Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan Chapter 2203 - 1571: Punishment (Part 2)

With his bones seemingly removed, He Songzhi collapsed onto the ground, crying out, "Sect Leader, have mercy! Those actions were not mine, and I would never dare to harm the sect's interests or lay a hand on fellow disciples..."

His tearful and piteous appearance suggested he had endured immense injustice, yet no matter how convincingly he acted, Li Zhirui's sharp eyes saw through the facade.

With a mere flick of his wrist, He Songzhi was silenced, completely immobilized.

Li Zhirui turned away from the ashen-faced He Songzhi and coldly addressed the disciples gathered behind him, stating, "And all of you! Anyone implicated in this affair will face severe punishment: demoted to servant disciple status, toiling day and night, and never permitted to leave the mountain gate for the rest of your lives!"

"Furthermore, all disciples! You have half a month remaining. Should the Immortal City not be completed within this time limit, thirty points will be deducted from each of your selection test scores!"

The exact value of this score deduction remained somewhat unclear to them, as the specifics of the test and its evaluation criteria were yet to be revealed.

However, no one was willing to begin their test with a thirty-point deficit.

What if they were only twenty or so points shy of becoming Inner Sect Disciples?

Consequently, their previous conflicts melted away instantly, replaced by a unified effort and cooperation in constructing the Immortal City, all striving to meet the stipulated deadline.

Not long after, Wansheng arrived at the scene.

"Sect Leader, it is my fault for neglecting my duty in guiding the disciples, which led to the cultivation of such individuals." Upon noticing the detained disciple, Wansheng realized Li Zhirui was already aware of the situation and immediately admitted fault.

"This has nothing to do with you. Their intentions were impure, seeking wicked paths to achieve their aims."

Li Zhirui shook his head, believing Wansheng was not to blame for this incident. He then inquired, "How are those disciples who were targeted? Were they injured?"

"When they returned to the mountain gate, they took a deliberate detour and arrived back safely. I have already assigned them the task of managing the Spirit Vein's advancement."

"That is good to hear."

He harbored a hope that his diligently trained disciples would not perish due to the schemes and manipulations of their peers.

"You should return to guard the mountain gate first; I can manage here on my own."

Currently, Ascension Mountain was devoid of any stationed disciples. If cultivators with malicious intent were to approach, they would be unaware.

"Understood."

As if suddenly remembering something, Li Zhirui added, "On your way back, please check on the progress of the southern Marketplace's construction."

With hundreds of disciples collaborating, the Immortal City was nearing its completion. Logically, the Marketplace, which commenced construction earlier, should already be finished.

Wansheng nodded and departed.

Several days later, the Immortal City was successfully completed, well before the final deadline!

Where there was once only flat land, a majestic Immortal City now stood, reaching two zhang in height and spanning fifty li. From each of the four city gates, a wide avenue greeted visitors, lined with newly constructed shops.

Venturing further into the city led to intersections connecting to other districts, all designed with a similar layout.

Additionally, a dedicated area was allocated for itinerant cultivators to set up stalls and offer spiritual items for sale, a strategy to draw in a larger crowd.

At the city's heart, a grand square was situated, alongside a City Lord's Mansion soaring ten zhang high!

The disciples assigned to this location would reside within the mansion, responsible for safeguarding and maintaining order throughout the Immortal City.

Li Zhirui produced a plaque, upon which were inscribed four prominent characters: "Ten Thousand Treasures Immortal City!"

This name was primarily chosen to signify the city's abundance of spiritual objects, thereby attracting more cultivators to visit.

With all preparations in place, the remaining tasks involved stocking the city with spiritual items and attracting merchants and cultivators.

To achieve this, the primary strategy was to initiate widespread promotion, ensuring that news of the city reached a vast number of cultivators.

Therefore, in addition to dispatching disciples to disseminate information, Li Zhirui resolved to host a grand auction! The aim was to capture the attention of every cultivator across Mingzhou.

Consequently, meticulous selection of auction items was paramount, including both rare spiritual objects guaranteed to captivate the audience and highly sought-after lower-level spiritual items.

