Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Zhao Sheng walked towards East City, silently lamenting in his heart. Having grown accustomed to the greenery and waters of the central region, he found himself somewhat ill-at-ease upon abruptly arriving in the massive desert and Gobi of the Northwest.

The Desolate Domain was cold and filled with sandy desert; the land was barren, and its people were like the coarse and cold sand and stones. However, the young man who had just given him directions wasn't bad, possessing a human touch.

After walking for a while, following the guidance he had been given, Zhao Sheng arrived in front of a shop. The doors of the hall were tightly closed, and a signboard above the door bore the three large characters "Wind Feather Hall."

He had reached his destination!

Approaching, he knocked on the door, which was opened by a lean young man.

"Who are you looking for?" The young man was very vigilant.

Zhao Sheng made several peculiar hand gestures at the man, then showed a Token.

"Wind Feather Token!" the young man exclaimed in shock, hastily welcoming Zhao Sheng inside.

Clap!

Experience tales at empire

The doors of the Wind Feather Hall were firmly shut again.

At the same time, in a dark corner of a street, a disheveled beggar slowly stood up.

After glancing at Wind Feather Hall a few times, the beggar turned and limped towards West City.

The beggar was a spy for the Great Dragon Hall.

"Wind Feather Hall has new people again!" he had to report back to Master Long immediately.

...

Moments later, in the back hall of Wind Feather Hall.

Zhao Sheng took off his cloak and turned to sit in the Dragon and Tiger Chair at the head of the hall entrance.

At this moment, a group of people in dark tight-fitting clothes were kneeling on the ground in front of him, while four Blood Robe Disciples of varying appearances were bowing to him:

"Chen Shao'ang!"

"Feng Bupo!"

"Wan Zhen'er!"

"Liu Gongyu!"

"...respectfully welcome Uncle-Master's august presence!"

Zhao Sheng waved his hand and said calmly, "Dispense with the formalities! Please rise!"

"Yes, Hall Master!" Everyone responded in unison, then all stood up together.

Zhao Sheng nodded in satisfaction, praising Chen Shao'ang and the others, "Well done, you have put in the effort!"

Chen Shao'ang and the others had been carefully selected by Zhao Sheng.

A month ago, they had arrived in Mystic Iron City and in only a matter of days had subdued the entire Wind Feather Hall, quickly integrating its forces.

Therefore, upon Zhao Sheng's arrival, there was not a whisper of dissent within Wind Feather Hall.

Of course, the changes within Wind Feather Hall also drew the attention of other forces, especially those halls that had joined forces in previous years to push against Wind Feather Hall.

Zhao Sheng waved his hand, dismissing everyone except the four "Jingang."

"Who will tell me about the current situation of Wind Feather Hall?" he asked, issuing a mildly challenging question.

The four glanced at each other before Chen Shao'ang immediately stepped forward and respectfully said, "Reporting to Uncle-Master, Wind Feather Hall currently has twelve Qi Refining Immortal Cultivators, one at the Qi Refining Late Stage, in the middle stage..."

Chen Shao'ang's voice was clear as he continued to report.

He was distinguished-looking, still graceful though over sixty years old.

Zhao Sheng listened silently, nodding inwardly.

"In just three months, this man has had the others under his control; it seems this individual is worth cultivating. From now on, the day-to-day affairs of Wind Feather Hall can be entrusted to him with confidence."

Zhao Sheng had traveled a great distance to the Desolate Domain, not to be a 'workhorse' for the Origin Return Sect, but to annihilate the Zhou family and avenge the untimely demise of his wife and children and the ruin of his own clan in his previous life.

Before coming to Mystic Iron City, he had already laid out a rough plan; integrating Wind Feather Hall was merely the beginning.

The implementation of the next step in the plan will still depend on the specific circumstances.

After Chen Shao'ang finished describing the situation at Wind Feather Hall, Zhao Sheng had him talk about the powers within Mystic Iron City.

"There are currently two major halls in Mystic Iron City, namely Great Dragon Hall and the Mining Gang. Each has a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in residence, but their exact cultivation levels are unknown. Apart from these, there are two other halls with strength similar to that of Wind Feather Hall..."

