Wang Qi wandered aimlessly on the streets.
Half an hour ago, he had been excitedly looking for a library or some place to grab paper and pens, intending to convert the manuscript of the unqualified Taoist into the more familiar mathematical language. Along the way, he also planned to analyze the manuscript.
But quickly, his hopes were dashed—there was indeed a "Guarded Library" in Xinyue City, but it wasn't open to the public.
After hearing that the guarded room was meant for Nascent Soul cultivators, Wang Qi lost all interest in sneaking inside.
"Looks like the Immortal Alliance's system isn't as open as I imagined. At least, the library's closure means they are strict about managing knowledge," Wang Qi thought to himself. "This is quite bad for scientific research."
As Xinyue was the main headquarters of the Immortal Alliance, it was the largest immortal city. If there was no open library here, it was unlikely there would be one in the entire Nine Provinces.
True Zhanzi noticed and suggested, "How about trying to stay at an inn?"
Wang Qi was startled, then smiled awkwardly, "What? Old man, you actually want me to take a girl's card and check into a room?"
That suggestion sounded somewhat shady, to be honest.
True Zhanzi was confused, "What's wrong with that?"
Wang Qi shook his head. He realized that someone who wasn't from Earth wouldn't understand the connotations of his words. After thinking for a while, he denied, "That would raise unnecessary suspicion. Why would I stay at an inn for no reason?"
"So what now?" True Zhanzi asked.
"Let's keep walking. I mainly want to see how the current laws have evolved, and you should analyze the style of the Immortal Alliance," Wang Qi replied.
Despite being at the Qi Refining Stage, cultivators at this level still had superior physical strength compared to ordinary people. Wang Qi didn't feel tired after walking around for a long time.
Earlier, True Zhanzi had marveled at Xinyue's prosperity. However, gradually, he began to have some doubts: "Kid, there's something strange about this place. Did you notice? There's no selling of cultivation techniques or spells."
Wang Qi nodded. "Yeah, the alchemy shops sell pills and materials, but no pill formulas. I bet the artifact-refining pavilion doesn't have any refining blueprints either. There are some bookstores, but they mostly sell cultivator experiences and don't involve any specific spells—what sells best seem to be biographies and novels!"
"Seems like the Immortal Alliance has really restricted knowledge exchange," True Zhanzi pondered. "If the current method is based on summarizing the laws of nature, how could they have abolished the ancient practice of knowledge exchange?"
The situation was more suspicious than they thought. Wang Qi continued to analyze it. This level of restriction went far beyond just "lack of management ability" among "techie guys."
Could it be that the Immortal Alliance's obsession with "intellectual property rights" had reached a pathological level?
But that didn't seem right. Even if the intellectual property system had been established, sharing knowledge for a price would be a mutually beneficial model. Looking at the Immortal Alliance's own people, it seemed unlikely that everyone was so insistent on keeping knowledge locked away.
For example, Laplace, a renowned mathematician on Earth, was extremely unconcerned with copyright. Not only did he often use other people's academic work without giving credit, but he occasionally gave away his own academic achievements to younger scholars, letting them publish under their own names.
Following that strange correlation, a legendary cultivator like "Reincarnated Bai Ze" Ah Pu should have had similar traits!
Once all the wrong answers were ruled out, the only possible conclusion emerged.
Wang Qi frowned. "Enemies... Old man, do you think we should join the Immortal Alliance now?"
True Zhanzi responded, "This place is peaceful, even if there are external enemies, they're probably thousands of years away, or only targeting high-level cultivators. If you really want to learn the current method of cultivation, you'll have to join the Immortal Alliance."
Wang Qi rubbed his chin thoughtfully but didn't give a direct answer. Instead, he changed the topic. "What do you think, how have the current tools improved compared to thousands of years ago?"
"Much better. Many pills have become standardized, and so have the magical tools," True Zhanzi replied.
"Seems like they've put a lot of effort into popularizing technology?" Wang Qi glanced around, his mind still in doubt.
Just then, a commotion in the distance caught their attention.
"What's going on?" Wang Qi asked, intrigued.
True Zhanzi judged, "There's no malicious fluctuation in the spiritual energy, so there's no danger."
Hearing there was no danger, Wang Qi, ever the troublemaker, walked toward the disturbance.
The source of the commotion was a shop, one that was particularly busy amidst the bustling streets of Xinyue. Looking at the store, Wang Qi was amazed at how crowded it was. It seemed like most shops here barely had customers.
"I swear, what are they selling to get this many people..." Wang Qi fought his way through the crowd, making his way to the shopfront. He looked up and saw the sign that read "Sheng Da Xiang."
Curious, he tugged at a Qi Refining cultivator nearby, asking, "Brother, what are they selling here that's causing such a fuss?"
The cultivator snapped angrily, "You're cutting in line without knowing what's going on?"
Wang Qi replied casually, "Just curious."
The cultivator growled, "Today's the release of the new card pack from Wu Ding Pai! So many people have been waiting for this day!"
Wang Qi felt his lip twitch. "New card pack..."
The cultivator said with reverence, "Yes, yes, the theme is 'Moon Demon Descending to the Mortal Realm'..."
Wang Qi felt his lip twitch again. "What happened to being realistic?"
After further inquiry, Wang Qi realized that this store was the only authorized retailer for Wu Ding Pai, and their scam tactics were particularly refined.
The basic card pack Wang Qi had used contained a cultivator card of a random Qi Refining cultivator and most of the basic spells and magical tools. Rare cards—those with a rarity of five or more—were hidden in other packs and sold separately. Occasionally, limited-edition character cards would be released during special celebrations.
The store would also periodically release "supplemental packs," each with a theme based on famous ancient techniques!
"Looks like a game, but it's also kinda... weird lah," Wang Qi muttered, rubbing his forehead.
The whole scene resembled a cult.
Looking at the fanatical expressions on the cultivators' faces, Wang Qi silently whispered, "Cultists are scary, man. And these otaku are just... ugh."
Suddenly, an intense fluctuation of spiritual energy erupted from inside "Sheng Da Xiang."
This energy burst out unexpectedly, and it was quickly followed by a sharp, killing intent.
"WTF is going on?" Wang Qi quickly grabbed the cultivator next to him.
The cultivator was unperturbed, "Probably someone pulled a rare card with a rarity higher than seven. It's gonna burn!"
Wang Qi couldn't help but mutter, "Damn, this cult is scary."
At this moment, the commotion grew louder.
"He's just a scammer! He's trying to trick us into spending money!"
"Bullsh*t! I just pulled a miracle!"
"Four rares in a ten-plus pack!"
"It must be a scam!"
"You're the scammer! Your whole family's a scammer!"
"Give me that card!"
"Burn! Burn!"
The voices rose, and a killing intent spread throughout the crowd.
Soon, Wang Qi saw several cultivators being knocked aside like they had been hit by something, flying in different directions. A blue-robed cultivator flashed before his eyes.
Then, something unbelievable happened. Wang Qi saw the blue-robed cultivator twist his body mid-air, with a burst of spiritual energy that split off into a black shadow that flew towards the other direction.
The speed was too fast, and Wang Qi barely managed to catch the move.
Before he knew it, the blue-robed cultivator circled around behind him. Wang Qi felt a sharp sensation on his back. The cultivator had locked him in place!
Damn it!
Wang Qi gritted his teeth and watched as the crowd of pursuers passed by.