Chapter 66: Law Enforcement in the Immortal City

"The remaining Qi Refining first-layer cultivators are far too few to keep the Immortal Market functioning properly. Therefore, the higher-ups have ordered the recruitment of rogue cultivators to join the market to ensure its smooth operation."

"And that Chen Zhou was one of those who joined the market through my hands at that time."

"The matter of Chen Zhou is, in truth, my fault. I must apologize for causing you any distress."

As he spoke, Zhao Lin clasped his hands toward He Song, taking responsibility for the mistake.

It was precisely because of this that he had gone out of his way to try and secure more benefits for He Song back then.

Although he had also helped in the matter of Chen Zhou, he still felt somewhat guilty about it.

He Song, however, didn't seem to mind.

He waved his hand, indicating that the matter was in the past and there was no need to bring it up again.

This put Zhao Lin at ease, and he continued speaking.

"After the incident with Chen Zhou, you must have realized that there is a significant difference between rogue cultivators and us, the market cultivators. Rogue cultivators are often unruly and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, while market cultivators are not like that."

"Recruiting rogue cultivators into the market was a last resort. Only by doing so could we maintain the market's normal operations."

"But now, six years have passed. Rogue cultivators who have just entered the Qi Refining first layer have been continuously arriving from the mortal world and joining the market. At present, the number of personnel within the market is sufficient to keep it running smoothly."

"In fact, the higher-ups have even instructed us to recruit more rogue cultivators who have just stepped into the world of cultivation."

"As a result, those rogue cultivators who were recruited into the market six years ago have now become unstable elements within the market."

At this point, Zhao Lin paused and looked at He Song.

He noticed that He Song was now holding a teacup, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Zhao Lin was in no hurry to share the internal information he had obtained. Instead, he followed He Song's lead and picked up his own teacup, sipping slowly.

The room fell into complete silence.

Only the faint aroma of tea wafted from the teapot, filling the room.

After a long while, He Song set down his teacup and sighed softly.

"It seems someone is planning to take action against those rogue cultivators."

Long ago, when He Song had learned from Wei Fan that Chen Zhou had been bullying the weak, extorting spirit stones, and committing all sorts of evil deeds, he had already begun to suspect this.

Whether it was the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market or any other immortal market, their purpose of existence was to serve the sects they were affiliated with.

The existence of the immortal markets allowed the rogue cultivators who had just entered the world of cultivation to gather in one place, making them easier to manage.

At the same time, it allowed the markets to sift through these rogue cultivators and select those with good character and potential to join the market as internal cultivators.

Those who failed the selection were left to fend for themselves.

No matter where they died, it had nothing to do with the market.

This was also why the rent in the immortal markets was so high.

The higher-ups of the markets didn't care whether rogue cultivators could afford to live in the market or obtain sufficient resources. They only cared about the internal cultivators.

Similarly, the higher-ups of the sects didn't care about the lives of rogue cultivators or market cultivators. In their eyes, only sect disciples were the hope of the sect's legacy.

In a sense, market cultivators were a type of sect disciple.

However, compared to the more talented sect disciples, market cultivators had to rely on themselves to continue their cultivation. They also lacked strong backing, having only some authority within the market, which the sect did not officially recognize.

Sect disciples, on the other hand, didn't need to spend time on menial tasks and could focus entirely on their cultivation.

Once selected to become internal market cultivators, they could cultivate steadily in a safe environment.

From the early stages of Qi Refining to the middle and even late stages.

Once these promising individuals with good character reached the late stage of Qi Refining, they would need to start contributing to the sect, alongside those rogue cultivators who had managed to survive to the late stage.

Almost all the cultivation techniques released by sects or noble families had a hidden requirement once one reached the late stage of Qi Refining: they needed to purchase specific resources from the sect to rapidly advance their cultivation.

This was why Meng Guan, upon reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, had to go to the Verdant Wall Immortal City to earn enough resources.

Whether it was a rogue cultivator or a market cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining, they all needed to purchase the Jade Dust Powder produced by the Earth Sect to speed up their cultivation.

If they didn't buy it? Well, they could only watch as others advanced quickly while their own progress remained as slow as a turtle's.

In this way, the sects could continuously extract spirit stones from rogue cultivators and market cultivators.

At the same time, once a rogue cultivator or market cultivator who had practiced the sect's techniques managed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, joining the sect became their best option.

There was no need to switch cultivation techniques or leave their homeland. The sect would even provide them with higher-level techniques.

This made the offer extremely tempting for rogue cultivators and market cultivators who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Through this interconnected system, the sects ensured that all Foundation Establishment cultivators within their territory would join the sect, preventing situations where someone would immediately defect to a rival sect upon breaking through.

Under these circumstances, the sects naturally preferred to recruit a market cultivator with a kind and loyal disposition, who held a favorable view of the sect.

Rather than a rogue cultivator with a rebellious nature and little sense of belonging to the sect.

Now that the internal cultivators of the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market were sufficient to keep the market running, those rogue cultivators who had joined the market but continued to act recklessly would have to be purged.

A single rotten apple could spoil the whole barrel.

The existence of the immortal markets was the foundation of the sect's power.

In the past, they had turned a blind eye because these rogue cultivators hadn't caused significant harm, and the market had no choice but to tolerate them to maintain operations.

But now, with the number of market cultivators sufficient to support the market's operations, there was no reason to let this kind of corruption continue!

"Indeed, this time, the higher-ups of the market have applied for the Verdant Wall Immortal City to take the lead. They will send out the Immortal City Law Enforcement Team to investigate these problematic cultivators in every market."

"This is how your reward was able to be approved. At the same time, the atmosphere within the market will return to what it was before."

Seeing that He Song had already guessed the situation, Zhao Lin decided not to keep him in suspense any longer. Instead, he revealed everything with a hint of emotion.

The information he had received was exactly this.

Given the travel speed of Qi Refining cultivators, the law enforcement team from the Immortal City would likely arrive at the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market in a few days.

When that happened, the market would likely witness another bloody storm.

However, this could also be considered a good thing.

At the very least, the atmosphere within the market would improve significantly afterward.

Moreover, this operation was targeting those rogue cultivators who had joined the market six years ago and had a history of misconduct.

It had no bearing on him, He Song, or even those cultivators who had joined the market and behaved themselves.

Naturally, he had nothing to worry about.

"Problematic cultivators?"

On the side, after listening to Zhao Lin's words, He Song was startled.

Immediately, images from his past life flashed through his mind.

(End of Chapter)