Chapter 192: Envoy from the Cultivation Domain (1/3)

The one behind me? If they were available to be seen, I would love to meet them too!

Fang Qi was utterly speechless. This middle-aged man had previously referred to himself as "I," but now he suddenly began calling himself "We," the sovereign pronoun. Was he trying to indicate that he was the Emperor himself?!

But... he had seen the Emperor before, and he didn't recall him looking quite like this...

With a face devoid of expression, Fang Qi spoke up, "That person has already said they only look after the matters of this internet cafe and absolutely nothing else. If you truly wish to see them, you could start trouble in this shop. Perhaps they might then make a move."

"Start trouble...?!" Ji Wu's countenance darkened slightly, and he said with displeasure, "We have already demonstrated our sincerity. Must things truly be pushed to such an extent?!"

Fang Qi replied, "My shop is running perfectly fine here, yet for no reason at all, you ask me to move into the imperial palace. As the old saying goes, once inside the palace gates, one is as deep as the sea. And yet you tell me you have shown sincerity? That person said it is quite fine to live and work in peace right here, so please return."

Ji Wu's face grew rather dark. It seemed this was an eccentric expert who lived like a wild crane amidst idle clouds. Such masters were not non-existent; back during the founding of the dynasty, the late Emperor had also gone to invite such hidden figures. Though a reputation for humility and honoring scholars was passed down, only a few insiders knew that those endeavors had all ended in vain.

Ji Wu could only ask once more, "Is that individual accustomed to living here in Jiangnan?"

Fang Qi glanced at him. "What is there to be accustomed or unaccustomed to? They just live here like this."

Fang Qi naturally knew what was on his mind. "This shop doesn't even want to move to a place of ultimate luxury and wealth like the imperial palace, so what other place would it possibly care to move to?"

"That is well then!" Ji Wu felt somewhat helpless in his heart, though this was likely the only outcome he could accept. If this shop could remain situated within his country for the long term, even for just one extra day, the Great Jin Kingdom would reap that much more benefit.

"But if that is the case, won't Your... won't you have to spend a considerable amount of time traveling by dharma boat just to come to this shop to watch *Zhu Xian* tomorrow?" The old eunuch hurriedly spoke up. "You are daily... your affairs are pressing and numerous, each bearing great consequence. How can you waste time in a place like this?"

"If you'll pardon my bluntness, these days, isn't it trendy for wealthy people to charter a flight just to stroll around outside for no reason?" Fang Qi said disdainfully. "If you're truly short on money, couldn't you just take an express line? Get a first-class cabin, drink some coffee, read a book—you could even sleep if you wanted to. And if you're even shorter on money, come to the shop and learn the Sword Controlling Technique. The round trip takes less than two hours..."

The two men looked at each other, almost completely bewildered by Fang Qi's rambling words. "What is a 'chartered flight'? What is an 'express line'? And what on earth is a 'first-class cabin'?"

Although Fang Qi knew this was an alien world, he figured there ought to be similar concepts. He never expected that, after a brief round of explanations, he would discover...

"You are saying that inside those dharma boats, there are actually no private compartments?! Just one seat per person?!" Ji Wu found it somewhat hard to believe. "And the highest-grade seats merely provide an extra table?!"

One had to understand that cultivators were all exceedingly precious, and the warriors who could afford to ride dharma boats were much the same. To actually give them only one seat per person? And the high-end ones merely added a table? With the seats just being slightly more comfortable and grand?!

Fang Qi was also stunned. "On the dharma boats of your country, everyone actually gets a private room?! And each one is decorated so exquisitely and elegantly?"

Although the speed of a dharma boat was generally not as fast as the Sword Controlling Technique, even traveling abroad should only take a few hours!

Furthermore, the speed of a large-scale dharma boat wouldn't be much inferior to a proficient-level Sword Controlling Technique.

You put in so much effort to make it look high-class, but it's basically useless! This isn't a guest inn!

