What exactly is the Immortal Alliance?
Is it an alliance forged by cultivators to break through their family restrictions?
A united government of countless sects?
Or perhaps a gathering place for like-minded Taoist comrades?
Su Bai used to imagine, based on various web novels she had read, that the vast majority within the Immortal Alliance were seekers of the Dao, or at least cultivators with the heart to pursue it.
But everything she had experienced recently made her realize that cultivators were just people—they all needed to eat, drink, and have fun; all required social interactions.
Cultivation was ultimately a means to live a better life, and only a rare few truly believed they could achieve the Dao and eternal life.
From a certain perspective, the so-called Immortal Alliance was nothing more than the Huayuan Federation wielding extraordinary power.
They had rules and decrees, social etiquettes, corruption, and a hierarchy of social classes…
As a gathering of people, it possessed all the strengths and weaknesses of any political system.
Understanding all this, the current Qingyang Sect Master of the Three Mountains Sect curled the corner of her mouth into a slight smile.
[You are beginning to understand everything…]
[You put aside those previous schemes for excessive profit. The Immortal Alliance is a political entity wielding supernatural power, and its primary internal demand is stability. Your plans were too disruptive.]
[Unless you intend to make a quick fortune and then slip away to the Outer Territories, even if you are a Gold Core cultivator, the iron fist of the Immortal Alliance will strike you hard.]
[But with some minor tricks, you still managed to secure a batch of spirit stones for the sect within the Daotian Gold Core Circle, maintaining a monthly balance of income and expenditure.]
[After one or two months of hard work, you got the Three Mountains Sect running again. As sect master, you also took time to gather intelligence on Yin-Yang Reversal. During this period, you noticed your little pet’s filial piety growing day by day.]
“Mother, come try the Peach Blossom Porridge I made…”
“Mother, let me massage your legs…”
“Mother, I’ll rub your shoulders…”
[Tsk~]
[As expected from your pet, so filial!!]
“Wan Jian True Person from the Law Enforcement Hall of the Immortal Alliance? Yes, I am the Qingyang Sect Master of the Three Mountains Sect. I have a major business proposal; I wonder if…”
After an intense war of words, Su Bai once again successfully secured funding for the sect.
She exhaled deeply, set down the magical instrument in her hand, gently massaged her temples, and then resumed burying herself in the towering pile of official documents.
Whether it was due to her lineage as a fourth-generation official, or some other reason, the otherwise tedious and dull paperwork was handled by her with considerable interest, even a faint sense of enjoyment, as if lost in it.
At that moment, a light knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Su Bai said without looking up.
The door slowly opened, and Su Xiaohei stepped in, carrying a delicate plate of Peach Blossom Cake.
The cake emitted an enticing fragrance; its pink body was dotted with several fresh peach blossoms, as if carrying the vibrant spirit of spring.
“Mother, come try the Peach Blossom Cake I made,” Su Xiaohei said softly, then gently placed the cake on the nearby table.
Su Bai nodded slightly, “Hmm, put it there for now.”
Then she continued to focus on her work.
Seeing this, Su Xiaohei walked behind Su Bai and skillfully stretched out his hands to massage her back and shoulders.
At this time, Su Bai was reviewing the task proposal submitted by her subordinates, silently evaluating it.
The expansion of Baicao Valley still required a large investment of spirit stones.
For the next ten years, expanding Baicao Valley would be the sect’s primary mission.
Only after successful expansion would the sect avoid shortages of low-grade spirit medicines for a long time and be able to export in large quantities to earn spirit stones.
To achieve this, some things could be sacrificed, such as mortgaging the resource points of Xuanhuang Wuji to other sects or even the Immortal Alliance, in exchange for a large flow of spirit stone funds.
Su Bai touched the paper in her hand, suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of heroic ambition.
Since ascending to the position of sect master, she had set herself a goal for this simulation.
She wanted to be the sun!
She wanted to be the sun of the Three Mountains Sect!
She was Su Bai.
She was a Qingyang True Person. She was the Qingyang Sect Master!!
Ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years…
She would spend this life to achieve this dream.
She would leave her mark in every corner of the Three Mountains Sect, shaping the sect into her ideal, becoming the eternal and undying Qingyang in the hearts of every cultivator within the sect!!
Her blood boiled with fervor.
Su Bai took a deep breath and, thinking of the little pet behind her, paused before speaking, “Xiaohei, regarding the sect’s Baicao Valley, you…”
Swoosh!
At that moment, a sharp black blade pierced through Su Bai’s Dantian from behind and protruded far out in front of her chest.
Her pupils instantly shrank to needle points as she struggled to look back—
“Xiaohei, you!!”
Hiss!
Another strike.
This time, the black blade plunged deep into her abdomen, piercing straight through the Gold Core!!
The blade immediately faded, revealing a sinister white glow.
Like ink and demons, a deadly toxin surged like a turbulent tide, rapidly spreading toward the Gold Core.
The once-pure golden light of the Gold Core was gradually devoured by the black aura, transforming into a pitch-black pill.
The darkness was thick as death’s shadow, heavily cloaking the Gold Core and exuding a chilling deathly aura.
Su Bai’s eyes widened in disbelief as she painfully looked at Su Xiaohei.
At that moment, Su Xiaohei’s face began to melt in a grotesque manner, as if a false mask was being removed, revealing a completely unfamiliar face beneath.
That face was expressionless but radiated an eerie cold cruelty.
“Killer, Youlu Ying Sha.”
The black blade twisted violently.
Excruciating pain swept over Su Bai as her Gold Core shattered into countless fragments and her soul started to dissolve.
Ying Sha expressionlessly retracted the black blade, then flashed away, vanishing on the spot, leaving behind a body gradually losing warmth.
“Mother, I just made Peach Blossom Cake and Peach Blossom Tea. Let’s…”
Slap!
The tray suddenly trembled violently.
The plate carrying the Peach Blossom Cake and Tea fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
The pink Peach Blossom Cake was stained with dust.
Su Xiaohei’s eyes instantly widened, his smile frozen and replaced by endless panic and helplessness.
His feet seemed nailed to the ground.
After a brief daze, he recklessly rushed forward.
“Tsk~ brat, with this mindset, how will you accomplish anything big in the future?”
“This poison… Luo Huangquan? The trademark of Youlu—first suppressing magical power, then destroying the Gold Core, and finally shattering the soul.”
“No hope left, no hope. Just bury it. Even if it comes back, it won’t be human. The road ahead is hopeless.”
The senior ghosts in the Soul Prison watched the spectacle and eagerly offered commentary.
Holding Su Bai’s corpse, Su Xiaohei seemed to recall something and immediately knelt down, bowing fiercely to the void several times:
“Honored elders, please save my master!”
“No hope, no way to save her. Just bury her.”
“Heh~ Su little ghost, aren’t you fond of that girl? While she’s still fresh…”
“Damn, why is that Corpse-refining Old Devil popping up again!”
“Pfft! You don’t understand my painstaking efforts at all. I intend to refine them all into my Protector Puppets to lead them to Dao and eternal life!!”
The old ghosts in the Soul Prison erupted into another raucous debate.
Just then, a cold voice with a hint of amusement sounded:
“Su little ghost, I do have a method that fits this situation. The corpse can remain relatively intact.”