The First Layer of the Celestial Mansion, at the hour of Jingzhe.

As the Sun appeared and its disk traversed the heavens, the great cities gradually awoke, becoming bustling and noisy. In the sky above, streaks of Flying Light zipped past.

This phenomenon became more pronounced the closer one got to the hub of the First Layer, the Ascension Platform.

Once inside the Ascension Platform—the nexus between the First and Second Layers of the Celestial Mansion where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold—one could no longer see any mortals without Cultivation.

Fang Yuan was one such person.

As a Cultivator at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and on the verge of breaking through to the Late Stage, his status on the First Layer was neither low nor high. He could be considered part of the middle class.

Unfortunately, due to the exorbitant property prices near the Ascension Platform, he couldn’t afford a luxury residence in the city. He had to buy a house in a more remote mortal city instead. Every day, he rose before dawn and returned after dusk, riding his Flying Light to his job in the metropolis. On the way, he would stop at an apothecary to take a Spirit Pill, replenishing his spent Mana.

"HAAAAH...!"

Upon entering the city, Fang Yuan took a deep breath, finding the very air to be sweet. After all, it was filled with the medicinal fumes discharged from the city’s factories.

As a hallmark of the Celestial Mansion’s Immortal Dao Civilization, those enormous exhaust vents discharged medicinal fumes day and night. While these fumes were impurities left over from Alchemy and harmful to Cultivators at the Final-phase of Qi Refining, for a Mid-phase of Qi Refining cultivator like him, they were an excellent tonic.

"...Ngh!"

The next second, Fang Yuan abruptly held his breath. Sweet as the air was, if he breathed in too much, Immortal Dao Pharmaceutical would come to collect payment.

’Forget it. Just getting one breath is a blessing.’

’And this is a perk of being an employee at Immortal Dao Pharmaceutical. Plenty of people wish they could get a whiff but can’t.’

Although his monthly salary was nearly gone after his loan payments, Fang Yuan still puffed out his chest with pride as he gazed at his company’s massive factory complex.

Soon, he walked into the factory. Work hadn’t started yet, so many employees were chatting amongst themselves. Fang Yuan pricked up his ears and soon overheard their conversation:

"Have you heard the latest news?"

"People have come down from the upper layers!"

"They say it’s the Outer Dao Alliance, a mega-conglomerate whose businesses span the entire First Layer. They want to launch a wealth management product to help us on the First Layer escape poverty and get rich."

"I think it’s called... right, the Wuyou Talisman!"

"They say it’s a premium version of the Outer Dao Immortal Talisman, just released with an exchange rate of 1:5. It’s supposed to be high-purity, top-quality, and its value is even expected to rise in the future!"

"For real?"

"It sounds incredible. Look, even the news is saying it: ’Massive boon! The Wuyou Talisman shatters the Immortal Talisman monopoly, the last bastion of the free spirit.’"

"’Tens of millions of Celestial Mansion residents have had their lives changed by the Wuyou Talisman, and this number is guaranteed to double in the next decade...’ My older brother’s second sister’s best friend works in one of the Outer Dao Alliance’s businesses, and she has inside information. She said the Alliance plans to completely phase out the Outer Dao Immortal Talisman and replace it with the Wuyou Talisman in the future."

"So the earlier you buy, the higher the returns!"

"If you buy too late, once the Outer Dao Alliance has almost finished the switch and fully adopted the Wuyou Talisman, it won’t matter how many Outer Dao Immortal Talismans you’re holding—they’ll be worthless..."

This was the discussion among the younger employees.

Fang Yuan mulled this over, then his gaze shifted to some of the other employees—ones who were listed in the company records as having families. Their conversation was entirely different:

"I hear that the Wuyou Talisman was created by a Perfected Lord from the upper layers who just achieved Attainment and now controls heaven and earth."

"He’s a benevolent Great Divine Power User, they say."

"I heard that all the Nobles who came down from the upper layers this time are disciples of the Righteous Qi Dao, which is under that Great Divine Power User’s authority. They’re here to bless us!"

"How are they going to bless us? By raising our salaries?"

"That’s not really necessary. I think we’re quite happy as things are. Our salaries are enough to live on, and living to be a hundred-odd years old without sickness or calamity is a life well lived."

