Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

  By the time his voice fell, the audience was already in awe of his words, and the ensuing silence lasted for a long, long time.

  Wang Lu smiled and swept his gaze and saw hundreds of vacant eyes.

  The things that Wang Lu talked about, whether it was the matters of heaven, as well as rule of how a mortal could become an Immortal, enormously differ from their expectations. However, compared to the casual everyone-could-become-Immortal rhetoric spouted out by the Seven Stars Sect, Wang Lu’s depiction was undoubtedly much more authentic. Even though deep down, they were more willing to believe that kind of as-long-as-you-consume-elixirs-you-can-magically-become-Immortal-little-by-little rhetoric, but…


  A million of forerunners, the road to ascension, such rhetorics could indeed make one’s blood boil. However, after a moment of excitement, they had to face the real problem. Could they have the qualification to be the… forerunners? Even if they struggled for their entire life, it was highly likely that they would still end up being a pile of bones.

  Some of them could not help but began to feel a trace of resentment. Why was the Immortal World like what the Wisdom Sect’s depiction, why wasn’t it like what the Seven Stars Sect depicted…?

  While people had mixed feelings from digesting that matters in heaven thing, Wang Lu once again opened his mouth.

  “You guys don’t want to become the forerunners?”


  Wang Qinian froze for a moment. “We want it, of course, we want it. But…”


  “Since you want it, why are you having a second thought? Do you doubt yourself? Do you feel inferior? Do you think you can’t be the forerunner?”


  Wang Qinian and several other villagers looked at each other, and then the old Village Head wryly smiled as he gave his reply, “Mr. Sect Leader, you are people of the Immortal World, so perhaps you don’t understand the sufferings of us, mortals. We don’t have good aptitude and perception; if we rely on ourselves to cultivate, I’m afraid we’ll never reach the condition where we can ascend.”


  Wang Lu smiled. “So, you don’t cultivate?”


  Wang Qinian immediately gawked; since they couldn’t achieve anything, what would be the use of them to cultivate?

  “Indeed, I am born Immortal, so I don’t understand the sufferings of mortals. However, I know that countless of years in the past, in the Nine Regions, there were innumerable cultivators who cultivated to become the forerunners. Not all of them are geniuses, not everyone was gifted with the affinity to Immortality, and in the end, only a few of them had reached the end of line… then why did these countless cultivators still cultivated?”


  While speaking, Wang Lu pointed at the dirty old man He Yun. “This person comes from the world of mortals; he is just a cultivator, and can’t be called an Immortal. However, are you willing to trade place with him?”


  “Trade place with him?”


  “That’s right, trade all of his Immortal cultivation.”


  Wang Qinian froze for a moment, and then he was suddenly jerked as if aware of something. “Of course we are willing! Although he is not a genuine Immortal, Immortal Method is mysterious and profound, how could it be compared to my old body.”


  Wang Lu smiled. “Then I ask you again, do you or do you not want to cultivate?”


  “Cultivate, of course, I want to cultivate! But…”


  At this time, the dirty old man interrupted, “That’s right, base on the aptitude and perception, you are just ordinary people. However, regarding cultivation, the most important thing is the chance. However, in this world, what other things that could give more chance than being favored by a Daoist Immortal?”


  Upon hearing this remark, no matter how stupid they were, they still could understand its implication. All of them were suddenly ecstatic.

  “Then may we ask Sect Leader how are we going to cultivate?”


  Wang Lu shook his head, refusing to say anything.

  Wang Qinian was baffled, he didn’t know why the Daoist Immortal would end the lecture here.

  The dirty old man coughed and then said, “It’s not that Sect Leder doesn’t want to tell, but this cultivation thing is a secret of our Wisdom Sect that we can’t just casually reveal to other people. Sect Leader himself, as an Immortal, is indifferent to this, but other people may object; and since Sect Leader empathize with his subordinates…”


  Hearing this, a flash of understanding suddenly came through Wang Qinian’s mind; he immediately prostrated. “Please shelter us, Sect Leader! All of us villagers of Wang Family Village are willing to join the Wisdom Sect and serve the sect faithfully!”


  The dirty old man didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You, this old man… What are you doing? How could you just casually ask to be accepted into the Wisdom Sect?”


  At this time, Wang Lu said, “These people are sincere, so it’s inappropriate to keep them out. We were able to establish the altar here because of chance, therefore, in addition to today’s lecture, the chance is also theirs. Just regard them as Wisdom Sect’s followers and look after them… Tomorrow, you will explain to them the Immortal Cultivation Method. I am born an Immortal, so regarding mortal world’s Immortal Cultivation, I’m not as familiar with it as you.”


  He Yun bowed. “Subordinate will follow your orders.”


  Wang Lu smiled, his eyes again turned towards the crowd of villagers, and then said, “Perhaps you’re doomed to miss the world’s ascension, but I hope you understand that each of your efforts is not futile. The road to Immortal Worlds is paved with countless bricks, and many of them will be hand-built by you; that will be your eternal glory.”


  ——


  It was a long time after the lecture had ended that the crowd gradually dispersed. Although there were still a lot of confusion in their heart, most people couldn’t hide their excitement; their hearts were filled with joy like the blossoming of a flower.

  At the same time, the leaders of Intelligence Revenue Service happily held a celebration feast. That lecture just now fully achieved the expected result. Even the most skeptical of them, Miss Holy Maiden, was also full of praise.

  “Haha, a million of people… that’s an amazing theory! A watertight argument! How could you come up with such a nonsense theory?”


  Mr. Director modestly waved his hand. “It’s an insignificant matter, not worth mentioning.”


