Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 602: Chapter 602: Great Dao Immortal Talisman

Instantly, Lü Yang knew something was wrong.

He remained composed on the outside, however, accepting the [Great Dao Immortal Talisman] from Mountain Mover and beginning to examine the talisman paper.

’What the hell is this?’

Lü Yang focused his Mana into his eyes and quickly saw the true nature of the so-called [Great Dao Immortal Talisman]. To him, it looked more like some kind of credential.

The next moment, a vast wall of text appeared before his eyes:

[Terms and Conditions]

[Dear Cultivator: Welcome to the Heaven and Earth Immortal Journey’s Seeking Dao Treasure platform (hereinafter ”the Platform”). We are pleased you have chosen to browse and purchase goods and services from the Platform.]

[Before using the services of the ”Seeking Dao Treasure” platform, you must carefully read and comply with all rights and restrictions stipulated in these ”Terms and Conditions.” You must read, fully understand, and agree to be bound by all terms and provisions herein.]

[Section One: Terms of Service...]

The densely packed text instantly flooded Lü Yang’s entire field of vision, almost making him suspect it was a Divine Soul attack. Even more terrifying was the content itself.

’It’s endless! There’s no end in sight!’

Not only that, but the content was incredibly abstruse. Even with his Cultivation as a Golden Core Perfected Lord, he couldn’t comprehend it at a single glance.

Still, he patiently read on until he reached the very end.

[Do you agree?]

Lü Yang stared in a daze. His gaze, however, seemed to possess some kind of authenticating power, as the [Agree] button immediately began to flash.

[User agreement confirmed.]

[Welcome, Dear Cultivator. We hope you have an excellent shopping experience with Seeking Dao Treasure. Your access privileges for the Great Dao Immortal Talisman have been officially activated.]

’Holy shit!’ Lü Yang’s mouth fell slightly agape.

’Just looking at the damn thing counts as confirmation?’

’I didn’t even touch it!’

Lü Yang couldn’t help but scowl. Such predatory practices, such tyrannical terms... It reeked of the Stain Sect.

’The Great Dao Immortal Talisman. A Rare Treasure refined by Heaven and Earth Immortal Journey, the Lifebound Essence Artifact of the Taiyin Immortal Venerable. It’s also the sole official currency for the entire world, both inside and outside the Celestial Mansion. With it, you can buy your Cultivation, your Cultivation, Qi Pills, Artifacts, a Dao Foundation, Abilities... You can even buy a Fruit!’

Absolutely incredible!

’The Great Dao Immortal Talisman, currency of the Celestial Mansion... The entire system was created by that Taiyin Immortal Venerable, who then spread it throughout the entire Outer Realm.’

What did that mean?

A concept made manifest, one that encompassed Heaven and Earth!

’The Taiyin Immortal Venerable... At a conservative estimate, his power is on par with World Purger Fei Xue before his breakthrough. A First-class True Monarch... No, he’s very likely a Great Perfected Lord by now!’

’And considering that the Taiyin Fruit is likely on par with the Emperor Fruit within the Celestial Mansion, all things told, this Taiyin Immortal Venerable’s equivalent is probably Ang Xiao. And he’s an even greater threat than Ang Xiao, because he isn’t trapped in the Netherworld and can still interfere with the Current World!’

’No, wait...’

Lü Yang relaxed slightly as he recalled the Knowledge he had just absorbed from the Great Dao Immortal Talisman. ’It seems this Taiyin Immortal Venerable also hasn’t appeared in a very long time.’

’At least for now, I’m not important enough to draw his attention.’

’The key is this Great Dao Immortal Talisman.’

At the thought, Lü Yang lowered his head and swallowed hard. After that flood of information, he now understood exactly what this thing was.

’It’s just a piece of worthless paper.’

That’s right. In essence, the thing had no value, but the Taiyin Immortal Venerable had transformed it into a manifestation of his will, one that spanned the entire Outer Realm.

He used his Cultivation, Cultivation, and Realm as its backing.

Thus, the Great Dao Immortal Talisman, once just a worthless piece of paper, gained value. And as more and more people used it, that value became firmly anchored.

’What can ten million buy? Practically nothing. It’s just enough for a meticulously crafted Cave Mansion rich in Spiritual Qi, a Flying Boat for transportation, and a complete set of support services for the mansion. That might be great for someone at Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment, but for a Perfected Lord, it’s trivial.’

That explained why Mountain Mover had been so quick to lend him the Money.

