With the war preparation currently undergoing in the Great Tang Empire and drilling millions of cultivators, the number of resources required was, without a doubt, astronomical. Even though the resources obtained after slaying Myriad Thunder Supreme, 6 Perfected Golden Immortals, and tens of Golden Immortals had solved the urgent needs of the Great Tang Empire, the number was still far from enough after calculating the long-term overhead cost.

  Tang Xiu left the Misty Spring Ocean without taking too many people and was only accompanied by 2 Perfected Golden Immortals: Star Tears and Sablefiend Scorpio. Even when he left, aside from the tens of Perfected Golden Immortals, he announced to the others that he was closing up to cultivate.

  ****

  Renault City, Immortal Lyceum.

  Tang Xiu descended outside the city and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes when he saw hundreds of heavily armed Immortal soldiers. These soldiers were currently doing an inspection and asking each person who entered the city with cold faces.

  “Show your Jade Slip Pass.”

  As Tang Xiu came to the city gate with the stream of people, a soldier pursed his brows coldly and his eyes lingered on him.

  Tang Xiu took out a Jade Slip Pass and handed it to him.

  “Where did this come from?” The soldier glanced at the Jade Slip Pass and asked with a slight frown.

  “The Misty Spring Ocean,” answered Tang Xiu.

  The soldier’s eyes flashed a gleam and he lightly asked, “Are you a member of the Great Tang Empire?”

  “I am,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.

  “Do remember that you’re not allowed to engage in any wrongdoings, nor are you allowed to fight with anyone in Renault City!” the soldier said. “If you run into your enemies here, either you leave the city to solve your feud or directly go to the Convict Arena to fight them. Anyone who breaks the rules will be apprehended and executed by the Immortal Guardian Force.”

  “There were no such rules or whatever in Renault City before, no?” asked Tang Xiu.

  “Hmph.” The soldier coldly snorted. “Renault City’s rules were formulated more than a year ago and have now been applied in every city under the Immortal Lyceum’s sphere of influence. You don’t need to enter the city if you think these rules are unreasonable.”

  It seems Bella has started to clean the outsiders in the Immortal Lyceum’s sphere of influence according to my ideas. With her orders, the Great Tang Empire’s army will likely occupy a lot of territories under the Immortal Lyceum soon.

  Then again, after the Great Tang Empire absorbed the entire territory of Immortal Lyceum, its hundreds of thousands of Immortal troops will also become the Great Tang Empire’s army. In the next 10 years, it’s very likely that the Great Tang Empire will occupy a territory twice as large as the current Immortal Lyceum. Our military strength will also double at that time.

  Tang Xiu took back his Jade Slip Pass. After entering the city along with the streams of people, he couldn’t help but forced a smile inwardly.

  But then again, the larger the territory occupied by the Great Tang Empire, the larger the size of the legion will be, and the greater the resources needed in the future. The Great Tang Empire won’t be short on resources in the next decade, but if we don’t have huge income in resources during this time, we’ll likely be unable to make ends meet.

  After a long time, only then did Tang Xiu cast away all kinds of thoughts in his mind and looked around at the bustling and prosperous scenes in the city blocks. He didn’t bring any Immortal Stones, Immortal Crystals, or Crystal Essences when coming outside with Star Tears and Sablefiend Scorpio this time. He gave all the wealth he robbed from Myriad Thunder Supreme to Gu Xiaoxue previously.

  However, he brought some immortal treasures obtained from Myriad Thunder Supreme and those 6 Perfected Golden Immortals. He planned to sell some of them in the Immortal World’s black market. After all, the involvement of the Great Tang Empire’s people in the killing of Myriad Thunder Supreme and the rescue of Apotheon Myriad Notes’ group was an issue that must not be known to anyone. Hence, all the items he obtained from them must not be sold openly as it would otherwise be noticed by Zither Demon Jiuyao’s people. Should the other party investigate the Great Tang Empire through these clues, it would definitely cause troubles and may eventually be known to Zither Demon Jiuyao.

  In the remote corner of the northwestern part of the city, Tang Xiu rode a Cloudstep Beast while several Cloudstep Beasts followed behind him with their riders—men and women who had changed their figures and faces.

  “How long will it take us to get there now?”

  A lean man with a braided hair and a dark blue pattern on his forehead looked to the side and asked the young man who was guiding him.

  “No hurries,” said the young man with a smile. “We’ll reach Eventide Market at half an incense time at most. I guarantee that whether you want to buy or sell immortal treasures, you’ll be satisfied when we get there.”

  “Eventide Market’s scale of each city is different due to the different size of the city it establishes in.” Tang Xiu suddenly interjected. “Although Renault City is considered a large city in the Immortal Lyceum, it can only be regarded as a medium-sized city in the entire Immortal World. Is the size of the Eventide Market here larger than the other Eventide Market in some large cities?”

  The young man shifted to Tang Xiu and looked at him for a short while. Then, he smiled and said, “Fellow Immortal, you should rarely wander around in the Immortal Lyceum region, yes?”

  “Yeah, I have only been here once and just passed by,” said Tang Xiu.

  “Well, you’re right,” the young man smiled and said. “There are only 3 cities in the entire Immortal Lyceum that have Eventide Markets, and the one on Renault City is the largest of the three. If you’re familiar with the Immortal Lyceum region as well as the three other Immortal Domains surrounding it, you will know that the Eventide Market in Renault City is the biggest in these four Immortal Domains, including Immortal Lyceum.”

