Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Zhao Sheng listened carefully and couldn't help but marvel internally; the Great Dragon Hall's method was one he had used at Flame Ridge once to good effect!

He never imagined that one day, others would use a similar method to set him up.

"Hehe, might as well add fuel to the fire!"

Zhao Sheng chuckled secretly and then pulled out a large handful of talismans from his Storage Bag and handed them to Chen Shao'ang,

"Shao'ang, these are the Mother-Child Linked Talismans. Bury them on Yihai Road, and then do this and that..."

As Zhao Sheng shared his thoughts one by one, Chen Shao'ang and the others' eyes grew brighter as they listened, and excitement and awe eventually appeared on their faces.

Time flew quickly, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

In recent days, Zhou Quan felt as if each day was as long as a year, repeatedly receiving death threats from the Great Dragon Hall.

The originally set seven-day deadline had long since passed, yet Wind Feather Hall, despite clearly understanding everything, remained stationary.

Just as Zhou Quan thought Wind Feather Hall was afraid of the Great Dragon Hall's power and ready to abandon him, someone finally sent out the message, "It's time to make a move!"

Upon receiving this news, Zhou Quan almost cried tears of joy.

Soon, he relayed the message as instructed to the Great Dragon Hall.

That very afternoon, Zhou Quan "secretively" took a group of people from Wind Feather Hall out of Mystic Iron City and headed to the mining trail on Yihai Road a hundred li away.

Among this group were conspicuously "Zhao Sheng," "Chen Shao'ang," Feng Bupo, and others.

If they were laying bait, it had to be convincing, or else they wouldn't be able to catch the big fish.

Seeing Wind Feather Hall "take the bait," the Great Dragon Hall also quickly acted on the news, sending messages to their men lying in ambush on Yihai Road.

However, they didn't know that the real Zhao Sheng was actually in a secret room in West City of Mystic Sky City at that very moment.

Watching the murderously intent Ma Dacai, Zhao Sheng gave a faint smile and said, "Master Ma, the Great Dragon Hall has taken the bait!"

"Hehe! This plot to use their own strategy against them, luring the tiger out of the mountain, is brilliant! Wang Dalong's side is left open. Let's strike directly at them!"

"Master Ma, since you and he are old rivals, how about you lead the charge? I'll hit him hard from the shadows."

Ma Dacai chuckled, "Taoist Zhao, you're not trying to calculate me as well, are you?"

"Of course not! If you don't trust me, I'll make an oath with my Heart Demon!"

Zhao Sheng didn't beat around the bush, and immediately after speaking, he made a Heart Demon oath.

Upon witnessing this, Ma Dacai felt relieved and immediately exclaimed, "Good! I'll take on this leading role."

Moments later, the room was empty, yet the air still carried lingering strands of intense murderous intent.

That day, Mystic Sky City was greeted with rare good weather as the sandstorm dispersed, leaving the sky a clear blue.

Approaching evening, the setting sun was as red as blood!

On the desolate Gobi Desert a hundred li away from Mystic Iron City, suddenly there came a thunderous roar, followed by a billowing cloud of dust and flying rocks, obscuring a good part of the sky in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, several short battle cries suddenly rang out in West City of Mystic Iron City.

Soon after, a gray streak of light shot up from West City, speeding towards the distant horizon.

Immediately following, one red and one black streak of light shot out from within the city, chasing after the gray light.

The three streaks of light flew faster and faster, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

As the last ray of sunlight fell and night descended upon Mystic Iron City, one red and one black streak of light suddenly appeared from the horizon and flew toward this place.

By the time they reached the skies above Mystic Iron City, the two streaks of light separated upon contact, each landing in East City and South City, respectively.

The next day, as the sun rose again, the residents of Mystic Iron City were shocked to discover that there had been a shift in power!

The once high and mighty Great Dragon Hall had dissipated overnight, replaced by the once declining Wind Feather Hall.

In just one day, the residents of Mystic Iron City had recognized the status of Wind Feather Hall.

In just a few days, all traces of the Great Dragon Hall were erased from the hearts of the residents of Mystic Sky City, as if it had never existed.

However, there was one thing that most people found very strange.

They had originally thought that after the fall of the Great Dragon Hall, the Mining Gang and Wind Feather Hall would fight over control of Mystic Iron City.

But to everyone's surprise, not only did the two sides not fight, their relationship instead grew closer and closer.

The reason for this was that Ma Dacai was scared!

Because on the day they ambushed Wang Dalong, Zhao Sheng not only severely injured Wang Dalong but also revealed his Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer cultivation. Your next journey awaits at empire

As Ma Dacai's cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer, he didn't see himself as a match for Zhao Sheng and naturally feared Zhao Sheng might suddenly turn on him.

