Chapter 173 News from the Ancient Ruins
Although my older sister is composed, she is very particular about hierarchy and order, which makes her seem more distant.
The three of them headed towards the reception room.
A moment later.
"Who do you think it is? It turns out to be the Vice Sect Master of the Ink Painting Sect. My two disciples are ignorant and have been disrespectful to you, fellow Daoist."
"No, no, Lord City Lord, you flatter me."
One thing that must be admitted is that after the Tuoba family and the Bai family were destroyed, Guiling City, ruled by Wang Yu, was indeed thriving and had much more vitality than before.
Many policies have offered concessions to promote a more prosperous and thriving market in Guiling, which has made this young alliance of interests even more solid.
Some people have already accepted Wang Yu's rule from the bottom of their hearts.
The deputy sect leader in front of us was wearing a thin blue robe and carrying a box carved with pear blossoms on his back.
This is a secret technique of the Ink Painting Sect, containing the paintings they created while cultivating the Way of Painting, which contain the powerful ability to transform the illusory into the real and the divine sense into artistic conception.
It is not only a symbol of the way of painting and state of mind, but also their means of fighting, much like talismans. Each scroll is a profound and unfathomable trump card.
However, the painting treasure must be kept close to the body and nurtured with its unique ink and water essence to ensure that its power is not lost.
It takes a long time to fully develop its shape, and it can be stored in a storage bag or passed down as a legacy to future generations, similar to a high-level talisman.
The deputy sect leader's title is "Qingyang Jushi".
There are rumors that at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, if one only needs a suitable Core Formation spiritual object or a high-grade Golden Core to help him, he will have an 80% chance of successfully breaking through.
His reputation in this area was in no way inferior to that of the ancestor of the Guiling clan.
The Ink Painting Sect was founded a thousand years ago by a rogue cultivator who inherited the art of painting from an ancient ruin. It has never produced a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Based on the information provided by Guan Yingxue, the purpose is self-evident.
The Hermit of the Green Sheep lowered his posture and took the initiative to stand up and bow, saying, "I believe the city lord can guess why I have come here. The ancient ruins contain great opportunities. Would you be willing to occupy a cluster of buildings with my Water Ink Sect?"
Wang Yu remained silent, lost in thought.
The ancient history of this world is divided into two stages.
The period between 10,000 and 50,000 years ago is the ancient era, and the current written records are relatively complete, allowing us to roughly piece together the historical timeline.
The period from 50,000 to 100,000 years ago is considered the ancient era. At that time, the ruler of heaven and earth was a magnificent celestial dynasty, which was said to have connections with immortals, but it is difficult to piece together a complete ancient history.
Some major events were also recorded intermittently and unclearly.
100,000 years before that is the lost era, and there are no records of that period in any documents or ancient books.
The ancient ruins are the remains of the ancient immortal dynasty.
The place near Guiling City is an ancient capital of the Immortal Dynasty called Dongjijing, whose area is immeasurable, and only a small part of it is currently visible on the ground.
Every day, cultivators venture into the ruins to explore and search for treasures.
Recently, something has been triggered that has caused some unusual phenomena to appear, which has made the surrounding forces very interested and start to take their own actions.
“This matter is of great importance. Not only the forces around Guiling City, but even the Yama Ghost Market and the Yellow Spring Temple may be attracted. I, Wang, must make a careful decision.”
Qingyang Jushi nodded.
“Qingyang understands, but… I’d like to see what the successive lords of Guiling City knew about the ancient ruins. They must have left behind a lot of information.”
"oh?"
Wang Yu laughed, "Old Dengtu has finally revealed his true colors."
Cooperation is only a secondary goal; the real objective is to obtain information on the explorations of past city lords, and the Ink Painting Sect should have a considerable amount of such information.
“That’s simple. Brother Qingyang, just exchange the information about the Water Ink Sect. All the previous Guiling City Lords came from the Holy Sect. I don’t need to elaborate on their methods. Their value will only be higher than your information.”
These were true, and Qingyang Jushi only hesitated slightly before nodding in agreement.
"The city lord is indeed straightforward. Let's make the exchange then."
"Come with me."
In intelligence exchange, it's not about who wins or loses, but about whether the information can be utilized.
The Ink Painting Sect once benefited from the ancient ruins, so they must know a great deal about them. Perhaps their founder left behind a lot of valuable information.
Wang Yu might not go to explore the hidden realm, after all, he still has many opponents in the Foundation Establishment stage, and this strange phenomenon has attracted too many cultivators, including Golden Core cultivators.
Even if he encounters a low-profile Nascent Soul cultivator, he's unlikely to join in the fun unless everyone has dispersed and things return to their usual routine of a few individuals.
A moment later.
I retrieved twelve jade slips containing intelligence from the archives, each left by one of the twelve distinguished lords of Guiling City.
Wang Yu had already reviewed the intelligence contained therein.
The main focus is on the topographical reconstruction and speculation of [Dongjijing]. As one of the four capitals of the ancient immortal dynasty, equivalent to the capital of a country, it had an imperial city.
The ruler of the Immortal Dynasty rarely comes here; the scale and protocol are all up to the standards of the capital region.
The parts currently exposed on the ground are mostly ordinary buildings such as residences, ancient streets, watchtowers, entertainment venues, and horse shops. Even so, there may be opportunities hidden inside.
