Five floating spiritual battleships filled Fang Shi's vision when he turned to greet the returning Protector Mei Lihua. Each warship had a distinct appearance that represented the sect that owned it. The ship that Mei Lihua shouted from, for example, was the shape of a giant leaf. The ship next to hers, Fang Shi could only guess it belonged to the Heavenly Forge sect as the ship appearance was normal with the exception of all the artifacts installed on it. On the other side of Mei Lihua was a ship that also mostly appeared normal, but its sails looked to be made of clouds and the ship itself sat of dark clouds that occasionally lit up with lightning. It wasn't hard for him to identify that this ship belonged to the Thunderheart clan. The last two ships obviously belonged to the Shadow Veil and Crimsob Tide sects as one looked like a gloomy ghost ship and the other displayed sails that were half red and half blue.
"Can I ask why this humble owner has the pleasure of receiving Protector Mei and so many special guests today?", Fang Shi did his best to ignore the situation and welcome everyone.
"Boy, who do you think you are addressing with such familiarity?", a gruff voice replied instead Mei Lihua.
Fang Shi turned to look at the ship from the Heavenly Forge sect, "I'm Fang Shi, owner of the Heaven & Earth pavilion. I hope the seniors I'm not acquainted with could also do me the honor of introducing themselves as well."
A moment of silence followed but it was immediately broken by a deep chuckle when it was apparent that Fang Shi hadn't crumbled under the pressure of so many high level cultivators and spirit beasts.
"Mu Ronghai, it seems your manners have gotten worse of the decades", the older man in the dragon robes laughed before addressing Fang Shi, "This old turtle is known as Long Xuanwu, young man. It's a pleasure to meet an amazing human like you, but why didn't your master greet us. I don't want to split hairs but you're merely a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. It's not very appropriate for you to greet us."
"Now wait a minute", the one called Mu Ronghai interrupted, "There are more pressing issues than proper etiquette right now."
"Such as?", Long Xuanwu arched his eyebrow at the rude man.
"Such as why you and the flaming bird over there have left your lairs to travel to our city", Mu Ronghai sneered before looking at Fang Shi, "And how this boy stole the artifact refining process from our sect only to sell it to whoever has the spirit stones to afford it."
This caused Fang Shi to pause for a moment before he realized what the elder wanted, this old man was obviously greedy and wanted to take his shop away from him.
'System', he thought, 'Prepare the shop's defensive array, and prepare two puppets for deployment: a human puppet with Li Xiaoyao loaded, and a spiritual beast puppet with the White Tiger.'
[Understood…completed, host can deploy on command. All fees will be tallied and paid once the host returns the goods.]
"Senior should be aware that while one can eat whatever they want, you can't simply say whatever you want", Fang Shi warned Mu Ronghai, "I invite Senior Mu inside to look through my library, and you can even pay for methods, techniques, and procedures that you want. However if you think you can bully or rob me, you're greatly overestimating yourself."
Mu Ronghai's face went red with embarrassment, and with a quick motion a large warhammer appeared. Fang Shi felt a surge in power from the elder before the warhammer enlarged.
"I'll simply teach you a lesson since it seems your master failed to", he said as he swung the hammer.
Long Xuanwu, Feng Huolian, and the other four human Nascent Souls had been watching the exchange between the two with various emotions when Mu Ronghai attacked. Mei Lihua was the first to move as she determined that the attack would be fatal to Fang Shi, and she moved to protect him. Second was Long Xuanwu and Feng Huolian as the pair also moved forward, though their intentions were unclear. Finally, the other three Nascent souls moved, not to protect Fang Shi, but to attack Long Xuanwu and Feng Huolian.
To the surprise of everyone, two beings appeared in an instant blocking the paths of both the cultivators and the spirit beasts. Four of the five Nascent souls immediately stopped in place as swords made of intent and charged with lightning manifested in front them. The two ancient spirit beasts also halted when pressure greater than their own erupted from a smaller puppet in front of them shaped as a tiger. Fang Shi was pleased with the reactions of both sides until something happened. The elder from Shadow veil sect had given up on attacking Long Xuanwu and Feng Huolian, and instead executed a special technique, diving into some nearby shadows. This determined cultivator reappeared next to Fang Shi swinging a blade at his neck only to be blocked by the same lightning infused sword as before.
"I think you need to take a rest, elder", Fang Shi commented before throwing a familiar sphere at the man.
To the astonishment of everyone except Mei Lihua, the black robed elder vanish again, but not using shadows. In Fang Shi's hand the sphere made of crimson and pearl jade rested.
"Since the visitors today haven't been introduced to my shop, I'll forgive today's transgressions", he announced to the group, "I do feel that some of you need a proper briefing before entering due to your attitudes, so let me take a moment to speak."
Fang Shi made a few simple hand gestures, and the six newest guests faces shifted from one of determination or confidence, to one of confusion, to one of fear as several array formations appeared on the now visible guard array. He pressed on the sphere he was holding, and a moment later the missing elder materialized again. Everyone watched as the black robed man radiated power in anger before investigating and then shrinking in fear from array that had locked on to him.
