Bloodline Tree

‘This world…is truly vast.’ Shu Yang thought as he closed the book and leaned back against the wall.

It had been four days since he arrived in Chenqi Immortal City, and he was currently in a room he rented. It wasn’t large, only a single room without even a separate bathroom or kitchen. But it was enough for Shu Yang; he wouldn’t be staying here for long anyway. It was mostly just to have a place to sleep and read.

He could have afforded a better place, but as a 1st-stage Qi Refiner, he really didn’t think he should stay in a more luxurious place. Even if the city was said to be safe, he didn’t want to attract too much attention unless necessary.

‘Should I head out?’ Shu Yang thought to himself, looking outside and seeing that the sun was still up. He had finished reading all the books he had bought, and he had already cultivated for the day.

Unlike body cultivation, which was limited by how exhausted your physical body was, spiritual cultivation was limited by the strain on one's meridians. Shu Yang could only cultivate for about two hours a day before he felt the strain, and he had to stop to recover.

The room he rented was far from the city center, and the spiritual qi wasn’t very concentrated. In the past few days, he had learned that Chenqi Immortal City was built atop a top-grade 2nd-tier spiritual vein. Enough for people to cultivate to the peak of the Foundation stage. But of course, that was only at the very center of the city, reserved for the people at the top. Even if you wanted to cultivate using one of the low-grade 2nd-tier spiritual veins, it was difficult without connections.

Shu Yang wasn’t bothered, though; his 9th-grade spiritual roots and low cultivation made it so he only needed a low-grade 1st-tier spiritual vein to cultivate without issue.

A higher-tier spiritual vein would still improve his cultivation speed, but only slightly.

Shu Yang got to his feet and stretched his body. He tucked away the storage ring, which now hung on a string around his neck, under his clothes. Then he tied a storage pouch, containing a few spirit stones, to his belt and headed outside.

He had gotten a comment about his storage ring a few days ago, so since then, he kept it hidden and only displayed his storage pouch.

‘Should I go to the Yide Pavilion?’

Shu Yang arrived at a busy street and looked toward the city center, pondering.

‘I should. There is no telling how long it will take me to find the information I’m looking for otherwise.’

Shu Yang had read a lot of books and visited a lot of information brokers over the past few days, and he had learned a lot. Information that was impossible to get hold of in the mortal world seemed to be common knowledge here.

Not only was there information about the Yuanchi Immortal Land, but there was even plenty to learn about other Immortal Lands.

Apparently, Yuanchi Immortal Land was just one of five similar cultivation lands under the rule of the Green River Sect. And the Green River Sect was just one of twelve sects under the rule of the Sword Sect.

As for what lay beyond, Shu Yang hadn’t managed to find out yet. That, at least, seemed to be slightly more privileged information. But he wasn’t that anxious to find out more; just the Green River Sect was a behemoth he could only look up to at the moment.

‘One step at a time. One day I’ll be strong enough to satisfy my curiosity.’

The streets, wide as they were, gradually grew more and more crowded as Shu Yang approached the commercial district. Most people kept to themselves, though, and despite the security in the city, gave other passersby wary glances.

“Come on, are you really content like this? This is a rare opportunity. A chance to build your Foundation and carve your own path of Immortality!”

Shu Yang overheard a lively conversation taking place as he waited for a procession of wagons to pass.

“I’m too old.” Another voice answered.

“You’re not 60 yet. The Foundation stage is not out of reach.”

“Too old for a courageous heart willing to gamble it all, but too young to feel there is nothing left for me. You realize that Foundation experts will show up, too, right? What kind of opportunity could there be for us Qi Refiners with them there?”

Shu Yang shook his head slightly. ‘So it’s still about that cave.’

He continued on his way, not very interested in listening further. He had not only bought books these past few days, but also visited a few teahouses and taverns to look for information.

But while the books delivered, the information hubs were quite disappointing. They basically only had information about Chenqi Immortal City. And while it was fresh news and even contained information about the most powerful Chen family, Shu Yang wasn’t very interested in that at the moment.

Not even the possible inheritance left behind by a Foundation cultivator interested him much at the moment.

He wanted information about the world of cultivation at large and information about the Qing family.

But the Qing family was stationed a long way from here, and no one seemed to know much about them.

Thankfully, the books he got his hands on contained plenty of information that made up for some of Shu Yang’s lack of common sense. He felt a lot more comfortable walking around now that he knew a bit more about how things worked.

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What he still didn’t understand could be made up slowly over time; there was no need to buy more books or buy information.

Instead, feeling a bit more secure, he could begin to investigate the Qing family properly.

While the ordinary information brokers couldn’t help much, there was a place in the city that should be different.

‘It certainly looks different.’ Shu Yang thought to himself as he arrived outside the Yide Pavilion.

It looked a bit eerie. A wooden pagoda, several hundred feet tall, painted black.

‘Well, let’s hope they have the information I need.’

‘And I hope they don’t collect information about me and sell it to people later.’

