No matter how poor the mortal realm might be, with its vast population, even lower-priced goods could still form a large market. Could it really be that no one in the cultivation world was interested in competing for such a market?
Lin Xiao found that hard to believe.
He had been to the cultivation world himself, and although the cultivation world was far wealthier than the mortal realm overall, the disparity between the rich and poor was significant. While some might dismiss the mortal realm, there were certainly others who saw its value.
Even though the distance between the cultivation world and the mortal realm was great, for cultivators at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages, crossing the Desolate Lands would take no more than a year. And a year wasn't much time for a cultivator. They could send those within their families or sects who had little hope of advancing further, and the mortal realm would still present a sizable market opportunity. It seemed unlikely that no one would attempt to seize this vast market.
In short, the cultivation world didn't seem entirely uninterested in the mortal realm. Yet, it acted as if it was squeezing the life out of the mortal realm, pushing it to the brink. It was strange, very strange.
For now, though, Lin Xiao had no clues about this issue. He could only follow his plans and continue developing his sect step by step.
Since He Yi had raised the question, it meant he likely had some insight. Lin Xiao responded, "I know the basics of the situation but not the specific reasons. Do you have any information?"
He Yi replied, "Yes, I do know a bit. Although the mortal realm is vast, it is very poor in spiritual energy. In the prosperous spiritual realms of the cultivation world, the mortal realm holds little appeal, so it has largely been under the control of the Southern Spirit Domain."
"More precisely, the mortal realm has been under the control of a group known as Wanwan Tong."
He Yi paused for a moment before continuing, "Although, on the surface, the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains are famous for their Talisman Sects, in reality, the true power in the Southern Spirit Domain is Wanwan Tong. They are everywhere, influencing almost every aspect of life in the domain. If it weren't for the balance provided by the Talisman Sects and their allies... well, it's a complicated situation. Suffice to say, much of the mortal realm's stagnation can be attributed to Wanwan Tong's deliberate manipulation."
"Wanwan Tong?" Lin Xiao was taken aback.
He had heard of the company—it had quite a reputation. When he had first visited the cultivation world, he had encountered one of their shops. Despite his brief stay, he had sensed how deeply Wanwan Tong's presence permeated daily life in the cultivation world.
"Alright, I understand. When you have time, put all the information you know about Wanwan Tong into a jade slip for me. I'll think it over," Lin Xiao instructed.
"Understood," He Yi responded. "Sect Master, Wanwan Tong has many spies in the mortal realm. Our sect's recent large-scale activities will inevitably attract their attention, and they'll report it back. Also, among the group of ten that came with me to the mortal realm, nine others are still around."
He paused, then added, "Many sects in both the Southern and Northern Spirit Domains have some form of private dealings with Wanwan Tong, whether officially or secretly."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Dealing with Wanwan Tong's spies wasn't the real problem. After all, the mortal realm was impoverished. Even if Wanwan Tong sent spies with relatively high cultivation levels, they wouldn't dispatch too many. And high-level cultivators serving as spies? Lin Xiao doubted the mortal realm's sects weren't aware of them. While these sects might not dare to act against Wanwan Tong's agents, that didn't mean they were ignorant of their existence.
What Lin Xiao found more concerning were the nine cultivators from the cultivation world who had come with He Yi.
Their cultivation levels were not low—the strongest among them had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and even the weakest was in the Golden Core stage. According to He Yi, there were seven Nascent Soul cultivators in total, with only He Yi and two others at the late Golden Core stage.
These were details He Yi had shared with Lin Xiao after joining the Lingxian Sect.
"Hmm… Is there any communication tool on your side as convenient as our Sect's communication rings?" Lin Xiao suddenly asked, lowering his voice.
He Yi, puzzled, answered, "There are some communication items as convenient as the communication rings, but they're all limited by range and can't transmit messages across the Desolate Lands. Only soul lamps left at the sect can roughly reflect one's life status. For instance, if someone is on the verge of death, their soul lamp dims."
Soul lamps were special tools imprinted with a cultivator's soul, reflecting their basic life state. Lin Xiao had heard about these before from Elder Liao during casual conversations in the sect.
Upon hearing He Yi's reply, Lin Xiao mused, "I see… Alright, I understand. You can get back to what you were doing."
Seeing that Lin Xiao seemed to have a plan, He Yi was reassured.
After their conversation ended, He Yi continued his stroll through Shuishui City.
In truth, "stroll" wasn't quite the right word. He wasn't aimlessly wandering the city but was on official business.
Having witnessed the city's construction firsthand, He Yi had grown more curious about Lin Xiao.
When the city was completed, Lin Xiao had advised He Yi to spend time in the city, saying it would benefit his cultivation. So, He Yi had taken on the job of conducting regular inspections around the city.
To his surprise, he found these days in the city to be quite enjoyable.
Although Shuishui City was built and managed by cultivators, it was vastly different from the cities in the cultivation world that He Yi had visited before.
Here, there was no clear divide between mortals and cultivators.
If one didn't specifically try to sense the spiritual power in others, it was nearly impossible to tell whether someone passing by was a mortal or a cultivator just from their demeanor.
In the cultivation world, mortals avoided cultivators as much as possible. If they did encounter one, they would hunch over and keep their heads down, hoping to remain unnoticed, like ants.
But in Shuishui City, the mortals walked with vitality and confidence. They would greet passersby with friendly smiles, and even the food vendors on the street would hand out snacks to random passersby if they hadn't sold all their goods by the afternoon.
He Yi had even seen mortal farmers hiring itinerant cultivators to help them tend their fields!
After investigating, he learned that these farmers were the original residents of the area where Shuishui City now stood. Their fields were now within the city limits.
After the city was built, all the farmland had been placed under the protection of special city wards. Only those who had registered with the City Lord's Office could enter their designated farming areas.