Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

The Thousand Mechanism Pavilion has undergone a huge transformation.

The original mountain gate has turned into a plaza, with the plaza as the center, the town in front of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion has now expanded to a second ring.

And it has been officially named Thousand Mechanism Town.

The architectural style of the whole town has shifted from a purely fantasy ancient style to one inspired by Thousand Mechanism technology. Various cableways and other functional buildings made of Thousand Mechanism devices can be seen everywhere.

However, due to Lily's rather tacky taste, her crazy ideas, and the fact that no one was overseeing her recently, she added many unique designs to this cool Thousand Mechanism Town.

For example, the tacky glowing dragon heads that can be seen everywhere; their purpose undefined, they float in the air, constantly rotating and emitting golden light, forming a magical circular ring.

Standing by the roadside are grenade-launcher-shaped, also purpose-undefined, but they light up every ten minutes as strange landmarks.

As well as weird buildings that are a mishmash of the styles from the West Continent's Barbarian Race and the East Continent.

Zhang Ze stood at the entrance of the town, feeling as if he had returned to the main city of a domestic online game.

But Li, being a traditional man, felt a bit uncomfortable with the current environment of Thousand Mechanism Town. And being around the old Celestial Master also made him feel uneasy, so after apologizing to the old Celestial Master, he just left Zhang Ze behind and slipped away.

Tang, on the other hand, looked as curious as someone visiting a Grand View Garden for the first time.

Zhang Ze was about to explain but heard Tang clap his hands and cheerfully say.

"This place of yours is really nice, I like it. When I get some free time, I'll remodel Dragon Tiger Mountain to look like this."

Zhang Ze, "..."

Zhang Ze felt that during Tang's visit to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, he must find a way to send Lily off somewhere else.

Under no circumstances should these two with no sense of aesthetics and somewhat crazy minds meet.

Otherwise, who knows what Dragon Tiger Mountain might look like in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhang Ze took out a Sound Transmission Jade to contact Lily.

But Lily didn't answer at all.

Li also found the newly built Thousand Mechanism Town interesting, but he was more concerned with whether or not his fortune-telling stall on the pedestrian street was still there. After informing Zhang Ze, Li transformed into a toy helicopter and wobbled towards the pedestrian street.

Zhang Ze watched for a while, and only when he was sure Li wouldn't crash did he turn around and say, "Old Celestial Master, we..."

However, in just the blink of an eye, Tang had wandered off again.

After a long search, Zhang Ze finally found Tang next to a stall.

The old man was pestering a Sword Sect junior sister who was shopping, standing provocatively in front of her, insisting on reading her palm and telling her fortune.

Whether it was because the junior sister was cultured or whether she gave some respect to Tang's Dragon Tiger Mountain Taoist Robe, she didn't get angry, she just politely said, "Forget the palm reading, how about you look at my face instead."

Tang got into his professional mode immediately, his demeanor shifting from a ruffian to the Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Tang was indeed worthy of his name; although he was a bit crazy, his basic skills were solid. With a flurry of fortune-telling jargon, he had the young girl spinning in circles in no time.

Tang first pointed out that she was going to Jiangyou.

Then, he foretold that she was visiting a friend, and she had received an invitation from the friend.

Finally, with a profoundly mysterious look, he told her that her romantic prospects were very hot recently.

Seeing that the young girl had been completely convinced, Tang handed her a sachet.

"Keep this safe, don't lose it, carry it close to you, and you'll have great fortune."

After the junior sister left, Zhang Ze walked up to Tang, "Old Celestial Master, your predictions were spot on."

"Predictions? I didn't predict anything, kid." Tang looked at Zhang Ze blankly.

"Then how did you know she was going to Jiangyou and visiting a friend?" Zhang Ze was puzzled.

"That girl was talking to the shop owner while buying stuff; I was eavesdropping nearby for a while," Tang said with a perverted grin.

"And the romance luck?"

"Just made it up. Our Dragon Tiger Mountain is close to Jiangyou, there are plenty of young Daoists, and who knows, she might match up with one of them."

"And the sachet?"

"Picked it up off the roadside."

Through this question-and-answer session, Zhang Ze confirmed that Tang was nothing but an old con artist.

"What's that look on your face, kid? I didn't even charge her any money. And even though the sachet was picked up, it was I who found it. Let's go, let's go." And with that, Tang walked off with his hands behind his back, ignoring Zhang Ze.

However, as they walked, Tang began muttering again, occasionally commenting on the layout and feng shui of Thousand Mechanism Town, sometimes asking Zhang Ze questions.