The former category was easily addressed, as the Tongtian Sect's treasure vault housed an ample supply of such valuable artifacts; selecting a few would suffice.

However, the latter category, comprising spiritual items favored by the majority of cultivators, were not readily available in the treasure vault, compelling Li Zhirui to devise his own solution.

His strategy centered on his area of expertise—pills!

He chose three widely used mana-boosting pills: a Sixth Rank, an Eighth Tier, and a Loose Immortal Grade. These required no alterations to their original recipes, and as long as Li Zhirui personally concocted them, their quality would inherently be high.

Nevertheless, to provide the Immortal City and Marketplace with distinctive spiritual items, he dedicated some time to subtly refining these three pill recipes, boosting their efficacy by one to two percent.

While the refinement of pill recipes might pose significant difficulties for others, it was a simple task for him, consuming minimal effort.

This clearly exemplified the advanced mastery he had achieved in the Alchemy Dao.

Do not dismiss even a one or two percent enhancement; when sold at unchanged prices, such pills were capable of igniting intense desire among cultivators.

Acquiring a single bottle of these pills meant obtaining the equivalent of twelve previous pills, establishing it as the most appealing choice for cultivators with limited finances.

...

Meanwhile.

Word of the Tongtian Sect's newly established Immortal City and Marketplace began circulating throughout the surrounding Cultivation World, igniting widespread conversations among numerous cultivators.

"Did you hear? The Tongtian Sect has established an Immortal City and Marketplace, actively promoting it to draw us in."

"What is the Tongtian Sect's motive for suddenly undertaking such grand endeavors?"

"Who can fathom the Tongtian Sect's intentions? Given that Liang Country lacks suitable locations for cultivation practice, they might attract some cultivators initially, but ultimately, these cultivators will depart."

The primary reason cultivators chose to remain in a particular region was the potential to acquire spiritual items and the availability of places for cultivation practice.

Absent a suitable cultivation site, they would face the necessity of extensive travel to other locales, with no certainty of the time investment required, rendering it ultimately unrewarding.

"Is that so? Merely examine the Tongtian Sect's auction catalog, and I assure you, your perspective will change," a cultivator nearby interjected.

"Oh?"

This statement immediately captured the attention of an even larger crowd of cultivators.

"Esteemed friend, might you permit us to view it, so we may gain understanding?"

The cultivator directly projected the catalog's contents using their mana, making it visible to all onlookers.

"Hiss!"

Upon witnessing the very first auction item, they collectively inhaled sharply, struggling to accept what their eyes presented.

"A Profound Immortal Grade Spiritual Object, the Eternal Bright Flower!"

"If my memory serves me right, isn't this one of the crucial components for the Ascension Golden Core?"

The Ascension Golden Core stands as an exceptionally rare Breaking Realm Elixir, capable of elevating a Heavenly Immortal Cultivator's probability of advancing to the Profound Immortal stage by one or two percent.

"What a magnanimous gesture by the Tongtian Sect, to willingly offer such a prized treasure for auction."

Yet, as their perusal continued, they discovered that the subsequent spiritual objects were of equally immense value, each one prompting fervent desire and competition among countless cultivators.

"While these spiritual objects are undoubtedly valuable, surely they cannot compel cultivators to remain within the newly established Immortal City and Marketplace of the Tongtian Sect, can they?"

"Continue reading, and you will soon grasp the underlying reason." The cultivator offered no further explanation, preferring to let the gathered cultivators deduce the answer themselves.

Before long, one cultivator discerned the core of the matter.

"Pills with a one or two percent enhanced effect, specifically the Sixth Rank, Eighth Tier, and Loose Immortal Grade Spirit Enhancing Pills?!”

The cultivator's eyes sparkled as they proclaimed, "The Tongtian Sect has mastered refined pill recipes and possesses the capability to produce them in substantial quantities."

"However, to secure eligibility for purchasing these, one must first establish residency within the Hundred Treasures Market and the Ten Thousand Treasures Immortal City..."

"The Tongtian Sect has ingeniously implemented a strategy of bundled sales!"

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that with these three categories of pills available, the dual Immortal City and Marketplace will be assured of sustained viability and continuous appeal.