  The Holy Maiden was still immersed in that play; she excitedly said, “Moreover, your last few paragraphs are so splendid, saying that people should spend their lives as such… It’s really unimaginable. Those words actually came from the Non-Phase Peak, that degenerate Wang Lu whose decadent is well known!”


  “Sheet! I’m the destitute of Non-Phase Peak that I have to run to your place almost everyday just to eat, where do I have the capital to be decadent and degenerate?”


  “In short, what you did today is really an eye-opener, it’s like the feeling when I stood and watch your performance in the Immortal Gathering!”


  “Come on, don’t mention that nonsense history…”


  After the joking was over, Holy Maiden finally spoke out the meat of the problem, “This is a good start, what do we do next?”


  Wang Lu said, “What else? Of course, we’re going to start collecting the intelligence tax.”


  “How are we going to collect? After experiencing that Seven Stars Sect incident, I think selling them high price manmade spirit root are not going to work.”


  Wang Lu laughed. “That’s why we’re going to do the opposite. The Six Harmonies Pills and so on, not only we don’t sell them at a high price, if needed, we should sell them at a loss. To collect the tax, we need to use another way.”


  “And this another way refer to?”


  “For example, the Thousand Spirit Hall or Garden of Many Flowers.”


  Little Ling’Er was suddenly jolted. “You want them to offer their labor force?”


  “That’s right. Just like mortal world’s monarchs who exploit their subjects with tax and forced labor. In the future, we will use popularization of these Six Harmonies Pills and other things. Although these ignorant fools can’t cultivate deeply enough, most would still be counted as cultivators and thus could build some simple constructions; they will lay the foundation of our Intelligence Revenue Service’s General Headquarters.”


  Little Ling’Er rolled her eyes and then smiled. “Oh, right. It’s like what you said… something-something luxurious office building?”


  “That’s right. That’s what I mean. In this way, not only we directly benefit from it, but those ignorant fools will also benefit. Through the construction process, they can practice improving their cultivation. Not to mention after the building is complete, all of them will benefit materially from it; this is truly getting things done in one stroke! As the saying goes, before we kill a pig, we need to fatten it first; this is how our Intelligence Revenue Service will work, by empowering these ignorant fools. The stronger they are, the bigger the pig, and the fatter the pig, the more we can tax them. Compared to the way Seven Stars Sect work, by forcing people to sell their blood or kidney to pay for the cultivation, they’re basically killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.”


  This remark left the dirty old man and Wu Feihua somewhat uncomfortable. Although they now had abandoned the dark and seek the light, listening to such a review of Seven Stars Sect from Wang Lu, in their heart, they still felt somewhat embarrassed.

  “So the next question is, how do we find many Six Harmonies Pills?”


  Wang Lu said, “That thing is already rotten in the street, it’s not some high-end drug; as long as we have the money, we can buy it.”


  “Do you have money?”


  “Why do you think I built that Primal Chaos Altar?”


  Actually, if someone really wanted to but the Six Harmonies Pills, one didn’t need to use the currency of the Immortal Cultivation World—spirit stones. This drug was already so pervasive in the Nine Regions; it wasn’t a drug exclusive to Shengjing Sect anymore. Nowadays, even low-rank small sect could easily manufacture this Six Harmonies Pill. Therefore, its price continued to drop that it could be exchanged for the mortal world’s currency—this was the thing that the swindlers exploited. Otherwise, it would be too not cost effective if it could only be exchanged with spirit stones.

  However, if one wanted to purchase in bulk, it was best to exchange it with spirit stones or other things. In any case, having this Primal Chaos Altar was equal to having an endless supply of wealth. For many low-rank sects, having a fully functioning altar was equal to sitting on a spirit stones vein; it was the key to the sect’s operation.

  “Now that you mentioned it, what is that sphere you built today? I have not seen such an altar.”


  “Hehe, like I said, this Primal Chaos Altar’s properties are…”


  After Wang Lu carefully explained the properties of the altar, the several people in the room could not help but become startled. A growth type altar and tide intensity around six to seven rank altar were already enough to shock them. However, the more astonishing thing was that it was able to spout out a fifth rank elixir… This property has gone against the heaven’s will. Even a high-rank altar might not be able to do that, at least, one couldn’t expect an altar to be able to spout out fifth rank elixir just from absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy; this conversion rate was completely irrational…


  “Tsk, tsk, this is really what you called ‘earns bushels of gold daily’. Wang Lu, have you ever counted? If you don’t rely on spirit stones as the altar’s material and just rely on tides, how long would it be before it spouts out again?”


  Wang Lu said, “In general, every day it can spout eleven times.”


  The dirty old man gawked, and then blurted, “Eleven times per day? Wouldn’t it mean in a year, this altar can provide us with several hundred thousands of spirit stones income!? This is equal to the income from a prefectural capital, no, it’s even more than a prefectural capital!”


  Previously, the Seven Stars Sect occupied a prefectural capital and once had an income of several hundreds thousand of spirit stones in a year. However, that windfall couldn’t be replicated again. Only by accumulating several years of plunder could they hope to have that kind of riches.

  Hearing the dirty old man’s part lamentation part amazement, Wang Lu thought that it was funny. “That’s because of my luck that in-eleven-spouts-in-succession-in-a-single-shake it spout out a fifth rank elixir, do you think another eleven spouts would produce something that is equal in worth to that? If so, then why don’t you try it yourself after your lecture tomorrow. If it doesn’t spout out an object that is equal in worth with the fifth rank elixir, then you have to pay me with your own money the difference in their value!”


  The dirty old man said, “If I have the same luck as you, how could I fall into poverty until now?” He promptly begged for forgiveness.

  “Heh, in short, we have the money, and we have the people, so our next step should be…”


  Sect Leader Wang Lu’s smile turned cold. “A certain person ought to come knocking at our door.”