Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

Chapter 372: 215, Tan. Lin Daiyu. Book Chang_2

And the sect of Dai Qian’er in Skeleton City naturally lacked competitiveness.

Not to mention the inheritance of Miraculous Power Techniques, they couldn’t even manage the most basic supply of Yin Virtue once a month.

The sects here take disciples and pay them a “salary.”

That is, Yin Virtue.

In typical sects, ordinary disciples receive one point of Yin Virtue per month. In powerful sects, ordinary disciples receive two points of Yin Virtue per month. For example, Phoenix Tree Mountain, which dominates a region, issues two points of Yin Virtue to its official disciples every month.

It can be said that just by joining Phoenix Tree Mountain, one could grow stronger even while lying down.

If a sect couldn’t distribute Yin Virtue, they would have to rely on Miraculous Power Techniques to attract people. Without even these techniques, naturally, they couldn’t attract anyone.

The reason Chen Yunfeng joined a mediocre sect was because—this fellow was not human at all, but a Ghost King playing in the mortal world.

Otherwise, Tan Shuchang wouldn’t have set his sights on him at that time.

The Ghost King’s hiding skills were excellent, and even when he didn’t approach actively, Tan Shuchang hadn’t detected any abnormalities in his senses.

It was only as the Ghost King approached that Tan Shuchang himself sensed some minor fluctuations.

Tan Shuchang then realized that this Brother Chen Yunfeng might be a potentially troublesome friend.

However, Tan Shuchang had already obtained the information he needed, and since the fluctuation was very slight, he didn’t act immediately.

Moreover, acting immediately would have been against etiquette.

The gateway to cultivation wasn’t hard to find; after passing through a messy construction area, Tan Shuchang saw it. However, as he tried to move forward, he was stopped by someone.

These were several cultivators endowed with Yin Spirit Power, and they had only one purpose in stopping Tan Shuchang.

To demand a toll for passing!

But their way of demanding it wasn’t crude, as they first offered tea and then spoke of the matter smilingly, looking more like they were engaging in friendly commerce rather than committing robbery.

“I can pay the toll, but before I do, I have one thing I’d like to clarify: did you build this place?” Tan Shuchang asked respectfully with his hands clasped.

“Of course not.” Of the four people, the leader didn’t speak, but one next to him answered Tan Shuchang’s question with a laugh.

“Did you pave this road then?” Tan Shuchang continued.

“Certainly not. Thank you both, one point of Yin Virtue covers a month’s toll, and this is recognized by the major sects of Skeleton City, so don’t worry about being swindled by us!” Perhaps finding Tan Shuchang’s questions excessive, the leader immediately said this.

“The major sects recognize it? Well then, come on, hand over the rent for using the land!” Tan Shuchang flicked his hand, and suddenly a land deed fell out.

“This road was paved by my ancestors, this land was also developed by my ancestors, and this land deed is even signed and stamped by Phoenix Tree Mountain! You guys, take a good look!” As he said this, Tan Shuchang didn’t forget to instantly put on a show of arrogance.

As he had often encountered such attitudes in the Land of the Four Pillars, Tan Shuchang’s imitation now closely resembled the typical demeanor of a Silver Dragon Dao Palace cultivator.

This caused the group of four men to stare in astonishment.

Then, they picked up the land deed and indeed found it to be as the man before them had described.

However, they had never heard that this place had an owner.

After all, their operation of collecting tolls here was merely exploiting a loophole. Furthermore, because the toll revenue collected each month was reported to the major sects of Skeleton City, those sects tacitly did not interfere.

Thus, seeing that the land actually had an owner left these four momentarily at a loss.

They doubted the authenticity of the land deed, but the signature and stamp of Phoenix Tree Mountain seemed genuine. As the most powerful sect in the area, Phoenix Tree Mountain’s prestige here was akin to Mount Swordless in the era of the Jiawu Realm.

Therefore, they dared not verify the authenticity with Phoenix Tree Mountain.

“Thank you, brother, for accommodating us! How much is the rent? We also didn’t know this place had an owner, and since the major sects all recognize it, brother, what about us offering half of this month’s income?” The leader had no choice but to say this.

