Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

Now, it seems she was making waves on her career path, even engaging in PK battles...

"What's going on here?" Yi Chen called over the tortoise servant, pointing to the two people on the stage.

"Lord, this is a new tactic from our Tianxiang Pavilion, a courtesan competition. It's held daily, and one flower basket costs ten silver taels. Everyone can send their support to the courtesan of their liking," explained the servant.

Yi Chen immediately understood; in fact, he had already guessed as much, and now he had merely confirmed it.

"Give the Miss Huan'er three hundred flower baskets." Pulling out three thousand silver notes, Yi Chen nonchalantly turned and walked away.

Instantly, the platform where Huan'er stood was piled high with flower baskets, quickly propelling her to the lead.

The smile on the foreign woman's face immediately stiffened, and her belly danced even more frantically, to no avail; the patron was no longer following suit.

Three thousand taels—she couldn't be so extravagant, not even if the money was plated with gold.

Who could be so domineering?

The courtesan patrons all turned their heads and paid their respects, as they saw a broad back striding away.

What kind of income would match such consumption.

Yi Chen, upon spotting an old acquaintance, impulsively sponsored a wave of flower baskets, becoming the top patron of an old friend and thus settling any debt of the past.

"Is that you, Yi Chengzi?" Watching the familiar broad back, Huan'er was emotionally turbulent. She wanted to call out and inquire but then repressed the urge, and a hint of mist appeared in her eyes.

After all, they were people from two different worlds; whether it was him or not, what did it matter?

"The word 'emotion' is hard to express with ink; her singing must be blended with blood. When the curtain rises, when the curtain falls, who is the guest?"

"Used to hiding joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure behind makeup, what does it matter how poignant the old lyrics are sung through? They're just passing visitors in the end."

For a moment, Huan'er's voice was choked with emotion, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

"Bravo! Sung well! Take the reward!"

Suddenly, as if her singing had been infused with a soul, the audience was captivated, and cries of admiration rang out.

In the backyard of Tianxiang Pavilion, a cold and aloof woman in white quietly listened to the madam's report.

"Yi Chengzi gave that Huan'er three hundred flower baskets?" the woman in white asked in surprise, and after a moment of thought, she began to give orders.

"From today on, support Huan'er as the top courtesan. Hire competent teachers in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to cultivate her attentively. From now on, she shall no longer entertain guests."

Hearing this, the madam was shocked and bewildered; the Daoist had casually rewarded a few flower baskets, yet the powerful patron was taking it this seriously.

Just who was this person?

Yi Chen himself didn't realize that a casual reward he had given out of whim had once again changed Huan'er's fate.

With his current level of cultivation, every word and action of his was scrutinized by others, and even the slightest possibility would make people reluctant to offend him but rather seek to please him with care.

What is a benefactor?

To decide someone's career and existence, fortune and misfortune, overnight—that is a benefactor.

Yi Chen of today had already reached an inconceivable status of prominence, and he himself was oblivious to it.

This is the cruelty of the world.

The slightest hair of those in power receives meticulous care, while the common folk harmonize with blood and tears, often with little response.

The disparities of the world were once again undeniably revealed.

...

...

In Mount Liang, within a certain cave chamber.

A mysterious figure removed the hood from his head and prostrated in a grand kowtow of worship.

The four Luminous Pearls on the wall shone brightly, serving as the sole light source for the vast chamber.

A circle of mysterious, purple token-like patterns crawled up his face.

Under the illumination of the Luminous Pearls, seventy-two corpses were arranged in a peculiar rhythm throughout the chamber.

The one who was bleeding from all seven orifices was unmistakably Li Hua.

All the corpses had turned a dark brown hue and were twisted in grotesque positions—some so contorted that their heads could see their own hindquarters, others interlocked arms and legs like twisted dough, and some simply disintegrated, bizarre and varied in their forms.

"Praise to the Supreme Emperor Asna of the Four Extremes and Great Black Heaven."

"Praise to the Supreme Emperor Asna of the Four Extremes and Great Black Heaven."

"Praise to the Supreme Emperor Asna of the Four Extremes and Great Black Heaven."

The mysterious person began to kowtow endlessly in worship, and as he proselytized, the purple patterns on his face became increasingly prominent, emitting a faint purple glow. A strange suction force emerged, and vapor of various colors started to rise from the seventy-two corpses: red, green, gray, purple, black—each distinct from the others.
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Crack—a sound echoed.

Another corpse broke apart due to the excessive contortion and twistedness, shattering to pieces on the ground.

After a while, the mystery person ceased, and the purple marks receded from his face.

A crazed expression emerged on his face.

"His Majesty has not deceived me, providing my cultivation with nourishment to such an extent after a sacrifice of seventy-two individuals with unique life patterns. If I were to complete the final ritual of the White Bone Gateway, and successfully summon His Majesty, to what level would my cultivation, my cultivation, advance?"

"Hahaha!"

"Descend, descend, Your Majesty!"

Maniacal laughter echoed throughout the cave chamber.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the mysterious figure put on his hood once again and disappeared within the cave chamber.