  Tang Xiu slightly frowned. The youth’s remark made him realize that some changes had happened in Renault City, but he was acutely aware that the rest of the people around him had their expressions changed a bit. They seemed to harbor malicious intentions.

  This guy is concealing malice.

  With his careful and meticulous mind, Tang Xiu instantly realized that the youth was not a good person. A murderous intent suddenly gushed out in his heart. However, the guy himself had yet to attack him, so he refrained from taking the initiative. But he secretly planned to kill this young man when they came to some covert places.

  Eventide Market.

  Located in the northwest corner of Renault City, the market covered an area of less than one-tenth of the city, yet the area it covered was at least hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. The area was full of buildings of strange shapes and the number of shops was in the millions.

  Ascending Cauldron Pavilion.

  It was the destination Tang Xiu was heading to—a very familiar black-market branch store. The store was founded by Celestial Cauldron old man some tens of thousands of years ago, and now had branches all over the Immortal World, being found in nearly all the cities that had a black market. Compared to its black-hearted counterparts in the black-market business, the Ascending Cauldron Pavilion had won praise from many people in terms of reputation and price.

  “Huh?”

  The moment Tang Xiu entered the front door of the Ascending Cauldron Pavilion, a glint flashed in his eyes, since he was acutely aware that the young man who used to be a road guide appeared in the corner ten kilometers away. But now, he was accompanied by two other treacherous-looking young men.

  “Well, I don’t mind sending you to hell if you seek death!”

  Tang Xiu sneered secretly. After entering the pavilion, a beautiful female cultivator welcomed him. Her cultivation level was only at the Nascent Soul Stage, but she was applying some bewitching art to her smile, indicating that she had been cultivating some charm and bewitching art.

  “Welcome to our emporium, Honorable Patron.”

  The woman came to Tang Xiu and greeted with a smile.

  “Put away your bewitching art since it’s useless and won’t work on me,” said Tang Xiu lightly. “Take me to the place where you buy immortal treasures. I have something to sell.”

  The female’s complexion slightly changed and her expression suddenly became more respectful. After canceling her bewitchment art, she took Tang Xiu to a secret chamber for immortal treasures purchasing.

  “Welcome.”

  An old man in a grey robe with a messy and scattered long hair greeted them. His originally sleepy face suddenly changed and a smile appeared on his aged face.

  Tang Xiu was shaken inwardly. He had seen this old man before. At that time, it was in another branch store of the Ascending Cauldron Pavilion in another city more than 4,000 years ago. He clearly remembered that he was received by the same old man, who was already a Perfected Golden Immortal at the time. 4,000 years had passed, so to what extent was his cultivation level now advanced to? Had he broken through to the Supremacy Stage?

  “Greetings, Fellow Immortal,” said Tang Xiu with a slight nod.

  The old man smiled and said, “Are you here to sell some immortal treasures, young friend? No worries, my Ascending Cauldron Pavilion always offers just and fair prices, and you don’t have to worry about confidentiality, either. We never ask about the origin or how the seller obtained the immortal treasures they sell to us. We only collect the treasures and pay for them to complete the transaction.”

  “It’s precisely because I trust the Ascending Cauldron Pavilion that I came to Eventide Market and directly entered your door,” replied Tang Xiu with a smile.

  Having said that, he saw the female who guided him here closed the secret chamber’s door from the outside. Then, he took out an interspatial ring and lightly smiled. “There are 172 immortal treasures inside. Please appraise them and state your offer, Fellow Immortal. If I like the price you offer me, we can make a deal directly.”

  The old man nodded with a smile. He took the ring and, after sweeping the inside with his spiritual sense, his expression suddenly changed and he tilted up his head to shoot a deep look at Tang Xiu.

  Two hours later, the old man raised his head again and looked at Tang Xiu with a smile. “172 immortal treasures with a total value of 28 million Crystal Essences. This is the highest price our Ascending Cauldron Pavilion can offer you. If this young friend agrees, we can strike a deal now. You can, of course, try elsewhere if you think the offer is not to your liking.”

  “Well, the price is indeed fair, so let’s trade!” Tang Xiu chuckled.

  The old man slightly smiled in response. After taking out 172 pieces of immortal treasure from the ring Tang Xiu gave him, he put 28 million Crystal Essences in it and handed the ring back to Tang Xiu with a smile. “It’s really joyful to trade with you, Young Friend. I always liked patrons who don’t bargain like you. Please come to my Ascending Cauldron Pavilion if you have something to sell in the future. The price we can offer is definitely higher than in other places in the Eventide Market.”

  “Sure,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.

  Having said that, he directly bade farewell and left. After stepping out of the Ascending Cauldron Pavilion, he discovered that those three stealthy figures were still on the corner of the street 10 kilometers away. But their expressions turned ruthless the moment they saw him coming outside.

  Suddenly, Tang Xiu’s expression shifted. His keen awareness caught the sight of two Immortal soldier squads in battle armor moving torrentially to chase and kill four Immortals in the block tens of thousands of meters away. Those two Immortals were all covered with scars and wounds and looked particularly miserable, whereas the other two Immortals had also been wounded.