It was a cold winter that day.
Wangdan Pagoda appeared on the cultivators’ street in Donglai County.
This building was recently established by Alchemist Chen. Apart from elixirs, the outlet would sell spiritual herbs as well.
That building stood five floors high in total.
The first-grade elixirs were sold on the first floor, and it was managed by Hong Fu.
One could find the second-grade elixirs sold on the second floor, and Hong Xiu was the person in charge there.
The first-grade spiritual herbs could be procured on the third floor. Hong Yu was the overseer there.
On the fourth floor, one could purchase the second-grade spiritual herbs there, for which Hong Chan was the supervisor.
After the official launch of Wangdan Pagoda, Wang Tong sent eight maidservants over.
Naturally, all of them were good-looking and well-mannered women who were also Meditation Plane cultivators.
Upon their arrival, Chen Jingzhai immediately sent them under the care of his four beautiful maidservants to pick up the dos and don’ts.
Meanwhile, he spent his time alone in a closed-door meditation on the fifth floor.
Many people flocked to Wangdan Pagoda, requesting elixir refining immediately after it opened for business.
Those who had requested elixir refining would present their Foundation Establishment cultivation methods, be it to butter Chen Jingzhai up or befriend him.
Chen Jingzhai welcomed every customer impartially. He would entrust the Grade 1 elixirs refinement to the four of them.
However, he would refine the Grade 2 elixirs depending on the time.
Up until that point, Chen Jingzhai had amassed a collection of 47 Foundation Establishment cultivation methods, including the ones Wang Tong had given him.
Be that as it may, the amount was still not sufficient.
Yet, Chen Jingzhai did not get impatient. His daily focus was to refine some elixirs, research the formations, and then visit the Primordial Essence Grotto-heavens.
He would then sow the seeds of a wide array of spiritual herbs and spirit plants.
Following that, he took the spiritual herbs that the spirit deities collected for him and sold them at Wangdan Pagoda.
In just a little over a month, Wangdan Pagoda rose through the ranks and became the store with the most diverse supply of spiritual herbs and spirit plants in the State of Qiong.
Many rogue cultivators who had heard of the store would pay it a visit. Even the celestial families from other states would come and make trades.
Wang Tong did not stop any of them. Instead, he assigned the people from Dao Cheng Division to maintain order.
Although he wanted to secure this great treasure for Commandery Prince Hong Yi, his plan failed.
If it was a diamond in the rough, he could collect it anytime.
Nevertheless, the radiance of precious jewels could be blocked for a while, but not forever.
Wang Tong was glad that he could secure the magic apparel business.
He was relieved by the fact that Wangdan Pagoda was only involved in the elixir and spiritual herb businesses.
At first, Commandery Prince Hong Yi could not wait to meet up with Alchemist Chen.
Curling up the corners of his lips, he put the idea at the back of his mind after knowing the official opening of Wangdan Pagoda.
Wang Tong knew there was more to it than met the eye, but he could not figure out why.
Even when he brought up the matter, Alchemist Chen merely chuckled without answering his question.
Nothing changed within the few days when Wang Tong was pondering about it.
Still, he was not as free as one might assume. After all, as the frontman of Dao Cheng Division, he had to maintain the peace of that place.
Donglai County was vast. So, things were bound to happen somehow or other.
While lost souls and specters were the main sources of the recurring predicament, water demons would invade the land every once in a while.
The ever-changing human heart was the root cause that those things could not be completely wiped out.
That was the one thing Dao Cheng Division could do nothing about.
Wang Tong greatly looked up to Chen Jingzhai and regarded the latter as a bona fide cultivator.
For the latter was not bothered by the troubles of the mortals, and he would only focus on his cultivation—a truly unshackled and carefree cultivator.
Truthfully, Chen Jingzhai had his fair share of concerns as well.
Although he already had the framework of the Foundation Establishment cultivation methods laid out, he would still need many more of the cultivation method scrolls to refine the details.
This was the very thing he needed the most at that moment. So, he could not afford to be laid back.
Otherwise, he would not have launched the Wangdan Pagoda. What would the purpose of the business be other than to reach more people?
Spring started in the blink of an eye.
But the weather in the State of Qiong was still chilly, and the temperature was relatively low.
Zhang Kui came for a visit that day.
“Greetings, Master-Uncle!” Zhang Kui went up to the fifth floor and greeted with a smile.
“What brings you here?” Chen Jingzhai uttered in delight. “Come and have a seat.”
“I’m out of the game already,” Zhang Kui declared casually. “So, I’ve come to visit you, Master-Uncle.”
“It has only been two years since you left the mountain. Besides, the old ruler hadn’t even passed away yet. So why are you out of the game already?”
Chen Jingzhai asked curiously, “Who did you support? Why are you alone?”
“I have been supporting the Eldest Prince,” Zhang Kui replied.
“Eldest Prince Hong Ji?” Chen Jingzhai exclaimed. “So that’s why.”
Pulao Kingdom did not enthrone the crown prince yet. Thus, the princes of the previous and current generations could compete for that position.
The Eldest Prince had the highest popularity among the princes of the current generation.
Chen Jingzhai had heard about the Eldest Prince after he came down from the mountain.
The previous year, the old ruler consumed the life-prolonging treasure and held a court audience—something that had hardly happened for the longest time.
