Chapter 1975 - Winning Allegiance Through Conduct

Cultivation resources had brought Liu Wuxie to the Azure Jade Palace. He needed the sect's connections to acquire them, and now that an opportunity was right in front of him, he could hardly let it pass.

"Come on, Blackie. We have somewhere to go," he said.

A month still remained, so Liu Wuxie saw no need to rush. He sent Blackie into the Desolate World before stepping out of the courtyard. Elder Gui's intervention had only driven those disciples away, not stripped them of their greed. They would return for his immortal roots as soon as another opening presented itself.

Although they didn't concern him, he didn't intend to lay all his trump cards bare. The three newcomers had tracked him down. Other outer disciples could follow just as easily.

Weeds covered the sprawling Sixty-Ninth Peak. Liu Wuxie made his way north, seeking a quieter, more secluded spot before retrieving a Communication Talisman. He crushed it, sending his message.

Roughly fifteen minutes passed before a figure swept down from the sky.

"Wuxie, did you need to see me?" Elder Kong asked as he landed. Upon receiving the message, he had immediately set aside his work and hurried over.

"My respects, Elder Kong," Liu Wuxie said, bowing. Within the Azure Jade Palace, the elder was the only person he trusted.

"Forget the formalities. Sit with me and tell me what's on your mind," Elder Kong said. He settled beside Liu Wuxie on a large boulder without a trace of an elder's imposing manner. The young man had entered the sect only yesterday. Something must have happened for him to request a meeting so soon.

"Would you take a look at these, Elder Kong?" Liu Wuxie asked, offering him the three mission sheets.

"The sect gave you these this morning?" Elder Kong asked, his brow tightening as he read.

The outer sect's old debts were no secret to him. Disciples had repeatedly tried to recover them, but their efforts had yielded little.

"They did," Liu Wuxie said, nodding. He had not called the elder here to have him overturn the assignments. What he needed was information.

"New disciples have three months before they're required to accept compulsory missions. You arrived yesterday, and they're already sending you out? That's out of line. I'll take this to the Deputy Palace Master," Elder Kong said, getting to his feet.

"That isn't why I asked to meet you, Elder Kong. I don't want you to intervene. I need to know more about these three forces," Liu Wuxie said. An opportunity had landed in his hands. Why would he willingly surrender it?

The three rewards could each raise his cultivation by a level. Opportunities like these rarely appeared, and letting them slip away would leave him bitterly regretting it. Relying on cultivation alone would likely take him millennia to return to the Immortal Emperor Realm. He had no choice but to seek out treasures and devour them.

"You mean to take on all three?" Elder Kong asked, understanding at last. Someone had arranged these rewards for Liu Wuxie, and he suspected the palace master.

Her reasons eluded him, however, and he could hardly voice an accusation founded on nothing more than a guess. Until he found proof that the palace master herself had issued the orders, he would keep that suspicion from Liu Wuxie.

"There's one thing I can't make sense of, Elder Kong. None of these forces has the standing to challenge the Azure Jade Palace, so how dare they withhold tribute? The Tigerwood Blacksmith Pavilion has even cheated the sect outright. Surely the Azure Jade Palace has some way to deal with them?" Liu Wuxie asked. He had sought him out to learn the truth behind those unpaid debts.

An Immortal Venerable should have been enough to settle the matter. Why resort to such a roundabout approach?

"There's more to it than that. Take the Chai Clan first. They aren't refusing to pay. Misfortune has struck them again and again over the years, and the clan has fallen into decline. They simply don't have the immortal rice or immortal stones. We can hardly destroy them for being unable to pay," Elder Kong said with a sigh.

Liu Wuxie nodded in understanding. Whatever had befallen the Chai Clan must have been severe. Five hundred catties of immortal rice and one million immortal stones each year should have amounted to little for a third-tier force. Without the Azure Jade Palace sheltering them, they would have ceased to exist long ago. Even so, the sect had never pressed them to clear their accumulated tribute.

Countless clans could not even qualify for that protection. Across the Celestial Weave Domain, third-tier clans collapsed almost daily, and new ones rose in their wake.

"The Mountain Guardian Sect presents a similar problem, but they're playing a different game. They've suffered no losses over the years. Withholding tribute is a deliberate choice, and there are signs they intend to leave our protection altogether. Be careful when you approach them about the debt," Elder Kong continued.

"Then there's the Tigerwood Blacksmith Pavilion. That affair is complicated as well. Our investigation points to them having joined the Heavenly Alliance years ago, but we still lack firm evidence," he added.

Of the three, the Tigerwood Blacksmith Pavilion posed the most serious problem. At least the first two cases had an explanation. The Tigerwood Pavilion, however, had taken the Azure Jade Palace's payment and brazenly refused to supply the goods.

