Chapter 397: Live Forever Tavern
Chapter 397: Live Forever Tavern
Not very far into the desert itself were the crumbled ruins of a temple, which was the entrance to a necropolis that stretched out under the surface of the city.
The necropolis was huge, almost half the size of Sky City itself. All sorts of rare beasts, immortal grasses, and spirit plants grew there. It was a source of abundant resources for cultivators.
The ruins of the necropolis were the only place where disciples could go on missions inside Sky City itself. In fact, many of sect missions required that disciples go there.
It was a special place, much safer than locations on the outside. Although it was indeed the ruins of an ancient necropolis, it had been put there by the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect for the express purpose of allowing disciples to train.
There were some creatures and areas in the ruins that certain disciples couldn’t easily handle alone, but they were few and far between. Furthermore, Sky City itself was considered to be inside of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and as such, many disciples preferred to come to this place to go on missions.
Because of that, it tended to be a very bustling place.
The land itself was extremely valuable, and no one in Sky City other than the Celestial Sky Society was powerful enough to set up shop there. Generally speaking, they let anyone inside, but when people came out, they were required to share thirty percent of whatever profits they had acquired inside. Either that, or they had to spend a significant amount of merit points to get a special command medallion from the Celestial Sky Society that let them go on their way with no questions asked.
Only the Celestial Sky Society, with their deva clan background, could do such a thing. Many people had thought of trying to take similar advantage of the ruins, but the Celestial Sky Society wouldn’t let them.
After all, the Celestial Sky Society had paid an enormous price for the right to take control of that location, and the profits they earned made up more than fifty percent of their total income.
With such enormous profit at stake, the Celestial Sky Society obviously viewed the place as being extremely important.
As Bai Xiaochun led his group of over a hundred people toward the desert, everyone was shocked, including the cultivators from the Celestial Sky Society.
“What’s wrong with this Azure Dragon Society? What do they think they’re going to do here?”
“Don’t tell me that they want to go into the necropolis ruins to go on some missions?”
“It doesn’t look like that’s what they’re doing….”
Outside of the ruins was a checkpoint manned by large numbers of Celestial Sky Society cultivators, and as soon as they saw Bai Xiaochun and his followers heading their way, serious expressions appeared on their faces, and they rose to their feet.
There was also quite a crowd of cultivators preparing to go into the ruins to go on missions. When they saw the big group approaching, curious expressions appeared on their faces.
Nobody said a word. As for the Azure Dragon Society cultivators Bai Xiaochun had brought with him, none of them really understood what was happening, not even Big Fatty Zhang and the other Dao protectors.
Finally, Xu Baocai couldn’t hold back from asking, “Junior Patriarch, what are we doing here?”
“This is where we’re moving to!” Bai Xiaochun replied loudly, not even bothering to look back. Instead, he simply kept his eyes fixed ahead as he walked forward, completely ignoring the Celestial Sky Society cultivators.
Those cultivators didn’t dare to get in Bai Xiaochun’s way. Not only was he a Gold Core cultivator, more importantly, the rules of the Celestial Sky Society stated that anyone could enter the ruins. It was only upon leaving that they had to pay the Celestial Sky Society their share of the loot.
Bai Xiaochun passed the Celestial Sky Society cultivators, and then stopped at a point roughly 3,000 meters from the ruins of the temple. After looking around for a moment, he seemed to be quite pleased.
“Alright,” he announced “This is our new home!”
Master God-Diviner blinked a few times and then glanced around.
A blank look could be seen in Xu Baocai’s eyes, and Big Fatty Zhang was staring mutely in shock. Even Chen Manyao’s jaw had dropped.
If they had such a reaction, there was little need to even consider how the other cultivators from the Azure Dragon Society reacted. They simply exchanged blank, awkward stares.
When the Celestial Sky Society cultivators heard Bai Xiaochun’s words, they immediately burst into loud laughter.
“Very amusing. They think they’re going to live here or something? This whole area belongs to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, not any individual person.”
“Just what does the Azure Dragon Society think they’re going to do?”
They weren’t the only ones who found it hard to hold back from laughing. The crowd which had followed along, as well as the cultivators who had gathered in preparation of entering the ruins, were all roaring with laughter.
