Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 897 - 897 0544 Clarify the Priorities of the

Chapter 897: Chapter 0544: Clarify the Priorities of the Matter_2 Chapter 897: Chapter 0544: Clarify the Priorities of the Matter_2 Qi Tian emerged from the room, only to be greeted by the accounts officer who had just processed his paperwork, now with a beaming smile, a stark contrast to his previously cold and indifferent demeanor. Upon seeing Qi Tian, the accounts officer even bowed his hands and said, “Immortal Master, the master has specially instructed me to bring you to live in the East Court. He has arranged for you to have a private small court there, complete with maids and servants to attend to you. The conditions are much better than here. Please, follow me.”

Qi Tian nodded. He did not even glance back at the small court he had just left; the cultivators who had been drinking with him just moments ago all came out and wanted to say a few words to Qi Tian, but in the end, they could not muster the courage to speak.

The accounts officer quickly led Qi Tian to the East Cross Court, a supporting structure of the City Lord’s Mansion, divided into many small courts. Each court housed high-ranking servants, guards, or staff of the City Lord’s Mansion.

The accounts officer took Qi Tian to a small court near the main entrance of the East Cross Court and said, “You will now reside here. If you find anything unsuitable in the future, we can arrange for a change. You lot, aren’t you going to pay your respects to Qi, the guard?”

The two maids and two servants attached to the small court hastily came over and kowtowed to Qi Tian, all of them cultivators, although their cultivation levels were not high, merely at the Qi Cultivation Period. However, despite their low cultivation realms, they all shared one thing in common—they were all young and attractive girls and boys.

“Your duty is to serve Qi, the guard. No matter what requests Qi, the guard, makes, as long as it does not endanger the safety of the City Lord’s Mansion, you must do your utmost to satisfy them. Should you dare to disobey, you know the consequences,” after instructing them, the accounts officer turned around and handed Qi Tian a set of brand new outdoor clothes, keys, and a Hundred-Mile Message Butterfly. These items were much more high-grade compared to the initial set provided to Qi Tian.

Thus, Qi Tian settled down temporarily in the City Lord’s Mansion. As a first-class guard of the City Lord’s Mansion, he did not have to work as hard as a third-class guard; he only needed to be on duty for an hour each day, with the rest of his time free to himself, as long as he did not venture too far from the City Lord’s Mansion. Time flew, and soon two days passed—it was time for the meeting he had arranged with Gao Jinmei and Xia Xiaoming.

Qi Tian stepped out of the City Lord’s Mansion and found a teahouse to sit in. Not long after, a man with a twisty beard sat down at the same table.

“Master, it’s me,” the twisty-bearded man transmitted a message to Qi Tian.

Hearing Gao Jinmei’s voice, Qi Tian nearly spit out the tea in his mouth. “Gao, you really can do it, I must say I didn’t expect you to have such a skill!”

Qi Tian’s words were heartfelt. When he first glimpsed Gao Jinmei, he genuinely had not recognized her. Gao Jinmei’s skill in disguise was indeed clever—no wonder she was able to become an assassin.

Gao Jinmei was very pleased to receive such praise from Qi Tian, who seldom complimented others. However, Gao quickly got her emotions in check and continued transmitting her message to Qi Tian, “Master, the task you assigned to me has encountered some difficulties. Up to now, neither Xia Xiaoming nor I have found suitable identities, let alone obtained legitimate identity plaques. We might need some more time for this matter.”

Afterward, Gao Jinmei explained the reason to Qi Tian. The problem lay in the cultivation realms of her and Xia Xiaoming. In the Imperial Family Secret Territory, every cultivator in the Gold Core Realm was registered, and it was impossible for two completely unfamiliar faces at the Gold Core Realm to suddenly appear. Without the corresponding identity plaques in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, gaining rightful access to certain areas was difficult. They could only resort to sneaking around, which would inevitably complicate matters.

Gao Jinmei was now using an identity plaque fit for a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and even that had required much effort to obtain. Xia Xiaoming still hasn’t managed to acquire one to this day, and now he can only hide outside the city.

“Master, it seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer,” Gao Jinmei finally said, “Otherwise, we can only enter the heart of the Imperial Family Secret Territory under the guise of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators.”

Qi Tian said, “I have already obtained a first-class guard’s insignia from the City Lord’s Mansion. Later on, I will see if there is a way to get identification plaques suitable for us. If we can get them, that would be best; if not, we will have to think of other means.”

Gao Jinmei nodded, then promptly asked, “In this case, we will surely be delayed here for quite a while. Is that all right?”

Gao Jinmei’s concern was evident; in her view, even if there were opportunities in the Imperial Family Secret Territory, they were limited. Not to mention that the territory already housed many strong competitors at the Gold Core Realm, just the number of cultivators who had entered with them was not small. Among them were extremely strong competitors like Wang Fengna. With such rivals, it was really hard to say whether they could ensure opportunities would fall into their hands.

Qi Tian said, “At this point, being anxious serves no purpose. We are lacking in many aspects. Not to mention everything else, at the very least, we do not even know how to leave the Imperial Family Secret Territory. Under these circumstances, do you think it’s a good thing for us to gain opportunities right now?”

Gao Jinmei was instantly left speechless; she hadn’t considered this point before. Her eyes were only on the opportunities, thinking about how to snatch them away from people like Wang Fengna first, without considering whether they had the ability to keep the opportunities safe, let alone integrate them. Even if they could safeguard and assimilate the opportunities, if they couldn’t leave the Imperial Family Secret Territory in the future, then no matter how much fortune she accumulated, she would ultimately have to relinquish it. The Gold Core Realm powerhouses of the territory would definitely not allow her to take the opportunities out of the Imperial Family Secret Territory.

“Master, I’m sorry, I was too impatient,” Gao Jinmei sincerely apologized.

Qi Tian said, “It’s fine. Tell Xia Xiaoming not to be anxious either. We must clearly understand the priorities of our situation. Right now, our first task is not to find the opportunities of the Imperial Family Secret Territory, but to find out how to leave the territory first. If we haven’t found that method yet, even if opportunities appear before us, we need to think carefully and must not act rashly to avoid biting off more than we can chew and ending up with nothing.”

Gao Jinmei nodded repeatedly. After discussing with Qi Tian about how to act in the future, what to prioritize, and how to maintain contact, she left.

After sitting in the teahouse for a while longer, Qi Tian returned to the City Lord’s Mansion. Over the past two days, Qi Tian had actually been taking actions; he was investigating the overall state of the City Lord’s Mansion. If the conditions were suitable, he wouldn’t mind looting the entire mansion. However, after his inspections for two consecutive days, he found nothing in the mansion worth taking action for.

This City Lord’s Mansion was very poor; whether it was spirit stones or other cultivation resources, there were not many to be found, a fact evident from some of the items used by Xiang Bo, the mansion’s young master. This was understandable, after all, it was just a small city that didn’t have any special produce within its jurisdiction, nor was it a city built on trade. Under such external conditions, acquiring more cultivation resources was a difficult task.

However, Qi Tian’s focus was not on the cultivation resources. He didn’t need such things for the time being. What he was most interested in obtaining was an introduction to the customs of the Imperial Family Secret Territory, and, ideally, a method for leaving the territory. The most likely place to find such information would undoubtedly be the City Lord’s Mansion; at the very least, the chances here were much higher than anywhere else. If nothing could be found here, then they would have to rely on luck in the core area of the Imperial Family Secret Territory.