Chapter 611

Chapter 611: Retreating and Losing Wealth

The Xiahou Family and He Family suffered a tremendous setback, and after this battle, the Hao Family’s reputation in Mufeng City skyrocketed. This meant that the tax shares sold by the city lord’s residence would only continue to rise.

Li Hui came from the accounts room background, so he liked to push for trends from a financial perspective. His moves were always relentless, blending the extraordinary with the ordinary.

Mining taxes could be sold, commercial taxes could be sold, and tea, salt, and iron taxes could all be handed over for sale. The city lord of the Hao Family was restricted from accessing the properties under the city lord’s residence but could utilize the taxes as long as Mufeng City thrived; no one would dare complain.

The city lord’s residence began acquiring Broken Artifacts and fragments of spirit treasures, essentially opening up a revenue stream without precedent. Over a hundred thousand merchants were already running along this path, bringing extraordinary popularity to Mufeng City. Coupled with the bond office and tax office teeming with people every day, the rented spaces were growing larger. It became difficult not to prosper.

As more people arrived, the fortune of Mufeng City grew stronger, and with every hundred thousand cultivators added, the Hao Family drew closer to the Xiahou Family. Yet, Li Hui remained clear-headed, unwilling to be dazzled by the overwhelming financial power, and turned the affairs over to Hao Yue Lin before retreating into seclusion.

Hao Yue Lin found it hard to imagine what that guy was concocting. Why did he choose to enter seclusion at this moment? What would happen if she used this opportunity to cultivate her own trusted aides?

Li Hui’s response was straightforward: feel free to cultivate; he wouldn’t mind harvesting the losses if anyone dared cause trouble.

Only then did Hao Yue Lin realize that the city lord had performed the blood sacrifice to the Tian Kui Lantern, wielding the power of life and death. He wasn’t afraid of the Xiahou and He Families’ power; why would he fear betrayal from below? Moreover, what happened within the borders of Mufeng City could hardly escape the city lord’s keen eyes.

Understanding now, she recognized this was audacity; on the territory of Mufeng City, he was king, he was heaven.

Before entering seclusion, Li Hui instructed Tie Yixin to organize experts and loyal fighters, pouring considerable financial and human resources into searching for the Ancient Heavenly Ladder on the Ren Water Continent. He aimed for the Heavenly Realm. According to Prime Minister Turtle, the Heavenly Realm was extraordinarily vast, traced back to before the calamity of immortals. Many places within were self-contained worlds; the seas were limitless and difficult to quantify.

“Set a six-month deadline; provide people and money to find the Ancient Heavenly Ladder.”

Tie Yixin was confused about his master’s sudden frenzy, but he knew one thing: failure to find the Ancient Heavenly Ladder likely meant a head on a platter. The Ren Water Continent was quite far, and completing this task quickly would require using the cross-continental teleportation array, which was manageable given the current financial resources of the city lord’s residence.

Thus, Li Hui entered the Ancient Tomb to cultivate.

The Ancient Tomb had a treasure cabinet to promote cultivation, making improvement a given. In just half a month, he reached the Late Wanxiang Stage, matching his true self’s level.

At this point, any further progress would mean Li Hui wouldn’t need to return to his true self; if the legal form returned, it would cause his body to burst. Thus, his cultivation was nearing its peak, ideally achieving Great Perfection in the All-Manifestation Realm.

After six hundred years, what can one do if unable to cultivate?

This was hardly an issue for the sect leader of the Heavenly Talisman Sect; in fact, he might find time too short! He had too many matters to attend to.

“At present, I need to separate the Human Path Legal Form from the Six Paths Legal Form while also devising a method to construct a powerful avatar.”

Li Hui contemplated with a multifaceted mind and utilized a large number of Time-Flowing Talismans to accelerate the flow of time. In the process of validating his ideas, he consumed countless rare treasures and even accidentally ruined dozens of Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Treasures. Even though he was now well-off, he still felt pangs of regret.

While others entered seclusion with minimal consumption, the city lord’s retreat left people on edge.

Hao Yue Lin did her best to meet the city lord’s needs, but after two months, she felt like complaining as the burden became unbearable. Such extravagance had a limit; however, the city lord showed no sign of restraint.

