Chapter 3800: Encountering Cao Yuzhen

Chaos Continent, Nine Immortal City.

The streets were bustling with people and noisy with carriages.

Wang Mengbin strolled along the bustling street, observing his surroundings. He had been on the Chaos Continent for over ten thousand years. Occasionally, Chaos Beasts would appear near Haoyang City, but fortunately, their numbers were small. Most were single-colored Chaos Beasts, which they usually managed to eliminate.

To kill a two-colored Chaos Beast in the early True Immortal stage, three or four enlightened True Immortal cultivators needed to cooperate, even with the protection of formations.

Some immortals formed teams to hunt isolated Chaos Beasts to earn cultivation resources. The crystal cores and hides of colored Chaos Beasts were materials collected by major powers. The more colors a Chaos Beast possessed, the more valuable its crystal core and hide.

Success was rare, however. Most immortal teams hunting Chaos Beasts suffered heavy losses, with complete annihilation being common. Sometimes, a dozen or so True Immortal cultivators would leave a city and disappear without a trace, their fate unknown—whether they encountered four-colored Chaos Beasts or evil cultivators.

Leaving the cities was still very dangerous, but for the sake of their cultivation paths, many immortals continued to form teams and hunt Chaos Beasts, one after another.

They belonged to Kunlun City, which was an "Immortal" City. The Dao Ancestor, Kunlun Immortal Lord, was stationed there.

Kunlun City governed nine "Heaven" Cities, each with multiple Grand Unity Golden Immortals stationed within. Tianfeng City was one of them, controlled by the Nangong Immortal Clan.

Tianfeng City governed eighteen "Earth" Cities, each with multiple Great Unity Golden Immortals stationed within. Yunlang City was one of them, controlled by the Cao family.

Yunlang City governed seventy-two "Profound" Cities, with Nine Immortal City being one of them. Nine Immortal City, in turn, governed multiple "Yellow" Cities, including Haoyang City.

The number of cities governed by each higher-tier city varied, as did the cultivation levels and numbers of the immortals stationed there, entirely depending on the strength of the affiliated power.

For example, Nine Immortal City had five Golden Immortal cultivators, while Jiuyang City had ten. Both Nine Immortal Sect and Hundred Refinement Island had Golden Immortal cultivators stationed there.

Major powers would band together, forming alliances to resist Chaos Beasts. Risks were shared, and profits were divided according to each group's strength.

Jiuyang City possessed a Jiuyang Flaming Jade mine, which could be used to refine mid-grade fire-attribute immortal artifacts. Hundred Refinement Island and Nine Immortal Sect jointly dispatched personnel to mine it.

Cultivators in various cities across the Chaos Continent did not necessarily originate from the same immortal realm. Taking Kunlun City as an example, the immortals in its subordinate cities came from multiple immortal realms.

On the Chaos Continent, no one cared which immortal realm you came from; only your strength and wealth mattered. If you were powerful, others would naturally hold you in high regard. If you were rich, major shops would treat you as a VIP.

As long as one could afford immortal essence stones, even high-grade immortal artifacts could be purchased. The higher the city's tier, the richer its cultivation resources, but if one's cultivation was not high enough, they simply couldn't go there.

Wang Mengbin could travel between Nine Immortal City and Haoyang City, but he still needed to apply to Gao Bin. If he went out, Wang Qingshan and others had to stay in Haoyang City. Otherwise, if everyone went to "Profound" Cities to buy cultivation resources, it would be troublesome if Chaos Beasts attacked Haoyang City.

To go to an "Earth" City to purchase cultivation resources, one needed at least the cultivation of a Golden Immortal, or to travel with a Golden Immortal cultivator. Without a Golden Immortal or higher-level cultivator accompanying him, Wang Mengbin currently couldn't go to an "Earth" City at all.

There were not necessarily direct teleportation arrays between all "Profound" Cities. The Bright Moon Alliance and the Beast Spirit Gate also controlled several "Profound" Cities, with little interaction between them. If a "Profound" City controlled by the Bright Moon Alliance or Beast Spirit Gate was attacked by a horde of Chaos Beasts, the Nine Immortal Sect would not come to their rescue unless the Cao family's Great Unity Golden Immortal gave the order, or the Bright Moon Alliance and Beast Spirit Gate offered substantial rewards.