Shu Yang had learned that the Yide Pavilion was not a business solely in Chenqi Immortal City; it had a very impressive and mysterious background. According to the people he spoke with, not even the Chen family or the Elders of the Green River Sect would dare cause trouble for them.

Shu Yang somewhat doubted it. He also doubted that, like the rumor said, they never sold information about a customer’s questions.

But he didn’t have much of a choice. Because he truly did believe that the Yide Pavilion was his best option if he wanted to know more about the Qing family.

“Welcome, Immortal Master.” A beautiful woman greeted him with a bow as soon as he stepped inside. “What kind of information are you looking for?”

Shu Yang paused slightly. He looked around him, but didn’t spot anyone nearby. He still lowered his voice slightly when he told her, “The Qing family of Shenchu Immortal City.”

“Alright, we have a different information packet with varying degrees of information. The lowest and most basic information costs 100 spirit stones. The advanced information packet costs 2200 spirit stones. And if you want the highest tier of information we offer, it will cost you 55 middle-tier spirit stones.”

Shu Yang almost gulped.

‘That’s…more expensive than I expected.’

“The most basic is fine, thank you,” Shu Yang answered. He didn’t have that much in his storage pouch, so he had to take out his storage ring.

“Alright, one moment please,” The woman said after receiving the spirit stones, and left.

Shu Yang was left standing in the large entrance hall, all alone.

“Greetings, Immortal Master. What kind of information are you looking for?”

Shu Yang turned around at the words. An old man had just entered, and once again, a beautiful woman appeared from nowhere to attend him.

But what was strange was that Shu Yang couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation, even if they were only a few dozen feet away.

‘Some spell? That seems convenient.’

‘I really should buy some spells so I won’t be taken by surprise every time something like this happens.’

‘But now, it seems I have a greater need for money than I first thought.’

Most of the spiritual stones Shu Yang had on him came from the Huang Emperor’s storage ring, but he only had about 300 left now. It wasn’t even enough for the advanced information about the Qing family.

What’s worse is that information might not even contain anything about the people kidnapped from back home.

But the most expensive information costs 55 middle-tier spiritual stones. That was 55,000 low-tier spiritual stones. Completely ridiculous.

‘Maybe I should just ask about Tianyi straight away and ask how much it will cost? But that would be a bit dangerous to have out there. If this Yide Pavilion isn’t as secretive as they claim, I might be done for.’

His attendant came back with a jade slip and handed it over with a smile. “This is the basic information about the Qing family.”

‘A jade slip?’

Shu Yang had seen some jade slips in the past few days, but they were all used for cultivation techniques or auxiliary spells. All extremely expensive.

To hand one out with just basic information seemed strange.

Still, he accepted it.

As soon as he touched it, information about the Qing family appeared in his mind.

‘Incredible!’

A moment later, the jade slip turned to dust in his hands.

‘What a waste.’ Shu Yang thought with a sigh. It was probably a safety measure to prevent anyone from reselling information from the Yide Pavilion and stealing their customers.

“Thank you,” Shu Yang said, deciding not to ask anything more before he had the money to pay for it.

He stepped out onto the streets again, his mind occupied by the recently gained information.

It wouldn’t stick around in his mind forever, so he needed to internalize it before it was lost.

‘The Yide Pavilion sure knows what they are doing.’ Shu Yang thought as he went through the information.

While there was nothing secret or information he couldn’t find out himself, it was very comprehensive. If Shu Yang had to collect all the information himself, it would take a long time, and he would have to travel to Shenchu Immortal City.

‘It’s worth 100 spirit stones.’

Once Shu Yang had read through it all, he was quite relieved. The one with the highest cultivation in the Qing family was only in the Foundation middle-stage. While stronger than Shu Yang, it wasn’t insurmountable.

‘But if Tianyi is kept inside their spiritual mountain, it will be incredibly difficult to get her out.’

Shu Yang continued walking home, deep in thought. He was unsure what his next step should be.

‘If I can find Lady Jiangxi, I should find Tianyi. Maybe I can ask for information about her. Even if my intentions are somehow revealed to the Qing family, I won’t implicate Tianyi.’

‘But that could make things difficult for Lady Jiangxi. That’s not good.’

Shu Yang finally just gritted his teeth and decided. He would ask the Yide Pavilion about his daughter directly. It was the safest option he could think of.

‘But I need more money. How can I get a lot of money quickly?’

He couldn’t just find a job; that would take forever. But robbing was also unrealistic. It certainly wasn’t possible within the city. And even outside was risky. Shu Yang knew that while robbery cultivators existed, and were even somewhat common, they weren’t accepted by the higher powers, and would be hunted down from time to time whenever they revealed themselves.

But then, Shu Yang remembered the rumors he had been hearing lately.

‘If I steal from a dead person, it doesn’t count as robbery, does it?’

Shu Yang quite liked the idea. It was somewhat risky, but he would have Xiaorong with him.

‘Let’s go for it!’

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