Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
White Sand River Oasis was more than 3,200 miles long from east to west, 1,700 miles wide from north to south, and had a population of more than a million people. It was one of the most famous large-scale oases in the Boundless Sand Sea.
The place gained its name after a long river with sand as white as jade that ran from White Camel Ridge in the south to Golden Water Lake in the north.
It was said that a thousand years ago, White Sand River Oasis was only about half the size of what it was today. It was eventually occupied by the immortal cultivation clans along the river. After more than a thousand years of continuous investments of manpower and resources, they managed to expand the area of the oasis to its current size.
There were four clans led by clan leaders in the realm of Foundation Establishment and dozens of smaller clans led by clan leaders in the realm of Qi Refinement, all of which were affiliated to the White Camel Ridge Chen clan led by a clan leader in the realm of Zifu. With so many immortal cultivators occupying such an expansive land, White Sand River Oasis was like a small self-sufficient immortal cultivation world of its own.
Chen Yaohui’s presence as the Chen clan leader and an Advanced-Stage Zifu Cultivator allowed White Sand River Oasis to confidently welcome foreign cultivators to its immortal cultivator market without the fear of getting ambushed or exterminated. The Chen clan and its affiliated smaller immortal cultivation clans ensured the safety of the millions of resident mortals by setting up gateways along the four sides of the oasis and assigning their own clan cultivators to guard them all year round. Doing so allowed the clans to properly guide and monitor the foreign cultivators without disturbing the mortals.
If foreign cultivators did not enter White Sand River Oasis through any one of these gateways and were discovered by the clan cultivators on patrol, they would be punished at best with a light penalty of spiritual stones or be regarded as intruders and killed immediately in the worst-case scenario.
At the southern gateway of White Sand River Oasis, a young man in a white robe riding a Camel Beast approached.
Like most newcomers, the young man’s face was full of fatigue.
It was not until he saw the splendid palace on the mountain peak in the distance that his spirits were lifted and his eyes revealed a touch of excitement.
The young man was Zhou Yang who had been traveling through the desert for forty-two days since he left Yuquan Lake Oasis.
His journey had been relatively smooth after his encounter with the sand bandits besides killing two ignorant Grade 1 desert demon beasts along the way.
His exhaustion was mainly from having to use his Divine Sense to navigate and identify potential dangers. By the time he arrived at the gateway, he urgently needed to find a safe place to rest.
“Fellow cultivator, welcome. I am Chen Fangping of White Camel Ridge. I have been assigned by my clan to guard this gateway and guide all incoming visitors. May I ask for your name and background?”
Zhou Yang had arrived at the gateway in the Chen clan’s jurisdiction.
As they were only responsible for bringing in foreign cultivators to the market, the Chen clan did not have high requirements for the cultivation level of the assigned cultivators. The Chen clan cultivator that greeted Zhou Yang was Chen Fangping who seemed to be more than ten years older than him. Chen Fangping had a fair, plump, and kind appearance, and he was only at Qi Refinement Level 5.
Despite being at a lower cultivation level, Chen Fangping treated Zhou Yang as an equal without acting servile or arrogant.
Zhou Yang wasn’t surprised by this. Chen Fangping had a clan leader who was a Zifu cultivator after all. Zhou Yang would have probably acted in the same way unless he was greeting a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He smiled, cupped his hands in return, and amiably said, “Hello, Brother Chen Fangping of White Camel Ridge. I’m Zhou Yang from the Zhou clan of Yuquan Lake Oasis. I’ve come to Jinsha Square City under the orders of my clan to take over the Zhou clan’s Yuquan Pavillion on behalf of my father, Zhou Xuanhao. This is my identity token.”
Chen Fangping’s expression changed when he heard that Zhou Yang was from an allied clan of the Chen clan. When he took the identity token and saw the message from Zhou Minghan, Chen Fangping smiled.
“Greetings, Brother Zhou Yang from the Yuquan Zhou clan. I’m sorry for my rudeness earlier. Although my cultivation is low, I know of your father as an Advanced Grade 2 alchemist. I didn’t expect you to inherit your father’s job at such a young age. With a distinguished father such as yours, you must be quite accomplished as well!”
Zhou Xuanhao had lived in White Sand River Oasis for a long time, so his reputation as an Advanced Grade 2 alchemist was well known among the various clans in the oasis. Moreover, Chen Fangping had noticed that Zhou Yang had reached Level 8 of Qi Refinement at such a young age. Having such an identity and family background had made Chen Fangping treat Zhou Yang more respectfully,
As he returned Zhou Yang’s identity token, he gestured invitingly to Zhou Yang and said, “Brother, you must be exhausted from your journey from Yuquan Lake Oasis. Let’s not talk too much. This way, please. I will get someone to prepare some food to welcome you.”
“Brother Chen, you are so righteous. Let me thank you first.”
Zhou Yang did not hesitate either. After keeping the token, he followed Chen Fangping into the visitor arrival hall while his Camel Beast was taken care of by an assigned stableman.
