Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

"Even if destiny wanders and drifts, even if it’s full of twists and turns, even if it looms over you with threats..."

Wang Chen felt that this song from his previous life suited him very well.

Destiny was like an pair of invisible hands that first brought him to this world, then kept pushing him to travel incessantly, without ever truly settling down.

Within the luxurious cabin of the flying warship, he put down the scroll in his hand.

This thick tome contained information about every aspect of Dayi Prefecture in West State.

It had been gathered through great effort by Zuo Xiaomo for Wang Chen.

Dayi was the largest prefecture in West State, spanning tens of thousands of miles, but it lay on the fringe of West State, two-thirds of its area covered by wilderness and the Gobi, with the desert adjacent, creating a very harsh natural environment.

The prefectural government of Dayi City was the most bustling locale in the entire border prefecture, with a population of several millions.

It was guarded by one Chief Town Heavenly Master from the West Sea Sect, along with eight other Guarding Heavenly Masters!

Given Wang Chen’s identity and cultivation level, it was of course impossible for him to assume the position of the Chief Town Heavenly Master. His mission was to replace one of the other Guarding Heavenly Masters.

Unlike most cities in the West Sea Spirit Domain, Dayi City was constantly harassed by the Sand People, which is why there were troops of ten thousand Taoist Soldiers and one hundred thousand Battle Soldiers stationed there.

The Sand People were natives of the Western Region Great Desert, fierce and belligerent by nature, who organized bandit groups to raid towns within Dayi Prefecture every now and then, even threatening Dayi City itself.

For the West Sea Sect, eradicating the Sand People would not be difficult.

But the Sand People worshipped Buddha, and behind them stood the powerful Buddhist Sect of the Western Region, making the West Sea Sect hesitate to act rashly.

Although the West Sea Sect was the foremost sect in the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was not invincible and could not do as it pleased. In fact, there were several major forces that were at odds with the West Sea Sect.

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For example, the Buddhist Sect of the Western Region, the Great Void Sword Sect, and the East Sea Taoist Alliance, among others.

Being the head honcho wasn’t easy, and the West Sea Sect couldn’t just start a full-blown war with the Buddhist Sect of the Western Region over the harassment by the Sand People.

Both sides would suffer if they engaged in battle, only causing other major forces to laugh at their expense.

In any case, the situation in Dayi was incredibly complex, with four or five Guarding Heavenly Masters having died under mysterious circumstances in the past ten years!

"To report to the Immortal Master..."

Just then, the cabin door was lightly knocked, and a gentle female voice came through: "We’re almost at Dayi City."

Wang Chen’s gaze flashed as he packed away the scroll and said, "Understood."

He got up and left the cabin, making his way to the deck.

The flying warship that Wang Chen was aboard belonged to the West Sea Sect; it was large and fast, and it was equipped with magical treasures as weaponry.

It carried a very strong deterrent force.

The journey of hundreds of thousands of miles included seven stopovers and spanned five days and four nights, finally arriving at the destination.

The flying warship was descending at that moment.

Below the clouds, a vast city unfolded into Wang Chen’s view.

Dayi City had a unique design, its overall shape forming a "convex" character, with the protruding part taking over a valley formed by two massive mountain ranges, akin to a fortress.

To the west of the valley lay the boundless golden desert, and to the east of the city, a million mu of Spirit Fields could be seen enveloping it.

On one side was gold, on the other green, the terrain dividing them clearly!

Looking down from a high vantage point, the buildings within the city were densely packed, with countless pavilions and terraces.

The Qi of Humanity surged powerfully!

Woo~

Accompanied by the deep and powerful sound of horns, the West Sea Sect’s flying warship landed steadily in the very center of the city.

Chief Town Heavenly Master’s residence in Dayi!

The area of the Chief Town Heavenly Master’s residence was vast, its layout a city within a city, which could also be called the Inner City.

This was also the final stop for the flying warship.

