chapter 160

However… to resist external aggression, one must first pacify internal conflicts.

Preparing a few plans is enough; the rest depends on adapting to circumstances.

And so it was.

Three months later, at the end of the 9th month of Wang Yu's Deacon career, year 5.

The Flying Cloud Boat arrived at a vast and unfamiliar territory. As far as the eye could see, countless green reeds swayed in the wind, growing in shallow waters.

The shallowest places barely reached above the toes, while the deepest places only reached an adult's neck.

This territory spanned a full three thousand li.

It was also known as—–[Three Thousand-Li Reed Marsh]!

The water was wide and shallow, clear but not fertile. Only thumb-sized fish and shrimp lived in these waters. Occasionally, larger fish could be found, but they were still less than ten *jin* (about 5 kilograms), combined with the unique thick fog of Cloud Ridge.

From afar, it truly looked like arriving in an Immortal Realm.

The thick fog clung to the water's surface. Fishermen punted canopied boats, as if rowing in a sea of clouds. The scenery was breathtaking; every glance was a masterful landscape painting!

"Good place~"

Wang Yu was captivated at first glance, his fingers itching. He almost took out the Wailing Ghost Flute, nearly forgetting its properties, and hurriedly switched to a normal flute.

He played in the sky, while fishermen boated in the sea of clouds.

In the stillness and movement, there was an inexplicable harmony.

His soul seemed to be cleansed. As his flute skills deepened, he faintly grasped a method to integrate emotions into musical notes.

He didn't know how long had passed.

When Wang Yu awoke in the dusk, all three Soul Sound Dual Path Techniques inherited from Yin Crow Perfected Person had taken a big step forward.

Only then did he realize, muttering to himself.

"So it was this simple, integrating the corresponding emotions…"

Below, the fishermen punting boats had long since disappeared. Wang Yu sighed, but a smile appeared on his face. This scene just now was the legendary "Sudden Enlightenment".

Only a very few people had the chance to encounter such a thing.

Unfortunately, he only had a shallow Sudden Enlightenment for a day, failing to enter a deep state of enlightenment. If he could have enlightened for ten days or half a month, stepping into the Perfection realm together wouldn't have been impossible.

Having more Perfected Spells, Wang Yu's understanding of Dao Principles was indeed far superior to Cultivators of the same realm, or rather, completely on a different level.

When his thoughts gradually calmed down, Wang Yu was in the mood to continue towards Guiling City. The Three Thousand-Li Reed Marsh was not far from his destination. Another thousand li would be enough to arrive.

He would definitely arrive before sunrise.

Just as the Flying Cloud Boat sped up, a gentle voice suddenly sounded behind Wang Yu.

"Fellow Daoist, please hold on."

Wang Yu was shocked. Encountering such a thing as soon as he arrived in Cloud Ridge State was not a good sign. He was about to accelerate and leave when the other party's Flying Boat was of a higher grade and faster!

In the blink of an eye, it blocked his path ahead.

Its size was much larger than the Flying Cloud Boat, twelve to thirteen meters in length, a typical pleasure boat style, with a vermilion two-story pavilion in the middle.

The pearl and jade gauze curtain on the Second Floor was drawn open slightly.

The gentle voice sounded again.

"Fellow Daoist is quite accomplished in the Dao of music. May I invite you to join my Cloud Dream Pavilion? Our Faction is a Lineage split from the Joyous Union Sect, proficient in the Yin and Yang Great Dao.

"If Fellow Daoist is willing to join, when engaging in bedchamber matters, playing beautiful music in my pavilion, Spirit Stones, Mystical Methods… or beauties, all can be promised to you."

Joyous Union Demon Sect? Wang Yu frowned. How come their people were everywhere? Yin and Yang Great Dao, Principles of Human Relations, indeed they were popular everywhere.

Even Confucius said that this is human instinct, nothing to be ashamed of.

Looking at the direction of this pleasure boat, could it be…?

Wang Yu cupped his hands in reply:

"Fellow Daoist overpraises me. May I ask if you are heading to Guiling City?"