Having said this, the leader’s face showed a pained expression.

After all, the major sects demanded one and a half percent. And with six major sects dominating the structure of Skeleton City, this immediately reduced it by ninety percent. @@novelbin@@

Now, offering half meant literally giving up half.

Of course, he wasn’t really so generous, but he felt that with this deed in their possession, the four of them would finally have legitimacy.

Not only could they give less to the six major factions, but their public justification was also much stronger.

Thus, through this series of actions, the income of the four of them was going to be higher than before.

It was evident that the leader had great authority, because as soon as he spoke, although the other three showed some changes in expression, they ultimately didn’t object and gave face to their boss.

After all, it was their boss who had come up with and led them in this lucrative scheme of waylaying and demanding money.

Originally, there were three more brothers, but since those three didn’t wish to become cultivators, they didn’t act together. After all, becoming a cultivator meant encountering more oddities and a much higher risk of death than those who didn’t cultivate.

And sometimes, cultivators also needed the help of those who had not cultivated when encountering strange phenomena.

So after discussing it, they decided not to involve those three brothers, but simply sent them two points of Yin Virtue each month to make their lives a bit easier.

Two points of Yin Virtue was no small amount, as disciples from Phoenix Tree Mountain only received two points per month, and even entering the Ghost Realm once and receiving a rating of ‘lower third class’ only awarded two points of Yin Virtue.

And groups like theirs, composed equally of mortals and immortals, were also a common structure for many small groups.

In this era, cultivators undoubtedly held high status, yet the mortals here were not so lowly as to be trodden into the dust. Even the mightiest of cultivators sometimes needed the assistance of mortals.

“Let’s do it this way, then!”

Tan Shuchang was indifferent about the Yin Virtue, so whatever the others said it amounted to, it was accepted as such.

Then, he split the thirty points of Yin Virtue that came into their hands with a young girl, each receiving fifteen points. This first minor friction upon their arrival thus came to a temporary end.

This left Dongdong somewhat confused.

She was unaware of how the cultivators and mortals interacted in this part of the world.

As for where Tan Shuchang had obtained that deed, Dongdong didn’t know, but she didn’t ask. She understood in her heart that it was most likely fabricated on the spot by this demon cultivator.

After all, were there any demon cultivators who didn’t engage in deception?

By this time, Tan Shuchang and Dongdong had already arrived at the entrance of the cultivation gate.

This particular gate of cultivation wasn’t anything special to look at, appearing quite ordinary, but as soon as someone passed through this gate, a pale red stream of Yin Spirit Power would surge out from them.

This signified the beginning of cultivation.

The categorization of cultivators here was simple, based on the color of one’s Yin Spirit Power, ranking from lowest to highest: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.

The highest was the purple Yin Spirit Power, locally termed the ‘Purple Qi Approaching from the East’ stage.

The others were simply referred to by their colors, such as the Orange Stage, Blue Stage.

The strength within this phase of cultivation was also differentiated by the saturation of the color. For instance, pale red Yin Spirit Power signified the beginning of cultivation. A shade deeper indicated Minor Achievement in the Red Stage, and deep red signified Great Achievement.

This method of classification was very simple, almost seemingly arbitrary.

“Are you really going to go through that door? We’ve never encountered this type of Yin Spirit Power before. We don’t understand it at all.” Dongdong, seeing Tan Shuchang heading toward the door, couldn’t help but advise.

After all, how could one dare to engage with such overtly Ghost Path-related powers without fully understanding them first?

Are demon cultivators really that bold?

“Having come this far, how can we not engage?”

Tan Shuchang replied in a calm tone.

“Aren’t you afraid…” Dongdong hesitated, clearly unsure.

“Do you really fully understand what you are currently cultivating?” Tan Shuchang left Dongdong with this question, causing the girl to freeze momentarily. By the time she regained her senses, she saw a demon cultivator already radiating bright red light.

The red light didn’t last long as it soon transformed into orange and then yellow.

At this point, the transformation hadn’t stopped.

It continued from yellow to green, green to blue, and blue to a dense purple radiance that burst forth, before it finally stopped.

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