NOVPUBZhou Luye couldn’t help but wonder:
"If it’s so hard to break even, why build a Ghost Market in a small country?"
Wang Ba happened to know a bit about this issue.
Over the years, while serving at the Diwu Hall, he had helped Song Dongyang organize materials for the Linglong Ghost Market, thus his understanding of the Linglong Ghost Market was perhaps only less profound than that of a few high-level officials responsible for it.
He casually said:
"This is to scout for talents for the Sect and to collect various resources not available in Jin, including Spirit Beasts, Spirit Plants, and legacies of skills... These items may not seem valuable for the moment and will naturally appear to be at a loss."
"As for why we’re collecting these, of course, it’s to store them within the Tribulation Crossing Raft, so after the great flood recedes, we will be able to rebuild Fenglin Continent with these resources."
Speaking of which, he, too, benefited from the system of scouting talents at the Linglong Ghost Market.
If it hadn’t been for the Linglong Ghost Market, in a small country like Yan State, he would never have been able to meet an Immortal Master of Nascent Soul like Tang Ji so easily.
Nor would there have been any chance of him joining the Wanxiang Sect.
Considering the chaos in the small countries today, he might not have been much stronger than the current Wen Yong.
Zhou Luye then had a moment of realization upon hearing these words.
She couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration:
"I wonder which Ancestral Master had such foresight, to have predicted the current situation two hundred years ago."
"Indeed... Hmm? Two hundred years?"
Wang Ba was about to nod, but then he suddenly paused.
Zhou Luye nodded:
"Yes. When I was sorting the files just now, I happened to see some records about the Ghost Market; the earliest Linglong Ghost Market was built in Sen State and has been around for nearly two hundred years... It’s said that it was someone’s proposal to the Sect Master, but as to who exactly, there were no records."
"It could be Elder Du Wei. I heard he was originally from Sen State."
However, Wang Ba didn’t pay attention to Zhou Luye’s subsequent words, but rather, he couldn’t help falling into deep thought.
"Starting Linglong Ghost Market two hundred years ago to collect various materials... Over twenty years ago, building the Tribulation Crossing Raft under the pretext of the Truth Membrane Eye... It seems my guess was not wrong; the Sect must have been preparing early."
Although it was a guess, he was quite certain in his heart.
"The Sect’s heritage is vast, and perhaps they have the ability to predict the future and foresaw the current crisis on Fenglin Continent, making early preparations; it wouldn’t be surprising."
Having thought about this, he calmed down.
As for why the Sect did not reveal such plans to the disciples earlier, there could be many reasons, which he did not wish to delve into.
After giving Zhou Luye a few pointers, he directly left the side hall.
Nowadays, he hardly handled these matters personally anymore, usually only organizing the ideas and leaving the execution to the Deacons.
After all, this was all miscellaneous work unrelated to one’s realm, and anyone who grasped the methods could do it.
However, sometimes, in order to have suitable reasons to award Merit to Golden Core Craftsmen, the Sect had to make some seemingly foolish arrangements.
At least in Wang Ba’s view, as an esteemed Nascent Soul Cultivator, there was absolutely no need to focus on such petty tasks; concentrating on Cultivation was the essence.
But from the perspective of the Sect, with so many disciples, without an effective and seemingly fair system to distribute resources and regenerate them in a reasonable way, it wouldn’t take long before the Sect would be drained by the tide of disciples flooding in.
It could also easily lead to infighting.
So even though some duties clearly did not require high Cultivation Base, such arrangements were still made.
Leaving the side hall,
Wang Ba ran into Shang Li, a luxuriously dressed elder showing his age.
Upon seeing Wang Ba, Shang Li hurriedly greeted him with respect:
"Greetings, Martial Uncle."
"Heh, do we really need to be so formal with each other?"
Wang Ba said with a smile.
Shang Li was taken aback for a moment, then also revealed a smile.
But inside, his feelings were complicated.
In the past, he had personally witnessed Wang Ba enter the Ghost Market with only the power of Foundation Establishment.
Although Wang Ba had been favored by Grandmaster Tang from the start, in his heart, Shang Li was not very optimistic.
After all, among the cultivators competing for the Third layer spots in the Ghost Market at the time, Wang Ba’s performance was not particularly outstanding.
Far less so than the Sword Cultivator who was with him.
Yet just now, he had learned from Grandmaster Tang that Wang Ba had already taken up the position of Right Enforcer of the Diwu Hall.
Looking at himself, he was still accumulating Merit within the Ghost Market, hoping to rush to Golden Core in one attempt.
Thinking this way, his feelings were even more mixed.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Shang Li led Wang Ba to find Tang Ji at Yuhuang Peak.
But they found Tang Ji pacing back and forth with furrowed brows.
A sense of urgency erupted within Wang Ba, and he quickly stepped forward to ask:
"Martial Uncle Tang, how is Master Song now?"
Tang Ji’s expression slightly brightened upon seeing Wang Ba, but then his brows furrowed again, and he said with a heavy tone:
"They previously used the Teleportation Array we left in Song State to cross the old territories of Song State, but near the former border between Song and Qiao States, they encountered some people from the Kingdom of Immortals and have since then lost contact."
Hearing this, Wang Ba’s expression became solemn:
"How long has the contact been lost?"
"It’s been nearly half a day," Tang Ji replied with a frown. "Logically, even if they met with people from the Kingdom of Immortals, there should be time to at least send back a message, unless..."
He didn’t finish his speculation aloud.
But Wang Ba had already understood his meaning.
And his brows also furrowed deeply.
Although he had interacted with Song Dongyang for many years, his understanding of Song Dongyang’s true strength was not very clear.
