Chapter 2203 - 1571: Punishment (Part 2)
Chapter 2203 - 1571: Punishment (Part 2)
He Songzhi, feeling as if his bones had been removed, collapsed to the ground and pleaded loudly, "Sect Leader, spare me. Those things weren’t my doing, and I wouldn’t dare harm the interests of the sect or raise a hand against fellow disciples..."
The tearful and blood-curdling appearance seemed to have suffered a great injustice and grievance, but no matter how well he disguised it, he couldn’t deceive Li Zhirui’s eyes.
With a flick of his hand, He Songzhi was rendered completely silent, unable to move at all.
Li Zhirui no longer glanced at He Songzhi, whose face was ashen, and coldly looked at the disciples behind him, saying, "And you all! Anyone involved in this matter will be punished by relegation to servant disciples, toiling day and night, never allowed to leave the mountain gate for their entire lives!"
"As for all disciples! You have another half month, and if the Immortal City isn’t completed within the time limit, thirty points will be deducted from everyone’s selection test!"
Actually, they weren’t very clear about this score, as they still didn’t know what the test involved or the evaluation standards.
But no one wanted to start the test with a deduction of thirty points.
What if they were just twenty or so points away from becoming Inner Sect Disciples?
So, their previous conflicts instantly vanished, and they began to unite and cooperate in constructing the Immortal City, striving to complete it within the stipulated time.
Not long after, Wansheng also arrived at this place.
"Sect Leader, it was my negligence in teaching the disciples that led to the cultivation of such disciples." It immediately noticed the disciple who was detained and realized that Li Zhirui already knew what had happened; then, its reaction was to admit fault.
"It has nothing to do with you. Their minds were impure, thinking of those evil paths to achieve their goals."
Li Zhirui shook his head; this matter couldn’t be blamed on Wansheng and instead asked, "How are those few disciples? Were they injured?"
"When they returned to the mountain gate, they intentionally took a detour, so they returned safely. I have already arranged for them to be responsible for the Spirit Vein’s advancement."
"It’s fine then."
He hoped that his painstakingly cultivated disciples wouldn’t die in the schemes and manipulations of their peers.
"You go back to guard the mountain gate first; I am enough here."
Currently, there were no disciples stationed at Ascension Mountain, and if any ill-meaning cultivators approached to do something, they wouldn’t know.
"Alright."
As if suddenly recalling something, Li Zhirui added, "On your way back, take a look at how the construction of the southern Marketplace is going."
With hundreds of disciples working together, the Immortal City was nearing completion, and logically, the Marketplace, which started earlier, should already be finished.
Wansheng nodded and flew away.
A few days later, the Immortal City was successfully completed before the final deadline!
Where there was once flat land, now stood a towering Immortal City two zhang high and covering fifty li. From the four city gates, one would first see a wide avenue, flanked by newly built shops.
As one walked further, they would reach intersections leading to other areas within the city, with similar layouts.
Additionally, some space was specially reserved for loose cultivators to set up stalls and sell spiritual objects, a method to attract more people.
In the center of the city, apart from a square, stood a City Lord’s Mansion ten zhang high!
The disciples stationed here would reside in the mansion, guarding and maintaining the order of the Immortal City.
Li Zhirui took out a plaque, which had already inscribed four large characters—Ten Thousand Treasures Immortal City!
Primarily to express that the Immortal City contained many spiritual objects, attracting more cultivators to visit.
Everything was ready, except for placing the spiritual objects and attracting shops and cultivators.
To achieve this, the main strategy was to find ways to publicize it, ensuring more cultivators learned about it.
Therefore, aside from assigning disciples to promote the news, Li Zhirui decided to hold a grand auction! Ideally, attracting the attention of every cultivator across Mingzhou.
Thus, he needed to carefully select the auction items, both the precious spiritual objects that would command the scene and the highly popular low-level spiritual objects.
The former was easy to resolve, as the Tongtian Sect’s treasure house had plenty of such spiritual objects; picking a few was enough.
But as for the latter, spiritual items favored by most cultivators weren’t present in the treasure house, forcing Li Zhirui to find a solution himself.
His idea focused on what he excelled at—pills!
He selected three commonly used mana-enhancing pills, of Sixth Rank, Eighth Tier, and Loose Immortal Grade, all without needing changes to the pill recipe; as long as Li Zhirui personally crafted them, the grade wouldn’t be low.
However, to ensure the Immortal City and Marketplace had hallmark spiritual objects, he spent some time slightly improving these three pill recipes, enhancing their effects by one or two percent.
If improving pill recipes presented extensive challenges for others, it was a mere trivial matter for him, requiring little time.
This demonstrated the profound realm he possessed in Alchemy Dao.
And don’t underestimate a mere one or two percent boost; with unchanged prices, such pills could incite fervent pursuit among cultivators.
Purchasing one bottle of pills equated to buying what used to be twelve pills, making it the most attractive option for cash-strapped cultivators.
...
Meanwhile.
The news of the Tongtian Sect’s newly established Immortal City and Marketplace began spreading across the surrounding Cultivation World, sparking significant discussion among many cultivators.
"Have you heard? The Tongtian Sect has built an Immortal City and Marketplace, vigorously promoting to attract us there."
"Why is the Tongtian Sect suddenly engaging in such major activities?"
"Who knows what the Tongtian Sect is thinking, given Liang Country lacks suitable places for cultivation practice. Though initially they might attract some cultivators, in the end, they would depart."
The reason they were willing to stay in a certain area was due to the prospect of acquiring spiritual objects and having places for cultivation practice.
Without a place for practice, they would have to travel extensively to other places, uncertain of how much time it would cost, which ultimately wasn’t worthwhile.
"Is that so? Just take a look at the Tongtian Sect’s auction catalog, and you’ll surely change your mind," a nearby cultivator suddenly spoke.
"Oh?"
The statement instantly drew even more cultivators’ attention.
"Friend, could you show us, allowing us to comprehend?"
The cultivator directly projected the contents of the list using mana, letting all cultivators see.
"Hiss!"
Upon seeing the first auction item, they couldn’t help but gasp, hardly believing their eyes.
"Profound Immortal Grade Spiritual Object, Eternal Bright Flower!"
"If I remember correctly, this is one of the main ingredients for the Ascension Golden Core, right?"
The Ascension Golden Core is an exceedingly precious Breaking Realm Elixir, capable of increasing a Heavenly Immortal Cultivator’s chance of breaking through to the Profound Immortal by one or two percent.
"What a grand gesture from the Tongtian Sect, willingly offering such a cherished treasure for auction."
Yet, as they continued reading, they found the subsequent spiritual objects equally valuable, each one causing numerous cultivators to vie for them.
"Though these spiritual objects are valuable, they can’t compel cultivators to remain in the newly established Immortal City and Marketplace of the Tongtian Sect, right?"
"Keep reading, and you’ll find out why." The cultivator didn’t explain but let the group analyze for themselves.
Soon, one cultivator discovered the crux of the matter.
"Pills with a one or two percent enhanced effect of Sixth Rank, Eighth Tier, and Loose Immortal Grade Spirit Enhancing Pills?!"
The cultivator’s eyes gleamed as they recited, "The Tongtian Sect has mastered improved pill recipes and can produce them in large quantities."
"But to gain purchasing eligibility, one must reside at the Hundred Treasures Market and Ten Thousand Treasures Immortal City..."
"The Tongtian Sect plays a clever hand at bundled sales!"
Nonetheless, it must be admitted that with these three types of pills, the two Immortal City and Marketplace won’t face concerns about continuity.
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