Wang Chen disembarked from the Flying Warship.

He was far from being the only passenger; in fact, a large group of people were headed to Dayi City as their destination.

There were disciples of the West Sea Sect who had come to experience, merchants engaged in business, those visiting relatives or friends, and even the exiled.

Several hundred people, in total!

"Is that Junior Brother Wang, Wang Chen?"

No sooner had Wang Chen stepped off the Flying Warship than he saw an imposing middle-aged Cultivator approaching, scrutinizing him with an assessing gaze.

Behind this Cultivator, a large group of people followed.

"I have seen Chief Town Luo."

Wang Chen greeted the other party with neither servility nor overbearingness: "I will be under your care in the future."

This middle-aged Cultivator was undoubtedly Luo Han, the Chief Town Heavenly Master of Dayi Prefecture, a grand Cultivator of the ninth tier of Purple Mansion.

Luo Han, over a hundred years old, had been stationed in Dayi for thirty years and had not returned to the West Sea Sect, effectively making his post permanent.

Therefore, this grand Purple Mansion Cultivator’s influence within Dayi Prefecture was unmatched!

"Fair enough."

Luo Han was clearly the kind of person who seldom smiled or spoke, and he slightly nodded as he said, "Junior Brother Wang, you must be weary from your journey. Rest at the mansion first, and afterwards, I will take you to assume your position at the subsidiary Heavenly Master Pavilion."

"Thank you, Chief Town."

Under the guidance of a white-haired elder Cultivator, Wang Chen settled into the guest tower of the Chief Town Heavenly Master’s mansion.

However, Luo Han neither held a banquet to welcome Wang Chen that evening nor did he continue to converse with him; he merely had a table with food and drink arranged in the guest tower as hospitality.

On the following morning, the person sent to accompany Wang Chen to the subsidiary Heavenly Master Pavilion was merely a steward of the Chief Town Heavenly Master’s mansion.

Apart from welcoming Wang Chen’s arrival, Luo Han had not shown himself again.

The Chief Town Heavenly Master’s attitude towards Wang Chen was quite cold, making it clear that he wanted to maintain a distance.

This mission’s start was undoubtedly quite poor!

Besides the Chief Town Heavenly Master’s mansion, there were eight subsidiary Heavenly Master Pavilions in Dayi City, managed by Cultivators sent by the Sect.

These eight pavilions occupied the eight directions of the city, guarding the eight nodes of Dayi City Protective Array.

The tier of Dayi City Protective Array was extremely high; it was said that at its strongest, it could withstand the power of a Nascent Soul until a True Immortal from the Sect arrived to provide support.

As for Golden Core True Persons, even thirty or fifty of them wouldn’t dream of breaching it!

This indicated how much the West Sea Sect valued Dayi City.

However, due to some reason, since the establishment of Dayi City, the highest-ranking officials, the Chief Town Heavenly Masters, only possessed cultivation at the level of Complete Purple Mansion.

Clearly, there was an unspoken agreement between the West Sea Sect and the Buddhist Sect behind the Sand People, restricting their conflicts to below the Golden Core level.

This would ensure that no matter the outcome of the battles, the foundation of either side would not be shaken!

This was something Wang Chen had deduced and guessed on his own.

The Heavenly Master Pavilion Wang Chen was in charge of was located at the northwest corner of Dayi City, near the outer city across the gorge, and adjacent to a massive mountain range.

As for the predecessor he was replacing, the previous Guarding Heavenly Master greeted Wang Chen as if he had seen family, impatient to hand over all the affairs, including the maidservants, Battle Cultivators, stewards, and other personnel who served the pavilion, before leaving with his few disciples in tow.

This act of passing the buck made Wang Chen feel as if he had been set up.

As the Guarding Envoy here, Wang Chen’s biggest problem was the lack of available help; he came alone, without a single trustworthy entourage by his side.

And in fact, his troubles were just beginning!

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Here’s the second update.Nôv(el)B\\jnn