It was as if in an ancient celestial dynasty, everyone could cultivate.
As you venture deeper underground, you'll encounter a street lined with government offices, including the Tea and Horse Bureau, the Grand Canal Bureau, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Court of State Ceremonies, and so on.
Wang Yu could understand many of the names that people today might not recognize, since he had studied history in his original world.
In the history of this world, the concept of "nation" has never existed since the ancient immortal dynasties. It has been completely ruled by cultivators, and the city-building system based on spiritual veins was passed down from the late ancient period.
The Taihu Spirit Realm and the Chiyuan Demon Realm are vast and boundless territories. One is home to more than 10 billion humans, while the other has only more than 1 billion people, making them both sparsely populated.
But Wang Yu always felt it was too small!
Especially after learning that the endless ice plains of the far north were a dangerous place that even Nascent Soul cultivators could hardly cross, he began to feel that this continent was a bit small.
The more he compared the power of cultivators, the stronger this feeling became. He couldn't explain it, and it was even harder to understand the origin of his own thoughts. It was like intuition... or like some kind of sudden impulse?
At this moment, Wang Yu's thoughts were wandering.
"City Lord?"
The hermit called out softly, and he came to his senses, realizing that he was holding twelve jade slips.
The other party's intelligence had already been handed over to him, but his own had yet to be provided.
"Sorry, I just remembered something."
"It's alright, it's alright."
Having received the intelligence jade slips from the past lords of Guiling City, the Green Sheep Hermit was slightly excited and bowed to Wang Yu with clasped hands.
"I wonder if the city lord has a quiet room for guests here. I will never take this valuable information out of the city lord's mansion, nor will I secretly copy it and take it away."
This kind of information is best kept to a minimum.
However, judging from Qingyang Jushi's attitude, he probably won't even tell the Water Ink Sect. Could it be that he really is looking for a chance to form a core?
“There is a quiet room available. Yingdong, take the layman to the Strange Stone Garden for a temporary stay.”
"Yes, Master."
After sending everyone away, Wang Yu was also looking at the information about the Ink Painting Sect on his way back. Their exploration and research were not as extensive as those of the Lord of Guiling City, but they had conducted in-depth research on one of them.
At the end of the official street, Shuimomen discovered a place called "Xianyuan" (贤院), which contained a small department with the official title "Huazhi" (画直).
It was here that I received some inheritance and clues about the art of painting. After several explorations, I found the gate near the palace and the [Craftsmen's Institute] under the imperial city.
Besides stonemasons, woodworkers, boat makers, lacquerers, etc., there were also "painters" and "royal painters," who were also classified as artisans.
The founder of the Ink Painting Sect inherited the skills of a painter. According to his speculation, the Imperial Painter, whose name alone suggests he was even more powerful, likely possessed a Nascent Soul level Danqing Dao inheritance.
Then, a massive, relentless campaign of suicide began.
Whether it was because of something that happened to the imperial city, the entire [Dongjikyo] became extremely dangerous from then on, including the official streets and even the surrounding residential areas...
These all present numerous deadly dangers.
From small mechanisms and restrictions to large formations and monsters!
Even Core Formation cultivators can perish in the most dangerous times. The last message left by the founder of the Water Ink Sect was that he entered the ruins of Dongjijing.
After reading through it all, Wang Yu had a better understanding of how to obtain the inheritance. Over the years, it wasn't just the Ink Painting Sect that benefited from it.
It seems that even more cultivators will be attracted by this strange phenomenon.
A craftsman's workshop may possess the potential to inherit the Nascent Soul stage.
If the imperial city of Dongjijing is activated, it will be a great opportunity that will affect the entire Chiyuan Demon Realm.
Not to mention the nearby forces and cultivators, even the Demonic Dao Overlord [Refining Heaven Demon Sect] will come to compete for it, as the force corresponding to this side is [Void Heaven Sword Sect].
The few remaining Nascent Soul stage experts are located in these two forces.
"It's too dangerous."
The intelligence jade slip concludes with a summary of the types of monsters, mechanisms, restrictions, and formations within the ruins, as well as a "relatively safe" route explored by the Ink Painting Sect.
After withdrawing his divine sense.
Wang Yu made up his mind: he wouldn't go!
The ruins of Dongjijing are only a few thousand miles away from Guiling City, which is not far, but the things involved are of great importance. Sometimes, the local bullies can't beat the foreigners.
With a city under his control, he could purchase all the resources he needed through the major merchant guild, so there was no need for him to take any more risks.
Sometimes, knowing when to advance and when to retreat, and suppressing greed, is also a way to progress.
There's no need to hold everything in your hands.
He hasn't even finished learning all the inheritances he currently possesses; if he continues to be greedy, he'll likely face a bad end.
Wang Yu only takes risks when there is a huge reward to be gained, and when he has no other choice but to do so. Only then will he make all the necessary preparations and take on challenging problems.
The dangers of Tokyo are a typical example of something unnecessary.
We'll see.
The ancient ruins are there, and no one has emptied the imperial city over the years. It is obviously impossible this time either. Once the storm has passed, Guiling City will be right there on the edge.
You can go anytime you want, why bother competing with others?
After figuring things out, Wang Yu stopped caring about these trivial matters and continued cultivating and running his business as if nothing had happened.
A few days later.
Many visitors arrived.
(End of this chapter)
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