"Naturally. Fellow Daoist is naturally cautious and unwilling to join, that's fine. How about traveling together for a while? Cloud Dream Pavilion is located in Turtle Spirit North City."

"That is fine."

After responding, Wang Yu also began to ponder.

North City? Isn't that within the jurisdiction of the City Lord's Mansion? This was a good opportunity to inquire about the situation. Wang Yu moved the Flying Cloud Boat closer to the Second Floor window of the pleasure boat.

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist could tell me about the situation in Guiling City. Wang is from Blood Abyss Province, Newly Arrived and planning to Settle Down nearby to focus on Cultivation."

"Newly Arrived?"

The voice inside paused, then spoke again.

"If Fellow Daoist is confident, then come aboard my Rouge Boat. Cloud Dream Pavilion is open for business, and intelligence business is also done. It just depends on what Level Fellow Daoist wants."

While pondering, Wang Yu decisively stowed the Flying Cloud Boat and stood directly by the Second Floor railing.

Throughout history, casinos, brothels, and taverns have always been the places with the most well-informed News. This Cloud Dream Pavilion, doing flesh business and also intelligence, was perfectly normal.

Exactly, the intelligence from the three Young Masters on the surface was already very Detailed. The underground intelligence was still more reliable from the Locals, and more timely.

Upon entering, a beautiful mature woman with a cloud-like fragrant hair bun was lying sideways on a soft couch. In front of her was a low table, set with a tea set, with wisps of smoke drifting from the jade cups.

A Jade Hand propped up her chin, while the other hand caressed a string of beads.

She wore a peony red phoenix pattern gold bead robe over a small and tight-fitting inner garment, a plain-colored chest-binding short skirt, with white transparent thin gauze pants legs extending from the hem.

The inner garment squeezed out an eye-catching cleavage from the roundness in front of her chest, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin, truly a baby food storage.

The whole outfit was seductive but not vulgar, alluring but not wanton.

It brought the beauty of suggestion to the extreme, especially the plump and beautiful legs under the thin gauze, making people unable to resist directing their gaze upwards, probing into the absolute Domain.

Wang Yu's expression remained calm, with only a hint of appreciation for beautiful Entities. Willing but unable, that was him!

"How may I address Fellow Daoist?"

"Wang Yu."

"Madam Chao Yun."

"Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you~"

After the pleasantries, getting to the main topic, Madam Chao Yun then sat up and actively Poured Tea for Wang Yu.

"Fellow Daoist Wang is indeed handsome. May I ask, for this intelligence business, what do you want to ask?"

"The situation in Guiling City, Inner City Factions, Outside the City Factions, nearby Fortuitous Encounter treasure lands… and so on, the more comprehensive the better. Wang is Newly Arrived and needs to be careful, lest I offend any Local Bosses."

"Indeed——"

Madam Chao Yun nodded and took out three Jade Slips.

"I have three types of intelligence here, lower, middle, and upper, with prices of one thousand, three thousand, and five thousand, Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Which one does Fellow Daoist choose?"

"Upper-grade intelligence."

Wang Yu threw out a Storage Pouch, picked it up, and began to examine it, which made Madam Chao Yun laugh.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Wang's Strength is not bad."

"So-so, I just have a skill to rely on."

In a short while, after digesting the Information in the Jade Slip, there were indeed many things that could not be found on the surface.

The Bai, Guan, and Jiang Families.

Among them, the Bai Family was proficient in Spirit Plant techniques, possessing the most Spirit Fields, growing a type of Spirit Rice called "Blood Tooth Rice". The Family Clan's Foundation was deep, with an annual Spirit Stone output of nearly two hundred thousand.

The Guan Family owned a Spirit Bamboo forest and a Strange Stone Mountain, Management the paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones business of the Cultivation World. Ranked second among the three Families, with Not Few experts, the annual output was nearly one hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

The Jiang Family Then Is Inheritance of Pill Refiner, Refiner, Talisman Master, and Formation Master four major Cultivation skills, each with several Gates, but most of them were First Tier, Only the Pill Refining Inheritance was Second Stage.

