Chapter 251: Passage Order

Chapter 251: Chapter 251: Passage Order

Among these Cultivators, a considerable number felt nothing for upholding the so-called glory of the Righteous Dao.

Call them cowards who clung to life or call them weak and timid; they couldn’t care less about such labels.

They simply didn’t want to be caught up in the flames of war, to live a precarious existence where death followed them like a shadow.

Jiang Xu was actually much the same.

He had only arrived a short while ago and felt little attachment to the Profound Origin Sect or the Righteous Dao.

His cultivation and strength had been granted by his status panel, and the Profound Origin Sect had provided him with some protection in the beginning.

But that protection was something Jiang Xu had exchanged for with Spirit Rice.

If Jiang Xu had spent more time in the Inner Sect, experienced more of the Sect’s boons, and formed deeper bonds with his fellow disciples, he might have considered staying.

But everything the Profound Origin Sect had offered him so far was not worth risking his life on a battlefield.

So, in Jiang Xu’s view, it was no surprise that so many Cultivators wanted to travel the Demon Passage to reach the Demon Spirit State.

But what truly dumbfounded Jiang Xu was that when these people went through the back entrance, they all handed a token to the guards.

Only after the guards verified the token would they allow the person to pass.

This made Jiang Xu freeze on the spot.

He’d never heard anything about needing some kind of token to use the back entrance to the Youxian Sea.

’This is a problem!’

After snapping out of it, Jiang Xu glanced around before casually approaching a Cultivator at the end of the line and politely asking:

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask what this token the guards up front are demanding is all about?"

As he spoke, he offered two Spirit Stones.

When Jiang Xu first approached him, the Cultivator seemed a little impatient.

He frowned as he turned, about to refuse, but swallowed his words when he saw the Spirit Stones.

Two Spirit Stones weren’t much, but who could resist free money?

Then, he glanced at Jiang Xu’s cultivation. It was unfathomably deep—he was likely at Qi Cultivation Great Perfection, or maybe even a higher realm. The expression of this cultivator, who was only at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, immediately became respectful.

"Senior, you’re too kind. This is common knowledge nowadays; you don’t need to give me Spirit Stones."

"The token the guards are asking for is actually a Passage Order. It’s now a necessity for traveling to the Demon Spirit State. Without it, you can’t board a Dharma Ship, let alone land on Seven Star Island, which is controlled by the Seven Stars Association."

"I don’t recall there being any kind of Passage Order before," Jiang Xu said, confused. From what he’d gathered, there was no mention of such a thing.

"Senior, you must not have been here for a long time, so you aren’t aware. In recent years, the fighting between the Righteous and Demonic Daos within Dinghai State has been intense. It’s not just that many Cultivators from Dinghai State want to escape; there are also many Cultivators from the Youxian Sea and the Demon Spirit State who want to use the Demon Passage to enter Dinghai State."

"Huh? What are they coming here for?" Jiang Xu was baffled. ’Everyone else is scrambling to get out, so why would they want to come in?’

’Are they in a hurry to get themselves killed and reincarnated?’

"Senior, that’s where you’re mistaken. They want to take advantage of the war between the Righteous and Demonic Daos to profit from the chaos. You could say they’re trying to fish in troubled waters or pull chestnuts from the fire!"

Jiang Xu had a sudden realization.

’So they’re war profiteers, looking to make a quick and dirty buck!’

He couldn’t help but sneer.

’These people want to reap benefits, but they’re not the only ones. They should first ask if the major sects are willing to let them.’

’The sects order their disciples into life-or-death battles, not to do all the hard work just for these outsiders to swoop in. When there are spoils to be had, the sects will naturally be the first to claim them.’

’Those Golden Core Cultivators are as cunning as they come. One can only imagine how difficult it would be to snatch profits from right under their noses.’

’One wrong move, and you’ll end up as their next meal.’

’Snatching food from a tiger’s mouth? In their dreams.’

Still, Jiang Xu could understand their desperation.

Many of these people had been stuck at a bottleneck for decades, some even for a century.

Their positions in their own circles had solidified, making further advancement impossible. All the resources were controlled by those of a higher station, leaving them no opportunity to risk it all for a breakthrough.

Now that an opportunity like this had appeared, of course they would grasp at straws.

But he feared that not even one in a hundred would succeed.

Seeing that Jiang Xu was silent, the Cultivator before him continued:

"With so many people coming and going, the number of travelers has skyrocketed. But you can’t just easily increase the number of Tier Three Dharma Ships. There are only so many, and they can’t carry that many people."

"This led to a situation with too many people and not enough ships. Huge crowds couldn’t get passage, so they started causing trouble."

"A few dozen, or even a few hundred Cultivators—the higher-ups at the Seven Stars Association and the Duo Bao Pavilion wouldn’t have given them a second thought."

"But when thousands, tens of thousands, or even more Cultivators started making a fuss, they couldn’t just sit back and watch."

"Aside from adding a few more Dharma Ships, they jointly issued a restriction order to limit the number of passengers. It states that only Cultivators with a Passage Order are allowed to board."

"Before each departure, Passage Orders are distributed to the qualifying Cultivators. Once the ship reaches its destination, the Passage Orders are collected."

At this point, Jiang Xu finally understood what this Passage Order was all about.

"Then how does one get a Passage Order?"

"You have to apply in advance and meet the requirements. Alternatively, there are auctions, but the most recent one just ended. The next one isn’t until next month."

"What are the requirements?"

"It’s a lottery. If you’re selected, you can get one after paying a sufficient amount of Spirit Stones. Foundation Establishment Cultivators have to pay 1,000, and Qi Cultivation Cultivators have to pay 300."

"That expensive!" Jiang Xu blurted out.

"Of course. To keep the number of passengers down, they have to set a high bar."

"This is also partly due to pressure from the Righteous Dao forces in Dinghai State. They don’t want their forces to be depleted, so of course they try to stop people from leaving. But forcing them to stay would be useless—they couldn’t be deployed effectively and might even defect to the Demon Dao. So the only option is to secretly create more rules and obstacles."

"In fact, the Demon Communication Workshop has another rule: Inner Sect Disciples and above from Golden Core Sects are not eligible for a Passage Order. The sects are afraid of losing too many members, which would affect their overall strength."

When Jiang Xu heard that Inner Sect Disciples of Golden Core Sects weren’t allowed to leave, his thoughts immediately turned to his own situation.

He had just become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Profound Origin Sect right before he left. This was no laughing matter.

"What if an Inner Sect Disciple from a Golden Core Sect does come here wanting a Passage Order to leave? Can they really identify every single Inner Sect Disciple?"

"Uh, I’m not too sure about that. Perhaps they have their methods, or maybe they’ll just ask you to prove your identity."

"One last question, then. Where can I get a Passage Order?"

"A batch of Passage Orders is released every month, but this month’s are all gone. It’ll be a long wait until the next release. If you’re in a hurry, Senior... you might try asking one of the Brokers in the Marketplace."