**Chapter 103: Abode of Immortals and Mortals**
The permanent residents of these pillar-pavilions were almost exclusively disciples of the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect assigned to external posts. Alongside the Foundation Establishment garrison commander, they safeguarded the entire city. The locations of the pillars corresponded to the key nodes of the underground spiritual vein, interconnected with the formation arrays laid throughout the area, functioning like individual fortress strongholds.
Wang Yu's sudden arrival, his cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining unconcealed, caused the mortals entering and exiting near the city gates to show expressions of fear, carefully stopping in their tracks and not daring to look at him.
*So this is the mode of rule here…* A understanding dawned on him as two cultivators approached together. Noticing the disciple token at Wang Yu's waist, they promptly saluted.
"Greetings, Senior Brother."
Wang Yu nodded. "I am stationed at Spider Mountain. Came to Eroding Heart City for some diversion."
The two immediately revealed knowing smiles. As they led the way, one said, "How should we address you, Senior Brother? I am Han Fei. I am familiar with all aspects of Eroding Heart City and can guide you."
"Wang Yu is fine. And you?" he asked the other.
"Yang Shan. Please, Senior Brother Wang Yu, this way."
The three chatted amiably and soon stopped before a pillar-pavilion. Han Fei explained, "Eroding Heart City has one hundred and eight pillars in total. Each can accommodate a thousand cultivators for cultivation. Currently, each has only fifty or sixty personnel stationed, as some of our fellow disciples have gone to the Mountain Spring Market outside the city."
"Does Senior Brother Wang Yu have a specific destination in mind? The pleasure houses of Eroding Heart City, while not comparable to the Green Luan Pavilion within the sect, possess their own unique characteristics. The young—"
"No need," Wang Yu raised a hand to refuse. "I heard an auction is about to be held in Eroding Heart City. Is this true?"
"This—" The other man, Yang Shan, seemed hesitant. "Might I ask where you heard this, Senior Brother?"
"I have my sources. Does it exist or not?"
Yang Shan and Han Fei exchanged glances. In that silent communication, they seemed to reach a decision.
"We are all fellow disciples," Han Fei said. "We'll tell you, Senior Brother. However, this auction is not the kind you might be thinking of. It is… Lord Zhou's business."
"Lord Zhou?" Wang Yu's eyebrow twitched. He assumed this referred to the city's Foundation Establishment garrison commander.
"Yes," Yang Shan confirmed. "These pillar-pavilions organize spirit root testing ceremonies every year. Those who qualify are sent to the nine peaks of the sect. Those with spiritual roots below the third grade are categorized into upper, middle, and lower tiers based on their appearance and sent to the Abode of Immortals and Mortals for training."
"There are separate male and female camps. An auction is held every three to five years. The items for auction are them—these individuals. After excellent training, whether as tools for venting desires or as dual cultivation furnaces, they are guaranteed to make the buyer feel transcendent bliss."
Wang Yu listened, his expression growing cold and stern. Fortunately, he had been born in the Taihu Spiritual Domain, and his family was merely a mortal one. Strictly speaking, he was among the first generation in his family's rise to undergo spirit root testing. He was part of the second generation. Had he been born in the Scarlet Kite Demon Domain and cultivated into a pleasure slave, he didn't know what he would have done.
He couldn't help but ask, "The sect needs a large number of spirit slaves to provide massive consumption of Spirit Sand. Why aren't they sent to the nine peaks to be trained as spirit slaves?"
Han Fei replied, "This… It's not that we don't want to, but that we cannot."
Yang Shan added, "Indeed, Senior Brother, you might not understand. This garrison commander position changes once every hundred years. These important figures often belong to different factions. Which of the nine peaks should they be sent to? Providing a hundred years' supply of spirit slaves is simple, but for the next garrison commander, whether to send them or not becomes a problem, and it's difficult to profit from it."