Ranked third, the annual Spirit Stone output was nearly one hundred thousand, but their expenses were higher, and there were already signs of spending more than earning.

Fortunately, this was Only one Channel of income for the three major Families of Guiling City. Although it was the main Channel, they also had other aspects of Management to earn Spirit Stones.

Among them, the Bai Family secretly had Trade with Yellow Springs Temple, seemingly helping them collect Yin Souls after Cultivator deaths, which was also a large amount of gray income.

In addition to the three major Families, there were also many small Factions created by Foundation Establishment realm experts In the city, evenly distributed in various Districts. Cloud Dream Pavilion was also among them, but not much was mentioned in the intelligence.

As for the intelligence about the City Lord's Mansion, there was very little, Only introducing a few Stewards who frequently appeared.

Wang Yu was now somewhat glad that he had met Madam Chao Yun.

The financial reports, small Faction intelligence, the Bai Family's Trade with Yellow Springs Temple… etc., were not recorded in that formal intelligence.

Five thousand Spirit Stones was worth spending.

Moreover, the Factions Outside the City were also mentioned Not Few. The Core Formation realm Factions [Ink Wash Sect], [Purple Dragon Mountain], and [Scented Fragrance Sect] were the overlords near Guiling City.

They also had branches In the city, almost all in the Northern District.

In other words, the Northern District was a Territory divided by all sides, and competition was also fierce. Although it was said to be under the jurisdiction of the City Lord's Mansion, it was probably powerless.

However, satisfied as he was, some questions still needed to be asked.

Wang Yu asked in confusion.

"Why is there so little Information about the City Lord's Mansion, not even knowing how many people there are?"

Hearing this, Madam Chao Yun hesitated slightly.

"This…"

Wang Yu expressionlessly threw out another Storage Pouch.

"Three thousand Spirit Stones."

How much he spent now, when he arrived at Guiling City, it would all have to be made up for by that old bastard, compensating three times the amount would be just a token gesture. He wasn't some kind of devil.

Having received the Spirit Stones, Madam Chao Yun also said with a smile.

"The Guiling City City Lord's Mansion belongs directly to the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect. Except for the City Lord being an Arrangement by the Saint Sect, the Stewards, servants, and subordinates inside all need to be recruited by the City Lord personally.

"And the previous City Lord of Guiling City, Zhuo Kuang Sheng, returned to the Sect nearly a hundred years ago. There has been No News until now. The people Inner City Only recognize General Tuoba of the City Lord's Mansion, but do not know there is a City Lord.

"The Tuoba Family's rise is recent, its Foundation is far inferior to the three major Families, but his Strength is very strong. It is said that he has already Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer and is expected to Core Formation.

"The entire City Lord's Mansion is also Control by the Tuoba Family, probably with three hundred Qi Condensation Cultivators and two Foundation Establishment."

Wang Yu immediately understood. The previous City Lord's name was Zhuo Kuang Sheng, Peak Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Level. When he returned to the Sect to Breakthrough to Core Formation, something went wrong. He died in his Immortal's Cave without even attracting Lightning Tribulation.

This was quite rare among the three major Nascent Soul Families with deep Foundation. Even if it was worse, Lightning Tribulation should still be attracted.

This also led to the outside world thinking that he was still looking for an opportunity. It was only after waiting for thirty or forty years that the problem was discovered. The matter of Guiling City was then contested by internal factions.

It was not until Zhuo Shouqing secretly sent someone to help Wang Yu take it down that it came to an end.

He knew about this matter.

As for the Tuoba Family who had usurped the nest, not to mention Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, even Early Core Formation would have to kneel when meeting him. What place did they choose to occupy? The City Lord's Mansion.

They were also tired of living, just right to be used to establish authority.

No wonder when they came, the three Young Masters didn't think there would be big Troublesome. With such a target, it would indeed be much smoother.

(End of Chapter)

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