Chapter 5046 Gaining A Temporary Residence

 "Level Seven Exalt with no additional battle prowess. He is an old fart. He was impressive once- I guess? In any case, he now spends most of his time trying to satisfy the Hexadra Clan's tribute demands without getting lynched by the powers beneath him. He's even worse than me."

The fatty shook his head with a short laugh, "Nothing but a miserable existence."

Davis made a disappointed expression behind his mask.

A Level Seven Exalt was somewhat good, but it was no way enough to hold back the Venerable Knights or the fanatical Heaven's Warriors. He wasn't expecting to stop the Celestial Transcendent with the corpses, but nevertheless, for a City Lord, this cultivation was way too low.

He supposed this City Lord truly was in cahoots with the Hexadra Clan and became a lackey to gain this position.

Soon, they arrived at a teleportation formation embedded into a wide plaza at the boundary between the middle ring and the inner city. An attendant stood beside it wearing the city's insignia on his chest, a stylized tree above a hexagonal border.

The fatty produced a jade token and handed it over. The attendant examined it briefly and stepped aside without a word.

The formation activated when resplendent light shone on them. The plaza dissolved into light and reformed itself as a different plaza, wider and quieter, paved with a pale stone that seemed to absorb rather than reflect the ambient glow of the Ethereal Lumina Tree overhead.

The inner city.

Davis felt it immediately. The heaven and earth energy here was noticeably thicker.

Several of the group behind him exhaled slowly.

The fatty noticed and smiled, "Is it not better? The city formation distributes the tree's energy unevenly on purpose. The core city gets the most. It keeps people outside motivated to climb the ranks and spend their contribution points, and in turn helps the Hexadra Clan grow further, and if not, keep them stable in these tumultuous times."

"Classic discrimination using incentivized hierarchy," Fairy Qiyra Darkstar said quietly.

"The only kind that works." The fatty shrugged, "Idealism doesn't survive the first famine."

They walked through the inner city without stopping. The buildings here were tall and properly constructed, and the cultivators on the streets moved with the unhurried confidence of people who had secured their place and were no longer afraid of being displaced. A few glanced at the group with mild curiosity before looking away, but they gazed at Fatty with a respectful gaze, seemingly knowing his identity.

Another teleportation formation waited at the inner city's far boundary. This one had two attendants and a small guardpost beside it. The fatty produced a different token, silver rather than jade, and after a slightly longer inspection, they were waved through.

They finally arrived at the core city.

The silence here was immediate and almost physical. There were fewer people, and those present wore the kind of stillness that came not from peace but from power. They did not need to look at newcomers nor were they interested in being disturbed, mind about their own business.

The heaven and earth energy was dense enough to even rid the use of transcendent crystals to cultivate. Only absorption formations were used to capture and condense the overwhelming amount of energy present here.

The buildings were large, well separated from one another, each surrounded by its own minor formation barrier that shimmered faintly at the edges. At a glance, it was obvious that these were private territories within a shared city.

Davis recognized the logic. Powers of this level would not accept neighbors who could look into their courtyards. Otherwise, there would be extreme trouble brewing, which the Hexadra Clan might not be able to handle.

In a few minutes, the fatty led them to a building in the western quarter near the teleportation formation.

It was a long and grand mansion measuring three stories high, rectangular, and built from a pale grey stone that held minor formation inscriptions along its base. It appeared nothing extravagant, but it was clean, solidly constructed, and the barrier around it was intact.

"I called in a favor for this one," The fatty said, stopping before the entrance. "It was occupied by a power that got absorbed by a larger one two weeks ago. The new owners didn't want a second property this far from their own, so it became available."

He turned and got a set of documents and a formation core from one of his subordinates, "The internal formations are basic but functional. Privacy barriers, spatial expansion, detection formations, and a few other defensive formations are already in place. Needless to say, since this would be your home from now on, you can upgrade the formations to your liking."

Davis accepted the formation core, feeling like it was worth the bribe.

He got in so smoothly without needing to remove his mask.

"As for the list," The fatty continued, "Hmm, I have here… where did I place it- ah, yes."

He took out a jade slip from his spatial ring and passed it on to Davis.

"This covers experts of our caliber living in the core city and the inner city of the Eighth Bastion City. The other eleven cities will take me a few days. Some of my contacts will need persuading."

He paused before adding with a sly smile, "The kind of persuading that costs transcendent crystals."

"Send the bill through your Handsome Giant Consortium," Davis said with a chuckle as he took the slip.

The fatty's gaze flickered.

What a generous person! Must be rich!

He displayed a wide grin as he revealed his signature teeth.

"Don't be so gloomy. I look forward to knowing your identity. Even for this Desolate Era, I believe absolute darkness nurtures the brightest light, so don't give up hope, no matter whatever trouble or enemy you might be facing. Rest well, brother."

He placed a messaging talisman on Davis's hand and strode off, oddly enough, almost stylishly.

Davis was left stunned.

It seems like the other party mistakenly believed that he had made too many enemies to show his face when, in truth, he was the Divine Emperor of Death. Although it was the same thing, it was different! Nonetheless, those words that absolute darkness nurtures the brightest light couldn't help but make him smile genuinely.

In the spitty sea of curses echoing against him throughout the Upper Realms, this sounded like genuine praise to the Divine Emperor of Death, although Davis didn't doubt the fatty would definitely curse the Divine Emperor of Death if he got the chance to talk about him.

Regardless, with a satisfied smile, he turned to look around and brought his people to the residence.

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