"Now that everyone is here, let me introduce myself again", Fang Shi acted as nothing special had happened, "I'm Fang Shi, owner of the Heaven & Earth pavilion. We welcome all guests, customers, and visitors as long as they have funds, compliance, and a peaceful nature. If you wish to enter, I welcome you but unfortunately several of you have given me cause to worry. With the exception of Protector, I mean fellow Daoist Mei, everyone else will have to register and have restrictions placed upon you until you're no longer deemed a threat. If you wish to continue to slander me or attack me, I'll rid myself of trouble right now."
At Fang Shi's words, the energy of the array began to condense and strengthen. The Elder of the Heavenly Forge sect, the Elder of the Shadow Veil sect, and the two spiritual beasts especially felt the threat of death.
"No!", "Wait!", "Owner, Please!", "This is a misunderstanding!", the group of people and beast immediately shouted in fear as they felt the threat of the array formation.
"I see", Fang Shi put his hands behind his back, "Then it seems you all agree."
The array slowed its rotation before stopping, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's unfortunate, but my shop lacks the docks required for flying ships", Fang Shi said, "I'm sure the fortress city can accommodate all the guests today."
Then he looked over at Long Xuanwu and Feng Huolian, "My shop has limited space so I must inform the two seniors that one those beasts that can change shapes or of a certain size can enter. Please accept my apologies."
"Fellow Daoist, Ancient seniors, can I make a suggestion?", Mei Lihua suddenly spoke up, "I have some experience here, so I could guide everyone here inside. For my fellow daoists, it's no problem to park your ships at Tianbao. I'll send a message, and disciples will ready to receive the ships and their crews. Once they are situated, they can be guided here."
Fang Shi watched as everyone considered the proposal, and nodded in agreement after a few minutes. Then each elder selected a few disciples to follow after them before assigning the responsibility of docking the ship to a golden core member of their sect. Long Xuanwu and Feng Huolian also sent out orders resulting in hundreds of spiritual beasts changing into human forms (though a small number of smaller beasts chose to stay in their original form).
"Owner Fang", Mei Lihua approached him, "We are ready, but let me introduce my fellow Daoists to you. You have already met Elder Mu Ronghai of the Heavenly Forge sect, and of course, the two of us are already acquainted. This Daoist is Grand Elder Lei Yunsheng from the Thunderheart clan,next to him is Elder Luo Shante from Shadow veil sect, and finally is Elder Mi Shuangyan from Crimson Tide sect."
Normally, Fang Shi would have offered a bow to a crowd like this, but the previous event had soured his mood. He simply kept a smile on his face, and acknowledged Mei Lihua's introductions.
"Please follow me", he invited the group inside before warning, "Those who have been judged a risk will feel restricted once inside, but do not be alarmed. Once you leave the array, your strength with become normal again. Just a reminder, should you attempt to coerce, control, intimidate, or attack another customer, you will be removed from the premises at best or killed at worse."
"How can a shop threaten guests like this?", Luo Shenye retorted.
"As long as guests act as guests, there will be no problem", Fang Shi eyed this problematic elder, "But now that you're aware of the rules of the shop, breaking these rules will result in the loss of your status as a guest."
Luo Shenye was obviously still upset from being captured as he replied to Fang Shi with a grunt. Fang Shi paid it no mind, and walked through the gate. Mei Lihua entered the front gate first as she narrated to the others about the pavilion from her own experiences. Fang Shi was only too happy to let her take on this role since he felt several members of the audience would glare at him if he act as the guide. He also noticed the uncomfortable looks on most of the guest's faces as they entered, and were restrained by the array. He had led the group through the main hall and the market when Mi Shuangyan asked him a question.
"I've noticed that the strength and concentration of the qi in the area is very strong", he said, "How do you prevent those of lower cultivation realms from harming themselves while they train here?"
"It's due to the artifacts the senior designed", Fang Shi replied while pulling out his phone, "The temporary cards or communication artifacts this stores refines contain a spirit gathering array appropriate to the cultivation level of the guest. It allows the guest the maintain their cultivation strength as they shop here efficiently."
"Efficiently?", Lei Yunsheng gave Fang Shi a questioning look.
"Yes", Fang Shi replied, "Everyone here knows how spiritual veins are formed, right?"
Silence followed the question so he began to explain, "Qi or spiritual energy is present everywhere, and flows like air or water currents. But like water currents, obstructions can form that will cause the energy to coalesce around it. It can be a natural array or phenomenon, or the core of an ancient beast or cultivator. Overtime, the absorption will create spirit stones and other materials and will continue to grow until a spiritual vein is created. The rate of absorption is never stronger than the flow of ambient energy, so excess spiritual energy will rise above the vein. This Qi energy is what all the living beings of this world use to cultivate. The arrays set around this shop and the spirit gathering arrays used are meant to collect as much as possible. It's used to raise spiritual plants, raise beasts for food and for sale, refining artifacts, the cultivation of customers, the operation of the shop, and the creation of spirit stones."
