Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 85 - 84: Immortal Alliance

Chen Xuan was greatly astonished; he never expected to hear such intelligence.

No emperor?

"Then who governs this place?"

"Who else, of course, those cultivators whose eyes are practically raised to the heavens," Old Gu sneered, "You might have seen those jade-like coins, right? They are made by them, not much more useful than copper coins, just to show how special they are."

Cultivators ruling... but there is no emperor, doesn’t that mean the ruler is not a single person? "Is the ruler a sect?"

"Oh, it seems you’re not entirely ignorant about our place," the other stroked his beard and said, "But the reality is much more complicated than imagined. Those cultivators, in order to avoid inner conflict, came up with an alliance to ’discuss major affairs’ just like a martial arts conference, and they call it the Immortal Alliance."

Immortal Alliance—only after hearing both of their accounts did Chen Xuan finally understand what the land supposedly ruled by the Ming Dynasty had become.

People who can inherently gain Qi Sensing abilities have existed since ancient times. They explore and summarize rules, form families or teams, eventually evolving into sects. By the Tang Dynasty, this evolution had taken shape, with over a hundred active cultivation sects across the Central Plains, and the larger sects could have tens of thousands of disciples.

A historical turning point occurred as the Tang Empire declined and disintegrated; these sects replaced the former warlords, ruthlessly eliminating all opposing forces, becoming the actual rulers of the dynasty. They no longer called their kingdoms by national names but formed an Immortal Alliance to coordinate conflicts between different sects, and local governance was entrusted to local sects. By today, everyone has adapted to this new set of rules and even thinks living without an emperor is quite good.

Chen Xuan clicked his tongue in wonder; so this is a leap from a feudal dynasty to a kingdom resembling a federal system.

No wonder Chang’an City hasn’t been renamed to Xi’an City, and shows no signs of desolation due to war and capital relocation.

It remains the kingdom’s center, the most magnificent city on the eastern continent, and the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance.

This really saves the envoy team from trouble.

"If you three gentlemen encounter cultivators with jade plaques hanging at their waists, it’s best to yield, never start a conflict with them. They are sect cultivators certified by the Immortal Alliance, and getting involved with them won’t end well." After introducing, Old Gu didn’t forget to remind them, "It may not be that strict outside the city, but in Chang’an City and surrounding counties, you must abide by their established rules."

"Do you know how many sects are within Chang’an City?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Seven or eight major ones, no one counts the smaller ones. However, generally, only two manage affairs, Celestial Derivation Tower and Ascension Platform. Whenever the Immortal Alliance wants to host activities, these two sects are the initiators."

Liu Shuyue listened with great interest, "Immortals integrating into the secular world, governing the world alongside scholars... It seems quite good like this."

"Hey, little girl, you’re right. Those cultivators indeed consider themselves superior, thinking they’re not like us, but then, who isn’t like that?" Another Tea Master said leisurely, "We who were born in Chang’an City also mock outsiders as if they’re begging here, right?"

"Hey Old Li, so you know you look down on others with dog eyes, huh?"

"Get lost, the outsiders I’m talking about are you!" He glared sharply at Old Gu, then turned to Liu Shuyue, "Moreover, cultivators may be haughty, but they’re indeed capable at local governance. For instance, using spells to promote crop growth, using wooden puppets to transport goods—countless clever uses abound. If it weren’t for these people, Chang’an City could never have expanded to its current size."

Liu Shuyue nodded repeatedly, "Indeed, I also feel that if everyone could cultivate, it’d be wonderful; unfortunately, people who can inherently sense Qi are extremely rare..."

"Little girl, you also understand the principles of cultivation?" Old Gu raised an eyebrow, "But aren’t you wrong? There are plenty of people in this world who can sense Qi. Out of a hundred people, there’ll typically be four or five; it’s easier than passing the imperial exam. Back in the day, I was considered talented too, but no sect wanted me..."

"Isn’t that obvious?" Old Li scoffed, "Your Qi Sensing level is barely at the level of a mosquito buzzing; they’d have to be blind to accept you."

The chance of Qi Sensing is that high? Chen Xuan was quite surprised.

If Chang’an City has a population of a million, wouldn’t there be forty to fifty thousand with cultivation aptitude? Even piling together all the loose cultivators from Qi Kingdom, they probably couldn’t touch this number.

With such an astonishing quantity, what about the quality?

Chen Xuan felt a stirring thought; since Chang’an City is the Immortal Alliance’s headquarters, there must surely be numerous cultivators on the streets! He briefly closed his eyes and rapidly expanded the probing capability of the Celestial Mist Skill to a hundred meters around him, thousands upon thousands of lights flashed consecutively, indeed including those with Qi Sensing! And the Old Gu before him similarly had a spiritual qi reaction, proving his previous words weren’t boasting.

However, the spiritual qi vitality among these people was not high, appearing dim and slow in operation to the senses.