After going through the visitor arrival hall, Zhou Yang headed straight for the hot spring with the guidance of a servant for a hot bath. Once he had changed into a clean set of clothes, he returned to the visitor arrival hall and found that Chen Fangping had already prepared a table of dishes and wine for him.
The dishes consisted of demon beast meat, hundred-year-old sealwort, hundred-year-old spiritual ginseng, and other Grade 2 spiritual herbs while the rice was steamed Golden Pearl Rice. After a meal together, those who did not know better would think that the two of them had been good friends for many years!
Despite filling himself with the good food and wine, Zhou Yang still looked at the table and Chen Fangping with a puzzled expression.
This was only the first time they met. Even if Chen Fangping wanted to make friends with him because of his father’s reputation, this meal was a little too sumptuous.
However, since the other party had started eating and the dishes did look quite delicious, Zhou Yang did not hesitate to dig in. He just assumed that the Chen clan were both rich and generous.
It wasn’t until he saw the bill the other party handed him that Zhou Yang suddenly realized that he had been tricked.
Chen Fangping wasn’t trying to befriend him. He was using Zhou Yang to buy himself a meal.
He had been too gullible and should have realized sooner that despite Chen Fangping’s friendliness, the Zhou and Chen clans were allies on the surface but the former was the lackey of the latter in reality. Although Chen Fangping’s cultivation was low, he was still a legitimate Chen clan disciple. Why would he lower himself even slightly if he did not have an ulterior motive?
Chen Fangping must have assumed that Zhou Yang was a rich kid since he was the son of the great Zhou Xuanhao. That was why Chen Fangping was willing to treat Zhou Yang so well.
Moreover, Chen Fangping was in his clan’s territory. There was no need to be afraid of how Zhou Yang would react.
After thinking through all of this, Zhou Yang’s expression gradually returned to normal. He remained calm despite knowing that he would have to pay the bill of the food they had just eaten, even his own portion.
“Brother Fangping, you are really smart. I truly admire you!”
Chen Fangping seemed to be playing dumb when Zhou Yang respectfully cupped his hands together and handed over more than a hundred spiritual stones.
When he received the spiritual stones, Chen Fangping immediately smiled. “Zhou Yang, you are indeed worthy of being an outstanding disciple of the Zhou clan. You are really generous. Don’t hesitate to treat me as a brother in the future. If you ever need my help with anything in White Sand River Oasis, just say the word. My cultivation level might not be very high, but I can always put in a good word for you to my father.”
“Oh, and who is your father if I may ask?” asked Zhou Yang to Chen Fangping in surprise.
Could this thick-faced black-hearted fatty also be a second-generation immortal cultivator?
“My father is Chen Pingan!” Chen Fangping revealed his father’s name arrogantly.
“Chen Pingan?! The senior immortal cultivator who killed the Advanced Grade 2 Golden Swallowing Toad with one strike of a sword?” Zhou Yang couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise as he looked at Chen Fangping, astonished.
“Of course!” Chen Fangping was very satisfied by Zhou Yang’s reaction.
“I see, no wonder…” Zhou Yang looked at the proud round-faced fatty and thought to himself, ‘No wonder this guy, who was only at Qi Refinement Level 5, dared to trick a Level 8 Qi Refinement.’
It seemed that Chen Fangping’s clan and family background were quite formidable.
Chen Pingan was not an ordinary person. He was one of the more-than-ten Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Chen clan. In fact, he was already at Foundation Establishment Level 9, and thus the number one Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Chen clan, ranking just right below the Chen clan leader. His most infamous battle record was using the Grade 4 flying sword, the White Rainbow Sword to kill an Advanced Grade 3 Golden Swallowing Toad that was known for its high defense.
With such a powerful father, Chen Fangping could basically do whatever he wanted in White Sand River Oasis as long as he didn’t offend a Zifu cultivator. So why would he be afraid of or subservient to a Level 8 Qi Refinement cultivator like Zhou Yang?
Seeing the change in Zhou Yang’s expression, Chen Fangping knew what he was about to say. However, he didn’t mind. After all, this was the truth.
He narrowed his eyes, walked to Zhou Yang’s side with a friendly expression, and patted the latter on the shoulder. “How is it? Do you think you’ve suffered a loss? You treated me to a meal and now have the opportunity to establish a relationship with my father. This is definitely a huge gain for you. You have to know that with my father’s status, even your clan leader would have a hard time gaining an audience with him!”
“I…”
Zhou Yang looked at the gloating Chen Fangping before turning his head slightly to avoid the latter’s round and chubby face. Then, he coughed awkwardly and said, “Well, since Brother Chen has said so, then I’ll take the liberty to ask another question. You don’t need spiritual stones to sleep here, right?”
Zhou Yang was also afraid of being tricked and had learned from his mistakes. He no longer knew what was free and what he had to pay for, other than the fact that he could breathe freely without losing spiritual stones.
Chen Fangping was amused by Zhou Yang’s words and could not help but laugh out loud. “My dear Zhou Yang is really interesting. Don’t worry, not only is there no charge for sleeping, but I will also give you two beauties to warm your bed for free.. How about that?”