"Then why hasn't the Azure Jade Palace wiped out the Tigerwood Blacksmith Pavilion?" Liu Wuxie asked. What could give them the confidence to swindle a superpower and expect to survive?

"For one thing, suspicion isn't proof. For another, dealings between superpowers are more complicated than they appear. If we destroyed forces so readily, who would trust us enough to seek our protection? They chose to follow us, so they are also free to choose someone else," Elder Kong said, laying out the concerns that restrained the Azure Jade Palace.

That principle defined the Azure Jade Palace's rule over its subsidiary forces. Its peers would have destroyed a betrayer long before matters reached this point. The Azure Jade Palace alone sought to win allegiance through the way it conducted itself, and that distinction set it apart from the other superpowers.

Although a powerful nation sheltered a smaller one, did one act of disobedience give it the right to erase that smaller nation from existence?

The world rested on a balance, and the Celestial Weave Domain obeyed the same rule. Each superpower watched the others. For the Azure Jade Palace to strike down a mere third-tier force would invite ridicule from all sides, no different from a grown man killing a newborn with one punch.

"Thank you, Elder Kong. I'm deeply grateful for your guidance," Liu Wuxie said, rising and bowing to him. The explanation had given him something invaluable. With the circumstances of all three debtors now clear, recovering the debts would take far less effort.

"If resources are what you urgently need, Wuxie, I can point you toward other ways to obtain them. Don't let these missions fool you. They may look safe, but there's danger behind every one," Elder Kong said, rising to his feet. He still hoped to persuade Liu Wuxie to reconsider.

"I appreciate your concern, Elder Kong. But my mind is made up," Liu Wuxie replied. He knew there was kindness behind the warning, and he felt genuine gratitude for it.

"Then I won't try to persuade you otherwise. But the moment you run into danger, let me know. These debts have been unpaid for years. No one will punish you if you can't recover them," Elder Kong said, patting his shoulder. Such resolve deserved encouragement in a young man. The experience would serve Liu Wuxie well.

"Understood, Elder," Liu Wuxie said with a nod.

"Take care of yourself out there. I have other business to attend to," Elder Kong said, turning into a streak of light and vanishing from the Sixty-Ninth Peak.

Liu Wuxie watched him go, then set off directly for the bridge. He had no intention of returning to his residence.

......

A crowd of more than a hundred people packed the area around the courtyard Liu Wuxie had occupied the night before.

Several Golden Immortals stood outside, clenching their fists. "Damn it! We missed him! Liu Wuxie's already gone!" They had rushed there after hearing about his fifty immortal roots, but they had arrived just too late.

"Spread the word to the other peaks! He can't stay hidden forever. If he's still in the Azure Jade Palace, we'll find him!" another Golden Immortal declared, contacting disciples elsewhere in the sect and urging them to keep watch for Liu Wuxie.

News of those fifty immortal roots raced through the Azure Jade Palace, drawing even the attention of elite disciples. More and more people joined the search, yet none could uncover the slightest sign of Liu Wuxie.

"Has someone already killed Liu Wuxie and disposed of his body? How else could he have vanished without a trace?" Half a day of searching had produced nothing, and speculation began to take hold. Sighs rose from many of the disciples as they lamented the loss of such a rare opportunity.

......

Liu Wuxie crossed the bridge and reached Mulberry Sea City without trouble, oblivious to the uproar his disappearance had caused within the Azure Jade Palace.

Atop the Matriarch Cradle Peak, Shui Yao opened her eyes and extended her divine sense, taking in everything unfolding throughout the sect.

"Make the most of this chance. I hope you can," she murmured.

She sealed the Matriarch Cradle Peak and withdrew into seclusion, cutting off all contact with the outside world. Had Liu Wuxie stayed within the Azure Jade Palace, the Golden Immortals hunting him would have torn him apart. Instead, three assignments had taken him away and saved his life. Was that truly a matter of chance?

After stepping out of the teleportation array, Liu Wuxie chose the Chai Clan as his first destination. Of the three debtors, it lay nearest to the Azure Jade Palace. The Tigerwood Blacksmith Pavilion was the farthest away. Reaching it would require another trip through a teleportation array.

Hundreds of millions of cultivators inhabited the immense Mulberry Sea City, whose territory contained countless third-tier factions. Among them, the Chai Clan was merely one of many.

A quick examination of his map revealed the Chai Clan's location. More than half a day of walking brought Liu Wuxie to its gates, where neglect lay plain before him. The estate seemed to be withering like an old tree, its vitality draining away by degrees. No servants guarded the entrance. Only two stone lions stood on either side, with long, unswept leaves scattered around them.

Liu Wuxie stepped up and tapped the door knocker gently. The sound carried far into the estate.

Roughly fifteen minutes went by before the gate opened a narrow crack. An elderly man peered through the gap.

"How may the Chai Clan help you, Young Master?" the old man asked courteously. A visitor had not called at these gates in a long time.