A Stagnant Pool of Water

The person who had spoken was none other than Bai Yu, Sect Master of Luoshen Mountain.

Once Luoshen Mountain had been the first to voice its stance, the other sects and imperial families seemed to find their direction as well. After holding private discussions among themselves, they each settled on a general plan.

Those whose plans overlapped agreed amicably to hold smaller private meetings later to work out the details.

With the important matters settled, they were more inclined to exchange a few casual remarks.

Someone sighed, “Having looked over this list, we all know how astonishingly low the prices are. Yet the Lingxian Sect has not tried to monopolize the mortal realm and become its sole seller. Instead, they are selling these goods to us at low prices, constructing a commercial district, and renting out shops so that we can share in this business. They are openly giving us a portion of the profits.”

“Exactly. Since the Lingxian Sect has shown such goodwill, we should respond by developing the commercial district properly. That way, everyone wins,” someone else agreed.

At this moment, Han Shangyi, Sect Leader of the Qinghe Sect, spoke up. “For the sake of helping the commercial district in Xiushui City develop more quickly—and, more importantly, for the sake of ensuring that our own shops prosper—why don’t we send some disciples whose absence won’t affect our supply operations outside the city to spread the word?”

Upon hearing this, many people nodded.

“Fellow Daoist, that is an excellent suggestion.”

“If cultivators from other sects and nations come to Xiushui City to purchase supplies in the future, then wouldn’t we…” An elder trailed off as he stroked his beard. His hand trembled so badly that he accidentally pulled out a hair.

If the Lingxian Sect truly had the capacity to handle the massive flow of goods in the future, they would all become wealthy!

And it would not merely be a matter of gaining spirit stones. Their standing throughout the mortal realm would rise along with their wealth.

Whether this plan succeeded or failed would all depend on one thing: could the trading center in Xiushui City truly supply the various orders from so many sects one month from now?

Judging from the current situation of the Li imperial clan, the Qinghe Sect, the Yunyan Cult, and the Shangyang Sect, however, there was a very good chance that the trading center would remain stable…

It seemed that they, too, had to begin making arrangements within their own factions as soon as possible.

Everyone began calculating their own plans.

The guest hall fell silent.

Sect Leader Han Shangyi of the Qinghe Sect was sitting there, communicating with the elders of his sect through voice transmission, when he suddenly received an unexpected message.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was not someone just any cultivator could contact through voice transmission. Those who could easily send him a direct message were either cultivators with cultivation far higher than his own, people possessing some special voice-transmission technique, or his daughter, Han Weishu.

After receiving his daughter’s message, Han Shangyi calmly glanced around the room. Then he cleared his throat and suddenly said, “Everyone, I have just thought of an excellent solution concerning independent cultivators.”

The others were rather puzzled.

No one had been discussing any issue involving independent cultivators. Why had he suddenly brought them up?

Seeing the confusion on everyone’s faces, Han Shangyi immediately explained, “In our eyes, the independent cultivators outside are mostly low-level cultivators who possess little in the way of spirit stones. They have limited purchasing power, and most of them have given up hope of advancing in cultivation. They may not even be willing to exchange their meager savings for cultivation resources. In other words, they are unlikely to become consumers in our cultivators’ commercial district in the future.”

Although the others still did not understand his purpose, they nodded in agreement after hearing this.

“That is indeed the case. Most independent cultivators have little hope of advancing. Even if they have some surplus resources, they probably will not spend them on cultivation resources—and they would not be able to buy much in the first place.”

“Exactly. If they have truly abandoned the path of cultivation, they would be better off exchanging whatever little they have left for goods used by mortals.”

Han Shangyi continued, “But regardless of whether it is spirit stones or something else, anything useful to cultivators is worth far more in the mortal world. If we use that as an incentive, we could hire many independent cultivators to work for us.”

As soon as he said this, everyone present froze for a moment.

After thinking it over, someone asked, “Is Sect Leader Han suggesting that we hire independent cultivators to manufacture goods for our sects, allowing us to accept more orders?”

Han Shangyi shook his head. “Most independent cultivators have low cultivation, and even fewer possess any particular skill.”

After all, if they had possessed some special skill, a sect would certainly have taken them in. They would never have been reduced to becoming independent cultivators.

“We cannot hire them to manufacture goods, but there are plenty of miscellaneous tasks within our sects—and, in the future, within Xiushui City—that we could hire them to handle. In this way, whether for our sects or the imperial clans, we could free up more of our own people. Those with the ability could focus directly on productive work, while those whose abilities are still lacking would have more time and energy to study and improve,” Han Shangyi said.

“Many independent cultivators are said to have no hope of advancing, but in reality, their aptitude is often not that poor. They were merely forced to give up because of insufficient resources or various accidents during cultivation. If they had the opportunity to advance to a higher realm, who would willingly remain stuck where they are?”

Han Shangyi spoke with growing enthusiasm. “By hiring independent cultivators to handle odd jobs, we give them work and a way to earn spirit stones. They gain a means of accumulating resources, rather than remaining constrained by a lack of resources and being forced to abandon their hopes. That is the long-term solution. What do you all think?”

“What Sect Leader Han says is reasonable from the perspective of the independent cultivators, but what benefit does it bring us?” asked a Golden Core cultivator from the imperial family of the Jinyuan Kingdom. “We earn spirit stones, yet instead of keeping them in our own pockets, we have to take them out and pay independent cultivators. Our own disciples can clearly do the work better and with greater dedication. Why should we hire those independent cultivators who have no future?”

Han Shangyi was just about to explain the difference—to explain that a market had to circulate, that only in this way could they cultivate more talent and achieve better development, and to explain the principle of leading others to prosperity after becoming prosperous themselves—

But someone spoke before he could.

“Isn’t our mortal realm already stagnant enough?” It was Sect Master Bai Yu of Luoshen Mountain who had spoken.

It was a simple sentence, yet the entire hall fell into utter silence.

Even Han Shangyi, who had been preparing to offer an explanation, said nothing more.

Indeed, their mortal realm was already stagnant enough.

It had been stagnant for a very, very long time.

Everyone present was at least several hundred years old. From the moment they had been born, the mortal realm had already been like this.

Perhaps in their youth, they too had once felt indignation without regard for the consequences. Perhaps they had once dreamed of breaking through society’s shackles and changing the world. But as the years passed and their cultivation grew, as their status and authority gradually rose, their thoughts slowly changed.

The person they had been back then had merely been young and foolish.

Adults had to conduct themselves in an adult manner.