To Wang Mengbin's knowledge, over the years, the Nine Immortal Sect had never rescued the Bright Moon Alliance or the Beast Spirit Gate. Instead, they would often compete for control of each other's cities, usually by sending immortals to spar to determine ownership.

During the last Chaos Beast tide, the Nine Immortal Sect suffered heavy losses, with many Golden Immortal cultivators perishing. The Bright Moon Alliance and Beast Spirit Gate then tried to seize Jiuyang City. A Golden Immortal cultivator from the Nine Immortal Sect sparred with one from the Bright Moon Alliance and won the match, thus preserving Jiuyang City.

During its peak, Cangyun Palace controlled four "Profound" Cities. Now, it only controlled one due to a lack of sufficient Golden Immortal cultivators. The other three "Profound" Cities were allocated by the Cao family to the Murong family.

The nine major powers of Tianchen Sea Region all had cities on the Chaos Continent. The Murong family had the largest territory, controlling seventy-five cities, including four "Profound" Cities.

Cangyun Palace had the smallest territory, controlling twelve cities: one "Profound" City and eleven "Yellow" Cities.

The Cao family controlled seventy-two "Profound" Cities. Each of these cities possessed valuable cultivation resources, either producing immortal water, containing immortal mines, or being suitable for cultivating certain immortal herbs and fruits. Each "Profound" City regularly submitted cultivation resources; for instance, Jiuyang City regularly submitted Jiuyang Flaming Jade.

Since there were only seventy-two "Profound" Cities, the Cao family entrusted control to whoever was strongest. Allowing incompetent individuals to control a "Profound" City would only create opportunities for other factions.

Cities did not engage in large-scale battles among themselves; their primary focus was on dealing with Chaos Beasts. If a city was breached by a Chaos Beast tide, and all immortals within were slain, then after the Chaos Beasts retreated or were killed, other immortals would occupy these cities. Whether they could fully claim control depended on their strength.

Initially, the Cao family only controlled a few "Profound" Cities. Other powers suffered heavy losses when attacked by Chaos Beast tides, failed to defend their "Profound" Cities, and consequently, these were seized by the Cao family.

Initially, the Nine Immortal Sect didn't even have a single "Yellow" City. Later, they acquired one and have since developed to control twenty-three cities today.

Simply put, everyone looked out for themselves. If one possessed great strength, they could occupy more territory. Without strength, they couldn't even claim a "Yellow" City.

About the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Wang Mengbin appeared at the entrance of a golden pavilion. A plaque above the door bore the three large characters "Nine Immortal Tower." This was a shop opened by the Nine Immortal Sect.

He intended to purchase some first-grade immortal pills that enhance immortal essence power. Wang Qingshan and the others were not skilled in alchemy, so they had to buy them.

Sun Yu and Cao Yuzhen walked out of the Nine Immortal Tower. Sun Yu's face was full of ingratiation.

Cao Yuzhen had also ascended to the immortal realm and was currently in the mid-True Immortal stage. The Cao family had Great Unity Golden Immortals stationed there, indicating a profound heritage, so it was not surprising that Cao Yuzhen, as an ascender, had received considerable cultivation resources to reach the mid-True Immortal stage.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Wang, what a coincidence! Is True Immortal Taihao also on the Chaos Continent?" Cao Yuzhen asked, surprised.

Wang Mengbin greeted her with a smile: "Madam Cao, long time no see. Our ancestor is not on the Chaos Continent."

"Madam Cao, do you two know each other?" Sun Yu asked curiously.

"True Immortal Taihao once saved my life. It has been many years since we last met," Cao Yuzhen explained.

"Is Madam Cao looking for our ancestor for something?" Wang Mengbin asked.

"No, not really. It's just been a long time, and I wanted to chat with him. I have other matters to attend to, so let's talk another time when I'm free. Immortal Sun, you don't need to see me out," Cao Yuzhen said, then quickly departed.