54: The vast world

"Business?"

Su Lin looked at his Sixth Disciple with interest, signaling her to continue.

He found that after a hundred years, Gu Qiuyue's way of looking at problems had become so pure and direct.

Everything in her eyes seemed to be quantifiable into profit and bargaining chips.

"Yes, Revered Master."

Gu Qiuyue met Su Lin's gaze.

"A business that, for us, is guaranteed to be profitable."

She ignored Mu Qingxue's cold gaze and Luo Ximei's playful smile, analyzing on her own, her control as a business empress once again fully displayed:

"First, the Red Dust Pavilion's demand is clear: Liu Ruyan needs a Protector to help her Sect comprehend the Mortal World and Break Through her Bottleneck.

And the only one in this world who can meet this condition is Revered Master.

This is their need, and it is our bargaining chip."

"Second, what can we get from this business?"

Gu Qiuyue extended two slender fingers, "First, an absolutely loyal ally.

The characteristics of the Red Dust Pavilion's Cultivation Technique determine that once they recognize Revered Master as their Protector, they will completely bind the future of their entire Sect to Revered Master, flourishing or declining together.

Their loyalty is far beyond what an ordinary Alliance of interests can compare to."

"Second, an intelligence network spread throughout the Mortal World. The Red Dust Pavilion's Disciples practice in the world, spread across every corner of the continent, encompassing all walks of life.

This network can precisely make up for the Master-Seeking Alliance's lack of control over grassroots details, beyond high-level maneuvering.

At critical moments, an inconspicuous pawn might decide the outcome of the entire game."

She paused, then concluded: "Therefore, this Disciple believes that accepting the Red Dust Pavilion has far more advantages than disadvantages.

As for that Liu Ruyan..."

Gu Qiuyue's lips curved into a faint sneer: "If she wants to serve Revered Master, she has to see if she is qualified.

In this Tianshu City, on my territory, all the rules are set by me."

...Three days later, Red Dust Pavilion.

As one of the most mysterious emerging Sects of its time, the Red Dust Pavilion's mountain gate was not located in any Immortal mountain or blessed land, but rather in the most prosperous capital city of the Mortal World—the Imperial Capital of the Great Yan Divine Dynasty, within "Shen Du."

Unlike ordinary Sects, there was no towering Sword Qi here, no swirling Immortal mist, only a seemingly ordinary, vast courtyard named "Red Dust Courtyard."

Within the courtyard, pavilions, terraces, winding streams, rockeries, and strange stones created a new scene with every step, revealing the exquisite luxury of the Mortal World everywhere.

At this moment, in the deepest part of the courtyard, in a waterside pavilion built by the lake.

A woman in a plain white dress, with an ethereal temperament and peerless beauty, stood quietly by the railing, gazing at the twin lotuses blooming in the lake, lost in thought.

She was the Ancestral Master of the Red Dust Pavilion, Liu Ruyan.

"Pavilion Revered Master," a Disciple in a pink silk dress, also beautiful, tiptoed forward and respectfully reported, "The Master-Seeking Alliance sent a secret message that Mr. Su... that Mr. Su will personally visit our Red Dust Pavilion today."

Upon hearing this, a ripple finally appeared in Liu Ruyan's usually placid eyes.

She slowly turned around, looking at her most favored Disciple, her voice as clear and cold as moonlight: "He... he finally came, didn't he?"

"Yes, Pavilion Revered Master."

The Disciple lowered her head, her voice tinged with excitement and unease.

"Are we... are we really going to stake the future of the entire Red Dust Pavilion on a legend from a hundred years ago?

Moreover, rumor has it that his Cultivation has been completely lost now..."

"Silence!"

Liu Ruyan's clear and cold voice carried a hint of rebuke, "Wanqing, remember what Revered Master... Mr. Su means to us."

"If not for Mr.'s casual act back then, there would be no Liu Ruyan in this world, and no Red Dust Pavilion today."

"This kindness is greater than the heavens."

She paused, her tone becoming distant and complex, "Moreover, the Dao we cultivate is inherently a huge gamble.

Now, the only person who can lead us to comprehend the Mortal World has appeared; even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we must seize it."

The Disciple named Wanqing trembled slightly upon hearing this and respectfully replied, "This Disciple understands."

"Go," Liu Ruyan waved her hand, "Activate the Vast World of Mortals Great Array, and welcome Mr. with the highest possible honors."

"Yes!"

As Wanqing withdrew, silence returned to the waterside pavilion.

Liu Ruyan once again turned her gaze to the lake, but deep within her clear and cold eyes, a trace of girlish sentiment, suppressed for nearly a century and unnoticed even by herself, flickered.

"Mr.... after a hundred years, I wonder if you... still remember that embarrassed Yan'er from back then?"

In front of the Red Dust Courtyard gate.

Traffic flowed like water, and voices buzzed like a market.

This was the most prosperous section of the mortal imperial capital, where the mansions of nobles and the shops of peddlers intertwined, full of contradictory yet harmonious everyday life.

Su Lin and his party descended from the cloud brocade, like Immortals stepping into the Mortal World from a painting, instantly attracting countless passersby's gazes.

However, as they walked to the front of the seemingly ordinary, vast courtyard, which didn't even have a plaque above its entrance, those gazes simultaneously took on a hint of awe and distance, automatically clearing a path.

"Revered Master, this is the Red Dust Pavilion," Gu Qiuyue softly introduced, "A great recluse hides in the city; she certainly knows how to choose a place."

Luo Ximei surveyed the vermilion wooden door, her alluring eyes slightly raised: "It looks unremarkable on the outside, but inside, it's probably another world entirely."

"Hmph, hiding one's head and tail, sneaky," Mu Qingxue's clear and cold eyes still held a hint of disdain.

Su Lin said nothing, merely stood with his hands behind his back, taking a step forward with a serene expression.

And just as his foot landed, the originally unremarkable vermilion gate and stone wall before him rippled like a stone thrown into a lake.

Immediately after, all the surrounding sounds—the clamor of carriages, the hawking of vendors, the laughter of passersby—were infinitely amplified at this moment, turning into rolling sound waves that rushed directly into the Sea of Consciousness of the three!

The scene before their eyes changed dramatically.

The bustling street disappeared, replaced by a bizarre, ever-changing world of extravagance.

Lascivious music filled their ears, and before their eyes were jade towers and golden palaces; the scent of fine wine and beautiful women assailed their noses, while power and greed inexplicably surged within their hearts.

Love, hate, anger, infatuation, greed, resentment, aversion... the most extreme seven emotions and six desires of the Mortal World were condensed, purified, and magnified at this moment, turning into an invisible net of heaven and earth, threatening to completely devour and assimilate the minds of all who entered the array.

This was the Vast World of Mortals Great Array!

"Petty tricks, disturbing people's minds!"

"With human hearts as the array's core, and the Mortal World as its barrier.

This array doesn't consume Spirit Stones; it consumes the minds of those who enter it.

What a profitable business with no capital."