I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

At the southwestern corner of the city.

Due to the low-lying terrain, it remained downwind throughout the year, shrouding the entire district in smoke and fog.

The walls were coated with thick soot, narrow streets overflowed with sewage, and the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies was infuriating.

Row upon row of neat brick houses, cramped, dense, and crowded, their history could be traced back to the time of Ancestor Zhou. As the rich relocated, South City became a complete slum, with less than twenty percent of the area housing half of the city's population.

The Imperial Censor had submitted proposals for renovation, but the senior officials from the Ministry of Revenue repeatedly rejected them, citing the emptiness of the national treasury.

No one knew why Ancestor Zhou, while waging wars on both the northern and southern fronts at the dawn of the nation, still had surplus funds to build housing for workers.

Nightfall.

Bai Shiyu moved through the shadows, avoiding the drunkards lying in the corners, passing by the tavern's noisy shouts of dice players.

The exhausted workers had no other form of entertainment; once they received their Copper Coins, they would gather to drink cheap, strong liquor to ease their physical and mental fatigue, then sleep wherever they fell, only to return to work the next day.

"Ding ninety-eight."

Bai Shiyu knocked on the door three times, long and short, unable to suppress the contempt in his heart – only the conservative people of this holy nation would use such an ancient secret signal.

Creak!

The middle-aged man who opened the door was dressed in grimy, hemp clothes, his hair a disheveled mess—indistinguishable from the drunken laborers. He asked in a cold voice.

"Who are you looking for?"

Bai Shiyu placed a hand over his chest and spoke solemnly, "Golden God above."

The wariness in the man's eyes dissipated, he stepped aside to let Bai Shiyu in, and then stood guard at the door.

The courtyard, hardly four or five steps wide, was cluttered with clothes drying haphazardly, thoroughly obscuring the view of the inner room. Explore stories at empire

Upon entering, Bai Shiyu saw an old man in a white robe, earnestly burning incense and kneeling in worship before a godly effigy—half man, half bird, with wings spread on its back and a pitch-black fierce tiger as its mount.

After a moment.

The elder finished his daily offerings and stood up to ask, "Did you bring the item?"

Bai Shiyu fumbled in his sleeve—a palm-sized steel gear, mysteriously evading the inspecting officers.

"This part is from the latest machinery at Zhao's Cloth Shop. Stealing it took a tremendous effort."

"Truly worthy of the title 'Saint of Thieves', your reputation is well deserved!"

The elder pocketed the gear and handed back a bag of Gold Coins, "Still the old price, buy as much as you bring in future."

Bai Shiyu weighed the bag, about to turn and leave, when he heard the elder's faint voice.

"The Bai family has a thousand-year heritage – who would have thought one of their descendants would be the Saint of Thieves? If the ancestors of the Bai family knew this, would they rest in peace?"

"You investigated me?"

Bai Shiyu's Qi-Blood circulated within his Dantian, and two daggers with strange patterns slid from his sleeves into his hands, his unveiled killing intent firmly locked onto the elder.

The Zhou's control over machinery was extremely strict; reports to the officials were mandatory even for damaged parts, let alone missing machinery. Should his identity as the Saint of Thieves become known, his family would face annihilation.

"Deep collaboration requires mutual knowledge of each other's secrets."

The elder introduced himself, "This old man is Jin Cheng, one of the three elders of the holy nation, possessing almost no martial arts cultivation. Is this sincerity enough for you?"

Bai Shiyu loosened up a bit; his dealings with the people from the holy nation had never gone awry in the past. He inquired, "What kind of deep collaboration?"

Jin Cheng explained, "The 'There Is a Tavern' in Ningde Fang has recently become a gathering place for important individuals from noble families. Find a way to blend in as a helper, gain the trust of those old patrons over time."

Bai Shiyu frowned slightly, "Why choose me?"

"Those old patrons wouldn't give ordinary people a second glance. The Bai family was once among the nobility, with a profound legacy sufficient to catch their eye."

Jin Cheng elaborated, "Moreover, with your martial arts expertise and knowledge in antiques, you'd certainly become a confidant to those old patrons."

After some contemplation, Bai Shiyu shook his head and refused, "The risk is too high. Let's pretend we've never met."

With that, his figure flickered, vanishing into the night.

From a dark corner of the wall, a shadow emerged, garbed in a black robe and wearing a dark hood, bowing respectfully.

