Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

Chapter 32: 32. Families hide each others faults; its a principle of being human.

Deliberating carefully before acting is a good habit. Tan Shuchang never considered himself to be exceptionally wise, so what he could do was to list everything he could think of in detail.

From the power structure of Luo State to the various interest chains formed around the ten major spiritual mountains and mines in various places.

The latter could not be ignored.

Because Luo State is one of the two states in the Jiawu Realm with the most gold, the other being Fish Scale State, which does not belong to the rule of Zi Xuan and is considered a place beyond conventional realms in various senses.

In this world, there are two places with the most officials.

One is Jingzhou, which after all is the center of the royal court, where all decisions are made. The other is Luo State.

Luo State has one hundred thirty-seven cities, and controlling any one of them could, at the very least, yield five thousand Upper Xuan Stamps annually.

The most ruthless looters could even gather tens of thousands.

To know, five thousand Upper Xuan Stamps is no small sum; to heal Tan Shuchang’s fundamentally severe injuries using extremely rare medicines from all over the world cost only about two hundred Upper Xuan Stamps in total.

And the price of a lower realm Magic Artifact is typically around five hundred Upper Xuan Stamps.

Organizing information about Luo State was not difficult, because although cultivators cannot claim to have photographic memories, most do have extraordinary memory.

Tan Shuchang headed towards Luo State.

However, on this particular day, as he was passing through a city, he was stopped by the local County Magistrate and his men.

Apparently fearing that they could not stop Tan Shuchang, the County Magistrate even brought out the Mountain-Sea Beast that guarded the city. It was a Jiao, a horned serpent, whose movements turned the ground directly into marshwater, accompanied by continuous thundering sounds from the void.

This was a Water Marsh Thunder Jiao, a spirit species inherently equipped with the powers of magic, art, and strength, and its spiritual intelligence was no less than that of a young child at birth.

Surviving a Jiawu cycle, it becomes extremely cunning.

However, despite its cunning nature, the Water Marsh Thunder Jiao was one of the rare Mountain-Sea Beasts that was inherently friendly to humans.

Because mingling in human society greatly aided its growth.

Normally requiring a Jiawu cycle to mature, but with prolonged human contact, it could be enough in just thirty years. Particularly those Water Marsh Thunder Jiaos mixed in the officialdom could mature in just half a Jiawu cycle, ten to twenty years.

Hearing this, Tan Shuchang did not hesitate and immediately chose three.

After all, where’s the reason not to help one’s own people?

Moreover, Tan Someone always sided with kin over reason. Hiding truths among family, this was a major principle in how Tan Shuchang conducted himself.

After Tan Shuchang had made his choice, that indistinct, emotionless voice told him to wait on the spot, saying the Ghost Scholar would come to find him.

Very soon, Tan Shuchang saw the familiar Ghost Scholar.

Naturally, this clever strategist also saw him.

"Lord of the City?" the Ghost Scholar blinked, only knowing that a flesh-and-blood player had chosen to help it, but not who this player was.

But immediately, the Ghost Scholar became excited.

"My Lord, are we finally going to take action against General Huai, who dares to defy his superiors?" the Ghost Scholar asked.

"Not in haste, first tell me, how many ghosts are there in this instance, and how many of them can we do without?" Tan Shuchang signaled for his strategist to calm down.

"Reporting to the Lord of the City, once multiple factions appear, it means a group obliteration is possible. This obliteration refers not only to the flesh-and-blood players but also to the ghosts," replied the Ghost Scholar.

Hearing this, Tan Shuchang was naturally a bit excited.

Ghosts can be obliterated?

If he took all the ghosts with him, that should count as an obliteration, right?

So, he asked again, "How many ghosts are there in this instance?"

"Including myself and yourself, Lord, there are eleven," the Ghost Scholar hurriedly answered.

Silently, Tan Shuchang: "..."

Then he said expressionlessly to the Ghost, "Next time you calculate such things, don’t count me. Just count yourself."

"Yes, my Lord, I shall obey."