Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 548 Strength is the Most Important Thing! Our Arch-enemy is Here!

"Good question." Han Yueshan glanced at him, then at Chen Fan, a wry smile appearing on his lips.

"That's why those Nascent Soul stage cultivators are unwilling to submit to the imperial court. Cultivation is about freedom and ease, about transcendence and detachment. Once you enter officialdom, no matter how high your cultivation level, you'll have to bow down. Do you think I don't want to be as carefree as those Nascent Soul stage cultivators? But behind me stands the entire Desolate State, millions of cultivators and common people depend on me for their livelihood. Every time I bow down, the Desolate State can obtain more resources, cultivate more geniuses, and produce more Nascent Soul cultivators."

He turned around and walked towards the post station, his voice muffled by the midday wind:

"Some things have to be done by someone. If you two ever reach the Nascent Soul stage, you can go wherever you want, and I will have no objections. But until then, you will have to bow down with me."

Chen Fan followed behind Han Yueshan, remaining silent for a long time before saying calmly, "City Lord, you flatter me."

He didn't say anything more.

He deeply agreed with Han Yueshan's words.

Wasn't he the same way back in the Daeyu Palace?

He climbed from a lowly eunuch who was bullied by everyone to the position of the Ninth Prince, bending over and kowtowing countless times along the way. He himself couldn't even count how many times he had to do so.

But later he realized that bowing or kowtowing was only temporary.

What's truly important is to accumulate strength while bending over, so that one day when you straighten up, no one can make you bend over again.

The three of them walked back the way they came.

The streets of the imperial city remained bustling and lively, with cultivators coming and going in droves. No one paid any attention to these three outsiders from a remote and impoverished area.

Back at the inn, Han Yueshan stopped in his tracks before he even reached the courtyard gate.

A group of people were standing outside the courtyard gate.

The leader was a tall, thin old man, dressed in a dark blue robe, with a sinister face, high cheekbones, and a pair of triangular eyes that gleamed with cold light.

This person's cultivation level was surprisingly at the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, comparable to Han Yueshan's.

He was followed by four or five people, all of whom were at the early stage of Nascent Soul to the Great Perfection of Core Formation, and they all stared at Han Yueshan and his two companions with unfriendly expressions.

Han Yueshan's face instantly darkened.

"Ma Chengkong," he uttered coldly.

The tall, thin old man's lips curled into a forced smile as he cupped his hands and said:

"Lord Han, it's been a long time. I heard you've also come to participate in the national competition? I've come especially to see an old friend. Why, won't you invite me in for a seat?"

He called us old friends, but his tone sounded like he was mocking a drowning dog.

Chen Fan's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the old man and the people behind him.

The robes of those people were embroidered with a mountain-shaped emblem, which was the symbol of Liangzhou.

Liangzhou.

He had seen the name on the list.

Liangzhou and Huangzhou are neighbors, and there is a spirit stone vein at the border of the two states. For hundreds of years, the two sides have been in constant conflict over this, fighting no less than dozens of battles and forging a deadly feud.

In the previous national competition, Huangzhou had a chance to move up a few places, but Liangzhou ambushed and attacked them in Wanyao Valley, losing two Nascent Soul contestants, and their ranking dropped instead of rising.

Han Yueshan stared at Ma Chengkong expressionlessly, remained silent for a moment, and then stepped aside.

"Come in."

Ma Chengkong swaggered into the courtyard, followed closely by four Liangzhou cultivators.

Qin Dao stood at the courtyard gate, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping over the group of people like a knife, but ultimately he did not stop them.

Han Yueshan and Ma Chengkong sat facing each other at a stone table in the courtyard.

Chen Fan stood half a step behind Han Yueshan with his hands behind his back, while Qin Dao leaned against the courtyard gate with his arms crossed, his tiger-like eyes fixed on the four people from Liangzhou.

The four men glared back defiantly, and although neither side spoke, their gazes clashed several times in the air.

After sitting down, Ma Chengkong didn't rush to speak. He first looked around the secluded courtyard, a smile he couldn't hide.

"Lord Han, your residence is indeed quite quiet. When I first came in, I almost thought I had come to the wrong place. The lord of a province lives in a place that is not as quiet as a servant of our Liang Province."

Han Yueshan picked up the teapot on the stone table, poured himself a cup of cool tea, and said calmly:

"Seclusion has its advantages; at least you won't hear any gossip. Lord Ma, please speak frankly and don't beat around the bush."

"Very well, Lord Han is straightforward, so I won't beat around the bush either." Ma Chengkong placed a storage bag on the stone table. "I've come today to discuss a business deal with Lord Han."

Han Yueshan didn't look at the storage bag; he simply held his teacup and waited for him to continue.

Ma Chengkong lowered his voice and said, "This year's national competition has changed the rules. The Nascent Soul group and the disciple group will enter the Ten Thousand Demon Valley together and share the points. This means that the path of fighting alone is no longer viable, and we must team up. Those large prefectures have many people and are powerful, with several people at the late Nascent Soul stage or the Great Perfection stage. If we small prefectures do not join forces, we will only be stepping stones for them when we enter the valley."

He leaned forward slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his triangular eyes. "Lord Han, although Liangzhou and Huangzhou have had their past grievances, those are all ancient history!"

"Currently, our two states are in similar situations. If we continue to fight separately, we'll still be at the bottom this year. However, if we join forces, we'll have six Nascent Soul cultivators from both states combined. While we can't directly confront behemoths like Youzhou and Yunzhou in the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, we'll be more than capable of protecting ourselves. With a bit of luck, we might even snatch some points from high-level demonic beasts and move up a few places in the rankings."

Han Yueshan placed the teacup back on the stone table with a crisp sound.

He raised his head, looked at Ma Chengkong, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips:

"Lord Ma, if I remember correctly, in the last national competition, your Liangzhou climbed the social ladder by clinging to Leizhou's coattails, ambushing and attacking us in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, causing my Desolate State to lose two Nascent Soul guest elders. How do you intend to settle this score?"

Ma Chengkong's smile froze slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

He sighed, his tone surprisingly sincere: "Lord Han, it is true that I acted improperly in that matter, and I am not here today to make any excuses. But as you know, the instigator of that sneak attack was not me, but someone from Leizhou. Afterwards, Liangzhou did receive some benefits from Leizhou, but the enmity we formed with Huangzhou has never had a chance to be resolved."

He paused, then reached out and pushed the storage bag towards Han Yueshan:

"These ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, along with three Nascent Soul Pills and two five-hundred-year-old earth vein spirit mushrooms, are my greeting gift to City Lord Han. They are not part of the alliance's conditions, but merely a token of my sincerity. If City Lord Han still harbors old grudges, you can throw me out now. But if you feel we can talk, then let's continue."

Han Yueshan fell silent.

Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, three Nascent Soul Pills, and two 500-year-old Earth Vein Ganoderma lucidum!

This gift is quite substantial.

Liangzhou was not a wealthy place. For Ma Chengkong to be able to produce these things, he must have either invested heavily or been desperate.