Chapter 604: What a Beastly Scheme!

Seeing that Lu Yang was completely unyielding, Ban Shan instead found himself in an awkward position.

To actually resort to killing?

Don’t joke around. Fighting and killing—what kind of conduct was that? It would completely ruin the harmony of Alliance Prestige City. Even if no one died, damaging the flowers and grass would still be bad.

Moreover, unauthorized dueling was punishable by fines.

It would even be recorded in the official logs.

Right now, it was a critical period for the External Dao Alliance to break through to the sixth level. They absolutely could not afford any criminal records. Compared to this matter, a single External Dao True Lord simply wasn’t that important.

Thus, in a flash of thought, Ban Shan’s face once again bloomed into a smile. “Fellow Daoist misunderstands. Since you’re unwilling to join our External Dao Alliance, we won’t insist. It’s fine not to sign the contract. Fellow Daoist may sit here for a moment and wait for the Tax Agent to register your name.”

As his words fell, Ban Shan had already clarified his stance.

It had merely been a misunderstanding just now. Let bygones be bygones with a smile. I forgive you—so don’t be angry anymore. If you keep getting angry, then you’re the one being unreasonable.

‘No need to go all out against this guy.’

‘A righteous cultivator—definitely a fool. He’s all alone. Before long, he won’t be able to get by in the Celestial Mansion and will come begging me for help.’

With that thought, Ban Shan decisively left.

The other six True Lords, seeing this, also dispersed their projections without hesitation. After all, though they were External Dao True Lords, they were still very busy and had to work overtime every day.

This visit had just been a brief moment of stolen leisure.

Best if it succeeded. If not, there was no need to act. After all, the cost of medical fees, overtime pay, and fines for unauthorized combat would all add up to a huge sum.

In an instant, the seven True Lords scattered like startled birds and beasts.

Strangely enough, they didn’t seem worried at all about Lu Yang causing trouble. They just left him there in Alliance Prestige City, even showing signs of indulgence.

‘This really is…’

Seeing this, Lu Yang rubbed his chin. He could tell Ban Shan and the others were apprehensive, which made him even more curious about the internal system of the Celestial Mansion.

‘To be able to accommodate External Dao True Lords and still train them into such obedient behavior—I’ve only seen that before in Jiangbei. If not for that, there wouldn’t only be External Dao True Lords in Jiangbei among the Five Regions of the world under the Immortal Pivot. And now the Celestial Mansion can also achieve this? Could it really be related to the Saint Sect?’

Just as Lu Yang was pondering—

Suddenly, the sky dimmed, day turned to night, and the Taiyin moon hung high as moonlight cascaded down like a waterfall. That light condensed into a human form that descended in front of Lu Yang.

Lu Yang fixed his eyes on the figure.

He saw a woman of peerless beauty, dressed in white robes, adorned with a rosy cloud shawl and immortal feathers, holding a book in her hands—an absolutely stunning lady.

“Little one is Chang Gui, under the command of the Immortal Lord, a Tax Officer Immortal Official.”

As soon as she revealed her divine presence, the newcomer gave Lu Yang a full ceremonial bow. Her vermilion lips parted softly, her voice gentle: “Respectfully welcoming the True Lord’s descent. May I know your name and Dao lineage, True Lord?”

After speaking, this peerless beauty who had descended from the Taiyin moon widened her beautiful eyes and stared directly at Lu Yang, seemingly pondering something. At the same time, Lu Yang sensed a tremendous sense of crisis locking onto him—the source being the full moon hanging in the heavens.

“…I go by Ming He.”

Lu Yang wore a solemn expression and returned the bow. “My Dao lineage is called ‘Imperial Mandate.’ A rogue cultivator from beyond the heavens—nothing worth mentioning. Trouble the Immortal Official to descend—what instruction might you have?”

“True Lord is too polite.”

The beautiful woman’s demeanor was delicate, and she softly said, “I dare not speak of instruction. I merely act under the Immortal Lord’s order—those from beyond the heavens must first register upon entering the realm.”

With that, she opened the book in her hands.

“Would True Lord kindly leave behind a wisp of your magical essence on the register?”

This time, Lu Yang did not hesitate. Clearly, this was a Celestial Mansion regulation—there was no avoiding it. Hesitating would only raise suspicion.

With a flick of his finger, a wisp of aura shot forth.

In the next moment, the book in the woman’s hands glowed with golden light, revealing two shining characters: 【明合】(Ming He), which made the woman nod in satisfaction.