Wang Yu roughly understood the operational logic. In essence, garrison commanders changed frequently and had factional affiliations. But there was only one Eroding Heart City. The resource output of this city could not become a tool for profit for a single faction; the bulk had to be handed over to the sect.
Thus, the garrison commanders simply sought private gains. For instance, this Lord Zhou's operations—the Mountain Spring Market and this slave cultivator auction. For a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator to devise so many ventures marked him as a talent; he absolutely hadn't earned little over the years. His background certainly wasn't poor. A clan named Zhou…
As Wang Yu's thoughts churned, Yang Shan suddenly spoke up.
"Senior Brother, we have arrived at the Abode of Immortals and Mortals. Before the auction is held, we disciples from within the sect can preview and select the slave cultivators we fancy. Pay the spirit stones, and you can take them away."
Wang Yu was taken aback. He had initially thought that the ambushers, in their attempt to lure him out, had at least spoken of a real event. But it turned out to be a damned slave auction. A waste of his time. There was no Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure at all.
However, since he was already here…
He might as well look around. It would count as broadening his horizons.
"Shall we take a look, then?"
"Senior Brother, please."
"You there, come here and introduce the merchandise."
"Ah, coming!"
The cultivator standing by the door hurried over, a fawning smile on his face. He was an subordinate Lord Zhou had recruited externally, not a member of the Blood Sect. With a cultivation of only the third level of Qi Refining, his posture was exceedingly humble.
"Honored Sirs, please follow this lowly one."
The Abode of Immortals and Mortals was a large manor covering an area of three hundred *mu*. A central flagstone path divided it in two—males on the left, females on the right. Cultivators wearing swords stood guard at every intersection. Those destined to be bought were only allowed to move within the manor grounds.
Those with more outstanding appearances held higher status here, undergoing training mostly in temperament, etiquette, and learning to anticipate desires. Those with average looks practiced special secret arts from a young age to enhance certain physical characteristics and master the arts of the bedchamber, developing extreme technical skill—this applied to both men and women.
Each had undergone rigorous training and were well-versed in serving others, even possessing considerable skill in the art of the tongue.
As Wang Yu entered, he saw a young man with a stone lock hanging from his waist, using his tongue to undo a metal ring. The dexterity was such that he could undo a nine-link metal ring with his tongue in less than five breaths.
Their cultivation levels were generally between the first and second levels of Qi Refining, with those at the third level being rare, fitting their standard as short-term training products.
The attendant, seeing Wang Yu pause on the covered bridge, quickly asked, "Sir, are you interested in that fair-faced youth? I can—"
"No. Continue forward."
"Yes—"
The more Wang Yu saw, the colder his heart grew. His mood became somewhat unsettled. Whether in the righteous path or the demonic path, there existed an iron rule against large-scale slaughter of mortals.
*Because Immortals emerge from the mortal world!*
Mortals were like the earth, capable of nurturing rare minerals and life, just like cultivators with spiritual roots. Mortals were the foundation upon which everything was built. To have more cultivators, one needed more mortals, constantly reproducing. Procreation was their sole value.
Once they produced a "spiritual root" seedling, the best would enter the sect to strengthen it, continuing the will of past sages through cultivation. The inferior would become slaves or servants, providing enjoyment and comfort for their superiors.
Lord Zhou's ability to make money lay in grasping this core principle. The slave cultivators he trained were highly competitive. He had likely sought advice from experts of the Joyous Union Sect.
At this moment, Wang Yu began to faintly comprehend that the demonic path wasn't just about world-shaking fiends steeped in bloody slaughter. It also included exploitation and oppression operating within the rules. There were madmen who slaughtered mortals to refine treasures, and there were manipulators skilled in human nature, trading the blood and suffering of others for a smooth path on the Great Dao.
Ultimately, they were people who would stop at nothing in their pursuit of cultivation.
This was the second time he had gained insight into this saying.
And the understanding was growing deeper.
It finally transformed into a long, heavy sigh.
**(End of Chapter)**