When Fang Shi mentioned the creation of spirit stones, everyone following him reacted with shocked expressions.
"You're saying that you don't mine spirit stones?", Mu Ronghai asked.
Fang Shi nodded at this inquiry, "Fellow Daoist Mei is already aware that this store accepts all form of currency and barter no matter what quality the items are. She also knows the quality of the stones we use to purchase items as well."
Everyone looked at Mei Lihua, and she nodded in response before pulling a spirit stone out. The purity of the stone indicated it was a high quality stone.
"We have refined artifacts that take spirits stones, increase their purity and capacity, and fills them with energy", Fang Shi's explained as they inspected the stone in Mei Lihua's hand, "And it uses the ambient energy around use so they vein can continue to grow."
"Are these artifacts for sale?", Luo Shenye inquired.
"I'm a merchant", Fang Shi stated, "Why would I turn down the opportunity to gain wealth? But first, let's finish the tour before we start talking about business."
Fang Shi smiled as he gestured the group forward, "This is the cultivation hall."
Zhang Mingyu arrived at Blue Moon city but it was obvious that he was different than before.
'What has happened here?', he said in exasperation, 'Ever since Frostveil village, it's been nothing but strange occurrences. Small mortal villages that normally had no access to cultivation resources suddenly have huts called 'greenhouses' and raise farm animals that increase blood essence. Some of the village chiefs even broke through to the Body Perfecting realm. Even in the capital, the royal emperor that rules over the mortals have become Qi gathering realm cultivators. How? Mortal cities don't have enough Qi for them to cultivate? Moonveil city was even stranger, cultivators flying on swords, strange carts moving without horses, or homes filled with artifacts powered by spirit stones or ambient Qi. I asked the Rui patriarch, and he just said Blue Moon city. Well I'm here now.'
As Zhang Mingyu approached Blue Moon City on his personal flying boat, a man was floating in the air waiting for him. He recognized the one waiting for him was Mayor Chen, who also belonged to True Martial hall.
"Welcome to Blue Moon city", the mayor greeted Zhang Mingyu when the latter's boat stopped next to him.
"Junior greets Senior", he replied perfunctorily.
Mayor Chen ignored his response, normally as a golden core realm cultivator, he should be angered by the lack of respect. As a member of True Martial hall, he knew the sect only cared for the talented. Once it was determined your potential was spent, the sect leaders would assign the no longer relevant person to a position such as sect elder of the outer court or mayor of a city.
"I humbly invite you inside", Mayor Chen proceeded to fly towards the front gate of the city, "I've already made the preparations so that you can evaluate all potential candidates."
Zhang Mingyu nodded and the pair flew into the city. He immediately noticed a huge change had happened to the city since his last visit.
"Senior Chen, it's seems the city has expanded greatly since the last time I visited", he voiced his thoughts.
"Junior Zhang has a good pair of eyes", the mayor responded, "Two events recently occurred that led to the growth of the city. A powerful Senior opened a shop inside the city a few years ago, and more recently, the Qi in the area has continued to thicken."
"Yes, I've been hearing about this 'Heaven & Earth pavilion' very often in my travels", Zhang Mingyu confirmed, "What a bold name for a shop to be called."
As the pair continued inside, he witnessed a familiar sight as cranes, peacocks, and other auspicious birds with puppets riding on them also flew through the city. When he first saw this in Moonveil city, it took a great degree of self control to calm himself. His own sect only had spiritual birds available for leaders and top disciples but two cities in the south freely used them.
Zhang Mingyu started to pay attention to the residents of the city, and quickly realized that something was strange with approximately a quarter of them. He saw men and women that sported fox ears and tails, a wolf that walked on it hind legs, and other spiritual beasts that hadn't taken a fully human form.
"Senior Chen, have you betrayed the sect to make an alliance with the spirit beasts?", he eyed the mayor suspiciously.
"I'm afraid Junior Zhang has misunderstood", Mayor Chen laughed dryly, "It was them who wished to make an alliance, though it wasn't with us. They brokered an agreement with the one who oversees that 'bold' shop. I should say that it's been very successful. We've been able to expand our farms because of this agreement, and they regularly trade resources from the forest that's normally difficult to harvest."
"Truly?", Zhang Mingyu was deep in thought.
"The senior is truly open minded", Mayor Chen stated, "He not only not hires citizens of the city, but also spirit beasts too. It would fair to say that half his shop's employees are from the forest."
"And the people accept them?", Zhang Mingyu couldn't quite believe it, "What do they do here?"
"It was tense at first", the mayor admitted, "But they are capable. They do the same as the human employees: being sales clerks, wait staff, entertainers, and more."
"Entertainers?", the younger man was caught off guard, "This shop is also a brothel?"
"Oh no", Mayor Chen scratched the back of his head, "Please don't suggest that once we are inside, you'll offend the senior and be banned from the store. That being said, I believe there is a small group of people who would be excited if such a place were to open. Anyways, we have arrived so let's no longer speak of such things."