Operating a large-scale dharma boat to circle around the neighboring countries and return takes only a few hours. Could there really be people sleeping or cultivating on it?

Even if there were, just setting up some partitions in first class would suffice for a casual sit. Who would care about that much? Those who truly had that kind of leisure and inclination would have procured private dharma boats long ago.

Fang Qi wore a face of utter disdain. "No wonder they're expensive and nobody rides them."

As Ji Wu conversed with Fang Qi at this moment, he hadn't even realized that the topic had drifted entirely off course.

His face darkened. Fang Qi wasn't wrong. These large-scale dharma boats were indeed necessary under certain special circumstances. For instance, when the Xiyi Academy came to the capital for the national examinations, even high-stage warriors couldn't carry that many people, and they couldn't just casually ask cultivators to come over at a moment's notice.

And it wasn't just the Xiyi Academy; there were many other similar situations.

However, with the large dharma boats of several major cities kept in reserve, they essentially ran at a loss every year.

There were also some medium and small dharma boats that basically earned nothing, maintained there merely to satisfy partial transportation needs.

This was considered a perpetual headache for him, the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom.

Now that Fang Qi mentioned these things like express lines and special routes, he suddenly froze, seemingly thinking of a method to make transportation across the entire nation and even to foreign lands much more efficient without incurring losses.

"I did not expect Boss Fang to come up with such an idea!" Ji Wu said hurriedly. "I wonder if Boss Fang has any further detailed suggestions regarding this matter?"

Fang Qi stared dumbfoundedly at the middle-aged man before him, who had suddenly and inexplicably dragged him into a conversation about public transportation.

...

Meanwhile, at this very moment, within the Wuwei Daoist Alliance.

The Wuwei Daoist Alliance was a coalition of nearly all cultivator forces within the borders of the Great Jin Kingdom. At its head were several major sects, including the Blue Flame Sect, the Liuyun Daoist Palace, and the Cloud Sea Sect which had joined later. The leader of this generation was the Sect Master of the Blue Flame Sect, Lan Mo.

Upon the wide and magnificent white-stone Daoist square, disciples from the various sects of the Wuwei Daoist Alliance stood in neat rows. A soft and splendid carpet was laid out, extending all the way to the very end of the square.

"The Emissary honors us with his presence! Please forgive our lack of a proper welcome from afar." A man dressed in splendid white robes, with a handsome countenance and a cold, austere expression, walked forward at a measured pace with his hands behind his back.

The youth in white frowned, looking at the middle-aged man before him whose cultivation was by no means low. "Where is your Alliance Leader?"

"The Alliance Leader is currently in the grand hall!" The middle-aged man made a gesture of invitation.

"No need." The youth in white casually tossed out a white jade token. "Occurring once every thirty years, the Cultivation Domain is about to open. This is the white jade token for your Wuwei Daoist Alliance—three slots."

"Was it not four in the past...?" Catching the white jade token, the middle-aged man froze in daze.

The Cultivation Domain was an extremely unique, ancient secret realm containing countless precious and rare treasures. Its three entrances had historically been controlled by three ancient hermit sects, known collectively as the "Three Holy Gates"!

The Three Holy Gates did not participate in the disputes of various nations, nor did they ally with any single force; they stood aloof from world affairs, unmoved by the secular realm!

Every thirty years, when the Cultivation Domain opened, they would widely invite various sects to participate in the Cultivation Domain Assembly to compete for the qualification to enter.

Yes, to compete. The slots to enter the Cultivation Domain were few and far between. Even the Wuwei Daoist Alliance, and indeed all the other major forces, could only obtain the slot to compete, rather than an automatic right of entry.

Yet, for an ancient secret realm like the Cultivation Domain, the benefits within were truly immense! Even with the restrictions imposed, it remained a place of vital contention for all the major sects. Almost every Cultivation Domain Assembly served as a clash of the foundational heritages of the great forces!

And correspondingly, every force that managed to enter the Cultivation Domain would reap monumental rewards from it.

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