Eternal Life Begins with Learning

This meant that here in Shuiyun Workshop, he wasn’t considered an Evil Cultivator—at least, not on the surface.

Of course, that was only on the surface.

After all, a bounty that enormous was enough to drive many, many people into a frenzy.

If his whereabouts were truly exposed, whether he was considered righteous or evil would simply depend on who was talking.

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu walked out of the grand hall, his gaze turning to the Light Curtain Panel in his field of view.

Then, he gazed out at the vast, boundless East Lake, lost in thought.

A moment later, he set off, continuing to wander around the Marketplace.

Although he was still a newcomer, things were clearly different from before.

When he had first arrived, he was a weakling with no ability to protect himself. But now, at the Qi Cultivation Realm, while he wouldn’t dare claim to be strong, self-preservation was certainly not a problem.

After asking around, his knowledge of Shuiyun Workshop transformed from mere hearsay into a genuine understanding based on what he had seen with his own eyes.

Unlike its closed-off nature under the Sun Family’s previous rule, Shuiyun Workshop now had an open and inclusive atmosphere, much like the Longevity Sect.

Within the massive Shuiyun Workshop, there weren’t actually that many businesses belonging to the Xie Family. The rest were established by various other clans, factions, Loose Cultivators, and even the Longevity Sect itself.

Furthermore, the Spirit Vein in Shuiyun Workshop was a Tier Three Upper Grade, and a Golden Core True Master was stationed here year-round.

Moreover... the Xie Family’s attitude toward Loose Cultivators seemed extremely generous.

This was evident in many aspects of the Marketplace.

In the Marketplace, the lowest-grade residences cost just one Broken Spirit a month to rent. In Jade Emperor City, such dwellings would be tossed into the slums outside the Marketplace, completely ignored.

But here in Shuiyun Workshop, they were proper residences located right inside the Marketplace, protected by its Grand Array and even supplied with Spiritual Qi!

Additionally, on the southwest side of the Marketplace, the Xie Family had established a Gathering Immortals Manor.

Any Loose Cultivator, with no prerequisites, could go and take the Xie Family’s assessment.

The Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal, Magic...

Spirit Root Talent didn’t matter. Even someone with a Wasted Spirit Root, as long as they possessed a certain talent in any area and passed the assessment at the Gathering Immortals Manor, could become a Xie Family Honored Guest Elder and receive a stipend.

Standing before the Gathering Immortals Manor, Chu Mu stared at the posted notice, slightly dazed.

The notice clearly detailed the benefits, rules, and restrictions of becoming a Xie Family Honored Guest Elder.

The Xie Family Honored Guest Elders were divided into three classes, with Third-Class being the lowest and First-Class the highest.

According to the notice, the stipend for an Honored Guest Elder consisted of three parts. The first was a basic stipend: thirty Lower Spirits per month for Third-Class, sixty for Second-Class, and one hundred for a First-Class Honored Guest Elder.

This stipend was fixed.

Second was a cultivation stipend, which was tiered based on the Honored Guest Elder’s Cultivation Realm.

Third was a bonus stipend, calculated based on the number of clan-assigned tasks completed and the contributions made by the Honored Guest Elder.

These Contribution Points could also be used to exchange for needed items in the Xie Family’s Contribution Treasure Vault.

Furthermore, each of the three classes of Honored Guest Elders held different levels of authority within the Xie Family.

Various other benefits were also clearly listed.

As for the price of enjoying these benefits, that too was simple and clear.

Obey the Xie Family’s arrangements for the duration of the contract.

The minimum contract period was ten years; longer terms were up to the individual to decide.

Gazing at the notice, Chu Mu couldn’t help but compare these terms to the benefits offered by the Longevity Sect.

When compared, the benefits for a Xie Family Honored Guest Elder were clearly much better.

But this was just the difference in explicit benefits; the hidden, intrinsic perks were undoubtedly worlds apart.

After all, an Honored Guest Elder was merely an outsider to the Xie Family.

In the Longevity Sect, however, even a mere Outer Disciple was considered one of their own.

This distinction was clearly very important in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, where self-interest reigned supreme.

’I have no intention of becoming an Honored Guest Elder. I’ve already made it through the hardest times. Why would I give up this hard-won freedom to go looking for a new master?’

With these thoughts weighing on his mind, Chu Mu eventually stopped before a plaza at the far end of the Marketplace.

The plaza was bustling with activity.

Flying Boats circled in the sky before descending, while others took off with a slow, vertical ascent. Cultivators bustled about, some boarding the vessels and others disembarking.

At a glance, it resembled a massive airport from his past life, only the vessels landing and taking off were all Artifact Creations of the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

Although Cultivators were practically omnipotent, able to soar through the heavens and burrow into the earth, this clearly didn’t preclude the existence of transportation like Flying Boats.

