun Han was a Twenty-fifth Tier Heaven Immortal. A total of 36 disciples of Green City, including Daoist Yun Zang, had arrived at Pangu Continent three thousand years ago. They were here to replace the previous batch of their fellow disciples, with the mission of establishing new Daoist rite temples on Pangu Continent.
It was extremely difficult for immortal sects to establish their own Daoist rite temples and expand their influence over a larger area on Pangu Continent. It was especially true for an immortal sect such as Green City, which was guarded by Gold Immortals. Of all the targets on Yu Dynasty's watch list, Green City ranked amongst the top. Green City had sent a couple dozens of disciples to Pangu Continent in succession, but they could only manage to establish a few shelters. With Yu Dynasty making things difficult for them, there was absolutely no way they could attain any significant result.
Daoist Yun Zang and Daoist Yun Han did not get along well. They had been in a constant struggle privately. Furthermore, as the clans behind them were competitors, it just made their relationship even worse. For their mission on Pangu Continent, Daoist Yun Han was the leader of the group, and naturally, Daoist Yun Zang was made the most unlucky fellow among them all. He was the one who had to carry out the most dangerous, labor-intensive tasks that usually yielded only little results.
Recently, upon learning that a huge vacuum had appeared within the powers in the regions around An He City, Daoist Yun Han immediately sent Daoist Yun Zang here to establish a Daoist rite temple.
However, anyone with a good sense would understand that the situation was just temporary. Once Patriarch Muji had fully healed, or Dark Palace, the power behind Patriarch Muji, sent some old evils here to reinforce him, An He City would fall into the Dark Palace's hand. By coming here to establish a Daoist rite temple, didn't that mean Daoist Yun Zang was opposing Patriarch Muji's authority?
Green City's overall strength was not strong enough to influence Hui Ming Heavenly Realm, and their renown reputation could not intimidate those Evil Immortals from the Dark Palace. Patriarch Muji was from the Evil League. If he discovered that a cultivator from the Righteous League was here in the territory that he had worked so hard to claim his own, he would not mind killing Daoist Yun Zang!
"Senior Brother Yun Han!" Daoist Yun Zang said with a cold grin, "His intention is to send me to death! But, little did he know that I've actually made a friend here!"
Wearing an honest smile on his face, Wu Qi said seriously, "Not only is Green City the number one immortal sect in Xuan Yang Heavenly Realm, they are practicing orthodox cultivation techniques. Although I'm a worthless person, I have the desire to do better. It is fate that brought us together. So naturally, I'll spare no effort to support you!"
Daoist Yun Zang nodded satisfyingly. "Without the authorization from the sect, I cannot return to Xuan Yang Heavenly Realm and report this to my Master." He said with a sigh, "I will be punished if I do that. The communication array is in Senior Brother Yun Han's hand. I don't want to share my result with him!"
Wu Qi nodded inwardly. With his help, Daoist Yun Zang would be able to claim the ownership of An He City without too much of a hassle. He just had to tell Daoist Yun Zang that he wanted to join Green City, and An He City would be Green City's territory. Coupled with the Daoist rite temple, and the disciples with excellent spirit roots who were on their way here, it would be a significant merit. After all, this was the first Daoist rite temple which Green City had on Pangu Continent.
Since Daoist Yun Zang and Daoist Yun Han did not get along well, Daoist Yun Zang could not inform his achievement back to the sect through Daoist Yun Han. After all, that would make Daoist Yun Han the main contributor of the merit. It was plain stupid to be a person who paved the way for others.
After pondering for a brief moment, Wu Qi asked, "Is there any other way to send the news back to Green City?"
Daoist Yun Zang nodded and said with a frown, "There is a place where you can find public voice transmission arrays to communicate with outer heavenly realms. But, I need to stay here to prevent Yun Han from discovering what has happened. So, if we were to send the news..." he stared at Wu Qi.
Instantly, Wu Qi nodded and agreed to help. "Let me do this for you. Fellow Daoist, you just have to assign two of your disciples to me."
Daoist Yun Zang was delighted on Wu Qi's clear-cut stand. Without hesitation, he told Wu Qi the nearest place with public communication arrays…
Qing Xu Immortal Pass!