Chapter 235
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Chapter 235: Changes
Yunshan City was undoubtedly the city Wang Chen knew best.
The original owner had been born and raised here, and even after becoming a spiritual plant farmer at the Wei Hall, he often returned to the city to purchase daily necessities like rice, oil, salt, and vinegar.
Since Wang Chen’s arrival, he had visited the city frequently.
Though the original soul had merged with his own, the memories etched within it remained indelible.
The sight of the city naturally stirred his recollections!
Yet, while Yunshan City remained unchanged, Wang Chen’s feelings toward it had transformed entirely.
The world had changed, and so had the people!
Despite the whirlwind of thoughts in his heart, Wang Chen maintained the demeanor of a country boy visiting a bustling city for the first time, a mix of nervousness and excitement guiding him as he followed the crowd to the city gate.
Now, Yunshan City belonged to the Guiyuan Sect, the sworn enemy of the Yunyang Sect.
Thus, the cultivators collecting the city entry fee at the gate were naturally from the Guiyuan Sect.
Wang Chen noticed that these cultivators only collected spirit stones and did not bother to check whether the loose cultivators had travel permits to enter the city.
The rules upheld by the Yunyang Sect for centuries had clearly been abolished by the Guiyuan Sect.
This, in fact, worked to Wang Chen’s advantage.
Otherwise, applying for a travel permit would have required leaving a trace of his soul energy, which would have been a significant inconvenience.
Wang Chen also noticed bounty notices plastered on the walls on either side of the city gate.
Most of the wanted individuals were disciples of the Yunyang Sect.
Each notice listed a name, background, and identity, along with a substantial bounty.
As Wang Chen scanned the notices, he was startled to see his own likeness among them!
The bounty notice bearing his name had clearly been posted for some time, its edges frayed and faded from exposure to the elements.
Though the image was somewhat dim, it still captured at least eighty percent of his likeness.
The reward was no small sum, either.
Anyone who captured or killed Wang Chen would be granted the status of an Outer Sect Disciple of the Guiyuan Sect, along with a reward of either five hundred contribution points or twenty acres of spirit fields!
Wang Chen, however, believed he was worth far more than that.
He calmly averted his gaze and joined the line to enter the city.
The entry fee remained unchanged—one spirit fragment.
After paying, Wang Chen walked through the streets and immediately sensed that the city had grown livelier.
Perhaps it was due to the stabilization of the situation, or perhaps the Guiyuan Sect had altered the rules; whatever the reason, the streets, alleys, and tea houses were now teeming with loose cultivators.
In contrast, white-robed cultivators from the Guiyuan Sect were a rare sight, with only the occasional team of fully armed battle cultivators hurrying down the streets.
The city’s atmosphere was restless, making it easy for those within to feel uneasy. The spiritual energy of the heavens and earth was no longer as abundant as before, and trash littered the ground in the alleys and marketplaces.
Such a scene was entirely unfamiliar to Wang Chen.
As outsiders, the Guiyuan Sect’s control over the city was clearly superficial!
He was surprised to find that although most of the shops in the city were still open, both the Four Seas Trading Association and Wanbao Pavilion had actually closed down!
Wanbao Pavilion was closed!
Wang Chen felt as if he had been struck on the head, nearly losing his composure.
He had traveled a long way, facing considerable danger to reach Yunshan City, with the primary goal of purchasing a technique.
The Preheaven Five Element Technique!
The Preheaven Five Element Technique was not a secret technique of the Yunyang Sect, so the chances of finding it at the Four Seas Trading Association or Wanbao Pavilion were still quite high; it was just a matter of how many spirit stones it would cost.
Wang Chen currently had a fortune of tens of thousands of spirit fragments, so acquiring a method seed for the Preheaven Five Element Technique would definitely not be a problem!
But he never imagined that he would be carrying a pig’s head and find no temple door!
This was strange.
The Wanbao Pavilion had a very strong background; it was said to have branches and stores in countless realms.
Not to mention the mere Guiyuan Sect, even the higher-ups of the Guiyuan Sect would not dare to offend them.
Hundreds of years ago, a powerful sect in the Mountain-Sea Realm disguised themselves as bandits and attacked a ship from Wanbao Pavilion.
As a result, this sect, which had two Yuan Ying and over a hundred Golden Core cultivators, had their mountain gate breached overnight.
The Yuan Ying of the two true immortals were even dug out!
This incident was well-known, and even after hundreds of years, it remained in many people’s memories.
The high-ranking members of the Guiyuan Sect would not dare to take action against Wanbao Pavilion, even if they had the courage of a bear!
After thinking for a moment, Wang Chen approached an old cultivator who was sitting under the eaves, basking in the sun, and asked, “Senior, is Wanbao Pavilion closed today?”
“Today?”
The old cultivator smiled widely and held up three fingers. “They left three months ago and will not be coming back.”
Wang Chen’s heart sank: “Why?”
The old cultivator remained silent, merely rubbing his thumb and forefinger together rapidly.
This was a gesture understood across countless realms.
Wang Chen quickly understood and handed over a spirit stone.
The old cultivator accepted the spirit stone, stroked his long beard, and said, “Have you ever seen ants moving before a storm arrives? Wanbao Pavilion has their reasons for leaving; do you understand?”
A hint of sadness appeared in the old man’s eyes.
Wang Chen remained silent for a moment, then said, “Thank you for your guidance, Senior.”
He handed over another spirit stone.
But the old cultivator refused it.
He waved his hand and hunched his body as he walked into the crowd, quickly disappearing from Wang Chen’s sight.
Wang Chen watched him leave, then entered a nearby tea house.
The tea house was quite busy, with about sixty to seventy percent of the seats filled. Wang Chen found a window seat, called over a waiter, and ordered a pot of spiritual tea and a plate of snacks.
He was not hungry; his main goal was to sit down and think carefully about where to go from here.
From what the old cultivator implied, it seemed that not only Yunshan City but also Wanbao Pavilion might have withdrawn entirely from the Yunyang territory.
The situation at the Four Seas Trading Association was likely similar.
Thinking of the Yunyang Sect, which had ascended to a higher realm, Wang Chen felt uneasy.
Earlier, he had managed to escape to the Mortal Realm to avoid trouble when the Yunyang Sect was likely about to face a crisis.
But if the entire Mountain-Sea Realm was in danger, where would Wang Chen run?
After contemplating, he realized he could only take it one step at a time.
At that moment, a clear voice caught Wang Chen’s attention.
He looked over to see a young waiter at a nearby tea table covering his swollen face, blood trickling through his fingers.
A cultivator from the Guiyuan Sect was angrily pointing at him and shouting, “I came here to drink tea out of respect for you all, and you actually dared to ask me for spirit stones? Are you blind?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! He’s new and doesn’t understand the rules; please forgive him…”
The tea house manager rushed over, smiling and trying to placate the Guiyuan Sect member, and finally handed over a spirit stone to have him leave.
The other guests in the tea house either watched coldly or ignored the scene entirely.
Everyone seemed to have gotten used to it and become numb to such occurrences!
Wang Chen paid for his tea and quietly left the tea house.
He then exited Yunshan City.
This city, once so familiar yet now feeling so strange, would no longer be in his plans for the future.
There was nothing left here that he would miss!