Nonetheless, due to this luxurious consumption, the city became even more prosperous. People didn’t appreciate a frugal city lord; wastefulness could also be a source of wealth!

Li Hui realized his knowledge was insufficient, so he paid hefty prices for imprint talismans and jade tablets of cultivation methods, acquiring many miscellaneous books as well. He dedicated half his time each day to reading.

Because he accelerated the flow of time, what felt like two months outside had equated to studying for over a decade for him.

Hard work paid off; after such a long period of contemplation, he finally made some progress and decided to reward himself with a few days of indulgence, drinking and sleeping soundly.

When he awoke from his binge, the first thing he did was adjust the layout of the Ancient Tomb. He set up more talisman formations and buried large numbers of monster-conjuring talismans, wondering if he could cultivate some demons.

“Ha ha ha! The jade tablets were worth their weight in gold; the Hao Family certainly left behind secret ploys. Hopefully, I can transform spirit treasures into demons to face tribulations. That way, I can quietly leverage the calamity power to wash away the hidden dangers.” He was so pleased with himself that he hummed a little tune while contemplating his avatar. As a result, money flowed out like water, causing Hao Yue Lin to appear haggard, feeling that this guy was a devil.

Another two months passed, and the city lord’s residence had begun to borrow heavily from the bank to make ends meet. Li Hui finally nodded in satisfaction.

“Good! Based on the principles of the path of talismans from the Nine-Mystic Continent and integrating the Di Jiang Talisman Corpse from the Heavenly Talisman Sect, I spent heavily to purchase the ancient dragon beast Bi Lan corpse that had been frozen in the Law Prison Gate. Using a massive amount of demon transformation resurrection talismans, I finally completed the primary part.”

“Legend has it that Bi Lan is the seventh offspring of the dragon among its nine younglings; whether that’s true or not, this corpse is undeniably powerful. Even after so many years of death, it still possesses a vigorous vitality, as if it were ready to revive at any moment.” Li Hui gazed at the carefully carved six-zhang tall figure and murmured to himself, “So powerful yet directly deprived of its spirit and soul, leaving behind a complete corpse; it’s hard to imagine who could have done this! The Law Prison Gate accidentally discovered the corpse and remains unaware of the details.”

“From today onward, I will seal Li Sifan, letting this body fall into a deep slumber. Naturally, I need to leave protective measures behind; there can be no missteps, or else I can forget about cultivation.”

In seclusion, without day or night, the six-month deadline swiftly came to an end.

When Li Hui emerged, on the surface, he still appeared as Hao Wentong, but his essence had already transformed into the Dragon Child Bi Lan.

Tie Yixin reported with a mournful face: “I activated many experts to search, and while the Ancient Heavenly Ladder wasn’t hard to find, a group of powerful individuals is heavily guarding it, preventing outsiders from getting close.”

Li Hui was a bit surprised; the Nine Maangs practitioners were formidable, practicing exceptional cultivation methods and possessing numerous protective treasures. Placed on other continents, they’d all be extremely difficult characters. If even the fat Iron was calling them powerful, just how strong could they be?

“Could they all be Traveling Realm practitioners?”

“Replying to the city lord, it’s not that the opponents possess overwhelming cultivation; it’s that the Ancient Heavenly Ladder is periodically swept by strange waves. These waves are neither yin nor yang; our cultivators are immediately suppressed upon nearing it, unable to exert even thirty percent of their strength. The closer they get, the weaker they become; after multiple attempts, we haven’t discovered any way to break through.”

“Oh?” Li Hui pondered for a moment, motioning for Tie Yixin to come closer. He cautiously transmitted a message, saying, “Over the next six months, no matter what means you employ, create a reliable team for me. I don’t expect Traveling Realm practitioners, but I need at least dozens of Profound Law Stage practitioners. Loyalty comes first, and strength must also come first; they are to be sent to the Ren Water Continent on standby.”

“Ah?” The fat Iron trembled; those were exceedingly high demands, but where would the money come from? The bank just checked the books three days ago, and the city lord’s residence is heavily in debt, unable to sustain itself at all.