“Thank you for your cooperation, True Lord.”

As she spoke, she lightly tapped the book, and a burst of divine light split off and condensed into a jade slip in her palm.

She then handed the jade slip to Lu Yang:

“From now on, this【Celestial Pass】will serve as your identity certificate within the Celestial Mansion. Your Immortal Talismans can also be directly charged into the Celestial Pass.”

“In addition, since True Lord is now one of our Celestial Mansion cultivators, you’ll need to settle your expenses incurred since entering the realm—this includes fees for absorbing heaven and earth spiritual qi, sensing the forces of nature, and the pressure your True Lord presence exerts on the world… total amount due: thirty-six thousand External Dao Immortal Talismans.”

Lu Yang: “???”

What kind of ridiculous fees were these!

As if hearing Lu Yang’s inner complaints, the stunning woman explained smoothly: “Indeed, because the Celestial Mansion is the private domain of the Immortal Lord.”

“The spiritual qi, mountains and rivers, sun and moon—every inch of space belongs to the Immortal Lord.”

“Only because the Immortal Lord is merciful and broad-minded, always sympathetic to the lesser cultivators, has he allowed the masses to dwell within the Celestial Mansion, charging only a symbolic fee—”

Before she could finish, Lu Yang had already tossed over the ten million External Dao Immortal Talismans that Ban Shan had lent him earlier.

“Deduct from that.”

“Thank you for your patronage.”

The stunning woman bowed respectfully, and Lu Yang saw thirty-six thousand External Dao Immortal Talismans instantly deducted from his【Celestial Pass】.

“Wishing you a pleasant cultivation experience in the Celestial Mansion, True Lord.”

As her words fell, the woman’s figure vanished like a flickering light, and the dark canopy and Taiyin moon disappeared along with her.

At the same time, Lu Yang was staring at the【Celestial Pass】in his hand.

As his divine sense entered it, a vast trove of information surfaced—book after book arranged before his eyes:

【Celestial Pass Primer】

【Overview of the Nine Levels' Geography and Culture】

【Detailed History of the Celestial Mansion】

【Essential Dao for External Dao True Lords—Immortal Talisman Refining Method】

A dazzling array of books. Lu Yang had no doubt that reading them would make the Celestial Mansion no longer a mystery to him. Just one small problem—

They all cost money.

The lowest price was one million External Dao Immortal Talismans—clearly a precision-targeted money trap, designed to exploit newcomers like him.

At that thought, Lu Yang’s expression darkened.

‘As a True Lord, I have the authority to mint currency in the Celestial Mansion. I can refine my own Immortal Talismans… but the problem is, I don’t know how to refine them.’

What? The【Celestial Pass】offers the method?

【Essential Dao for External Dao True Lords—Immortal Talisman Refining Method】

【Price: one hundred million External Dao Immortal Talismans】

A pure death loop: I don’t have the method to refine talismans, so I need to buy it. I don’t have talismans to buy it, so I need to refine them. I don’t have the method to refine them…

How to break out of this?

Simple: take out a loan.

【Celestial Pass】offers every External Dao True Lord a generous reserve of Immortal Talismans, with an incredibly kind annual interest rate—thirty-six percent.

‘So before I even learn the Immortal Talisman Refining Method, I’m already one hundred million in debt.’

‘And this refining method is mandatory, because as long as I’m in the Celestial Mansion, I must pay rent to the Taiyin Immortal Venerable. Without money, how do I pay?’

Refuse? Default?

Judging by Ban Shan and the others’ reactions, and the grandeur with which that “Immortal Tax Officer” appeared, being a deadbeat was clearly not a viable option.

At this thought, Lu Yang was awestruck.

It was like an exquisitely crafted beast trap, specifically designed to ensnare External Dao True Lords from beyond—and it caught every single one flawlessly.

What a beastly design.

I love it!

Even though he had just entered the Celestial Mansion and been thoroughly scammed, Lu Yang felt no anger. Instead, his eyes shone brightly as he identified the key insight:

‘Regulations… this place runs on regulations!’

So-called Great Dao Immortal Talismans—boiled down, were just money. And a system built on money ensured that most people would abide by the rules.

In other words:

‘There likely won’t be any late-stage Golden Core True Lords ambushing early-stage ones here. For me, this is a blue ocean yet to be tapped!’

That’s all for today’s three chapters.