Not to mention comparing with Liu Shuyue, even compared to himself, they fall far short.

Perhaps similar to the residents of Hot Pepper Village who have bathed in Dragon Blood?

Luckily, this isn’t a world where Nascent Soul roam freely and Golden Core are as common as dogs.

Liu Shuyue seemed highly interested in discussing the content of cultivators ruling the country with the two Tea Masters, seemingly wanting to bring the experiences gained in this world back to her home to experiment. The two Tea Masters were equally talkative, probably having not encountered someone seriously inquiring about their experience for a long time, chatted for over two hours, even without minding the time exceeding the charge.

Seeing that they’d gathered enough intelligence, Chen Xuan took the still curious Liu Shuyue away from the teahouse.

As for Lin Qing, she had long since started to doze off—the world disconnected from the network seemed incredibly dull to her.

The three of them left the city without any hindrance.

A city managed by the Immortal Alliance appeared to prioritize freedom.

No matter who you are or where you come from, as long as you pay the admission fee, you can visit Chang’an as a guest.

Along the way, Chen Xuan indeed saw many blue-eyed, blond-haired foreigners.

The grand and prosperous influence of the Tang Dynasty over all nations continues to this day.

After tidying up at the inn, the envoy team was finally reassembled in a foreign land—Liu Shuyue borrowed ten horses and two cargo carriages from the Liu Family, transforming everyone from infantry back into cavalry. The fleur-de-lis banner representing France was raised high, instantly distinguishing this entourage from other merchant teams. Milton and others donned their formal uniforms, blue coats with white trousers and tall boots, topped with tricorn hats, suddenly a stark contrast to their usual image of lounging in the restaurant munching on chips.

In the afternoon, as they emerged from the woods and merged onto the official road, they immediately attracted the attention and curiosity of passersby.

"Is this the Eastern city? It’s truly incredible..." Marina stared incessantly at the majestic city walls of Chang’an City.

Several other witches chattered all the way, lively like spirited young maidens freshly entering the city.

Thinking that their average age was just over eighteen, Chen Xuan felt relieved.

The most composed member of the group, however, was Baron Milton, who had been vomiting all the way.

"A great city represents a great civilization," he mused elegantly, "if we can establish good relations with the Immortal Alliance, perhaps we can find a way to completely defeat the British and those hellish monsters."

As they arrived about ten meters from the city gate, some guard soldiers noticed their movements.

One who looked like an officer led a few subordinates to approach, "Halt! Where do you come from, and what is your purpose in Chang’an City?"

Another person followed up, repeating the question twice.

However, Chen Xuan quickly realized the lip movements varied each time—meaning he was repeating his superior’s inquiry in different languages?

Indeed, the diplomats also displayed expressions of surprise.

"They actually speak the common language?"

But Baron Milton couldn’t respond in the same foreign language. As the person responsible for the diplomats, he had to emphasize the identity of the envoy team, so he nodded to an official in the team, then directly replied in French, "We are envoys from the Western World, bringing the kind regards of the great King Charlie of France, seeking friendship with the Eastern Dynasty!"

The official promptly translated this into Chinese—although the tone sounded rather awkward, as long as it was spoken slowly enough, everyone could discern each word.

Chen Xuan certainly knew there was a translator in the team. The commercial influence of the Eastern Dynasty continuously radiated the Mediterranean region, and Europe similarly conducted extensive trade with the Middle East, so it wasn’t difficult for France to find a noble capable of translating into Chinese.

"Ah, an envoy team from the Western Regions." The officer didn’t seem surprised at all, as if accustomed to such matters, "Are you the leader of this team?"

"No, Lord Xuan here is the leader of the envoy team." Milton gestured towards Chen Xuan.

Seeing Chen Xuan looking like a local, the officer was taken aback.

"No need for a translator, I’ll handle it myself." Chen Xuan raised his hand in salute to the officer, "This is a long story, so I won’t dwell on my background and waste everyone’s time. The envoy team has come from afar to meet the leaders of the Immortal Alliance, and I hope you can convey this message."

The members of the envoy team couldn’t help but admire Lord Xuan further.

For he had never spoken any language other than French before.

In everyone’s eyes, Chen Xuan had just seamlessly switched between two languages, and his authenticity far surpassed that of a translator.

Yet only Chen Xuan knew he had used just one language throughout—authentic Mandarin.

Unless he intentionally spoke a foreign language, his spoken words always acquired an automatic adaptation effect.

Chen Xuan initially thought this benefit was confined to the store, but later found it effective no matter where he went, considering that the "???th Store Manager" couldn’t be removed, only carried on, he suspected this was the most direct impact of the store manager’s abilities.

The officer returned the salute, saying, "This is our duty. Chang’an City has a barbarian residence set up to receive foreign guests, you can rest there temporarily. If the Immortal Alliance wishes to summon, someone will inform you at the residence."