Chapter 1496 - 887: [Thanks to "edg" for the Alliance Hierarch reward]

Tai Chenggong had once been a Nascent Soul Realm Level 3 Sect Officer.

With his Immortal Dao Potential being limited, he might have spent his entire life dawdling in that Level 3 Sect Officer position, working all the way until he went bankrupt.

But perhaps his fortune was profound; among the few sons he had invested in during his early years, there was one called Tai Yue Bai who was appreciated by the upper echelon of Wanfa Sect, rose step by step, and whose rank and cultivation climbed steadily.

What moved Tai Chenggong even more was that Tai Yue Bai was a filial son.

How filial was Tai Yue Bai? Not only did he transfer money to Tai Chenggong on time every month, but whenever he himself reached a new realm, he would raise Tai Chenggong to that same realm as well.

Now, as the chief Soul Cultivator under Tai Yue Bai, whenever Tai Chenggong recalled those years and remembered how Tai Yue Bai presided over the soul-cultivation conversion ritual—killing his father for free, personally sending him into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner for nurturing—he could only sigh that he had invested in a good son.

By now, the two of them had gone from a cold and shallow father–son relationship to a close and pure employer–employee relationship.

Precisely because of this tight bond, even when Tai Yue Bai was demoted to the 18th underground level of Kunxu, under the drive of contracts and dependency, Tai Chenggong never abandoned him, always staying by his side and working hard to earn more money for him.

"If I don’t work a bit harder, how is Tai Taojun supposed to earn more? How is he supposed to assault Tribulation Crossing? How is he supposed to Ascend? How is he supposed to become an Immortal?"

Tai Chenggong simply believed—he believed that with Tai Yue Bai’s aptitude and potential, this hibernation was only temporary; in the future he would surely have a day when he soared straight into the heavens.

Besides, he had heard Tai Yue Bai’s own analysis and knew that Yingxin Heaven demoting them to the 18th underground level was actually to help them avoid disaster.

Later, when he learned that Yingxin Heaven had defected from the sect and countless clansmen and Disciples had been implicated, only then did Tai Chenggong sigh at how far-sighted Yingxin Heaven had been, having plucked Tai Yue Bai and him out in advance.

After that, as the situation changed and the Third Generation Law was about to be established, their time to rise finally arrived.

"To become the first batch of founders of the Third Generation Law, and thereby truly jump off the chessboard, becoming the pioneers of a new Taoist Inheritance..."

"This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity; no matter how much we invest, how cautious we are, it cannot be considered excessive."

And today, as a Void Refinement Realm Soul Cultivator, Tai Chenggong had secretly come to the Old Graveyard precisely for a preparatory task related to the Third Generation Law.

He wanted to test the true caliber of that Level 6 Sect Officer named Zhang Yu.

This concerned whether Tai Yue Bai should include Zhang Yu in the follow-up plans.

Although Zhang Yu’s résumé had a very high gold content—he had become a Sixth-level Sect Officer in just a few years and had even been awarded one Upper Merit and one Miracle Merit—yet in Tai Chenggong’s view...

"His realm is too low. Up to now he’s only at Divinity Transformation. Even if he breaks through to Void Refinement before the legislation and participates, he’d probably just be some marginal side character."

"Matters of Law Chains are no trivial thing. If the assistants aren’t reliable, then it’s better to have none."

Because the matter was so important, Tai Chenggong was afraid of being misled by falsified data. So, in order to obtain first-hand information about Zhang Yu’s true situation, he did not choose to descend openly, but opted for covert investigation instead.

"This old man walks the path of the Ghost Immortal. In the future I am to follow Tai Taojun in Ascension and become a Ghost Immortal."

"With my Void Refinement Realm cultivation and veteran Spirit Realm technology, infiltrating Zhang Yu’s place for an investigation will be completely silent and traceless. As long as I don’t willingly reveal myself, Zhang Yu can forget about discovering my tracks."

Only to see Tai Chenggong attaching himself to a Thousand-mile Warrior, following the puppet as it crossed the Grotto Heaven Bridge and entered the Immortal Cave Heaven.

Feeling the vastness of the Immortal Cave Heaven, Tai Chenggong couldn’t help but sigh in his heart: "Sigh, who knows what Master Ying was thinking? If he had handed this Immortal Cave Heaven over to Tai Taojun, how wonderful would that be? As for the Third Generation Legislation... at the very least the success rate would increase by twenty percent."

In Tai Chenggong’s view, Yingxin Heaven giving the Immortal Inheritance to Zhang Yu... was really something of a prodigal waste.

...

And just as Tai Chenggong infiltrated the Immortal Cave Heaven, Zhang Yu immediately noticed something amiss.

Fu Ji’s voice also rang out in Zhang Yu’s mind: "Hmph! Within this Immortal Cave Heaven... this seat has constructed a local Spirit Realm based on the Dark Spirit Realm. No matter how advanced your Spirit Realm techniques are, you’ll still have to reveal some trace."

At the same time, Zhang Yu had already released his puppet army and activated the Magic Remains throughout his body, monitoring and sealing off the entire Cave Heaven.

His gaze extended through the visions of each puppet, quickly locking onto the puppet possessed by Tai Chenggong, and he rapidly pulled up all internal and external data on that puppet.

Seeing the resources inside the puppet being occupied and invoked, and the characteristic changes in various data, Zhang Yu thought to himself: "This is... a Soul Cultivator?"

Fu Ji also became solemn: "A Void Refinement Realm Soul Cultivator..."

Hearing the words "Void Refinement," Zhang Yu took a single step, and with the power of Cave Heaven Manifestation, directly leapt from the Immortal Cave Heaven to the office in the Old Graveyard.

With his strength having risen sharply, Zhang Yu’s working mode and tactical mode had already been upgraded.

Hundreds and thousands of puppets had become his countless tentacles, the medium through which he released power and interfered with the world; they could both work and fight.

His true body no longer needed to charge at the front line; he could sit in the rear, and as long as he ensured his own safety, he could dispatch endless armies of Magic Treasures and puppet troops to swallow up all sorts of work... or opponents.

And the Immortal Cave Heaven was his safest sanctuary and also the means through which he projected his power.