Therefore, after the incident, the head of the Mining Gang voluntarily gave up most of the profits to show goodwill.

Zhao Sheng never intended to kill Ma Dacai.

Because he wouldn't stay long in Mystic Iron City.

After he left, with Wind Feather Hall lacking a Foundation Establishment to preside over it, Ma Dacai would conveniently take over the supervision for him.

...

Three hundred li south of Mystic Iron City, there was an oasis, approximately over thirty li in size. At the center of the oasis was a lake, which from the sky looked like a round moon, thus named Moon Spring. This oasis also took its name after it.

That day, a Cloud Boat flew above the Moon Spring Oasis.

Gazing downward, Zhao Sheng saw vast farmlands developed around Moon Lake, with channels of water radiating and spreading along the fields in every direction. However, on the outermost fringe of the oasis were dense thickets of Green Thorns and Wild Hawthorn Trees, unique to the Desolate Domain.

These green barriers formed by the Green Thorns and Wild Hawthorn Trees blocked the encroaching sand and wind.

Around Moon Spring, apart from the farmland, there were scattered about a dozen exquisite stone halls and wooden pavilions. Each of these buildings twinkled with spirit light. It was obvious that they were all protected by various Defensive Arrays.

A moment later, the Cloud Boat descended in front of a stone hall by Moon Spring.

Zhao Sheng retracted the Cloud Boat and entered the stone hall with Zhou Quan.

This stone hall was one of the entrances to Quanxia City.

With the harsh environment of the Desolate Domain, green oases were rare.

So as not to excessively damage the ecological environment of the oasis, like most cities situated within oases, Quanxia City too was developed underground, beneath Moon Spring.

After paying the city entrance tax, the two walked down a giant stone passage heading underground.

After traversing the lengthy passageway and descending almost three hundred zhang, Zhao Sheng's eyes suddenly brightened as a magnificent Underground City revealed itself before him.

Zhao Sheng looked around and noticed that Quanxia City's lighting was very distinctive.

Lighting was crucial because it was underground.

At that moment, he saw two types of light sources.

One type was the Light Balls suspended high up in the dome, white and scorching, a single sphere illuminating an area of several li. Their differing heights and distances created patches of light throughout the city, casting a diverse array of luminous patterns below.

The other type of light source were Fluorite embedded in the cavern's ceiling, a scattering of twinkling points, giving the illusion of a starlit sky from a distance, yet providing a soft, comforting light.

However, the issue of light sources quickly ceased to capture Zhao Sheng's attention,

He turned his head to Zhou Quan and asked, "Where do you live?"

Upon hearing Zhao Sheng's question, Zhou Quan was momentarily astonished, stammering out an "uh-ah," then hastily responded with a smile, "Senior, I live in Black Teeth Alley. I will take you there at once."

Zhou Quan had already explained the general structure of Quanxia City to Zhao Sheng on their way here.

Just like many large cities in the world, Quanxia City had a clear division between the powerful and the weak, the rich and the poor.

The area Zhao Sheng had stepped into was the northwest corner of Quanxia City, notorious for its disorder and mingling of good and bad. From here towards the center of the city were the most prosperous and renowned Immortal Squares, Changsheng Square and Joy Square.

Changsheng Square was the dwelling place for Cultivators.

Adjacent to "Changsheng Square" was the commercial and entertainment district built by the various powers of the Desolate Domain, known as Joy Square.

In the Underground Cities scattered throughout the Desolate Domain, there existed "Changsheng Squares" and "Joy Squares" as well.

"Black Teeth Alley? Let's go!"

Having said that, Zhao Sheng led the way into the city.

Zhou Qiu stood like a stupefied bird, watching Zhao Sheng walk away. He mumbled to himself but ultimately did not voice his thoughts.

Zhou Quan sighed inwardly and quickly followed with swift steps.

In his view, Black Teeth Alley was where ordinary people lived; Immortal Master Zhao Sheng, he thought, should be going to Changsheng Square.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Sheng settled down in Quanxia City, moreover, without any concerns, he moved into the residence rented by Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan couldn't understand this but didn't dare to ask.

However, the very next day, Zhou Quan had already put his confusion out of his mind.

Thanks to Zhao Sheng's presence, Zhou Quan's standard of living increased drastically, with not only food and drink aplenty but also a soaring income from gathering intelligence.

Indeed! He was now collecting information about the Zhou family for Zhao Sheng.

The Zhou family owned many businesses in Quanxia City,

Zhou Quan's father belonged to the Zhou family and was a Qi Refinement Late Stage Cultivator. Decades ago, he was dispatched to Quanxia City to protect these interests.

When Zhou Quan was in his teens, his father died of old age.

Afterward, Zhou Quan found himself without support and had to fend for himself.