Due to Zhang Ke's whim design, Penglai has many strange and bizarre buildings.
Xiao Penglai's Immortal Finger' is one of them.
This is the tallest building in Penglai, with a ring shape, sixty-six floors and a diameter of thirty feet.
From a distance, it looks like an arm emerging from the ground, clenching a fist and pointing its finger to question the sky, hence the name "Immortal Finger".
The only thing that puzzles everyone in Nanzong is why the middle finger is the one that sticks out on the ‘immortal finger’.
One day when Qingmei and Zhang Ke were sleeping with their necks crossed, they accidentally asked this question.
Zhang Ke defeated Qingmei's army with a series of devastating attacks that were as fast as lightning. He used his actions to explain to her the meaning of asking the sky with his middle finger.
Among the nine counties of Penglai, there are six counties in Penglai, which accommodate most of the people.
Xiao Penglai, as the residence of Nanzong, has countless secrets, so only the people of the three counties temporarily live here.
And this is because Penglai is really unable to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of people, so it has to be done as a last resort.
Thirty years ago, the initial construction of Penglai and Penglai was completed. In addition to the dojos in various places and the necessary left-behind disciples, Nanzong gradually transferred most of its disciples to Penglai for preaching and teaching.
In the future, as the area grows, Big Penglai will become a residence for ordinary people, while Little Penglai will become a place of practice for disciples of the Southern Sect.
In order to strengthen management and refine the worldly mind, Nanzong issued a decree that all Nanzong disciples must return to the secular land of Penglai for a certain period of time after embarking on the path of spiritual practice.
...
Little Penglai.
In the light clouds and mist, there are many tall buildings hidden in the clouds. Together with the disciples of Nanzong who are constantly flying in the air, Xiao Penglai really looks like the residence of gods.
‘Fairy Finger’ top floor hall.
A decorative mirror standing against the wall suddenly flashed a glimmer of light, and Zhang Ke stepped out of the mirror.
Stepping on the smooth floor, Zhang Ke felt very happy.
‘Immortal Finger’ is a fortress he designed for himself, with countless restrictions and formations in it.
No one can enter except the closest people.
In the past, he once obtained three 'Return to the City Scrolls' in his natal talisman.
Using this object and combining his understanding of space Taoism, he established a directional teleportation array in the 'Immortal Finger'.
One 'City Return Scroll' serves as the hub and is set up on the 'Immortal Finger', while the other two are set up on the two [Hanging Mountains] of Qingmei and Ding Xiaoxiao respectively.
Zhang Ke's original intention to study this method was for Qingmei. After all, once she went out, she might not be able to find her way home.
Practitioners will always encounter unpredictable things when walking outside, and Lan Ying cannot be with Qingmei forever.
But then after he built the directional teleportation circle, he suddenly discovered a benefit.
That is, he can use the formation to find Qingmei and Ding Xiaoxiao separately at any time, which is really convenient.
This time, he took advantage of Qingmei's opportunity to go outside the territory and sneaked into Qixia Mountain. After three months of hard work, he finally captured Ding Xiaoxiao.
At this moment, he came out of the teleportation array, shook his head and hummed a proud tune and walked towards the living room, preparing to recuperate for a few days.
He was also quite tired these days. Having a top Taoist companion was sometimes not a good thing.
After walking a few steps, I suddenly heard a faint voice coming into my ears.
"So proud!
If you tell me anything happy, it will make me happy too!"
The smile on Zhang Ke's face suddenly froze. He slowly turned his head and saw Qingmei and Lan Ying sitting on chairs not far away.
"Qing...Qingmei, you...when did you come back?"
Qingmei slowly stood up and walked towards Zhang Ke.
"Well, I just came back. By the way, where have you been?"
In a few steps, he had already walked up to him. Before Zhang Ke could answer, he smiled and said:
"did you miss me?"
"Haha, of course there is!"
Qingmei frowned, put her face close to Zhang Ke and sniffed, the refreshing fragrance of flowers came out of Zhang Ke.
This unique floral fragrance only exists in one person.
"Are you looking for Ding Xiaoxiao?"
Zhang Ke managed to calm down and said with a dry smile:
"Well, yes, there are some things that require help from Yiqi Sect. I took a look at her by the way."
"By the way?"
Qingmei's face was filled with suspicion. After thinking for a moment, he reached out and pulled Zhang Ke's collar and walked towards the living room.
"Come with me."
Zhang Ke's feet were a little weak, he calmed down and managed a smile:
"If you have anything to say, just say it here. I happen to have something else to do."
His green eyebrows and eyes turned, showing a hint of charm, and he smiled softly.
"There's nothing to say. There's something you need to do."
After saying that, he dragged Zhang Ke into the living room.
Lan Ying covered her face, she couldn't stand it anymore.
‘Oh! You know what he is doing, but you still have to ask like this. If you are greedy, just tell him.
Alas! Why bother!
Why bother!’
Seeing the two people entering the room, her past experience of waiting told her that they would not come out again in a short time.
He shook his head and stood up, slowly walking out with his hands behind his back.
…
On the large bed, the aftermath of the war was still lingering. Under the brocade quilt, Qingmei, whose face was still flushed, reached out and grabbed Zhang Ke's ear.
"Tell me, did you eat little thief Ding?"
Zhang Ke gently hugged Qingmei and said with a guilty conscience:
"No...no!"