Zhang Ze accompanied Tang for a stroll, and when they came upon a five-story building, Tang halted.

The whole house had red walls and golden tiles, it was crumbling with earthiness, with a plaque above the main entrance bearing three big characters.

Fried Shide

Judging by the name, even though it wasn't clear what business this place engaged in, Zhang Ze was absolutely certain the house was indeed built by Lily, and the name was also given by her.

"I think it must be a restaurant." The elusive Li suddenly emerged from the soil under Zhang Ze's feet, looking quite pleased; probably the stall was still there.

It climbed onto Zhang Ze's shoulder and sniffed around.

"Doesn't seem like it, I think it should be a massage place. When I went north before, the water exchange workshops run by the demon race were like this." Tang made a guess based on his rich life experience.

"I guess they're selling roast duck... Whatever, let's go inside and see for ourselves."

"Indeed, as a Taoist, I must take a look inside too."

Tang seemed already excited, he tidied his clothes and was the first to step proudly into Fried Shide.

Just as he stepped in, two beautiful Cat Demon girls bowed to Tang, speaking coyly.

"Wel~~come."

Tang perked up at those words, leering as he approached, "What kind of services do you have here, forget it, just take me to the second floor."

The taller of the girls politely stepped back, "Sir, you're mistaken, we're an auction house, the Water Exchange Workshop is in the west of the town."

Tang's face immediately fell at these words, he shook his sleeves, "Boring, boring, let's go, let's go, we're heading to the west of the town."

Though logically, visiting an auction house is a crucial plotline for a traveler to savor, Zhang Ze also had no interest in this place, not that he wanted to go to the west of the town either.

It was because since this place was owned by Lily, he was technically half the owner, and it made no sense for an owner to buy stuff at his own auction.

However, just as Zhang Ze and Tang were about to leave, they suddenly heard shouting from the hall at the end of the corridor.

"Fifty million, I want this item!"

"Seventy million, no one fight with me for it!"

"Seventy million and you're still shouting? I offer seventy-five million!"

"Eighty million! You all can stop competing with me."

Zhang Ze and Tang simultaneously halted their steps, Zhang Ze being someone who's read novels, and Tang being someone who has seen the world.

Seventy million Spirit Stones weren't a trivial amount.

Zhang Ze thought this number appeared quite early, typically it only shows up in the late-period novels when Nascent Souls are everywhere.

Now he was only at Foundation Establishment, by the principle that the world revolves around the person who is forced into situations, this number appearing seemed unscientific.

Meanwhile, Tang started counting on his fingers, tallying all the old friends he knew who could produce such Spirit Stones, yet as he listened to the bidding in the hall reaching nearly a billion, he realized the tally didn't match.

Li was just simple-minded, thinking that anything that could sell for such a high price must be top-notch Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, worth seeing even if he couldn't afford to eat it.

"Shall we go in and have a look?" Li nudged Zhang Ze while wiping away his drool.

"Can we go in and take a look?" Zhang Ze took out his Thousand Mechanism Pavilion token.

"Please feel free." The two girls seemed accustomed to it, making a gesture inviting them in unison.

Zhang Ze and Tang entered the hall, just in time to see the hammer fall on the auction item.

"Congratulations to No. 5 for purchasing a bottle of Cyan Scale Pill for 1.2 billion. Now let's move on to the next auction item..." a beautiful Fox Demon sister made the final decision with a hammer.

Even Tang was a bit baffled at this point.

Cyan Scale Pill wasn't something rare, just a special Pill Medicine, allowing Foundation Establishment Cultivators to grow cyan scales for two hours, greatly enhancing physical strength and offering some resistance to poisons and miasma.

Even though the pill-making technique was special, making it somewhat expensive, a bottle of Cyan Scale Pill going for a hundred Spirit Stones would be the maximum.

What was up with this near-billion figure?

The next auction item was a Demon Beast corpse, and its starting bid was even set at a billion.

Zhang Ze looked at these bidding cultivators with a gaze as if watching lunatics, unable to comprehend where the money was coming from, nor what was happening.

Until he looked at the second floor.

The second floor of the hall, like in all novels, consisted of private VIP rooms.

Each room was covered by a vaguely blue curtain, only allowing the blurred silhouette of those inside to be seen.

And Zhang Ze saw in one VIP room, a sneaky shadow twisting behind the curtain, holding a wine glass in one hand and a fruit in the other.

Although he couldn't see the face, Zhang Ze was certain, that person had to be Lily.

"Let's go ask on the second floor."