After all, a mere ten million was nothing to him. As a Perfected Lord, even an Outer Dao True Monarch, he possessed the right to mint Great Dao Immortal Talismans.

That’s right—there were different tiers of Great Dao Immortal Talismans.

The lowest tier were the Outer Dao Immortal Talismans, issued by Outer Dao True Monarchs like Mountain Mover. The Middle Grade talismans were the Orthodox Immortal Talismans, issued by the Orthodox Immortal Monarchs of the Celestial Mansion.

And at the very top, of course, were the Taiyin Immortal Talismans, issued by the Taiyin Immortal Venerable.

They were also the most valuable, with an exchange rate of 1:1000 against the Outer Dao Immortal Talisman. And even then, you weren’t guaranteed to be able to make the trade.

Lü Yang followed behind Mountain Mover, lost in thought.

Soon, as they fully entered the Celestial Mansion, a vast landscape unfolded before his eyes. He froze, stunned by how strange the Celestial Mansion looked.

It was a mountain.

A majestic Divine Mountain stood at the center of Heaven and Earth, like a great central axis. Surrounding the mountain were continents, spread out and stacked upward, layer after layer.

There were nine layers in total. The first was the most expansive, nearly as vast as the Five Domains of the World that Lü Yang knew. The second layer was almost half that size, and they continued to shrink on the way up. The topmost layer appeared to be only the size of an island and was shrouded in mist so thick that not even Lü Yang could see through it.

’This is the Celestial Mansion?’

Lü Yang looked to Mountain Mover, who seemed to have anticipated his confusion. He smiled and explained, ”Daoist, since this is your first time here, you must have many questions.”

”Not to worry, I will explain everything for you.”

”It’ll also keep you from breaking the rules, which would be a shame. There are fines, you know.”

”But you can rest easy, Daoist. We’re Perfected Lords, after all. Most of the Celestial Mansion’s rules don’t apply to us. A basic understanding is all that’s required.”

”Take this first layer, for instance. It’s designated for mortals. The Immortal Venerable, in his mercy, felt that Combat between Cultivators too often resulted in mortal casualties. So he partitioned off the largest, most resource-rich layer for them. He lets the mortals here mine as they please, all to contribute to the Cultivators on the upper layers.”

”Only mortals?”

Lü Yang frowned. ”Resources for the Immortal Dao are incredibly precious, and most possess wondrous properties that make them difficult to approach. Mortals would have a hard time even discovering them, let alone mining them. How do they manage it?”

Mountain Mover paused for a moment, then his face lit up with understanding.

’Oh, right. Daoist, you’ve misunderstood. When I say mortals, I’m also including those Qi Refiners... Heh, force of habit. I don’t really think of them as Cultivators.’

Lü Yang was speechless.

’Something about this Celestial Mansion is feeling more and more wrong!’

As Lü Yang’s thoughts churned, Mountain Mover continued, ”The second to fifth layers are where the Sects of the various Perfected Lords are located, mainly for recruiting disciples.”

”In addition, every year a batch of mortals passes the Immortal Examination and ascends from the first layer to the second. Those with better Talent Skills can join one of the Sects, while those with less talent integrate into second-layer society and become local Cultivators. It’s considered a great leap in social status.” ℴ

”As for the sixth through eighth layers, that’s the domain of Heaven and Earth Immortal Journey.”

”As far as I know, only the Immortal Monarchs of the Taiyin and Sun lineages, along with their descendants, are permitted to enter the sixth layer and become true ’people of the mountain’.”

The entire Celestial Treasure Great World.

Everything below the sixth layer was the mountainside and its foot. Its inhabitants were ants, vermin, expendable resources... Only those on the sixth layer and above had truly ’climbed the mountain’ and could be considered ’people’.

And the people on the mountain were, of course, the Immortals.

”As for the 9th Layer at the very top, that is the Taiyin Immortal Venerable’s personal sanctum. It hasn’t been opened in many years, so it’s not something for us to worry about.”

At this, Mountain Mover stopped walking.

Lü Yang focused his gaze. What he saw was a magnificent, massive city, nestled among the peaks and suspended high between the sun and moon, its scale almost rivaling that of a continent.

”This place is named [Alliance Power].”

Mountain Mover gave a slight smile. ”This is the headquarters of our Outer Dao Alliance. Since you are an Outer Dao True Monarch, Daoist, you are now a member of our Outer Dao Alliance as well.”