"You have no ambition!"

"So *you’ve* lived a full life, but what about your son? Your daughter? Your grandchildren? What will they do when they need to find a job? Can you get them a position?"

"Er..."

"Anyway, I’ve been asking around secretly. The Righteous Qi Dao, founded by that Great Divine Power User, has come down to offer educational and training services. They have courses at different price points, and even if you take the cheapest one, you’re guaranteed a good job in the future!"

"Even the cheapest one guarantees a job?"

"You bet! And if you can afford the most expensive course, the Righteous Qi Dao’s advertisements say they guarantee you’ll achieve Ascension and reach the Second Layer!"

"Really!?"

Gradually, the atmosphere grew more and more fervent.

Witnessing this, Fang Yuan nodded in satisfaction. He then took out a communication Jade Scroll and sent a message to his superior:

[Public opinion is developing as expected. The news has spread.]

Soon, his superior replied with a thumbs-up.

—That’s right. As the manager of the factory’s human resources department, Fang Yuan had recently been tasked with fully cooperating in the promotion of the Wuyou Talisman and the Righteous Qi Dao’s training programs.

To this end, he had been secretly disseminating information for quite some time.

It now seemed to be a great success.

At this thought, a smile crept onto Fang Yuan’s face. ’Looks like this month’s bonus is in the bag. After my loan payment, I’ll actually be able to save some money.’

But what to save up for?

After some careful consideration, Fang Yuan, now somewhat curious himself, took out the informational materials on the Wuyou Talisman and the Righteous Qi Dao and began to study them closely.

.......

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

At the edge of the Second Layer continent, on a cliffside, Lü Yang stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He quietly gazed down upon the land of the First Layer below, his eyes reflecting the myriad scenes of the mortal world.

Soon, a streak of Flying Light descended, revealing Mountain Mover.

"Fellow Daoist Ming He, there is something I don’t understand."

Lü Yang smiled. "Please, Daoist, go ahead."

Mountain Mover didn’t mince words. "Why are you focusing the main promotional push for the Wuyou Talisman on the First Layer? It’s full of mortals. There’s no profit to be squeezed from them."

"You are mistaken, Daoist."

Lü Yang shook his head. "These are all promising talents of our Celestial Mansion. In fact, I’m surprised no one ever thought of putting them to use before."

During this time, Lü Yang had come to a deeper understanding of the Celestial Mansion.

’That Taiyin Immortal Venerable... he’s a bit too Zen about everything. He created the Great Dao Immortal Talisman to serve as a currency, but he never fully unleashed its true power.’

Admittedly, the Great Dao Immortal Talisman had been extremely successful in taming the Outer Dao True Monarchs. But that was only because Outer Dao True Monarchs were, after all, still Perfected Lords who posed a threat to the Celestial Mansion and thus had to be targeted. As for those at the Foundation Establishment level, or the even lower Qi Refining and mortal levels, the Celestial Mansion’s attitude was more laissez-faire.

The division into nine layers was, in essence, not much different from taking out the trash.

Qi Refining cultivators and mortals were tossed into the First Layer to fend for themselves—out of sight, out of mind. Meanwhile, those with talent and connections were sent to the Second through Fifth Layers for proper education and nurturing.

The result was that the Celestial Mansion’s social environment was remarkably peaceful.

Abundant resources, extremely high productivity, and the presence of an absolute powerhouse like Taiyin Immortal Venerable had reduced conflict among Cultivators to an unbelievably low level.

’This is an absolutely despicable waste!’

’Such a vast First Layer, filled with so many potential talents, yet every single one of them is content with their lot! They have none of the ambition needed for Cultivation, thinking only of lying flat and coasting through their days.’

’A massive, untapped market of this scale, just going to waste?’

’What a crying shame!’

Lü Yang was heartbroken. ’And to think I once believed this place had some connection to the Stain Sect... Now I see they’ve only learned a few superficial tricks at best!’

’The Celestial Mansion is incompetent. It seems I’ll have to take matters into my own hands!’

With this in mind, Lü Yang glanced at Mountain Mover and said in a low voice, "Rest assured, Daoist. This is merely the first step—the primitive accumulation of capital."

"The storm is only just beginning to show signs."

"But give it time, and it will engulf the entire Celestial Mansion!"