"Elder, Bai Shiyu is the most suitable candidate. He could easily be coerced with his identity."

"A forcibly twisted melon isn't sweet. And don't worry, he will certainly go to the tavern."

Jin Cheng spoke with a smile, "When believers from Jiangnan were investigating Bai Shiyu, they inadvertently discovered his second secret identity—the leader of the Red Alliance's Xianjing branch!"

The shadow expressed his surprise, "A young master from a noble family has actually joined the Red Alliance. Why would he do such a thing?"

"Back then, the Bai family's industry was impacted by machinery and nearly lost everything, being forced to leave the capital and return to their ancestral land in Jiangnan, demoted from a millennia-old family to a local wealthy household."

Jin Cheng said, "Perhaps it's out of revenge against machinery, so he joined the Red Alliance."

The shadow asked in a deep voice, "Elder, if Bai Shiyu gets his hands on the machinery blueprints and sells them to us, should we really bring them back to the divine nation?"

Jin Cheng wondered, "Why not?"

The shadow's tone carried concern, "The Buddhist and Taoist teachings are being impacted by machinery, starting to value scriptures over immortality and deities. If machinery appears in the divine nation, won't it shake the people's faith in the Golden God?"

"Of course it will, the people might even question the existence of gods!"

Jin Cheng sighed, "The alliance of nations was the last opportunity, yet not only did Zhou not fall, it grew even more prosperous and powerful. You should know that machinery is unstoppable, and we can only accept it."

The shadow said, "We can seal the divine nation's borders and forbid any machinery items from entering, and write machinery into our doctrines as a blasphemy against the Golden God!"

"Doing so will only lead the divine nation to destruction."

Jin Cheng said earnestly, "You must always remember, if the divine nation wants to last, we must make our believers' lives better. In that case, even if the believers know that the Golden God doesn't exist, they will still believe wholeheartedly!"

"In the end, it's all about eternal interest, just like how the ancestors of the divine nation chose to believe in the Golden God for safety, not for doctrines!"

The shadow fell silent for a long while, then bowed deeply.

"Your humble one will wield the sword in my hand to seize the machinery blueprints for the divine nation!"

...

Several days later.

Noon.

The sun blazed fiercely; the heat was unbearable.

Ice blocks were placed within the tavern, making the temperature cool and refreshing.

Many customers who were usually too sparing to come also bought a pot of wine for a leisurely sip.

The newsboy Yang Li had grown familiar with Zhou Yi; with permission, he carried a large bowl of roasted peanuts, avoiding the patrons with gold watches, and bowed to the guests.

"Sir, would you like some peanuts? Freshly roasted, three Copper Coins a pound."

The tavern had only around a dozen tables, and in just one round, he sold more than half of the bowl. The newsboy counted out five Copper Coins and placed them on the counter.

Zhou Yi took the coins without demur, "You should be selling them for ten Copper Coins."

Yang Li shook his head, "That would be earning too much."

"Interesting."

Zhou Yi reminded him, "Remember to come before you set up your stall every day, hmm, let's say at the hour of Xu, to clean up the peanut shells."

Yang Li nodded repeatedly, knowing Zhou Yi disliked people kneeling, and bowed, "Don't worry, boss, I'll clean them up spotlessly!"

At this moment.

A voice came.

"Doesn't the boss have a cleaner? Do you think I'd do?"

Zhou Yi turned to look and saw a young man with a face as fair as jade, handsome in appearance.

Even if his face was smeared with soot and he changed into dirty hemp clothes, trying hard to bend over and stick out his backside, the air of nobility still couldn't be concealed.

"What's your last name?"

"Last name, Bai—as in the white of pear blossoms!"

Bai Shiyu had arranged a false identity these few days, yet somehow the words changed as they reached his lips.

"In this world, there could actually be such a similar person!"

Zhou Yi was stunned for a long while, subconsciously activated the Nirvana Secret Technique, then shook his head and dispelled the Mana.

The world was now in utter chaos.

Remnants of the old monsters from the Cultivation World were running a tavern, old nobles of the former era reminiscing about the past, charlatans doing street performances for healing, white-coated doctors at medical shops peddling new elixirs, steel gears clanking on ceaselessly, trains emitting piercing roars.

Whether it was reincarnation or just similar people.

In such a bizarre world, to meet was not bad at all!