“I know the Azure Dragon Society got castigated recently, but don’t tell me they’re all actually insane? Do they really think they can just settle down in this place?”
“Boss Azure Dragon is a Core Formation cultivator, but even he couldn’t have taken over this area during the height of his power. This place is the lifeblood of the Celestial Sky Society, and they’re backed by a deva clan. If Azure Dragon Society tries to settle down here, that clan will definitely put them in their place.”
As the mocking laughter surrounded them, Master God-Diviner’s face turned red, and Xu Baocai looked very awkward. Furthermore, the embarrassment and confusion in the eyes of the Azure Dragon Society cultivators grew deeper.
Big Fatty Zhang and Chen Manyao coughed dryly, and appeared to be hesitating about whether or not to say anything.
“Xiaochun–”
In that moment, Bai Xiaochun stuck his chin up and waved his sleeve, sticking his arm out to reveal what was clasped in his hand: a small, seven-colored flag, shining with dazzling light!
Instantly, intense pressure weighed down on the area, and all the laughter ceased. As for Bai Xiaochun, he looked very pleased with himself as he cast the little flag straight down into the ground at his feet!
“Activate!” he roared. The instant the little flag pierced into the ground, heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling filled the air, a sound like the crashing of thunder!
RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!
Everything began to shake violently as a gale force wind spiraled out of the little flag, engulfing the entire area and causing even more intense pressure to weigh down!
The Dao protectors’ faces flickered, and they backed up, gasping. The Celestial Sky Society cultivators, the passersby, and the cultivators hoping to go on missions all began to edge backward.
The pressure weighing down on them seemed like heavenly might, the source of which was the little flag that Bai Xiaochun had just stabbed down into the ground!
As the wind screamed and the lands shook, Bai Xiaochun’s hair whipped about him, and the seven-colored light swept out, filling a 300-meter area around the flag.
However, things weren’t over yet. The light continued to spread, and in the blink of an eye, had filled 1.5 kilometers. Then 2.5 kilometers! And finally, 5 kilometers!!
Seven-colored ripples filled that entire area, completely replacing the desert sands which had existed there before. Everything flickered with scintillating light, as well as silence, which was broken only by the gasps of the other cultivators in the area.
But then, before any of them could react, the land began to tremble again, and more intense rumbling sounds rose up as the seven-colored ripples slowly merged into the ground. As they vanished, an enormous sealing mark became visible!
An enormous, indelible sealing mark!!
Then, a powerful force of expulsion appeared, a force which no one in the area could possibly fight back against as it wrapped around them and removed them from the 5-kilometer area.
Everyone was completely flabbergasted….
“That was… that was the force of expulsion that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect spell formations create for personal property!!”
“That’s impossible! How could that be a true force of expulsion? Heavens! Only people who have the approval of the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect’s grand spell formation can have personal property with a spell formation like that!!”
“There aren’t even ten locations in all of Sky City that are personal property!!”
“I can’t believe Boss Azure Dragon can stake claim to personal property!!” The surrounding cultivators felt as if lighting were crashing around in their minds, giving rise to shouts of astonishment and disbelief. Even the people from the Azure Dragon Society, including the Dao protectors, were all struck mute with astonishment.
However, most mind-blowingly shocking of all was that the entrance to the necropolis ruins was located within that 5-kilometer area!
As the cries of shock rose up, Bai Xiaochun stood there with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin held high. Looking extremely pleased with himself, he said, “Ahem. I’ll be setting up a little inn right here, and I already thought of a name for it. It’s going to be called the Live Forever Tavern.
“Everyone, feel free to enter the necropolis just as before. However, since this place is my home, before entering, I request that you enjoy a cup of spirit tea. Once you do, you’re considered a friend!”
Then he cleared his throat, smiled broadly, and continued, “Don’t worry, a cup of spirit tea is very cheap. Furthermore, when it comes to the loot from inside the necropolis, I’ll charge much less than the Celestial Sky Society did. Only ten percent!”
The people from the Celestial Sky Society felt their hearts surging with shock. Control of the entrance to the ruins had just been viciously wrenched out of their control!
As for all of the other cultivators, their eyes began to shine brightly. The Celestial Sky Society had charged thirty percent, so obviously, the Azure Dragon Society was doing everything they could to keep the masses happy.