Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

"Should I leave?" Lily asked tactfully.

Zhang Ze glanced at the Celestial Master, and Tang waved his hand, indicating it wasn't necessary, before finding a chair to sit down.

Tang stroked his goatee and began to tell Zhang Ze about that ancient tomb and those Big Heads.

Zhang Ze also sat down, snatching half a melon from Li's hand to eat while listening.

The story began five hundred years ago, when Tang got lost in Diannan for the second time and discovered that ancient tomb from the Dongqi period.

"I went straight into the main tomb chamber..."

Tang was interrupted by Zhang Ze before he could finish, "What about the process? How did you break through the mechanisms and get to the tomb chamber?" Zhang Ze asked.

"There was no process, boy. Back then, with my Mahayana cultivation, no mechanism could stop me; I just walked in. Don't interrupt."

Without the thrilling and tense tomb-raiding process, the story became rather dull.

Tang thoroughly searched the entire tomb chamber, inside and out, finding it was merely a fake tomb, with the tomb owner not present and without knowing who had built it.

Aside from some burial items from the Dongqi era, the most valuable thing in the tomb was a hidden chamber containing seven Big Head sculptures and an array.

Tang studied the array at the time, discovering it was related to transforming spiritual energy, capable of injecting one's cultivation into the Big Heads in a manner similar to empowerment; this process could also be reversed.

Since Tang had no intention of reversing a lifetime at the time, he didn't pay much attention.

Following the principle of leaving opportunities for those who need them, Tang simply left.

Until he got angry during a chat with Zhengyi, and remembered that ancient tomb, leading to what happened later.

After telling the story, Tang took a sip of tea and continued, "That ancient tomb is from a very early period, likely built during the penultimate Immortal Monarch of Dongqi."

"And the Stone Girl you have at home, judging by the texture and craftsmanship, should be made during the last Emperor's era. She can connect with the Big Heads."

"Are you saying the Big Heads were actually experimental items to create Xiaoxuan?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Experimental items?" Tang pondered this term, then nodded, "Indeed."

Zhang Ze glanced at Xiaoxuan, who was staring blankly beside him; she immediately shook her head, indicating she knew nothing.

She was adorably innocent.

After talking about Xiaoxuan, Tang stared at her for a while, making the seemingly dazed Stone Girl a bit uncomfortable. Then he suddenly leaned toward Zhang Ze and said mysteriously.

"Kid, do you know about the Stone Pill?"

Zhang Ze glanced at Li, who was attempting to cram three apples into her mouth at once, and nodded.

"Quite familiar."

He couldn't help but be familiar; with a glutton nearby, Aunt Niao's family from Cold City should have reached the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion by now, and there were no fewer than a hundred Stone Pills sleeping in the cave behind the Sword Pavilion.

And all this originated from the Spiritual Snake statue beneath the old site of the Spiritual Snake Helm.

Thinking about it, Zhang Ze felt that the Spiritual Snake statue might also be related to Xiaoxuan and Dongqi.

It's a pity that he had blown it up, leaving no place to investigate.

Zhang Ze's thoughts wandered for a long time, and when he came to, Tang was still watching him.

"And then?" Zhang asked Tang, suspecting Tang knew some secrets since he mentioned the Stone Pill and Xiaoxuan.

However, Tang reverted to his eccentric self, shrugging, "I'll tell you later, I need to verify something first."

Zhang Ze was all too familiar with this nonchalant attitude, as Tang had dealt with his family of Purple-robed Heavenly Masters this way in Yuanha Town.

Zhang Ze hated this sort of half-information behavior, but since it was Tang, he had no choice.

For experiments, an auction house is obviously unsuitable; Lily led everyone out of the VIP room through a side door and then up the stairs, directly to the top floor.

At the end of the top floor was a gaudy pure gold room, where almost all the furniture glittered with gold, with a few chairs adorned with jade and gems.

Overall, one word described it: tacky—very tacky; it clearly was something Lily had built for herself.

