Chương 90: The Journey to Qingtai City

Except for the ten percent share that had to be given to the Fang family... the remaining ninety percent was divided as such: the Gao family took thirty percent, and the Zhang family took thirty percent. The Yan family took twenty percent. The last ten percent went to the Tian family. The Tian family had suffered the greatest losses in this battle. The Yan family had taken hits as well, but it was still within their ability to bear. Tian Jianmo was left with no recourse. The Zhang family had clearly risen.

Even the Yan family had voluntarily surrendered a portion of their profits. Even if Tian Jianmo was resentful, he could only watch it happen. The Zhang family securing their thirty percent share was also a sign of respect from the Gao family. Even in the world of cultivators, social debts and relational diplomacy mattered. The outcome of this battle spread like a storm through Langya County. Zhang Huaijin's previous reputation had been earned by fighting spirit beasts.

But this time, he had defeated Tian Jianmo in seconds and bested Yan Hiazan. These two were legendary figures in Langya County. Now, the cultivators there had a visceral, undeniable sense of Zhang Huaijin's power. And Zhang Huaijin was only thirty-four years old this year. His future was bright! If he didn't hit a bottleneck breaking through to the mid and late stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, he could very well reach the perfection stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm within a hundred years.

That would give him plenty of time to then push toward the Purple Mansion Realm. Perhaps, one day, Zhang Huaijin would grow into a lofty Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, a true powerhouse capable of shaping the fate of an entire prefecture. Zhang Huaijin and his three companions returned to Green Bamboo Mountain. Now that the Zhang family controlled a share of Langya County's revenue, they needed to send a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to be stationed there.

"I'll go," Zhang Lixian spoke.

"I haven't traveled much since my breakthrough. You stay and guard the family. This will also give me a better opportunity to refine my artifact forging skills." Langya County also had a Tier 2 spirit vein, so Zhang Lixian's personal cultivation speed wouldn't suffer. Zhang Huaijin nodded.

"But what about Green Bamboo Mountain?" he asked.

"The Fang family's Foundation Establishment Pill should be ready soon. And the Fang family isn't the Heavenly Crane Sect, they won't deliver it to us." He continued, "We have to go get it ourselves, and we'll need cultivators to guard it. A Foundation Establishment Pill is the kind of treasure that might drive anyone to take desperate risks."

"Besides, Uncle hasn't yet reached the perfection stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Even if we took him to Qingtai City, he couldn't use the pill to break through right away. We have to bring it back to the family. But if I leave, who will defend Green Bamboo Mountain?" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Huaijin's question left Zhang Lixian silent. He was right. The Zhang family had no choice but to retrieve the pill themselves.

And only Zhang Huaijin could do it. Zhang Lixian could go, too, but he wasn't confident he could protect it. And the Fang family certainly wouldn't help them keep the news secret.

"It's a five-day journey from Langya County to Qingtai City," Zhang Lixian finally said.

"Round trip, plus any stops, we'd be gone for maybe half a month."

"But we can't abandon the tax revenue we just secured in Langya County Town." He continued, "Right now, the family has four cultivators at the perfection stage of the Qi Refining Realm. If they work together and use the Geng Metal Profound Light Formation, they can hold off a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. At the very least, they could buy half an hour. If the family is attacked, I can go full speed and be back in less than that."

"So… it should be fine?" Huaijin considered this and nodded. That was the only option. After all, the Zhang family was painfully short on Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. The Foundation Establishment Pill was too critical. They had to bring it home.

"Alright. That's the plan," Zhang Huaijin said.

"Now we just wait for word from the Fang family." Time passed like an arrow. Half a year later... A message arrived from the Fang family: the Foundation Establishment Pill had been successfully refined. The Zhang family could come to Qingtai City to claim their pill. Huaijin's own cultivation was steadily improving, inching toward the mid levels His Purple Spirit Tiger(Haihu) had also reached the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm, making it a formidable combat asset.

This time, he brought Zhang Liwei, Zhang Wujian, and Zhang Yunli with him. · Zhang Liwei was at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm. · Zhang Wujian and Zhang Yunli had both reached the seventh level. Huaijin had never been to Qingtai City before. The four of them departed quietly, traveling at full speed the entire way. —— Five days later, dusty and weary, the four arrived at Qingtai City. Seen from afar, Qingtai City resembled a massive, dark green dragon coiled upon the land.

Layers of green stone blocks rose high, each etched with dense, fine patterns of array formations. At the four city gates, endless streams of cultivators flowed in and out, like a swarm of fish crossing a river. Within the city lay a Tier 3, mid-grade spirit vein, rich enough to support over a dozen Purple Mansion Realm cultivators in their cultivation. A silver array barrier descended from the void, looking from a distance like a silver bird.

This was the city's defensive formation: the Water Bird Profound Thousand Array, a Tier 3 formation. This place was the most prosperous hub in all of Qingtai Prefecture. Cultivators from the prefecture's nine counties all came here to purchase coveted Tier 2 resources. That was the source of its prosperity. Consider this, a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator had a lifespan of a full four hundred years. With enough longevity resources, they could live past five centuries.

For a single prefecture, a Purple Mansion Realm faction was a true leviathan. Surrounding Qingtai City, besides the two great Purple Mansion Realm families, there were more than a dozen Foundation Establishment families. But only those Foundation Establishment Realm factions with a cultivator in the late stage were qualified to open shops inside the city. And only those with a cultivator at the perfection stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm were entitled to a slice of the city's tax revenue.

Of that revenue, ten percent was paid directly to the Heavenly Crane Sect. Of the remaining ninety percent… The Fang and Zhou families each took thirty percent. The last thirty percent was distributed among the other forces that had a perfection stage cultivator. These were the unwritten rules of the cultivation world. Spirit stone mines, market taxes… these were not resources that a single power could swallow whole. Even the strongest factions needed to leave room for others to grow.

To act with tyrannical arrogance, hoarding all the profits, was to invite destruction.

"Second Brother, Qingtai City… it's truly magnificent!" Zhang Wujian's eyes held a trace of genuine awe.

"Yeah! It's easily ten times the size of Langya County! And the spiritual energy here is so dense!" Zhang Liwei nodded in agreement. Zhang Yunli's eyes sparkled with pure excitement"Of course it is!" she said.

"The spirit vein here is Tier 3, mid-grade. Even if hundreds of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators cultivated here at once, it wouldn't drain the vein's foundation." Zhang Huaijin's own gaze carried a hint of wonder. He wondered when the Zhang family would ever own a Tier 3 spirit vein. The annual tax revenue from Qingtai City was at least a hundred thousand spirit stones. That was an immense trove of resources. The more prosperous the market, the higher the income…

and the greater the rewards for the factions that controlled it.