Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil in the Cultivation World

Chapter 1351: Chapter 624: The Primordial Talisman Sect’s Honored Guest Elder System and the City Lord Assessment Arms Race (Part 2)

“This.”

Tang Zirui raised his brows slightly. He truly hadn’t expected the City Lord’s Mansion to be this extravagant. From this alone, one could see that the Primordial Talisman Sect’s wealth in this era was anything but ordinary.

As expected of the dominant Sect of this age, monopolizing the vast majority of benefits.

This also allowed the Primordial Talisman Sect to obtain endless cultivation resources, as well as rare resources from the Void Realm.

However, he said nothing, merely observing in silence.

After stepping through the mansion gate, the first thing that rushed toward him was Spiritual Qi so dense it was almost tangible, several times richer than anywhere else in the city. It was so thick it condensed into a pale, misty veil that coiled in every corner of the courtyard. With a single breath, he felt Spiritual Power race along his meridians; the Spiritual Power in his Dantian stirred restlessly, and even the sluggishness of his meridians was slowly being nourished.

The ground was paved with warm jade, its surface engraved with fine Gathering Spirit Runes. The lines were as thin as strands of hair, glowing a deep blue, linked directly to the Spirit Vein beneath the earth, continuously drawing on its power and locking the Spiritual Qi within the mansion. Even if the gates remained shut all year, not a wisp of Spiritual Qi would leak out.

On both sides of the courtyard were neatly arranged Spirit Plant gardens, planted with thousand-year Spirit Orchid, thousand-year Youthful Ganoderma, Condensed Dew Immortal Grass, and other high-tier Spirit Plants. On every leaf, crystalline Spiritual Dew had gathered, faint Spiritual Light coiled between the leaves, and at the root of each plant was inscribed a tiny Nourishing Rune, emitting a faint crimson glow, slowly channeling Spiritual Power into the plant. Because of this, even without cultivators deliberately tending them, these Spirit Plants grew luxuriantly, exuding rich medicinal fragrance and Spiritual Qi that intertwined with the Spiritual Light of the mansion’s runes, making the place all the more serene and mysterious.

After walking more than a hundred steps forward, they arrived at the main hall of the City Lord’s Mansion—the Julu Hall. The hall body was built from mysterious crystal-gold bricks, towering fifty zhang high. The roof was covered with glazed tiles imbued with Spiritual Light, their surfaces engraved with runes of a sky full of stars. By day they absorbed sunlight and Spiritual Qi; by night, fine starlight would light up, echoing the stars in the heavens.

There were twelve hall pillars in total, and every pillar was carved with a complete Mansion-Guarding Rune. The rune patterns were ancient and difficult to discern, like Dao yet like Law, like Heaven yet like Earth. Their color shifted from a deep blue at the base to a dark gold at the top, a faint halo of Spiritual Power lingering around each pillar. The twelve pillars resonated with one another, forming a concealed Gathering Spirit and Suppressing Evil Grand Array, able both to draw in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and to suppress all evil within the mansion, guarding the peace of the City Lord’s Mansion.

“Senior Tang, please sit.”

City Lord Zhang Hui smiled faintly.

Now, in a Quiet Chamber within the palace, only he and Tang Zirui remained.

This place was just right for a private conversation between the two.

“I did not expect your City Lord’s Mansion to be so luxurious.”

Tang Zirui raised his brows.

“Sigh, it’s merely that the Sect is wealthy; it doesn’t have much to do with me.”

City Lord Zhang Hui waved his hand.

He was only temporarily living here; he was not the true master of this city.

Once his term ended, he could step down at any time.

And the master of this City Lord’s Mansion would also change, so he was nothing more than a tenant.

“Daoist Friend Zhang, why are you being so courteous? And why must you insist that I become an Honored Guest Elder of the Sect?”

“What exactly is your purpose?”

Tang Zirui asked.

He did not wish to beat around the bush; that would only be a waste of time.

To be frank, he had many trump cards on him.

Even if the other party intended him harm, he could still retreat with ease.

“Senior truly speaks straightforwardly. In fact, this has to do with my assessment.”

“To tell the truth, people like us who serve as City Lords are far from carefree.”