Next, he found an opportunity to release all the Profound Immortals from inside the Divine Temple.
Then, he began opening the Immortalization Pool, allowing any Immortal who hadn't yet condensed an immortal body to enter and condense one for free.
Next, he lowered taxes for ascenders.
Finally, he issued a formal decree to the city and all the towns under Greenvine City's jurisdiction: no native Immortal may bully ascenders at will.
If any other ascender tried to do such things, the native Immortal clans and powers would definitely resist fiercely. But against Ian Song, none dared to oppose.
Even now, the memory of him slaughtering tens of thousands of native Immortals and piling their heads on the city walls six years ago is still vivid.
Moreover, even after all the major powers sent over three thousand Profound Immortals, they still failed to catch him—instead, he killed seven of their Profound Immortals. Who would be foolish enough to provoke such a death god?
Although six years ago, thanks to the propaganda offensive by those Profound Immortals, the Ascender Alliance's reputation became terrible, indirectly causing the deaths of many ascenders.
But faced with the temptation to condense an immortal body—and without having to spend immortal stones, at that—
there are still plenty of people coming to the Immortalization Pool to condense their immortal bodies.
Half a month later.
The Eight Immortal Domains, Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens, and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands all received word that Ian Song had occupied Greenvine City and reopened its Immortalization Pool.
This time, however, their reaction was not as furious as expected.
Six years ago, they had sent over three thousand Profound Immortals together, but ended up slinking back in defeat, unable to catch a single Ascender Alliance member.
Now, that damned thief had resurfaced, and even brazenly taken over a city.
Should they send people again?
That thief was infamous for his cunning. Last time, even three thousand young Profound Immortals couldn't do anything to him—how many should they send this time?
Five thousand?
Or eight thousand?
Last time, sending three thousand became a joke. If they send five or eight thousand and still fail to catch him, it’ll be an even bigger joke.
As for sending an Ancestral Immortal—
Don’t be ridiculous. Would these major powers really stoop so low as to send an Ancestral Immortal just to deal with a Profound Immortal?
So—
All the major powers simply pretended not to know about it.
After all, it’s just the Barbarian Wastes. As long as he doesn’t go too far, let him be. Maybe this time, that thief is just digging his own grave.
Whatever happens, don’t fall for his tricks—yes, don’t fall for it!
So, as the months passed, no one came to deal with him. Ian Song actually found it a bit strange.
But honestly, it was better this way. He could finish the System’s third task easily.
After all, the reward for completing this task was a Divine Artifact—just thinking about it made his mouth water.
One day, Kathy Wenren came to find Ian Song, smiling as she asked, “Junior brother, are you really only planning to occupy one city?”
“That’s right!”
Ian Song nodded.
“So lame!”
Kathy Wenren curled her lip. “Why don’t you take over a few more cities and set yourself up as king?”
“Not interested!”
Ian Song shook his head without hesitation. If he really took over more cities and angered those major powers, he’d be in serious trouble.
“No ambition!”
Kathy Wenren said with disdain.
“Senior sister’s got a point!”
Ian Song nodded in agreement. Even though Kathy Wenren was his senior sister, she was still pretty much a little girl at heart—playful, mischievous, always stirring up trouble. Especially in Greenvine City, without Ancestor Cyrus to keep her in check, she was completely out of control.
Even the other senior brothers and sisters would go out of their way to avoid her, just so they wouldn’t get dragged into her antics.
So in just three months, Kathy Wenren had earned the nickname ‘Thousand-Charm She-Devil’ in Greenvine City. Everyone who saw her would steer clear, afraid of being messed with.
Suddenly, Kathy’s eyes sparkled. “Junior brother, how about this—I’ll go help you seize cities, and you can just sit back and enjoy the rewards!”
“No way!”
Ian Song hurriedly waved his hands. “I just want a few peaceful days, senior sister—I’m begging you, please don’t cause trouble, okay?”
“What, are you trying to get rid of me?”
Kathy Wenren glared at Ian Song. “Believe it or not, I’ll go straight back to Snowgoose City!”
“I’ll send you!”
Ian Song looked genuinely delighted. He was really afraid she’d go city-robbing and provoke those major powers.
Kathy Wenren’s face instantly fell. “Hmph! I knew it—you want to get rid of me! You gave yourself away the moment I tested you!”
“No way!”
Ian Song quickly tried to explain himself.
Suddenly, Ian had an idea.
He took out a deck of playing cards from his Storage Ring and said, “Senior sister, how about I teach you a new game?”
“If it’s not fun, I won’t forgive you!”
“Don’t worry, it’s definitely fun!”
Ian taught Kathy all the different ways to play with the cards, and sure enough, she acted like she’d found a treasure.
After playing with Kathy for several hours, Ian casually suggested, “Senior sister, it’s kind of boring with just the two of us. Why not invite the other senior brothers and sisters to join?”
“Good idea, I’ll go find them!”
With a flash, Kathy disappeared.
“Finally got rid of that little devil!”
Ian wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly slipped away before she could latch onto him again. That girl was like cowhide candy—once she stuck to you, she was impossible to shake off.
A few days later.
Victor Sima quietly arrived in Greenvine City to seek an audience with Ian Song.
He came for two reasons. First, to restart the pill business. Second, to send a batch of Gale Division Immortals who hadn’t yet condensed immortal bodies to Greenvine City’s Immortalization Pool.
Ian Song rejected the first request outright.
He didn’t lack immortal stones anymore, and restarting the pill business would definitely draw attention from the major powers. Better to keep a low profile and finish out the three years in peace.
As for the second request, he had no reason to refuse—he welcomed the Gale Division Immortals to come.
Victor Sima was disappointed that the pill business didn’t go through.
But he didn’t dare press Ian Song.
After entering the City Lord’s Mansion, he sensed at least a hundred Profound Immortals—far more than the Gale Division itself had.
Time flew by, and Ian Song had now held Greenvine City for a full year. The major powers kept turning a blind eye, and Ian was happy to enjoy his peace, never provoking them, always staying holed up in Greenvine City.
For now, they tacitly allowed his existence.
“Huh?”
That day, while Ian Song was leisurely sipping tea in the City Lord’s Mansion, he suddenly frowned.
He’d sensed an Ancestral Immortal entering Greenvine City.
Activating his immortal sense, he saw a cold-eyed, handsome young man in black robes walk through the city gate like any ordinary traveler. On his back was an unsheathed Immortal Sword, radiating the aura of an Ancestral Immortal artifact.
Only sword cultivators would carry their swords like that.
And sword cultivators are usually stronger than Immortals of the same realm. Was this black-robed youth a sword cultivator?
After entering the city, the man headed straight for the City Lord’s Mansion.
Half an incense stick later, he stopped outside the mansion. His icy eyes flickered with emotion, and he called out, voice echoing over the estate: “Ian Song, come out and die!”