After all, for ordinary Loose Cultivators, traveling long distances alone—or even just leaving the Marketplace—was fraught with unpredictable dangers.

Traveling directly to other Marketplaces by Flying Boat was much safer. The fare might be expensive, but that was a trivial price to pay for one’s life.

Moreover, the sheer vastness of the Great Chu Territory ensured a large market for Flying Boat travel.

Back when the Sun Family ruled Jade Emperor Valley, Flying Boats existed, but they were mostly the Sun Family’s private property and not available to all Cultivators. He had only caught a fleeting glimpse of them then, never seeing one up close.

After the Longevity Sect took over, they established their own Flying Boat routes, but due to the tense situation in and around Jade Emperor City, most of them only led to the Sect’s heartland.

His focus at the time had been entirely on East Lake, so he hadn’t paid them much mind.

As for this Flying Boat port here in Water Heaven Workshop...

Chu Mu stepped into the plaza, and a moment later, he walked back out.

Now, he held a chart in his hand.

It was a chart detailing the Flying Boat routes originating from Water Heaven Workshop.

Unfurling the chart revealed a map with a crisscrossing network of Flying Boat routes.

The map was centered on Water Heaven Workshop, with routes crisscrossing to connect all the Marketplaces, large and small, within the Xie Family’s sphere of influence.

After a quick glance, he focused his attention on the Marketplaces located at the map’s periphery.

The Great Chu Territory was vast. The Longevity Sect was situated in the Longevity Mountain Range of the Great Chu Northern Border, encompassing most of the prime territory in the northern regions.

Although the Nanshan Li Family was named for Nanshan, they were located in the Northwest. The entire Northwest, bordered by Nanshan, fell under the Li Family’s sphere of influence.

The Changping Zhao Family occupied the Land of Ice and Snow to the northeast of Great Chu, with the entire Northeast Three Provinces falling under their sphere of influence.

The Langya Wang Family and the East Lake Xie Family occupied the central territories of Great Chu. Further south, beyond the Chu River boundary, lay the southern coastal region—the domain of the Vast Sea Chen Family.

Looking at this map, the East Lake Xie Family was almost completely surrounded, right in the very center.

In secular terms, it was a battleground on four fronts—easy to attack and difficult to defend.

However, given the current situation—with the great clans and the Sect as hostile as fire and water—it seemed the Longevity Sect’s position was the real Central Plains battleground, surrounded by ambitious powers on all sides!

And beyond the borders of Great Chu...

Chu Mu’s brow furrowed slightly as he recalled the information he’d gathered back in Jade Emperor Valley.

Beyond the Great Chu’s Northern Border lay the Xingluo Grassland, its name suggesting a vastness like the star-strewn sky.

Chu Mu didn’t know if this was true. Even in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, great distances meant that rumors often became accepted as fact, making it hard to discern the truth.

But the name Xingluo itself hinted at its immensity. It was said that the people of the Xingluo Grassland lived in tribes, with immortals and mortals mixed, and were engaged in ceaseless warfare.

Rumor had it that ten thousand years ago, when the Longevity Sect was founded, the first Sect Leader of Longevity had signed a non-aggression pact with a hegemon from the Xingluo Grassland, though the truth of this was unknown.

To the west of Great Chu, it was said that several thousand years ago, the land had been ruled by a massive power just as formidable as the Longevity Sect.

Later, for some unknown reason, a chaotic war shattered it into more than a dozen nations and factions of varying sizes. For the last few thousand years, that region had also been embroiled in endless chaos and conquest.

As for the east, there was the boundless Vast Sea. The Northeast Three Provinces were adjacent to the Vast Sea and bordered the Xingluo Grassland...

The south was even more straightforward. The Chen Clan had established themselves there, taking their name from the Vast Sea. That boundless expanse of water had been the unchanging vista of Great Chu’s Southern Sea Territory for ten thousand years.

As these thoughts swirled in his head, a rough map of the territories took shape in Chu Mu’s mind.

One thing was crystal clear: if chaos ever erupted, the entire world would be plunged into turmoil.

Chu Mu glanced up at the sky before his gaze returned to the map, finally settling on the great river at its southernmost edge.

The river was the Chu River. South of it lay the Southern Sea Territory, the Vast Sea—the sphere of influence of the Chen Clan.

’Once this business at East Lake is finished, if chaos really does break out... in this vast world, judging by the topography, this seems to be the only place that might remain somewhat peaceful.’

’Whether to live out my days in a peaceful corner or to become a self-sufficient power... at least, geographically, it would be easy to stay out of the conflict and reap the benefits like the proverbial fisherman.’

’Naturally, it would be much harder to be swept up in the turmoil... ’

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