Eastern Divine Continent, Yaoguang Immortal City.
Li Xingtian, dressed in a robe of white, swept his gaze over the greatest pride of the Eastern Divine Continent — Yaoguang, an immortal city that yielded to none in Central Continent.
As the distillation of the Eastern Divine Continent's finest, Yaoguang Immortal City alone commanded a vital node of the spirit vein that flowed down from Central Continent.
It should have been prime ground for founding a sect, yet through the compromise and mutual choice of the various powers, an unprecedented immortal city had been established there instead.
Across all five continents, only the Eastern Divine Continent possessed a Yaoguang Immortal City.
Immortal light drifted and spiritual energy wafted as cultivator shops of every kind rose within it, their wares beyond counting.
The city's governance far exceeded that of ordinary towns. It was said that Integration-realm cultivators from the Eighteen Immortal Sects that ruled the Eastern Divine Continent stood guard here, and that any malicious act would bring a personal greeting from a top sect.
Most of the cultivators here hurried along, heading straight for their destinations — yet all of them had to walk. None could fly through the air.
That was because entering an immortal city of this caliber required a payment of spirit stones, and every additional day spent here incurred a tax.
Naturally, all of this applied to outside cultivators.
Those born in Yaoguang Immortal City, or its former natives, could remain without paying taxes — and so the city also held a fair number of mortals.
One need not ask why Central Continent had no such immortal city — because Central Continent already had the Eighteen Immortal Sects, whose standing far surpassed Yaoguang Immortal City.
Li Xingtian had rushed over from Central Continent only after receiving a message from his master.
After all, this was the first time his master had ever sent word to summon him. Unless it were truly necessary, his master would never have written.
Whatever the matter, dangerous or not, Li Xingtian knew only one thing — his master needed him now.
The moment he received the message, Li Xingtian set aside everything and hurried here.
Only...
Li Xingtian swept his gaze over the seemingly serene Yaoguang Immortal City, and truly could not imagine what he was meant to do here.
The cultivators here were hardly weak, and there were quite a few Golden Core cultivators as well. If he started a fight here, the odds of being swarmed were rather high.
While Li Xingtian was still mulling this over, he had already arrived at the meeting place he had agreed upon with his master — the Yaoguang Immortal Pavilion.
It was a landmark building of Yaoguang Immortal City, and every immortal art available had been lavished upon it without stint.
Yet a single glance was enough to make Li Xingtian sigh inwardly — it was good to be rich.
That brilliant azure radiance streaming down from the Yaoguang Immortal Pavilion was all driven by spirit stones — pure spiritual power cast away into the air.
To waste so much merely for the sake of appearances... if only all of it were given to him for cultivation instead.
With a faint sigh, Li Xingtian stepped into the utterly luxurious Yaoguang Immortal Pavilion.
A pavilion of such grandeur naturally came with matching service. Li Xingtian had only to give his name before a Qi Refining maidservant led him inside.
In but a moment, the maidservant had led him to the highest floor, to the doorway of the most luxurious room of all — the Heaven-grade "A" room.
Standing at the door, Li Xingtian glanced once more at the room plaque hung to the side, and a trace of heartache crossed his face — his master had changed.
In the past, his master would never have wasted money on a place like this.
They were master and disciple — did a simple meeting really require a room this extravagant?
Could they not have met at a table on the ground floor?
How many spirit stones would this cost?!
The sect was indeed far wealthier than before... but still, this was too much...
Ah, well. His master had toiled for so many years; a little luxury was only deserved.
Just as Li Xingtian was about to push the door open, his gaze passed over the maidservant who, though she had already led him here, still stood to one side with a respectful, pleasing expression — clearly waiting for a tip.
After all, for a top-tier guest who could stay in the Heaven-grade "A" room, whatever casually slipped from between his fingers would spare a Qi Refining maidservant a dozen years of striving or more.
Yet as for asking for a reward outright, the maidservant naturally did not dare.
Whether a distinguished guest chose to give was a matter of his own good mood; to ask for it outright would be somewhat presumptuous.
Li Xingtian understood these customs well. His gaze swept over the expectant maidservant, and he quietly uttered two words:
"Thank you."
With that, Li Xingtian pushed the door open and entered.
Thus the maidservant had not led the way for nothing — at least she had earned his thanks.
As for spirit stones? Better to save them for his master's room fee.
Who knew how expensive this place was.
Li Xingtian pushed the door open, and what met his eyes was not his master lounging lazily by a rocking chair while a girl sang and poured his wine.
Instead, the entire central area of the room had been sealed off by a ritual array, cutting off sound and spiritual probing.
Chu Xingchen sat in the seat of honor, with several cultivators around him seeming to await his orders.
Yuyang Daozi leaned back in a chair, reading a sheet of paper in his hand while his lips moved slightly, as if discussing something with Chu Xingchen.
Xie Lingyu stood to one side studying a map, apparently saying something as well.
Li Xingtian froze, looking at his master in disbelief — was this... his master in his ultimate-serious mode?
Could it be that this time there truly was something proper for him to do?
And judging by such meticulous precautions — even Yuyang Daozi was here.
Whatever this was, it could not be small.
As Li Xingtian entered, everyone in the room turned to look at him.
Chu Xingchen beckoned slightly, gesturing for Li Xingtian to step inside the array to speak.
Li Xingtian quickly stepped into the array and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Master, your disciple has arrived."
"You came quite quickly. I thought you would arrive a little later." Chu Xingchen's smile was gentle. "It has been a long time. Have you been bullied out there?"
Hearing this, Li Xingtian's heart warmed. "Everything is well."
"Good, then your master can rest easy." Chu Xingchen's expression turned solemn, his tone serious. "There is an important matter I wish you to handle. After much deliberation, I believe you are the only one suited to it."
Li Xingtian did not hesitate. "Whatever Master commands!"
"Truly my beloved disciple! Answered without hesitation. This task should also help cultivate your command ability a little!" Chu Xingchen responded even faster than Li Xingtian, his tone rather impassioned.
"Your master has a group of elite cultivators here for you to command — a spearhead unit that may well have to face the final enemy directly. But you must learn restraint; your safety is what your master values most."
An elite cultivator unit?!
Li Xingtian raised his head in astonishment. What sort of important task was this, that he would actually be allowed to command an elite cultivator unit?!
He still did not know a single thing about it.
But before Li Xingtian could ask, Chu Xingchen quickly continued, his gaze turning to Gu Sanyang at his side:
"Hand that hard-won batch of elite cultivators of yours over to my second disciple. At the same time, assign two cultivators following this task to assist my disciple's operations. Let my disciple handle that matter, and those things will never doubt what makes something orthodox!"
"As you command!" Gu Sanyang answered first, then slightly turned his eyes toward Li Xingtian.
In his eyes, Li Xingtian's expression looked somewhat unkind, yet his gaze was rather sincere; dressed in robes of slightly opulent white, on closer look the man actually seemed like a decent sort.
To have him command those evil— elite cultivators, and still guarantee orthodoxy.
It seemed this man's body walked the righteous path while his heart was that of a demon — hardly a kind soul.
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