"No~~~???"
Qingmei's voice was slightly raised, and with a twist of his hand, Zhang Ke screamed in pain.
"Hmph! Judging from your behavior just now, I know you have eaten secretly. If it wasn't Ding Xiaoxiao, is there anyone else?"
"No one else, just... just Xiaoxiao."
Zhang Ke explained guiltily. In comparison, he did not want Qingmei to misunderstand him.
Qingmei let out a 'hum', let go of his ear, reached into the quilt and pinched him hard.
"Oh! It hurts, it hurts~~ Let go!!"
The two quarreled for a while, Qingmei leaned next to Zhang Ke and whispered:
"Is it better for her or me?"
"...all good!"
Qingmei stretched out her arms to hug Ning Ke and whispered to herself.
“Can’t you even lie to others?”
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "I would have said the same thing if she asked."
"..."
The two cuddled up, feeling each other's heartbeat and temperature, and their hearts were filled with warmth.
After a while, Qingmei suddenly remembered what Zhang Ke said before.
"By the way, just now you said you asked Yiqi sect for help if you had something to do. What was that about?"
Zhang Ke sat up slowly, leaned on the edge of the couch, and said softly:
"In recent years, the nine counties of Penglai have developed rapidly, and more than a dozen patent applications have been approved every year. However, limited by region and population, internal development has reached a bottleneck.
If we want to continue to develop at a rapid pace, we need to let the people of the nine counties go out.
I plan to establish Penglai Chamber of Commerce in various parts of Kyushu to promote the products of the nine counties of Penglai.
Firstly, it can recycle a large amount of resources, and secondly, it also hopes to lead the world to make some changes.
However, this kind of thing will definitely affect the interests of local sects everywhere, so we need to proceed with caution.
This time I approached Master Mingxiao to discuss this matter. We will first conduct a pilot project in Dingzhou to see how it works."
Qingmei thought for a while and asked:
"Now the ports in the nine counties of Penglai are full of boats from various sects. They have brought countless resources to our sect. Isn't this enough?"
Zhang Ke shook his head gently.
"The nine counties of Penglai are our foundation. If we just stay here, it will be just a sect at most.
If we want to grow and develop, we must spread our power and influence.
However, the appearance of a large number of sect disciples in other sect territories can easily arouse hostility and rejection.
However, if we can achieve mutual benefit with sects in various places through doing business, it will be easily recognized.
My plan this time is not only to make money, but also to try my best to radiate out the people of the nine counties of Penglai and help them gain a foothold and develop in various places.
One day, the people of the nine counties of Penglai will change the world through their own influence.
Qingmei's heart moved, and she always felt that this pattern seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember it.
Zhang Ke looked at her thinking hard and said with a smile:
"'Acacia Cult'!"
Qingmei suddenly woke up.
This is what the 'Hehuan Cult' does, but their method is to open dual cultivation dojos all over Kyushu. No wonder it feels a little familiar to me.
"The 'Hehuan Sect' is now a top-grade sect, relying on the accumulation of blooming over the past thousands of years.
So I’m going to follow suit and see if I can find a way out.”
After a brief pause, Zhang Ke continued:
“Nowadays, the nine counties of Penglai have entered a stage of rapid development, but the geographical location has restricted our development.
If fertility is still encouraged, the population of this sect will explode multiple times in less than a hundred years.
At the current rate of growth of the Penglai area, it is impossible to accommodate these people.
Therefore, the people of the nine counties of Penglai must be allowed to go out."
Qingmei pondered for a moment and said with some confusion:
"Then why don't we put some restrictions on fertility, which can alleviate the dilemma."
Zhang Ke shook his head and said:
"No, if a sect wants to develop, population is the first priority.
If our sect is isolated overseas and has an insufficient population base, it will not be able to develop and grow. Restricting fertility is undesirable."
Having said this, Zhang Ke smiled.
"Regarding this, I actually had a plan as early as the establishment of Penglai Island.
Do you know why I chose this sea area as the sect’s base?”
"Why?"
"Because eight hundred miles away from here is the Crescent Bay, which is the most suitable place for the sect to be stationed in my mind.
With that group of islands and reefs, it is enough for the development of our sect for thousands of years.
We had an agreement with Yunxiao Tiangong that as long as other sects follow our method and can build islands together with the reefs, then this 'Crescent Bay' will be given to our sect.
Over the past few decades, more than thirty sects have successfully built islands on reefs in various sea areas.
Although the island is not very big, it is still a good start.
Therefore, this agreement has been completed, and ‘Crescent Bay’ is now considered our possession.”
Qingmei asked doubtfully:
"Then why haven't we moved to Crescent Bay yet? If things change, wouldn't it be troublesome?"
Zhang Ke smiled and said:
"Now the people in the nine counties of Penglai have just settled down, their minds are stable, and they are very satisfied with their current situation.
Even if relocation is encouraged, no one is willing to leave now.
So, we have to wait.
Wait for a suitable opportunity to arise.
Only then will our sect truly begin to grow."
Qingmei frowned and said:
"How long will this take?"
"We can't wait too long, considering the current population growth rate.
Even if we send a large number of people to the outside world in the form of chambers of commerce, within a hundred years, the nine counties of Penglai will still force people to change their minds due to the rapid increase in population.
At that time, the opportunity we are looking forward to will come."