Zhao Sheng interrupted, "No need to mention the others, just talk about Great Dragon Hall and the Mining Gang!"

"Yes, Uncle Master! The Hall Master of Great Dragon Hall, known as Master Long, is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Within the hall, there are..."

A cup of tea's time later, Chen Shao'ang finished speaking and retreated back among the four.

Zhao Sheng pondered for a moment and then ordered, "Go write an invitation and send it to the hands of the Mining Gang's leader, saying that I will visit in three days!"

According to Feng Yu Elder Taoist's description, Great Dragon Hall was one of the forces that had pushed out Wind Feather Hall, while the Mining Gang was a power that had only been organized in the last ten years and had no old grudges with Wind Feather Hall.

Zhao Sheng initially planned to ally with the Mining Gang to swallow up Great Dragon Hall.

Of course, before this, he needed to find out the true cultivation level of Master Long from the Mining Gang, as well as whether Great Dragon Hall had any followers.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Desolate Domain is situated in a special location, right at the midpoint between the righteous and demonic paths, belonging to a complex grey zone.

Just as Wind Feather Hall is to Origin Return Sect, the forces of the various major sects from both righteous and demonic paths have laid countless overt and covert pawns within Desolate Domain. Their territories interlock like teeth of a comb, and the secret struggles have continued for countless years.

...

A day later, Zhao Sheng sat in his study flipping through a book about the customs and culture of the Great Yong dynasty.

At this time, Chen Shao'ang quietly walked in.

"Is there something?"

"Uncle Master, someone wishes to see you, claiming they have important matters to report."

Zhao Sheng thought briefly, closed the book, and said, "Bring him in!"

Soon after, Zhou Quan followed Chen Shao'ang into the room, trembling with fear.

The moment he saw Zhao Sheng, he kneel with a thud and cried out with a sobbing voice, "Honorable senior above, Zhou Quan kowtows before you, please save my life!"

As he spoke, he knocked his head violently towards the ground.

"Hold on!"

Zhao Sheng waved his hand, and a streak of spirit light flew out, stopping Zhou Quan's action of kowtowing. He then asked, "You speak with neither head nor tail, start from the beginning and explain what happened!"

Zhou Quan wiped away his tears and cautiously asked, "Yesterday, was it you, senior, who asked me for directions?"

Zhao Sheng nodded, a thoughtful expression coming over his face.

Zhou Quan excitedly said, "Right after senior asked me about the way, Third Master from Great Dragon Hall came looking for me."

Zhao Sheng was startled. He had underestimated the local tyrant's influence and did not expect to have been targeted as soon as he entered the city.

"He wanted me to defect to you and then find an opportunity to lure the people from your hall to Yihai Road, saying that there..."

Zhou Quan finished speaking and looked earnestly at Zhao Sheng.

Chen Shao'ang, who was standing by, could no longer restrain his anger after hearing this, "Despicable! Great Dragon Hall's treacherous heart persists; it seems they intend to catch us all in one fell swoop! Uncle Master, you—"

Zhao Sheng raised his hand to interrupt Chen Shao'ang.

He looked at Zhou Quan with interest and asked, "Why do you reveal this matter to me? Are you not afraid of Great Dragon Hall's retaliation against you afterward?"

Zhou Quan bit his lip and said bitterly, "I am not afraid! Whether I report it or not, I am doomed either way after the fact!"

Oh?

Seeing the doubt on Zhao Sheng's face, Zhou Quan immediately explained, "That wretched thug promised me a share of Moon Spring's lands after the deed was done.

Heh, he's treating me like a fool! Are the lands of Moon Spring something mortals can touch? Even if I couldn't get them, even if they were given to me at that time, I would surely die an untimely death the next day.

Since I'm bound to die one way or the other, I might as well take a chance!"

Hmm!

Zhao Sheng hummed thoughtfully and instructed, "Get up! Zi'ang, take him down and arrange for him to stay. He will play a part in the drama that's going to take place in a few days."

Chen Zi'ang bowed in respect, "Yes, Uncle Master!"