The Eldest Prince had a good reputation among his subjects. For that reason, the old ruler cast him into prison.
At the end of the year, the Eldest Prince froze to death in prison.
The outsiders had no way of knowing the insider information. In fact, most people would not even dare to contemplate the matter.
Chen Jingzhai took out the wine calabash and poured Zhang Kui a cup. Then they drank and continued to talk.
“The Eldest Prince was actually a nice person. He had supported me in the Path of Puppets,” Zhang Kui stated. “Too bad that we did not meet each other earlier. There were many people around him as well. We’d only met thrice in the past two years.”
“Who were his supporters other than our disciples?” Chen Jingzhai questioned.
“Oh, there were a lot.” Zhang Kui counted with his fingers and continued, “Elixir Twilight Clan, Serenity Hollow Clan, Soaring Clouds Clan, Will Celestial Clan, Mystic Evil Clan, and more. There were many immortal sects that had supported the Eldest Prince.”
“What actually happened?” Chen Jingzhai inquired.
“I don’t know much.” Zhang Kui shook his head. “I was the last one who joined. Initially, I was invited to join by the disciple of the Alchemy Temple, Jiang Chen. I thought that since we are of the Heavenly Artisan lineage, there would be no reason for me to decline.”
“I see.” Chen Jingzhai nodded. “So, what is your next plan?”
“Most of the rest turned to the other princes,” Zhang Kui explained. “I have no interest in that. I just want to deepen my research in puppetry. Hence, I’ve come here to seek shelter.”
“Well, then. You may stay.” Chen Jingzhai then asked, “Speaking of which, how did you know that I was here?”
“Did you think that no one knew your whereabouts, Master-Uncle?” Zhang Kui chuckled. “Ever since you left the mountain, many of us have been tracking your location. Even the Eldest Prince knew that you had gone to the city of your maidservant’s family and settled down in the State of Qiong’s Donglai County.”
Chen Jingzhai was speechless upon hearing that. “Had they planned this long ago?”
“Yes.” Zhang Kui bowed his head. “Many of the disciples of our sect from every temple had put down stakes. Naturally, they will pay extra attention to the disciples who left the mountain and keep track of the latest update on each disciple. The guys at the Dao Cheng Division had been keeping an eye on your four maidservants’ families. So, they will know if anything happens.”
“Is that worth the effort?” Chen Jingzhai shook his head and sighed.
“Of course. You are our youngest Master-Uncle, after all.” Zhang Kui played a smile on his face. “When the Eldest Prince met me, he’d even requested I invite you to join his faction!”
“Why didn’t anyone contact me?” Chen Jingzhai questioned.
“Well, we know about your personality.” Zhang Kui continued, “We know you have your own thoughts about things. Therefore, you won’t accept any invitation before you’ve made your decision. Since we already knew it would be a failure, we’d rather not play the villain. Furthermore, you’ve been focusing on refining elixirs here in Donglai County.”
“Good job!” Chen Jingzhai lifted his cup and gulped its content to the last drop, just as Zhang Kui did.
If the disciples were to invite him, Chen Jingzhai would reject them all the same. Still, he would at least show up there.
Stuff like this was pretty troublesome for him. He would not have as much freedom as he currently enjoyed if he were to accept the invitation.
Chen Jingzhai and Zhang Kui lost track of time as they chatted. But their main topic did not stray far from the latest situation in the Imperial City.
Overall speaking, the Pulao Kingdom still maintained its stability in the meantime.
The old ruler had countless tricks up his sleeves. Even though he did not have much time left to live, no one dared to make any risky moves.
Moreover, all of them were disheartened by the fact that the Eldest Prince was eliminated so easily.
But according to the responses from our fellow disciples, the princes seemed to be full of confidence at that time.
The fact that the old ruler had resorted to killing meant that he was not entirely in control of the situation.
If it weren’t for the powerful imperial family and the great number of loyal subjects toward the old ruler, the Imperial City would’ve been in chaos.
“With the great many hidden dragons and Krakens around, everyone is keeping one another in their places. No one is able to break the temporary truce,” Zhang Kui said. “But there are still people who tried to stir things up. For example, the barbarians in the Southern Woods Ocean drove away the demonic beasts.”
“Those barbarians still dare to do foolish things?” Chen Jingzhai remarked in astonishment.
“Yeah.” Zhang Kui nodded. “Someone wants to make trouble and eliminate the Loyal General Hou Zhong.”
“Did they succeed?” Chen Jingzhai asked.
“Of course not. The Seventh Prince even took the opportunity and wiped off many people,” Zhang Kui answered. “Now, no one dares to cross the Eastern Ocean and the Southern Brutes. Things would turn ugly if they were to piss off either side.”
“At any rate, we still have to take out these two forces somehow.” Chen Jingzhai pondered for a while and added, “It looks like pandemonium will be reigning in the Eastern Ocean and the Five States very soon.”
The desert was in the west. Ever since the annihilation of the Huangsha Demon King, no other Demon Kings dared approach White Sands City anymore.
The snow mountain was in the north. The place had become forbidden ground after the death of the imperial family’s True Venerable Spirit Plane.
Hence, the Southern Brutes and Eastern Ocean became the most crucial locations.
Since the Southern Brutes failed to stir up trouble, people would naturally try their luck in the Eastern Ocean.
Nonetheless, the Eastern Ocean Ruler had not shown himself in public for a long time.
