Chapter 657: The World Comes and Goes for Profit

Chen Yan let his gaze settle on the white jade chair beneath Mr. You, then said:

"It's just a chair, after all. For you and me, what does it matter whether a chair is comfortable or not?"

Hearing this, Mr. You simply smiled and shook his head:

"The logic is sound, but let those people see it, and the esteemed steward of Chenping Continent, the renowned Realman Du Cang, sitting on such a chair—then they might start thinking all sorts of things."

Chen Yan fell silent for a moment, as if he had picked up on something beneath Mr. You's words.

"Has something happened?"

He asked.

"Nothing too major, nothing too minor."

Mr. You replied:

"During the time you were away at the Endless Sea, several juniors who came to Du Cang Mountain were attacked, and among them, Liang Qianbo of Wind Ravine Valley was killed on the spot."

Liang Qianbo.

Chen Yan had a slight impression of that name. In the cycle of reincarnation when he and Si Youyou had both joined Wind Ravine Valley together, Liang Qianbo, as the standout among the new generation of disciples in Qingjin Ravine, had been highly regarded by Wind Ravine Valley.

But he had never managed to become the chief disciple of Qingjin Ravine.

Because Si Youyou's existence was simply too monstrous.

During those eight years Si Youyou spent in Wind Ravine Valley, her brilliance had even overshadowed Qin Qingyu of Star Heaven Sect.

If one were to compare Liang Qianbo with Si Youyou, it would indeed be like a firefly trying to compete with the bright moon.

But in the current timeline, Chen Yan had not brought Si Youyou to join Wind Ravine Valley. Instead, he had founded North Pass Sect.

This had caused a tremendous shift in Liang Qianbo's life.

He became the chief disciple of Qingjin Ravine, earned the qualification for the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry, and made a name for himself throughout the cultivation world of Chenping Continent.

So much so that at the Du Cang Mountain Dao Discussion a year ago, Liang Qianbo had successfully become a Guardian of the Dao on Du Cang Mountain, able to command the finest cultivation resources in all of Chenping Continent.

But his promising future had come to an abrupt halt along with his life.

Whether it was Mr. You or Realman Shuangyu, Yin Xia—these representatives of the most powerful cultivators on Chenping Continent—when they mentioned his death, it was as if they were speaking of the most trivial matter.

Chen Yan was no different.

When he heard of Liang Qianbo's death, not a single ripple stirred in his heart.

Dead was dead.

Such things were utterly commonplace.

Not to mention that Chen Yan had never held any expectations for this Guardian of the Dao whom he had scarcely paid attention to.

At present, the only one on Chenping Continent with any hope of breaking through to the Immortal Ascension Realm and beyond remained Qin Qingyu alone.

As for the other Guardians of the Dao, they were mostly there to fulfill Chen Yan's need to establish Du Cang Mountain as the sacred land of cultivation on Chenping Continent, and to drive the cultivation world of Chenping Continent to continue thriving and developing upward.

"Who did it?"

Chen Yan asked.

"It's said to be the work of a Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator named Jiang Da from the Danyang Sect in the Eastern Domain of Chenping Continent."

Mr. You replied in a casual, dismissive tone:

"At present, the Danyang Sect has been completely taken over by Wind Ravine Valley, and Jiang Da himself has been thrown into Wind Ravine Valley's great prison."

"How is the progress going?"

Chen Yan continued asking.

"Going through the motions without putting in real effort."

Mr. You answered offhandedly:

"As for how to handle it specifically, I'm afraid Realman Yin is still waiting to see what stance you'll take."

Hearing this, Chen Yan showed no surprise whatsoever. He had known all along that things would develop exactly this way.

Those Immortal Ascension cultivators would naturally never follow Chen Yan with unwavering loyalty.

The reason Chen Yan had become the steward of Chenping Continent and established Du Cang Mountain was entirely because his martial power far surpassed that of all other Immortal Ascension cultivators.

This did not mean that Chen Yan had already established a completely new order.

To build a new order, one must truly propose a system of interest distribution that all parties can accept.

A system maintained solely by military suppression can only be upheld through military might.

That is not true order.

Of course, Chen Yan had not changed the order of Chenping Continent itself. The cultivation world of Chenping Continent still operated according to its original system of interest distribution.

He had merely placed Du Cang Mountain—an entity that barely participated in any of Chenping Continent's cultivation resource distribution—on top of the existing system.

The Immortal Ascension cultivators of Chenping Continent could certainly accept such an arrangement.

But that did not mean they would remain loyal to Du Cang Mountain.

The world hustles, all for profit.

The world scrambles, all for gain.

This was an eternal truth, whether in secular dynasties or in the cultivation world.

The character for immortal itself has the radical for person beside it.

And in the term immortal, the more important character is that of person.

"Understood. I will take a stance."

Chen Yan said to Mr. You.

...

Western Region of Chenping Continent, three thousand zhang above the ground.

Aboard a medium-sized ferry traveling from the Liaolong Ferry in the Western Region of Chenping Continent to the Mingxiao Peak Ferry of Kongshan Sect in the northwest region.

In recent years, the number of ferries flying to the Mingxiao Peak Ferry of Kongshan Sect from various docks across Chenping Continent had decreased by a third compared to previous years.

And this phenomenon was said to be closely related to the departure of a certain dock supervisor at the Mingxiao Peak Ferry.

Inside a private cabin on the ferry, a middle-aged man in light gray daoist robes sat off to the side, two long swords wrapped in bandages standing upright against the table beside him.

Not far from him sat a female cultivator, also dressed in light gray daoist robes, who appeared to be a young girl of sixteen or seventeen, but was in reality already in her twenties.

Li Haowen and He Qingling.

After temporarily resolving the crisis of being ambushed and killed, Li Haowen had quickly brought He Qingling to the Liaolong Ferry and boarded the earliest ferry bound for Kongshan Sect.

Because at this moment, staying in Liaolong any longer was unwise.

Li Haowen still could not figure out how those puppet masters had so precisely discovered that He Qingling was in Liaolong.

No matter how much he racked his brain, there seemed to be only two possibilities.

Either word had already leaked out while they were at the Cyclone City Ferry.

Or it was the manager of the Yulai Pavilion branch in Huangquan City.

Li Haowen leaned more toward the former.

The Yulai Pavilion probably didn't have the guts to do such a thing, unless they wanted to be wiped out.

But he couldn't be so hasty in his judgment either. As for the exact details, he would have to wait until they returned to Kongshan Sect first.

He just hoped that no more unexpected incidents would occur on the journey back to Kongshan Sect.

Suddenly, Li Haowen felt as if someone's gaze was fixed on him.

He lifted his head and turned his gaze toward He Qingling, who was in the same cabin.

Seeing Li Haowen's gaze turn in her direction, He Qingling's first reaction was to avert her eyes.

But she quickly realized that if she looked away, it would seem all the more as if she had done something guilty.