Lily walked to the table, pressed a mechanism, and a teleportation array lit up in the center of the room.

"Come, this way." Lily waved to Zhang Ze and the others.

The teleportation array activated, and after a dazzling flash of golden light, Zhang Ze and his company were transported to a small room.

The room was small, its doors and windows closed, and covered with a black cloth, giving it a mysterious air.

Cautiously, Zhang Ze pushed open the room door, and the sunlight outside dazzled his eyes. After Zhang Ze adjusted to the outdoor scenery, he turned around and gave Lily a thump on the forehead.

"Are you bored? It's less than five hundred meters away, why build a teleportation array?"

Outside was a small courtyard, with the gate marked by a big poplar tree. If you walk west from there, five hundred meters would bring you to the original mountain gate of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, now known as Thousand Mechanism Square.

This small courtyard was formerly the registration center for the Underground City, and it was less than five hundred meters from Fried Shide; you could see its gaudy gold tiles and red walls just by looking up.

Lily, feeling wronged, covered her head, "This is called being cautious. Ever heard of 'a cunning rabbit has three burrows'? There's another teleportation array in this house."

"Besides, you said it yourself didn't you? If you don't spend money, it's like earning nothing. Being good at spending and earning is the true logic, right?" Lily said slyly.

"Where'd you get the money?" Zhang Ze asked.

"From Fried Shide, the auction house is just one of the businesses. We're just earning small change now. The real money comes from deals with small sects like Cyan Thorn." Lily explained.

"Didn't you teach me this?" Lily whipped out a small notebook like a magician, pulling out a slightly crumpled piece of letter paper to show Zhang Ze.

It contained plans for the future of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, strategies Zhang Ze had set long ago.

However, due to Lily's usurping, the style of Thousand Mechanism Town was ruined, and Zhang Ze temporarily forgot about this matter.

Before Zhang Ze went to the Sect Pavilion, the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion had already connected with small sects like Cyan Thorn.

The Thousand Mechanism Pavilion provided Thousand Mechanism Tools priced below market rates to these sects, and in return, they gathered various materials for the Pavilion and provided assistance within their capabilities.

On the Beast Taming Sect's side, Li Jue acted swiftly, concluding deals smoothly.

The first batch of Thousand Mechanism Armor customized for the Spirit Beasts of the Beast Taming Sect had been sent to the Cang State and Ling State just a few days ago.

The first and second floors of Fried Shide were for auctions, while the third and fourth floors were for business negotiations.

Lily's entire attire and the newly built Thousand Mechanism Town were financed from these dealings.

Returning to the room, Zhang Ze watched Lily activate the second teleportation array and suddenly asked.

"What's the meaning of Fried Shide anyway?"

"It's just short for 'Heaven-Blasting Gang Cultivators are Talented and Virtuous'" Lily stood with her hands on her hips, feeling proud about the name she came up with.

Zhang Ze raised his hand but hadn't started to hit when the teleportation array beneath them activated, sending them directly to the back mountains of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Zhang Ze relaxed a bit seeing the unchanged back mountains of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Lily still had some lines she wouldn't cross, not transforming it into the style of the Heaven-Blasting Gang.

As an experimental site for the Thousand Mechanism Cultivators, the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion's back mountains had little issue except for more explosions.

Zhang Ze and Lily led the way, Tang walked behind with hands clasped, looking at Zhang Ze's not particularly broad back, recalling a divination he had performed not long ago.

Before he took the final step to disperse his cultivation, Tang counted a divination not to foresee his survival.

Instead, he wanted to see where the path lay.

He had tried many times, never getting an answer, until then.

In a patch of darkness, he saw a young figure moving forward.

As the youngster advanced, more shadows appeared around them, and Tang realized he was among them.

"Old Daoist like me has wandered a lifetime lost, should finally hit the mark once..."

"What did you say?" Zhang Ze asked, turning back.

Tang waved his hand, "I was just talking to myself. You speed up and lead the way up ahead."